What's the Meaning of This? The Gongyang Clan Carrying a Death Banner to Jiangbei to Scavenge Corpses?

The instant night fell, Qianxi and a host of ghost creatures materialized out of thin air around Pingcheng. In the darkness, a colossal array lay spread across the wasteland ground. Scarlet lines drawn in blood formed the foundation of this array, with ghost stones embedded into each node. A torrent of human blood mingled with mangled remains was drawn toward the lines of the array. Standing by the array, Qianxi took a ghost stone from Qianqiu and gingerly set it into the final vacant node. The next moment— All the lines across the entire array converged. In the darkness, the massive array pulsed like a breathing creature, scarlet light flashing rhythmically as if hungering for something. At the very center of the array stood an altar platform. Surrounding the platform were all kinds of ghost materials and heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Above the array, the faint, ceaseless wails of departed souls echoed. "The Blood Sacrifice Grand Array is complete," Qianxi said quietly, gazing with a calm expression at the empty top of the altar. "We only await the King placing the Mountain Skeleton Embryo upon it. Then the array will activate, aiding the King in breaking through to ghost king and achieving an everlasting grand enterprise." "You don't seem very excited?" Beside him, Qianqiu tilted his head toward Qianxi. "..." After a long silence, Qianxi turned to gaze into the distance toward Nameless Mountain. "I don't know why, but a faint sense of unease lingers in my heart." "What brought it on?" "I arrived in the Jiangbei Wasteland before you. During this time, I searched almost the entire Jiangbei wilderness and couldn't find any sign of the Mistress. I suspect she might be dead." "..." At this, Qianqiu also fell silent. A moment later, he said raspily, "You mean... the Mistress might have lost the King's personal weapon, the God-Slaying Spear?" "That is somewhat bad." Without waiting for Qianxi to reply, Qianqiu continued muttering, "When the King left the Jiangbei Wasteland during the last rainy season, he feared he wouldn't be able to find the Mistress, so he deliberately left his personal weapon with her to serve as a beacon. And fearing that perceptive humans might detect it and bring her danger, he specifically used his heart's blood to shroud it." "Without his primary weapon..." "Even after breaking through to ghost king, the King won't be able to unleash his full power." "But..." "How could the Mistress die? The King left her a contingent of ghost soldiers at her beck and call. As long as she didn't attack those two human cities, no human could possibly charge into the Eternal Night to kill her." Qianxi's expression remained calm and unruffled. "I found where Qianhou fell in battle. It was a human camp on the wasteland. I suspect the Mistress might have died there." "..." Qianqiu fell silent and said no more. At this point, there was no time to investigate how the Mistress had died at that camp or how she had lost the King's primary weapon. "Have you told the King about this?" "I didn't dare. I'll wait until the King arrives." "Will you run?" "No. I am willing to lay down my life for the King's ascension." "As am I." In the end, the two said nothing more, letting their conversation end without further conclusion. *** Time flowed slowly over the Jiangbei Wasteland. A few more days passed. Today was the twenty-eighth day of the rainy season, and dusk was approaching. The overcast rain had persisted for a month, but today it had grown noticeably sparser. Anyone with discerning eyes knew: once tonight passed, the rainy nights would be over. A suppressed excitement, mingled with the feeling of surviving a catastrophe, hung over all of Jiangbei City. None of the common folk could sleep tonight; they prepared to witness with their own eyes the passing of the rainy season. They longed to celebrate, yet it felt premature, fearing they might not overcome tonight's final hurdle. The rainy season was about to end. Undercurrents surged across the entire Jiangbei Wasteland; various factions were about to take the stage. *** At the border between Jiangnan and Jiangbei. A merchant caravan moved slowly across the plain, pulling up before a city just before night fell. The moment the city gates swung wide, countless eyes turned toward the banner fluttering above the caravan. A ram with fiery blazes burning in its eye sockets. Everyone froze where they stood at the sight of this banner. This was the Gongyang clan's banner! The Gongyang clan had two kinds of clan banners. The other was the living banner, where the ram emblem had no flames burning in its eye sockets—a standard banner indicating that the caravan belonged to the Gongyang clan. This clan banner, however, was a death banner! It meant this caravan was carrying out the Gongyang clan's most critical, urgent mission, and anyone who dared stand in their way would face the Gongyang clan's mad vengeance. The caravan consisted of three carriages drawn by Skeleton Horses, followed by dozens of armored retainers riding Skeleton Horses. The eyes visible beneath their helms were cold and ruthless. "We've reached Jiangnan Water City." A green-robed man wearing a bamboo hat