Free Web NovelChapter 806: Chapter 601: Asking the Lord into the Urn_2
Without a doubt, it was the incense that had saved him.
"The ghost’s resentment is all in its eyes, don’t make eye contact with it," the previous incident had also shocked Xiang Fengchen into breaking out in a cold sweat.
Walking to the tree they had passed earlier, Yang Xiao crouched down and pulled out the stick of incense, seeing that the end had been inserted nearly two centimeters into the soil.
This incense had been lit and thrown by Xiang Fengchen. The fact that he could throw the stick of incense several meters and have it penetrate the soil without breaking spoke to no small feat. This indicated that Xiang Fengchen’s skills were not limited to just strategic intellect but also included some martial prowess.
"Many thanks, Senior Xiang," Yang Xiao turned around and bowed solemnly in gratitude. Regardless of any previous grudges Xiang Fengchen had with his own director, this time he had genuinely saved his life, and the title of ’Senior’ was indeed deserved.
"No need to be polite between you and me," Xiang Fengchen stroked his beard, quite pleased.
"Senior, I heard a door opening before, and then the ghost left. What happened? Who came?" Yang Xiao took advantage of the situation to ask.
Xiang Fengchen lifted his chin, gesturing toward the courtyard door. Earlier, they had fully opened only the left door, slightly moving the right door. But now, the right door had also been fully opened. The gate stood wide open, revealing the path outside.
"No one came, it was the White Fortune Door God," Xiang Fengchen sighed, a trace of gloom appearing between his brows, "Now the situation has become troublesome. Before it was that people could enter but not leave, and now, the same applies to ghosts."
"What do you mean?"
"It means that from now on, if a ghost enters, it cannot leave either. It will stay with us until daybreak," Xiang Fengchen said in a low voice.
"Then if there are others among us who have been replaced, aren’t we finished tonight?" Yang Xiao exclaimed in alarm.
"It’s a bit troublesome." The current predicament also posed a challenge for Xiang Fengchen, who had experience with significant encounters. He was waiting for Nalan Shuo to arrive.
After consulting with each other, they decided not to make any moves and just hide there, as neither of them was sure who or what the next arrival might be.
Soon after, Yang Xiao suddenly heard a very faint scraping noise. At first, he thought it was the sound of wind rustling through the leaves, but quickly, he realized something was not right. The noise was getting closer and stopped not far behind him.
But there was nothing behind him, only an over one-person-tall blue courtyard wall. Yang Xiao instinctively wanted to look back but was promptly restrained by Xiang Fengchen, who had hurried over to his side. Yang Xiao immediately understood and froze in place, not daring to even breathe loudly.
Rustle, rustle...
It sounded like something was climbing up the wall behind him. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Yang Xiao, under immense pressure, pulled out a private stick of incense he had kept, breaking it into two pieces. He lit it with a Fire Starter, holding one piece in his mouth, and handed the other to Xiang Fengchen, who also bit down on it. The two men clenched their lips tightly, standing still as mallets.
After about half a minute of silence, the weird noise behind them ceased, and the rustling sound gradually faded away until it disappeared.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Xiang Fengchen remained still, and Yang Xiao did not dare to move either, until almost three minutes later, when the incense was about to burn down to their lips, Xiang Fengchen slowly and painstakingly reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a small cloth bag. Shaking off the outer layer of the bag, he revealed a small mirror with sharp edges.
This was a piece of a copper mirror, obtained from smashing the one inside the room. Yang Xiao had seen it before. He watched as Xiang Fengchen slowly lifted the mirror, aiming it behind the two of them, continuously adjusting the angle of the mirror until it was directed above the courtyard wall.
The next second, Xiang Fengchen’s hand clenching the mirror fragment began to tremble slightly. In the shattered copper mirror, the bloated shadow of a ghost was crouched on the wall behind the two of them, its rotting ghostly face looking down upon them coldly. freewebnovel.cσ๓
As the scent stick burned to his lips, Yang Xiao was in such pain that he twitched uncontrollably, but he still dared not make a sound, much less open his mouth and let out breath. In this way, they remained in a standoff for half a minute, until, finally, the rotten ghost climbed away in an extremely eerie manner.
