Sending the Divine

Chapter 78: Besieged

Fireworks rose and fell, only in an instant. After the glow, the night remained pitch black, and the sky was still gloomy.

There were no mirrors outside. Yin Ci didn’t know what was on Shi Jingzhi’s mind, but he was wearing a bewildering smile on his face. Yin Ci used his sleeve to wipe off the snow and started rubbing Shi Jingzhi’s smoke-stained face.

At least it was New Year’s Eve. Shi Jingzhi didn’t have any new clothes to wear, but he looked peculiar and ethereal, overshadowing his shabby appearance. Now, he had to put on a stern face and walk into the house, not knowing if he would be mistaken for a beggar and kicked out.

The feeling of earnestly acting as an elder wasn’t so great. In just a few days, Yin Ci’s heart had pounded more times than in the past fifty years.

If it hadn’t been for his immortality, that blow just now would have cost him several years of lifespan.

Yin Ci thought to himself as he exerted a bit more force, wiping Shi Jingzhi’s face until it turned red. Finally, he managed to make Shi Jingzhi presentable, and the two of them returned to the house.

Little did they know that Shi Jingzhi’s festive addiction wasn’t over yet.

After everyone finished eating dumplings in a noisy manner, Shi Jingzhi neatly arranged a pile of fireworks and secretly prepared three red envelopes.

“Su Si, from now on, take good care of Lord Bai and don’t cause any trouble for me.”

Shi Jingzhi handed out the red envelopes and then gently patted Su Si’s head. He had a spring-like smile on his face, but his words weren’t very polite.

Su Si had just swallowed the last dumpling and almost choked on the spot.

But thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he hadn’t been of much use on this journey. Su Si, the young Patriarch of the Chigou Sect, reluctantly accepted the red envelope and opened it, only to find a small amount of money inside.

Su Si: “…”

Although he hadn’t been of much use, Shi Jingzhi wasn’t a generous person either.

He was just using this to get rid of a beggar!

“Yan Qing, take this money and keep it for now. When I break the ban, I will retrieve some of it. If I don’t… then you can take this money and accompany Su Si back to Huilian Mountain. The masters won’t make things too difficult for you, considering this sword’s importance.”

Upon hearing this seemingly entrusted tone, Yan Qing’s eyes reddened.

He carefully opened the red envelope and took out two silver notes. One note was worth one liang of silver, and the other was worth two liang of silver.

What about the monthly allowance and bonuses they had agreed upon? Weren’t they missing?

Yan Qing’s gratitude diminished instantly. He subtly said, “Oh,” turned around slowly, and decided to have another bowl of dumplings.

He suspected that the Kushan Sect was really here to freeload meals. Once they left, they would probably have to sleep and eat in the rough terrain, not even being able to afford the cheapest inn.

Finally, Shi Jingzhi walked up to Yin Ci. “A’Ci, this is for you. Take it. After all, I am your master, and I should give you something.”

With the tragedies of Su Si and Yan Qing before him, Yin Ci skeptically accepted the red envelope.

From the feel of it, there wasn’t a single copper coin in this thing. Who knew what tricks this fox was playing?

Well, he would consider it, playing along with his cheap master.

Yin Ci tore off the red paper expressionlessly. As expected, there were no silver coins inside, only a square piece of demon skin.

His eyebrows raised as he flipped the demon skin over. The demon skin was brownish-black, with a beautiful line of small characters engraved on it. The strokes were filled with cinnabar ink, making them very clear.

[Yidu Lantern Festival. Choose freely with this token.]

“A’Ci, make sure to keep it safe,” Shi Jingzhi said solemnly. “If you lose it, I won’t pay for it.”

A faint sourness surged in Yin Ci’s heart as he put the small piece of demon skin into his pocket.

“That’s only natural.”

Although it was a spontaneous idea, by midnight, the celebration was starting to feel more festive. Shi Jingzhi had gathered some cheap materials from Chen Qianfan’s collection and made some fireworks and firecrackers to set off outside the door.

Amidst the crackling sound of firecrackers, brilliant fireworks burst in the sky, adding fleeting stars to the gloomy sky.

Yan Qing held his Sword of Compassion and strained his neck from looking up. Lord Bai was frightened by the firecrackers and ran around honking, while Su Si had to chase after it with a bitter face.

Shi Jingzhi happily arranged two snow stools and pulled Yin Ci to sit down, watching the sparkling fireworks in the sky.

Shi Zhongyu was worried about her sect and couldn’t get into the festive mood. She didn’t want to disturb the others’ enthusiasm and found a corner to meditate on her own.

The smell of gunpowder in the air grew stronger. Chen Qianfan sneezed and shook his head helplessly. Granny Wei put on an extra coat and watched the fireworks with the members of the Kushan Sect.

