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Chapter 150 – Mysterious Ancient Street of Ghosts Vendors and Undying Husks, Leisurely Fishing by the Creek - Part 3
Pang Yuanhua looked at Li Yuan anxiously. “Are you alright?”
Li Yuan scanned their surroundings and saw that the streets had grown even more convoluted, the path narrower.
“You didn’t see a man in blue just now?” he asked.
“No,” she answered tensely. “We should turn back.”
Right at that moment, a tiny figure popped out from a side lane, a little girl in a blood-red headscarf.
“Mister, buy a flower for your lovely lady,” she pleaded.
Li Yuan pretended she didn’t exist.
The little girl continued in her sweet voice, “Big Sister, you’re so pretty. Wouldn’t a flower look lovely on you? Ask your brother to buy one!”
Pang Yuanhua acted as though the child didn’t exist.
The girl circled them both, trying to make a sale. The sound of her voice grew increasingly muffled, as if heard through a layer of mist. Then a gust of cold wind swept in, and when Li Yuan looked again, there was no sign of the girl.
With her gone, the street around them became disturbingly narrow, like a lopsided path illuminated by a pale moon. It led off into some unknown place. In the distance, Li Yuan could still hear faint, ghostly clamor—maybe another busy marketplace, or that so-called exotic beast park, or something else altogether.
But clearly, they’d reached the farthest point they could manage.
Pang Yuanhua, drenched in a cold sweat, whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”
The two spun around and hurried back the way they’d come. As they retreated, Li Yuan noticed the shops along the road had changed in layout. Before he could investigate further, they kept moving until the lane began to widen again, the light grew brighter, and the air felt normal once more. The tense atmosphere lifted, replaced by the reassuring calm of an ordinary night.
Li Yuan exhaled and asked, “So, where do you plan on going now?”
“There’s a mansion here called Clock Mansion,” Pang Yuanhua explained. “Most of the undying husks stay there. A plaque reading Clock Mansion hangs over the gate, so that’s what we call it. You’re welcome to come along. There are plenty of guest rooms, although we usually share them... two or three people to a room.”
“If there’s enough space, why share?” Li Yuan asked.
“Because sometimes the ghost vendors, or other strange guests, stay there as well. We have to leave as many rooms empty as possible to avoid conflict if they show up. Still, staying in the mansion is safe enough...apart from finding food. There are some common rules among the undying husks here. First, we can’t reveal this place to outsiders; second, aside from competing for goods or money, we’re not allowed to fight each other.”
“Who enforces these rules?”
“The mansion master and the council of elders,” she replied. “They’re the undying husks who’ve been around a long time. By rights, they must have collected enough money to free themselves from their curses, but they’ve stayed here. I’m not sure why.”
From her explanations, Li Yuan could visualize a network of undying husks and their power structure. Still, he was certain not every undying husk in the Great Zhou gathered in this single place.
Pang Yuanhua went on, “If you don’t mind sharing, you could bunk in my room. Right now it’s just me and another woman—Miss Long. She’s...well, she’s powerful.”
A trace of reminiscence flickered across Pang Yuanhua’s expression. She took a breath and returned to a neutral tone. “You could learn more from her. She might know things even I don’t.”
They continued walking. Clock Mansion wasn’t difficult to find. It stood behind the street of vendors, just around a narrow alley and a quick turn to the right. It was a sprawling estate, and as they approached its gates, Li Yuan noticed more people around.
“All right, let’s head inside,” Pang Yuanhua said. “I’ll take you to register with the elders.”
But as she spoke, she realized Li Yuan had stopped in his tracks.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’d like to wander around outside a bit more,” Li Yuan replied.
“All right...”
Soon, they returned to the main street leading out. Standing at the threshold, Li Yuan said, “Thank you, Miss Pang, but I have a habit of liking to see things from the outside first.”
Pang Yuanhua understood immediately. “In that case, let’s step back out. Ah wait, before you go, let me fetch the life chronicle replicas for you.”
“I’ll wait for you outside,” Li Yuan agreed.
Truth be told, Li Yuan disliked how helpless and off-balance he’d felt, stumbling from one unexpected situation to another—that eerie ghost servant in Flowerpath County, entering the carpenter’s workshop just by lifting a carriage curtain, then plunging into this bizarre street full of undying husks and ghosts, and now heading toward Clock Mansion. None of it was on his own terms.
Better to pull back until I can see the bigger picture, he thought.
Stepping forward, he left the old street behind. Instantly, the peddlers’ shouts vanished. Moonlight and the moist night wind of the wilderness washed over him, oddly comforting after everything he had just experienced.
