Cataclysm Chapter 110: The Roofless Crypt 02

Chapter 110: The Roofless Crypt 02

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

That evening, they arrived in Shangqing Town, home to the Tianshi Mansion. The mansion, located in Shangqing Town, was a grand structure nestled against the mountains and overlooking water. Its intricate carvings and deep red lacquer gave it an ancient and majestic charm. As a part of Hua’s cultural heritage, it attracted visitors every October for the Dragon Tiger Mountain Taoist Culture Festival, with tickets costing over 200 yuan. However, this was not Zhang Qiudao’s home. His residence was another Tianshi Mansion, hidden deep within Pipa Mountain, known to no one.

Chen Yang and his companions had arrived at Zhang’s family Tianshi Mansion, concealed in the Pipa mountains through the use of geography, feng shui, and Qimen Dunjia techniques. This mansion mirrored the structure of the one at the foot of the mountain. It was shaped like a Bagua and included an elaborate layout: the front gate, ceremonial gate, main hall, ritual altar, reception halls, ancestral shrine, private quarters, study, library pavilion, stargazing platform, medicinal garden, and side chambers.

Walking through the mansion, they passed through shaded groves and gardens filled with rare and exotic plants. The medicinal garden boasted a lotus pond with a winding bridge, a lakeside pavilion, weeping willows, white cranes, and vibrant birds. Behind it lay two library pavilions and a stargazing platform, with the rear hall and living quarters further back.

The front areas, including the garden and ceremonial spaces, were primarily for leisure and martial arts training, as well as ancestor worship. Only the rear quarters served as the living spaces for the Zhang family. Listening to descriptions of the mansion’s scale, Chen Yang estimated it spanned over 10,000 square meters. He couldn’t help but compare it to the 90-square-meter government-allocated apartment he lived in, which wasn’t even a fraction of this place. He shot Zhang Qiudao with a reproachful look. “You call yourself poor? You big hypocrite.”

Kou Xuanling unexpectedly sided with Zhang Qiudao. “It’s ancestral property; it doesn’t belong to just him. The Tianshi Mansion belongs to all Zhang family members and, in a way, to none of them.” Zhang Qiudao nodded, explaining that the mansion provided housing, education, and training for all Zhang descendants. Their responsibility was to maintain the family’s honor and the mansion itself. The Zhangs were an ancient family with a blend of tradition and innovation, thriving with vitality.

Like Zhang Qiudao, Kou Xuanling’s family also had a grand Tianshi Mansion, where his family had lived and died for generations. Chen Yang, though unable to share their sentiment, understood. Du Shuo walked up behind him and casually remarked, “The Du family mountain estate is a hundred times larger than this.” Although Du Shuo couldn’t afford a private jet, he still owned significant real estate.

Chen Yang teased him with a quick peck on the chin. “Let’s go,” he said, walking ahead. Du Shuo, however, seemed lost in thought. When Chen Yang turned back, puzzled, he asked, “What’s wrong, brother Du?”

Snapping out of it, Du Shuo caught up to him, walking side by side. Though his expression betrayed nothing, Chen Yang could sense his confusion and smiled. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter what kind of house we live in or how we get around. As long as we’re together, that’s enough.”

Du Shuo lowered his gaze. “You don’t want those things?”

Chen Yang looked surprised. “I’ve never wanted them. I can’t even fly a plane. If we had too many rooms, how would I find you?” He paused, realizing Du Shuo had taken his earlier joke seriously. Sighing, he thought, Never joke with an old man; he takes everything literally.

Du Shuo pressed, “Really?”

Chen Yang linked his arm with Du Shuo’s and whispered, “Why would you take my joke seriously?”

“You said you liked it. I wanted to give it to you before I could tell if it was true or not.”

Chen Yang clutched his chest as his heart raced. He thought, This man’s words are going to drown me in affection someday. “Stop it with the sweet talk, old man,” he scolded. Du Shuo looked at him innocently, mentally bookmarking every article he’d read about saving long-term relationships and considering forwarding them to Lu Xiuzhi.

After a long walk, they finally reached the rear hall and side chambers, where Zhang Qiudao’s parents were present, along with vice presidents of the Taoist Association and numerous Tianshi—at least seventy or eighty of them. More were still on their way, and if all the participants of the Taoist Exchange Ritual arrived, the total could reach two to three hundred.

As Chen Yang entered, he overheard the association president, Chen Qingdai, say, “The Roofless Crypt has reappeared. We need all the Tianshi to work together to seal this malevolent site again. While the exchange ritual promotes Taoist practices, it also ensures readiness in case the Roofless Crypt emerges.”

