Chapter 86: Guarding Heaven's Pass pt. 7

This world operated based on Lin Changming's perspective. When he shouted "Shifu" at Luo Xu, Luo Xu's identity in the formation was established as "Jiang Linzhai." Therefore, as long as Ming Zhuo pointed at Luo Xu, it was equivalent to pointing at Jiang Linzhai.

Dōng, dōng, dōng!

Examine Sins took effect immediately. Accompanied by that monologue, Luo Xu's soul left his body, plummeting rapidly into the chaotic overlapping shadows. Ming Zhuo, whose soul was bonded to Luo Xu's, naturally fell along with him. From now on, everything they saw and heard would be Jiang Linzhai's story—

Dīdā.

Raindrops fell into the pool of blood, shattering the reflections. Scattered disorderedly across the ground were the corpses of many Jizi, all already dead. Jiang Linzhai sheathed his sword and, hearing footsteps behind him, asked, "What's the situation?"

A disciple who hurried over to answer, "Replying to the Sect Leader, there are no survivors. The villagers here were all bitten to death."

Jiang Linzhai said, "I understand. Burn everything."

The disciple obeyed, and Jiang Linzhai turned towards the carriage.

This was his twelfth year as sect leader. At the beginning of the year, he had taken his disciples on a journey down the mountain. Originally, they were headed to Zhongzhou, but heavy rain flooded the road, forcing them to change their route and enter Guangzhou. Coincidentally, as soon as they entered Guangzhou, they encountered several incidents of Jizi eating people. To uncover the cause, they had been pursuing the matter all the way here.

The carriage stopped halfway, and from a far distance, he could hear a few young men quarrelling.

One said, "This carriage is so heavy; it's all Wu-mei’s fault.(1) She brought several boxes of storybooks before coming down the mountain, and they’re all crammed into the carriage!"

The girl called Wu-mei jumped three feet high. "You have the nerve to talk! You brought five boxes of clothes yourself, plus face creams and perfumes. Altogether, you have seven or eight boxes, which are much heavier than my storybooks!"

The two of them bickered, while another boy tried to mediate. "Enough, enough, what does it matter whose stuff is heavier? We're family; let's not argue about such things. What we need to do now is push the carriage out before Shifu comes back..."

"Er-Shixiong is just being a fence-sitter!"(2)

"We can push the carriage, but first, let Wu-mei throw out her storybooks."

"Why? Shifu reads my storybooks too. The first thing we should throw out is your boxes of clothes, you vain monkey!"

Er-Shixiong was being pushed and shoved by them, his head spinning, but he kept trying to mediate. "Alright, alright, let's stop arguing..."

They were all of similar age, constantly causing a ruckus without a moment of peace. Jiang Linzhai sighed, clasping his sword hilt in the light drizzle, feeling that half of his life's worries stemmed from being a Shifu.

"What is going on?" he called out. "I told you to push the carriage, why are you pushing Lao’er?"(3)

Wu-mei was quick to speak up. "Shifu, Si-di wants to throw out my storybooks!"(4)

Si-di said, "I was just suggesting it! And what do you mean, Si-di? So impolite, call me Si-Shixiong!"

Wu-mei covered her ears and shouted at him, "Si-di, Si-di, Si-di!"

Seeing that they were about to start arguing again, Jiang Linzhai felt a headache coming on. He pressed his throbbing temple, "Stop arguing... move aside, I'll push the carriage myself."

Er-Shixiong quickly said, "How can that be? Shifu..."

Jiang Linzhai took off his light blue wide-sleeved robe and threw it to Er-Shixiong. He grabbed the two who were arguing and tossed them out as well. Wading into the muddy water, he began to push the carriage with his bare hands. Seeing this, Er-Shixiong hurriedly stuffed the robe into Wu-mei's hands and joined in.

Kuāngdāng—

The carriage finally got out of the mud pit and could continue on the road. Jiang Linzhai washed his hands and changed his clothes, with Si-di and Wu-mei serving him nearby, both grumbling with a hint of shame.

Jiang Linzhai removed his sword and handed it to Si-di, asking, "Where is your Da-Shixiong?"

Wu-mei quickly replied, "Da-Shixiong took San-ge to scout ahead and hasn't returned yet."(5,6)

Jiang Linzhai calculated the time and instructed the two of them, "Go help clean up the bodies outside. I'll take a nap. Wake me up after dark; we’ll travel through the night."

Seeing the fatigue between their Shifu’s brows, they obediently cleaned the sword, put it away properly, and then went outside to help.

