Chapter 407: Elder Lord Zhai! Duanlong Cave! The Ferryman!

Li Yanchu had not expected that following Zuo Qian to investigate a case of missing women would uncover something far more sinister: an entire scheme of slaughter and demon-feeding.

The authorities soon arrived, taking the villagers of Hengyang into custody for interrogation.

Because this matter implicated Hengyang Village, and thus the Inner Court itself, the case was immediately handed over to the Prefectural Tribunal of Beifeng Prefecture.

Assisting in the investigation was an Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review stationed in Beifeng, a fifth-rank official.

The Kingdom of Qian’s Court of Judicial Review bore only superficial resemblance to similar posts in ancient dynasties. In truth, it functioned more like a shadowy organization, a special division. This particular Assistant Minister hailed from the great Daoist sect of Mount Qingcheng, well-versed in esoteric Daoist sorcery.

Such cases involving demons and evil spirits were precisely his domain.

Zuo Qian’s official rank was low, so his role in the interrogations was limited. Even so, because he had uncovered a major case, the Tribunal of Justice granted him a promotion. As the scion of a noble family, he still had connections within the bureaucracy; no blame was laid on him, and no scapegoat’s burden was forced upon his shoulders.

According to the confessions of Hengyang villagers, those spider demons had been given to them by that wandering fengshui master. The entire village had received imperial patronage because of this. The fengshui master himself had not profited from it, perhaps he had simply wanted to help the villagers.

It was not until three days later that Zuo Qian sought out Li Yanchu to share the latest developments. The fengshui master had privately taught the villagers scriptures, urging them to worship the Ultra Supreme Elder Lord[1] and the Queen Mother of the West[2].

The Kingdom of Qian’s mythic pantheon was broadly similar to that of Li Yanchu’s previous life. Ultra Supreme Elder Lord, one of the Three Pure Ones, was the orthodox deity honored by Daoism. But the Queen Mother of the West bore all the hallmarks of the heterodox White Lotus Sect.

“This fengshui master’s sect calls itself

Elder Lord Zhai

,” Zuo Qian said gravely. “I’ve read the scriptures seized from the villagers, they are nothing but corrupted Daoist classics.”

Hearing this, Li Yanchu nodded. In a

xianxia

world plagued with demons, it was common for wild gods and illicit cults to gather incense offerings in secret, seeking cultivation power.

Zuo Qian then revealed the newest lead: the band of river pirates led by Zheng Huaiyi, who had been operating around Wei City’s borders, seemed to be tied to this matter.

The Tribunal’s methods were indeed different from those of ordinary county magistrates. According to intelligence reports, the pirates were hiding in a place called Duanlong Cave, to the east of Wei City.

From its waterways, bloated corpses often drifted out, grotesque as giants. Some were even dressed like foreigners, not people of the Central Plains. The cave was considered ominous; no locals dared to approach it.

When the two arrived at their rendezvous, a ferryman happened to be steering a small boat downstream.

He was a withered old man, small and gaunt, wearing a bamboo rain hat. At the prow of his skiff hung a lantern.

A lantern in broad daylight?

As the boat drew closer to shore, Li Yanchu’s eyes narrowed; that lantern was no ordinary light, but a vessel for summoning souls and gathering yin qi. With his Spirit Eyes, he peered through the veil.

The old ferryman’s body seethed with yin qi, yet... he was undeniably alive.

“The ferryman?” Li Yanchu muttered under his breath.

The old man raised his head slightly, glanced at him with mild surprise, then grinned wide, revealing a mouth of blackened teeth. Though he smiled, it carried no warmth. The chill it exuded was colder than a corpse’s touch.

Then, Li Yanchu boarded without betraying any reaction, Zuo Qian following at his side.

The skiff’s sail caught the wind, and the vessel turned toward Duanlong Cave[3]. The gaunt old ferryman said nothing. He silently rowed, carrying the two deeper into shadow.

Suddenly, Li Yanchu’s vision went black. For an instant, he was blinded, hearing only the rush and slap of water against the hull.

Whoosh!

A violent wind roared through the cavern, damp with spray and thick with a stench of rot.

Sitting at the boat’s edge, Zuo Qian suddenly felt a weight press down upon his shoulders, as though unseen arms in the darkness had draped themselves across him.