Curious, Chen Yang asked, “What is the Roofless Crypt?”

Neither Kou Xuanling nor Zhang Qiudao knew. Zhang Qiudao explained, “I’ve participated in almost every exchange ritual, but I missed two. It might have been related to this site, which only senior Tianshi could handle.”

Kou Xuanling added, “In feng shui, roofless houses are considered yin residences, like tombs without beams. There’s also the Wuliang Temple, a notorious haunted site.”

Yi Wuchang and Ma Shanfeng, who seemed knowledgeable, were called away by other vice presidents before they could explain. Du Shuo, who had refused to leave Chen Yang’s side, elaborated, “The Roofless Crypt is the embodiment of the City of Wrongful Death. It appears periodically in the mortal world, luring innocents inside to be killed or used as substitutes.”

Chen Yang asked, “An embodiment of the City of Wrongful Death? Isn’t Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva in charge of it?”

The City of Wrongful Death had been built by Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva. If a person died unjustly before their lifespan was up, they had to wait until their allotted lifespan ended and see their killer receive retribution before their resentment could be resolved, allowing them to reincarnate. Those who had died in ghost marriages were also imprisoned in the City of Wrongful Death, where Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva would guide them to transcendence.

“The City of Wrongful Death was originally meant to house the souls of those who had died unjustly. The spirits within it could not leave, nor could they receive thoughts, offerings, rituals, or sacrifices from their loved ones. Even during the annual Ghost Festival, unlike other wandering spirits, they could not return to the mortal realm to accept their families’ offerings. They had to watch helplessly as their murderers remained unpunished in the living world. Over time, their grievances accumulated, and their resentment grew. The City of Wrongful Death absorbed this resentment and developed a consciousness of its own. Fearing discovery by Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, it extracted this consciousness and turned it into an embodiment—the Roofless Crypt,” Du Shuo explained.

Chen Yang was puzzled. “Now that we know the Roofless Crypt is an embodiment of the City of Wrongful Death, why not just destroy it?”

“It can’t be destroyed. The Roofless Crypt feeds on resentment, having absorbed the grievances of many wandering spirits in the mortal realm. As long as resentment exists in the world, it will continue to exist and cannot be eradicated. The only solution is to seal it. To do so, one must enter the Roofless Crypt, find the source of the resentment, and guide it to transcendence, putting it into slumber until the next time it awakens—whereupon it must be subdued and sealed again.”

Chen Yang nodded. “I see.”

Du Shuo smiled, then turned to him, Kou Xuanling, and Zhang Qiudao. “You all need to enter the Roofless Crypt, locate the source of the resentment, and help it transcend.”

The three were momentarily stunned. Chen Yang asked, “You’re not coming in?”

Du Shuo replied, “I’ll be outside to support you.”

Sealing the Roofless Crypt was a dangerous task—it required one’s spiritual consciousness to enter the Crypt while leaving the physical body outside. The Crypt would attract countless wandering spirits and vengeful ghosts, who would seize any unguarded body they encountered. Furthermore, if the spirits inside the Crypt encountered danger, someone had to remain outside to protect them and bring them back. Du Shuo, along with the other presidents of the Taoist Association, would be standing guard and ensuring their safety.

Du Shuo added, “There’s something else—you all must learn how to perform transcendence rituals.”

A Tianshi’s duty was to eliminate evil, uphold justice, and help the world, with the emphasis on help. People needed saving, but so did spirits. Young Tianshis, after learning how to exorcise, subdue, and banish spirits, had to also master the art of guiding lost souls to transcendence.

This was why Du Shuo and the Taoist Association presidents had not personally sealed the Roofless Crypt. It was also the main purpose of the Taoist Exchange Conference held every year. The older generation of Tianshis passed down their teachings and insights to the younger generation, personally guiding them forward with earnest expectations and gentle kindness—so that they could become true Tianshis dedicated to saving the world.

Author’s Note:

How do you get through the seven-year itch?
Sweet words are essential.

The Great Emperor: Noted in my little book.

P.S.: The structure of the Tianshis’ Mansion was based on the real one. The actual mansion is more complex and aesthetically pleasing. Inside, there is a Cooling Pavilion (a place to rest and cool off), built at the center of a pond in the Hundred Flowers Garden. It is surrounded by white cranes, various birds, blooming flowers, lotus ponds, drooping willows, and ancient trees. The ticket price indeed seems to be around 266.

 

 

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