All along the way, Blind Zhao mumbled to himself, ignoring Ding Shi's questions. Upon reaching the village chief's house, Blind Zhao yanked the chief into the room and bolted the door, leaving Ding Shi and the baffled daughter-in-law outside.
An hour later, the village chief issued a new quest. Ding Shi supported the chief and Blind Zhao as they walked all the way to San Niang Temple, completing the quest. The villagers preparing for the sacrifice greeted the village chief one after another, and he responded to each of them.
The village chief stopped to gaze at the statue of San Niang for a moment, then stepped aside with Ding Shi and Blind Zhao and whispered, "There are no tears. Blind Zhao, have you ever seen San Niang weep?"
With so many people in the temple, it wasn't convenient for Blind Zhao to reach out and touch San Niang's eyes. He also lowered his voice: "I've never seen it either. But Daoist Baiyun gave strict instructions—if San Niang is ever seen weeping, we must inform him immediately, or the entire village will be doomed beyond redemption."
The village chief asked, "Then what should we do now?"
Blind Zhao replied, "Our only choice is to make a trip to Baiyun Temple."
The village chief looked at Ding Shi. Ding Shi narrowed his eyes. Old bastard, what are you scheming?
The village chief said, "Let's head back first and have lunch."
Ding Shi helped the village chief back to his house. The round trip had wasted more than an hour, and he couldn't see the point of it at all.
After lunch, the village chief got busy. First, he measured out twenty jin of rice. Then he contacted the county seat and had several large bundles of incense, candles, yellow paper, and cinnabar powder delivered. He also had his daughter-in-law prepare salt and some everyday necessities.
Ding Shi watched from the side, muttering to himself, Is the old bastard planning to skip town?
The village chief had Ding Shi go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy other supplies, eventually putting together two large cloth sacks.
The village chief called Ding Shi and Blind Zhao into the room, politely offered Ding Shi a seat, and personally brewed him a cup of tea.
Seeing the flattering smile plastered across the village chief's face, Ding Shi knew the guy was about to screw him over.
The village chief said, "Xiao Ding, there's a very important matter here."
Ding Shi said, "Go ahead, Village Chief."
The village chief said, "Something might have gone wrong with San Niang's sacrifice, but we mortals can't tell what's amiss. Back then, San Niang turned into a jiangshi and was suppressed by a Daoist master. The master suffered great damage to his vitality as a result, and because the village needed guarding, he built Baiyun Temple on Mount Taoyuan."
Ding Shi said, "Village Chief, don't tell me that Daoist master is still alive."
The village chief said, "The Daoist master has already passed away, but before his death, he took in a disciple. He should be around seventy years old now and goes by Daoist Baiyun. San Niang's sacrifice is the day after tomorrow, so we have to invite Daoist Baiyun down from the mountain to see what has gone wrong with the sacrifice."
Seeing the village chief looking at him expectantly, Ding Shi asked cautiously, "It's not us inviting Daoist Baiyun down the mountain—it's me going to invite him?"
The village chief smiled with gratification. "I always said you were a smart one, Xiao Ding."
Ding Shi said, "Village Chief, if it were just running an errand, you wouldn't need to pour me tea, right?" Anyone seeing this would think you're asking me to donate a kidney.
The village chief looked even more pleased and said, "Baiyun Temple is quite far from Taoyuan Village, and the whole way is mountain trails. A normal walk takes about three hours."
Ding Shi was somewhat confused. Blind Zhao spoke up from the side: "It's five in the afternoon now. Won't night have fallen three hours from now? Rumor has it that deep in Mount Taoyuan dwell shanxiao, which can take human form and roam after dark."
The shanxiao were monkey-like demons whose combat strength was close to an adult human's, skilled in deception and bewitchment. Although a shanxiao's fighting ability was relatively weak, the shanxiao on Mount Taoyuan had accomplices—several patches of abandoned graves scattered across the mountain.
