The Reinforcements

Li Huowang leaned against a tree trunk, deep in thought. “Senior Chen, could you tell me in detail what happened when you came here before?”

“After all, I’ve just arrived, and I need to understand the full situation before making any plans. You know that our Ao-Jing Sect’s methods come at a heavy cost every time we use them.”

Blind Chen nodded in agreement, poking at the mud with his staff. “Ah, I took the job, didn’t I? Said something was going on here and told me to come take a look. So I disguised myself as a fortune teller and came to Gan Yuan Village.”

“The first few days, I felt a lot of faces. But on the third day, guess what? That thing inside the wall actually came out to get its bones read!”

“They thought that since I, Blind Chen, can’t see anything, they could fool me. Ha! My eyes may be blind, but my ears are sharper than most people’s by a long shot.”

“That night, there was clearly only me in my room. But in the space of a moment, I heard three voices! And none of them had any footsteps.”

“Where could they have come from? Obviously crawled up out of the mud. Those evil spirits were putting on airs, imitating human speech, asking me to read their bones.”

“So I felt them. That was the first time I, Blind Chen, ever read a spirit’s bones. And let me tell you, the bones were the same as a human’s. But you want to know what I found? All three faces were signs of violent death!”

“So I swung my staff at them. Killed one on the spot, wounded another.”

“After that, I figured that since I’d helped the people of Gan Yuan Village get rid of the evil spirits, they’d at least treat me to a meal, right? But guess what? Not only did they not do that, they chased me out with hoes and carrying poles!”

“When I came to my senses, I understood: the people in this village had been possessed by those spirits. Until those evils were cleaned out, they wouldn’t get better.”

“So that’s why, every night, after they’re all asleep, I rush into the village to act on Heaven’s behalf.”

“But as you can see, they’re as slippery as eels. There were even a few times they tried to ambush me, Blind Chen! But I saw through it every time.”

Having talked for a while, Blind Chen’s mouth went dry. He crouched down and scooped some water from a small mud-puddle made by a cow’s hoofprint.

Feeling his throat ease up a little, he turned his head toward Li Huowang’s direction. “Kid, I said all that. Were you even listening? Figure something out, fast.”

Soon, Li Huowang’s voice came from a different direction. “I was listening, Senior. Don’t worry, I’m just thinking about which method to use to force them out.”

“Mm. Hurry it up. Next time I take a job, I’m picking something closer. The journey here was too much trouble.”

Blind Chen sat back down on the mossy stone. He reached behind him into his bamboo basket, pulled out a mirror shaped like the Eight Trigrams, wiped it carefully with a cloth, and put it back.

“Senior, I’ve thought of a plan. Where do these mud-devils go most often?”

“The Mud Bodhisattva Temple. Don’t know why, but they like going there the most.”

“Then let’s head to the Mud Bodhisattva Temple first.”

“Better hurry. If day breaks, those fools will come to cause trouble. And then what? Can’t kill them, can’t not kill them.”

Blind Chen tapped his staff rapidly against the ground, following the sound of Li Huowang’s footsteps as they headed back toward the village.

There had been no one in the village earlier. Now, in the deeper night, the village was just as empty. Fireflies dotted the paths between the houses, their faint glow the only light.

Suddenly, Blind Chen’s expression turned serious. He planted both hands on the ground and pressed his ear flat against the dirt.

“Kid, be careful. Someone’s coming. The footsteps sound wrong—I haven’t heard them in the village before. Four people. Two men, two women. One of the men is big. Feels like he’s wearing armor.”

Li Huowang looked around, his face grave. “Four strangers showing up in the dead of night? They can’t be up to any good. I’ll go take a look.”

Before Blind Chen could answer, Li Huowang had already dashed off.

Blind Chen didn’t get up. He stayed prone, listening intently.

Gradually, he heard the four people turn and leave the village.

“Senior, I’m back. I used a misdirection technique to lure them away from Gan Yuan Village,” Li Huowang said as he returned to the blind old man.

“Let’s go. The sooner we finish, the sooner we leave. Too many people will definitely cause trouble.” Li Huowang nodded and quickly followed.

By the time the second watch of the night arrived, the two of them had reached the Mud Bodhisattva Temple. Or rather, not quite—they were still an alley away.

“This is as close as we can get. Any farther and we’ll scare them off. Last time you went inside, that’s when they marked you.”

Li Huowang estimated the distance, nodded, and pulled a Daoist bell from his robe. “Senior, please bear with me. It might get a little noisy.”

With that, he immediately began to shake the bell. The piercing ring exploded like a thunderclap through Gan Yuan Village.

As Li Huowang shook his head violently, the Wandering Lord before him split into eight figures.

Li Huowang scooped up a piece of mud from the ground, shoved it into his mouth, and said to the eight Wandering Lords: “朄瑱昬！贽冄勰弢匰！！”

The line-formed figures nodded in unison and sank silently into the earth.

Blind Chen couldn’t hear a thing after that—the piercing sound had completely enveloped him.

“Kid! This plan of yours isn’t working! You’ve woken up the whole village!” he shouted toward the sound of the bell.

“Don’t worry, Senior Chen! It’s noisy, but it’ll force them out soon!” Li Huowang’s hand shook the bell even harder.

Blind Chen staggered toward Li Huowang. Just as he reached behind him, he felt his staff brush against something on the ground and bent down to pick it up.

In that moment of bending, a flash of cold light—Blind Chen raised his bamboo staff and thrust it at Li Huowang’s waist.

The strike was incredibly treacherous, and under the cover of the bell, it made almost no sound.

But just as the tip of the incredibly thin staff was about to pierce him, Li Huowang’s body twisted as if guided by some unseen force. The hilt of the sword on his back shifted into the path of the blow, deflecting the tip.

Even blocked, the force was immense, sending Li Huowang flying several meters.

At the same time, the Wandering Lord, already lying in ambush underground, slowly rose to surround Blind Chen.

Li Huowang’s eyes went wide as he scrambled to his feet. He opened his mouth, furious, ready to speak—but the other man got there first.

“Hmph! Zuowandao! You lying bastards!! Did you really think I, Blind Chen, would fall for your bullshit? I never sent for reinforcements! Where the hell did this fake savior come from!?”