The old woman leaned against the door as the fireworks twinkled in her cloudy eyes.

“The warm breeze loves the charming peach branches… The spring river is calm, whose home is filled with spring…”

She began to sing that festive and lively tune again. However, compared to before, her singing style was a bit strange—she became sharper as she sang. It was as if she had forgotten her age and forcibly raised her voice.

The old woman’s throat couldn’t handle the strain. What was supposed to be a gentle tune was turning into a mournful melody. Shi Jingzhi turned his head. “Granny Wei?”

Granny Wei’s expression became somewhat absent-minded. She looked at the fireworks in the sky, and a trace of fear gradually appeared on her face.

“It’s over, it’s over.” She pinched her voice and exclaimed like a young girl. “My voice is ruined, and I can’t sing anymore. On New Year’s Day, I’ll be beaten by the old master!”

After hesitating for a while, Shi Jingzhi was about to go forward and check her pulse, but Granny Wei snapped back to reality on her own.

She stood there in a daze for a moment, then gradually lowered her head. A slightly embarrassed expression appeared on her round face. “I’m getting old and confused. I scared you just now, didn’t I? I’ll go make tea…”

Before Shi Jingzhi could say anything, she had already entered the house, as if trying to escape.

With Chen Qianfan, an expert in healing, present, Shi Jingzhi was afraid of overstepping his boundaries in treating her, so he sat back down. When the last bit of fireworks burned out, everyone entered the house shivering from the cold. Granny Wei was already sitting in her usual spot, embroidering.

She had returned to her relaxed state and smiled apologetically at everyone.

Shi Jingzhi returned to Chen Qianfan’s side, busy watching him study scriptures. As the time for rest approached, he mentioned Granny Wei’s condition.

“Yes, I know,” Chen Qianfan casually replied. “She has been a bit scatterbrained lately. I’m working on a solution.”

Aside from that incident, this New Year’s Eve was quite perfect.

The battle on the first day of the new year was equally perfect.

The Arcane Arts seemed even more sluggish than the day before. Chen Qianfan didn’t even use any techniques; he just had Shi Jingzhi try his hand and personally directed him. With the three of them working together, they successfully severed the hands of an ancient corpse by sunset.

That night, Chen Qianfan started handling the body, claiming that he would be able to make the disaster warding talismans by noon on the second day. While Elder Chen was immersed in making the talismans, Granny Wei also came to help and cleared a large area in the room to set up a large-scale formation to break the ban.

The beginning of the new year went so smoothly that Shi Jingzhi became somewhat spirited.

The formation inside the house was slowly becoming complete, and amidst the tension, he even felt a faint sense of anticipation.

Everything was almost ready for breaking the ban, except for the three ancient corpses needed to power the formation. The next plan was stable and peaceful, proceeding step by step, which was rare and comforting.

…Unfortunately, this stability came to an end in the early morning of the next day.

Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci were woken up by a terrified Yan Qing shaking them vigorously. Yan Qing, usually steady, had a look of fear in his red eyes. Shi Jingzhi rubbed his eyes and got up. “It’s not even the hour of the Tiger yet. What’s going on?”

“O-Outside! Outside!”

Yan Qing gestured desperately, regretting that he couldn’t pull out his memories to show them. After speaking for a long time, his tongue got tangled, so he could only drag the master with one hand and the disciple with the other, forcing them to the door.

In winter, the sun rose late, and there was only a faint light around. But this faint light was enough for them to notice something strange—

The vast and monotonous snowy landscape had disappeared, replaced by black things surrounding the house in a complete circle. In the dim light, countless green and red dots flickered and trembled, occasionally flashing. The cold wind carried a gloomy atmosphere, making people feel uncomfortable.

Yin Ci narrowed his eyes slightly and understood it clearly.

That dark mass was entirely composed of monsters. Most of them were small monsters, but they were enough to be horrifying. Judging from the situation, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all the monsters from the Milan homeland had gathered here.

Monsters were already rare, let alone such a gathering of various types, coexisting peacefully. Yin Ci quickly scanned his gaze and found the “leader”.

The Arcane Arts was indeed among them.

It was about a hundred meters away from the house, kneeling at the edge of the encirclement. Its terrifying head was slightly lowered, facing the house’s entrance. Unlike during the previous battles, the Arcane Arts’ entire head was wide open, and from a distance, one could see thousands of pupils emitting a green light embedded in its huge skull.

Chen Qianfan’s house was most likely protected by spells, keeping them all outside. The horde of monsters couldn’t advance, yet they remained quiet and still.

It was hard to imagine what kind of fright Yan Qing had encountered when he went out to practice his sword early in the morning.