Hundreds of years ago, two armies fought on Mount Taoyuan for three days and three nights. The fallen soldiers were buried on the spot, creating four areas of desolate graves. Anyone who strayed into these grave areas would be trapped until they starved or died of thirst. There was only one mountain path leading to Baiyun Temple, which theoretically did not pass through the grave areas, but that was assuming no shanxiao were making mischief.
For a time, hunters and herb gatherers from the village had gone missing in the mountains. Initially, people suspected they had encountered a tiger or fallen off a cliff. It wasn't until Baiyun Temple was built and that master explained the reality of the shanxiao and the desolate graves to the villagers, urging them to leave Mount Taoyuan before nightfall and forbidding anyone from venturing onto the mountain at night.
Having heard this, Ding Shi grew pensive. He looked at the village chief earnestly and asked, "Can I choose not to go?"
Village Chief: "No."
Blind Zhao chimed in, "Xiao Ding, if something really has gone wrong with the sacrifice, our whole village will be doomed beyond redemption."
Ding Shi said, "There are so many people in the village. Why pick me out of everyone?"
The village chief explained, "This news cannot be told to the villagers, lest it cause unnecessary panic. As long as Daoist Baiyun comes down to resolve the trouble, the sacrifice the day after tomorrow won't be delayed."
Ding Shi said sincerely, "Village Chief, I have a confession to make. I lied. I never saw San Niang cry."
The village chief looked at Ding Shi with equal sincerity. "No, I believe you. You're a good boy, and good boys don't lie."
Ding Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Please find someone better qualified, Village Chief. Otherwise, I'll quit on my own and won't attend the sacrifice either." Who wants this garbage quest can take it.
Wait. Garbage quest? Didn't this sound a bit similar to the Ghost Milk affair? Could another player be messing around?
The village chief looked awkwardly at Blind Zhao, who signaled him to relax.
Blind Zhao said to Ding Shi, "Xiao Ding, the talisman paper Uncle Zhao gave you yesterday actually comes with a hand seal. Even if you can draw the talisman paper, without knowing the hand seal, you can't unleash its power."
Ding Shi stared at Blind Zhao in disbelief. "Uncle Zhao, what else are you keeping from me?" Is there no sincerity left? No trust? We're comrades who fought ghosts together!
Blind Zhao said apologetically, "Nothing else, really."
Ding Shi asked, "The hand seal?"
Blind Zhao said, "I don't know it, but Daoist Baiyun does. If you show him the talisman paper, he'll naturally teach you the seal."
Ding Shi looked at Blind Zhao, then at the village chief. "That's not enough. You have to teach me how to draw the talisman paper."
Blind Zhao smiled wryly. "I've studied it for over twenty years and only figured out a few tricks. I really can't complete the whole talisman in a single stroke."
Ding Shi took out the talisman paper card, blocked the line of sight with his body to turn it back into talisman paper, and looked at Blind Zhao.
Helpless, Blind Zhao reached for the paper and pen nearby and began drawing on a blank sheet. His strokes weren't fast, tracing up, down, left, and right until half of the talisman took shape before Ding Shi. Ding Shi compared it against his own talisman paper and confirmed it was an exact match; clearly, Blind Zhao had been studying this talisman diligently.
Pity it was only half. Then again, if he could draw a complete talisman, he wouldn't have handed the paper over in the first place.
Ding Shi put away the half-drawn talisman and his own talisman paper, then said, "Fine, I'll take the job. But I have one condition: have someone carry all the stuff outside to the mountain pass. I need to conserve my strength—after all, I've got a long walk ahead of me in the dark."
This was no small matter for Taoyuan Village, so the village chief immediately found someone to deliver the supplies to the southern mountain pass. Ding Shi ate an early dinner, packed a few sweet potatoes, a bottle of spring water, and slipped a claw hammer into his pocket before heading to the pass.
Hoisting the thirty-five-jin carrying pole onto his shoulder, Ding Shi headed into Mount Taoyuan amidst the lingering glow of the setting sun.
Chapter 19