At the same time, a foul, heavy breathing sounded at his back. It reeked of carrion, of rotting flesh, the stench so overwhelming that bile rose in his throat.

Just then, his heart pounded violently. With a metallic

clang

, he drew the saber at his waist and swung it in one smooth motion, and a saber aura flashed into existence.

This young man clearly possessed formidable martial skill; his inner energy was dense, his bones and sinews like tempered steel. Whether from abundant family resources or some fortuitous encounter, he was far from ordinary.

Yet, the saber aura struck nothing. Instead, a fierce gust swept past his ear, reeking of carrion.

So cunning!

Zuo Qian’s heart lurched. Both hands gripping his saber, he cleaved down with all his strength and split a living corpse in two.

Even so, corpse-qi invaded his body, chilling him to the marrow. Quickly circulating his inner energy, he drove it out, feeling his blood and limbs grow warm again.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a searing light blazed to life on the boat, illuminating half the cavern in an instant.

Only then did he see: at Daoist Master Li’s side already lay two slain water corpses. In his hand, he held an ancient seal, its brilliance flickering like living fire.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“Strange,” Li Yanchu murmured, brow furrowing. “Though the grotto is dark, it is still daytime outside. Yet water corpses attack? How curious.”

The Heaven-Illuminating Seal in his grasp radiated dazzling divine light, casting it openly through the cavern.

Relief washed through Zuo Qian, though he couldn’t help but marvel. This Daoist was truly no ordinary man. Any other would have kept quiet in such a corpse-infested cavern, moving in silence and caution. But he... he lit the darkness as though it were nothing.

The old ferryman shrank back, eyes fixed warily on the Heaven-Illuminating Seal. Clearly, he could feel the oppressive fire-law it contained.

For one who cultivated yin qi through unorthodox arts, that seal was a deadly nemesis. The once-shadowed grotto was now filled with blazing light, and strangely... hearts felt steadier in its glow.

They examined the three water corpses. It was nearly impossible to tell male from female; greenish scales had sprouted across their bodies.

They must have been drowning victims, but in Duanlong Cave, something had changed them. Killing intent condensed, refusing to dissipate, transforming them into water corpses.

“Daoist Master, your arts are profound,” the ferryman rasped, “but if you act so boldly, you may draw every corpse in the waters to us. Some of the fiends below, who’ve fed on the drowned for years... they too may be lured by this light.”

Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up at the ferryman’s words.

So there’s even such a benefit?

“No matter,” he said with a faint smile.

To Zuo Qian and the gaunt ferryman, that smile was like a tiger baring its fangs, an aura of dominance sweeping forth.

With that, the fishing boat drifted deeper into the cavern. For a time, all remained quiet.

Then, just beyond the reach of the Heaven-Illuminating Seal’s radiance, two gleaming green eyes appeared. A moment later, several more pairs blinked into existence.

Ordinarily, in such a cavern of endless darkness, where one could not see a hand before one’s face, to suddenly glimpse those ghostly green eyes would freeze one’s blood and set the scalp crawling.

Blindness in the dark made men doubt shadows, and magnified fear a hundredfold.

But here, under the divine light of the Heaven-Illuminating Seal, the creatures were soon revealed. They were monstrous black rats each the size of a calf!

In such an environment, their growth betrayed their nature: they were fattened on human flesh. Rats of that bulk could overturn this little fishing boat with ease.

1. Ultra Supreme Elder Lord (Chinese: 太上老君) is a supreme Daoist divinity. He is the Ultra Purity (太清) among the Three Pure Ones, the highest divinities of Taoism.

The historical Lao Tzu who authored the Scripture of Way and Virtue is considered a manifestation of Ultra Supreme Elder Lord. Taoism typically presents the Jade Emperor as the official head of heaven, while the Three Pure Ones are at the top of the pantheon of gods. Here is a reference

image

. ☜

2. The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient times.

The first historical information on her can be traced back to Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions that record sacrifices to a "Western Mother". Even though these inscriptions illustrate that she predates organized Daoism, she is most often associated with Daoism. The growing popularity of the Queen Mother of the West, as well as the beliefs that she was the dispenser of prosperity, longevity, and eternal bliss, took place during Han dynasty, in the 2nd century BCE, when the northern and western parts of China became more accessible through the opening of the Silk Road. ☜

3. 断龙 Duanlong literally means ‘severing dragon’. ☜