Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 17.17. Return
The next day, at dawn, the Immortal Guards set out in their carriage and stopped at the foot of Jinxia Mountain.

The Wei Mansion has specially appointed some Immortal Talisman Guards to serve cultivators. They guard the blessed lands and also serve as drivers. When Que Shenyun went to the cannon fodder camp to test his aptitude, the driver was an Immortal Talisman Guard.

Song Chen smiled and said, "I'll ride my own horse. My horse should still be around, right?"

The duties of the Immortal Talisman Guards are not mandatory; they are at the behest of the cultivators. Upon hearing this, the Immortal Talisman Guard quickly led out Song Chen's horse.

The horse is a yellow-brown horse, and it has become increasingly robust over the past six months.

Song Chen mounted the horse, put his feet in the stirrups, tidied his bundle, put on the longsword issued by Jinxia Mountain, then pulled on the reins and glanced at his fellow disciples who were seeing him off.

Zhang Yi laughed and said, "Junior Brother Song, you'd better come back soon, or I'll catch up with you!"

Zhong Xu said, "Senior Brother Song should have already mastered the Taibai Sword Intent, right? I heard from my elders that this sword intent is truly remarkable. Why don't we show it to Senior Brother Zhang so he can see the difference?"

Song Chen smiled and said, "Everyone can master it. We'll have a competition then."

Zhang Yi said confidently, "Alright! I won't lose this time!"

After saying that, the rough and simple man looked at Song Chen with some reluctance, then patted the legs and rump of the yellow-brown horse Fei Biao, and said, "I really envy Junior Brother Song."

Having spent a lot of time together, Song Chen naturally understood this man. So he looked at Zhong Xu beside him and said, "Young Master Zhong, if you have the chance, introduce a virtuous and good woman to your Senior Brother Zhang, so that he won't be patting his horse's back while saying he envies me."

Zhong Xu laughed heartily and said, "Of course, of course."

Zhang Yi's dark face flushed red, and he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Get out, get out, get out of here as soon as possible."

Que Tan'er, who was standing nearby, waved her hand and said, "Senior Brother Song, you'll have a surprise when you get back."

Song Chen's expression shifted, and he glanced at Zhong Xu beside him.

Zhong Xu said, "Brother Song is so clever; he knew without asking anything."

Song Chen said, "You're coming to offer your congratulations? Then don't steal the show. That kid from the He family is quite petty."

Zhong Xu chuckled and said calmly, "He's sixteen now, no longer a child. After I recognized Brother Song as my brother, I also asked the clan to learn a little about Brother Song's past in my family letters. They know what kind of attitude that child Brother Song mentioned had on the day the plaque was changed and the mansion was established. Even the servants of the He family's properties know. Hmph, if he's smart, he'd better figure out sooner rather than later who really calls the shots in the He family."

Song Chen said, "I don't want to be the one who usurps someone else's place."

Zhong Xu smiled, stepped forward and patted Song Chen on the shoulder, saying, "How could I not know Brother Song's character? But with Brother Song's ability and potential, you deserve all of this. Don't wrong yourself."

Sensing the sincerity and indignation in his fellow disciple's tone, Song Chen closed his eyes, patted Zhong Xu's shoulder deeply, and smiled, "On the path of cultivation, impermanence is the norm. Take care, junior brother."

Zhong Xu asked, "Brother Song, will it take you a long time to get back?"

Song Chen said, "I came only two days after our wedding. Now that I've finally achieved some success, I wanted to spend more time with my wife."

Zhong Xu laughed and said, "Brother Song is so carefree."

He stepped back slightly, stood with Zhang Yi and Que Tan'er, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Take care."

Song Chen returned the greeting: "Take care."

He turned his head, looked into the distance, pulled the reins, and shouted "Giddy up!"

The yellow horse galloped away, disappearing into the bleak autumn wind, turning a corner and vanishing from sight.

After a night of recuperation, the Taibai sword intent has been sealed very well.
No one doubted it, and no one asked any questions, because the mastermind behind it never thought that a novice cultivator could escape the shackles of the "Tai Bai Sword Intent".

The black robe fluttered, and the golden tadpoles on the hem of the garment shone brightly.

