PDLP Chapter 551 Exploring Gourd Town
Chapter 551 Exploring Gourd Town
Chapter 551 Exploring Gourd Town
Wei Xi's idea was simple: who knows if there were any like-minded people on the donkey cart?
After so much time had passed without any movement, Wei Xi had lost all intention of showing mercy.
With a single spell cast by Wei Xi, the corpses on the donkey cart were hoisted into the air and then plunged upside down into the ground.
Thinking that this would only be a bit of a hassle, Wei Xi added another spell to freeze the corpses, with the spreading frost focusing on the corpses' hands.
According to Wei Xi's plan, it would be fine if none of these corpses were fellow Daoists pretending to be dead; but if someone really didn't step forward and reveal their identity after such a long time, then she shouldn't blame her for handling it this way.
Wei Xi estimated that the frost would melt in about two hours, and even if there were cultivators inside, it would only delay things a bit.
But just as he was about to use the incantation, the feeling of being watched returned.
But Qi Yu happened to be standing next to Wei Xi this time, and judging from the direction, it couldn't be him.
Wei Xi had made up his mind that he should try to use Yin and Yang energy as little as possible at the boundary between Yin and Yang in Dieji Mountain.
That makes sense. If cultivators at the Core Formation stage could act with impunity, the Myriad Swords Sect would have thoroughly investigated Dieji Mountain long ago.
Thinking of Yan Ci's inhuman and ghostly appearance, Wei Xi immediately dragged E Qiyu away.
What a joke! His self-deprecating words, referring to himself as a half-finished product of the Sky Weaver, clearly indicate that the Abyss and the Sky Weaver are inextricably linked. It's quite possible that the Sky Weaver still alive here is spying on him.
Thinking of the Weavers' illustrious achievements, Wei Xi's steps became even lighter.
As Wei Xi passed the donkey that was munching away, he cut off its harness, leaving only the reins. The donkey even dared to kick at people; it only behaved itself after being whipped.
After placing E Qiyu, dressed as a young lady, onto the donkey, Wei Xi wiped his face twice to conceal his features before leading the donkey on the road.
While Chai Er was busy, one action left a deep impression on Wei Xi: the corpse collector turned the body upside down, lit four incense sticks and inserted them into the body's navel, and then recited the incantation to guide the soul at a very fast pace.
When Wei Xi was burned by the incense ash, he naturally heard what the corpse collector was muttering, including that the place these corpses were going to was Hulu Town.
Having noted down this name, Wei Xi at least had somewhere to go, so he wouldn't have to stay in such a godforsaken place.
Wei Xi from "Hulu Town" grabbed Lingyin, who was about to spread her wings and fly away, and stuffed the fat bird into his clothes. "What is this kid doing sending a cartload of corpses in the middle of the night?"
Even in remote villages like Tianshui Village, corpses weren't left there for long. Xizhou was mountainous with limited land, so a specific hilltop was designated for burial. I've heard that in Nanjiang, there's even a custom of hanging coffins. In large cities like Bingzhou, mortuaries were located outside the city walls, and there were dedicated cemeteries and even mass graves.
There must be something fishy about Chai Er bringing a cartload of corpses into town in the middle of the night.
There's no need to worry about taking the wrong road, because there's only one road that can be used by both vehicles and pedestrians. It would be strange if it didn't lead to Hulu Town.
I, Qi Yu, am very honest. I sit on the donkey's back and forth, swaying slightly. I look quite human, which saves Wei Xi a lot of trouble.
“As long as he doesn’t cause trouble, it’s like controlling a puppet,” Wei Xi’s face stiffened at this thought. “Even if this kid is sober, he’s still a puppet.”
The two men and their donkey walked quite fast, and after about half an hour they saw Hulu Town.
Although it's called a town, Wei Xi thinks it's almost half the size of Xizhou City.
Back then, it was Zhao Dazui who led her back to Yizhangyuan, passing through the capital of Xizhou. Since it was her first time there, although Xizhou was far smaller and less prosperous than Bingzhou, Wei Xi still remembered it vividly. Wei Xi felt a little uneasy—something was definitely off about the area at the foot of Dieji Mountain. Where did such a large town come from?
However, the city walls of Hulu Town are quite dilapidated, and look like nothing more than a deceptive trick. Against a country like Ju, which can sweep across the world, it would be easy for any general to lead two thousand men to conquer this place.
Wei Xi didn't rush to the city gate, but instead strolled around at the foot of the city wall.
Upon closer inspection, the craftsmanship of the wall builders was even worse. To Wei Xi's surprise, the city wall was not a rammed earth wall, but a pure mud wall mixed with some straw and pebbles.
"It's strange that this wall can't stop people at all. What kind of city wall is made of mud?"
“Unless this wall isn’t protecting against people,” Wei Xi thought with a rather open mind, “it’s protecting against ghosts?”
Thinking of this, Wei Xi chuckled. She didn't believe in ghosts or gods, and her reason for thinking about this was purely because of Chai Er's strange behavior.
However, Wei Xi did know quite a bit about demonic beasts and monsters. These things were mostly misunderstood by the common people and conflated with ghosts in the mortal world. For cultivators, demonic beasts and monsters could be eliminated, so they were naturally not ghosts; but for ordinary people, what they were called didn't really matter, since they couldn't beat them anyway.
“There must be a purpose to have such a wall standing here. It couldn’t have been built by the people of Hulu Town who were just bored out of their minds.”
After confirming that there were no magic arrays, runes, or magical artifacts on the wall, Wei Xi carefully scraped off some mud, trying to find more evidence.
Sure enough, the scraped mud contained some particles, which were covered by mud and could not be seen to reveal their original color.
Wei Xi slowly rubbed the mud off with his thumb and forefinger and finally recognized that it was some kind of bone.
Wei Xi was now in a bit of a predicament. She hadn't learned about bone as a material for refining weapons from Master Xian Hua, and besides, the bone was almost completely crushed into dust. How was she supposed to tell the difference?
"It's definitely not a good thing," Wei Xi thought to himself. "Who would bother to put bones into the city wall for no reason? Is it not weird enough already?"
"Who are you! What are you doing, sneaking around like this?"
A shout came from above Wei Xi's head. She looked up and saw a young man wearing a felt hat looking down at her.
He looked like he was on night patrol, but I didn't hear any footsteps.
Wei Xi's hand was already on the short knife hidden in his sleeve, but he smiled and said, "Sir, my wife and I were traveling and didn't keep track of the time. We arrived in Hulu Town at this time. We would like to find a sheltered place to rest for a while. Please do us a favor!"
"Your wife? How old are you this year?"
“Look at my mouth. This is my wife. I am the master’s servant.”
The young man looked him over suspiciously before asking, "Really? Where did you come from?"
“Coming from the west,” Wei Xi said, pulling on the chain of the vast water, and coughed twice while manipulating Woqiyu. “Sir, my wife is in poor health. Is there anything else?”
"They're from the west, are they from Jinxiakou?"
This little trick was no problem for Wei Xi. She pretended to be anxious and said, "Sir, please stop making fun of us. My mistress can't stand the wind. I'll take her to a sheltered place right away."
Seeing that Wei Xi acted like a loyal servant and didn't take the bait, the man's suspicions subsided considerably. He smiled and said, "Madam, there's no need to rush. We'll be able to enter Hulu Town in about 15 minutes. Although things haven't been peaceful lately, those ghosts don't dare to roam around here."