NEBM Chapter 48.1: Rusty Lock

The monstrous-looking black cloud exuded an ominous aura as it floated in mid-air. Suddenly, it sank down, as if sucked in by something, and completely disappeared.

The sky returned to its usual clarity, as if nothing had happened. But, Shen Zhxian’s heart sank and a sense of uneasiness surfaced, which caused him to stare in surprise for a brief moment.

With the bamboo grove blocking his view, Shen Zhixian couldn’t see what was over there. He could only discern that it was within the boundary of the manor.

He beckoned Yan Jin over. Yan Jin arrived with a coat and placed it on Shen Zhixian. “What’s wrong?”

“I think there’s something wrong there.” Shen Zhixian frowned slightly, still feeling uneasy. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time, and the strange cloud made him anxious. That strange black cloud gave him an indescribable sense of foreboding.

Shen Zhixian couldn’t say where that weird black cloud went, but he instinctively felt that it wasn’t anything good. He pulled away from Yan Jin and stepped back a little. Stretching his hand toward the window’s edge, he easily flipped over to the other side. “Let’s go take a look?”

Even as he spoke this question, he’d already take two steps away. Yan Jin leaped out the window without saying a word and followed closely behind him.

After passing through the bamboo grove, they arrived at a small, abandoned garden. The garden looked like it’d been deserted for a long time, such that dead leaves and weeds covered the entire area.

They walked with vigilance and discovered that there was no one about–It was so late that the patrolling guards would not come to this remote place.

The further they walked, the more uneasy Shen Zhixian felt. The night was heavy, and the air seemed to be cloaked in an oppressive silence. The pale moonlight fell across dust-covered rocky hills on either side of them.

They walked quietly and stealthily. Until suddenly, the sounds of dead leaves being stepped on rang out in the silence. They stopped immediately and, after listening, realized that the sound seemed to come from the corner. It was seemed as if someone was about to turn the corner

From the corner of Shen Zhixian’s eyes, he saw a depression in the tall rocky hill beside him and immediately pulled Yan Jin over to hide within its shadow.

The small depression was shallow but it happened to face away from the moon’s light. Unless someone was looking carefully, it would be difficult to see them.

Their hiding place was also very narrow so they had to stand pressed against each other. Yan Jin was on the outside, boxing Shen Zhixian in. Fearing that there wouldn’t be enough space for Yan Jin to hide, Shen Zhixian caught him by the waist and pulled him in closer.

Because they were so close together, the difference in height and body shape became quite obvious, making it seem as if Shen Zhixian was actively and enthusiastically embracing Yan Jin.

However, Shen Zhixian didn’t realize this. He only found that Yan Jin was too tall and was blocking his sight. As a result, he pulled Yan Jin sideways and rose on his toes to look over his shoulders.

He saw the person who’d just turned the corner.

—Madam Meng who invited them to the house.

The owner of this manor was the young master who liked to linger in pleasure boats. He was surnamed Meng, with a single character Yun as his first name. He was also a wealthy businessman.

His parents were killed by mountain bandits several years ago. Meng Yun was in the middle of making funeral arrangements when he met a woman. After several exchanges, the two fell in love and became a pair of husband and wife–that woman was the current Madam Meng.

Meng Yun’s ability to do business was quite good, and he could be regarded as a wealthy man. His favorite hobby was to linger in pleasure boats. Whenever he became free, he would run to that place of pleasure. He also liked to learn literary talents and especially liked to compose poetry for these beautiful women…Even though those beauties never recited any of his works.

These were all from the mouth of Madam Shen’s steward, whom Shen Zhixian had questioned. He didn’t comment on Meng Yun’s behavior but only asked because he was curious. This Madam Meng who dared to go to a pleasure boat to retrieve her husband, what was she doing here alone in the middle of the night?

The direction she came from was exactly where the dark cloud had disappeared. Shen Zhixian quietly watched her walk step by step back. She looked extremely tired, with her eyes nearly half-closed.

Madam Meng…seemed to be hiding a little secret.

Madam Meng soon disappeared. Shen Zhixian waited for a while to ensure that there were no more movements. Then, he pushed Yan Jin. “Go out.”

After stepping out, Shen Zhixian stood in moonlight and quickly discovered that Yan Jin’s ears had turned red.

He stopped and stared in surprise at Yan Jin’s ear. Then, he let out a meaningful sound of understanding.

However, Yan Jin was very calm and had no expression on his face. He only looked at Shen Zhixian quietly, as if it wasn’t him who had red ears.

It was just that his slightly clenched fist revealed a little of his nervousness.

Shen Zhixian couldn’t help but want to laugh. Yan Jin’s reaction was very interesting, making Shen Zhixian want to tease him. Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t right. He still hadn’t discovered what happened with the dark cloud and Madam Meng. As a result, he could only suppress this naughty desire in his heart and took the initiative to grab Yan Jin’s hand and pull him forward.

They walked for a while, following Madam Meng. Suddenly, darkness glimmered across their eyes and the surrounding area seemed to blurred for a brief moment before quickly returning to normal. But, the moonlight seemed to be blocked by some invisible barrier.

The temperature dropped suddenly. After the rockery, there was a small courtyard that looked quite shabby. Shen Zhixuan whispered, “There’s a formation here.”

They broke into a formation.

