Chapter Fourteen: Yin and Yang

The man was an elderly figure, around sixty or seventy years old, with a round face and short hair. His eyes were very small, but the glasses he wore were unusually large.

I instantly became extremely vigilant. If he had come from outside, I might have just let him be, but this fellow actually emerged from Xiaoyi Village. Besides the one road leading to Kanglong Village, Xiaoyi Village indeed had another path—one I had never dared to take and my grandmother would never allow me to.

That path led to the Dead Town.

What was the Dead Town? It was a place, before the founding of the nation, where a plague had wiped out tens of thousands. The road was so perilous that even the living dared not enter. To put it simply, the wandering spirits there were considered trivial nuisances at best.

Only someone like my grandmother could come here and seal off the way to Dead Town, which was why Xiaoyi Village exists as it does today.

Now, this mysterious old man suddenly appeared from the village out of nowhere. If I didn’t flee, I’d be a fool.

Even without my wife’s sister’s warning, I would have quickly pulled Yu Xiaoxue behind Zhao He for protection.

Although Zhao He somewhat looked down on my behavior, seeing that neither of us were physically strong and that we chose to hide behind him, implied we acknowledged his prowess. That was the wisdom of the clever.

So Zhao He’s heroism surfaced; he puffed out his chest and loudly demanded of the newcomer, "I’m Zhao He from Dalong County, who are you? How come you just show up like this? Are you here to cause trouble for me and my sister?"

“Zhao He? Oh, Zhao He! What a coincidence—I’m your Uncle Hai!” The man briskly approached the bridge, waving his hand all along the way.

“Uncle Hai?” Zhao He was stunned, widening his eyes to scrutinize the man.

“Uncle Hai, help me quickly! The soul of Captain Huo has been taken by the Yin Soldiers. I have no way to retrieve him!” Zhao Qian was anxiously pacing, and the soul of Huo Dadong had already crossed from one side of the bridge to the other. If not recalled soon, it could be disastrous.

“Oh! Oh! Good, Zhao Qian is here too. That rascal Huo Dadong’s soul was captured? What a coincidence.” The old man readily agreed and immediately took out a stack of paper dolls from the backpack on his back.

The paper dolls were all cut out, with noses and eyes, looking quite eerie.

So he was someone they knew? I felt a slight relief but still dared not relax. Who knew how he appeared here? I touched the soul urn in my pocket, ready to lift the lid at any moment.

When Uncle Hai reached the bridge, I took a clearer look at him—his skin was somewhat darkened from years in the sun. The fact that he carried a backpack usually borne by younger people indicated he was frequently on the move.

He glanced at me briefly but then looked under the bridge. He seemed to have noticed the Yin Soldiers capturing souls and saw many wandering spirits, yet his expression remained composed.

As if oblivious, he took out a vermilion brush and wrote a few words on the paper doll, then plucked a lock of Huo Dadong’s hair and tied it to the doll. Without hesitation, he tossed the doll into the river, silently chanting an incantation.

The two Yin Soldiers seemed to sense something, released the faint soul of Huo Dadong, and turned to chase after the paper doll.

“Zhao Qian, summon again!” Uncle Hai chuckled and calmly settled into a fishing posture. His skill was nothing short of expert—like a routine task.

While astonished, I grew even more wary of this old man. He was undoubtedly a formidable practitioner of Yin and Yang arts, able to easily deceive the Yin Soldiers.

Moreover, when he approached me, it was like a shadow—there was no trace of his human aura. It seemed he concealed his presence using some secret Yin-Yang technique.

Without Yin and Yang energy, no malevolent spirits could perceive him. Such a skill was a powerful trick for hiding in plain sight, fooling ghosts and demons. Given he possessed such abilities, it was no wonder he dared to traverse the Dead Town path.

“Alright, thank you, Uncle Hai,” Zhao Qian said joyfully and immediately began reciting a soul-calling charm, while Zhao He cooperated to lock the soul.

After some effort, they successfully summoned back Huo Dadong’s soul.

Zhao He then opened an umbrella, shielding Huo Dadong’s body, while Zhao Qian chanted a few spells. Huo Dadong’s body twitched violently and bubbles appeared at his mouth.

Though the scene was unpleasant, he had returned to life. However, the ordeal was not over; part of his soul was injured, and he would still suffer a severe illness.

Seeing their success, Uncle Hai beamed with delight. “I didn’t expect you two could handle things on your own. It’s only been a few years, huh? You’re far better than your father was back then, haha.”

“You flatter us, Uncle. Compared to our father and grandfather, we’re still far behind,” Zhao He chuckled, though he was genuinely pleased.

“Uncle Hai, let me introduce properly. This is our new friend here, called—” Zhao Qian reached out to introduce me.

“Xia Yitian. Xia as in summer, Yitian as in one day, two days,” I cut her off, since she only heard my name from Huo Dadong but I had never truly introduced myself.

