Chapter 66 Great Fissure In The Ground (1)

The night was dark and everything was shrouded in the curtain of inky blackness.

The window was opened with a small sliver. In fact, a great bundle of dead leaves were piled on the frame. As the cold wind blew in, the dead leaves rustled and the muslin canopy billowed.

Madam Shi, who was lying on her side, opened her eyes. Her face was as pale as a ghost and her forehead was beaded with a thick layer of sweat.

She slowly gasped for breath and every breath she made produced a sound akin to sandpaper grinding away at wood. Her chest rose and fell fiercely and her full bosom threatened to escape from the low-hanging collar line covering it.

Her two long, slender hands that were akin to pieces of art, reached out to grope around. She reached the head of the bed and struggled to rise up, then she carelessly stuffed on some footwear.

The curtain of night outside the window was cold yet clear. The single candle within the room became ever more gloomy because of it.

She supported her forehead while she felt like the world was spinning. She started walking in a very shaky manner, stumbling back and forth like a drunk person would stumble their way down a street.

“Hah…. hah…… “ As she walked, she gasped terribly for breath. Her face was ash white and her eyes, the ones that were just too far apart, seemed to bulge out, covered with lines and wisps of blood.

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The incense factory was brightly lit and from afar, the many little points of light from red lanterns resembled a roaming snake, wriggling its way into the distance.

Miaomiao was somewhat shocked, “Didn’t Li Zhun say that the incense factory would only operate in the daytime?”

Liu Fuyi’s face was full of alarm as his eyes peered into the distance at the lanterns. His finger was plastered to his lips as he silently indicated for all of them to be quiet.

The little girl in his arms slept sweetly.

The main leads lightened their steps and approached the incense factory, following the path of paved stones through the underbrush.

The night’s wind blew the small lanterns hanging from the wooden houses. The lanterns themselves let out a small amount of red light, a countless number of people busying themselves beneath. As such, an innumerable amount of shadows intertwined on the ground.

The strange thing was, they were all busying themselves yet not a single word was spoken. In fact, even the sound of footsteps could barely be made out. Everything was done in near absolute silence, so silent that the sound of wind passing through the leaves of the trees could still be heard.

Mu Yao tightly pursed her lips, and pointed her finger at a corner. Following her hand, below the dark red light of the lanterns, there was a group of 4-5 people carrying spades and shovels. They brandished it up and down in rapid succession, figures blurring into countless shapes and immediately turning into pandemonium; for a moment, they looked like evil spirits in a revelrous dance of riotous display.

The flying dust carried pieces of grass with it as it flew up. The dirt piled up into a small hill and soon, a big hole was dug into the earth. The workers digging the hole speedily tossed away their shovels and crouched down, working in tandem to lift something out of the earth.

A ball of thick dark air bubbled up from the midst of the hole, nearly immediately covering their faces.

“What is that?” Miaomiao was absolutely flabbergasted.

“That’s the grievances of the dead.” Mu Yao stared at the clump of black air floating in the air, forehead creased.

The lump of black cloud-like dark air suddenly split into 4-5 parts in the air, revealing the faces of the workers. Under the lantern light, their faces were startlingly bloodless, strands of gloomy dark air still wafting from their nostrils.

…..they’re absorbing the resentment left by the dead!?!?

They loosened their hands and the corpse they had just carved out of the ground fell back into the earth.

For many years, the winds swept the lands and everything was covered by dirt. The corpse’s clothes had already long lost its colors, turned into the color of dirt. From its sleeves, several white bones fell out as they clacked onto one another.

Without the support of the resentment qi, the corpse could only turn into a normal skeleton, dispersing just like that.

The workers piled the white bones into piles and pulled up their lower robes to carry them. As such, they could easily carry away the piles like they were carrying fruit.

Mu Yao followed them with her eyes for a while, irises flashing with light, “Watch where they’re going.”

Liu Fuyi frowned as he looked at Chuchu sleeping soundly in his arms.

Mu Yao supplemented. “Liu Fuyi should wait here and watch after Chuchu so we don’t scare her.”

