Bone Lingding lived in a cave on Dragon Creek Mountain, a considerable distance away.
Though the two were hurrying to save his life, neither knew the terrain. They stopped in a bustling settlement to ask the way to Dragon Creek Mountain, but several people had never heard of it. Then a young cultivator approached.
“Hey, why are you asking about Dragon Creek Mountain?” the young cultivator said with a smile. “That place changed its name decades ago. It’s called Dragon Bone Mountain now.”
“Dragon Bone Mountain?” Ren Yijue repeated in surprise.
“That’s right.” The young cultivator looked them over and seemed to understand. “I know, you two must be outsiders! You heard there used to be a flood dragon on Dragon Creek Mountain and wanted to see it for yourselves. You’re too late.”
Qian Xuelang and Ren Yijue exchanged a glance, neither betraying a reaction.
Ren Yijue smiled. “Then perhaps this young Dao Lord could enlighten us.”
Among cultivators, the title Immortal Lord was used for figures of very high cultivation or status. Dao Lord was more liberally bestowed; a cultivator with a little ability or a few good deeds might be addressed that way.
The young man appeared freshly emerged from training. His delight at the title was impossible to conceal, though he coughed twice and tried to look dignified. “It’s… it’s nothing. Helping others is a pleasure. We who cultivate the Dao should aid the world in times of trouble and act for the public good. It is only right…”
When he continued rambling, Qian Xuelang cut in coldly, “Where is it?”
The young cultivator shuddered and obediently pointed the way. “Keep going in that direction. When you see an enormous dragon skeleton on the mountain, that’s Dragon Bone Mountain. But you’d best not go. They say a corpse cultivator took it over decades ago. Supposedly he rides a dragon at night and catches people to eat…”
Saving someone was as urgent as fighting a fire. The two wasted no more words and sped away. Watching them vanish in the blink of an eye, the young man swallowed the rest of his speech and stood there gaping for a long time.
“I thought Dragon Bone Mountain was just a nickname based on its shape. I never imagined a real flood dragon had cultivated there,” Ren Yijue said. “No wonder Bone Lingding moved to Dragon Creek Mountain. He must have wanted to refine the flood dragon’s bones.”
Qian Xuelang did not reply.
Ren Yijue paid this no mind and smiled again. “Perhaps I shouldn’t think this way, but if Bone Lingding really has refined those bones and can command the dragon’s corpse, that would be a relief. He probably won’t need us to rescue him at all.”
“Mm,” Qian Xuelang said. “We should start thinking about how to kill him instead.”
Ren Yijue burst into laughter. They were still flying through the clouds, and as he leaned sideways he collapsed against Qian Xuelang’s shoulder, shaking with mirth.
When Qian Xuelang spotted the dragon bones, he finally descended.
They unfolded the flower-skin map, examined it, and followed the indicated path. Ren Yijue was about to try White-Brow Child’s method for getting past the defenses, but the formations had already been broken. Several white-haired walking corpses lay scattered on the ground. Knowing the mastermind had arrived first, they immediately hurried farther in.
It was already evening. Shadows deepened, the mountain wind rustled, and the atmosphere was eerily sinister. Suddenly they heard several roars. Beneath the dim moonlight, a fierce battle was raging in the distance.
Ren Yijue counted more than ten figures ahead, men and women of different heights. Their faces were purple-blue and drained of all healthy color, black qi enveloped their bodies, and together they were attacking someone.
Looking closely, he understood at once. These had to be corpse puppets created by Bone Lingding.
Before long five or six of the puppets fell, exposing the figure at the center. The mastermind was a tall man with scarcely any flesh on his gaunt face. It looked like a skull with a thin layer of skin stretched over it, but that skin gleamed with a jade-like sheen.
Ren Yijue thought, So that is why the shadow play showed a black-robed skeleton. I thought it was only a metaphor for a wicked man. It was the literal truth.
Only seven corpse puppets remained standing. Their bodies seemed impervious to swords and spears. When flying swords struck them, the metallic clang and scrape was enough to set one’s teeth on edge.
The puppets thrust out both hands. Their flesh drew taut and their fingernails suddenly lengthened, each finger bearing a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing in the moonlight. In a blink, their claws formed a dense net of knives slicing down toward the mastermind’s head.
