Blade - Unbound

"Demon!"

Every hair on Luo Faqing's body stood on end.

Isn't this supposed to be a bloodline curse? Then what in the world is this thing?!

Ordinary malevolent entities were invisible to normal people. This was the first time he had encountered a creature that could actually manifest itself before ordinary eyes.

Though shocked, he reacted swiftly. He stepped in rapid succession as he formed hand seals and chanted, "Heavenly Origin Eastern Lord, commander of armies and master of soldiers, guardian of the lands beneath Heaven, protector of life and essence... By decree!"

In the span of a breath, the talisman shot forward. A burst of fire erupted as scorching astral qi billowed outward.

At the same time, Luo Faqing drew the peachwood sword from his back. Forming another seal with his left hand, he removed a command token from his waist. To his relief, the strange black shape really did seem to be nothing more than a shadow. Illuminated by the talisman's flames, it dispersed at once.

Before he could relax, Master Du's terrified voice rang out behind him. "Daoist, over here!"

Luo Faqing immediately turned around, only to discover the shadows on the ground gathering once more into the form of a monstrous bird that swooped toward the girl lying on the bed.

Terror mixed with fury as Master Du raised his blade and hacked downward. "You old bastard, come for me instead!"

Yet the razor-sharp blade cut through the black shadow as though slicing empty air, causing it not the slightest harm. Fortunately, when the shadow approached the bed, it was blocked by the crimson cords. The copper coins and bells hanging from them rang in unison, while several talismans ignited with soft puffs.

The black shadow was repelled, and instantly turned on Master Du instead.

But Luo Faqing yanked Master Du behind him. "Move!"

He thrust his peachwood sword forward, which pierced straight through the shadow. But just like Master Du's blade, the peachwood sword seemed to have stabbed into thin air, offering no resistance whatsoever to the bizarre black shape.

Without panicking, Luo Faqing formed another seal with his left hand and lightly struck the back of the peachwood sword with the command seal he was holding.

The black shadow exploded apart and vanished. Yet before he could breathe a sigh of relief, it gathered again in another corner of the room.

The commotion had already alerted the servants outside. Holding torches and armed with blades, spears, and clubs, they rushed toward the room. Though frightened, Master Du had always treated them generously. At a time like this, none of them felt they could hide.

Luo Faqing's expression changed dramatically as he roared, "None of you come in!"

In the darkness, Li Yan suddenly awoke with a jolt of unease. A moment later, he heard shouting in the distance. Since they were staying in someone else's home and the situation remained unclear, he had slept fully dressed. Hearing the commotion, he grabbed a blade and rushed out of his room.

The Guanshan blade passed down through his family had already been ruined. Although he had acquired Yao San's pair of treasured blades, he had yet to find a capable smith to reforge them, so for the moment he was simply making do with an ordinary blade.

As he stepped outside, Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan emerged from their rooms as well.

Without hesitation, Li Yan strode toward the source of the disturbance. "Let's go take a look!"

After all, that was their profession. It would be one thing if they couldn't solve the problem, but if they fled the moment something happened, they'd become the laughingstock of the trade.

Though the residence was enormous, the two courtyards were not far apart. Before long, they reached the courtyard where the incident had occurred.

Even before getting close, Li Yan's expression changed. When they had first arrived at the residence during the day, he had already caught a peculiar odor, like something spoiled and rotting. At the time, it had been faint, barely perceptible.

Now, however, it had become overwhelmingly strong, as though the stench of the entire estate had gathered into one place. Simply smelling it was nauseating.

Chaos had already engulfed the courtyard.

The moment Li Yan stepped inside, he sucked in a sharp breath. A large black shadow resembling a giant bird darted back and forth among the crowd, constantly dispersing and reforming. Anyone it struck collapsed unconscious on the spot.

Having caught sight of it, Sha Lifei hurriedly retreated in fright as he swore, "Mother of... What the hell is that?!"

Even Li Yan felt his scalp tingle. That was the first time he had encountered such a thing. Ghosts were generally formless. How could there be such a tangible evil?