The commotion caused by the three of them waking up caught the attention of Elder Chen, who had been sleeping at the table. He grumbled a few times and pushed the three blocking the door to the side. “Move away, let me have a look.”

Seeing the situation outside the door and the Arcane Arts kneeling not far away, Chen Qianfan raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect that we would end up living in this godforsaken place and still have visitors coming to pay their New Year’s respects?”

The three members of the Kushan Sect: “…”

This old man was too audacious. He was probably quite wild when he was young.

After Chen Qianfan finished his sarcastic remark, he stretched his back with a big yawn. “Bring everyone here. Remember to close the windows. Don’t let Xiao Chun see. Don’t panic. I’ve set up quite a few formations, so they won’t be able to enter for the time being.”

People quickly gathered inside the house. Granny Wei didn’t join in the commotion and continued to prepare breakfast as usual. Shi Zhongyu saw the scene outside and furrowed her brows tightly, enough to crush a fly.

Yan Qing soon noticed something unusual—

“Where’s Su Si?”

“That tear mole kid? The goose beat him up in the middle of the night and then ran away. He went after it, but he said goodbye to me before leaving.” Chen Qianfan said, “Now it seems like Sai Weng has lost his goose*.”

*This is referring to the proverb “Sai Weng lost his horse” (塞翁失馬), except in this case it’s a goose since he’s referring to Lord Bai. The proverb means every misfortune or setback may turn into a blessing in disguise (AKA every cloud has a silver lining/a setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise). || You can read the story about the proverb in my Kinky Thoughts.

It seemed that Lord Bai had sensed something, and time was limited, so it only managed to save Su Si.

“Senior, may I ask what’s going on?” Shi Zhongyu, who was in a hurry, was so nervous that it was about to overflow in her voice.

“Someone had the audacity to ‘awaken’ the Arcane Arts.”

Chen Qianfan coldly snorted.

“Don’t worry, I’m not referring to you all. That brat who chased the goose couldn’t do it either. Whoever played this trick is definitely more skilled than my senior brothers and sisters, and even my junior brothers and sisters.”

Yin Ci: “Awaken?”

“When the Arcane Arts was the ‘Queen’s Funeral’, it was much fiercer. The Mishan Sect placed thousands of restrictions on it, only suppressing it to its previous state… But now, it seems someone deliberately deactivated the restrictions and turned it back into the mad dog it was back then.”

It turned out that the Arcane Arts they fought a few days ago was a weakened version.

Shi Jingzhi broke into a cold sweat. “If they placed restrictions, why did they intentionally leave a solution?”

“Are you stupid? This is the Queen of Milan’s artifact. When faced with external threats, awakening the Arcane Arts to deal with the enemy is much more convenient than taking action themselves.”

‘That’s actually a clever move,’ Yin Ci thought. If they weren’t considered “enemies”, it would be even better.

Yin Ci spoke before Shi Jingzhi could. “Yan Qing wasn’t present that day, so I’ll have him escort you and Granny Wei away.”

Elder Chen, being elderly and not strong in combat, was indispensable in breaking the ban. If the Arcane Arts was coming after them, it would be best to send the old man away first.

Chen Qianfan snorted. “The ‘Queen’s Funeral’ is relentless and unreasonable. Don’t even think about it; once surrounded, no one can escape.”

Yin Ci fell silent.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t escape.”

Chen Qianfan didn’t show much annoyance from being involved, and his face wore a cold smile.

“Using those two corpse hands as materials, I can create a temporary artifact to help us all escape. There is a downside, though—the Arcane Arts, even if sealed again, won’t give up its target. Once the target sets foot on Milan’s territory, it will relentlessly pursue and hunt them day and night. In the future, our group won’t be able to get a single step closer to the Mishan Sect.”

“In that case, the girl’s disaster warding talisman won’t be needed, and this kid’s ban won’t be lifted either. My thirty years of research might just end here.”

Kinky Thoughts:

Sai Weng lived on the border, and he raised horses for a living. One day, he lost one of his prized horses. After hearing of his misfortune, his neighbor felt sorry for him and came to comfort him. But Sai Weng simply asked, “How could we know it is not a good thing for me?”

After a while, the lost horse returned with another beautiful horse. The neighbor came over again and congratulated Sai Weng on his good fortune. But Sai Weng simply asked, “How could we know it is not a bad thing for me?”

One day, his son went out for a ride on the new horse. He was violently thrown from the horse and broke his leg. The neighbors once again expressed their condolences to Sai Weng, but Sai Weng simply said, “How could we know it is not a good thing for me?” One year later, the Emperor’s army arrived at the village to recruit all able-bodied men to fight in the war. Because of his injury, Sai Weng’s son could not go off to war and was spared from certain death.