If that attack landed, the mastermind would likely be carved into a platter of shredded flesh.
It appeared that neither side was easy to deal with. Ren Yijue caught Qian Xuelang, who was about to reveal himself, and pulled him into hiding. Qian looked at him in puzzlement.
Unable to speak just then, Ren merely shook his head. Fortunately, after their experience with Yin Wuchen, Qian knew Ren must have something in mind and waited quietly.
A flash of blood-red light wheeled through the air, cutting all ten fingers from a puppet’s hands. The creature felt no pain, but its attack lost much of its power now that only stumps remained, and its assault faltered.
Ren Yijue saw this clearly and thought, These corpse puppets have not been refined to perfection. Their entire bodies are not made of invulnerable bronze and iron.
The blood-red light returned to the mastermind’s hand. With a flourish of his long sword, he struck off the heads of three more corpse puppets amid the melee. Their weak points were apparently at their necks.
His sword was extraordinarily fast, its strokes multiplying into thousands of flickering lights. Soon he found the weak points of the remaining four puppets and struck each one down, leaving them unable to rise for the moment.
Bone Lingding had plainly wanted to bar the intruder. Now that every puppet was down, he should have responded, yet he made no move.
Ren Yijue sensed trouble. He tapped Qian Xuelang’s arm gently, signaling him to intervene.
Honglu flashed. Scarlet light blazed as Qian Xuelang entered the mass of fallen puppets. He moved so quickly that the mastermind barely had time to react and could only raise his sword in a desperate block.
Their spiritual power collided, sending a tremor through heaven and earth. Trees all around them snapped and toppled. Each man shivered inwardly, realizing he had encountered a rare and formidable opponent.
The mastermind reacted even faster and immediately fled. Qian Xuelang pursued him, but the other man knew the terrain better. By the time Qian reached the mountain’s foot, the figure had vanished into dust and smoke. He had no choice but to return.
When Qian Xuelang reached the entrance of the cave, Ren Yijue was nowhere to be seen. The surrounding trees had been destroyed by sword and saber light. Wondering if Ren had been trapped under one of them, he called, “Ren Yijue?”
“Jade Beauty, I’m here,” a voice answered promptly from inside the cave.
Qian Xuelang was about to enter when a thick stench of death reached him and made him frown. Then Ren Yijue called, “It’s filthy in here. Jade Beauty, you’d better not come inside. I’ll be out in a moment.”
Sure enough, Ren soon emerged. Seeing no one behind Qian Xuelang, he realized the quarry had escaped but showed no particular reaction. He merely smiled. “There was a little stream on the way here. I’ll go wash my hands first.”
Qian Xuelang had no objection. They went to the stream, where Ren crouched and washed for a while before asking, “Is there nothing the Jade Beauty wants to ask?”
“Too many things,” Qian replied. “Why did you stop me from revealing myself?”
Ren Yijue said, “We knew nothing of Bone Lingding’s or the mastermind’s abilities. Had you barged into the fight, Bone Lingding might not have felt grateful to us, and we might even have been attacked from both sides. Better to stay still, observe, and act once we understood the situation.”
“You meant to let them injure each other so we could reap the benefit.”
“What an unpleasant way to put it,” Ren Yijue said with a slight smile. “I only wished to avoid needless complications.”
Qian Xuelang scrutinized his face. After washing his hands, Ren splashed water over his face as well. Moonlight glimmered on the droplets clinging to his features, making him look handsome and youthful, almost like a charming young lover.
This was Ren Yijue’s way of surviving. Qian had no judgment to offer and merely asked, “If you’re so cautious, why did you venture inside alone?”
“I noticed how strong those corpse puppets were, yet they moved without order or coordination. Clearly no master was controlling them. Then, even after the puppets were defeated, Bone Lingding did not respond. I guessed it wasn’t that he refused to appear, but that he couldn’t.”
“Hmph. So you do have some sense. What did you see inside?”
“Half a dead man,” Ren Yijue replied, flicking water from his hands.
Qian Xuelang was confused. “A dead man is a dead man. How can there be half of one? Unless… Bone Lingding has also lost part of his body?”
