He and It Chapter 208: Inquire Here (36)

Chapter 208: Inquire Here (36)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

Jin Cuixu opened his mouth wide, and stared at Liu Fuguang in awe for a long time. He had never met anyone like Liu Fuguang before. Although his smile was gentle and his words were friendly, each word he spoke was firm and unwavering, as if nothing in the world was more reliable or solid than he was. The founder of his Daoist temple had a profound and mysterious cultivation base, a level Jin Cuixu could never reach in his lifetime, but compared to the young man in white before him, even the founder seemed ordinary and mundane.

“Senior…you must be very confident to say such things. I believe you,” Jin Cuixu nodded and said. “I…um, I just arrived here and don’t know anyone. If you have any interest in the Nine Sons Mother Goddess, could you stay and lend a hand? I…”

When he saw his childish demeanor, and the way he awkwardly mixed “poor Daoist” and “I” in his speech, Liu Fuguang realized that despite the young man’s ability to outmatch most ordinary people in the area with his Daoist skills, he was still like a blank slate when it came to dealing with the world. He had probably suffered many setbacks since coming down the mountain.

“No problem, I’m free anyway,” Liu Fuguang smiled. “However, aren’t you worried we might be bad people, considering how firmly you’re asking for our help?”

Jin Cuixu sighed in relief, stood up straight, and grinned, “Don’t forget, I can read auras!”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but glance quickly at the man in black who was standed to the rear, and a look of unease flashed in his eyes. He could indeed read auras, but the aura of the man in black was something he had never seen before. An abyssal black that was more terrifying than any demonic cultivator or outer demon.

He dared not look closely because his temple’s founder had once sternly taught him that there were many things in the world that human effort could not touch. Even if you encounter them, as long as you don’t delve deeper, you can still live safely. However, if curiosity arises and you insist on probing, then a tragic and sorrowful death is to be expected.

“I am Liu Fuguang,” the young man in white smiled. “And he is Yan Huan. No need to be so formal, young friend. We’re all travelers here, equals. Just call us by our names.”

People’s words often reveal a corner of their hidden hearts. Names are a form of address but also a person’s signboard as they wander the world. Others introducing themselves might straightforwardly say, “I am so-and-so,” or more humbly, “I am so-and-so.” Liu Fuguang’s tone was friendly and approachable, yet he said, “I am,” as if it were natural for others to know them. If not, it didn’t matter; they stood there as naturally as a law of nature.

Jin Cuixu couldn’t discern their cultivation base or origins, and couldn’t figure out their identities no matter how hard he scoured his memories. While he was deep in thought, Liu Fuguang and Yan Huan had already led him to an upscale inn and reserved a top room for him.

Jin Cuixu was startled, hurriedly waved his hand and said, “I can’t accept such generosity without reason!”

Liu Fuguang couldn’t help but chuckle, “I thought Daoist practitioners regarded money as an external thing. Since you’re joining us in our investigation, and considering that this Nine Sons Mother Goddess seems dubious and very dangerous, you need to conserve your strength. How will you have the energy to act otherwise?”

Looking at Jin Cuixu, he softened his tone, so his words, like a spring breeze, gently reached the young man’s ears, “Moreover, traveling alone has many inconveniences. Having a private room allows you to handle personal matters without any hindrance. Doesn’t that sound good?”

Jin Cuixu’s eyes widened in shock, as if he were struck by lightning, and he staggered back a few steps. He was terrified by the realization of how Liu Fuguang could see through his disguise!

He fumbled in his sleeves, found that his aura-concealing talisman still worked and that the gender-disguising paper still emitted a faint glow. Her fear intensified as she stared at Liu Fuguang with the wide-eyed horror of someone seeing a monster. How could this person see through her secrets so easily? Who was he?

Within a thousand miles, everyone praised the Nine Sons Mother Goddess, and every household worshiped her shrine. The obsession with having sons was so intense that it seemed like madness, with rigid customs making it almost impossible for daughters. In the elite families, daughters were often confined to their rooms until marriage, with no interaction with outsiders. It set an example that others followed, and led to a widespread trend.

Although Jin Cuixu was a cultivator, she was far from transcending worldly concerns. When sent down the mountain, her sect had repeatedly warned her to be cautious and avoid entanglements in the mundane world that could affect her Dao-heart.

Seeing Jin Cuixu’s frightened and anxious expression, Liu Fuguang’s smile faded, and he said seriously, “Don’t worry. Your secret is well hidden. I promise not to cause you any trouble and that no one else will know.”

Jin Cuixu opened her mouth in surprise. The serious expression and sincere words from Liu Fuguang were so comforting that it felt like a warm spring breeze had embraced her. She immediately trusted Liu Fuguang.

“I…I understand,” Jin Cuixu blushed as she replied. She mustered her courage and said, “Thank you…Brother Fuguang.”

Across the table, Liu Fuguang gently pushed the room key towards her, while Yan Huan cast a cold, disdainful glance at him, and let out a huff through his nose.

Jin Cuixu shivered, felt a chill run through her, and almost dropped to the floor. She quickly stammered, “Also, thank you, Brother Yan!”

Yan Huan ignored her, as he clearly conveyed a “who cares about your thanks” attitude through his expression. As Liu Fuguang was about to say something, a rarely seen woman, with her face covered by a veil, emerged from behind the counter to guide them to their room upstairs.

