Chapter 84: Guarding Heaven's Pass pt. 5

The hall fell into a brief silence. A breeze from an unknown direction lifted the light veil of curtains, making the lotus platform seem to float amidst the rippling white waves. Ming Zhuo, sitting nonchalantly, listened to Lin Changming say, "Ruyi Lang, you have committed countless evils, being a god without mercy, and have incurred a wrath of the people which has long boiled over. My master and I have come this time to take your life!"

Seeing Lin Changming's serious expression, Ming Zhuo couldn't help but laugh and clap his hands, "Interesting, Lin Changming. You, the dignified chief of the Kuwu Clan, instead of wielding a brush, choose to masquerade as a disciple of the Posuo Sect. What’s the matter, tired of staying in Dongzhao Mountain and decided to indulge in playing the role of a rented Tongshen in this illusion?"

Ming Zhuo still didn't know who "Jiang Lang-jun" was, but seeing the fiery fish gold ornament on Lin Changming's sword tassel, he realised that Lin Changming was disguised as a disciple of the Posuo Sect.

The rules of the clans and sects in the Six Prefectures varied, some strict, some lenient, but regardless of the sect, they all valued the tradition of cultivation. As the saying goes, "One follows one sect in life," those who changed allegiance without reason were considered traitors. Therefore, no matter who this "Jiang Lang-jun" was, Lin Changming's actions could be deemed highly rebellious. Once this matter got out, he would undoubtedly be ridiculed by the world.

Lin Changming was not swayed by Ming Zhuo's words; his eyes remained clear, "You are at death's door, yet you still spout nonsense here. Lin Changming? I am not him, I am the senior disciple of Jiang Lang-jun."

From these few words of Lin Changming, Luo Xu grasped the key point: "Jiang Lang-jun, Guangzhou, punishing gods and upholding the Way—he is recreating the events of that year using this array."

Ming Zhuo asked, "Which 'that year'?"

Luo Xu replied, "The year Jiang Linzhai descended the mountain."

Jiang Lang-jun was the former name of Jiang Linzhai, and who was Jiang Linzhai? He was the only male head of the Posuo Sect in its history and was the Shifu of Jiang Shuangke. There weren't many stories about him that were widely known, except for one that was well-known—the Guangzhou incident many years ago.

Many years ago, Jiang Linzhai took his disciples down the mountain to travel. Passing through a certain area in Guangzhou, they noticed a pervasive resentment, indicating a fallen deity. To investigate, Jiang Linzhai and his disciples entered the town, only to fall into the fallen deity's trap, and all six of them were trapped.

At that time, Lin Changming was also travelling. Upon hearing the news, he rushed to the scene and used a thousand-gold brush to draw a sealing array, isolating the small town for fifteen days. No one knew what happened during those fifteen days; it was only known that when the array dissipated, only Lin Changming and Jiang Linzhai were still alive.

There were many rumours about this incident. Some said Jiang Linzhai fled in fear, causing the death of five disciples. Others claimed Lin Changming arrived late by design to gain fame and fortune. In any case, after that event, Jiang Linzhai sealed his sword and returned to the mountain, while Lin Changming's reputation soared. Although they were both leaders of the Four Mountains, they never interacted again.

"If that's the case, it's even stranger," Ming Zhuo said. "He and Jiang Linzhai are contemporaries. Even if they entered the array together, there's no reason for him to pretend to be the other's senior disciple." 

"The events of that year are known only to the heavens, the earth, and those involved," Luo Xu said, observing Lin Changming's murderous intent. "Our immediate task is singular."

Before Ming Zhuo could ask what that task was, Lin Changming approached with his sword: "Shifu, why don't you come over? Could it be that you too have been enchanted by this wicked god?"

"A sealing array, creating something from nothing," Luo Xu said. "He reverses reality and illusion, lost in the act, temporarily ignoring everyone else's life or death."

Before he finished speaking, Lin Changming's long sword was already thrusting forward.

