Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 48 Bewitchment

On the night of the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the Ding residence in Wen County was quiet, except for a small courtyard deep inside the house where an electric light was on.

The house in the courtyard consisted of three neat rooms, complete with a bedroom, living room, and study. Inside the study stood a very imposing desk, upon which were arranged brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Yue Qiluo stood alone before the desk, a vast landscape painting hanging on the white wall behind her, inscribed with a verse she had grown tired of reading: "A thousand rivers reflect the moon, ten thousand miles of sky are cloudless."

She had recently cut her hair short, and her fluffy bangs made her look like a young woman just out of a girls' primary school. Wearing a crimson silk trousers and jacket, she slightly turned to the side, raised her right hand, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write and draw on a sheet of rice paper in front of her. Her brushstrokes flowed smoothly and effortlessly, but she stopped halfway through the last stroke. Re-examining her work, she realized she had drawn another talisman.

Though the soul is independent, it is still somewhat influenced by the body. She sighed knowingly, then picked up a candy from the small glass bowl on the corner of the table and popped it into her mouth. The candy crunched perfectly, just right for her youthful, white teeth. She ate it one after another, feeling quite lonely.

She disdained talking to people, even if she had something on her mind or felt suffocated. She had nothing to say to "people" because she considered herself extraordinary and no longer human.

Wuxin's body completely decomposed into ashes on New Year's Eve. The bullets had been fired so fiercely that much of his flesh and bone had been torn away, making it impossible for Yue Qiluo to confirm whether he was truly gone. Wuxin was clearly not a real person either; Yue Qiluo had wanted to build some connection with him, never expecting him to disappear so suddenly. She couldn't understand it, feeling that things shouldn't be so simple; perhaps what she witnessed wasn't the truth.

As soon as the door opened, Chief of Staff Zhang Xianzong walked in with practiced ease.

Chief of Staff Zhang was only in his early thirties, neither particularly old nor young, neither ugly nor handsome, unremarkable in any way, but also without any major flaws. He stopped in front of the desk, leaned down slightly, and asked softly, "Qiluo, why aren't you eating dinner?"

Yue Qiluo glanced at him, sensing that he seemed to have fallen in love with her. Zhang Xianzong was originally considered Ding Datou's trusted confidant, but later events proved that Commander Ding was delusional. After learning the truth, Zhang Xianzong abandoned Commander Ding without hesitation and followed Yue Qiluo. Chief of Staff Zhang had no wife or children and loved young girls above all else, specifically targeting thirteen or fourteen-year-olds when visiting brothels. Yue Qiluo had never discussed feelings with him, but he would stare intently at her, a look of genuine, unwavering affection.

Lifting the unfinished paper talisman from the table and setting it aside, Yue Qiluo lowered her childish voice and mumbled, "I'm not hungry."

Zhang Xianzong carefully examined her right eye and noticed that the red spot on her eyeball seemed to be spreading. He asked, "You haven't been feeling well lately. Would you like to take some tonics?"

Yue Qiluo didn't answer directly, but changed the subject, asking, "Where is Brigade Commander Ding?"

Zhang Xianzong replied softly, "I'm standing outside. I can't stay warm without freezing, but I don't think I can last many more days even if I'm freezing."

Yue Qiluo then asked, "How did things go?"

Zhang Xianzong smiled slyly: "Don't worry, everything is under my control."

Yue Qiluo tilted her head back and let out a long sigh: "Alright, we can start preparing for his funeral!"

Zhang Xianzong nodded: "Yes, I understand."

Yue Qiluo popped another candy into her mouth, chewing as she mumbled, "It's alright, you can go now."

Zhang Xianzong agreed, but didn't move. Yue Qiluo then glanced at him from under her thick bangs: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zhang Xianzong replied, "I think you're good-looking."

Yue Qiluo smiled, revealing her thin lips and delicate, pointed chin: "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Zhang Xianzong felt like a scholar from a ghost story who had encountered a female ghost and fox spirit; he accepted it all, even death. Whether Yue Qiluo was a ghost or a demon, he no longer cared. This young beauty, in the bloom of youth, was a rare and precious gem in Chief of Staff Zhang's eyes.

"I'll find a way to get you something good to eat," he said, as if possessed. "You let me take over as captain, so naturally I'll do everything I can to repay you."

Yue Qiluo, with a candy in her mouth, gave a noncommittal "hmm".

After Zhang Xianzong left, Yue Qiluo rummaged through a stack of papers on the table, finally picking out a small slip of paper, about the size of her palm. A talisman was drawn on the slip of paper with cinnabar. She lit the talisman with a match, chanting incantations while staring at the flame. Just as it was about to burn her fingers, she suddenly flung the paper flame away. Her sleeve whipped up a gust of wind, and in a final flash, the flame and the talisman vanished into nothingness.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door, two legs dragging their way in. Commander Ding strode in, not pushing the door open, but slowly prying it open himself. True to his name, his head was indeed large. Because the courtyard was cold and the room warm, a layer of frost immediately formed on his large head. His face, already badly rotting and almost beyond repair, was now frozen solid and covered in frost, making him look like a statue—skin and eyes all white, an unpainted blank.

