Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  "How's this? Isn't this stealth symbol great?" Zhang Shanyi smiled complacently.

  "Zhang Zhenren, this move of yours is really high." Ding Lingxiu cupped his hands and panted like an ox.

  "Heh heh, I'm sure you've figured it out too, this talisman is the Gale Talisman, only I've increased its spiritual power. But there's a drawback..." Zhang Shanyi said as he took off the talisman from his chest.

  "You don't have to say it, I already know." Ding Lingxiu waved his hand and started vomiting, feeling the sky spinning and the earth rotating.

  "I told you, your body may not be able to handle it. This talisman can only last for three minutes, and after using it, you'll feel like you've just finished a 10,000-meter long run. I'm surprised you didn't faint."

  Ding Lingxiu didn't respond, both hands supporting himself on the ground, continuing to vomit, it took a long time before he recovered.

  Ding Lingxiu had almost finished resting. Zhang Shanyi handed over a bottle of mineral water, Ding Lingxiu rinsed his mouth and said with a dazed expression:

  "Zhang Zhenren, are you so mischievous that your master knows? This stealth symbol of yours is truly top-notch."

  "Haha, let Lord Ding suffer a bit. Although we've already entered the mountain gate, it's so big here, where are we going to find the inner bird?"

  Ding Lingxiu looked around and gazed at the sparkling lake surface, saying calmly:

  "The magpie robin likes quiet places by the water, but I looked at the map and this Guanshan Lake is really too big, and it's so close to the outside world. It won't choose such a noisy place to build its nest. Both cases occurred near Wuhu Lake on the mountain, why don't we go take a look?"

  "Good."

  Two people walked along the mountain stream and climbed up to Wuhu Lake.

  The mountain road was very narrow, with many stone steps going up and down. At intervals, there were plank bridges that clung to the side of the mountain and spanned the water. The path was rugged and winding, with nine bends and eighteen turns that seemed to have no end. The two had just used the Wind Chasing Symbol to sprint forward, exhausting more than half their strength. Now they had only walked a short distance before they were panting heavily.

  "Master Ding, don't mention it. This Guanmen Mountain is indeed worthy of its reputation as 'Little Huangshan'. The peaks are steep and rugged, the strange rocks are towering, the pine trees are straight and upright, truly a masterpiece of nature's craftsmanship." Zhang Shanyi gazed at the distant mountain peaks shrouded in mist and couldn't help but sigh.

  "Indeed, if it weren't for catching demons, I'd definitely get two jugs of good wine and drink with you, Brother Dao." Ding Lingxu said casually.

  "Haha, it's settled then. With the demon subdued, I'll definitely drink with you till we're drunk." Zhang Shanyi laughed heartily, although he had promised Ding Lingxiu that he would no longer speak in such a refined and elegant manner, his mouth still couldn't help but spout out phrases with an ancient tone and rhythm.

  Although the two were a bit tired, they persisted in passing through Mulan Valley and arrived at Wuhu Lake.

  This not-too-large lake, although named Wuhu Lake, does not have five colors and looks no different from other lakes. There is a wooden bridge on the lake for tourists to walk on, with towering peaks on both sides, and the lake and mountains are naturally formed.

  "Huh? Zhang Zhenren, you're so knowledgeable, but this Five-Colored Lake doesn't actually have five colors. How did it get its name?" Ding Lingxiu asked curiously.

  "Master Ding asked the right person, actually I've been to Guanmen Mountain before, it was in September, when the mountains were all red and autumn was in full swing. The trees on the mountain by the lake were multicolored, and their reflections in the water created a kaleidoscope of colors, that's why this lake is called 'Five-colored Lake', it can be considered one of Guanmen Mountain's autumn specialties."

  "Oh, I see." Ding Lingxiu nodded and gazed out at the lake.

  The lake's surface is very calm and sparkling, with the sounds of mountain birdsong and distant rushing water.

  Zhang Shanyi put down his backpack and squatted on a stone step, inhaling the new and exhaling the old. A faint aura surrounded him. Ding Lingxiu also sat down, took out the demon-seeking compass, and the needle pointed straight at the direction of the lake center, but it was still flashing with blue light, which meant they still couldn't confirm whether the human-faced sparrow was really nearby.

  Zhang Shanyi didn't use any magical tools, but with his spiritual power, he could sense whether there was any evil energy around him. He asked Ding Lingxiu:

  "Master Ding, this inner demon is just a monster level, will it come out during the day?"

  "You underestimate it, it's naturally introverted and greedy, in order to obtain demonic power, it can come out at any time day or night. Fortunately, its perception ability is not strong, and it cannot detect our spiritual power." Ding Lingxiu still stared at the compass, answering softly.

