Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 2 Suppression Techniques, Mountain Ghost Money

Wang Cheng's face turned deathly pale, and he looked around but couldn't see anything.

"Over the years, in order for the Wang family to be able to accept the imperial court's amnesty in a legitimate way, I have been studying hard and determined to pass the imperial examinations."

Many people in Wufengqi have told me that ignorance is bliss.

Many secrets in this world, if 'thought' about, will bring disaster because of the taboo that 'what you think about will surely come back to you,' especially the line of officials in the Water Ranks are in the most dangerous situation.

I didn't learn much of the family's traditional water-collecting techniques; I only learned some basic common sense.

"But I also know that the 'Prince' and 'Lord' used to send off the royal ship do not refer to a specific ghost or god, but rather to a type of sea god belief."

For thousands of years, the coastal states have worshipped a considerable number of princes and emperors, with at least three or four hundred having names and surnames.

Plague Gods, plague demons, fierce generals, famous officials and capable bureaucrats come from all walks of life, but they all have in common that most of them were high-ranking officials in the water-class system during their lifetimes.

However, the word "but" is the worst thing about everything.

Even if only one "Prince" or "Emperor" is selected each year to represent Heaven in its inspection tours, only a few dozen are still able to enjoy the incense offerings and sacrifices—a loss rate of nearly 90%!

Wang Cheng didn't know if his father, the King of the East Sea, could suppress the evil spirits of the entire province after transforming into a ghost or deity, but he, the young prince who accompanied the king's ship, was very self-aware.

Who do you think you are?

Even this physical dwelling is not yet fully completed, let alone the investiture and rank-taking ceremony.

You don't even need to wait until those evil spirits drag you to fill the sea eye; if just two or three evil ghosts come along the way, you'll be sucked dry on the spot and turned into a dried corpse.

"I'm doomed, as expected!"

His brain was racing, desperately trying to figure out how to save himself in this desperate situation.

But the things in the river weren't going to wait for him any longer.

call--!
In the darkness, a foul-smelling, eerie wind kept blowing into Wang Cheng's collar, threatening to freeze him to the bone.

The candle flames burning on the altar in front of them were suppressed by an invisible force, shrinking little by little to the size of a bean, and turning oily green from the inside out, crackling and popping one after another.

Immediately, Wang Cheng clearly saw a wet footprint on the deck by the side of the ship.

"Oh no, they've boarded the ship!!!"

Soon, more and more footprints appeared on the deck.

The numerous paper effigies of attendants and soldiers around him made a "creaking" sound, and suddenly convulsed as they all turned their heads to look at him.

The facial features, originally meticulously drawn by the paper craftsman, were vaporized by the water vapor, and dirty water dripped down their cheeks, making them appear even more abstract and terrifying.

Wang Cheng's scalp tingled.

He always kept in mind the taboo against facing evil spirits: "If you lose your courage, you lose half your life." Even when he opened his eyes wide and tried to glare back, his heart was already pounding like a drum.

He knew without even looking that the three flames on his body were on the verge of collapse.

But the real danger was yet to come.

More and more evil spirits boarded the ship, and the consecrated paper figures trembled violently, as if a fierce battle was raging inside their bodies.

Once all the paper figures were filled, many of the evil spirits that arrived earlier were forcibly pushed out by the later, stronger ones, and had to give up their bodies to find other substitutes.

The rest piled up one by one on the deck, slowly surging towards Wang Cheng like a tide.

Wang Cheng was merely a mortal and could not clearly see the forms of those evil spirits, but the chill around him grew stronger and stronger, and he exhaled visible white mist with each breath.

"Huff...huff...I can't move!"

To be honest, the moment he learned that he was being sent to the Wangchuan ship, he really wanted to jump into the river and escape.

However, the officials in Wuzhou and Minzhou, who were well-versed in eliminating any potential threats, clearly did not leave him any loopholes to exploit.

Prince Jinghai was ambushed and killed on the spot. Although he, the young prince, was not killed on the spot, he was already powerless to control his own destiny.

Besides incense and offerings, there was a small figure cut from yellow hemp paper on the altar in front of him, with his birth date and time written on it in cinnabar with a flourish. A peach wood paperweight was also placed on the figure.

The inscription reads: "The power of Heaven, the power of Earth, and the power of God are as firm as Mount Tai. If you do not submit to my rule, you will surely fall into the Yin Mountain."

This is a typical Lu Ban-style curse technique called "Taishan Thousand-Jin Anchor," a unique skill of the "Carpenter" official of the Earthly Class.

Now Wang Cheng is like a monkey trapped under the Five Finger Mountain. He can only move his neck and above; he can't even move his little finger.

As the evil spirits approached, Wang Cheng could already see the edges of the dim, eerie green candlelight, and the grotesque, distorted faces of the ghosts.