They were currently at least 10 meters away from the incense factory from their current position. The strange scenes weren’t too clear from their position as well, what with several clumps of shrubbery and trees blocking their view. This was a position they could easily enter the incense factory from, but also easily retreat to protect themselves and survey the situation. This position was a safe and suitable position.

Liu Fuyi nodded and looked over at Mu Yao to exhort her, “You guys be careful.”

They followed the worker’s footsteps and shifted forward a few steps, just in time to see their figures entering a house. They bent over and let the bones tumble into a fiery furnace. The bones were just like cheese being placed into a fryer, melting at a rapid pace.

——This truly challenged her understanding of modern physics. One must know that even for a crematorium’s furnace, they had to start the warming process from 200 degrees celsius. If you wanted to cremate the hard bones of a human, you’d need the temperature to reach at least 1000 degrees.

Ling Miaomiao pointed at the ashes continually collecting at the bottom of the furnace: “Sis… Sister Mu, is this because there isn’t any resentment within to support it anymore?”

Her voice shook somewhat and Mu Sheng immediately stuck closer to her. He nearly stood right next to her, blinking his eyes as he studied her face.

There was light from the fire beside them and she was still wearing her autumn lined jacket. He was so close Miaomiao started to feel warm and pushed him away with the back of her hand, “I’m listening to Sister Mu, don’t stir up trouble.”

“…….” Mu Sheng confirmed that there wasn’t a single shred of fear on her face and definitely didn’t need any comforting at all. Perhaps, she was shaking earlier when she asked her question due to excitement……

His expression sunk and he retreated to the side.

Mu Yao solemnly nodded, “All of the resentment on these corpses have already been absorbed. There isn’t even a single shred of living air in them anymore. Corpses like these are already just like the dead leaves and dust on the ground, easily broken apart.”

Ling Miaomiao nodded and sighed in her heart. Floating Boat’s ¹ Floating Boat is the original author of the novel Miaomiao transmigrated into… in case y’all forgot. world, truly was bold and imaginative…..

Above the furnace was medicine being boiled.

Li Zhun had mentioned before that they were creating incense seals at the incense factory. Not only did they need to use the highest quality of sandalwood bark, they also needed to add mind-calming medicine into them. The medicine before their eyes was definitely the type that needed to be simmered for an entire night before being used in the morning.

The bone ash within the furnace piled up higher and higher. The amount of dust collected also grew increasingly thick, some even falling through the cracks in the furnace to drift down onto the floor.

The one watching over the furnace was clearly an old woman. She was sluggish in her actions and her face was covered with countless wrinkles. She mumbled to herself, as if complaining to herself that the dust was dirtying the floor.

She slowly stooped over with her crooked back and gathered the dust on the ground. She put it into her palm and immediately after, opened the lid of the furnace to pour it into the bubbling medicine.

The faces of the spectators immediately changed.

So the origin of the bone ash in the incense was this…..

The moonlight shone in through the window, striking the wall like cold frost. A slender and fine hand shook as it held the wall for support. Her tall and ample figure bent over and staggered along the side of the wall, using it as a support while nearing the door. Every few steps, she would stop and pause for a moment, greedily sucking in air.

In her other hand, she tightly clenched a ripped off talisman. The talisman had been soaked through by the sweat of her palm, turning into a veritable wrinkled lump. Bloodstains could still be seen covering the fine, delicate lines on the wrinkled paper.

She struggled and swayed back and forth wildly while supporting herself on the wall. The color of red was smeared deeply into the wall and her fingers grew pale from exertion.

In just a few steps, she would manage to step out of the room.

“Sister Mu….”

“Sister!!!”

Without warning, Mu Yao entered the house with a serious face plastered on. She pushed open the door before even giving them a single sign.

Miaomiao felt her forehead turn numb for a while as she closely followed Mu Yao as she burst into the room.

Mu Yao already stood in front of the fiery furnace, staring rigidly at the old woman. The old woman guarding the furnace seemed to completely not sense that anyone had entered. She still continued to stoop over to sweep up the leaking bone ash, pouring it into the cookpot with sluggish movements.

“Excuse me….”

She tested out the waters by opening her mouth, but the person in front of her had no reaction. It was just as if there was a thick wall separating the two of them.