sat lazily against the front carriage, green gauze veiling his face as a smile played on his lips. "This is the city closest to Jiangbei. Tomorrow the rainy season in Jiangbei should be over. We can set off for Jiangbei tomorrow. This ought to be your first time stepping foot into Jiangbei, right? The wind and sand in Jiangbei are fierce—it's no pleasant place." His voice drifted into the carriage on the night breeze. The curtain parted. A petite woman with an unmistakable Jiangnan grace poked her head out, also wearing a bamboo hat with veiling green gauze. Adjusting her hat, she looked around, her eyes brimming with anticipation. "I'm still a bit nervous. I... I've never killed anyone before." "Killing is actually very simple." After glancing at the fearful, awestruck gazes of the surrounding pedestrians, the green-robed man said nonchalantly, "You swing a sword, and the person dies. Ever since the Eternal Night descended, humans have been the most fragile creatures in this world." "Old Demon Jiangbei, I have a question for you. How do you have so many enemies? It feels like you have more enemies than all the people I've ever seen combined." "When you have more stories, you have more enemies." "Why?" "Ninety percent of all stories in this world end in tragedy." "And the remaining ten percent?" "The other ten percent have no ending." "Then will the story between us end in tragedy?" "There is no story between us." "Then what is it?" "An ill-fated bond." "Ah, that hurts! But an ill-fated bond is still a bond—does that mean you admit you have a bond with me?" The man seated on the carriage lightly tugged the reins and chuckled without pursuing the matter. "Once we enter the city, we'll swap out our ghost-skin map, find an inn to stay at, and set off for Jiangbei tomorrow." The two chatted atop the carriage as it rolled into the city. After the caravan rolled far off, murmurs gradually rose behind them. "Did I see right? Was that the Gongyang clan's death banner?" A vendor leaned forward to gaze after the departing caravan, staring intently at the ram on the flag that seemed to come alive with fury flashing in its eyes. "You saw right," a youth lingering before the stall remarked with emotion. "Seventeen years ago, the Gongyang clan raised their banner and rode eight hundred li to rescue a wife. I witnessed it with my own eyes, and this was the very banner they raised." "Seventeen years have passed." "The Gongyang clan's death banner flutters over Jiangnan once more." "Only heaven knows what it's for this time." "The skies are about to change..." "You're just a brat! How old were you seventeen years ago? What could you have understood?" "Still, you got that last part right—the skies really are about to change," an old man squatting by the street said eerily. "The Jiangbei rainy season is about to end, and next it's Jiangnan's turn." "Jiangbei's rainy season arrived early this time. Many cities have probably fallen and their people perished. Over the past few days, I've seen many factions preparing to enter the Jiangbei Wasteland to scavenge corpses." "Everyone had better worry about whether we can survive the rainy season." "What's there to fear?" The vendor curled his lip. "Jiangnan's rainy season comes at its normal time. It didn't arrive early, so it won't be that perilous." "Heh." Puffing on his dry pipe and smacking his lips, the old man strolled toward the street corner with his hands clasped behind his back. "It's truly wonderful to be young. The ignorant know no fear." "Old bastard, who do you think you are?!" The vendor cursed under his breath at the old man's departing figure, then looked up again, gazing enviously after the Gongyang clan's distant caravan. "A single Skeleton Horse sells on the market for a whopping three thousand ghost stones." "Its endurance far surpasses ordinary fine steeds, and it never tires." "When will I ever be able to afford a Skeleton Horse like that? If I rode that back to my village, wouldn't all the village girls turn red with envy?" "Better not," the youth beside him teased. "Villagers have no worldly experience. If they saw you ride back on a Skeleton Horse, they'd probably think you were possessed by a ghost creature and run away at the sight of you." "Besides, running a stall won't earn you enough in a lifetime. Let me point you down a clear path." "Do tell." "See, it's almost dark. Go buy a saber, charge into the Eternal Night, and slay a ghost creature for one ghost stone each. Slay three thousand ghost creatures in one night, and you'll have enough to buy a Skeleton Horse." The vendor dropped his attentive posture and looked at the white-clad youth as if he were an idiot. "Sounds wonderful. Why don't you go?" "I am going. Why wouldn't I?" The youth shrugged, turned, and strode toward the city gate. Reaching into his robes, he flicked a ghost stone into a guard's arms, and the city gate lifted. And right at this moment— Darkness fell over the entire plain. Outside the city was impenetrable, suffocating blackness where one couldn't even see their own fingers. The white-clad youth walked calmly into the darkness just like that. Across his back hung a heavy sword slightly shorter than a person, with an exceptionally broad blade that bore no edge, resembling a wooden door. Rather than a