Chapter 62

As the scorching summer waned and the early autumn breeze blew, the fleeting years had reached September. During this time, Zhenbao had visited Mr. Plum Blossom several times, but each time he received no news, neither about life nor death, nor about his whereabouts. It was only when he saw Zhenbao in tears from worry that Mr. Plum Blossom sighed and said, "Life and death are uncertain, and cause and effect cycle endlessly. A significant change has appeared in the fruit of fate in August, making it difficult to uncover the truth—just stay and practice in the mountains, and wait! When the time comes, you will naturally know."

He said no more.

Zhenbao thought Mr. Plum Blossom was unwilling to speak and recalled the words of Kucha. He devoted himself to martial arts and cultivation, hoping to one day be able to visit and investigate. Over the years, his martial skills surpassed those of his fellow disciples, and his body grew taller day by day.

On the 19th of September, the Frost's Descent.

Zhenbao was running laps with stone locks on his back in the training ground when he suddenly heard the sound of a gong from the main hall. Having been on the mountain for a long time, he knew it was a summons and hurried to the hall. When he arrived, the disciples were already standing in formation on both sides, and Mr. Plum Blossom himself was sitting in the long-vacant seat at the head of the hall!

A sense of impending storm filled the air!

Once everyone was present, Mr. Plum Blossom looked around and said loudly, "Today, I received a letter from the abbot of Hanshan Temple, Master Lichan, saying that the White Lotus Sect in the south is causing trouble, and the situation is quite difficult. He has asked me to go and help. Since Hanshan Temple and I have a long-standing relationship, I cannot refuse. I will go down the mountain. Tomorrow, I will take six disciples, including Wan Zhu, to assist. The affairs of the mountain will be left to your Uncle Baihe."

Hearing that they could go down the mountain, the disciples were all very excited, completely ignoring the danger of going to help, and their faces were filled with joy. Mr. Plum Blossom then called out the names of the six disciples and said, "Go back and pack your belongings, check your talismans, pens, red threads, and coins, and do not leave anything out. We will leave early tomorrow morning."

After that, he dismissed everyone.

The six disciples Mr. Plum Blossom took were all older, and those left behind were mostly children around ten years old. The older ones, like Miaofeng and a few others, along with Uncle Baihe, totaled eighteen people. Including the fire workers and miscellaneous helpers on the mountain, there were only twenty-four people. They got up early and lined up by the mountain to watch Mr. Plum Blossom and his group leave, their eyes full of envy.

These disciples around eleven or twelve years old were not yet considered formal disciples before they passed the Yin-cutting ritual.

After the group left the mountain, Uncle Baihe gathered the remaining disciples and instructed them, "Now that the Grandmaster has gone to help, and many of the older disciples have followed, you must pay attention to your cultivation. I will announce three prohibitions today: First, no one is allowed to slack off or neglect their practice. From now on, you must be in the hall from dawn to dusk, and anyone who is absent will receive ten heavy strokes. Second, no one is allowed to cross the iron chain bridge to the other side without my permission, and anyone who violates this will receive forty heavy strokes. Third, no one is allowed to enter the Grandmaster's or Master's residence or any forbidden areas, and anyone who violates this will be expelled from the sect immediately!" His gaze slowly swept over everyone's faces, and he shouted, "Do you understand?"

The disciples all replied, "We understand."

Then Uncle Baihe divided the four older disciples, including Miaofeng, into four shifts, each leading two younger disciples to guard the iron chain bridge, thus ensuring the mountain's security. Tigers and bears often roamed the mountain, and this arrangement was indeed cautious. If an outsider did not know, who would have guessed that the short and rough-looking man had such meticulous thoughts?

From then on, everyone on the mountain practiced and trained within a radius of a few miles. Zhenbao did not socialize with others but was diligent and hardworking every day. Whenever he thought of the ghost market at the city temple, his eyes would become misty. Once his mind was slightly calmed, he would again throw himself into intense practice.

Several days passed quickly, and it was now dusk. The disciples gathered from various places on the mountain to the main hall, standing in formation. After the third bell for the evening roll call, Miaofeng took out a scroll and reported, "Today, there are three on duty: Huang Datong, Lu Wen, and Hao Fugui." Uncle Baihe nodded slightly and said, "Proceed with the roll call."

Just as Miaofeng was about to start the roll call, there was a sudden commotion outside the hall, and two people rushed in, shouting, "Uncle... Uncle, something's wrong..."

Seeing that they were young disciples around eleven or twelve years old, Uncle Baihe asked, "What is it? Why are you making such a fuss?" He saw that their faces were pale and knew something was wrong, but he did not scold them immediately.

The young boy, out of breath, said, "Ma... Ma Daidai is dead!" Uncle Baihe was shocked, stood up abruptly, and shouted, "Dead?! How did he die? How do you know?"