Since entering Guangzhou, Jiang Linzhai had been busy dealing with the Jizi eating people and had been on the move for days. He arrived here last night and had not rested since. Now, with some peace and quiet, he used his arm as a pillow and fell asleep.

The rain outside fell gently, and Er-Shixiong was quietly talking to the accompanying disciples. Half awake, half asleep, Jiang Linzhai didn't know how long he had been asleep when he was awakened by the “pīpā-ing” sound of rain hitting the carriage window. He opened his eyes and stared blankly for a moment, as was his habit.

Jiang Linzhai didn't go up to North Heron Mountain until he was sixteen. Before that, he lived with his old man, who was a notorious murderer with a gang of more than a dozen "sons." Jiang Linzhai followed him and learned nothing but how to kill.(7)

When he was sixteen, his Shifu, Jiang Sigu, came down the mountain on a journey to eliminate evil and promote good, and she ended up killing Jiang Linzhai's old man. With nowhere else to go, Jiang Linzhai decided to follow Jiang Sigu. At first, Jiang Sigu didn't want to take him as a disciple. When Jiang Linzhai asked why, Jiang Sigu said it wasn't that he couldn't, but rather that he was too capable.

——He was a prodigy with excellent spiritual roots, but his heart was too hard, and he was a man without pity.

"The most feared thing in a Tongshen is a lack of compassion," Jiang Sigu said. "If a person has no feelings, they have a heart without compassion. Kid, I know you. You kill like chopping vegetables, and when people beg for mercy, you yawn. You see everyone—man or woman, young or old—as if they were stones. Go away, ba. Don't follow me. If you ever reach enlightenment, you'll surely become a great devil."

Jiang Linzhai believed her. He did kill like chopping vegetables, but he didn't leave because he thought, no matter who he followed in this life, it might as well be Jiang Sigu, who at least could make him seem like a good person. So, wherever Jiang Sigu went, he followed. When Jiang Sigu finally returned to North Heron Mountain, Jiang Linzhai followed her all the way back. On the day he entered the mountain, Jiang Sigu cut a lock of his hair and gave him a new name.

He asked, "What does Linzhai mean?"

Jiang Sigu said, "It means to constantly self-reflect."

Jiang Linzhai found it amusing. How could a great devil possibly self-reflect? How could someone who self-reflects become a great devil? His Shifu's words seemed contradictory, like those of an old fool.

Jiang Sigu burned the lock of hair with Hellfire, supposedly to sever past ties. Jiang Linzhai then settled on North Heron Mountain and began cultivating under Jiang Sigu. Decades later, Jiang Sigu’s old illness recurred, and she could no longer manage the sect's affairs. She decided to abdicate and choose a successor. After considering her disciples, she ultimately chose Jiang Linzhai.

Jiang Linzhai said, "You really are an old fool."

The old fool picked up a cane and gave him a beating, and thus he became the head of the Posuo Sect. But he was heartless, not caring about guarding the mountains or the seas or protecting the people. He didn't love anyone, let alone the world.

However, his Shifu was indeed becoming senile. On the night Jiang Linzhai succeeded to the position, she called him to her sickbed and gave him a sword and six disciples.

Jiang Linzhai only looked at the sword, which was named Wuyou. He pointed at the sword and asked, "Can I change its name?"

Jiang Sigu picked up the cane again and told him to scram. He ran out quickly, and the disciples followed suit. From then on, when he climbed over walls, the disciples did too. When he climbed through windows, so did they.

Jiang Linzhai said, "Scram."

They lined up and rolled in front of him, the biggest was a big fool, the smallest a little dummy. Jiang Linzhai felt Posuo Sect was doomed, each generation worse than the last. These disciples clung to his legs when hungry, climbed on his back when tired, and even stuck their lousy talismans on his forehead while he was sleeping.

He was truly fed up with being a Shifu.

Just as he was thinking this, someone called out from outside the curtain, "Shifu, Shifu!"

Shifu turned over, facing the carriage roof, "If you have something to say, say it."

Si-di poked his head through the curtain gap, "Da-Shixiong and San-ge are back."

Jiang Linzhai quickly sat up, put on his outer robe, and went out. It was still raining outside. When the disciples saw him, the accompanying ones called him Sect Leader, and his direct disciples called him Shifu. Si-di followed behind holding an umbrella, but he was small, so the umbrella only covered him halfway, and water leaked into Jiang Linzhai's collar.