heavy sword, it was more like a heavy ruler. "Hey!" The vendor was struck dumb at the sight. Only after a good while did he react, shouting in frantic panic, "I was fucking bullshitting! Are you insane? It's dark and you're running outside?!" Yet before his voice faded, the white-clad youth had already stepped into the darkness and vanished. *** Meanwhile. In another teahouse within Jiangnan Water City. A feminine-looking man fingered a jade bracelet, frowning deeply as he looked out the window at the caravan passing on the street below. The death banner fluttering in the wind was glaringly conspicuous. After a long while, he muttered softly: "What's the meaning of this? The Gongyang clan carrying a death banner to Jiangbei to scavenge corpses?" "Is that even within the rules?" "How is anyone else supposed to play? Will everyone carry death banners every year to scavenge corpses from now on?" "Besides, with the Gongyang clan's power, do they even care about petty gains like scavenging corpses?" The old man sitting opposite him took a sip of tea and said slowly, "It shouldn't be corpse scavenging. There must be another purpose." "Strange." The young man pulled back his gaze, drew the curtain shut, and leaned against the back of his chair, squinting as he murmured, "Carrying a death banner really steals the spotlight. When will Father let me carry a death banner just once?" "Carrying a death banner is no joking matter." "But it looks utterly badass. I like being a bit flashy." "And another thing—" The young man's brow furrowed tightly. "When we entered the city, I saw the contemporary direct disciple of Jiangdong's One Sword Sect. That lunatic is in this city too, and it looks like he's also heading into Jiangbei." "Is some major event happening in Jiangbei this year?" "Why does it feel so lively?" "Such is the way of the world." The old man dipped his finger in tea and traced the character 'Heaven' on the tabletop. "Any figure of renown in this world never emerges one after another; rather, during certain periods, they suddenly crop up in droves like leeks." "They compete against one another." "The last one left alive will become a great figure etched into history, ruling an entire era." "Even formidable conquerors need others to serve as foils." "Mm... that makes sense." The young man chuckled. "So Father dispatched me with disciples of Medicine King Valley to scavenge corpses in Jiangbei just so I could join the excitement?" "It seems Father must have sensed something. I was wondering when Medicine King Valley ever needed to scavenge corpses to survive." "Among the factions entering Jiangbei this time, there shouldn't be anyone stronger than our Medicine King Valley, right?" "..." The old man turned his head, parted the curtain, and looked out at the distant caravan. He said slowly, "On this excursion, the Gongyang clan even brought out Gongyang Yiyue. I advise you to avoid seeking the limelight. This journey to Jiangbei won't be a leisurely spring outing." "Gongyang Yiyue..." The smile on the young man's face gradually faded, a flicker of dread passing through his eyes. In Jiangnan, everyone knew of Gongyang Yiyue. That was the Gongyang clan's Nightwatcher. It seemed... This time, the Gongyang clan truly intended to carry their death banner all the way through. "Oh, and the Dan Sect is here as well." "That beast came too?" A flicker of disgust crossed the young man's brow. In all his life, he despised scumbags who toyed with women the most. He had maintained his virginity, determined to share the joys of intimacy only upon finding his absolute true love. On top of that, the Dan Sect and Medicine King Valley were bitter rivals to begin with, which made his disdain even deeper. "Mm." "The Dan Sect announced long ago that they would visit the Gongyang clan to propose marriage once Jiangnan's rainy season ended. Now the situation looks a bit delicate; the Gongyang clan seems unwilling and prepared to fight to the death." "As I recall, the Gongyang clan is no match for the Dan Sect, right?" "They cannot beat them, but they can tear off a piece of flesh. Afterward, it will be our Medicine King Valley's turn to act. However, the Dan Sect clearly doesn't want an all-out war either. From the looks of it, they want the younger generation's matters settled by the younger generation." "You mean Gongyang Gao's daughter is also with the caravan?" "Mm. All of Jiangnan knows. Did you pay no attention to such things before leaving?" "I didn't care much." "No need to care either. With me around, you need only watch the show. No one can touch you." The old man's tone was calm, yet the meaning carried undeniable confidence. *** Jiangbei Wasteland, Nameless Mountain. Night had just fallen. Tonight, everyone in the camp had set aside their tasks and stood watchfully upon the walls, waiting patiently. The rain was gradually thinning. The rainy season was about to end. Tonight, there was a high likelihood the ghost king would come knocking. Whether they could survive this rainy season came down to tonight's final hurdle. "Come on, then," Chen Fan muttered as he stood on the wall, staring straight ahead at the dark canyon. His palms pressed against the battlements, feeling the damp chill of the night rain. "I'm ready." "Show me what a ghost king can do."