Chapter 113: Emerging from the Mountains

As the words fell, Zhang Chang suddenly stood up.

His hand clamped directly onto my throat. I did not feel suffocated; he did not intend to choke me to death. Yet, he lifted me off the ground with one hand, suspending me in mid-air. His expression turned ice-cold, and he spoke with a sneer, "You are very young. Perhaps Li Cangshui dared not come to see me herself, so she sent you instead. But make no mistake, I will not let that girl go either!"

He bit his finger and shoved it toward my mouth. A chill washed over me. I had a hunch—the skin of the man who stole longevity had "kneeling skin" written on it, and whatever Zhang Chang was trying to feed me with his blood could not be good.

Holding my breath, I said in a raspy voice, "If you kill me, you will never find the person you are looking for! I am not lying to you; I do not know the name of 'Funeral Liu,' but his daughter did marry my father and gave birth to a son!"

"Funeral Liu also had a son who committed countless heinous acts. He is dead, and his daughter is also dead."

Zhang Chang’s pupils constricted as he stared at me. His finger hovered just beside my lips. My forehead was beaded with cold sweat. I did not intend to wait for death.

I poured all my strength into my soul, forcing it to break through my crown chakra! The moment my soul detached from my body, I grabbed Zhang Chang’s hand and yanked it downward with all my might. He let out a muffled grunt and stumbled back several paces.

A spirit brush appeared in my soul’s hand. I stared directly at Zhang Chang, my voice sounding ethereal and distant.

"You want my lifespan? You cannot have it!"

"You want to keep us here? You cannot do that either!"

"I came here to return something, and also to ask for your help. Funeral Liu brought a catastrophic disaster to our village. My entire family was destroyed because of him. Li Cangshui told me you could help me."

"If you want to kill me, it won't be that easy."

Raising the spirit brush, I stood up, my soul supporting my body in a semi-floating state. If Zhang Chang made any sudden move, I would use the Combat Character without hesitation.

Fixing my gaze on him, I rasped, "Funeral Liu’s son is already dead. If you are looking for your bloodline, the only one left is the child born after his daughter married my father. But that child has become a 'Yin-Born'—an undead fetus—and exists in a very dangerous place. If you want to talk properly, let’s talk. If you want to kill us, then there is no point in talking."

Zhang Chang’s sudden change made me realize that a peaceful conversation was impossible. He fell silent, the aura around him weakening significantly. He lowered his head and said nothing. I frowned, remaining vigilant.

"His name was Zhang Changshan. His mother’s surname was Liu; she was a woman from the mountains, from the land of the Crossing of the River. After he left here, did he change his surname?" Zhang Chang’s voice suddenly turned desolate.

I was unsure if he would attack again, but he sat back down at the table, looking down at the water basin before him.

"Child, I was too hot-tempered just now. Sit down and tell me the whole story properly."

His voice was hoarse and increasingly sorrowful. I sensed a deathly aura emanating from him, as if he had lost all desire to live.

***

My soul slowly returned to my body, and I realized I had regained control. Sitting across from Zhang Chang, he no longer moved to attack; his murderous intent had vanished. He looked entirely like an old man in his twilight years, longing for news of a child who had been away from home for too long.

I found it hard to feel sympathy for him, nor did I feel any for Funeral Liu. The fact that he was still alive, and possessed methods of stealing longevity even more concise than those on the skin parchment, made it clear to me how many lives had been sacrificed at his hands.

I told him everything about Funeral Liu, from beginning to end. I also recounted how I met Li Cangshui, and how the Yin-Born child, my father, and Auntie Gray had remained in Hundred Household Village before it vanished.

When I finished, Zhang Chang’s face grew even more mournful. "To escape this destiny, he used so many methods to save someone already dead. He intended to send his own son back. But fate is fate; to defy destiny is to defy the heavens, and death is the price."

"You didn't just come to me to save your father from that village, did you?" Zhang Chang’s gaze locked onto me.

My pupils shrank, and I nodded. "There is also a very powerful ghost we must deal with. My mother used the Three Corpse Gods to seal her. If I want my mother to come back to life, I must release her. There is also someone very important to me who has been sealed by a Death Soul Nail. Aside from that, there is nothing else."

Zhang Chang was silent for a moment before saying, "A trade. I can help you. I can free your father from that place, save your mother from the Three Corpse Gods, and save the person who is important to you."

"I want your brother—my grandson. I want to bring him back. You must not go back on your word."