Without another thought, Li Yan immediately activated the Three Talent Demon-Suppressing Coin tassel, preparing to charge in.

"Don't!" Wang Daoxuan hurriedly grabbed him and said urgently, "Ordinary methods won't work against that thing. Go find a rooster!"

Without a word, Li Yan turned and ran. Activating his divine sense with the Yang Seal, he sprinted through the estate, kicked open the kitchen door, and seized one of the roosters awaiting slaughter.

When he returned to the courtyard, Sha Lifei was protecting Wang Daoxuan, while Luo Faqing had already planted his ritual flags and summoned a guardian spirit inside the yard.

Most of the servants had already fallen unconscious. Yin winds howled as the torches flickered violently, causing shadows to dance across the ground.

Thanks to his divine ability, however, Li Yan could still clearly perceive the evil creature's location. Just as Wang Daoxuan had said, ordinary methods were completely ineffective against it.

The guardian spirit Luo Faqing had summoned was immensely powerful, dispersing the black shadow again and again, yet it recovered every single time as though it was immortal.

Wang Daoxuan snatched the rooster from Li Yan and tugged twice at its neck.

Startled, the rooster immediately let out a loud crow, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

The bird-shaped black shadow within the courtyard instantly vanished. Li Yan looked around solemnly. He could smell the rotten stench rapidly dispersing once again, spreading throughout the entire Du estate until it became extremely faint.

Wang Daoxuan, however, wasted no time. Tossing the rooster aside, he shouted urgently at Luo Faqing, "Quick, Daoist! They've been possessed. Use Six Geng Talismans to dispel the affliction!"

Luo Faqing froze. "Six Geng Talismans?"

Wang Daoxuan stared at him in disbelief. "Don't tell me you can't even draw Six Geng Talismans?"

Luo Faqing gritted his teeth without replying. Of course he knew what the Six Geng Talismans were. They were among the most basic talismans, commonly used even by the lowest-ranking yin-yang masters to dispel calamities. The problem was that they were simply too basic and possessed virtually no offensive power. His own techniques were overwhelmingly destructive, capable of driving away ghosts and spirits with ease. When would he ever have needed something like this?

If he had bothered learning it, his fellow disciples would probably have laughed at him.

"Damn it!" Wang Daoxuan was so frustrated he nearly cursed. Without wasting another second, he said, "This talisman is simple. I'll set up the altar now. Just follow what I do! Brother Li, knock out anyone who starts acting strangely!"

Li Yan replied instantly, "Got it!"

"Brother Sha, dig up some earth from the central palace position of the main hall. Mold five clay figures, get a piece of mulberry wood and one tael of licorice root, then bury them immediately in front of the old madam's coffin!"

Sha Lifei yelled, "On it!"

He turned and sprinted away. Having finished issuing instructions, Wang Daoxuan seemed to be racing against time. He immediately set up an altar, sprayed consecrated water from his mouth to open the ritual, formed seals, and inscribed the Six Geng Talismans while explaining the key points.

Just as he had said, the Six Geng Talisman was extremely simple.

Luo Faqing only needed to see it twice to understand it. His expression alternated between one of embarrassment and anger as he gritted his teeth and began setting up his own altar to draw talismans.

Meanwhile, Li Yan was even busier. Some of the servants who had been knocked unconscious began trembling violently before climbing back to their feet with vacant expressions and rolled-back eyes. They would shriek incoherently as they lunged at those nearby.

Li Yan knocked them unconscious one after another, only for them to rise again moments later.

Fortunately, Wang Daoxuan quickly finished several Six Geng Talismans and handed them to Li Yan. After pouring his energy into them, Li Yan slapped them onto the servants' foreheads.

As the rotten odor dissipated, the servants also returned to normal.

On the other side, once Luo Faqing got the hang of it, he was drawing talismans at twice Wang Daoxuan's speed. Working together, the three of them soon had every servant in the courtyard fast asleep.

