Seven Songs(Yin Deng Jue/Secret Of Leading The Light) - Chapter 31
Chapter 31: A Scheme Within a Scheme (Part 1)
Yan Qige walked up behind Yu Sang and knit his brows, studying the situation. Reaching out, he pulled a dark green jade hairpin from her hair and carefully used it to probe the glowing mass inside the hollow of the tree.
Clang!
The instant the hairpin neared the small opening, it was struck by an unseen force and shattered into several pieces.
“My hairpin! You’d better pay me back for that!” Yu Sang turned around and glared at Yan Qige.
“Keep quiet,” Yan Qige chided her sternly. He drew a red string from his sleeve, tied a slipknot in front of the small hole, and handed the loose end to Yu Sang.
“Go hide behind the tree.”
Yu Sang pouted, her expression full of reluctance as she took the string and retreated behind the trunk. She muttered in complaint, “I stole that hairpin from a mortal emperor’s palace! Supposedly, it was a prized possession of Consort Yan from the previous dynasty. You just ruined it—what a spendthrift!”
“Consort Yan’s…”
Yan Qige’s expression shifted imperceptibly. A faint curve touched the corner of his lips, but it vanished just as quickly back into his usual composure.
Once Yu Sang was safely positioned behind the tree, Yan Qige summoned his Soul-Guiding Lantern again. Holding it close to the opening, he flicked his fingers to chant an incantation.
A bolt of heavenly thunder crashed through the sky, striking the very top of the old, withered tree. The weathered branches burst into flames. The faint light inside the trunk grew vivid and began moving outward. As Yan Qige’s incantation quickened, the entity inside pressed out inch by inch. It was a human hand—though it had no physical substance, existing merely as a spirit form.
“You aren’t her… Who are you?” a man’s voice echoed eerily. A pair of glowing, emerald-green eyes appeared at the opening, and the protruding hand began to draw back.
“Pull the string!” Yan Qige ordered.
Hearing his command, Yu Sang immediately yanked the cord tight.
Amidst the man’s cry of pain, Yan Qige looped the red string around his fingers, pulling and tugging in a single swift motion to drag the man’s soul out of the hollow and seal it inside the lantern.
With the task complete, the celestial anomalies faded. Looking up at the sky, the sun was already sinking into the west.
“Extinguish.”
Yan Qige flicked his sleeve, sending a paper talisman flying onto the withered tree. The fire burning on the branches vanished instantly.
Only then did Yu Sang realize that the bolt of heavenly thunder had been summoned by Yan Qige himself. She knew his spellwork far exceeded that of ordinary mortal cultivators, but she never imagined his magic had reached the level of commanding thunder and lightning.
Who is he really? How much more about him is beyond my imagination?
Yan Qige stowed the Soul-Guiding Lantern and walked away with his hands behind his back. Standing in place, Yu Sang watched his silhouette against the setting sun, frowning in puzzled thought. It wasn’t until Yan Qige called out to her that she snapped out of it and scurried to catch up.
“Can I ask you something? You have a sword on your back, so why do you never use it?”
“Only if you tell me first… Who is this Bai Zhi, and what is your relationship with him?”
“Never mind. Forget I asked.”
Their casual banter faded into the sunset-drenched wasteland. As darkness descended inch by inch, their figures drifted into the distance.
Neither of them realized that beneath the old tree where they had just stood, a figure materialized without a sound. A subtle, dangerous smile touched the intruder’s lips, only to vanish again in the blink of an eye.
—
Yan Qige and Yu Sang made it back to the courtyard where they were being held right before dark. Returning inside the room, they locked the door behind them. Shortly after, footsteps approached from outside.
Yan Qige stowed the Soul-Guiding Lantern that had lit the room and re-wrapped the hemp rope around his wrists. Meanwhile, Yu Sang leaned against the wall, pretending to still be unconscious.
The door swung open, letting in the glow of a single lantern. Liu Mingran and the innkeeper stepped inside one after the other. Liu Mingran ordered the innkeeper to hoist the sleeping Yu Sang onto his shoulder and carry her outside. She then stayed behind, casting a cold sneer at Yan Qige.
“Young Master Yan, have you changed your mind?”
Yan Qige merely gave her a indifferent glance and ignored her completely. Incensed by his reaction, hatred flashed in her eyes. She reached out and plunged a small fish-bone spike into his shoulder, using her demonic magic to seal his spiritual energy before shoving him out the door.
A horse-drawn carriage waited in the courtyard. Yan Qige was shoved inside, where Yu Sang lay slumped with her eyes closed. Liu Mingran boarded right after him and called out to the innkeeper sitting up front to set off. The carriage swayed as it began its journey forward.
“You aren’t Liu Mingran,” Yan Qige said calmly.
Liu Mingran glanced at him sideways and let out a laugh. Bending down, she retrieved a bundle from beneath the bench, opening it as she spoke, “Of course I am not her. How could a mere mortal vessel possess power like mine?”
“You took over her skin. Where is her soul?”
“You will find out soon enough,” Liu Mingran replied with a sinister smile. Casting a spell on Yan Qige, she forced his eyes to close as he fell into a deep slumber.
Afterward, Liu Mingran pulled a fiery-red wedding dress from the bundle. She propped up Yu Sang, who was leaning against the carriage wall, put the dress on her, let down her hair, and began styling it into a bridal bun.
Half an hour later, the carriage came to a halt. Liu Mingran had the innkeeper help her move Yu Sang out of the vehicle. Yu Sang opened her eyes just a slit and saw the unconscious Yan Qige leaning back inside the carriage, feeling a pang of worry for him. However, so as not to ruin the larger plan, she had to maintain her front of being fast asleep, letting Liu Mingran and the innkeeper carry her off the carriage and set her down on something cold to the touch.
The moment Liu Mingran turned her back, Yu Sang quietly opened her eyes to survey her surroundings. To her surprise, they were already by the banks of the Hongzhu River. She had been placed on a bamboo raft, right next to the thatched riverside hut where they had spent the night before.
“The auspicious hour approaches. Set the incense.”
As Liu Mingran spoke, she struck a fire starter and tossed it nearby. Instantly, a ring of fire ignited around them in an octagonal formation, centering on Yu Sang and the small thatched hut.
Stepping back outside the circle, Liu Mingran dropped to her knees and kowtowed three times toward the hut. She then drew a fish-bone dagger and slashed her own wrist.
Blood spilled from her wound, dripping onto the flames. The fire instantly surged several times higher, and the surrounding ring of flames rose rapidly, forming a wall that trapped Yu Sang and the small hut together inside.
A sharp crack shattered the sky as lightning struck down from above, landing squarely on the thatched hut in the center of the ring. Terrified, Yu Sang scrambled to her feet, rolling away just in time to see the adjacent hut burst into roaring flames.
The surrounding flames grew even fiercer, forming a wall of fire several yards high that caged Yu Sang within. Beside her, the hut burned with increasing fury until, with a loud crash, the structure collapsed in on itself. Yu Sang took several steps back to dodge the flying sparks, only to accidentally step against the fiery wall behind her, which immediately consumed a large swath of her new silk dress.
