Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Blade of Xuanli Reappears

Page 1/3

G City, Jing Mountain Road Commercial Street.

Because it was situated in an out-of-the-way area, the commercial street was nearly deserted at ten o’clock at night. Especially near the sinkhole, there wasn’t a soul in sight. Even the 24-hour convenience store had uncharacteristically closed early.

“It’s strange, how can there not be a single person around here? No matter how bad business is, it shouldn’t close at ten,” Qin Xiaomo remarked, puzzled.

“I saw on my social feed today that someone posted about a man-eating beast lurking nearby. They said four people had already been dragged into the ground and devoured—bones and all. So as soon as word got out, no one dared come,” Ji Dou explained, gesturing animatedly and making exaggerated faces that were almost comical.

“Why didn’t you mention it earlier? Let me see the post,” Qin Xiaomo leaned over, reaching for the phone.

“Dou Dou, Xiaomo, you don’t need to worry. There’s no man-eating beast, just a few rotten fish and shrimp—nothing to be afraid of.” Qingfeng, suppressing a laugh, patiently reassured them.

“Do you know something?” Ji Dou hurried over and hooked her arm around Qingfeng’s neck. Perhaps unused to such closeness with the opposite sex—even as an elder sister—she blushed and kept begging him to let go.

Seeing this, Qin Xiaomo pulled Ji Dou away. “Qingfeng, tell us, what’s really going on?”

Qingfeng didn’t answer. His eyes kept darting toward Master Liu, and Qin Xiaomo instantly understood: “Is it… Master Liu spreading those rumors so no one sees him performing rituals?”

“I just wanted to keep people away from here. It’s not exactly a rumor. If that thing gets desperate, it will eat people. It’s for their own good,” Master Liu replied as he took items from his cloth bundle and began arranging them.

Qingfeng carefully inflated a sheep’s stomach, kneading it until it was soft. The skin was much thinner now, and he filled it with a hundred fireflies caught at dusk. The glow shone through the stomach, making it seem luminous. He then bundled ten fishing lines together, tied one end tightly at the edge of the sinkhole, hung the sheep’s stomach in the middle, and tied the other end as well. The ten lines stretched across the cave, and the glowing sheep’s stomach in the center looked particularly eerie.

“Master, it’s ready,” Qingfeng clapped his hands and stepped back beside Master Liu.

Page 2/3

“You two, paste these talismans to your chest—they activate the formation. Stand within the array and do not step out. This Vajra formation will keep you safe, but remember, do not let these coins topple,” Master Liu instructed. Qin Xiaomo glanced down; five copper coins were stuck upright into the soil around them, forming a pentagonal balance.

Master Liu began chanting and burning talismans, then circled the burning paper three times around the coins. With a final “Rise,” Qin Xiaomo saw a transparent golden light enveloping them like a protective dome.

“Master Liu, we could help, too,” Qin Xiaomo said, embarrassed. Master Liu was busy not to catch fish, but to safeguard them.

“Tonight is for you to get used to our working environment. There will be plenty of opportunities later. No need to rush,” Master Liu replied, his hands never pausing as he drew symbols with peach wood branches at the mouth of the sinkhole, muttering incantations.

“Hey, Master Liu, can you open my eyes, too? If you need help, I wouldn’t even find the entrance,” Ji Dou bounced excitedly in the Vajra formation, as if helping would make her a superhero.

Master Liu paused, considered, then agreed. He finished drawing the symbols and opened Ji Dou’s spiritual sight.

Ji Dou, experiencing this for the first time, was so astonished she could barely speak. She stared, wide-eyed, covering her mouth, and finally managed to point at Qin Xiaomo’s wrist, stammering, “Wow! There’s a snake, and it’s golden—must be expensive. Rich lady!” She then turned to gaze at Master Liu’s peach wood sword, which glowed blue, its hue even richer in the night, like a violet-blue flame.

Ji Dou nudged Qin Xiaomo with her elbow, shaking her head in awe, “So there really are extraordinary people in this world. When this is over, we should get a peach wood sword, too—it looks as powerful as the god-slaying swords in games.”

Qingfeng, overhearing, boasted, “Master’s peach wood sword is no ordinary one. It’s a family heirloom, imbued with the spirit of heaven and earth—just the wood…”

“Qingfeng!” Master Liu suddenly interrupted sternly. “No boasting.” Qingfeng immediately fell silent and dutifully stood at the cave’s entrance.

Just then, the symbols Master Liu had drawn began to emit a faint red glow, and sounds started coming from the cave, growing louder. The symbols’ color deepened, and when it turned blood red, dozens of fish less than a foot long emerged, glowing pomegranate-red, their jagged teeth exposed. The metallic sound of their jaws gnashing was unmistakable—Qin Xiaomo recognized them as earthfish. Had they crossed over here as well?

The school of fish swarmed the entrance, snapping at the sheep’s stomach. Because the stomach was suspended in the center and the fish were small, they would leap up, miss, fall back into the cave, then climb up again, repeating the cycle. It was enough to make one wonder if the plan was to exhaust them.

Page 3/3

“Master?” Qingfeng looked to Master Liu for instructions.

But Master Liu seemed to be waiting for something, raising his hand to signal Qingfeng to be patient.

Ten minutes later, a sudden chainsaw-like roar echoed from within the cave, drawing nearer. Master Liu gripped his peach wood sword tightly in one hand, the other ready to draw talismans from his cloth bundle. Soon, a large fish appeared, its eyes glowing purple, its body a dark violet-black, and it leapt toward the sheep’s stomach. At that moment, Master Liu signaled Qingfeng, who immediately chanted and pressed his talisman onto the final stroke of Master Liu’s symbol at the cave’s mouth.

The symbols at the entrance contracted into a net shimmering with electric light, trapping the king earthfish and its school just at the cave’s mouth, with only two purple-glowing eyes visible.

“Is… is that it?” Ji Dou whispered incredulously to Qin Xiaomo.

“In my experience… it’s not over yet,” Qin Xiaomo replied, shaking her head.

“Qingfeng! Quickly, pour those bottles of fish vine extract you’re carrying onto them,” Master Liu pressed his peach wood sword against the net, ensuring the earthfish couldn’t break free.

Qingfeng poured a bottle of fish vine extract onto the fish, and a shrill, piercing screech made everyone’s scalp tingle. Qin Xiaomo and Ji Dou couldn’t help but cover their ears. Most of the trapped earthfish died, their red glow fading, leaving only a few wailing in desperate struggle.

The cries of the earthfish agitated the king, which twisted violently, trying to escape the net. With every movement, the net seemed to sting, making it writhe harder, and the symbols at the entrance flickered, threatening to extinguish.

Seeing this, Master Liu added a beast-suppressing talisman to the entrance, and the king earthfish suddenly froze as if immobilized, its dark purple glow dimming as if it were dead.