“I’m Yu Xiaoxue, Yu Xiaoxue… just Yu Xiaoxue,” Yu Xiaoxue shyly introduced herself. She had never done so before, having lived in Xiaoyi Village all her life without much ceremony.

“Ah, Xia Yitian and Yu Xiaoxue? Good names! Young folks too. Since you’re the same generation as Zhao He and his sister, you can just call me Uncle Hai or Old Hai. I’m a local from Dalong County,” Uncle Hai said warmly. Being here until nightfall, he probably thought we weren’t ordinary people, so he was very courteous.

Zhao Qian smiled and nodded, and Zhao He interjected, “Uncle Hai, Xia Yitian is the grandson of Zhou Xian.”

I frowned, my eyes growing serious. Zhao He really talked too much.

“Huh? Zhou Xian? You mean you’re the grandson of Senior Zhou Ying?” Uncle Hai gasped, finally giving me a proper once-over.

“Is there a problem with that?” I forced a smile but frowned. “Uncle Hai, how did you come out of Xiaoyi Village? That narrow mountain path there is hardly passable.”

Seeing my grim expression, Uncle Hai immediately smiled meaningfully and said bluntly, “Hehe, young man, do you think Senior Zhou Ying’s death has anything to do with me?”

“Brother Yitian, Uncle Hai is one of us; there’s no way he’s involved in your grandmother’s death,” Zhao Qian, clever as ever, quickly understood why I asked.

“Since we’re all from Dalong County and have come this far, I suppose you know some things already. For matters unclear, you’ll eventually try to find out, right?” Uncle Hai adjusted his glasses and gestured for us to follow. “Let’s carry Huo Dadong. It’s about time.”

“Going out of the village? Uncle Hai, we’ve been out before. The Yin Soldiers patrol the borders; no one can leave. We went out and back again today and even lost a police assistant. Otherwise, we wouldn’t still be here,” Zhao He complained.

“Only one death? Hehe, considering the aftermath, you’ve been lucky to hold out this long. On my trip to watch the battle with some friends, three died, and I barely made it back,” Uncle Hai shook his head with a bitter smile.

“What? Uncle Hai, was there a battle of magic? You have to tell us the details so we can understand!” Zhao He was very excited, carrying Huo Dadong with ease.

“Indeed! I was invited to observe. My friends didn’t participate but were ambushed and didn’t come back with me,” Uncle Hai sighed, then glanced at me.

I didn’t know why he looked at me, but I guessed it had to do with my grandmother.

“Brother Yitian, do you know about the events before the founding of the nation? Or what your grandmother was called outside? Or anything about the cause of recent events?” Uncle Hai asked me.

I thought quickly and firmly denied everything. “I’ve been working away for years. I don’t know much about my grandmother’s past. She never spoke of those times.”

“I see. No wonder. Ah, she was living under an assumed name,” Uncle Hai shook his head, then continued, “Zhou Xian is none other than the famous Zhou Ying, the Old Devil of old.”

“Heh, Old Devil? How could my grandmother have such a name? She always saved people, dispelled evil, and was kind-hearted. Uncle Hai, are you mistaken?” I sneered, staring him down. My grandmother was gentle and charitable, praised by all neighbors. Calling her ‘Old Devil’ was like pointing a finger in my face and insulting me.

Uncle Hai chuckled, seeing I was upset, and said, “Young man, don’t worry. The Zhou Xian in my mind is Senior Zhou Ying, definitely not the Old Devil. That name came from outsiders who feared her. I met her once; I know her character. Calm down and let me explain.”

“Uncle Hai, is this true? Zhou Xian really was the Old Devil?” Zhao He’s eyes gleamed with admiration. To be called an ‘Old Devil’ meant being a top-tier sorcerer.

Zhao Qian’s eyes also shone, though she was less impatient than Zhao He.

“Hehe, Zhao He, do you know who Senior Zhou Ying was? Before the Cultural Revolution, she was already the renowned Old Devil Zhou, the sole inheritor of ghost cultivation! Do you think I’d lie?” Uncle Hai smiled.

“Alright, don’t interrupt. I’ll tell you as we walk. Meanwhile, take these paper dolls and keep them in your pockets.” Uncle Hai handed us several paper dolls.

I took them, examined them seriously, and, since my wife’s sister hadn’t warned me otherwise, tucked them into my pocket.

“Since I mentioned the devil and Senior Zhou Ying, I must also speak of her enemies—the ‘Orthodox Sect.’ What is the Orthodox Sect? It includes Su Tu, Ma Yi, Zhong Ge, Quan Zhen, and Maoshan—these are their so-called orthodox traditions. Groups like ours, who branched off into minor paths, are dismissed as superficial or even heretical. Though usually peaceful, once, a problem arose.”

Uncle Hai looked toward where my grandmother lived and shook his head. “I never expected the Old Devil to be her… I thought it would be a man.”