“Not that kind of half,” Ren Yijue said, deliberately playing with the words. “I mean that when I saw Bone Lingding, he was half dead. By the time I came out, he was completely dead.”
Qian Xuelang frowned.
Only then did Ren Yijue explain honestly. “He had transformed half his body into a corpse-being. While refining the other half, the mastermind dealt him a serious injury. He barely managed to retreat into the cave and release his corpse puppets.”
Qian Xuelang had little interest in such sinister arts. Ren went on, “We really should be grateful Bone Lingding moved to Dragon Bone Mountain. He used the dragon bones to refine corpse puppets and even refined part of his own body into a corpse. Otherwise, with wounds that severe, he would probably have gone to meet the King of Hell before I ever got inside.”
“Half living human and half living corpse. He was an interesting sight, though rather frightening in the middle of the night. The place was disgustingly dirty, even by my standards. I doubt the Jade Beauty would have liked it.”
Qian Xuelang patiently listened to his endless chatter. No wonder the mastermind had been so unwilling to prolong the battle. He asked, “Did you question him about what happened back then?”
“Of course. Otherwise, all Bone Lingding’s efforts to keep himself alive would have been wasted.” Ren Yijue stirred the water with his hand. “Just as I suspected, the mastermind was so meticulous that he actually took part in the soul-seizing ritual alongside White-Brow Child all those years ago.”
“Only four of the Five Eccentrics appeared. The mastermind already knew another had survived, but could never find Perilous Rock. I imagine Floating Butterfly’s Molt protected his spiritual consciousness, and he fled from place to place until he reached Liuyanzhu. He wanted revenge, but growing himself a new body through the Molt must have taken decades, keeping him out of sight until he was finally fortunate enough to encounter us.”
Qian Xuelang asked, “If the mastermind took part, how could things have turned out this way?”
“What young Master Jiufang suggested should have been called inviting spirits: summoning souls so they could tell of their grievances and identify their murderer,” Ren Yijue said. “But I called it seizing souls.”
Qian Xuelang narrowed his eyes. “You mean they never asked who the killer was?”
“Exactly. White-Brow Child never cared about avenging the Five Eccentrics. He wanted only to know where Floating Butterfly’s Molt had gone. He kept asking where the killer had taken it. The other four Eccentrics naturally knew nothing, so the soul-seizing ended there.”
“Then who is that black-robed skeleton?”
Ren Yijue said, “He was famous decades ago. Among the deviant cultivators, he was known as the White-Jade Skeleton. Bone Lingding knew little about him, only that his fame went back much farther than Miss Wuchen’s arrival in Daihai. But after her affair, he faded from Daihai and disappeared.”
“And Bone Lingding?”
“Once he had told me all this, Bone Lingding could hold on no longer. He breathed his last.”
Qian Xuelang said coldly, “His own refinement was as unfinished as that of his corpse puppets.”
Ren Yijue enjoyed Qian’s occasional sharp tongue, especially when it was directed at someone else. Remembering how Qian had obediently allowed him to hold him back earlier, his heart grew sweet as honey. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to stop the Jade Beauty when I pulled you aside.”
“I remembered what happened with Yin Wuchen,” Qian Xuelang replied. “You act carefully. I trust you.”
Ren Yijue felt his heart leap, as though he were floating among the clouds. It took him some time to bring himself back down to earth. He cleared his throat and deliberately changed the subject. “There is something interesting about all this.”
“What’s interesting?”
“Look at what we’ve encountered. Perilous Rock died, yet Floating Butterfly’s Molt saved him and allowed him to escape. White-Brow Child’s greed spared him for decades, and the map he left to harm others instead allowed us to reach Bone Lingding before his last breath. Bone Lingding’s corpse-refining hurt others, but it prolonged his own life so that we could learn what happened. Yin Wuchen and Miss Wuchen happen to share a name. Yet he was a human demonic cultivator steeped in corruption, making his name ‘Without Dust’ a bitter irony. Miss Wuchen has the body of a half-demon but a clear and upright heart, fully deserving her name, Shui Wuchen.
“Yin and yang give rise to one another, and light and shadow accompany each other. Isn’t the natural Great Dao found in just such things?”