Before long, the drinks and dishes were brought out.
Besides a plate of stir-fried river snails, there were scrambled eggs with nostoc and several pieces of braised pork belly.
The braised pork was glossy red and richly marbled with fat. It looked like something the shopkeeper had tucked away for his own meals, but now he had served it all to his lifesavers.
The drinker sucked down two river snails before asking He Lingchuan, "You can see them too?"
He Lingchuan nodded.
Meeting a ghost peeking in on people, yet this young fellow stayed so calm. "Impressive. Have you trained in some mystical art to control ghosts?"
"Not really," He Lingchuan smiled. "I just happen to be naturally able to see ghosts."
His ability to "see ghosts" was granted by his divine bone necklace.
However, there truly were people in this world born with their spiritual eyes opened, so Master Fu didn't find it strange.
"What kind of ghost was that just now?"
"A diliuzi. Full of resentment in life, they turn into resentful ghosts after death," the drinker explained. "They met violent deaths out in the wilds, right in places thick with yin energy—like the shaded sides of mountains or along riverbanks—and so transformed into resentful souls. If someone walking at night steps on their remains, the diliuzi becomes furious and follows their human scent that night to seek revenge."
The shopkeeper chimed in with a bitter face, "It's not like I did it on purpose."
Out in the pitch-black wilderness, who could watch their step every single moment?
"Whether you meant to or not doesn't matter; they just want an excuse to vent their rage," the drinker said with a chuckle. "They won't strike you dead right away either. Instead, they'll come every night to haunt you, draining your vitality, leaving you disoriented and unable to sleep at night. Before long, you'd fall gravely ill and take to your bed."
The shopkeeper shuddered.
"You were pretty lucky to only encounter one." The drinker picked up a bite of nostoc with his chopsticks. "Diliuzi love swarming people most of all. Sometimes you step on just one, and the whole nest pours out. When the victim falls asleep, they'll constantly hear countless voices cursing in their ear, and in their dreams they'll be condemned by thousands of pointing fingers."
Dong Rui said, "Back where we're from, ghosts and monsters occasionally haunt the wilds too, but they usually don't have the guts to cause trouble where people gather."
The drinker laughed. "How nice your homeland must be! The human kingdoms flourish, and yang energy is thick and heavy, so these ghostly things can't linger and don't dare come out. Not like here. Ah, stretches of ghostly wasteland spanning a hundred li are common!"
Dong Rui smiled and asked, "How should we address you?"
"Fu," the man chuckled. "Fu Liushan."
Chatterboxes were naturally quick to warm up to strangers. In less than a quarter of an hour, He Lingchuan realized that calling him a demon slayer was inaccurate. His occupation was peculiar—he was a Heavenly Master, unique to the Shanjin Plain.
Disasters, both natural and man-made, had never ceased on this land, giving rise to countless demons and spectral spirits that stirred up trouble among the common folk. Heavenly Masters had emerged as the times demanded, specializing in resolving these troubles for people.
"In other words, your line of work covers a wide scope—slaying demons and catching ghosts alike?"
"Exactly, exactly." Fu Liushan nodded. "Whenever non-human things cause trouble, folks can come straight to me. What's more, I'm also skilled at suppressing evil objects and malevolent artifacts."
"Evil objects and malevolent artifacts?"
"Oh, certain items or magic artifacts become tainted with evil, or get placed in areas thick with yin fiend energy, and over time they turn into harmful things. Common folk don't understand what's going on and easily fall victim to them."
Outside, the wind had died down. The shopkeeper pointed north. "When you two arrived, did you see that great mountain?"
It had long been pitch-black outside, and the two had surfaced from underground anyway, but they could only nod.
"That's Mount Jing. Legend has it that the traveling palace of the Shanjin Empire's last emperor lies in those mountains, known as Fort Youfu."
Dong Rui snorted with laughter. "What a name..."