However, this formation only served as a shield. It wasn’t too advanced, and its purpose was to prevent ordinary people from discovering this courtyard. However, because Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin were cultivators, it didn’t affect them much.

Several large trees were planted around the courtyard. Shen Zhixian recognized them as locust trees, with branches burdened with layers upon layers of leaves. In the courtyard was a small dilapidated wooden house that looked as if it’d been falling into disrepair for many years. Because the door was slanted, a large gap was exposed next to the ground.

A rusty lock hung on the door. Shen Zhixian picked up a branch and poked it. The seemingly fragile lock shook but did not break. Instead, a lot of fine rusty powder fell down, revealing blurred lines underneath the rust.

Shen Zhixian’s thoughts spun. The lock was ancient and rusty. It obviously hadn’t been opened for a long time. Then, why did Madam Meng come here?…It couldn’t have been because she just wanted to take a walk.

Suddenly, a dark yellow piece of paper caught the corner of Shen Zhixian’s eyes. He bent over and picked up half of the paper talisman that was lying in the grass. The edges of the paper talisman was burnt black, as if it’d been burned.

However, the paper talisman still looked very new. Perhaps, Madam Meng recently brought it here. Shen Zhixian studied the paper talisman, his frown gradually deepening. Using the tree branch, he once again gently scratched at the rusty lock.

Once the rust was nearly scratched away, Shen Zhixian was finally able to determine that the pattern on the lock matched the pattern on the paper talisman.

“This is …”

Although the pattern looked a little familiar, Shen Zhixian couldn’t remember what it was. Yan Jin took a closer look at the paper talisman in his hand and calmly said, “Attraction Seal”

Shen Zhixian took a breath of cold air and repeated, “Attraction Seal.”

How could ordinary people get such a thing? Did Madam Meng know what this was?

Attraction Seal, as its name suggested, were talismans that can attract various “spirits.” The so-called spirit could be a demon spirit or a wandering soul spirit. The type of spirits that were attracted would also correlate with the cultivator’s strength.

The higher the maker’s cultivation, the more powerful the “spirit” that was attracted. If cultivators such as Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin were to draw the seal, in all likelihood, they would end up calling a big demon. However, there was no trace of spiritual power on this talisman, indicating that it was made by a regular human. As a result, it could only attract new cultivated demons and small wandering souls.

However, the locks still have traces of spiritual aura on it.

Shen Zhixian suddenly remembered the dark cloud he’d just seen earlier and his thoughts deepend. After looking around for a while, he saw many scorched black fragments among the roots of the weeds.

It was the ashes left after the paper talisman was burned.

What did Madam Meng just do here?

No matter how weak the talisman was, if they were used in large numbers, who knew what kind of creatures it could summon If the black cloud was made up of eighty percent burnt talisman, then where were all the spirits?

What secret was hidden in the yard?

As countless doubts surged up, Shen Zhixian suddenly remembered the painted skin demon’s words. He realized that he was mistaken. According to the painted skin demon, those who enter the Undead City were not human. They would also be marked with the Wang Gui flower. And, in order to leave, they would have to pay a price.

Madam Meng had the Wang Gui flower etched on her wrist. That meant that she’d come from the Undead City. But, why did she leave and what price did she have to pay?

Earlier, when Shen Zhixian saw that she had no spiritual power, he subconsciously regarded her as an ordinary mortal .

Yan Jin obviously thought of this too. With a slight movement of his hand, he pulled his sword out of its sheath. Suddenly, a faint, nearly inaudible chirping sound came from his feet, interrupting his movements.

Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin both looked down at the same time. They saw a small pile of fur squeezed out from the ground by the crooked door.

It had squeezed through the narrow space, causing it’s hair to become messy and covered with mud. Once it got out, it collapsed in exhaustion, softly chirping. .

—It was a baby demon bird that was covered in mud, making it difficult for people to see its true color.

They were surprised to see living things in this desolate place, much less a weak, a little guy looked as if he might just die on the spot.

Shen Zhixuan squatted down, poking at the branches of her hand, and gently poked at the little bird’s tired, trembling claws.

The little demon bird was tired and covered with mud. When it suddenly discovered two people next to it, it trembled in fear. Thinking that they were going to hurt it, the bird struggled hard to stand up.

Shen Zhixian didn’t know if its wings were injured but, even after flapping a few times, it couldn’t fly. It could only crawl on the ground and attempted to escape.

However, the birds’ small legs were still very short. It wasn’t as fast as Shen Zhixian. After the birds took two steps, Shen Zhixian used the small branch to corral it back.

But, a faint light flashed as the little demon bird bumped into an invisible barrier. It fell back and began to cry.

“Ahhhhh!”

Probably because it was hurt, it didn’t have enough strength to get away. The little claws kicked and kicked but it couldn’t kick them away. Finally, its big eyes burst into tears.

Shen Zhixian didn’t expect it to be so coquettish. He turned it around with the branch. “Don’t cry.”

The little demon bird seemed to be worried about something. I suppressed a scream of fear and stood up quickly. Taking two steps back, it watched them with wariness. “You, who are you?!”

“It doesn’t matter who we are, what’s important is what’s in there?”

Who knew whether it was this sentence that caused the little demon bird to be so frightened. But, it shivered and began to show an expression of terror. In a trembling voice, it said, “You, you don’t want to wake up…Hush! You can’t talk nonsense. You might wake it up!”

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