Song Chen carried his sword on his back, slightly bent over, and sped along, using his senses to observe his surroundings. If he encountered a fork in the road, he would stop briefly to observe, but not delve into it, only noting down the surrounding environment and terrain.

Even though he had seen the map, it only marked the general mountains, rivers, and official roads, but it didn't depict the interior at all. Even if someone wanted to draw it, the mountains and forests were dangerous and unpredictable. Even if they succeeded, it would be time-sensitive; what they drew this year might be completely unusable in a year or two.

In the afternoon, the sky darkened.

Soon after, the cold autumn rain began to fall from the sky and descend upon the earth.

Song Chen neither sought shelter from the rain nor rushed, continuing as usual.

Rainy days are the domain of the marrow-eating crane demon.

Once again, he dismounted and came to a fork in the road.

The official road between Jinxia Mountain and the capital was not a straight line, but a winding one. Song Chen compared it with the map in his mind and found that the official road at this point on the map should be an arched point facing north, but the map did not mark this fork in the road.

He sensed that the fork in the road was actually quite deep, with a complex terrain inside.

A quick glance around revealed the general situation: a flash flood had likely washed away the surrounding forest, linking it to some existing path deeper within the area. By spring, the washed-away path was covered in lush vegetation, while the surrounding forest remained intact. Wild animals grazed on the plants, trampling them as they passed, creating this fork in the road.

Song Chen memorized the fork in the road, then mounted his horse, spurred it on, and shouted, "Giddy up!"

The horse moved forward.

After a moment, Song Chen narrowed his eyes.

Because he returned to where he started.

"drive!"

He shouted again.

This time, Huang Ma didn't run. Instead, his legs trembled, and he hissed as he backed away, sounding like he was begging or fearing.

The fork in the road had become shrouded in mist, and then a strange white figure swept out like a gust of wind. When Song Chen looked over, the white figure revealed its form in mid-air: disheveled hair, a pale face covered in blood, and venomous eyes staring straight at him, but its body was transparent, passing through the forest like a gust of cold wind.

Upon seeing the white figure, Huang Ma was so frightened that he immediately knelt down.

"ghost?"

Song Chen's pupils contracted, his two fingers slightly pressed together, and he pointed out with one finger, revealing a long sword with a golden blade.

brush! !

The longsword pierced through the white shadow.

boom!
The white shadow let out a shrill cry, exploded in mid-air, scattering into fragments, and then, as if drawn by a vortex, headed deeper into the side passage.

But the fog hadn't dissipated yet.
Then, another ghostly figure darted out.

Song Chen continued wielding his sword, killing one enemy with each strike.

He killed four in a row.

At that moment, a sense of oppression emanated from the fog.

The oppressive force rapidly approached, but it was a bizarre, twisted crawling woman, deathly pale and filled with venomous hatred. Compared to the previous transparent ghostly figure, its form was now quite solid. It swayed as it walked, and with each shake of its head, eerie figures emerged from its body. For a fleeting moment, Song Chen even saw three heads appear on the female ghost's neck, a truly horrifying sight. Upon seeing Song Chen, the three-headed female ghost seemed to smell a fragrance, and its crawling speed immediately increased.

The yellow horse was so frightened that it neighed wildly, convulsed, collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth and kicking its hooves erratically.

Song Chen felt uneasy.

Suddenly, he opened his mouth and spat out.

The golden spiritual energy enveloped this breath, which in turn contained the Taibai sword intent he exhaled.

He controlled the sealed water elemental energy to crack open. Without the seal, the Taibai sword intent moved wildly, like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil, which actually enhanced the power of the sword energy.

In Huang Ma's eyes, Song Chen simply opened his mouth and spat out a beam of golden light.

A golden light pierced right in front of him.

Bang!
The three-headed female ghost was pierced through, stiffened, and shattered. The fragments were then pulled by some gravitational force, heading deeper into the side passage.

The Taibai sword intent circled in mid-air before rapidly returning to Song Chen's body, whereupon Song Chen quickly resealed it.

I was just trying it out, but I found that using the Taibai Sword Intent in this way was surprisingly good.

As the three-headed female ghost died, the fog dissipated.

Song Chen lifted the yellow horse and galloped away, returning to the official road.

