Chapter 36.2: Opening Coffins.

Chapter 36 Part 2

Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi certainly didn’t recognize this junior sister, but Wang Jingxiu had read about their past events on “Ghosts Know.” Naturally, nothing more needed to be said about Hell King Ye. Most of the younger generation of Celestial Masters were deathly afraid of him. After Wang Jingxiu realized that the person she had just attacked was actually Hell King Ye, her body trembled for a long time before calming herself down.

This young lady’s fear was no different than Pei Yu. After she recovered her senses, she talked about what she had encountered these past days.

Wang Jingxiu’s voice shook, “F-Fellow Daoist Ye, F-Fellow Daoist Xi, I’m really sorry. Right before I got sealed in the coffin, I was battling against a malicious ghost. I was suddenly trapped in a coffin, and I fainted. Once I woke up, I saw you guys. I thought you were a malicious ghost and quickly pulled out my sword to attack.”

Xi Jia understood this sort of action very well. One second before, the young lady was still fighting with the malicious ghost. A second later, she opened her eyes and saw Ye Jingzhi. In that split second, it was possible for her to not recognize who Ye Jingzhi was. She had pulled out her sword in opposition without question. He asked, “Five days ago, I received Pei Yu’s message, and something happened to him. This……Fellow Daoist Wang, just what happened to you guys during these days?”

The young lady remembered the past, and sudden chills ran up her spine. She calmed her heart and recalled, “So I had been sealed in the coffin for five days already. It’s like this, five days ago, Senior Brother Pei and I took the train and arrived in G Province. He has offended Master, and he needs to go out and lie low. It just so happens to be my first time heading out to ghost hunt. So he went together with me, and he could also guide me along the way. The relationship between Senior Brother and Fellow Daoist Xi is pretty good. When we had reached X Province, Senior Brother Pei wanted to stop by and see you. Then, we came to G Province. Just as we arrived at the station, he found a man with very strong yin energy on his body at the train station. He’s plagued by a malicious ghost.”

Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi mutually glanced at each other: Sure enough, Pei Yu had already run into trouble at the train station.

The young lady continued to say, “Although Senior Brother is very unreliable, he would draw a blade and help when facing these sort of things. So we blocked that man and told him that he’s being haunted by a malicious ghost. Who would’ve expected that man to run when he saw us. We had to chase him for a long time before we caught up to him. Then, Senior Brother casted a spell to help him remove a portion of the yin energy on his body. He finally believed that we’re Celestial Masters and told us a very frightening matter.” Her voice halted, and the young lady’s expression became heavy, “That man said that all of the people in his village were massacred!”

Ye Jingzhi asked in a low voice, “That person is someone from Lijia Village?”

The young lady was stunned, “Lijia Village?”

Xi Jia explained, “The village we’re at right now is Lijia Village.”

The young lady nodded, “Right, it should be Lijia Village. That man was born in Lijia Village. Later, he went out to work and only returned to his hometown last week. When he returned to his hometown, he found that all the people were dead, and the village was full of graves. He quickly ran away in fright. Then, we met by accident.”

The three walked towards Yuanjia Village while they listened to Junior Sister Wang talk about what had truly happened five days ago.

“Once he heard about the situation, Senior Brother knew immediately that the village wasn’t slaughtered by a person and was definitely slaughtered by a malicious ghost. He gave that man a few Mind Clearing and Exorcising Devils Incantations. As long as they’re taken with water everyday for five days consecutively, they can dispel the yin energy on the body.¹ After seeing the man off, Senior Brother took me to this village.”

Gradually knitting his handsome and straight eyebrows, Ye Jingzhi said in a low voice, “A malicious ghost has slaughtered and swallowed approximately a hundred people, and its magic power is profound. Fellow Daoist Pei shouldn’t have come alone and should’ve reported the news.”