Ma Daidai was a registered disciple who had not passed the Yin-cutting ritual and was left to work on the mountain. He was responsible for the orchard and vegetable garden, a means of making a living.

The other disciples immediately looked at each other and whispered.

The young boy replied, "Uncle! We were reciting books at the back and only packed up our books when we heard the bell, so we were a bit behind everyone else. We were afraid of being late, so we climbed over two walls. When we climbed over the second wall, we saw someone lying in the melon orchard. We went over and saw that it was Ma Daidai lying on the ground..."

Uncle Baihe asked, "Did you see clearly? Was he just drunk and sleeping? Did he have any injuries?" The young boy shook his head repeatedly, "No, no! Uncle, he was definitely dead, but there were no injuries."

Uncle Baihe nodded, "Alright! I'll go and see. Qin Feng, you stay here and continue the roll call. Zhao Feng, stay with him, and Ding Qi, come with me." Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly called out, "Bao'er, come with us."

Among the four older disciples on the mountain—Miaofeng, Ding Qi, Zhao Feng, and Huang Datong—Huang Datong was left at the iron chain bridge, and Miaofeng and Zhao Feng were left in the main hall. Uncle Baihe thought there would be no major issues, but he was still a bit uneasy and decided to take Zhenbao with him, as the situation was unclear.

The three quickly arrived at the courtyard and saw Ma Daidai lying under a cluster of fruit trees, with no visible injuries and still slightly warm to the touch, indicating he had died not long ago. Uncle Baihe looked around and said calmly, "After a person dies, their body takes about two hours to become completely cold and stiff. By the temperature, it has been about an hour and a half. This place is secluded and rarely visited, so if they hadn't climbed the walls, they wouldn't have seen the body."

Uncle Baihe was not a doctor, but seeing no injuries, he was unsure of the cause of death and hesitated. After a while, he said, "Ding Qi, take off all his clothes."

After removing all the clothes and examining the body, Ma Daidai indeed had no injuries, bruises, or discoloration. His face was peaceful and serene, as if he were sleeping. If not for the cold body and lack of breathing, it would have been hard to tell.

Seeing the puzzled look on Uncle Baihe's face, Ding Qi suddenly said, "Uncle, should we try to summon his soul?" He added, "This is very suspicious. If we don't investigate thoroughly, everyone will be uneasy."

Uncle Baihe nodded, "I was thinking the same. It seems we need to..." "There is no soul!" Zhenbao suddenly interjected, "Uncle, summoning the soul will be useless."

"Really?" The two were surprised, "How do you know?" Normally, Zhenbao spoke little on the mountain and had no friends, so no one knew he could see ghosts. Mr. Plum Blossom had investigated this but did not tell the disciples, so no one knew about it.

Under normal circumstances, Zhenbao might not have revealed this, but he could not afford to hold back now. He pointed to the body and said, "Uncle, after death, the soul separates from the body and begins to leave. Once the body cools, the soul fully departs and forms a shape near the body. But I haven't seen any soul leaving this body, let alone forming a shape. Additionally, the body is soft and continuously invaded by Yin energy, indicating that the soul has already left. I suspect that Ma Daidai's soul was taken by someone using magic, so summoning the soul will be futile."

Respecting the dead, he called Ma Daidai "Brother," a level of respect that surpassed the other disciples.

Yin energy, or the constant Yin, is the Yin energy in the universe. After a person dies, the soul, which is Yin, leaves the body, which is Yang. As the body cools and the Yang energy diminishes, the soul leaves, maintaining the balance of Yin and Yang. The invasion of Yin energy indicates that the body lacks Yin energy and needs to be replenished from the universe. Uncle Baihe and Ding Qi, who practiced on the mountain, knew this but had not seen it in action or thought about it.

Uncle Baihe and Ding Qi exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock. If what Zhenbao said was true, it meant someone had come to the mountain to kill and seek revenge—a terrifying and unprecedented event in a hundred years. It was hard to believe, but Zhenbao's words were convincing, and they had no choice but to believe him.

Given the gravity of the situation, Uncle Baihe did not dare to take it lightly and immediately asked Ding Qi to fetch the Spirit Water. This water was similar to what Wang Bayue had prepared, but the materials were better, and the effect was stronger, allowing them to see not only ghosts but also scattered souls and faint Yin energy.

After applying the water to their eyes, they saw that Zhenbao was right—there was no soul!

A powerful enemy had come!

Uncle Baihe immediately understood the situation. Without saying more, he walked to the cliff and threw the body into the valley to prevent anyone from using it for magic, then quickly returned to the main hall with the two others.

The disciples were still waiting for Uncle Baihe, and seeing his pale face and disheveled appearance, they dared not speak and waited quietly for his instructions.

Uncle Baihe sat down and sighed deeply, just about to speak when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the hall!

He stood up abruptly.

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