Liu Fuguang furrowed his brow. While ordinary people might not be able to see her clearly, he could. The woman’s face was pale and slightly green, her lips dry and white, and her forehead bore a hint of dark energy. Her wrists were also wrapped with coarse cloth in a strange manner. Liu Fuguang deliberately brushed against her hand as he passed, causing her to flinch slightly in pain.

“Sorry!” Liu Fuguang quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to bump into you. Did I hurt you?”

As he approached her, the faint black aura around her dissipated like frost melting in the sun. The woman, looked more alert and shook her head repeatedly to indicate that she was fine. As she led the three of them upstairs, Yan Huan whispered in Liu Fuguang’s ear, “Did you find anything?”

Liu Fuguang said, “I observed that she looked pale and weak, with a faint hint of malevolent energy between her eyebrows. Doesn’t she seem like someone who has had their wrists cut open and bled out?”

“Perhaps she did it herself,” Yan Huan suggested.

“She did it herself…” Liu Fuguang was about to question the purpose of self-inflicted wounds when he suddenly remembered that every street and alley here worshipped the so-called Nine Sons Mother Goddess. If there were local customs involving blood sacrifices to evil gods, it wouldn’t be surprising. Therefore, he left his thoughts unfinished and fell silent.

To confirm their suspicions, after nightfall the two of them, accompanied by the cautious Jin Cuixu, stealthily entered the woman’s room. The room was sparsely furnished, with a thick red cloth covering a small partition.

Yan Huan showed no hesitation and lifted the cloth, to reveal a small altar with a statue of a goddess. The statue was indistinct in features and had a bloated figure, surrounded by nine plump babies. The dim light of the night made the nine fat infants appear as if they were nine lumpy, heavy tumors hanging from the goddess.

Jin Cuixu shivered at the sight of the eerie statue and the unsettling items on the altar. A bowl of fresh human blood, dark red and congealed like a greasy mirror, was placed in front of the goddess.

Jin Cuixu was convinced by Liu Fuguang’s words. The so-called Nine Sons Mother Goddess was certainly no true deity. Her attention suddenly sharpened, and she whispered, “Look!”

Without needing further explanation, Liu Fuguang and Yan Huan watched the strange scene. As the midnight hour approached, the blood in the bowl began to change. A thin, faintly visible line of blood slowly emerged from the smooth surface of the blood in the bowl, stretched towards the goddess statue, then entwined around the nine babies.

The red threads grew increasingly numerous. Liu Fuguang sensed something, went to the window and opened it. The city was silent and still, while blood lines spread from every household like an overgrown spider web that gradually covered the sky above the city.

“Oh my…” Jin Cuixu murmured.

At that moment, a deep, indistinguishable voice, accompanied by a wave-like ringing of bells, the sharp crack of whips cutting through the air, and the distant, eerie laughter of infants, echoed through the night.

“The goddess is patrolling at night. Avoid her!” 

Yan Huan, from his position next to Liu Fuguang, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly with an appreciative smile. “What a terrible stench of blood.”

As the shouting, ringing, whipping, and baby laughter grew closer, Liu Fuguang leapt to the center of the empty street, as he instructed Jin Cuixu, “You can either follow me or hide. It’s up to you.”

The massive carriage, large enough to accommodate ten people, floated through the sky covered by a blood-red shroud, so that it resembled a deadly jellyfish. At the front of the carriage were two ghostly attendants with pallid faces, who shook bone bells, while two others wielded bronze whips as they cleared the path and howled loudly. Several hundred small ghosts scurried across the ground as they tore and devoured each other in a grotesque display of blood and chaos.

Liu Fuguang saw the ghastly procession approach, and they saw him as well. The warning shouted by the procession grew louder, as it announced, “The goddess is patrolling at night. Avoid her!”

At midnight, the Mortal Realm was suffused with yin energy, ghostly flames flickered, and filled the air with malevolence and rage. The once-bustling city transformed into the nexus of the realms of the living and the dead that teemed with spirits and ghosts who indulged in wanton destruction under the guidance of the ghostly matron’s carriage.

Liu Fuguang realized that the blood was not just an offering but also a form of payment for life. If any household lacked a protective red line, the Nine Sons Mother Goddess would claim their lives.

As the ghastly faces neared, Liu Fuguang’s brow furrowed. He shouted, “Repel the locusts and cleanse the ghosts! Invoke the Five Thunders!”

The sky above, covered by red lines, suddenly darkened. Storm clouds gathered and rapidly brewed a thunderstorm. Jin Cuixu, who clutched her sweat-soaked talismans, froze in place, astonished by the transformation.

Jin Cuixu was gifted with the ability to sense changes in ghostly and spiritual energies, and felt the shift from the ghostly miasma to the aggressive lightning elements. The storm that now raged seemed impatient to cleanse the realm of the lingering malevolence.

Five Thunder Rites? Jin Cuixu thought in shock. He merely uttered eight words, and the Five Thunder Rites were summoned! This is incredible! Legend says that even highly skilled practitioners take centuries to master such techniques, as they rely on both cultivation base and Dao-heart!

Stunned and wide-eyed, Jin Cuixu watched as the dark clouds roiled, and a massive bolt of lightning in blue and purple, akin to a writhing dragon, prepared to descend with overwhelming force. The sky crackled with impending retribution, ready to deliver a catastrophic judgment.