Chapter 104

  In the second year of the Jiajing era, to the south of the water and north of the mountain, there was a place where the remnants of defeat and death were gathered, an extremely ominous and murderous location. The surroundings were desolate and devoid of human habitation, with tombs standing in the distance. Nearby, a vast expanse of wilderness stretched out, littered with dozens of female corpses. At the outer layer, the four directions indicated by the Siyin Palace, Sanxiang Gate, and Moon Phase were each occupied by nine female corpses born in years, months, days, and hours of Yin. In the inner layer, eight female corpses born in Yin years, months, days, and hours were arranged in the eight cardinal directions. At the center was placed a single female corpse that not only was born but also died in a year, month, day, and hour of Yin. A total of eighty-one corpses formed the "99 Xuan Yin Great Array".

  On a gloomy year, a gloomy month and a gloomy day, a full moon was wandering in the sky. Soon, dark clouds rolled in, turning the full moon into a crescent moon. A thread of bright red blood light spilled down from the crescent moon, shrouding the pale faces of the female corpses. Their faces were deathly pale with a greenish tint, except for their lips which were stained with a layer of blood color.

  As time passed, at the moment of Zhengzi, a woman with a bulging belly walked forward, her long fingernails pulled down, and she cut open her abdomen, dug out a bloody mass, her cold, hard fingers slowly grasped the neck of the thing, and strangled it. The thing let out two faint meows like a kitten before losing its breath. The woman took step by step forward, gently placing the lifeless mass on the abdomen of the female corpse in the formation.

  Strangely, despite the woman's abdomen being torn open, not a single drop of blood flowed out. At this moment, the dark clouds in the sky seemed to be boiling over and wildly surged forward, swallowing up the last ray of moonlight and turning the earth into a dense blackness. Gradually, they roared and formed a huge whirlpool that continuously spun around, and at the center of the whirlpool, countless withered ghostly claws seemed to stretch out, constantly emitting mournful wails.

  The next moment, the female corpses spat out a pale green gas from their mouths, which surged towards the dead fetus in Array Heart. Just as the gas was about to enter the seven orifices of the dead fetus, its small body suddenly jerked violently! Immediately after that, a sound similar to a heartbeat came from that place.

  A large array suddenly erected nine yellow flags with blood symbols, surrounding the heart of the formation and rapidly rotating. The bloody light intertwined into countless threads, passing through the dead fetus and lifting it slightly, floating about an inch above the female corpse. Upon closer inspection, the dead fetus was originally cold and stiff, but now it emitted a red glow, as if its body was coming back to life.

  The woman watched for a while, seeing the blood line, corpse energy, and yin energy intersecting, all pouring into the dead fetus. She let out a sigh of relief, pulled out a trembling girl from beside her, whose mouth was blocked by a yellow talisman. The woman took out a black iron dagger that had been soaked in talisman water, and made a cut on the girl's neck. Fresh blood flowed into the dead fetus's mouth as it greedily devoured it. The woman seemed to smile slightly, softly calling out "Mother's good child".

  But in an instant, the girl's blood had flowed out, and the woman tossed the corpse to one side, kicking a tattered thing that was crouched at her feet. The thing wriggled once, seeming to be a person, who slowly crawled forward, only to have his wrist cut open by the woman, dripping blood for the dead fetus to drink. However, this time it was just enough, and after flowing about half a bowl, the woman kicked the man away in disgust, staring intently at the dead fetus that had sucked up enough blood and continued to absorb various evil spirits.

  Eighty-one days later, at the hour of Zi, a group of ghosts wailed in the night, and the evil spirits fled in all directions. Within a hundred miles, no living person dared to approach, for this was still a place of great calamity, still within the Nine-Nine Mysterious Yin Array. The female corpses that had set up the array were now nothing but skin wrapped around bones, their original faces long gone. The dead fetus at the center of the array had also changed its appearance; it had grown arms and legs, and was vaguely taking on a human shape. Dark energy and resentful energy continued to surge towards it, and it swallowed them all like a giant whale drinking water, growing more satiated with each mouthful.

  At midnight, the stars and moonlight were all obscured by thick clouds, the sky and earth lost their color, and everything was without light. It seemed as if heaven itself knew that a most evil thing was about to be born, and had created countless strange omens.

  In an instant, a thunderbolt struck down from above, hitting the heart of the formation. This was Heaven's final warning. However, the stillborn fetus suddenly emitted a ring of green light, and the thunderbolt vanished without a trace.

  Another explosion sounded, and the figure fell to the ground, struggled to get up, and walked step by step towards the woman standing outside the formation.

  The woman, seeing the great success, looked up at the sky and laughed wildly, pointing to the sky and scolding: "Haha! Two thousand years! Two thousand years! Mao Ying, you said I, Yin Yu Rong, was ruthless and poisonous, not worthy of being a member of the Mao Mountain sect. But today, I have finally set up this 'Nine-Nine Mysterious Yin Great Array', my child has been born, and I will make sure that your Mao Mountain Sect will be... ruined!"

  The next moment, she stared incredulously at the fingers inserted into her chest, unable to utter a word.

  "You... why..."

  That hand stirred at her chest for a moment, pulled out a blood-red heart, and slowly twisted it into a ball of flesh.

  The woman's eyes widened and she fell backward, her body turning into flying ash.

  That figure turned around and slowly walked towards the other side, gradually getting closer...