Jiang Linzhai sighed, sighed again, and halfway there he grabbed the umbrella and started holding it himself. Si-di, having nothing better to do, walked beside him and said, "Shifu, all the bodies have been burned. Will there be no more trouble now? Wu-mei and I each lit an Edict Lantern for the village, praying for everyone's peace."(8)

Jiang Linzhai said, "Who allowed you two to light those Lanterns?"

The Edict Lantern burns with the spiritual essence of its lighter, which was extremely draining. Jiang Linzhai never allowed his disciples to light them. It wasn't because he cared; he was just annoyed. These disciples were troublemakers, delicate and spoilt. When their spiritual energy was depleted, they would complain about stomachaches one moment, headaches the next, always finding something to bother Shifu about.

Si-di, sensing a scolding coming his way, slipped away like he had oil on the soles of his feet. Jiang Linzhai grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. Si-di said, "Other disciples light lanterns and Shifu is happy, why do you still scold people!"

Jiang Linzhai was baffled, "When did I scold you?"

Si-di replied, "All those words about acting on your own, being sentimental, thinking you know everything!"

"You remember quite clearly," Jiang Linzhai shook the umbrella, splashing water all over his face, causing Si-di to wālā in surprise. "Deliberate disobedience, ba? If you dare to secretly light a lantern again, I'll break your legs."

Si-di's makeup was ruined, he covered his face in anger and stomped his foot, "Wu-mei also lit one, why don't you scold her too!"

Jiang Linzhai said, "Am I Shifu or are you Shifu? I won't scold her, I'll even praise her."

As they spoke, they walked under a makeshift awning. The eldest disciple, Jian Yi, was waiting there, seeing them coming, hurried to hold Jiang Linzhai's umbrella. Jiang Linzhai asked, "What's the situation on the road?"

Jian Yi said, "The road ahead is all muddy, a few miles away we found a tea house. According to the locals there, this area does belong to the Ming family's jurisdiction, originally under a small town with Tongshen under the Ming's banner regularly patrolling. But recently, for some reason, the Tongshen in the city have disappeared. Shifu, from what I see, it seems like there's lingering resentment here."

Resentment was a weapon that could induce spirits to fall, if not cleared away quickly, it could easily cause a disaster.

"Jizi originally were mountain spirits, gentle in nature, rarely coming down the mountain, let alone actively approaching human villages. This matter is sinister, not our responsibility." Jiang Linzhai glanced at the two faint Edict Lanterns lights not far away, stared for a moment, and then hung the sword Wuyou back on his waist. "You, deliver a letter to the Ming family's stationed officials in Changcheng, tell them the situation here, and ask them to send someone to investigate."

Jian Yi acknowledged and went to deliver the letter. Strangely, after the letter was sent, there was no response, as if it had sunk into the sea, and there was no reply until the next day.

Jiang Linzhai didn't mind, instructing the disciples to keep moving. He rested in the carriage, listening to Er-Shixiong asking why Wu-Mei was feeling down. Wu-Mei said, "It's been raining all the time, and many places have flooded. There are refugees everywhere, and the Ming family hasn't sent anyone to manage it, Shifu—"

Lao’san interrupted, "Calling him Shifu won't help. This isn't our North Heron Mountain, let alone Posuo Sect's territory. This is someone else's territory. Without their permission, we shouldn't interfere rashly."

Several days later, the number of refugees on the road increased. News of Jizi coming down the mountain to eat people spread everywhere, scaring the people into fleeing. Several disciples dispersed their food and money, causing a commotion.

Jiang Linzhai took a detour, but refugees were everywhere. Jizi appeared sporadically and slaughtered several villages in succession. Early one day, they encountered several Tongshen who had escaped from the small town.

The Author Has Something to Say 

Thanks for reading

The Translator has Something to Say

I personally got confused while reading, so I have made a little chart which I hope helps to clear things up!

Foot Notes

1. 五妹 (Wǔ Méi) is Fifth-Little Sister

2. 二师兄 (Èr shīxiōng) is Second Martial Brother

3. 老二 (Lǎo èr) is a nickname, it means second oldest brother. Also, it can be a euphemism for penis.

4. 四弟 (Sì dì) is Fourth Little Brother.

5. 大师兄 (dà shīxiōng) this is the eldest, the “Big Senior Brother”.

6. 三哥 (sān gē) is the third big brother.

7. The term used for old man or “father” here is 老爹 (Lǎo diē).

8. As a refresher, these are the same Edict Lanterns that the Fanfeng Sect is known for, the kind Li Xiangling lit in Book 1 after the events with Li Yongyuan in Xianyin Cheng.