"So, he's a madman," Ming Zhuo snapped his fingers. "Lin Changming—"

Snapping his fingers was Ming Zhuo's gesture to summon thunder or command puppets. However, although the sound of the snap was clear, the little paper figures did not appear as expected. Ming Zhuo's expression changed suddenly as he realised all his spiritual power had vanished, rendering him unable to perform any incantations.

“This array's strength doesn't lie in its illusions but in its ability to borrow spiritual power,” Luo Xu said, parting the sheer curtains and catching Lin Changming's sword. “When we first entered the array, our spiritual power was already taken by it.”

The sword halted between Luo Xu's fingers, and Lin Changming, stunned, called out, “Shifu!”

Luo Xu brushed the blade aside and pulled Ming Zhuo up: “Maintaining the illusion consumes immense spiritual power. Until we break the array, our powers won't return.”

Lin Changming angrily retorted, “Ruyi Lang, how dare you manipulate my Shifu!”

“Well, isn’t that something out of nothing,” Ming Zhuo dodged Lin Changming's fierce thrusts, the beads and chains at his waist jingling, “Today, I opened my door to welcome a bride. You were the first to arrive. When the ceremony starts, I’ll make sure you get a prime spot to watch your Shifu marry me.”

He spoke mockingly, intending to taunt Lin Changming, who kept calling him “Shifu,” but it unexpectedly hit Lin Changming's sore spot.

“Ruyi Lang,” Lin Changming's anger was barely contained as he swept forward using “Pull to the Forefront,” “how dare you tarnish my Shifu’s reputation!”

“Pull to the Forefront” roared, scattering the sheer curtains like a thin mist of flying snow throughout the hall. Ming Zhuo said, “Such intense killing intent. This is the Posuo Sword Technique, and it requires spiritual power to be this fierce. Could it be that only he can channel divine power within this array?”

“Exactly,” Luo Xu replied, “Nightmare Sealing Array is a secret method. Its most formidable aspect is that once inside, whether you're a divine being or a deity, you'll become mortal. All spiritual power within the array can only be used by the one who set it up.”

As they retreated into the circle of silver lanterns, Lin Changming pursued relentlessly. The two kneeling child attendants cried out in unison, “It’s terrible, it’s terrible! The bride is killing people!”

They picked up the jade ruyi in their panic and bumped into each other, falling at Lin Changming's feet. Lin Changming didn't even blink, raising his hand to strike. The two child attendants, facing Ming Zhuo, cried out in terror, “Ruyi Lang, save us—” 

Before they could finish their plea, their heads were severed in succession, rolling away with a spurt of—

Paper scraps.

Even the best illusion had flaws, and even the most skilled array master couldn't attend to every detail, so the fake people here could only bleed paper scraps.

The bodies of the child attendants fell to the ground, and Lin Changming stepped over them, advancing into the circle of silver lanterns. The silver lanterns immediately scattered in chaos, like a startled school of fish, darting around the hall. He swung his sword, and the lanterns he struck turned into exploding silver powder, sparkling in the air.

Ming Zhuo felt something wet and sticky on his hand. Looking down, he saw his fingers were covered in blood.

Luo Xu often fought barehanded, but now, without spiritual power in the array, he couldn't be as invulnerable as he was in reality. In other words, if Lin Changming struck them a few more times, they would truly die!

Ming Zhuo retreated to the window, breaking it with his elbow. He pressed a hand against Luo Xu's chest and pushed hard, “Go!”

The two of them tumbled out of the window, falling with the broken wood toward the river. In the distance, the wedding procession was still playing the suona. With a pūtōng, they hit the water.

Ming Zhuo's head jerked up as he surfaced, breathing heavily. He smelled a strong scent of ink and, looking more closely, realised that the river was filled with the stuff.

Luo Xu caught Ming Zhuo and, without wiping the ink droplets from his face, pushed his body toward the nearby small boat. “He's catching up.”

