The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 20

“Why? Why does this work?”

Daoist Xuanxu had scratched his ordinarily immaculate topknot into a tangled mess.

It was hardly his fault.

History had taken a different turn during the Han dynasty in this world, and the spiritual resurgence had begun only a few years ago.

Whether in foundational theory, perception, or practical experience, this world’s cultivators lagged behind Zhao Li.

They might use geomancy, prophetic symbolism, and the nature of willows to construct a harmful formation.

Borrowing the formation’s own momentum to break it was beyond them.

They remained at the crude stage of knowing how to kill but not how to clean up afterward.

His appearance frightened Zhao Li into retreating.

If a madman struck her, it would be awkward to fight back.

Shen Yan stepped sideways, interposing himself between Daoist Xuanxu and Zhao Li, one arm spread protectively.

Even he looked surprised.

Daoist Xuanxu was an eminent master of Qingxu Daoist Temple with disciples and grand-disciples across the land.

The emperor himself was a nominal disciple of the temple.

Daoist Xuanxu was always immaculate and otherworldly, his robes untouched by dust. When had he ever lost composure like this?

“Cutting down the willows can certainly release the yin energy, but why are those men still alive?”

In theory, the instant their axes struck, baleful energy should have rushed through their bodies and killed them.

*Because every one of them was born in the Year of the Dragon, and their axes are coated in phoenix blood. Together, those forces suppress the White Tiger’s killing energy,* Zhao Li thought.

But she remained hidden behind Shen Yan and said nothing.

She was not protecting a secret. She simply remembered that there were hidden circumstances behind it.

Until they investigated, speaking carelessly in public would be unwise.

When no answer came, Daoist Xuanxu anxiously tried to circle around Shen Yan.

Then an angry roar interrupted.

“Have you finished performing?”

“Let me see whether cutting down a tree truly kills anyone!”

Zhao Li and Shen Yan had been circling with Daoist Xuanxu like a game of eagle and chicks.

Lin Zhu hitched up his robe and hurried toward the canal.

He quickly put some distance between them, moving with astonishing agility for a man his age.

Huang Li added fuel from the side.

“Slow down, Grand Councillor Lin! Take care not to twist your ankle!”

Only Daoist Xuanxu, who understood some of the danger, shouted urgently, “Stop! Grand Councillor Lin!”

The tree-cutters had clearly been specially selected. How could an outsider join them safely?

Moreover, the willows were nearly severed. Yin energy poured from the area like a flood.

The instant it struck a person, their three ethereal souls and six corporeal spirits would be blasted from the body. Even if they survived, they would be left witless.

Zhao Li reacted faster and was already chasing Lin Zhu.

Unlike Daoist Xuanxu, she did not care whether the old man lived or died.

She worried about something else.

Zhao Li had arranged eighty-eight men into a human talisman formation, using yang energy to suppress baleful force.

Adding one more living person would disrupt the distribution of yang energy.

That fragment of energy would fall into the Yin-Gathering Pool like a drop of water into boiling oil and cause its yin energy to explode.

If something else happened to be inside the pool, they would invite further disaster.

Shen Yan did not understand, but he followed Zhao Li without hesitation.

Lin Zhu tucked the hem of his robe into his belt and ignored Daoist Xuanxu’s cries.

The more they forbade him, the more suspicious the matter became.

He would expose these traitors’ lies and show His Majesty that no immortals, Buddhas, ghosts, or monsters existed!

The conviction lent him unmatched strength.

He was a single step from crossing the line Zhao Li had drawn with mengshi stone and cinnabar.

“Lord Shen, grab him!”

A clear shout rang out behind Lin Zhu.

His collar tightened, and his body lifted backward.

At the same time, a small foot planted itself in his side and kicked him sprawling away.

“How bad is it?”

Shen Yan tossed Lin Zhu backward by the collar and hurried to Zhao Li.

She crouched to inspect the red-and-white circle. A small gap had been scuffed through the line.

“Damned old man! If you’re tired of living, go kill yourself! Why come here and endanger everyone else?”

Zhao Li cursed without looking back.

She reached into the leather pouch at her waist for mengshi powder to repair the gap.

It was too late.

With a great rustling crash, the first willow fell. Then the second, and the third…

Thunder exploded from a clear sky.

Zhao Li and Shen Yan nearby, the laborers in the distance, Lu Zhao and the guards at the perimeter—every living creature instantly sensed an aura all life instinctively rejected.

An indescribable carrion stench rose with a bitter wind, so cold it hurt the marrow.

Lin Zhu lay clutching his lower back. Zhao Li’s kick had nearly knocked him unconscious.

What angered him even more was her insult.

He was a dignified Grand Secretary. Who had ever called him a damned old man?

And that wretch had kicked him!

He tremblingly raised his head to curse and saw a sight he would never forget.

Heavy black clouds pressed down, churning until they swallowed the sky.

Black tornadoes linked heaven and earth, raging nearby like furious dragons roaring at the heavens.

Shrill wails rang clearly within the dark clouds and whirlwinds.

Lin Zhu saw a screaming human shadow swept into one of them.

The gale stripped away its flesh and ground its bones inch by inch to ash.

Yet the rampaging funnels could not cross the slender circle on the ground. An invisible law held them back; not one crossed it by so much as an inch.

One step away, a storm of yin wind raged.

One step within, a gentle breeze touched the face.

Only eighty-eight tiny golden points glimmered in the black clouds.

No. There was one more.

Lin Zhu’s mouth fell open, and he turned.

Zhao Li stood before the narrow breach, hands clasped in the mountain-suppressing seal.

Faint light radiated from her body, forcing the escaping dark cloud back through the opening.

Her face was pale. A thin line of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

Shen Yan, whom Zhao Li had pulled behind her at the first instant, stared blankly at her small back.

“A-Li!”

He did not dare touch her.

While he stood helpless, a crimson shadow flashed at the edge of his vision.

Within the raging cloud, a figure in wedding robes and a red veil slowly appeared.

It resembled an empty set of clothes floating upright through the air.

It moved directly before Zhao Li until their faces nearly touched.

The dragon-and-phoenix veil swayed gently. Zhao Li smelled incense and candle wax.

The figure raised the hands hidden in its long sleeves and reached toward her face.

Both Shen Yan and Lin Zhu saw it.

Lin Zhu released a strange cry. In his extreme terror, he did not know what sounds came from his mouth.

“Get away from her!”

Murderous fury crossed Shen Yan’s face. He stepped forward and slashed.

His bright Goose-Quill Saber passed through the wedding robes and cut only air.

Blocking the breach with her body placed an immense burden on Zhao Li.

If she retreated one step, the yin and baleful energies would erupt. Zhao Li might survive. Everyone behind her certainly would not.

She maintained the mountain-suppressing seal with all her strength.

Every breath made her organs and every inch of skin feel as though they were tearing apart.

Shen Yan remained beside her, swinging his saber through empty air.

Zhao Li wanted to tell him that the true body remained in Fragrant Orchid Courtyard and this incarnation could be dispersed with tongue-tip blood.

She could not open her mouth or speak.

A pair of cold hands cupped Zhao Li’s face.

“Found you.”

The red dragon-and-phoenix veil expanded across Zhao Li’s vision. The wedding robes overlapped her body.

Cold swept through her, nearly extinguishing her mind.

At that moment, a horsetail whisk snapped from behind, and a yellow paper talisman slapped onto Zhao Li.

Warmth surged through her. The ghostly image was flung from her body.

Screaming, it flew back into the dark cloud, was caught in the gale, and shredded like windblown catkins.

Daoist Xuanxu had finally arrived.