Chapter 87: Guarding Heaven's Pass pt. 8

These Tongshen looked haggard and dispirited as if they had been severely frightened. Jian Yi gave them some food and asked them about the situation in the town.

The Tongshen devoured the food hungrily. When Jian Yi inquired about the town, they all showed fearful expressions. Only one of them, after wiping his mouth, answered, "That town is a place you shouldn't go to. You should pack up and leave immediately!"

Jian Yi asked, "Did something happen to the deity worshipped in the town?"

The Tongshen replied, "It's not just something happening; it's a huge disaster. The town originally worshipped a river god. About a month ago, someone used a child for sacrifice, causing the god to be tainted with resentment and corrupting its nature. Since then, it has stopped accepting normal offerings and only wants to eat people!"

The disciples' expressions changed dramatically. Lao'San said, "If this happened a month ago, why didn't you report it to the other prefectures?"

The corruption of a deity was no small matter. If not handled properly, it could affect neighbouring prefectures. Therefore, there was an unwritten rule among all sects and clans: if a corrupted deity appeared in their territory, they must immediately report it to other prefectures to prevent uncontrollable situations.

The Tongshen said, "It's not that we didn't want to report it, but at first, no one noticed anything."

Wu-Mei, impatient, said, "Once a deity is tainted with resentment, its appearance will change. How could you not notice when you worship it daily? Are you hiding it out of fear of punishment?"

The Tongshen also became agitated, "Immortal Miss, what you’ve said wrongs us all to death! You have no idea. The river god was extremely cunning. After initially tasting human flesh, it behaved like a person, suppressing its urges. That's why no one noticed anything. By the time it showed signs of corruption, it was already too late to fix things!"

This news left the disciples stunned. Er-Shixiong said, “I’ve never seen a deity that, after falling, can still act like a human and deceive people.”

The Tongshen replied, “I swear on my own head that every word I’ve said today is true. That river god is not only skilled in disguise but also adept at luring ordinary people. First, it uses regular offerings to draw people into the temple. Then, it casts spells to confuse their minds, driving them into madness.”

Si-Di asked, “So many people went mad. Didn’t the Head Swordsman find it suspicious?”

The “Head Swordsman” was a permanent official position established by the Ming clan, equivalent to the governor of a city, overseeing nearby villages and settlements. Because of the significant authority, it was typically assigned to a highly skilled individual.

The Tongshen explained, “Of course, he found it suspicious because he was the first to go mad!”

Rain pelted their faces coldly as the disciples looked at each other, feeling a deep sense of dread. The Head Swordsman was the most powerful Tongshen in the city. If even he went mad, everyone else was doomed.

The Tongshen continued, “After the Head Swordsman went mad, he ordered us to seal the city. We didn’t dare to disobey his orders, so we locked all the city gates...”

Wu-Mei exclaimed, “ Ah, no wonder no one intervened when the Jizi were eating people—it’s because you locked the gates!”

The Tongshen said, “Immortal Miss, we were like clay Buddhas crossing a river, struggling to save ourselves. Once the gates were locked, we all became bait for the river god. Every three days, it would choose a group of people as a meal... If we hadn’t thought quickly and dug a hidden doghole in the corner of the city, we’d still be in there waiting to die.”

“You ran away yourselves and left the city’s people behind. I think Wu-Mei is right—you were afraid of being punished, so you kept everything hidden,” Si-Di stepped forward and snatched his water bottle back from the Tongshen, “Give it back. I won’t let cowards drink my water!”

Seeing Si-Di confront them so directly, Jian Yi quickly intervened, “Si-Di, don’t speak recklessly.”

The Tongshen looked embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. The one who had his water bottle taken said, “If you think we’re cowards, we have nothing to say in our defence. But everything we told you about the river god is true. Right now, we just hope it eats people more slowly, giving the nearby residents a chance to escape.”

Jian Yi, being the oldest, was naturally more composed than his Shidi and Shimei He first comforted the Tongshen, then arranged for them to get on the carriage. Once everything was settled, he turned to reprimand, “At home, it’s one thing. But out here, you can’t speak so carelessly, making people think our Posuo Sect bullies others. If that word gets out, it’s Shifu who will get criticised.”

Si-Di said, “They don’t care about outsiders, and they don’t care about their own people either. How was I wrong to call them cowards? People like them will say whatever they want anyway. Shifu doesn’t care.”

Lao’San put an arm around his shoulders, “Alright, stop being so fiery. I’ll get you a new bottle of water.”

Jian Yi suddenly said, “You all spoil him too much at home, which is why he’s still so unruly outside. Listen to what he’s saying—how can you say Shifu doesn’t care? How do you know Shifu doesn’t care?”

Er-Shixiong, trying to mediate, said, “Yes, yes, everyone has a point. Let’s all calm down and not argue over this...”

Si-Di said, “You think since he’s Da-Shixiong, whatever he says is right. I think you and Shifu are both biased!”

His voice echoed in the rain, filled with grievance. At that moment, Lao’San suddenly called out, “Shifu.”

Everyone turned to see Jiang Linzhai, holding an umbrella and yawning as he sat on the carriage shaft. He was draped in a moon-white robe, holding a book in one hand, seemingly unaware of how long he had been listening.

Raindrops like shattered jade fell along the umbrella’s edge. Jiang Linzhai didn’t look at anyone and continued flipping through the book. Everyone waited for him to speak, but he suddenly smiled and raised a page for them to see, “This part is really funny.”