Following Xiang Fengchen, who had spat out the scent stick from his mouth, Yang Xiao’s lips were swollen from the burn. In contrast, Xiang Fengchen looked perfectly fine. Both of their scent sticks were about the same length, and Yang Xiao suspected he had some sort of trick.
"Did you see clearly?" Xiang Fengchen whispered.
"It looked a lot like Gong Banlan," Yang Xiao replied. Although it was a rotting ghost face, its general outline was still discernible, and he was certain that the ghost was not Gong Banlan.
Recalling that there was more than one ghost in the Earl Mansion, Yang Xiao immediately thought of the statues in the "Land Temple." He suspected the ghosts in the Earl Mansion were the original models for the sculptures, those loyal subjects from the previous dynasty who had been brutally killed by the Old Marquis.
Footsteps interrupted Yang Xiao’s thoughts. Someone was approaching outside the courtyard door, cautiously stepping in. Using the light from the lantern hanging outside the door, Yang Xiao saw clearly that it was Zhang Songde. After looking around the courtyard, the visitor noticed the room on the farthest left, where Yang Xiao was staying, clearly attracted by the two Gate Gods posted on the wall. Yet he didn’t approach but instead chose to return to his own room after observing for a while.
Reaching his room door, he didn’t rush to push it open but first listened with his ear against it for a while. Confirming there was no sound, he then knocked on the door in a strange way, as if following a certain rhythm. At the same time, Yang Xiao heard a bizarre chant mixed with some dialect and some rapid foreign words that were not entirely clear.
"Myanmar-Tai, it’s someone from the Yin Temple," Xiang Fengchen muttered under his breath as he watched the movement at Zhang Songde’s door, hidden behind a tree. "No, that’s not right, this person’s skills aren’t perfected, he’s not one of the temple’s High Priests, he must have learned a bit from someone, merely understanding the surface."
Regardless, it was good to confirm it was a person. This Zhang Songde was also a cautious person, entering a door with so much care.
"What’s the Yin Temple?" whispered Yang Xiao, who also took an interest in the mysterious Zhang Songde.
"A power seated in the lawless region of Northern Myanmar and Thailand, full of capable people with very sinister methods. No one wants to provoke them," Xiang Fengchen explained in a low voice.
"Are they strong?"
"Yep." Xiang Fengchen nodded earnestly for a change, "Let’s put it this way, domestically, the most recognized strongest powers are the Patrol Defense Office, the United Federation, and the Chamber of Commerce. In Northern Myanmar and Thailand, the Yin Temple is the ruler of the lawless areas. Even if the three major domestic powers wanted to meddle in affairs there, they would have to pay respects to this local snake first; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to handle it."
"The High Priest of the Yin Temple has incredible methods. Thirty years ago, he brazenly seized a shipment that the Chamber of Commerce smuggled in there. The Store Manager of the Chamber of Commerce went to recoup the goods and ended up in a fight. The outcome is unknown, but the goods were indeed not retrieved." Xiang Fengchen knew much more about the affairs of the world of martial arts than Yang Xiao. To survive long in the world of martial arts, one needed not only methods but also a broad vision, at least knowing who could be provoked and who could not.
"The Chamber of Commerce is our own, after all. Didn’t the Patrol Defense Office and the United Federation stand up for them?" inquired Yang Xiao.
Hearing this, Xiang Fengchen suddenly laughed and, with a look that was both mocking and not, asked in a low voice, "What do you guess happened to the Chamber of Commerce’s goods?"
With that remark, Yang Xiao understood. The trade had been interfered with by the Patrol Defense Office or the United Federation. One of them, or both together, had leaked the information to the Yin Temple, leading to the heist.
Without a doubt, the Yin Temple wouldn’t dare to keep all the loot for themselves; they’d likely have to share a portion with these two, that way the business could last.
"The door’s open," Yang Xiao suddenly noticed.
Yang Xiao saw Zhang Songde push the door open and immediately moved aside to make way, kneeling down on the left side of the door, with his forehead touching the ground in an even more respectful attitude, as if to send something from the room outside.
But the next second, Yang Xiao saw Xiang Fengchen’s face change in an instant, "This idiot is kneeling the wrong way, he’s not sending off ghosts, he’s freaking inviting them in!"
