Chapter 189: Chain Quest (Two)

Xiao Fen and Lycaon were talking when they suddenly saw the main gate of the Duke’s Manor open halfway. A middle-aged man stood at the door, bowing repeatedly to the two of them, and said: “Immortals, please forgive me. The main gate of my house can only be fully opened when His Majesty comes. My father is waiting in the main hall. Please, Immortals, come with me.”

Lycaon did not understand the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty at all. Hearing the middle-aged man speak for a long time, he sized up the main gate, turned his head, and asked Xiao Fen: “Palin, do you think the gate is already filled with accumulated blood behind it?”

Xiao Fen smiled, exchanged a glance with Jing Shanxin, and both saw that although their expressions were calm, their eyes were gray and gloomy.

Even without being personally involved, just watching this residence from the side, both of them already knew that many of the people inside were probably infected by the filthy poison. It was not a question of whether they could be cured, but that this residence would probably not last past tonight.

As for how late, the answer to that question lay precisely with Xiao Fen.

If this residence could not be found before tonight, the massacre of the family outside Dongzhi Gate would likely be reenacted in this Duke’s Manor.

“Save as many as we can.”

Jing Shanxin suddenly said: “The filth around this residence is flourishing, and the hindrances of karma inside are dense. I fear some people inside have already died, but it has not been revealed to the world. These dead people interact with the Hell aura underground and have undergone other changes. Wanting no one to die is impossible. We can only go in and see how many can survive.”

Xiao Fen nodded and strode forward. Before long, he passed the main gate. The moment he walked through, a sinister wind blew over, making him shiver involuntarily. He turned his head to look at the middle-aged man with a gray defeatist look on his face. He felt a sense of foreboding in his heart. This middle-aged man could move freely, but his expression was already somewhat dull. He didn’t feel that sinister wind at all.

Jing Shanxin, walking behind Xiao Fen, saw this and sighed softly. Although he didn’t speak, the meaning was very clear. This middle-aged man was probably too heavily polluted by the poison, and there was no way to live.

The three of them followed the middle-aged man around the screen wall. Suddenly, it became dark before their eyes. The entire courtyard seemed to be covered by heavy Black Mist, completely blocking out the sunny weather outside the walls. Wisps of black smoke darted about everywhere. The people walking in this courtyard looked somewhat stiff and slow, and they didn’t speak. The group of people looked like lost souls.

“They can’t get out,” Jing Shanxin said. “Look at these toxic barriers; they have been confused by the poisonous smoke. The so-called ghost wall hits them, and they walk around in this courtyard, never finding the way to leave. As time passes, they forget what their purpose used to be, and just keep walking here until they die.”

Xiao Fen frowned and asked in a low voice: “The steward outside, and this middle-aged man just now, and those guarding servants, seem not to have been confused.”

“In this residence, those filthy things have gained wisdom and know what is what. Therefore, there are priorities. It is just unknown how much of this filth there is.”

Hearing this, Xiao Fen suddenly thought of something. He turned his head to look behind him, let out a long breath, walked a few steps quickly, came behind the middle-aged man, and asked: “When did the changes in this courtyard begin?”

“Changes?” The middle-aged man was stunned and asked back: “What changes? And who are you people? Why are you here? What is this place? Eh, my head hurts. What is this place?”

Before Xiao Fen could speak, Jing Shanxin had already walked up. He stroked the middle-aged man’s head with his hand, murmuring as if chanting a verse. He paused and said: “Let it be, let it be. All suffering ends today. You came naked, and you will leave clean. Go, go.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man’s body began to emit black smoke from everywhere. After a while, his entire body continued to wither and slowly shrank into a ball. His clothes disintegrated and vanished. Finally, his entire naked body curled up together, looking somewhat like a fetus in the mother’s womb.

Seeing this, Xiao Fen couldn’t help but think more highly of Jing Shanxin. Detecting and identifying poison might not be difficult for Xiao Fen, but the ability to easily drive out poison bare-handed like Jing Shanxin was a huge gap.

Not to mention Xiao Fen, even Lycaon, who hadn’t seen Wei Zhongxian and Daoist Yuan perform yesterday, was stunned when he saw this scene. He whispered to Xiao Fen: “This looks like a biological poison ability above Level 3.”

Xiao Fen smiled slightly, thinking about what was said in the new Main Quest, that before 1645 AD, the calamities in the Huaxia region never required those Awakened to come and help, and he knew just how many powerful figures existed in Huaxia at that time.

Compared to those high-level figures in Huaxia who could be mentioned in the same breath as the Western Awakened, Jing Shanxin was probably not considered a great expert.

And this was exactly what Xiao Fen found strange: where were those true experts of the Huaxia region right now?