  Zhang Shanyi continued to gaze out at the lake, when suddenly he noticed something unusual.

  At this time, more than 20 meters away from the shore, the water surface was like boiling water, with rolling bubbles emerging, about 5 or 6 meters in diameter, and about one meter above the water surface. In an instant, the water surface seemed to have given birth to a large, round stone mill.

  "Master Ding, look at that colorful lake, it seems like there's something in it?" Zhang Shanyi pointed to the bubbles on the surface of the lake and said to Ding Lingxiu.

  Ding Lingxiu immediately looked in that direction, and indeed there seemed to be something in the lake, like a huge fish spewing out water bubbles, or maybe it was something full of holes that had fallen into the lake.

  "Indeed unusual, come with me quickly."

  Ding Lingxiu felt something was off, because in a daze he seemed to see something like a human hand appearing and disappearing in the water bubbles, so he hurriedly called Zhang Shanyi over.

  The two of them climbed onto the bridge and quickly ran to the spot on the bridge closest to the water bubbles, gazing at the surging water bubbles.

  Just as the two of them stood still, they suddenly heard a shrill bird cry coming from the location of the water bubbles. The sound was extremely sharp, like the mournful wail of an evil spirit. Ding Lingyu's whole body shuddered with fright, and if it had been someone else, they might have fallen into the water. Zhang Shanyi furrowed his brow, looking around in the direction of the sound, but he didn't see any signs of birds or beasts. After that one bird cry, the rolling water bubbles on the lake surface suddenly vanished without a trace.

  "What was that noise just now?" Zhang Shanyi was taken aback and looked at Ding Lingxiu.

  Ding Lingxiu also stared blankly at the spot where the bubbles had just appeared, his mind racing rapidly.

  "Not good, this sound is...the inner bird." Ding Lingxiu muttered to himself.

  "What? How is this possible? Are you saying that the bird has entered into the lake?"

  Zhang Shanyi felt it was unbelievable, but perhaps this was the only reason that could explain the bird's cry just now.

  "It's definitely not wrong, Zhang Zhenren, you wait on the bridge, I'll dive into the water for a trip."

  Ding Lingyu finished speaking and immediately began to take off his clothes. Before long, he was left with only a pair of swimming trunks. Because Ding Lingyu traveled the world, subduing demons and monsters everywhere, he had grown accustomed to wearing swimwear for years, just in case he needed to enter the water at any moment.

  Zhang Shanyi was about to stop him, but found that Ding Lingxiu had already stripped naked and plunged in with a loud splash.

  Ding Lingxiu dove into the water, his lithe figure resembling a dragon in the water. As he stroked through the waves, he stirred up layer upon layer of ripples. He quickly swam to where he had just surfaced, took a deep breath, and then dived down again.

  It's May in Northeast China, but the weather is not warm. The lake water this morning was icy cold. Although they had just climbed a mountain, which could be considered a warm-up, it was nothing compared to what winter swimming enthusiasts go through before entering the water. As soon as Ding Lingxu jumped into the water, his legs cramped up from the freezing water. When he put his head underwater, he felt like all the pores on his face were being pricked by needles, and he almost choked on water.

  He endured the stinging pain and entered the water, observing the environment in the lake through the murky water. However, after looking around, he only saw a large amount of aquatic plants and some grass fish, but did not find any trace of the bird. Just as he was about to float up, he discovered something that made him think:

  At a position about five or six meters below him, it seemed like someone was constantly sinking down, but due to the extremely low visibility underwater and the complexity of the water grass, Ding Lingxu couldn't see what this person looked like. The only thing he could confirm was that this person had just fallen into the water not long ago and hadn't yet shown any signs of drowning, such as whitening, swelling, or bloating. Ding Lingxu parted the water grass and swam further down, discovering that the person nearby had stopped sinking, with their legs seemingly entangled in the water grass, their entire body swaying back and forth with the underwater currents.

  Although his body had adapted to the cold lake water, Ding Ling's limbs were still frozen stiff. After several gasps for air, he was almost unable to hold on. He tried to push aside the aquatic plants to get closer to that person, but he felt his whole body go weak and soft, his eyes began to see stars, and his hands and feet were about to lose consciousness.

  Ding Lingxiu forced his body to continue swimming in the icy lake water, getting closer and closer to that person. Finally, he arrived at a place less than one meter away from that person.

  He felt that he had used a great deal of strength to peel off the slippery aquatic plants in front of him, and his ears were buzzing due to lack of oxygen. And when he saw the appearance of this drowning person, he was suddenly stunned, feeling a numbness on his scalp, and simply dared not believe what he saw:

  Good heavens! The person at the bottom of the water... is actually Zhang Shanyi!