After a while.

The horse is no good.
How could an ordinary horse withstand the onslaught of ghostly energy?

Song Chen glanced deeply at the direction of the fork in the road, marking this place in his mind as "Ghost Forest".

Then, recalling what Steward Tang once said about the ghosts in the northern part of Jinxia Mountain, and how four of his fellow disciples died because of them, I realized that...

"From north of Jinxia Mountain to here, this ghost realm is truly vast."

"And we're almost at the main road, yet we're already encountering ghosts. Has the area near the capital really become this dangerous?"

"etc."

Song Chen frowned suddenly; his power combined with that of the marrow-eating demon crane made him even more alert.

This keen sense allowed him to vaguely perceive a dark and sinister current flowing deep beneath his feet. He could only sense the darkness and evil of this current, but could not perceive its direction or its extent.

Song Chen wasn't curious. After sensing the dark and eerie underground airflow, he stopped and stopped exploring. Instead, he sped along the center of the official road and arrived at the east gate of the capital at dusk. After showing his identity token, he entered the city directly.

Song Chen did not return directly to the manor, but instead turned towards the southern part of the outer city. He stopped at a blacksmith shop where the temperature was higher than the surrounding area. He walked to the outermost blacksmith shop.

The blacksmith, without looking up, asked, "What are you making?"

Song Chen said, "I'll go find the Forging Gang."

The blacksmith paused, then said impatiently, "What forging guild? Never even heard of it. If you're not going to forge anything, then get out of here."

Song Chen walked inside.

The blacksmith immediately stood up, frowning, and said, "Hey, what are you doing? Why are you barging in like that?!"

Song Chen flipped his hand and revealed the token that Wang Xiongchuan had given him earlier.

The edge of the token features the pattern of a blazing furnace fire, and the two characters "Forging Gang" are engraved in the center.

The blacksmith paused for a moment, then said, "Heh, where did you find this token?"

Song Chen said, "Wang Xiongchuan, don't you know him?"

The blacksmith fell completely silent, and after a long while asked, "Do you have any proof?"

Song Chen took out the letter, unfolded it, and kept an eye on the blacksmith to prevent him from accidentally burning the letter.

The blacksmith leaned closer, looked for a long time, then stepped back, bowed deeply, and said respectfully, "Greetings, Immortal Master! Since Chief Wang led his troops north, our blacksmithing gang has lost its backing. It is truly a blessing that we have the honor of having the Immortal Master here. Immortal Master, please wait a moment, I will go and call all the gang members and managers."

Song Chen said, "I'll go with you."

an hour later
Song Chen took control of the Forging Gang.

This gang had a total of a thousand able-bodied men who could forge weapons.

However, this is a secretive gang.

Most members of the gang are primarily focused on making a living, forming gangs to band together and defend against external dangers.

At the same time, although the gang has a thousand young and strong members, only twenty-six of them can be mobilized at will, as they are dedicated to working for the gang outside and obeying the gang leader's orders.

Of course, these twenty-six men were also skilled in martial arts and had previously done many shady things for Wang Xiongchuan, such as "disposing of stolen goods" and "murder."

Song Chen inquired about Wang Xiongchuan's family and publicly stated, "Brother Wang and I are bosom friends." This statement served as a protective charm for Wang Xiongchuan's family.

Two hours later.
The Forging Guild held a banquet to welcome their new leader.

There is no night curfew in the capital.

The crowd was completely drunk and didn't disperse until the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), leaving only the twenty-six people behind.

Their previous background was that of General Wang, but now that their background has changed, and that of a Celestial Master, they naturally want to prove their worth.

Song Chen didn't want to be the gang leader, but he did need some people to do things for him.

At this moment, he waved.

Twenty-six people gathered around.

Song Chen said, "Go and investigate the situation at the Que residence, and while you're at it, keep an eye on someone for me."

"The situation at the Que family's Crane Mansion is alright. It's just a matter of keeping an eye on people." The gang member was somewhat troubled.

Song Chen said, "An ordinary person."

The gang member immediately replied, "No problem! Please give your orders, leader."

Song Chen slowly said, "The master of the Que family's Crane Mansion, Que He."

(End of this chapter)