In short, just as the Main Quest stated, the World Tree knew everything, but the real reason could only be fathomed by the Trialists themselves.

Without anyone to guide them further, the three of them directly crossed the courtyard wreathed in black smoke and walked into the main hall behind it.

This main hall was very spacious; if sunlight shone in as usual, not to mention splendid and magnificent, it would at least be bright and airy, but at this moment, the black smoke in the courtyard blocked the sunlight, leaving the hall in a gray gloom.

On the Grand Tutor’s chair in the center of the main room, an old man with white hair and beard sat calmly. Seeing Xiao Fen and the others enter, he was not surprised, nor did he stand up, but merely said indifferently: “Please sit, everyone. Tea is unavailable, so let us speak directly.”

Jing Shanxin put his palms together, chanted a Buddhist phrase, and looked up saying: “The Benefactor is already critically ill and cannot leave this courtyard; even among everyone in the courtyard, only one or two out of ten can survive. However, this humble monk cannot simply stand by and watch. If the Benefactor wishes for someone to survive, please tell me; if there is even a sliver of hope, this humble monk will ensure their safety.”

The old man smiled and said: “Thank you for your trouble, Master. Among my descendants, there are two who are very clever, and I favor them usually. At this time, let them live. Those two children are currently in the rear residence; if you go over, you will naturally see them.”

Pausing for a moment, the old man coughed violently twice, then continued: “As for other matters, please do as you wish. I will wait for the end in this house; I want to see what kind of death awaits me.”

Xiao Fen nodded, and the three stood up, walked around the screen behind the old man, exited through the back door of the main hall, and entered the second courtyard. Just like the front courtyard, black smoke lingered everywhere. Amidst the black smoke, many people walked around in a daze, never bumping into each other.

Occasionally, a few people walked to the side of a room or a corner, their bodies paused, and they collapsed unconsciously. After lying on the ground for a while, their bodies began to crack continuously. Before long, their bodies were reduced to skeletons, and even those skeletons looked pitch black, clearly about to decay into flying ash soon.

“It is not some great poison; originally, it could not kill people. In the end, it is because the owner of this house refused medical treatment out of fear, planting an evil cause and reaping an evil fruit. If they had found the Eastern Depot or Changchun Temple at the start, how could it be like this today?”

Jing Shanxin shook his head slightly, sighed, and added: “I fear the owner of this house did something conscience-stricken and dared not let it be known, leading to a situation that got out of hand.”

Xiao Fen frowned and asked: “Is this unrelated to those Filth Life forms that have gained intelligence?”

“If one says it is unrelated, there is a connection; if one says it is related, it is a relationship between good and evil ends.”

“Please explain, Master.”

“This Filth Life form should have originally possessed some intelligence. After entering this house, something unknown happened, and it released those toxic gases. Even if the intent was not to harm people, it counts as an evil deed.”

Jing Shanxin pointed to the surroundings and continued: “However, this filth suppressed the hostility of the entire house, preventing it from spreading everywhere, which counts as a good deed.”

“In the end, whether it is evil or good can only be answered upon seeing the main body. However, this filth seems not to have originally been in this house but was attracted by the original bad karma of this house. That means, even if you see this filth, the original sins of this house are not yet absolved, and you still have work to do.”

Xiao Fen frowned, feeling Lycaon tugging at him from behind. He looked at Lycaon and asked: “What is wrong?”

“Your terminology is too heavy; you have been talking for so long, and I understand nothing. What is ‘YESHANG’? What is ‘ZUINIE’? Also, what exactly do you mean?”

“We are saying that the Hell Creature inside may not be our mission target, and the real mission has not started yet.”

Lycaon shrugged and said: “The language of Huaxia people is truly wonderful. Although I clearly understood it, it is no different from not understanding it. Next time, I must have Callisto teach me Chinese properly; perhaps it can even become a code.”

Xiao Fen smiled, knowing that Lycaon was pretending to be calm. He said nothing more. The group bypassed the corner gate of the second courtyard and walked into the third courtyard. Here, the large courtyard was divided into several smaller courtyards, presumably where several main family members lived separately.

Jing Shanxin stood at the door for a while, pointed to the right, and said: “It is right there. The Buddha statue is still in the room; go over, and perhaps that filth is there too.”

Xiao Fen asked Jing Shanxin: “Master, are you not going?”

“This humble monk has his own affairs, and the Benefactor has his own destination. Go quickly, do not delay. Once matters here are settled, I fear more things will follow endlessly.”

Xiao Fen heard this and said: “Please guide me, Master.”

“Do not guide, do not guide. Worldly affairs have no end; how can pointing and guiding reveal the true face? Benefactor, go on your own; the truth will eventually come to light. But before the truth emerges, you must redouble your efforts. This humble monk bids the Benefactor farewell, never to meet again.”