86: Chapter 85 Arrival 86: Chapter 85 Arrival The Ancient Stone Wall was not completely sealed off; there were stone gates at the Great Dao, which were definitely not to be opened at night.
They only opened for a few hours during the brightest part of the day, serving as a lifeline for the movements of ordinary people and goods…
To take this road was truly to risk one’s life, yet the profits could be exceedingly rich—a case of seeking wealth amidst dangers.
Having stood on the Ancient Stone Wall for a long time, he sighed deeply and spurred his horse towards the main gate; with his ability, as well as the particular feature of the wall’s array that targeted Soul Ghosts and not humans, he could simply leap over it.
But while he could jump over, his horse might not be able to; moreover, he had to stamp his seal at the gate’s guard to prove he had truly entered Yinling and not just loitered outside.
It was exactly midday with the sun blazing overhead, a time when Soul Ghosts rarely dare to wander out.
They would wait for sunset and twilight to start appearing.
The darker the night, the more numerous they were—this was a trait of the vast majority of ordinary Soul Ghosts.
Of course, higher-tier Soul Ghosts were another matter altogether.
There were more soldiers at the stone gate than merchants passing through, inspecting each person thoroughly, unwilling to overlook anyone, especially those coming from Yinling, for fear they might bring something unclean with them.
In addition to about a hundred mortal soldiers, there were four Cultivators—three at Energy Induction and one at Essence Building.
The Cultivators at Energy Induction were likely the Cultivation Seeds from Miao Gao Town itself, tasked with guarding their hometown, a duty they could not shirk.
The Cultivator in the Essence Building Realm was probably a true disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, responsible for overseeing the comings and goings at the gate.
Surely, a place did indeed require a real Cultivator, for there are some impurities that ordinary mortals cannot discern.
In terms of the allocation of Cultivation Power, Miao Gao Town was well equipped, with an Upper Cultivator from Tongxuan guarding it.
Of course, he would not be here, but remotely in charge within the town, only to take action when a major incident occurred.
From afar, he could hear sounds of weeping and wailing coming from the stone gate.
Hou Niao slowly nudged his horse closer.
Relatively speaking, the soldiers tended to be a lot more lax with the inspections for those going out of the stone gate into Yinling, so no one was attending to him for the moment.
The commotion was caused by a group of mortals from Yinling, dozens strong, with both old and young.
The men each held tools and weapons, clearly having had a very tough journey, which could be seen from the exhaustion on their faces.
But in the face of well-armed soldiers, they dared not act rashly.
An elderly man pleaded,
“Sir, our village was attacked by Soul Ghosts.
Only these few of us managed to flee from nearly a hundred villagers.
We are utterly exhausted and cannot go on.
We know the rule to enter the stone gate is to have an official token from the Yinling Patrol as a guarantee, and we understand that.
But for us, a small village, where can we find a Patrol officer in such a short time?
We were chased by Soul Ghosts, and had it not been for the daylight, not one of us would have escaped.
Please have pity on these women, children, and the elderly, and give us all a chance to live.”
The Essence Building Realm gate guard was all too familiar with such situations and showed no willingness to make concessions,
If we do that for everyone, what’s the point of having rules?
The token from the Yinling Patrol isn’t there to deliberately make things difficult for you.
At the very least, it allows us to verify the legitimacy of your group, to check if there are any thieves among you or if any Soul Ghosts are using someone’s body to pass through.
For now, you all should turn back.
The nearest village is only a little more than twenty miles from here.
With the sun at its peak, you have enough time to reach it.
Wait there for the Patrol’s token.”
In Yinling, there were always people unable to bear the pressures of life who sought to pass through the stone gate to seek refuge in Miao Gao Town.
In theory, the Quanzhen Sect had no reason to obstruct them, but they had to obtain approval from the Quanzhen officials patrolling Yinling—that was the so-called rule.
It was, in essence, a precaution against the introduction of many undesirable elements.
The situation was tense and at a standstill, facing a group of the weak and elderly, the gate leader was troubled as well.