Master Ye gave Pei Yu enough face, but Xi Jia could hear it. Master Ye was saying that with Pei Yu’s strength, how could he handle this type of malicious ghost that had killed close to a hundred people? He shouldn’t be arrogant.

The young lady was dumbfounded, “Before Senior Brother and I came here, we sent a WeChat to Master, telling him what had happened and asking him to quickly come to check out the situation.”

Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi were both simultaneously stunned.

……If Tianci-daoren was currently sleeping in closed seclusion, he wouldn’t have seen that message.

Maybe Pei Yu also never would have thought that after he had left, Tianci-daoren would get so angered that he immediately went to sleep in closed seclusion. He didn’t see his Wechat at all. Tianci-daoren was one of the most powerful Celestial Masters in the Xuanxue world and would attend the Celestial Masters Representative Assembly every year. With Master as a support, Pei Yu felt very reassured as he took his junior sister and arrived at this village in no hurry.

What he had thought was: If Master flew here, it shouldn’t take longer than half a day, estimating that Master would come by the time he arrived at the village.

When the young lady became aware that Tianci-daoren was actually in closed seclusion, she was also dumbstruck. She said, “No wonder Master never replied. Senior Brother even said that Master was throwing a tantrum because he took me and left home. But, Master has a mouth like a knife, but his heart is like tofu. As long as he read that WeChat message, he definitely would know that the situation is grave, and he would still come when needed.”

There were so many coincidences in this world. With Tianci-daoren here, perhaps Pei Yu wouldn’t disappear. However, Tianci-daoren didn’t know about this matter at all.

After Junior Sister Wang heard about Pei Yu’s disappearance, she was greatly surprised, “Senior Brother’s magic power is greater than mine. When I was sealed in the coffin by that malicious ghost, even though Senior Brother Pei was injured, he still had the strength to fight. How could he have disappeared?”

Xi Jia grasped the important point, “Pei Yu’s injured?”

The young lady nodded, “Senior Brother got hit by the malicious ghost and got hurt.”

Xi Jia asked in shock, “Then, you don’t seem to be hurt?”

Suddenly being asked a question like this, the young lady was dumbfounded. After quite a while, she explained, “My strength is too low. I had just faced the malicious ghost, and I was sealed inside a coffin by it at once.”

Xi Jia nodded in understanding.

Because she was quickly defeated by the malicious ghost and sealed into a coffin, the things that Junior Sister Wang knew weren’t much, and she didn’t know where Pei Yu had gone. However, after analyzing her words, Xi Jia quickly understood, “So many people have died in Yuanjia Village, and they should’ve also been killed by this malicious ghost. This malicious ghost slaughtered Lijia Village and definitely has deep hatred and great resentment. The people of Yuanjia Village are in-laws with Lijia Village……”

His voice suddenly trailed off, and Xi Jia widened his eyes into circles. He quickly turned to look at Ye Jingzhi, “Master Ye! Fellow Daoist Wang was sealed in a coffin, then what about Pei Yu? I believe Pei Yu wouldn’t die so easily. What if he is the same, trapped in a coffin and unable to wake up?!”

Ye Jingzhi was slightly startled by what he had heard. He looked at Xi Jia, his gaze flickered with surprise and admiration, “It’s a great possibility.”

Xi Jia said, “Is it possible that Pei Yu is also sealed in one of the coffins in Lijia Village? There is still 88 other graves.”

Ye Jingzhi shook his head, “Those 88 graves has been shut for half a year. They can’t be Fellow Daoist Pei.”

If Pei Yu wasn’t at Lijia Village, where else could he be?

Where else could there be a coffin capable of trapping Pei Yu……

Just as Xi Jia was thinking carefully, Ye Jingzhi’s expression suddenly became heavy and read out two words, “Yuanjia Village.”

That’s right, within the middle of these deep mountains, where else could there be coffins and graves?

It could only be Yuanjia Village!

Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi dug up a grave in Yuanjia Village four hours ago, but there were 22 other graves quietly laying nearby. They didn’t touch them. Besides Yuanjia Village, where else would it be?

