Sang Que opened the red cloth wrapped around the outside, revealing a dry lump of earth the size of a child’s fist, which seed to have a small bug inside, a hint of insect legs visible.
The Ming Zhang Notes ntioned that Yan Daozi had obtained a yin object during the Corpse Nest incident. If Yan Daozi hadn’t used it before, this could very well be that yin object.
"What exactly is a Corpse Nest?" Sang Que asked Kou Yushan.
Kou Yushan was rummaging through Yan Daozi’s room. Hearing the question, he stopped and said, "Most of the ti, a Corpse Nest is a big-bellied old man wandering the wilderness, its belly full of corpse worms. Wherever it goes, whether the dead underground or the living above it, can be invaded by corpse worms, becoming walking corpses and breeding more corpse worms."
"How did you handle it last ti?"
Recalling that day’s scene, Kou Yushan was still haunted.
"Back then, the Corpse Nest led a vast crowd of walking corpses towards Black Mountain Village, luckily it was discovered early. At first, Yan Daozi used sothing to make those walking corpses fall apart and lose mobility, but later found it useless, so... he forcibly caught nine people, using them to slightly divert the Corpse Nest away from Black Mountain Village."
"Can’t the Corpse Nest’s core be destroyed? If this continues, wouldn’t the Corpse Nest be invincible?" Sang Que wondered.
Kou Yushan said, "I don’t know how to destroy the Corpse Nest’s core, but Yan Daozi didn’t want to get close to it at all. The bodies controlled by the Corpse Nest, once the flesh is gnawed clean by the corpse worms, the worms return to the Corpse Nest, so those walking corpses only exist for a while."
"And under Xuan Dynasty law, when people die, their bodies must be cremated and buried with ashes to prevent such Corpse Evil. Common folks can carry out cremation under the pressure of the law, but so wealthy families and officials will still use expensive coffins for full-body burials."
"Adding to this, there are always so who die in the wild; hence, the Corpse Nest rarely appears broadly, yet it hasn’t gone extinct. Alas, it’s fortunate that the Corpse Nest only likes human corpses. If it didn’t spare even animal corpses, that’d truly be troubling."
Sang Que nodded slightly; in a Feudal Dynasty, getting the populace to carry out cremations really isn’t easy.
The dirt block must contain a corpse worm. Without using a soul candle for visualization, Sang Que already thought of how to use it: activate it with blood and throw it, and the worm would invade an enemy’s body, turning them into a walking corpse.
Yet, once so, more corpse worms will breed inside the enemy’s body. If not handled promptly, it would certainly backfire, thus requiring cautious use in the future.
Xia Chan cried so sorrowfully; after eating the chocolate given by Sang Que and yearning for more, yet embarrassed to ask, she sat by the door twisting her clothing.
Kou Yushan told Xia Chan that it was safe here and let her rest on the kang inside, but Xia Chan refused, just falling asleep by the door for a quick escape.
With dawn yet distant, Sang Que couldn’t sleep with ticking thoughts and discussed the next morning’s plans with Kou Yushan.
After discussing, Sang Que inquired Kou Yushan about her biological mother.
"What’s my birth mother’s na?"
Hearing Sang Que’s question, Kou Yushan was delighted and imdiately replied, "She told her na is Wu You."
Wu? Sang Que thought her na would be the sa as Witch Lady’s Wu, but Wu and Witch sound the sa, so the na might not be real.
Wu You, worry-free...
"Tell about her."
Kou Yushan nodded and told Sang Que all he knew.
"My eldest sister and I were not originally from Black Mountain Village. The village we lived in encountered the Ghost Flower Carriage Marriage, which was also a very tricky deceit. The Ghost Flower Carriage would stay at the village entrance for three nights. If the village didn’t offer an unmarried girl, the carriage would take away all the village girls on the third night."
"The village people chose my eldest sister in the end. My father died early, leaving my mother to care for us siblings alone. The villagers bullied us because of it, and my mother didn’t want to see my sister sacrificed. So, she secretly let us escape while she took my sister’s place to marry."
"My mother actually died in vain. The villagers had already offered my sister’s birth details to the Ghost Flower Carriage. Although we fled, the carriage never stopped pursuing us. Then we t your mother, who sohow retrieved my sister’s birth details from the carriage and cured my poison miasma."
"After that, we followed your mother to Black Mountain Village. The villagers, coming from different surnas, were gathered refugees who built the village here, willing to accept us. The previous temple priest of Witch Temple retired, passing the position to your mother, who never spoke much about herself."