Only when they were done did Wang Daoxuan finally breathe a sigh of relief and shake his head. "The longer this kind of thing goes unchecked, the more troublesome it becomes. Fortunately, we discovered it early."

He then turned to Luo Faqing and said sincerely, "As expected of an elite disciple of a proper lineage, Fellow Daoist. You're far better than this poor Daoist."

For some reason, Luo Faqing found those words unbearably grating. He had been about to lash out, but upon seeing the honest, tranquil look in Wang Daoxuan's eyes, he suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He merely gave a disgruntled snort.

A deathly pale Master Du approached and bowed respectfully. "Daoist Wang, thank you for lending your aid."

Though Luo Faqing had protected him and he had escaped the creature's attacks, the sight of the ruined courtyard, together with thoughts of his grandson whose fate remained unknown, his unconscious granddaughter, and his wife lying in her coffin, caused tears to stream down his face.

No longer able to endure it, he collapsed to his knees and pleaded in a trembling voice, "Daoist... Please save my entire family. Even if I have to give my own life in exchange, I would do so without hesitation..."

Li Yan frowned and asked, "Daoist, what exactly was that thing just now?"

"One moment." Wang Daoxuan helped Master Du to his feet before speaking thoughtfully, "Master Du, there are many hidden details behind this matter. Please tell us everything truthfully, without concealing even the slightest thing. This poor Daoist may lack the ability to resolve it, but I should at least be able to offer some advice."

Master Du nodded repeatedly. "I'll tell you everything! This all began twenty years ago..."

Inside the side room, Master Du's face was pale as he shook his head. "Since it concerned a family scandal, I never wished to make it public. I never imagined it would bring about such a disaster.

"My family originally descended from the Du Clan from the old capital. Though our lineage had long since declined, we were still considered fairly well-off locally. Although far from the greatest, we were certainly better off than most.

"My father was spoiled by my grandfather from childhood. He spent his days idling about Chang'an, gambling and causing trouble, eventually accumulating mountains of debt and literally angering my grandfather to death.

"After he inherited the family, our fortunes declined even further. He sold off family properties, spent his days in gambling dens and brothels throughout Chang'an, and whenever he returned home drunk, he beat and cursed both my mother and my brothers.

"One day, while drunk, he tried to sell our last ancestral farmland. I stopped him, and he actually tried to kill me. I escaped, but one of my brothers died beneath his blade... Overcome with grief and rage, I killed him. Fortunately, my mother helped cover it up, and the matter was suppressed.

"But by then, the Du family was already on the verge of collapse. It was then that a fengshui master appeared and instructed me to establish this Marrow Drip Formation. However, it required burying my father's remains within an ancient royal tomb, condemning his soul to never enter the underworld and instead endure endless torment day and night.

"I hated my father with all my heart, so I followed his instructions. After that, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to rebuilding the family, and little by little, we prospered."

His eyes filled with complicated emotions as he gritted his teeth and continued. "I have never regretted it. If retribution must come, let it fall upon me alone. I ask only that my family be spared!"

Wang Daoxuan frowned. "Master Du, didn't that strange man tell you that the Marrow Drip Formation never required such a cruel method?"

Master Du stared blankly. "What do you mean, Daoist?"

Wang Daoxuan explained how the Marrow Drip Formation truly worked before shaking his head. "... Such an excellent fengshui formation only required patient management, the accumulation of virtue, and the cultivation of blessings. Perhaps your own generation wouldn't have changed much, but your descendants would gradually prosper. Using your ancestors' bones to forcefully accelerate the process is like walking a tightrope. One wrong step, and there is no return."

Master Du's face turned deathly pale as he glanced at Luo Faqing.

The man snorted coldly. "Senior Brother had already seen through all this. But since what was done was already done, there was simply no way to reverse it."

His expression remained grim, yet inwardly he felt uneasy. His formidable senior brother, Yue Fachong, had never mentioned any of this. He had merely said the problem was unsolvable and told him to muddle through before leaving.

As for what became of the Du Family, it wasn't worth bothering about.