Guarding the gate at the Ancient Stone Wall of Miao Gao, the greatest challenge wasn’t fighting with Soul Ghosts, but rather how to discern whether those passing through the stone gate posed a hidden threat?
These villagers were truly pitiable, but he could not compromise their safety by letting them in because of their sorrow, thereby threatening the safety of even more Miao Gao citizens.
A young stranger on horseback nudged up to his side, “Let them through.
I’ll vouch for them!”
The soldiers looked in surprise at this bold stranger, wondering on what grounds he dared to make such a claim?
But the guard knew him; he could sense the same aura emanating from this person as from himself,
“Sorry, but not just any Cultivator has the authority to make such a guarantee!”
The stranger handed over a simple assignment badge and a Sword Talisman, “Under the orders of Mu Shuai’s office, Hou Niao, I am to take up a post in Yinling, my position is probably what you refer to as Patrol, right?”
The gatekeeper accepted the assignment badge without surprise, he had seen quite a few from within the sect who were unfortunate enough to be assigned to Yinling; they were basically all guy, underestimating the depth of things, taking on tasks carelessly, breaking rules without realizing, which was precisely why they were sent to Yinling.
Patrol is the lowest position for the Quanzhen disciples in Yinling, so theoretically, from the moment he received the assignment from Mu Shuai’s office, he had this right, but how could you ensure that, when you haven’t even come into contact with Soul Ghosts yet?
“So it’s Junior Brother Hou, a pleasure to meet you, but since you have just arrived, you are unaware of the situation in Yinling and making decisions rashly could easily lead to chaos.
The punishment within our sect for letting Soul Ghosts into the territory is very severe.
Junior Brother, now that you have come here, I don’t know where you would be penalized if there was another dereliction of duty?
How about this, since Junior Brother wishes to enter Yinling, why don’t you escort them to the nearest village and then wait for confirmation?”
Hou Niao smiled faintly, not angry at the gatekeeper for showing no face; the man was simply following the rules, and he had no complaints,
“Even in broad daylight, it’s not completely clear if these people are clean?”
The gatekeeper nodded slightly, “Junior Brother Hou is unaware, there are many types of Soul Ghosts.
Most we can identify at a glance, but there are also a very few that are adept at hiding, not afraid of sunlight, and they can enter by attaching themselves to humans under various disguises.
We are not absolutely certain…
Miao Gao Town is not a Taoyuan idyll.
It seems peaceful, but in reality, we are constantly troubled by ghosts, so we must be stricter at the source.
If we rashly let people in, not to mention Junior Brother’s responsibility, I, your senior, would also be implicated.”
Hou Niao nodded, “In that case, perhaps I could give it a try?
Although I don’t know much about Yinling, I am quite familiar with Soul Ghosts.”
He was not an arrogant person, knowing that such contradictions are useless to argue about with words.
He was not acquainted with the gatekeeper, so why should the man accommodate him?
He could only prove himself with facts.
The gatekeeper frowned, “How does Junior Brother wish to try?”
Hou Niao pointed with his horsewhip, “These people, they all seem fine on the surface?”
The gatekeeper nodded, “Yes, but that’s just the surface, to look deeper would require the Town Government official to take personal action…”
Hou Niao said no more, dismounted, and walked into the crowd, looking around; a dirt-faced child with big curious eyes was looking at him, he bent down, and wiped the dirt from the child’s face with his handkerchief,
“Mhm…” the child shrank back timidly.
Hou Niao took out a pancake from his gourd and handed it over, the child hesitated briefly but couldn’t resist the temptation of food, took it, and began to devour it eagerly.
Hou Niao gently patted his back, “Eat slowly, there’s more.”
As he patted the child with a pleasant smile, a fierce ghost with a ferocious face suddenly appeared above the child’s head, causing panic all around, people were in a flurry, weapons were raised…
But someone was faster!
A flash of sword light streaked by, and under the sunlight, the fierce ghost struggled and howled before dissipating like smoke.
…Ascending Yinling alone, half-drunk from wine, the surplus joy thin as early autumn clouds, what matters in the mortal realm come with partings.
White poplars in the wind house evil spirits, at night the world becomes a solitary grave, who does the phosphorescent gleam illuminate?