After clearly understanding what had happened, the three of them increased their pace and hurried towards Yuanjia Village. Upon arrival at Yuanjia Village, Xi Jia distantly heard the painful hisses and howls of those boorish people. There was still half an hour remaining for the effects of Ye Jingzhi’s Internal Fire Subduing Mind Spell. As those villagers cried out in suffering, simply no one came out to block the three people from entering the village.

After the three entered the village, they immediately went to the 23 graves.

It was very likely that Pei Yu was sealed in these graves. They must dig up these graves. Before Ye Jingzhi dug up the graves, he took out a talisman and silently recited the incantation. Then, he tossed the talisman into the air. The talisman transformed into bright rays of light and spilled onto the the 23 gravestones. The rays of light were like stars, slowly permeating into the gravestones.

The young lady exclaimed in shock, “Tiangang Beseeching Incantation!”²

Xi Jia turned to look at her. The young lady excitedly said, “Hell King Ye actually knows such a powerful spell, simply too powerful. This is the Tiangang Beseeching Incantation. It can make a petition for a hundred ghosts at a time, asking Ling Xiao to allow them to enter reincarnation and reincarnate as a human earlier. If the deceased haven’t been swallowed up by the malicious ghost, then they have received this kind of benefit from Hell King Ye, and they will definitely allow him to dig up their graves.”

Ye Jingzhi conducted the Tiangang Beseeching Incantation, and golden light burst forth. Naturally, the villagers of Yuanjia Village also discovered their whereabouts.

These villagers painfully crawled out of their houses, wanting to see what the golden light was. When they saw the three people standing in front of the graves, they were immediately shocked. The white-haired old man was also hit by the Internal Fire Subduing Mind Spell. At this point, he was already like the other villagers, stripped of their clothes due to the roasting heat. Their entire bodies were covered in water as if they were soaking in water to lower the temperature this whole time.

Suddenly seeing Xi Jia and the others, the old man’s eyes bulged. The previous unbridled appearance of being the sole power couldn’t be seen. He didn’t have time to wear clothes. With a bare body, he painfully howled while he rushed over, “How come you’re here? What’re you doing?! Standing in front of our village’s graveyard, just what do you want to do?!”

The strange thing was that these villagers were also in so much pain that they wished they were dead due to the blaze, but after the old man had said those words, it was as if they suddenly woke up with a start. Even though they were bitterly sobbing because of the flames, they picked up their farming tools from their houses and rushed in front of Xi Jia.

The young lady had never gone to Yuanjia Village before. Very early on, she was sealed in Lijia Village’s graveyard. Suddenly seeing this large group of naked people running up to her with fierce gazes like fiends, she was so scared that she retreated a few steps. She didn’t dare face them.

Xi Jia looked at this group of villagers with an ice-cold gaze. However, the villagers didn’t give him the chance to speak at all. A woman over 50 years old lifted her hoe and aimed at his body. Xi Jia moved to the side and immediately evaded. In the next second, Wu Xiang Qing Li rushed forward and knocked away the woman.

Wu Xiang Qing Li was extremely angry and incessantly trembled at these villagers.

Ye Jingzhi stepped forward. His body was like lightning, and he slapped on Wu Xiang Qing Li with his palm. The eighteen-sided bronze die started to rapidly spin again. Ye Jingzhi tapped on a certain side with his fingertip. Next, he pulled out a dazzling golden light from Wu Xiang Qing Li and recited an incantation.

“Eastern Brilliance, Eastern Pole, Nine Qi Azure Palace. That which is hidden in the Limitless, go!”

The golden light flew out of his hand and transformed into three gold-colored swords. The sharp swords inserted into the earth and formed into a triangular barrier, blocking the three of them from those crazy and vicious villagers outside of the barrier.