The yin energy on the king's ship was so heavy that even his own shadow cast on the deck began to writhe and thrash.

blah blah blah!

Suddenly, a wet, cold hand grasped his calf, and half of Wang Cheng's body went numb.

Looking down, he almost vomited on the spot.

This is clearly a drowned ghost from the river. It's unknown how long it has been in the river, but it has long since turned into a terrifying giant, its eyes hollowed out by fish and shrimp, leaving only overwhelming ferocity.

If it weren't for the fact that the royal ship was being transported and all evil spirits were being suppressed by the divine ritual, Wang Cheng would have been dragged to the bottom of the water and become another miserable drifter with just this light grab.

Even if you can't drag it away, prolonged contact will drain its essence and the three fires of fortune, prosperity, and longevity, leaving it an empty shell.

Just when he was almost in despair.

"Be bold!"

A thunderous shout rang out, and a figure raised the great royal banner high on the royal ship ahead.

Om-!
The Jiulong River suddenly trembled, and seventy percent of the ghosts and evil spirits on Prince Wang Cheng's ship were shaken off and dragged towards the royal ship in front of them, screaming.

The sailboat, which had begun to sink, started to rise again.

At the same time, another bright blade flashed in front of Wang Cheng, severing the highly decayed arm in a single stroke.

Upon recognizing the person, he was overjoyed and blurted out:
"Uncle Three!"

A group of dozens of fierce soldiers dressed in black broke through the eerie wind, holding long swords and forming a circle around him. The leader was Wang Duo, the third son of the previous generation of the Cai Shui Wang family.

The rest were Wang Zeng's most elite direct-line temple troops, the Five Peaks Selection.

However, no one responded to him with a single word. Instead, they each brandished their longswords, creating sharp silver flashes that desperately blocked the remaining tide of evil spirits.

Wang Cheng immediately realized that they had come ashore with their elderly father and had all been murdered. The joy on his face faded.

They were not much different from those ghosts, except that they were able to manifest in front of people because they received a little incense offering from Wang Zeng, the newly promoted "Prince".

At this time, many people still had horrific knife wounds, arrow holes, and bullet holes from muskets.

After death, the living lose their humanity, leaving only the deepest obsession in their hearts. Now, this group of Five Peaks probably only remembers their last regret before death: to continue protecting them, father and son!

"what!"

In the fierce battle between the two sides, one of the Five Peaks members who was charging ahead on the outer perimeter accidentally fell and was immediately dragged away by a group of evil spirits outside the battle circle and torn to pieces on the spot.

Wang Cheng's eyes immediately reddened.

He knew all these people very well.

The first one to be dragged away was He Qi, the father's trusted bodyguard. He used to practice swordsmanship with him. He was a man of few words but very reliable.

If he hadn't taken a shot from a musket for me three days ago, I would be dead now.

But He Qi was just the beginning.

These Five Peaks Chosen, who had recently died and were at a low point in their strength, quickly fell one by one before Wang Cheng when faced with enemies ten or a hundred times their number.

Chen Peng, who came from a fishing boat family with nine surnames, often used his salary to help other fishermen, but he himself had no money left.
Zhang Cheng, who was handsome but shy, was newly married, arranged by his father.
Liu Sanjin, with his graying hair and extensive experience in boating, is highly respected by the younger generation of water collectors.
However, even with their heavy casualties, not one of them retreated a single step; instead, the flame of their unwavering determination burned even brighter.

no doubt.

Whether it was Wang Zeng, the father who held high the royal banner to attract the evil spirits' firepower, or these loyal Five Peaks Select members, they were all prepared to risk their lives to give Wang Cheng a chance to live!
This is probably the real reason why the government chose to spare his life.

What trapped Wang Cheng was the curse spell [Taishan Thousand-Jin Anchor], while what trapped Prince Jinghai and a group of Five Peaks Elections, making them obediently send the royal ship, was precisely Wang Cheng himself.

After the King of Jinghai lured away most of the evil spirits and lost a group of Five Peaks Chosen to help him, his royal ship began to sink rapidly. It was almost certain that it would be dragged down by the evil spirits to fill the sea eye.

"Damn it! Even if I sacrifice these uncles and brothers, what are my chances of surviving? Is it 10% or 20%?"
We all have one head and one life. I simply cannot sit idly by and watch others die for me!

creak creak
Wang Cheng's joints cracked, veins bulged on his forehead, and he struggled to get up from the chair.

The paperweight used to execute the [Taishan Thousand-Pound Stone Holder] only trembled slightly, and he was never able to break free in the slightest. On the contrary, the more he struggled, the more it pressed down on him.