Commander Ding passed away a little over a month ago, and before his death, he was already practically a walking corpse. After his last wisp of soul was expelled, he became a complete puppet in Yue Qiluo's hands. At that time, Yue Qiluo hadn't yet formed an alliance with Zhang Xianzong and couldn't afford to lose Commander Ding as her backer, so she carefully protected his body. However, no matter how many times she froze and thawed over a hundred pounds of human flesh, it couldn't be preserved for long. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, fearing that outsiders would notice something amiss, she arranged for Commander Ding to visit Qingyun Temple according to tradition. Upon his return, Zhang Xianzong found her and said that Commander Ding was truly hopeless; while burning incense, he almost dropped his rotten, blood-filled eyeball.

Yue Qiluo walked around the desk and circled Commander Ding. She was convinced she was destined for great things, so she needed to be well-fed, well-drinked, and protected. Commander Ding's mission was complete; the next candidate was Zhang Xianzong.

Thinking of Zhang Xianzong, she couldn't help but pout. Zhang Xianzong had been too good to her, making her feel almost uncomfortable.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, news of Brigade Commander Ding's death spread. The cause of death was unclear; it was as if he had fallen asleep the night before and was already cold and stiff the next morning.

Brigade Commander Ding's death was suspicious, but the crowd wasn't particularly alarmed, as he wasn't the first to die a violent death. The Ding family's concubines had either died or disappeared, and the Ding residence had long been considered an ominous place. Although his subordinates wept and wailed upon his death, they each harbored their own thoughts and secret ambitions.

A turbulent undercurrent was brewing in Wen County, and the old marshal in Tianjin reacted immediately. Several minor military leaders in Zhili had always been disrespectful to him, and he had long plotted to unify Zhili, but they were all strong and tough opponents, not easy to defeat. Now that Brigade Commander Ding was out of the picture, the old marshal planned to seize the opportunity and strike first at Wen County. After taking Wen County, he would then attack Chang'an County, and once he had conquered all the prosperous counties, he would be invincible.

Lord Gu was driven out of Wen County by Brigade Commander Ding, so he was naturally summoned by the old marshal. At the same time, Chuchenzi returned to Qingyun Temple, taking Wuxin with him.

Chuchenzi stayed in Tianjin for about ten days, staying at foreign hotels at night and taking cars through the alleys during the day to find Wuxin, engaging in idle chatter. Wuxin didn't tell the truth, and neither did Chuchenzi; the two maintained a polite, perfunctory exchange. Wuxin was very patient, knowing he was no match for Yue Qiluo, and since Yue Qiluo hadn't come knocking, he wasn't in a hurry. Chuchenzi, however, lacked his composure. Before leaving, he finally couldn't bear it any longer and, with a hint of ambiguity, blurted out: "Actually, it's not entirely impossible to complete the talisman set."

Wu Xin smiled at him, neither asking nor urging him to continue, but glared at him with resentment: "This humble Taoist is of limited talent and learning, unable to comprehend the essence of the Taoist arts passed down by my Grandmaster. Therefore, before my late master ascended to immortality, he left behind a secret manual. Perhaps from this manual, one can glimpse the essence of my Grandmaster's..."

He left his words unfinished, leaving a loose end. Chuchenzi was clearly at a loss for words, and after a moment of contemplation, he smacked his lips as if he had just eaten his great-grandfather's food.

Wuxin remained silent, reaching for a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds from the plate on the table and slowly eating them one by one. Chuchenzi was a shrewd old Taoist priest who, despite clearly needing his help, was beating around the bush and putting on airs. So Wuxin held back, wanting to see what other profound theories the old Taoist priest could come up with.

Chuchenzi hardened his heart and continued, "But if you want to get the secret manual, you have to go to Qingyun Mountain. I'm afraid my strength alone is not enough."

He casually spat out a sunflower seed shell: "You have countless disciples and followers, how could you lack strength?"

Chuchenzi waved his hand: "Alright, I'm not playing hide-and-seek with you anymore. In short, I hope you will come with me to Qingyun Mountain. The place where our late master ascended to immortality is a great secret of our sect, and I don't want future generations to disturb him."

Unsuspecting that Chu Chenzi's words were incoherent, Wu Xin felt a sense of unease. However, Yue Qiluo absolutely had to be eliminated, otherwise she would become a threat sooner or later. If Chu Chenzi truly had a solution, it would be right for him to lend a hand.

Qingyun Mountain wasn't a remote place; it was located between Chang'an County and Tianjin. Daoist Chuchenzi had a car, so he didn't even need to take the train and could set off anytime. Wuxin knew Qingyun Mountain wasn't a large mountain, so he didn't take Chuchenzi's words seriously. After bidding farewell to Yueya and Lord Gu, he and Chuchenzi boarded a car and left Tianjin. It wasn't until they had driven about a hundred miles that he realized the problem.

"It's just going into the mountains, isn't it?" he asked Chuchenzi. "Why insist on resting at the temple for a night? Wouldn't it be better to go early and come back early?"

Chuchenzi answered succinctly to his young apprentice, "After entering the mountain, we will need to go to the Thousand Buddha Cave. It won't be possible without making some preparations beforehand."

Wuxin stared at Chuchenzi, having never heard of the Thousand Buddha Cave in Qingyun Mountain.

(End of this chapter)