  The only thing left was a thin, dry skin bag, and the person laughed and coughed several times, shaking his hand in his pocket to find a piece of jade pendant, trembling as he handed it forward: "Take... take it..." Then he raised his head, putting his neck under the long fingernails of the shadowy figure, "You are also my child..." He laughed and shook even harder, "In the future... if one day you see someone with a similar jade pendant... that is your brother..."

  The last word had just fallen, and the man also fell to the ground, in an instant, he turned into a pile of ashes. Only a fire-red jade pendant was left on top of the ashes, slowly picked up by a long fingernail.

  "Brother... brother..."

  In the depths of the mountains outside Xijiang City, there was a village called White Family Village. At the end of the village lived a gentle woman named Bai Hui Niang. She had just turned thirty and had only one son, who was eleven years old by Chinese age reckoning, whom she had raised on her own. Hui Niang strictly adhered to traditional feminine virtues, never liked going out, and never spoke with men. In the early years, she made a living by doing embroidery and entrusting it to a neighbor's wife to sell in exchange for rice and flour. When her son grew older, she had him take over this task. As a result of all this, although there was no adult male in Hui Niang's household, her reputation in the village was extremely good, and no one dared to look down on or belittle her.

  Actually, Hui Niang was also a pitiful person. She was born into a scholarly family and her father was the only teacher in the village who was respected by everyone. Before he passed away, he betrothed Hui Niang to his most promising student, Chen Zhi Li, a xiucai who had come to study here for a long time and never left. Chen Zhi Li was originally a person with no relatives or friends, but he was kind, courteous, and of good character. Now that he had a small family, Hui Niang was also born beautiful and had a very good temperament, so he settled down and stayed. One managed the household well, the other studied hard, and they lived a happy and harmonious life together.

  The next year was the year of the imperial examination, Chen Zhili had been studying hard in his cold window for this day. He packed his bags and prepared to go to Beijing to take the exam. Hui Niang supported him in every way, making pancakes all night to make dry rations for her husband, but she didn't expect to get exhausted and faint, only then did they realize that she was pregnant.

  Chen Zhili was overjoyed, but the examination was imminent and couldn't be delayed. Huiniang wisely asked her husband to prioritize his career, and invited him to leave immediately. Chen Zhili gratefully acknowledged his wife's thoughtful consideration and bowed deeply before departing.

  Huiniang stayed at home to take care of her pregnancy, being extremely careful and meticulous. She finally gave birth to a son, and while taking care of him, she waited for her husband's return. However, what she received instead was a divorce letter and a notice of separation.

  The letter said that Chen Zhili, although not on the list, was favored by a government official's daughter. If he could marry into their family, his father-in-law would bring him into the imperial court and make him an official, giving him a good future. A letter of rejection was specially sent back, and from then on, they had nothing to do with each other regarding marriage between men and women.

  At that time, the woman was divorced and could still remarry if she wanted to, but Hui Niang lived alone with her son, rarely going out, and living a simple life. Fortunately, although her son was quiet and taciturn, he was very filial, and at the age of seven or eight, he followed the village men to cut firewood and hunt in the mountains, helping them with their work, occasionally catching small animals, or being pitied by the men who gave him some meat to take back home for his mother. Before White Husband died, he had a good reputation, and after his death, people took care of his daughter out of kindness.

  Hui Niang did not believe that her husband was so heartless, and she continued to care for their son at home, waiting until she was exhausted before calling him to her bedside to give him detailed instructions.

  "Child, do you know why I gave you the nickname 'Wú Yuàn'?" Huì Niáng said, half-reclining on her pillow, her voice as fine as a wandering thread.

  Kneeling down in front of the bed, holding her hand: "Child knows, it's telling child not to resent father. If one day can see father again, will definitely be filial."

  "Not only that, but also to bear no grudges. For my sake, I must go now, and leave you in this world to suffer. Remember, no matter when, do not complain about heaven or resent others. As long as you are alive, there will eventually be a happy day..."

  Without a word of complaint, he tightened his grip on Hui Niang's hand: "I understand, I will not disappoint your instructions."

  "Mother doesn't ask you to be rich and noble, just asks you to be safe and sound, without complaints..." She breathed more lightly, as if she couldn't hold on anymore. "You... go to the cabinet and bring that bundle of cloth..."

  No complaints, he hastily went and fetched the cloth package, presenting it to his mother. Hui Niang indicated for him to open it, and as he lifted the cloth, inside was a fine piece of red jade, its red glow flowing and turning, looking quite extraordinary.

  "This is the token of your father's engagement to your mother, originally a pair, now given to you..." Huiniang whispered, "You take it to Beijing to find your father, your father is kind and gentle, even if he has a wife and children, he won't treat you poorly..."

  Black eyes stared at his mother's face for a long time without speaking.

  "Agreed... mother..."

  "...I'll listen to you." The son finally replied.

  "Your father said that when he comes back, he will give you a very good academic name..." Huiniang's face was filled with satisfaction, and she slowly closed her eyes. "Wu Yuan... Mother is leaving... Leaving you alone in this world to suffer, Mother... owes you an apology..."

  Huiniang remembered when she first met her husband, he was young and gentle, with a smile as warm as the spring breeze. She wore a blue cotton skirt and stole a glance at him, her cheeks flushing red... Her hand rose slightly, but ultimately fell weakly back down.

  No complaints, she took her mother's hand and stroked it on her face, sobbing uncontrollably.