Chapter 6 Benefactor of Year Past

After their meal, the master and servant returned to the Venom Gu Office via Sword Kinesis. Weng Li went directly to the Sacrificial Hall. Just as Feng Yi had said, her mother was once again paying respects to their benefactor.

Inside the Sacrificial Hall, an Altar enshrined a statue and a memorial tablet. The statue depicted a handsome young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old. The tablet was inscribed with the words: “Memorial Tablet of Benefactor Wei Ying.” Kneeling before the Altar was a woman in her fifties, dressed in a deep colored Shu brocade gown, her face still bearing traces of great beauty from her youth. With hands clasped together, she murmured incessantly, occasionally bowing deeply in reverence. This was Weng Li’s mother, Liu Shi.

Weng Li tiptoed behind Liu Shi and deliberately deepened her voice: “Madam Wen, you come to worship me every day. What do you seek? Are you praying for a marriage arrangement for your eldest daughter?”Liu Shi, who had been bowing with her head lowered, suddenly heard the deep voice and hastily looked up, replying: ‘Yes.’ yes… I wish to seek a marriage arrangement for my Tong’er, hoping that…” She paused mid-sentence, realizing something was amiss. For twenty years, she had worshipped this statue and tablet without ever hearing it speak. Why would it suddenly talk today? As Liu Shi looked up in confusion at the statue on the Altar, Weng Li burst into giggles behind her. Only then did Liu Shi turn and see her daughter. Feigning anger, she raised her hand as if to strike Weng Li.

Weng Li quickly knelt on another Meditation Cushion and said: “Benefactor, please don’t blame me! I’m not here to cause trouble! I just wanted to cheer up my mother! Please don’t hold it against me!” She clasped her hands together and bowed deeply.

Liu Shi pressed her lips together in a suppressed smile and said: “Li’er, how many times have I told you? You must be reverent before our benefactor. If not for him saving our family of four at the foot of Qishan Mountain back then, we would have long perished.”

Weng Li remained silent but suddenly extended five fingers in front of Liu Shi.

Liu Shi asked in surprise: “What does this mean, Li’er?”

Weng Li smiled faintly: “Today Feng Yi told me that I’ve repeated the story about our benefactor hundreds of times. I think Mother has said it even more than I have, so…” She wiggled her five fingers again: “Mother, I estimate you’ve said it at least five hundred times!” Then she burst into giggles again.

Liu Shi stroked Weng Li’s head: “You mischievous child. Why did you return so early today? Are you hungry?”

Weng Li buried her face in Liu Shi’s bosom and nuzzled: “Mother, I want some soup.”

Liu Shi gently patted her back and shook her head with a smile: “Alright, Mother will make you some Snow Fungus Soup.”

But Weng Li continued clinging to her mother and abruptly asked: “Mother, is Gusu very far from Yelang?”

Liu Shi was taken aback by the question: “Li’er, why do you ask suddenly? Do you want to go to Gusu?”

Weng Li shook her head while leaning against her mother: “No, I’m just asking. I want to know how far it really is.”

Liu Shi affectionately stroked her daughter’s hair: “Very, very far. Even farther than Qishan Mountain. That place…”

As the mother and daughter were speaking, a sudden flash of white light appeared, and a Ghost Spirit Child knelt prostrate at Weng Li’s feet.

Weng Li lowered her head to look at the Ghost Spirit Child and asked, “What is it?”

The Ghost Spirit Child replied, “Young Mistress, the Elder requests your immediate presence at the Thousand Corpse Forest to meet with him.”

Weng Li said, “Thousand Corpse Forest? Didn’t I already tell Master that I would wait until Elder Sister returns before going together?”

The Ghost Spirit Child answered, “This subordinate does not know.”

Weng Li frowned and said, “Understood. You go inform Master first, tell him I will arrive shortly.”

The Ghost Spirit Child acknowledged the order, “Yes, Young Mistress.” As soon as the words fell, the Ghost Spirit Child vanished from beside Weng Li’s feet.

Weng Li pouted at Liu Shi and said, “Mother, I won’t be eating anymore. I need to meet with Master and go to the Thousand Corpse Forest. I suppose Master has already tracked down the Mother Child Ferocious Corpse.”

Liu Shi stroked Weng Li’s face and said, “Go ahead, Li’er. Be careful about everything. Mother will prepare your favorite bird’s nest soup and wait for your return.”

Hearing this, Weng Li curved her lips into a sweet smile at her mother Liu Shi and said, “Understood, Mother. You should make more I plan to drink two bowls when I return.” After speaking, she gestured to Feng Yi beside her to follow. Feng Yi understood immediately and followed her. The master and servant promptly left the Venom Gu Office manor and flew on their swords toward the Thousand Corpse Forest.

