Chapter Seven: The Spiritual Spring

The moonlight was perfect, scattered across the entire mountain forest. Zhao Fifteen stood beside the lightning-struck tree, gazing at the tall reservoir before us. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “I understand now, I understand!”

Understand what? Following the direction he pointed, I could clearly see the towering reservoir in front of us, along with several pools around it that, in a subtle way, seemed to form a pattern reminiscent of some kind of formation. Watching the clear, gurgling spring water, a realization dawned on me.

Could it be...

I didn’t pursue the thought further and instead followed the two of them straight toward the reservoir, standing atop it. The reservoir was sealed, which meant this was once the location of the spiritual spring. Now, since it was connected to the purification plant outside the village, the spring had likely been completely sealed off a few years ago. As for what the spiritual spring really looked like, no one knew.

“It seems we’ll have to wait until tomorrow. The lightning-struck tree appeared here, and the surrounding land resembles the terrain for raising corpses. The issue definitely lies within this sealed spiritual spring reservoir. We’ll wait until tomorrow to talk to the village chief of Lingquan Village, see if we can open this sealed reservoir. If someone with ulterior motives has tampered with it, things may only get worse.”

Both Chen Chuyi and I nodded.

After all, a vengeful ghost carrying the Seven Calamities Ghost Fetus had already appeared at the Jewelry Tower. If another one were to emerge here, it would fulfill the prophecy of the Three Corpses Resurrection Array. At that point, it would no longer be a simple matter of a vengeful ghost, but rather an unknown entity seeking to revive itself.

“Let’s go!” Chen Chuyi patted my shoulder. I looked at the massive reservoir built from reinforced concrete, surrounded by several small pools, each with the faint sound of running water. Those sounds seemed to be telling a story, weeping and lamenting, unsettling my mind.

When we returned to the Longevity Agency, Zhang Keqing had already awakened. Though her face was still pale, she could move about. Seeing the three of us return, she came forward to ask about the situation.

Chen Chuyi recounted everything we had seen tonight.

“So, this spiritual spring must be the source of the problem?”

Chen Chuyi nodded, then yawned and said, “Let’s not dwell on it now. Get some rest, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

That night, as soon as I lay down, I started to dream. I felt myself transported back to Lingquan Village, where I saw a woman in a snow-white long robe, her hair flowing, stepping slowly toward the spiritual spring. With each step, I could hear the gentle sound of running water. The roadway was paved with blue stone, unlike the uneven path we had walked earlier.

I walked all the way to the spring’s edge and could finally see its full form.

Nestled halfway up the mountain was a water pit, its water crystal clear, with countless streams overflowing around it, making the lower area damp and lush.

At that moment, something occurred to me. I crouched down, grabbed a handful of earth, and held it to my nose. There was no foul odor; instead, it was the refreshing scent of earth and water. My heart grew calmer. I carefully observed the long-haired, white-robed woman sitting beside the pool. In the moonlight, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Then I saw her slowly untie her hair, cupping a handful of spring water and pouring it over her head.

That’s when I saw her face. As the water cascaded over her features and onto her robe, the pristine white fabric gradually turned blood red. The once white robe became a robe of crimson.

Ah!

I shouted, jolting awake.

When I awoke, Chen Chuyi, Zhao Fifteen, and Zhang Keqing were all standing before me.

“Xiao Ke, are you alright?”

Chen Chuyi handed me a towel.

I shook my head, still shaken by the nightmare.

Daylight had already broken. Waking from that nightmare, I was drenched in sweat, my body sticky and clammy.

Today, we had many tasks ahead. The four of us hurried through a simple breakfast and began dividing the work.

Zhang Keqing and Chen Chuyi were responsible for continuing their surveillance at Jewelry Tower, mainly to find the two pregnant women among the Nine Calamities and keep them safe. Chen Chuyi had calculated that the Nine Calamities would converge within a few days, an ominous sign.

I, along with Zhao Fifteen, went to Lingquan Village to resolve the issue of this cursed land.

The spiritual spring, in itself, was a blessing.

To form a spiritual spring was to have a site favored by the earth’s feng shui. Such places were often coveted by adept geomancers, for a blessed location would generate the so-called energy of feng shui. To ordinary people, this may seem insignificant, but to geomancers, it meant advancement—a chance for a leap in cultivation.

If the Three Corpses Resurrection Array truly succeeded, it would trigger a celestial anomaly. At that point, it would no longer be a matter of a vengeful ghost or zombie, but the birth of a truly immortal, indestructible fiend.

By the time we arrived at Lingquan Village, it was nearly noon.

Previously, all feng shui surveys in Lingquan Village had been handled by Chen Chuyi from the Longevity Agency, so upon hearing Zhao Fifteen was from the same organization, the villagers greeted us warmly.

The village chief of Lingquan Village was Wang Dabao, who, having attended night school in his youth, was considered an educated man. Under his leadership, the village had prospered.

When we pressed him about the mountain spring, Wang Dabao recounted the events of years past.

Back then, before the spring was sealed, strange things frequently occurred in Lingquan Village. Eventually, chickens, ducks, and even pigs began to disappear. There had once been a large poultry farm at the east end of the village, but after these incidents, it closed down completely. Not long after, a wandering Taoist arrived, claiming the spring was at fault and that a ritual was necessary; otherwise, the spring would become a major source of calamity, perhaps even nurturing a celestial fiend or a creature of earthly darkness. As a man of learning, Wang Dabao was initially skeptical, but out of courtesy, he invited the master to stay at his home.