Mu Yao grabbed hold of the old woman’s moving arm and raised her tone, “Look at me!”

The old woman raised her wrinkle covered face, turbid eyes completely unfocused. Her arm had been captured by Mu Yao but her fingers still mechanically continued their actions, just like a robot whose settings and procedures had been set beforehand.

Mu Yao suddenly tossed aside her hand and the old woman tumbled onto the ground. Then, she climbed up without a sound, continuing to collect all the fallen bone ash and pouring it into the pot.

“…..”

Mu Yao calmed down and turned around. She then used both hands to push Mu Sheng and Ling Miaomiao who were following closely behind her, lowering her voice: “These people are truly the workers we saw during the day. They’re being controlled, let’s go.”

Sure enough, as soon as they left the room, several more people carrying bones in their lapels entered, hurriedly brushing past their shoulders as if they were just like air itself.

Not far away, the workers gathered in two and threes as they silently brandished their shovels. Leaf after leaf of dark red light shook as they spilled from their lantern frames, covering the walls with a chaotic web of shadows.

When she stepped out of the room, left foot first followed by her right foot, she immediately fell over at the entrance of the room. Leaning against the wall gasping desperately for breath, her messy hair was slick with sweat, tied up into an untidy bun. Her temples and her forehead were beaded with sweat.

She looked just like someone that had drowned as she struggled to the shore. She gasped greedily for air as if she hadn’t had any for a long time.

There wasn’t a single person in the corridor and the moonlight shining down that night was also extremely weak. She was basically sitting in pitch darkness.

The talisman, crumbled into a ball in her hand, bounced off the ground, completely turning into a piece of litter.

“Ah Zhun….. Chuchu….. “ She called out, finally able to make a noise. She supported herself against the wall as she climbed up, not noticing several silvery flashes of light on the ground. Those points just so happened to form a circle. The light within the circle was barely discernible, almost like a fish net, or an abyss whose bottom could not be seen.

One of the embroidered shoes she wore on her feet fell off and she looked absolutely battered and exhausted. The light shone upon one of her feet as she pulled her skirt, silently entering that circle as she cried out, “Ah Zhun, where are you all?”

Immediately after, the candles within the Li residence lit up one after another. A rustling sound started to fill the night sky.

The wet nurse had a coat draped over her as she ran in, holding a candle in her hand. Sleep was still evident in her eyes but when she saw the person in front of her she was greatly shocked, “Madam? What happened to you?”

“Chuchu disappeared….” Madam Shi’s eyes, greatly distant from one another, showed panic. She stumbled forward a few steps and her skirt, with bright and fresh colors, swept through the circle of silver light.

Mu Yao ran quicker and quicker with Mu Sheng and Miaomiao following behind her. The three of them were basically making a wild dash when they saw from afar the figure of Liu Fuyi carrying a little girl between the underbrush.

Liu Fuyi’s brows were tightly knit at the moment. Just now, he felt a response from the Seven Killing Formation he had placed at the entrance of Madam Shi’s room. Someone had stepped through the formation without losing a single hair.

The Seven Killing Formation was a demon hunter’s invention created through blood, sweat and tears. It was especially used to deal with great demons. The greater their demonic qi, the more difficult of a situation they’d find themselves in. It would definitely kill within seven steps, it definitely couldn’t have lacked any response to Madam Shi… unless….

Mu Yao’s face turned deathly pale in an instant, even her lips had lost all of their color. Mu Sheng’s figure was just like a streak of dark lightning, nearly instantaneously moving to Liu Fuyi’s side. Yet. He was still a step late.

Warm, moist blood. Dripped, then poured down his robes.

Liu Fuyi slowly lowered his head. The little girl’s slender hand had already penetrated into his chest, her snow-white little face covered with spots of blood. Her nearly always purple lips had turned a strange red color at that moment.

Her gem-like black pupils flashed with an ice-cold ruthlessness as she slowly moved her lips, putting on a smile as sweet as sugar, “Brother Liu, thank you for carrying me all this way.”

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TLN: WELL THEN. I honestly didn’t expect that. Well, I don’t know what I expected in the first place, everything about this arc so far was confusing and rather misleading lol. Moral of the chapter: cute = evil.