In the end, the veins on the back of his hand were about to burst, but the paperweight didn't budge an inch.

Five Peaks, disguised as ghost soldiers, tried to help, but after several attempts, they could not touch the paperweight that served as a curse.

In fact, even if the Prince of Jinghai came in person, it would be the same. The two characters "Taishan" not only restrain Wang Cheng, but also these newly born Yin beings.

Those gentlemen left them no loopholes.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Wang Cheng, whose brain was congested and who was exhausted, seemed to hear several harsh, mocking laughs coming from the paperweight.

"hehe."

It was determined that the Lu Ban practitioner on the other side was probably performing a ritual, and could sense the movement here slightly through the curse.

The slight fluctuation of the [Taishan Thousand-Jin Rock] just now was probably the other party deliberately teasing him, just to enjoy the ugly appearance of this grass-roots prince struggling in his death throes.

Although Wang Cheng was not a real sixteen-year-old boy, his temples throbbed with anger and murderous intent, and his eyes seemed to spit fire.

I wish I could devour these treacherous bastards alive.

With such extreme emotions as a catalyst, if he were to become an evil spirit, he would probably become one of the most vicious and malevolent beings in the world sooner or later!
Unfortunately, once the sea eye is filled, everything comes to an end. The cause and effect are severed more cleanly than wiping out an entire family. No matter how angry one is, it is just impotent rage.

Just then, the two royal ships, laden with evil spirits, finally passed through the mouth of the Jiulong River and sailed into the vast ocean.

"Ok?"

Wang Cheng, whose eyes were bloodshot, suddenly froze.

He discovered that the moment the royal ship entered the sea and the ocean mist hit his face, a brilliant golden light suddenly shone in his eyes.

It is about the size of a copper coin, with four ancient seal characters visible on its surface: 【四海通宝】!
"Is this... the Mountain Spirit coin I fished out of the sea back then?"

Wang Cheng immediately recognized the origin of the ancient bronze coin in his mind.

At that time, he had just graduated and was working as a freight forwarding agent in a coastal port city.

The reason he drowned on his way to customs was because he was trying to pick up this mountain spirit money that someone had left behind from a crevice in the rocks by the sea, and he was swept into the sea by a sudden high tide.

The appearance of the Mountain Ghost Coin is similar to that of a normal copper coin. It is round on the outside, representing the sky, and square on the inside, representing the earth. It symbolizes the concept of a round sky and a square earth, and that without a proper framework, nothing can be formed.

It also has two sides, the side with the characters is yin and the side without the characters is yang. The small copper coin can be regarded as encompassing the yin and yang of heaven and earth.

However, when Wang Cheng picked it up, the front had the Mountain Spirit, Thunder Curse, and the four characters "Five Sacred Mountains Treasure"; the back had the Sea Waves, Golden Toad, and the four characters "Four Seas Treasure".

Now, inexplicably, only the "Sihai Tongbao" coin, carved with a golden toad amidst waves, remains.

The other half of the "Five Sacred Mountains Coin" is missing, as if it had been neatly cut in half.

Wang Cheng didn't have time to think about where his other half had gone, or whether his own arrival in this world had anything to do with it.

As if grasping at the last straw, he tried to concentrate on the mountain spirit coin.

Looking through the square hole on the front, all you can see is a hazy blur of light and shadow.

It appeared to be a vast expanse of pavilions, towers, bridges, and flowing water, but it was neither clearly visible nor tangible.

Looking through the square hole on the other side, a faint golden light suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he saw his own immobile body.

A bluish-purple aura, symbolizing royalty, swirled around him, and then a message appeared in his mind that seemed to be a combination of aura observation and appraisal techniques.

[Rare Item: Wang Cheng (the only son of the King of Jinghai, the leader of the water collectors in the East Sea, born on the fifteenth day of the tenth month, the Lower Yuan Festival, when the Water Official relieves calamities)]
Even though he is a prince, he is still a prince, and he is blessed with great fortune, so he naturally has the right to inherit the title of Prince Jinghai.

Identity transition in progress.
The first direct descendant of the "Prince" of the Sea God belief randomly received a blessing and was favored by the officials of the thirty-six halls of the Water Sect, making it twice as effective in practicing the unique skills and techniques passed down by the Water Sect.

However, they are also destined to be drawn into the vortex of the "cursed mountains and seas," facing numerous dangers and unable to fulfill their destiny.

Weight of bones: 2.8 taels. Life is like a drifting tumbleweed. Ancestral property is only in dreams. If one does not change one's family or surname, one will move two or three times.

Value of goods: 50,000 incense and religious offerings (a fine dwelling, a rare commodity, but with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow).

Already stockpiled, available for free buying and selling.

New author, new book! Please, established readers, keep reading! orz
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(End of this chapter)