Chapter 13: Night Visit to the Courtesan House—Part 4

The snake demon writhed in agony under the light of the lantern but was unable to move away from it, her face twisting into an increasingly grotesque expression.

Hearing Yan Qige question, she didn’t answer but instead began to laugh, closing her eyes with a self-mocking smile.

“I only wanted to find a demon-collecting Taoist priest to subdue her, but who would have thought I’d attract the owner of the Soul-Guiding Lantern? It seems my misfortune has caught up with me. You might as well kill me.”

Yan Qige’s brow furrowed even more deeply at her words, but he didn’t strike her down.

Instead, he moved the lantern aside.

“There are no objects in your room or on your body capable of sustaining a soul transfer.”

Choked with confusion, the snake demon opened her eyes, unsure why Yan Qige had spared her.

She scrutinized him carefully, and suddenly, as if realizing something, her eyes widened slightly, a knowing smile creeping across her face.

“I see now. So, you’re not here just to subdue me. You’re after…”

“You talk too much,” Yan Qige cut her off coldly, tearing the yellow talisman from her shoulder.

Regaining her movement, the snake demon quickly stepped back, warily watching Yan Qige and his lantern.

After confirming that he had no intention of attacking again, she slowly began to speak.

“Lu Ranqing was originally a maid picked up by the Wang family matron. She grew up with Master Wang, and they were supposed to marry, but he never liked her. Ten years ago, when the Wang family fell, Master Wang prepared to go to the capital for the imperial exam. Lu Ranqing encountered me by chance, learned that I was a demon, and begged me to help Master Wang secure a top position. She even promised to give me a soul artifact from the Wang family as thanks.”

“And then, during the journey, she arranged for you to meet Master Wang by ‘chance,’ helped him rise to the top, and conveniently married into the Wang family yourself. Naturally, the real Lu Ranqing must have hated you and refused to hand over the soul artifact,” Yusang interjected, guessing the rest of the story.

“Exactly. But she couldn’t reveal that I used demonic energy to help Master Wang. When the Wang family was raided, I saw their downfall coming and stole the family treasure amidst the chaos. But Lu Ranqing caught me. In the ensuing struggle, we switched bodies. When the Wang family old madam arrived, she set up the Eight Trigrams Formation to execute me…”

“Wait, you said the Wang family old madam?” Yan Qige interrupted abruptly.

The snake demon, seeing the strange expression on Yan Qige’s face, hesitated, then nodded lightly.

“This is bad,” Yan Qige muttered, before quickly turning away and heading straight for the county magistrate office.

Ranqing followed closely behind him.

Yusang, still holding her wounded arm, stood in place, realizing that Yan Qige hadn’t paid her any attention, not even sparing a glance.

As she watched his silhouette vanish into the streets, she looked down at her blood-soaked hand and clothes, feeling a heavy weight pressing on her heart.

“Yusang, why do you bother? He’s not someone you should care about.”

Unnoticed, Huayi had appeared on the street.

In an instant, she used her demonic energy to move beside Yusang, her eyes full of concern as she glanced at Yusang’s wounds.

Yusang coughed softly and gathered her demonic energy in her palm to heal the injury on her arm.

The bleeding stopped, and even the bloodstains on her clothes disappeared.

“You always jump to conclusions,” Yusang smiled before turning to leave.

“If you want the soul-guiding lantern, why not just take it? Why go through all this trouble?” Huayi asked.

“Yan Qige is no ordinary mortal. He possesses both the lantern and formidable cultivation. Perhaps he can lead me to the four soul artifacts.”

“I hope you truly know what you’re doing. I’m worried that…” Huayi trailing off.

“I know my responsibilities,” Yusang replied, cutting her off with a smile.

Realizing that further persuasion was pointless, Huayi sighed and said no more.

Yusang patted her hand reassuringly and then pursued Yan Qige in the direction he had gone.

When Yusang arrived at the county magistrate office, the place was already engulfed in fire.

As she approached, she discovered a barrier surrounding the area.

She saw Ranqing run directly through the entrance, but despite her attempts, Yusang couldn’t penetrate the barrier.

“Withdraw your protective spells,” came Yan Qige’s calm voice from beside her.

At the same time, he extinguished the light of his Soul-Guiding Lantern and stepped through the barrier.

“This barrier is strange and powerful. Is it set by a demon or an immortal?” Yusang asked as she walked in.

“Neither. Even immortals must abandon their spells to enter this place.”

Yan Qige said while walking leisurely.

“Could it be…” A name popped into Yusang’s mind, and she couldn’t help but gasp in surprise, turning to look at Yan Qige, who was stepping through the door.

“It seems you’re somewhat knowledgeable. This is a Spiritual Medium’s Barrier.”

The Soul Guardian Venerable, also known as the Spirit Medium, is an ancient and singular lineage, beyond the Six Realms and Five Races. Neither good nor evil, it operates on the principle of balance, forming contracts based on desire, with souls as the currency.

This being transcends all paths and realms, without age, form, or even spell. However, once someone makes a pact with it, for every bit of strength the contractor has, it gains twice as much.

It grows stronger in the presence of power and manifests according to desire and fate, thriving on the force of ambition.

Eventually, it was subdued by Nüwa and Pangu.

According to legend, after Pangu created the world, the Six Realms gradually separated into five races: humans, demons, immortals, devils, and ghosts. However, due to conflicts between the races, they often engaged in battles, causing the souls of the deceased from each race to be unable to return to their respective realms.

Nuwa and the Buddha gathered the leaders of all the races to create a soul-guiding clan that transcended the Six Realms, known as the Fengjian Clan.

This clan possessed both human reincarnation and immortal abilities.

Its members carried soul-guiding lanterns, walking through the Six Realms to collect wandering souls.

As long as the lantern survived, the person lived; once the lantern was destroyed, so was the person.

The Buddha himself planted a divine tree, designating it as the Fengjian Clan’s sacred tree, and Nuwa sealed four Soul Guardians within the tree, transforming them into tree spirits.

Their duty was to open the Gate of the Netherworld before dawn each day, allowing the clan to deliver the collected souls to the afterlife.

As time passed, peace gradually settled over the Six Realms, and the gods returned to their respective positions.

The demon and spirit races were banished to the land of darkness, unable to re-emerge, while the ghost race came under the rule of the gods.

The Fengjian Clan began to dwindle, leaving only a few hundred members.

Among the races, humanity thrived the most, gaining control of the Central Plains, where they developed their own culture and produced future leaders of all races.

Two thousand years ago, the first emperor of the mortal realm unified the Central Plains and established his dynasty.

Humanity entered its most prosperous era, but after years of warfare, the mortal realm was filled with countless dead souls.

The leader of the Fengjian Clan disagreed with the emperor over this, leading to a war between the emperor and the clan.

In this surprise attack, the entire Fengjian Clan was annihilated, their Soul-Guiding Lanterns destroyed, and the sacred tree withered.

The four Soul Guardians who once protected the tree were scattered, attaching themselves to various objects in the mortal world, now known as Soul Artifacts.

It is said that whoever can obtain one of these soul artifacts and is willing to pay the price can have any wish fulfilled.

For those who cultivate, possessing one of these artifacts can greatly enhance their cultivations.