Chapter 38: Mountain and Sea (3)

“Master, that guy got dragged down. What do we do now?” Xiao Ke’ai shouted anxiously to Wu Zui as she hammered away at the ever-rising human-faced tentacles surging from the bottom of the ring-shaped pit. The main concern was that the device to seal the magnetic energy field was still in Wang Yichuan’s backpack; now that he had fallen, how were they supposed to lock down this place?

“Hey—give me a hand! I’m about to fall!”

Just then, Wang Yichuan’s voice called out from the rim of the pit.

Wu Zui exchanged a glance with Xiao Ke’ai, both wary that this might be a trick by the monsters at the bottom. But if Wang Yichuan hadn’t fallen, and they didn’t save him now, it would soon be too late.

“Cover my back, I’ll check it out!”

“Good luck, Master! Be careful!”

Wu Zui brandished his golden longsword and moved cautiously toward the edge of the pit. Xiao Ke’ai followed closely, fending off the attacks of the human-faced tentacles as they advanced.

At the edge, they saw Wang Yichuan clinging desperately to the stone wall, his entire body radiating blue magnetic energy. A blood-red human-faced tentacle was coiled around his waist, pulling him downward. Judging by the veins bulging on his face, he wouldn’t last much longer.

“Quick! Pull me up, I can’t hold on!”

Wang Yichuan cried out as soon as he saw Wu Zui.

But Wu Zui, ever cautious, stretched out his left hand, which was stained with his own fresh blood. If this was a fake, then—

Sure enough, the moment a drop of blood touched Wang Yichuan’s face, he let out a blood-curdling scream. The area where the blood made contact blackened and charred as if splashed with acid.

Fake Wang Yichuan’s hands instantly morphed into two human-faced tentacles, shooting toward Wu Zui. Wu Zui quickly retreated, dodging the attack.

At that moment, a surge of powerful magnetic energy erupted from the bottom of the pit. A pillar of blue light shot skyward, and all around, the human-faced tentacles shrieked and wailed, before withering and dying in an instant. Their bodies, once as fleshy as human limbs, now looked like twisted black branches.

As for the impostor Wang Yichuan, he too dissolved into several entangled human-faced tentacles, which then shriveled away.

With a metallic clang, a steel grappling hook embedded itself in the stone wall beside Wu Zui. A rope trailed behind it, and after a few testing tugs to check its hold, the rope went taut.

Someone began climbing up, using the rope. His face and limbs were scratched and bleeding, but it was unmistakably Wang Yichuan. Wu Zui remained on his guard, and even Xiao Ke’ai took up a defensive stance beside him.

“Oh, come on! What’s with those faces? I barely made it up here and you two don’t even offer a hand—what’s with that look?” Wang Yichuan eyed their wary expressions, sounding offended.

“How did you get back up?” Wu Zui demanded.

“It’s only a dozen meters down, and the bottom’s padded with all those tentacles—I wasn’t about to die from that! Don’t tell me you thought I was another one of those monsters pretending to be me?” Wang Yichuan guessed at their suspicions from their tense demeanor.

“Of course! Just now, another Wang Yichuan was asking me to pull him up,” Wu Zui replied noncommittally.

“All right, test me however you want—just be quick about it!” Wang Yichuan understood the need for caution in a place like this; they’d all been tricked by these creatures more times than he could count.

“What was that magnetic burst just now?” Wu Zui asked after a glance at the backpack on Wang Yichuan’s back—it really was the same one they’d brought in.

“Magnetic high-explosive charge. I usually recharge it with Spirit Seeker magnetic energy, then detonate it in critical situations. It’s still experimental, so if you’re too close when it goes off, even Spirit Seekers will be affected! But for now, the monsters here won’t be able to use their resentment energy for a while.”

As he spoke, Wang Yichuan spread his hands to show he was unarmed and invited inspection.

Wu Zui glanced at the backpack—it was indeed their original gear. Seeing Wang Yichuan so cooperative, Wu Zui tossed over a scrap of his bloodstained shirt.

“Press the bloodied side against your skin,” Wu Zui instructed, keeping his golden sword at the ready.

“Your blood, huh? Honestly, if it hadn’t snapped me back to my senses, I’d have smashed my skull on the rocks below.” As he spoke, Wang Yichuan wiped the blood on his forehead. Nothing unusual happened—this was the real Wang Yichuan.

“What now?” Wu Zui asked, relieved to see the blood had no effect.