"However, your mother was pregnant then. My eldest sister cared for her out of gratitude. She discovered a Jade Token with the ’Shengjing’ emblem on your mother, thinking she was from Shengjing. My sister also learned from your mother that she had a five-year-old son left at her husband’s ho."
Hearing this, Sang Que’s heart trembled, "I have a brother?"
At this mont, Sang Que’s mind went blank, hard to describe the feelings inside.
"Did she leave anything for ? Did she say her husband’s surna or identity?" Sang Que asked.
Kou Yushan shook his head slowly, "She never spoke of it. After giving birth to you, she left with you the next day. Before leaving, she instructed to wait here for you, saying you would eventually return to take on her mission."
Sang Que’s face fell, her fist clenching tighter bit by bit.
Tick-tock! Tick-tock!
If she was ant to handle this crappy mission, why not just be clear about it instead of playing riddles, risking her life bit by bit investigating, and drawing her mother into danger, was this sothing a biological mother would do?
In the future, she vowed to silence anyone who dared play riddles in front of her!
Ring ring~ Bang!
The Dao Bell on the table was suddenly pushed over by Xuan Yu, falling to the ground, its chi spreading like ripples. The cool aura suppressed the blood rushing to Sang Que’s head.
ow—
Sang Que ca to her senses, realizing, "the side effect of Recovery made her harbor a lot of grievances just now," and the village resentnt’s force was strengthening.
Xuan Yu jumped into Sang Que’s arms, nudging her hand with its head, its gleaming green eyes looking up at her, as if saying, ’Rub it, and your anger will dissipate.’
Sang Que smiled, rubbing the cat’s head vigorously.
Thinking it over, though her biological mother and this unknown brother were strangers to her, she couldn’t suppress her curiosity, wanting to know why her mother left her in the modern era and what kind of person this brother was, and who her biological father was—did he do sothing that led to all of this?
From a young age, she knew she wasn’t her mother’s biological child. Living till now, though never short of familial love, she would occasionally feel lost not knowing who she was and what her future held.
This should also be "a normal person’s anxiety in the process of growing up, seeking identity recognition."
To grow strong, she must explore every corner of the Deceit Dynasty little by little. Shengjing, being the power center of the Deceit Dynasty, was sowhere she wanted to see, as part of uncovering her background.
For now, her curiosity was all there was to it!
"Do you have a map of the Xuan Dynasty? How do I get to Shengjing?" Sang Que asked Kou Yushan.
Kou Yushan shook his head, "No map, I just know Shengjing is in Jingzhou. There’s Jinzhou between us in Qinzhou, the journey extrely far. Moreover, the Xuan Dynasty doesn’t allow civilians to cross state boundaries at will, especially into Jingzhou, requiring rigorous checks."
"To reach Jingzhou, you must first go to Wangshan City in Qinzhou to get a passage docunt. Also, you can only travel by day; even from Tangyuan County with an escort agency’s carriage, it takes over forty days to reach Wangshan City."
Sang Que lowered her gaze; the Deceit Dynasty’s night hid nurous dangers. This couldn’t be rushed and needed careful planning.
The night was long; Sang Que coaxed and cajoled Xia Chan into the room for a nap, giving her a few good treats, leading Xia Chan to no longer resist her much.
Kou Yushan and Xuan Yu watched over Yan Daozi’s corpse outside, the person and cat locked in a staring contest.
The following day, the rooster crowed, with the sky a subtle white.
Kou Yushan promptly burned Yan Daozi’s body, followed Sang Que, and according to Xu Shufen’s thod, used dirty objects to desecrate the site of the sacrificial ritual.
However, when they dug as shown on the map, they found only incense ash talisman paper left where the Magic Artifact was buried, but the artifact was gone.
The soil in the pit was bizarrely seeping blood, seeming as though the Magic Artifact had rged with the land.
Sang Que and Kou Yushan imdiately realized Yan Daozi hadn’t lied; even without him to preside, the sacrifice would comnce at nightfall regardless.
"While there’s still ti, let the villagers pack up simply and seek refuge in Tangyuan County!"
Sang Que sternly told Kou Yushan, planning to head there herself to inquire about the route to Wangshan City.
(This Chapter has been revised. If the Chapter comnts disappeared, it’s because they were swallowed by the revision, not intentional, please understand~)
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