Song of Silent Promise

19. Demons And Ghosts (2)

The five of them went silent for a while, trying to ignore the crying and giggling sound, taunting from outside the building. It was as though the demon-infant was trying with all its might to torture them, its voice seemed to leak through any nook and cranny of the mud-enforced wooden walls.

Fu Yan asked Man Zui, "Did anyone else 'read' the stars and foretell the snowstorm?"

Man Zui shook his head, "As far as I know, I'm the only one with such skill in town. After all, Shuyi is still predominantly full of Taishan natives. Residents from Duhan could be counted easily, and the only one who had come from the northern border of Duhan is myself."

Fu Yan nodded, "It's an illusion."

Fu Yan affixed a few talismans on all four corners of the dining room and walked towards the main door.

As the door creaked open just a finger's width, Xiao Yang shrieked in terror and put himself between the door and Fu Yan, shutting it tight once again, "No! Don't open it! What if that ghost... that demon is right outside?"

Man Zui pulled Xiao Yang aside, letting Fu Yan open the door once again. As the door was fully opened, everyone could clearly see the night landscape. It was exactly the same before Xu Yejing set foot inside this place, only shrouded in darkness. There was no heavy wind nor was there any storm. Occasional snow flakes fell, the whiteness softly fluttered downwards, a stark contrast from the pitch black night.

However, the sound of the infant crying and laughing was still clear, the sound sometimes near, sometimes as far as the sky itself.

The talismans hanging on the four corners of the room immediately dispel the snow storm illusion. But the demon was definitely not an illusion.

Fu Yan crossed his arms in front of his chest, his gaze affixed into an unknown distance, "Whoever planted this illusion is quite able, to be able to distort the actual alignment of the stars and make you believe there would be a snow storm. Whoever this person is, knows you well enough to know you would immediately leave Shuyi to open this place."

Man Zui's face paled, as though a streak of realization suddenly hit his brain.

Xu Yejing also grew worried. "Laoban... do you have family in Shuyi?"

"My wife... my pregnant wife is there."

A pregnant wife, and a crying infant amidst the snowstorm. Even if one were to think with their toes, they would be inclined to think there was a connection.

Xu Yejing tugged onto Fu Yan's sleeves, prompting the latter to look at her. Finally Fu Yan sighed, "As Shuyi town is also where we need to go, we can escort you there."

Man Zui wanted nothing more than to instantly teleport to where his wife was, but himself and Xiao Yang were people without an ounce of cultivation. Fu Yan and Fu Chun could only cover a carriage with talismans and barriers, protecting the people inside as much as they could. Fu Yan took the front in leading, while Fu Chun flanked the behind. Man Zui, Xiao Yang, and Xu Yejing sat inside the carriage.

"Laoban, Yang-dage," Xu Yejing decided to strike a conversation, "The ghost rumor in Shuyi, how long has it occurred? Hasn't anyone reported to the municipality office?" If it had been going on for a while, such disturbance to an important town's resident should have been communicated to the official in charge.

Shuyi town was under the jurisdiction of Taishan dynasty. The official should petition to the Emperor to dispatch people to investigate. If it was considered 'supernatural', some cultivators from the Flaming Cauldron Sect should be addressing the concern as well. But from Fu Yan and Fu Chun's reaction or lack there of, it seemed that they had been unaware of this issue.