Yinshan Record

Chapter 1 Dead Forest
The fifth year of the Great Liang Dynasty was a rare good year for the wandering sons of the world.

A wrist-splitting dagger costs five coins, a bowl of stewed meat noodles costs three coins, and if you take a nap under a big tree near an ancient tomb, you can not only encounter a nocturnal fox and enjoy a carefree night, but also earn ten coins for free.

In that year, Yuan Ying, the Prince of Zhongshan of the Northern Dynasty, led 60,000 armored soldiers south. He first captured Yinping, killing 25 generals, then approached Shouyang, defeating 30,000 Liang soldiers, and finally besieged Zhongli City.

The famous general of the Great Liang, General Wei Huaiwen, led his troops to fight against them, and overnight they built three more cities outside Zhongli City.

After thirty-six days of fierce fighting, Yuan Ying, having exhausted all means, looked at Wei Huaiwen, who was sitting quietly on the city wall under an umbrella and banner, gently swaying his whisk. He took out a short flute and played a tune, leaving behind the words, "Hidden like an enemy state." Then he led his iron cavalry away.

Then Wei Huaiwen led his generals in pursuit, first defeating them in Nanxu, then defeating Yuan Ying in Beiyu. Of the 60,000 armored soldiers who returned north, not one in five survived.

That year, the Huai River swelled dramatically, flooding three prefectures and sixteen counties. The imperial court withheld 50% of the military rations intended for the front lines and diverted them to disaster relief.

In that year, a dragon fell in Yunmeng, and its blood fell like rain, congealing into jade. A wealthy merchant brought it to Jiankang, where a single piece was worth ten thousand coins.

Many years later, those former libertines had long since lost all their vitality and become lonely ghosts.

But when they gathered in the City God Temple to collect incense, they would still smack their lips and recall the pungent smell of the fox prostitutes, mutter about the taste of the rotten meat noodles, and praise the good old days.

The long night stretched like a canopy, covering the entire world. The outlines of the distant mountains and fields constantly changed under the moonlight, and the mist, reflected in the bright moonlight, kept changing, sometimes condensing like a long snake exhaling, sometimes swaying like a tiger sitting on its hind legs.

A red lamp sways incessantly in the night.

We walked through layers of mist, following the overgrown mountain path forward.

The bluestone slabs laid in the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China have gradually broken into several small pieces, and the resilient grass and trees have invaded the space next to the slabs along the cracks.

The red light kept flipping up and down, and the four characters "Duling Su Clan" on it were indistinct in the fog.

"Young master, there are some lights ahead; it should be a place to rest."

A servant boy, carrying a bamboo basket on his back and holding a lantern in his right hand, pointed ahead and spoke. He was handsome with red lips and white teeth, and his jet-black hair was styled into two topknots.

Another young gentleman, dressed in a light blue Shu brocade robe, with a jade hairpin in his hair, a black wooden box on his back, and thick boots stepping on the slightly damp bluestone slabs, laughed.

"...Judging from the layout of this place, it should be a temple, but it's a pity..."

"What's a pity?" The servant boy's expression changed slightly as he recalled the bizarre and fantastical stories he had heard in the capital.

Rotten wood can breed spirits, old things can become strange, an old woman can give birth to a ghost, and ghosts roam the night...

He glanced at the young master beside him and suddenly remembered that his own third young master had also had a strange incident a few months ago. He couldn't help but subconsciously move a step to the side.

"Unfortunately, the protagonists in these stories are often solitary figures. Even when they are accompanied, they are either reclusive Taoist masters living in seclusion in the city, wandering Buddhist monks, or generous and heroic swordsmen, or affectionate and chaste female ghosts..."

Young Master Su smiled and said, "Who brings a page with peach blossom eyes around like that?"

"So you really have designs on me." The young page felt a chill run down his spine and shrank to the side.

If it weren't to save you, who would have taken you out?
Su Che glanced at the young page who looked slightly flustered.

The Jia clan in Jiankang City was known for its indiscriminate consumption of both meat and vegetables. The young pageboy was handsome; in his previous life, he could easily have been a popular young actor.

It's a pity that he was born in the Great Liang Dynasty, a time of rampant demons and chaos.

I took him with me as a form of support.

"Young master, there is a dilapidated temple ahead."

Following the path, a gate with stone lanterns covered in moss and a rotten plaque overgrown with vines comes into view.

Under the bright moonlight, one could vaguely make out the four large characters on the plaque.

Kulin Zen Temple.

It was indeed an abandoned temple.

Through the mostly dilapidated gate, one can see the fire burning inside; a glimpse of it on this slightly damp and chilly night can give one a bit of strength.

“Young master, there’s a saying in the martial world: ‘Don’t sit on the mountain when you’re crossing it, and don’t enter the temple when you come across it.’ We’re not far from Shanyin County now, so let’s keep going.”

The young pageboy, recalling the information he had gathered before leaving, suddenly wondered how his young master knew there should be a dilapidated temple here.

"Young master, do you know the art of observing qi?"

"The emperor's observation of qi is recorded in the Zuo Zhuan and passed down in the Zhan Jing. I've heard of it, but I haven't done any specific research on it."