He Lingchuan's mind stirred, recalling a legend from Shao Jian's biography that was related to Mount Jing. He asked the shopkeeper, "Why do you say Mount Jing is dangerous and shouldn't be approached?"
The shopkeeper asked, "Have you ever heard of the Luosheng Armor?"
Dong Rui glanced at He Lingchuan. "Huh, seems I have a faint impression of that?"
Bored during their sea voyage, he had read Shao Jian's biography several times over as well.
"The founding emperor of the Shanjin Empire, Gaozu Pang Yuan, once possessed a prized suit of armor called the Luosheng Armor. It was said that whoever wore it would be invincible in battle. Gaozu wore it to conquer a vast realm, but after ascending the throne as emperor, he sealed it away because the evil power upon the armor was extraordinarily formidable. Few who ever wore it met a peaceful end."
He Lingchuan listened intently. "And then?"
Dong Rui asked instead, "Did the founding emperor meet a peaceful end?"
"He did indeed. I hear he lived to his seventies, which is ripe old age on the Shanjin Plain." Fu Liushan picked up a piece of braised pork. "Legends say the Shanjin Empire imposed heavy taxes and harsh punishments. From high officials down to commoners, anyone could easily be convicted of crimes, but their army was exceptionally fierce in battle. This sovereign Pang Yuan also loved leading military campaigns in person. After ascending the throne, he personally led expeditions four or five more times, returning victorious each time and expanding the empire's territory across the entire Shanjin Plain. It was glorious at its peak.
"Two hundred years later, the last monarch of the Shanjin Empire sought to emulate his ancestor by leading an army in person. Duped by who knows who, he set off wearing the Luosheng Armor. His final fate was predictable: a crushing defeat in the open fields."
Dong Rui noticed a flaw. "Wait a second. If the Shanjin Empire was so powerful, how could its monarch fail to keep an evil suit of armor in check?"
The founding emperor Pang Yuan wore the evil armor without issue, which anyone could understand. With immense origin power and illustrious military achievements, he naturally had the power to suppress it.
He Lingchuan said at once, "At the end of an empire, it's not far from collapse. With the nation's fortunes in decline, how much origin power could the last monarch have left?"
Setting aside more distant examples, take the old King of Bo. He Lingchuan hadn't felt much origin power on him at all.
"Right! That's exactly it!" Fu Liushan clapped his hands. "Very few people put it so clearly! Every time I bring it up, others just say it's impossible and that I'm lying."
On this continent, those who even knew the words "origin power" were already few and far between.
Dong Rui was only interested in treasures. "After he died, what happened to the Luosheng Armor?"
"Naturally, someone took it away. But this evil armor always resurfaces from time to time, bringing winds of blood and rains of slaughter." Fu Liushan bared his teeth. "The more blood is spilled on such armor, the more powerful it becomes, and the catastrophes it brings become all the more terrifying."
Hearing this, Dong Rui became even more interested. "Where is this treasured armor now?"
"No idea."
"People often go to Mount Jing looking for the armor," the shopkeeper added. "At the start of spring this year, treasure hunters stopped at my shop to rest and stock up on dry rations, saying they were going to try their luck at Mount Jing. There are always unreliable rumors claiming this evil armor is still at Mount Jing. As for whether anyone has ever found it, I couldn't say."
Dong Rui clicked his tongue twice. "That thing is both fierce and wicked, turning on its master at the drop of a hat. Why do so many people still want it?"
"What else but dreaming of defying heaven to change their fate?" Fu Liushan sipped his wine. "If they can't achieve it on their own, don't they have to rely on external power? As long as there's a shred of hope, a sliver of an opportunity, they won't let it slip. Ah, you haven't lived here long; you truly don't know the taste of despair!"
The shopkeeper sighed along with him.
He Lingchuan took out a bit of broken silver and handed it to him. "Warm some more wine for us and Master Fu, and bring out whatever good food you have."