Ming Zhuo looked up just in time to see Lin Changming flying toward them. This array was absurd—if only the array master could use spiritual power, then weren’t they just waiting to die? In a flash of inspiration, Ming Zhuo remembered what the child attendant had said. He pressed his ink-stained hand against Luo Xu’s face and commanded, “Drink it.”

Luo Xu’s nose brushed against his fingers, and ink droplets touched his lips. He tasted the ink, which counted as drinking it. “It’s bitter…”

Ming Zhuo stepped on the edge of the boat, pulling Luo Xu’s face down for a light kiss.

In the drizzle, Luo Xu didn’t close his eyes, feeling tenderness in this kiss. Everything here was fake, but the kiss was real. Ming Zhuo’s palm rested against his face, and their breaths mingled. Unfortunately, the kiss was brief, almost instant.

“It is bitter,” Ming Zhuo tasted it on his tongue. “But it’s enough for now.”

The child attendant had said that if Ruyi Lang touched a mortal who hadn’t drunk the Water of Illumination, he would be tainted with worldly energy and unable to be a god. Conversely, if Luo Xu drank the Water of Illumination before Ming Zhuo touched him, then Ming Zhuo could logically become a god.

It was a guess, but it turned out to be true.

Ming Zhuo reached out beside him, and purple lightning twisted and crackled, resonating with a familiar “pīpã.” Just as Lin Changming reached the small boat, he was met with a lightning spear and was caught off guard.

Ming Zhuo snapped his fingers again, and a mass of thunderclouds gathered in the sky, moving swiftly from afar and striking down. The ink river roared with waves, overturning boats, and Lin Changming lost his footing, forcing him to retreat.

“Shifu!” Lin Changming continued to shout, “Beware of him—”

Ming Zhuo had no intention of fighting Lin Changming to the death. His spiritual energy was depleting rapidly, so he pushed from afar, making the small boat shoot away to escape. The boat leapt over the waves, bobbing on top of the crest before disappearing into the dense fog and crashing toward the shore.

Lin Changming called out, “Grand Gale!”

Hū—

The boat hit the shore, and Ming Zhuo, unable to keep his balance, fell back into Luo Xu’s arms. Luo Xu caught him and stepped onto the shore, ready to pull him up, but felt a sudden tug on the back of his head, pulling him down.

This kiss was unusually hasty, with Ming Zhuo almost colliding into it, nearly bumping their noses together. After the kiss, Ming Zhuo summoned his paper figures, pointed, and coldly ordered, “Kill him!”

The paper figures transformed into fair-faced servants. One swept his leg, scattering a circle of coloured paper money. The paper money flew into the air, instantly transforming into dozens of Baiwei warriors.

Kill, kill, kill!

The Baiwei warriors swarmed forward, engaging Lin Changming in battle. Luo Xu lifted Ming Zhuo, dragging him as they darted into the crowd at the side.

The crowd was composed of people attending the wedding procession, some crying, some laughing, some playing instruments, and some throwing money. The air was filled with red. Ming Zhuo had never run like this before. He was drenched in the rain, feeling a sharp pain in his fingers from Luo Xu’s tight grip.

Lin Changming, strong and determined, cut down several Baiwei warriors, with red paper fragments splattering in the rain. Covered in paper scraps on his shoulders and hair, he watched their figures fade into the distance. His chest tightened painfully, and without thinking, he activated “Order” to pursue them.

Shifu!

Shifu!

Lin Changming pushed through the crowd, constantly searching amid the jostling people. The wedding procession was full of cheer, and the bridal attendants laughed with their faces covered. As he walked, tears suddenly began to flow unknowingly.

“Shifu,” he looked around in confusion, “have you abandoned me?”

Luo Xu lifted the sedan chair's curtain and shoved Ming Zhuo inside. The sedan chair was small, forcing the two of them to huddle together awkwardly. The rain had washed away the ink from their bodies, but they were both soaked, huddled together like two animals seeking shelter.

“He’s marked us,” Luo Xu said, “we can only hide for a moment.”

“Pretending to be a god is more miserable than being a human,” Ming Zhuo’s chest ornaments clinked together as he leaned against the sedan chair's wall. He pulled out a clean handkerchief from somewhere, “Bandage it.”