The Thousand Corpse Forest was located at the border between Yelang and Ba Commander. For dozens of miles in all directions, there were nothing but naturally formed stone pillars. Surrounded by mountains, this low-lying area in the middle was the crisscrossing stone forest. This was the place where the King of Yelang punished those who committed grave crimes against their clansmen. All who entered the Thousand Corpse Forest to be executed died in extremely brutal ways. Every manner of death could be found in the Thousand Corpse Forest hanging was considered child’s play here. Death by a thousand cuts, disembowelment, and heart removal such methods were not at all unusual in this forest. Moreover, the dead were not allowed to be buried; their corpses were hung on the stone pillars of the forest for public exposure. Over time, these souls, never laid to rest, would transform into vicious evil ghosts and Vengeful Spirits. Thus, for a hundred miles around the Thousand Corpse Forest, not a blade of grass grew, and no human settlements existed. A Soul Trapping Formation was set up around the Thousand Corpse Forest, preventing the evil ghosts and Vengeful Spirits inside from escaping and keeping birds and beasts outside from entering. Cultivators with lower Spirit Energy could not enter either. The interior was like a barrier enclosed by the formation, completely isolated from the outside world.

At this moment, outside the Thousand Corpse Forest, Weng Li bowed with cupped hands to her master Weng Mu and said, “Master, can’t we wait a few more days before entering the Thousand Corpse Forest? Elder Sister should be returning soon.”

Weng Mu’s slightly turbid eyes gazed at the Thousand Corpse Forest before him as he sighed deeply and said, “Li’er, you know that since your elder sister came of age, she has had to go to the Central Plains every year for two or three months at a time. Only in the last couple of years have her trips become shorter, but each visit still takes over a month. This time, the King personally sent word to the Venom Gu Office, ordering her to procure salt and cloth from the Central Plains. The quantity required this time is enormous, so I’m afraid she won’t be able to return for quite some time. This Mother Child Ferocious Corpse has already taken over a dozen lives. If we don’t eliminate it soon, the consequences will be unimaginable. We can wait, but I fear the common people in the surrounding areas cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Weng Li said, “Master, I have already dispatched a messenger ghost child. I believe Elder Sister will receive the message soon. How about we wait one more day?”

Weng Mu stroked his beard and sighed: “The Central Plains cannot compare to our Yelang. The Central Plains are vast and rich in resources. Those Central Plains cultivators practice sword arts and immortal techniques, which are completely opposite to our Witchcraft Gu Method. The Ghost Spirit Children you sent out, in the eyes of those Central Plains cultivators, are nothing but evil spirits and dark creatures. I’m afraid they would be completely exterminated before they even find your elder sister.”

Upon hearing this, Weng Li felt a pang in her heart: “Master, are those Central Plains cultivators so intolerant of us who study the Witchcraft Gu Method? I often hear those cultivators from the Central Plains call us Heretical Devils. When they mention us, it’s no different from mentioning Ferocious Corpses and evil spirits.”

Weng Mu shook his head and sighed: “Those sword cultivators have always considered our practice of Witchcraft Gu Method too mysterious and strange; hence they call us Heretical Devils. But in our remote Yelang borderlands, for hundreds of years, cultivators have been studying this very Witchcraft Gu Method. Look at these layered mountains of Yelang, Li’er perpetually shrouded in miasma, damp and cold, with rampant evil spirits. Without us cultivators who study the Witchcraft Gu Method to help people clear miasma and eliminate evil, the people here simply couldn’t survive. Therefore, the path of cultivation lies with the cultivator, not with the path itself. No matter what you cultivate, remember this principle: cultivate yourself to save others. As the saying goes, with a righteous heart, how can the path be evil?”

Weng Li nodded: “Master, your disciple understands. I will remember your words and always be a righteous person who cultivates myself to save others.”

Weng Mu stroked his goatee and nodded slightly, then continued: “Li’er, you’ve been studying the Corpse Control with Flute Technique for so long have you mastered it now?”

Weng Li showed a ashamed expression: “Your disciple is ashamed. Although I’ve been studying it for over ten years, I still haven’t mastered it. Though I’ve never personally seen our Benefactor control corpses, I often hear you and elder sister describe the scenes of our Benefactor’s corpse control. So, I imagine that compared to our Benefactor, my current skill is probably not even half of his.”

Weng Mu sighed deeply: “Your Benefactor was a founding master of his generation who could compare with him? Although Yelang has always had cultivators who use the transverse flute to practice arts, since ancient times, flute users have only controlled snakes, insects, and mountain creatures. You were able to control snake swarms and eliminate Mountain Goblins with the transverse flute at just eleven years old. But later you insisted on studying this Corpse Control with Flute Technique. It must have been truly difficult for you relying only on those incomplete manuscripts your elder sister found in the Central Plains, achieving half mastery is already quite remarkable. Later when we enter the Thousand Corpse Forest to find that Mother Child Ferocious Corpse, I will set up the Eight Trigrams Formation for you. You just need to stand in the formation and play your flute to restrain the small one. Leave the large one for me to handle.”

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