Someone was treating? Fu Liushan's eyes lit up, and he hurried over to sit at their table. "Generous lad!"
Accepting the silver, the shopkeeper went gleefully to the back kitchen to rummage for ingredients.
The three chatted until late into the night, nearly drinking the shop dry of wine. Once half-drunk, Fu Liushan's tongue grew thick, and he shared many experiences of hunting demons and capturing ghosts with the two of them.
Different trades were separated like mountains; the two listened with keen interest, finding it immensely rewarding.
He Lingchuan specifically chose this moment to ask about the Luosheng Armor. Halfway in his cups, Fu Liushan told them many stories of the past.
Around this evil armor, countless stories had unfolded—some tragic and brutal, others deeply stirring.
Those ground down again and again in these stories had all once been living, breathing people.
Even someone as callous as Dong Rui raised a cup to toast him after listening, sighing, "This evil armor plays upon the human heart, yet in this world, the most terrifying thing is also the human heart."
There was no inn in Wuxian Town. The shopkeeper charged seven copper coins each to let them spend the night in the front hall, then went to the back to sleep.
The rain ceased overnight, and the next day dawned clear. He Lingchuan and Dong Rui packed up their gear and set out, continuing east.
Fu Liushan packed his bags as well to travel with them.
To avoid any misunderstanding, he clarified, "I'm heading east too. I'll ride with you for thirty li, and then we'll part ways."
On the road, He Lingchuan struck up a topic:
"By the way, since you're a master at hunting demons, do you know if there are demons on Baitou Ridge?"
"Oh, that den of fox demons?" Fu Liushan nodded. "I know about them. We Heavenly Masters basically don't take jobs on Baitou Ridge."
"Because it's too dangerous?"
"Precisely," Fu Liushan explained to them. "There's a great demon on Baitou Ridge known as Three-Tails, with at least three hundred years of cultivation. I've seen it before. It commands a crowd of little foxes, as well as some avian demons and insect demons, so strangers had better steer clear of that place."
Demons that lived in colonies usually weren't of a single species. Many had natural strengths that complemented one another. Even burrow spiders, exclusive as they were, had mirage demons living alongside them in symbiosis.
"Does Three-Tails often terrorize the local area too?"
The White Bear King had plagued the area around Baimao Mountain for decades, devouring untold numbers of people. Had the Julu Kingdom not grown prosperous and powerful enough to eliminate it, there was no telling how much longer it would have roamed freely upon Baimao Mountain.
"On the Shanjin Plain, how many demons don't eat humans? The easiest food to find here is people!" Fu Liushan said. "Those devoured by these fox demons show no outward wounds and look as if they're fast asleep, but their internal organs are completely withered. In our trade's terms, their vitality has drained away and their essence is utterly depleted."
Dong Rui chuckled. "These fox demons are quite particular when eating people—they leave a whole corpse behind."
"Still, when they eat too many, the humans at the foot of the mountain can't bear it either. Several neighboring powers once joined forces to eradicate the fox demons, but unfortunately Three-Tails was far too cunning and sent them back empty-handed every time."
He Lingchuan suddenly asked, "Did the Yao Kingdom take part as well?"
Baitou Ridge bordered the Yao Kingdom directly; logically speaking, the Yao Kingdom should have had the most victims.
Fu Liushan was taken aback, then pondered before saying, "Hmm, that's an interesting question... It seems Three-Tails didn't cause much trouble for the Yao Kingdom in the past. That's why the Yao Kingdom never sent troops to eradicate it."
Dong Rui was always quick to catch key words: "In the past?"
"A while ago, the fox demons suddenly broke their rule and started eating people from Yao too. And from what I hear, it was extraordinarily brutal—they devoured the residents of two whole towns, roughly over a thousand people in total. Lately, Emperor's Flowing Dew has been descending frequently, so I don't know if the newly risen minor demons on the mountain are simply failing to keep in line."
Chapter 1148