The Unremarkable Little Taoist Master

“I…” Intuition told me that Blacksmith Hu had grown significantly stronger; I would likely only be a target for his blows.

Suddenly enlightened, I replied, “I’m here to take the silver-armored Jiangshi.”

Indeed, back then Blacksmith Hu only mentioned exchanging the silver-armored Jiangshi, but he hurried off while carrying the decrepit corpse.

Blacksmith Hu scoffed, “There are no more silver-armored Jiangshi left, but…” He paused, and although I couldn’t see his expression, his tone sounded quite proud, “You can choose any one of these silver-armored Jiangshi.”

I sighed, piercing through that self-deceptive facade, “Blacksmith Hu, what exactly are you doing? How have you become this way?”

Blacksmith Hu didn’t answer me and simply insisted that I should stop following him, ignoring me entirely. He moved to the front of the Jiangshi group and led them away in a grand procession.

I sat there blankly for a while before the old daoist priest arrived.

He glanced around and said, “I see what Blacksmith Hu is trying to achieve.”

The old daoist priest had found a book in Blacksmith Hu’s home that detailed the methods for Jiangshi advancement.

Jiangshi are classified into four levels: ordinary Jiangshi, Iron-armored Jiangshi, silver-armored Jiangshi, and golden-armored Jiangshi.

Blacksmith Hu had already become a golden-armored Jiangshi.

“But how can a living person turn into a Jiangshi?”

A living person cannot simply turn into a Jiangshi, but with two silver-armored Jiangshi, along with the right timing and conditions, an ordinary person can become a golden-armored Jiangshi, also known as the Jiangshi King.

The silver-armored Jiangshi that Blacksmith Hu sought possessed its own consciousness and could command other Jiangshi freely. Coupled with the silver-armored Jiangshi he refined, he could now be considered half-human, half-corpse.

“I found some freshly turned soil in his backyard; digging it up revealed corpses drained of their corpse aura. It seems Blacksmith Hu has put in a lot of effort to refine the silver-armored Jiangshi.”

Now it was completely certain that Blacksmith Hu was the corpse thief. I silently lamented: as a corpse herder, Blacksmith Hu carried a heavy grudge, and despite knowing how shameful it was in the industry to steal corpses, he still pushed forward without hesitation. He should have been the most formidable corpse herder in this village. But what about me? Would I… follow the same irretrievable path as Blacksmith Hu?

“Blacksmith Hu is likely seeking out his enemies. They are very powerful and quite difficult to deal with,” the old daoist priest remarked, having seemingly uncovered all of Blacksmith Hu’s secrets after visiting his home.

“Is it even useless if he has a golden-armored Jiangshi leading a group of Iron-armored Jiangshi and silver-armored Jiangshi?”

“You mean he has a bunch of Iron-armored Jiangshi and silver-armored Jiangshi with him?” The old man looked astonished, his mouth agape in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?”

“This is not good! Hurry, we need to stop him!”

Confused, I had no choice but to head in the direction Blacksmith Hu had taken, asking as I walked, “What exactly is happening?”

The old daoist priest sighed, “I fear Blacksmith Hu is trying to unify the Jiangshi world.”

A golden-armored Jiangshi is akin to an emperor among Jiangshi, a powerful figure to whom many respond. If Blacksmith Hu truly intends to become a golden-armored Jiangshi and dominate the Jiangshi realm, he would become unable to revert back to a human. Slowly, he would forget what it means to be human, and even his soul and spirit would gradually fade away. In simple terms, he would turn to dust with no chance of reincarnation.

It had already been some time since Blacksmith Hu left, making it quite difficult to track him down. The old daoist priest pulled a small bottle from his pocket, inside which was a baby maggot.

“This maggot was found on a Jiangshi in Blacksmith Hu’s home; perhaps it can help us locate him.” As soon as he finished speaking, the maggot wriggled its small, plump body and began to inch forward.

Though it was making a concerted effort, its short body and slow speed meant that it wouldn’t cover much ground-by dawn, it might only move a few steps. It would be nice if it could transform into a fly and take to the air.

As I was lost in those thoughts, a sudden illumination caught my eye-the clouds had dispersed, and the moon had become exceptionally bright, shining down on the earth like the sun, bathing everything in its light.

If only the maggot could grow up and become a fly.

That thought emerged in my mind once again.

The old daoist priest exclaimed in surprise, “Ah! You little rascal, not bad at all! You’ve learned without a teacher!”

I was utterly confused. What was he talking about?

Then I looked again, and the small maggot had disappeared, replaced by a fly.

“One characteristic of an Onmyoji is the ability to facilitate the growth of living creatures when the moonlight gathers,” the old daoist priest explained.

So amazing?! What exactly is an Onmyoji?

The old daoist priest looked pleased, his face breaking into wrinkles as he smiled, nodding repeatedly and exclaiming how wonderful it was.

I didn’t know how to respond. Thinking back to my earlier battle with the silver-armored Jiangshi, a warm force had inexplicably strengthened me, as if something deep within my body had been awakened.

We followed the fly and soon found Blacksmith Hu.

Blacksmith Hu veered farther off course, and the area had become desolate and overgrown, almost devoid of human presence. He was issuing commands, muttering away in Jiangshi language.

I asked the old daoist priest, “How can we help him return to normal?”

The old daoist priest immediately frowned, “This is the difficult part. His book doesn’t mention it, and I’m just an amateur…”

Blacksmith Hu had only just transformed into a golden-armored Jiangshi and still retained some human consciousness, which meant we could still communicate. Just as I was considering approaching him, I noticed that many ghosts began to appear around Blacksmith Hu, some large, some small, some old, some young.

The ghosts were all crying. An elderly female ghost said, “My son, please stop! I only want you to live safely and visit me occasionally; that would be enough for me. Why do you need to end up like this?”

There were also children crying out, “Daddy! Daddy!” The haunting cries of the ghosts blended with Blacksmith Hu’s mutterings in Jiangshi language, creating a deeply chaotic scene.

The old daoist priest rushed out and shouted, “Blacksmith Hu! Stop! Your entire family of 34 is begging you to stop!”

Both the ghosts and Blacksmith Hu were stunned.

Blacksmith Hu’s emotions began to stir, and he asked slowly, word by word, “You… can see my deceased family?”

The ghosts all turned their gazes toward the old man, their eyes filled with hope. The old man shook his head and sighed, “I can see them, but what does that matter? If you could see them too, you’d understand just how painful it is for your father and mother, your children, and your wife.”

“Mr. Hu, if you want to see them again, then return to your original self. At least then you would have a chance at reincarnation, instead of remaining in this state. You might achieve immortality, but you would be forever separated from your loved ones, longing for them yet unable to meet!”

I felt a surge of emotion, wondering if it was my thoughts of my own parents that made me so sorrowful over Blacksmith Hu’s choice to abandon his humanity.