—He was always like this, never caring about what they said or argued about.

Si-Di suddenly yelled and rushed through the rain, knocking Jiang Linzhai into the carriage. He snatched the book and tore it to pieces, “What’s so funny? Is it funnier than us? I’m crying like this, and you can’t even be bothered to care!”

“Ah!” Wu-Mei suddenly snapped back to reality and also rushed over, “You’re crying, so why tear my book! You vain monkey, crybaby, you better pay me back!”

Si-Di, who loved wearing makeup, had his face smeared red and white by his tears. Even as Wu-Mei choked him, he didn’t forget to grab Shifu’s collar, “Keep laughing, ah, keep laughing, ah! Wasn’t it very funny just now!”

Jiang Linzhai’s umbrella fell, and his clothes got dirty. He picked up a flying page of the book, puzzled as to how reading could make Si-Di cry so much.

Seeing Shifu’s expression, Si-Di felt even more rejected, and he broke down even more, “I said you’re a biased ghost! Can’t you hear me‽”

Jiang Linzhai, stubborn as ever, folded a page of the book into a bird and used it to poke Si-Di's forehead, “What are you going crazy about?”

Si-Di said, “I’m not crazy! I want you to judge! Was I wrong, or was Da-Shixiong wrong?”

Jiang Linzhai directly picked him up and threw him to Jian Yi, “Shut him up and take him for a wash.”

Jian Yi, accustomed to the scene, caught Si-Di and prepared to leave. Jiang Linzhai added, “Also send another Fly-Delivery Seal to the officials in Changcheng, informing them about the situation in the city and asks them to send people as soon as possible.”

The Ming Clan’s official hierarchy was complex, and mobilising personnel wasn’t as flexible as other sects. Incidents like the corruption of a deity had to be reported by the local Head Swordman to Changcheng, and then the officials in Changcheng would issue an order for action, making the process very cumbersome.

Lao’San said, “The Ming family is always slow in dealing with these matters. Who knows when they’ll send people? Shifu, why don’t we evacuate the locals first, and wait for the Ming family’s people to arrive before making further plans.”

Jiang Linzhai didn’t like meddling in other’s affairs, but since it involved the corruption of a deity, he couldn’t just walk away. He had just asked Jian Yi to send another message by Fly-Delivery Seal to Changcheng, so with this in mind, the group decided to stay.

In the following days, the disciples were busy evacuating the locals, barely touching the ground with their feet. Jiang Linzhai was in the carriage reading a new book when Jian Yi came over and said, “Shifu, the Ming family has responded.”

Jiang Linzhai said, “Speak.”

Jian Yi said, “They said the mobilisation of personnel will take between seven to ten days. Given the urgency of the situation, they want to entrust us to go to that small city and investigate the situation first.”

Jiang Linzhai had already anticipated this: "They sure know how to manipulate, knowing we wouldn't stand by idly, so they dared to make such arrangements."

Jian Yi hesitated slightly: "So, are we going?"

"Yes." Jiang Linzhai closed the book, got up, and lifted the carriage curtain. He called out to Si-Di, who was still sulking not far away, "Go pack all your rouge and powder, we leave tomorrow morning."

Si-Di didn't know what they had discussed in the carriage and thought Jiang Linzhai was going to send him back to the mountain. He pouted and was about to cause a scene.

Jiang Linzhai said, "Don't you love calling others cowards? Now here's your chance to be a great hero."

Si-Di grinned and was overjoyed.

The small town was just a few dozen miles away. Jiang Linzhai only took the five of them, leaving the other disciples to take care of the luggage and the locals. The day they set off, it was still raining. Jiang Linzhai wrote a letter to Shifu, as was Jiang Sigu's rule—he had to report his safety wherever he went.

Shifu.

He wrote.

This great devil is going to seal the heavens, see you later.

This sentence was too perfunctory. For the sake of peace and quiet, Jiang Linzhai reluctantly added: The little devils are lively and well, no need to worry.

He folded the letter into a bird and tossed it into the rain. The bird shook its wings and actually flew up. Wu-Mei, leaning over the edge, clapped her hands: "What a fine bird, Shifu, what spell did you put on it?"

Er-Shixiong looked up for a long time: "It's not a spell, it's the page of the book you tore. Shifu said that part was very funny, he probably wants to send it back to Shizu for a laugh."(1)

Lao’San said: "We've been out for months, I wonder what Yaomei is doing now, does she miss us?"(2)

Si-Di said, "Of course not. As soon as we left the mountain, no one was there to stop her from playing with mud, she's probably overjoyed."

Wu-Mei said, "She hasn't matured yet, so what's wrong with playing with mud? You loved it when you were little too."

They started bickering again. Jian Yi grabbed one of them with each hand, separating the two. Jiang Linzhai rolled up his sleeves and watched the paper bird fly away from the carriage and out of sight.

The mountain was shrouded in heavy mist, it would reach North Heron Mountain one step ahead of them.

The Author Has Something to Say

There’s one more coming! 

It should be done by the early hours of the morning, so don’t wait up. Check it out when you wake up!

The Translator Has Something to Say

Heads up—the next chapter literally made me tear up; it is emotional! A bit heartbreaking!

Foot Notes

1.  师祖 (Shīzǔ) is like the Shifu’s Shifu.

2.  幺妹 (Yāo mèi) is youngest sister.