Luo Xu looked at the handkerchief, clean and untouched by water, likely conjured by Ming Zhuo through spiritual conjuring amidst the storm. He took it and wrapped his injured hand, asking, “Why did you kiss me just now?”

Ming Zhuo responded casually, “Naturally to borrow your spiritual energy.”

His nose was keen, and as Luo Xu bandaged his hand, he could still catch a faint scent of blood. The blood smell was as light as Luo Xu’s usual scent, lingering in the small space, making Ming Zhuo want to smell it more.

“Kissing once borrows once,” Luo Xu tightened the handkerchief, interpreting the child’s words differently but pretending it was incidental, “Is this a punishment or a reward?”

“When I’m happy, I’m rewarding you,” Ming Zhuo said, “When I’m not, it’s a punishment.”

“What a clear distinction between reward and punishment. You just said we were to get married in the hall,” Luo Xu looked at him, half-seriously, half-jokingly, “Well then, where should we perform our obeisances now?”

The sedan chair, which had been resting on the ground, suddenly jolted after he asked this question. The two of them pressed closer together, the curtain swaying, letting some rain mist through the gaps, landing on their faces like a veil.

“Without killing him, we’ll die no matter where we do it,” Ming Zhuo said, “Do you want to be a ghost with me?”

“Being a ghost is easier than being a human. Besides, the two of us together are better than him being all alone,” Luo Xu raised his hand slightly, using his long fingers to lift the curtain a bit. The outside was shrouded in fog, making it impossible to see anything clearly, “The size of the array determines the size of the illusion. This sedan chair will keep going back and forth along the road.”

“It’ll get dark,” Ming Zhuo caught a glimpse of the sky through the gap he created, “Is the day the same as the night in this world?”

“Hard to say,” Luo Xu gazed into the thick fog, “It depends on the intentions of the one who set the array.”

Ming Zhuo said, “You seem to know a lot about the Nightmare Sealing Array.”

“I learnt it all from Jiang Shuangke. She used to come to the Heavenly Sea to drink with my father, and every time she got drunk, she’d talk about the Nightmare Sealing Array.” Luo Xu’s fingers touched the rainwater, “I know about Jiang Linzhai from her as well. He was a knot in her heart, one that wasn’t untied even after his death.”

Ming Zhuo was surprised, “Jiang Linzhai is dead?”

“Long dead,” Luo Xu let go of the curtain, darkening the interior of the sedan, “After the Guangzhou incident, he not only retired to North Heron Mountain for years without seeing anyone but also entirely dissipated when Jiang Shuangke succeeded him.”

"Dissipation" originally referred to the death of a deity, but since the Baiwei Dynasty, it had also been used to refer to the death of elders or powerful individuals.

"Did he never mention the details of the Guangzhou incident to Jiang Shuangke?" Ming Zhuo asked. "Something must have happened between them during those fifteen days when Lin Changming sealed the city with his array."

"He wouldn't even see Jiang Shuangke, let alone talk about the details of the Guangzhou incident with her," Luo Xu replied. "Jiang Shuangke becoming 'Yishi Niang' is also related to him."

His hair was still wet, and water droplets dripped down, landing on Ming Zhuo's cheek. In a blink, the droplet slid from Ming Zhuo's cheek into the hollow of his neck, finally blending into the snowy area. Ming Zhuo raised a finger to wipe away the water, or perhaps to wipe away his scent. "Tell me about it."

Though the inside of the sedan was dark, Luo Xu knew the path of the water droplets very well. He seemed not quite used to having wet hair but did not dry it off. 'Indifference' was Jiang Linzhai's famous sword move. Jiang Shuangke only learned this one move to fulfil their bond as Shifu and disciple. She refused to acknowledge Jiang Sigu as her Shifu because she still considered Jiang Linzhai her Shifu. To find out what happened back then, she also went to Guangzhou. Unfortunately, time had changed, and the small town from those years was long gone, so she had to give up."