“As long as I don’t go through a door, I won’t be taken back to the carpenter’s workshop,” he reminded himself. “Even if I did get pulled in there again, I’m not entirely helpless. Others need shadow blood to draw a talisman and ward off evil, but my blood works the same way. My entire body is a talisman. All of me wards off evil.
“That might also be why I was able to break through into the carpenter’s workshop,” Li Yuan mused. At least he had this one trump card.
Although creating his own cultivation technique had been difficult, now was when its benefits became clear.
Before long, the air shimmered, and Pang Yuanhua suddenly appeared, handing him two life chronicle replicas.
“One is from the Frost Sword Sect, and the other from the Floating Moon Abbey. Originally, I was the one assigned to receive you, so the Floating Moon Abbey’s life chronicle ended up in my keeping as well.”
“People who leave the street don’t exit from here, right?” Li Yuan asked.
“Correct. They’ll appear wherever they first entered.”
“Thanks, Miss Pang.”
“Don’t mention it. But please, come back to Clock Mansion with me. If we earn enough money and find the carpenter’s workshop, we can break the curse.” Pang Yuanhua looked at him hopefully. Her own power wasn’t that strong, but compared to many others, she was still better off. Partnering with someone as fearsome as the Blood Blade Patriarch seemed the most viable plan.
Li Yuan paused in thought. “Miss Pang, how do I find you?”
Pang Yuanhua stopped trying to persuade him. “I live in the outer courtyard of Clock Mansion, fourteenth room on the left. Whatever you do, don’t go to the wrong room. If you get there and I’m away, just tell the woman with the surname Long that she likes fried rice cakes. She’ll know you’re a friend of mine.”
With that, Pang Yuanhua quickly turned and wound her way back into that strange old street, vanishing into the maze of narrow paths.
Li Yuan tucked the life chronicle replicas away and returned the same route he came. Tang Nian and Old Wang were still waiting at the original spot. This time, there were also many torches burning brightly, illuminating the area and revealing several faces Li Yuan knew quite well—Tie Sha, Zhao Chunxin, and a number of disciples from the Blood Blade Sect.
“Patriarch!” Tie Sha exclaimed excitedly, and with some concern.
In these chaotic times, losing Li Yuan would leave Gemhill County at someone else’s mercy. Another Zhao Xiantong or General Mammoth might show up any day to take over.
Li Yuan gave a hearty laugh. “I’m fine. Though it looks like I’ll be sleeping out in the open for a while.”
Tie Sha’s face turned serious. “Tang Nian explained everything. Who’d have thought a ghost realm could be so bizarre? Just opening the wrong door takes you straight to the carpenter’s workshop...” He shook his head in dismay. “What in the world’s going on these days? Ghost domains pop up everywhere now; it wasn’t like this before.”
Li Yuan glanced at Zhao Chunxin, standing off to the side. “Senior Si, err...Miss Zhao, you’re here too?”
“Patriarch!” Zhao Chunxin bowed deeply, her face still coarse and intimidating.
Li Yuan sighed inwardly but didn’t correct her deference; some things simply couldn’t be changed.
Tie Sha asked, “What do we do now?”
“We’ll head back,” Li Yuan said. “I’ll stay outside the county for a while to figure things out.”
˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙
Half a month later.
On the northeastern outskirts of Gemhill County, by the banks of Silver Creek, Li Yuan lounged under an ancient tree, an oiled paper parcel beside him holding a specially seasoned roast duck, along with a jar of Snowbrew. In his hand was a fishing rod he used to cultivate his sense of higher understanding.
Yes, he was fishing.
He needed a quiet space to put his thoughts in order. If he couldn’t sort things out, well, no rush. He had food, drink, and a body that couldn’t be troubled by winter cold or damp air. Predators either couldn’t bite him or wouldn’t dare try.
As for blood depletion, oddly, he hadn’t felt any sign of it. Maybe it had something to do with the curse-resistant nature of his own shadow blood. Regardless, he saw no reason to hurry.
He had already sent members of the Blood Blade Sect to investigate Flowerpath County. Meanwhile, he’d continue studying these life chronicle replicas out here. As long as he avoided crossing any thresholds, the carpenter ghost couldn’t drag him back. And if he did slip up, well...he would simply detonate his blood power in a confrontation.
He’d also run experiments with condemned prisoners and bandits. When he was within a certain range, any opened door led straight to the carpenter’s workshop. But once outside that boundary, it no longer affected them. Nor did leaving that range themselves cause any lingering danger.
It meant that, from time to time, his wife and daughter could still visit him. That was good enough.
Sitting with his hair down in a loose white robe, Li Yuan let out a lazy yawn under the warm afternoon sun. On the opposite bank, willow trees were budding with new life.
“It’s February already, spring is here. I should have Xue Ning bring me some more of that Springwater Brew.” He smiled faintly, watching the slow ripple of the creek as he cast his line once more.