My eyelids twitched, and I hesitated. Auntie Gray and my father had suffered enough. She had died with eyes wide open, full of resentment. My father’s obsession after death had been that very Yin-Born child, even naming him Xie Yu—the name I once used.

"What do you want with him if you bring him back?"

Zhang Chang looked deep into my eyes and suddenly smiled. "Destiny. The destiny of guarding this place—never to leave for all eternity."

"Perhaps this is the true will of heaven. A Yin-Born is more resentful than a jiangshi. It is born by absorbing the lifespan and essence of its parents. It is immortal and indestructible. This is its fate: to return to Mount Yalong."

"Child, your heart is not evil. Even though he caused your father's death, you hesitated. If he were in danger here, you would refuse, wouldn't you?"

I remained silent for a moment, then nodded. "My father’s obsession was her, and so was Auntie Gray’s. Many things were beyond his control. He is my brother, and he is pitiful."

"He is not just your brother; he is my grandson. Our Changyuan lineage is destined to guard Mount Yalong. The only place suitable for him is the lightless belly of the mountain. The Yin-poison of the Yin-Born cannot be neutralized. Once he sees humans, he will kill. Even if he is fierce, someone will eventually deal with him—people like Li Cangshui."

"This trade carries no harm for you or for me."

After he spoke, Zhang Chang’s tone calmed. "The Yin-Monkey behind your ear can be removed using the scales you collected."

"I can also promise you one more thing. If you agree to this trade, I can give you a forbidden technique."

"A forbidden technique for resurrection. Resurrection is not as simple as you think. Do you think having the Three Corpse Gods and a soul is enough? Far from it."

"If you have a body and it is not yet dead, it is possible. But if the body has decayed or is already dead, it is impossible."

"The Resurrection Technique can truly bring someone back to life. Don't you want your family to be reunited and enjoy the happiness of being together?"

I was stunned. Zhang Chang had given me no reason to refuse. After a moment of silence, I nodded.

A look of satisfaction appeared on Zhang Chang’s face. "I need to make some preparations. If I leave here, the Changyuan Stockade will be left unguarded and the Yin-Dragon will be left unmonitored. I will need something to replace me."

"Go downstairs and eat something. I need to go chop down a tree."

Zhang Chang rose and walked downstairs. Watching his stumbling gait, I instinctively said, "Let me go with you to help."

Zhang Chang smiled. "You can rest with that young girl. I will need your help later."

I did not insist.

Returning to the second floor, Li Yue had not touched her chopsticks; she clearly looked anxious. When we came down, she stood up immediately. I walked over while Zhang Chang continued heading downstairs. I pulled Li Yue aside, preventing her from following.

Only after Zhang Chang had left did I tell her what had happened. Li Yue listened, dumbfounded. When I mentioned the basin on the third floor, the snake inside, and Zhang Chang’s words about the "Yin-Dragon," she grew even more horrified.

"Fengshui transforms into demons, demons transform into spirit essences, and the spirit essence has actually taken form?" she whispered. When I asked what she meant, she bit her lip, saying she couldn't explain it in a few words, but we had to leave the Changyuan Stockade immediately and wait for Zhang Chang outside the mountain.

If things went wrong, we would lose our lives here along with him.

My heart sank. Li Yue looked very serious. "We must go now. Do you really think that when Zhang Chang told you to go downstairs, he didn't anticipate you would tell me? He sent you to find me precisely so we would leave first. If he had said this to you directly, you would never have left."

Li Yue’s words made me even more uneasy. Was that really his intention?

Li Yue’s face grew increasingly anxious. "Do you trust me? Would I joke with our lives?"

"If Zhang Chang really intends to come out, we will wait for him outside. If he doesn't come out, we can look for someone else, but staying here is a dead end."

"That thing in the water basin isn't a snake—it's the spirit essence of the dragon under the dark river. He was guarding the spirit essence, which is equivalent to guarding that demon dragon. If he leaves, the spirit essence will wake up. He is looking for a substitute to guard it. If it goes wrong, the spirit essence will awaken, and we will be in danger even outside Mount Yalong. Staying here is a death sentence."

Li Yue’s explanation and her expression left me convinced. We walked toward the outside of the stockade. We didn't see Zhang Chang on the way, nor did we know where he had gone. When we returned to the boat, I discovered that Liu Changxi’s body was missing.

There were two bundles on the boat, and a small note was attached to them.

In crooked handwriting, it read:

"Downstream with the current, upstream with the drowning water; today, the water level of the Yin-Dragon River shall fall."