Ming Zhuo said, "She must know something."

Luo Xu asked, "Ng?"

"Otherwise, with Yishi Niang's stubborn temperament, why didn't she go to Dongzhao Mountain to ask Lin Changming?" Ming Zhuo propped himself up to stop his body from sliding down. "Is there anyone in the world who understands the inside story better than Lin Changming? Yet she not only didn't seek out Lin Changming but also dissolved her engagement with him over the matter of Shuzui Cheng." 

"Very clever," Luo Xu praised without reservation. "But this matter involves internal affairs of the Posuo Sect. She wouldn't mention it to my father, and my father wouldn't ask, so knowing it is as good as not knowing." 

"Strange," Ming Zhuo stared at Luo Xu, "I originally thought there must be animosity between Lin Changming and Jiang Linzhai, but hearing you say this, I feel it's not the case."

This is something that can be inferred very well. If there was enmity between Jiang Linzhai and Lin Changming, then Jiang Shuangke, who knew some inside information, would certainly no longer maintain relations with the Kuwu Clan. Over the years, although she had not dealt much with the other three mountains, her superficial efforts were still in progress.

"Not animosity, but involving private matters," Ming Zhuo paused, "Could it be that Lin Changming still wants to pretend to be someone's disciple, and they were not sworn brothers in those years, but rather a pair of ill-fated mandarin ducks?"

His words were definitely not a casual guess, but a recollection of Lin Changming's words and expressions, all of which revealed a hint of strangeness. These two individuals met during the Guangzhou incident. Even if their aspirations differed and their paths diverged, they should not have become strangers from then on.

Just as he was speaking, the sedan suddenly stopped with a kuānglāng. The bustling noise outside instantly disappeared, and the night seeped in through the cracks in the window, like suddenly grown black hair.

It was dark.

Suddenly, Luo Xu asked, "How long does a kiss last?"

"Not even a moment," Ming Zhuo listened attentively to the sounds outside the sedan, "Once the spiritual energy returns to my body, it will immediately dissipate outward. I suspect that the idea of 'Ruyi Lang being able to touch mortals who have drunk the Water of Illumination' is a loophole. Lin Changming will be able to repair this loophole as soon as he remembers it."

This world fundamentally disregarded reason, but if an illusion wanted to be lifelike, it had to follow certain rules of operation. Therefore, when the boy attendant mentioned the 'reality' recognised by the people in the formation, Ming Zhuo could seize the opportunity to gain spiritual energy. However, this was by no means a long-term solution. Once Lin Changming realised this loophole, he could erase it at any time.

Footsteps outside the sedan approached, getting closer and closer, like stepping on Ming Zhuo's heart. The rain continued to fall, and this sedan could not block Lin Changming's sword at all.

"I have an idea," Luo Xu braced himself against the side of the sedan, his eyes glancing at the curtain, where Lin Changming had already stopped outside. He said, "You kiss me, and then we’ll use Examine Sins"(1)

Only gods could perform ‘Examine Sins’ on mortals, and coincidentally, according to the 'reality' of the world inside the formation, Ming Zhuo, as 'Ruyi Lang,' was the greatest god here. As long as he borrowed enough spiritual energy, he could temporarily allow Luo Xu to "Examine Sins", and the two could temporarily disappear from Lin Changming's pursuit.

 But Luo Xu overlooked one problem——

The Author Has Something to Say

A word debt of +5000 more

This painted cake author, who only made promises but could not deliver, closes their eyes

Tomorrow, I will continue to repay the debt. Before the next chapter update, I'll give everyone a small red envelope as an apology (slowly kneels on the keyboard)

[画饼 huà bǐng = painted cake, as in only the image of a cake, not the cake itself. Similar to “pie in the sky” in English.]

Foot Notes

1. This is the same power used by the child god, Xiaosheng, in Chapter 47, which I translated as “Examine the Crime” (勘罪, kān zuì). In this context, it seems like a better translation might be “Examine Sins”. I will update the translation to align with this additional context.