The villagers had seen Ye Jingzhi cast a spell before, and they had turned around and ran in fright. But this time, Ye Jingzhi had set up a barrier so that they couldn’t move forward, and yet they didn’t run away again. While under the pain of the Internal Fire Subduing Mind Spell, the villagers still held onto their weapons. They refused to leave and started to attack the barrier.

In response, Ye Jingzhi calmly said, “Their state of mind is even more stirred up than before, as if they aren’t willing to let us touch these graves.”

The villagers madly smashed their farming tools at Ye Jingzhi’s barrier.

Xi Jia watched for a moment and suddenly thought, “Master Ye, quickly dig up these grave. There must be something strange about them!”

They had already gone through Yuan Laojiu’s grave so they didn’t touch his grave this time. Xi Jia followed Ye Jingzhi to one of the graves on the side with the surname Yuan. Ye Jingzhi flipped his hand, and the soil above the grave split open, revealing the eerie and ice-cold coffin.

The white-haired old man painfully cried out as he said miserably, “Just what do you want to do?!!!”

Xi Jia turned back to coldly glance at him and asked back, “Do you dare say that there’s nothing wrong with these graves?”

He didn’t know if the old man understood Xi Jia’s words, and Xi Jia didn’t pay attention to him anymore. No matter what, these villagers used their farming tools to frantically hit the barrier.

Ye Jingzhi’s finger moved, and the coffin was pushed open with no difficult, revealing the rotting corpse inside. Junior Sister Wang felt nauseous once she saw this scene, turning around to retch. Xi Jia calmly looked at Ye Jingzhi, face to face. After restoring this grave to its original state, they went to grave next to it.

“You’re digging at our Yuanjia Village’s graves!”

“Kill you, kill you! Kill you all!!!”

Xi Jia couldn’t understand the dialect that the villagers spoke, but the hatred and killing intent in the words passed through the language barrier, and it could be heard. Right now, he simply felt disinclined to give a glance at these uncouth people. Junior Sister Wang was retching over there. The young lady had just went out of her sect and couldn’t handle looking at this sort of bloody and highly rotted corpse.

Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi overturned one grave after another.

They continuously dug up seven graves. The corpses in the graves didn’t have anything abnormal. At most, they were like Lijia Village’s corpses with no yin energy in their entire body. If they hadn’t reincarnated, then they were devoured by malicious ghosts, and their souls had dispersed.

When they went to the 8th grave, Xi Jia looked down and said in surprise, “There’s no name?”

On this slab of a gravestone, it was completely empty and clean. There was actually no name.

Ye Jingzhi looked at this unnamed gravestone and stepped forward. With a slap, he expelled the soil on top of the coffin off. The villagers encircling outside of the barrier suddenly became even more enraged. The effect of the Internal Fire Subduing Mind Spell on their bodies had already ended. At this moment, they exerted themselves to shout, and they used their full strength to attack the barrier with red eyes. Their strength was twice as great as before, and their voices of cursing and shouting in rage also doubled. It seemed like it was because Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi had walked to the nameless grave that made their hostility skyrocket. Their hatred was to the point of them wishing they could tear these two apart right now.

Xi Jia faintly felt a trace of abnormality in his heart. He and Ye Jingzhi looked at each other and mutually reached a conjecture.

Perhaps Pei Yu was in this grave!

Tranlator’s Addition: Summary of what had happened…
C+: *Looks at Mirror*
Mirror: *Looks at C+*
Repeat.
Repeat.
C+ and Mirror: 【communicates with their

】

Translator’s Notes:
¹ Implied, but it’s probably burning the talismans and taking the ashes with water like powdered medicine. ↵
² 天罡祈请咒 Tiangang Beseeching Incantation- A Daoist incantation. There’s many other Daoist texts with Tiangang in them. 天罡 Tiangang has been translated as Heavenly Spirits before, and it’s also another name for the Big Dipper. In Daoist concepts, they’re the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Stars of Destiny. ↵