“My magnetic energy is depleted from the explosion, so you two will have to activate the magnetic field seal.” Wang Yichuan pulled nine etched magnetic stones from his backpack and handed them over.

“Understood,” Wu Zui replied, accepting the stones.

“Go to the altar—that’s where the monsters accept offerings, and the deepest connection point between the mountain and them. Set up the magnetic seal there and activate it—the effect will be strongest.”

He pointed to the altar atop the mountain.

“Got it.”

The three crossed the stone bridge linking the altar to the circular path. Xiao Ke’ai glanced down as they passed—all she saw below was pitch darkness, littered with the charred, shriveled remains of human-faced tentacles.

At the far end, they came upon a statue—not human-shaped, but resembling a massive tree. The trunk was carved with patterns like twisted human faces, and the canopy was formed by a mass of human-faced tentacles, so contorted they looked ready to spring to life.

Before the statue was a bottomless hole, about the size of a basketball. The brown stains around the rim suggested blood that had long since dried.

At the base of the statue was a series of carvings—the entire process of a live offering. First, one must kneel and state their wish, then bleed the living sacrifice and pour the blood into the hole. The corpse is thrown from the altar into the mountain, and finally, the “deity” appears on the altar to grant the supplicant’s wish.

Why, then, did the body of the Qian family’s daughter-in-law turn up back in Qianjia Village? Wu Zui wondered. According to the process shown here, her body should have been tossed beneath the altar. As for the Qians sparing her corpse out of sentiment, Wu Zui didn’t buy it for a second. They’d already killed her—sentiment meant nothing now.

“Channel your energy into the magnetic stones. Once they glow blue, hand them to me and I’ll place them. And activate your magnetic protective suits—we can’t give the ghosts any opportunity.”

As Wu Zui pondered, Wang Yichuan reminded them.

“Understood.”

Both Wu Zui and Xiao Ke’ai began channeling their energy into the stones, which lit up one by one. Wang Yichuan placed them around the altar, forming a circle. A blue magnetic shield rose up, sealing the altar and the space beneath it.

“It’s finally over! Let’s get out of here,” Wang Yichuan sighed in relief. This mission had nearly cost him his life. He activated his protective suit and beckoned to the others.

The three started making their way out.

“How long will the seal hold?”

“At least a month. As for a permanent solution, we’ll need a team of Spirit Seekers.”

“What’s beneath the pit?”

“Uh… it’s revolting. Trust me, you don’t want to know. If you’re not strong-minded, just one look would drive you insane.”

All the way out, Wu Zui and Xiao Ke’ai peppered Wang Yichuan with questions, and he answered them all. Soon, they reached the entrance to Qianjia Village.

With the monsters in the mountain sealed, the red rust outside was nowhere near as intense as when they’d gone in. Although walking over it was still uncomfortable, it was nothing for Spirit Seekers. Much easier than using the “Bloodbound Divine Court” technique.

As for ordinary people entering? Out of the question. The mountain’s monsters might break free, and the ambient resentment alone would cause a surge in newborn ghosts. Best to make this place forbidden.

Outside the village, the helicopter had already returned. A man in a black coat stood by it holding a case, apparently waiting for quite some time.

Wu Zui noticed that the door to Xiao Ke’ai’s car was open, but Qian Lan was nowhere to be seen.

“Hmm? A ghost has been here,” Wang Yichuan sensed some residual resentment, about the level of a three-star spirit. He also noticed the missing passenger.

“Did you see anyone in the car?” Wang Yichuan asked the man as he took the case.

The man shook his head. “It was already like this when I got back from the base. I stayed here to hand over the equipment, so I didn’t chase after them. But the ghost seemed to head toward Binhai City.”

“Is there another three-star spirit on the loose in Qianjia Village? Go after them—try to save the person if you can, and report back if not. I need to reinforce the perimeter seal here, to buy us more time,” Wang Yichuan said to Wu Zui and Xiao Ke’ai.

“Understood. And we still need Qian Lan to give a detailed account of what happened here,” Wu Zui replied, sensing the lingering resentment. He pulled Xiao Ke’ai, who was glaring at Wang Yichuan, into the car.

As they drove away, Wang Yichuan glanced at the sky. It was still overcast and drizzling.

“Sigh, better set up the magnetic field seal quickly. If night falls, things will get much more complicated.” With a sigh, he activated the magnets in the case and began setting up the seal around Qianjia Village.