"I see." After pondering for a moment, Wang Daoxuan slowly shook his head. "Master Du... I'm afraid someone deliberately set you up."

Master Du looked stunned. "What makes you say that?"

Everyone else also looked on curiously.

Wang Daoxuan said gravely, "I've read about that thing from earlier in the Tang miscellany Chaoye Qianzai.

"During the Dachu era, at Zheng Village in Chishui, Taizhou, someone encountered an evil entity and brought it into his home, where it slaughtered the household. Only the skulls remained, all else having been devoured. When the family broke down the door, they found a giant bird hidden among the roof beams before it flew out through the entrance. Some claimed it was a demonic fiend."

Luo Faqing frowned. "A demonic fiend?"

As a disciple of an orthodox lineage, he had never heard the name before. Yet Wang Daoxuan was quoting an actual source, and the description matched the current situation so closely that he could not refute it.

Wang Daoxuan nodded. "That's right. It's also called the Rakshasa Bird. I became curious after reading about it, and questioned many senior figures in both the jianghu and the mystic path. At last, an elder from the Yin Sect told me its true origin."

"Xuanshi Zhi[ref] Xuanshi Zhi () is a famous collection of Tang Dynasty anomaly tales, often translated as Records of the Chancellery or Stories from the Chamber of Dissemination[\ref] records: 'Several days after a person's death, if a bird emerges from within the coffin, it is called an annihilation.'"

Luo Faqing looked surprised. "It's a kind of killing qi?"

"Yes." Wang Daoxuan's expression grew increasingly solemn. "That elder told me that they called it the Sheng Spirit. Meanwhile, the Song scholar Lian Bu wrote in the Records of the Clear and Honorable that it was in fact the corpse-gas bird spoken of in Buddhist tradition. I've always enjoyed reading obscure texts, and I thought such a creature existed only in legends, since hardly anyone had ever seen one. I never expected it to actually exist."

Luo Faqing remained silent for a moment before saying, "Daoist Wang, your knowledge is truly impressive. If I offended you before, please accept my apologies."

Sha Lifei immediately beamed with pride. "Of course! Do you even know who our Daoist is?"

He felt as refreshed as eating an ice-cold watermelon on the hottest day of summer. Wang Daoxuan rarely sought attention, but when it truly mattered, he always managed to bring honor to their side.

Master Du, however, remained deeply unsettled. "I never imagined such an evil thing existed. Daoist... Does that mean the man back then truly harbored malicious intentions?"

Wang Daoxuan nodded. "A Sheng, also called a Demonic Sheng, can only be born under extremely unusual circumstances. Don't you find it strange that everything happened far too conveniently? There's one more thing that must be confirmed."

Master Du bowed slightly. "Please, Daoist."

Wang Daoxuan sighed in response. "We must open your wife's coffin and examine her body."

Joss paper burned fiercely as a crowd gathered nearby.

"My dear... Forgive me..." After lighting three sticks of incense, Master Du gritted his teeth. "Men! Open the coffin. Conduct the examination!"

According to custom, a coffin was not nailed shut immediately after death. Instead, it was raised three feet above the ground with the lid only loosely covered, leaving a narrow gap. Thus, the coffin was opened without difficulty.

Li Yan personally performed the examination. When he opened the old madam's skull and chest cavity, everyone present sucked in a cold breath.

Her brain and lungs had both dissolved into foul black sludge!

"W-What... What should we do now, Daoist?"

Master Du's hair practically stood on end with rage. At this point, he finally understood that he had been caught in a terrifying scheme that had been laid twenty years ago.

Wang Daoxuan sighed. "My condolences, Master Du. I'm afraid your grandson is likely no longer alive. That thing is both killing qi and a demonic fiend. The more people it devours, the more difficult it becomes to deal with. It will use your entire bloodline as sustenance. If it fully emerges from its shell, the consequences will be unimaginable."

He looked toward the west. "According to that elder, this creature is born from corpse qi, resentment, and yin killing qi. It emerges from within a coffin. If we wish to resolve this... there is only one way. We must break open the tomb and suppress the evil within!"