Su Che shook his head and stepped through the half-dilapidated gate. The four Heavenly Kings on both sides had long since returned to their original, clay-like forms.

A patch of mud.

"Our family has served the Celestial Masters for generations, so do you know the secret arts of the Celestial Masters sect?"

"Trinkets heal the sick, flying swords vanquish demons, cultivation reaches the pinnacle of creation, and immortality is attained through consuming vital energy. I yearn for these things, but my affinity with immortality is too shallow, and I have no chance to cultivate."

"Those are monks, I've heard of Qixia Temple..."

“Hmm,” Su Che coughed and said clearly, “This lay Buddhist only practices the Joyful Zen.”

Su Che walked into the courtyard.

This place should have originally been a place of palaces and pavilions facing each other, with winding corridors and balustrades, but now everything has turned into rotten wood and broken tiles, except for the main hall in the very center.

Directly in front of us was a tall stone incense burner, which was filled with water and dotted with duckweed.

The firelight shone from the remaining main hall.

"How did you know this was a temple, young master?"

"I just guessed."

Su Che looked at the firelight ahead and began to recite.

"I am a junior scholar and I am sorry to have bothered you while passing through this place."

After saying this, he led the still hesitant pageboy inside.

Inside the temple, a fire was burning, and there was a lot of dry grass on the ground. Seven or eight men, wearing straw raincoats, were sitting on the grass, warming themselves by the fire.

When they saw someone coming from outside, a look of surprise crossed their faces, and they exchanged glances.

A dark-faced man, presumably the leader, stood up from his seat, his right hand inside his left sleeve, a smile on his face.

"It is fate that we meet. What's the big deal about disturbing each other? We are all just travelers on our way. Please come in and sit down, scholar."

Su Che nodded, and without any hesitation, walked directly into the temple, sat down by the fire, and stretched out his hands to warm himself with the heat.

"A scholar on his journey?"

The dark-faced man looked Su Che up and down, then glanced at the lantern in the pageboy's hand.

"Go to Guobei County."

Guobei County is adjacent to Shanyin County. Guobei is haunted, and Shanyin is haunted by demons.

"Visiting relatives?"

The dark-faced man squinted and slipped his right hand into his left sleeve.

Su Che suddenly remembered a senior who had slept with a fierce ghost. "Collect the debt."

"So you are a young master, but I don't know your name."

The dark-faced man relaxed a little, but his right hand remained tucked inside his left sleeve.

"So they were illiterate."

The young page muttered something behind him, "Isn't it written on the lanterns?"

"My surname is Su, and I live in Duling, Yongzhou."

These demons roam freely, and ghosts weep in the night; in this world, only the dead need no further attention.

Su Che could empathize with the tension of these people.

“Young Master Su, you can tell at a glance that your family has a big business,” the dark-faced man said, looking at Su Che. “We brothers are from Shanyin County. We’ve just returned from gathering herbs in the mountains and are heading back home.”

“You guys look like real heroes.” Su Che glanced at the loads on their backs, which were full of grass and plants.

These days, going into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs requires not only luck, but also courage.

Who knows which ginseng might be patrolling the mountain, or which fleecing female viper might be coiled next to the he shou wu you're about to harvest, or which shady ancient tree might be full of wronged souls waiting to take your place, or which thirst-quenching mountain spring might be occupied by a vengeful ghost standing opposite you, acting as a lookout for demons.

The dark-faced man smiled and slowly took his right hand out of his left sleeve.

"Then please rest, young master."

The young page gently tugged at Su Che's sleeve from behind.

These herb gatherers questioned us, but we didn't question them.

Who knows if they are really herb gatherers?

Maybe they're a bunch of accomplices who were eaten by the Demon King, and they're fishing for their master here.

Ignoring the worried pageboy, Su Che sat quietly by the fire and began chatting with the dark-faced man. They talked about the local customs and traditions of Guobei County and Shanyin County, as well as the disasters caused by floods and droughts.

The pageboy was relieved. His young master might look like a fool who was all show and no substance, but he wasn't stupid after all. He knew how to subtly hint at things.

What do people in the martial arts world say about this?

Yes, you should investigate. My third son, you should investigate him thoroughly.

The pageboy sat by the fire, the warm heat constantly baking him. He was already tired, and for a moment he became absent-minded.

He didn't know how long he had slept, but when he woke up, all he could hear was the crackling of the fire, and his young master was still chatting with that dark-faced man.

"...Guo Bei is not like our Shanyin. Shanyin County has a literary tradition. It even produced a top scholar in the imperial examination during the previous dynasty. Now, the family has fallen on hard times and has turned into a restaurant called Zhuangyuanju..."

The burly man with a dark face sat by the fire, recounting stories of his hometown.

"Speaking of this, I am reminded of an incident from Shanyin County."

The dark-faced man was rather curious about what this young master knew.

"Kulin Temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Datong of the previous dynasty, which is 236 years ago. In the early years of this dynasty, the world was in chaos, and for some unknown reason, Kulin Temple gradually fell into disrepair."

The pageboy, however, thought to himself that his young master was really lying. He had clearly found out that this place was a temple, but he still told him that it was just a guess.

"More than 30 years ago, a hunter discovered 24 bushels of salt in the Kulin Temple and reported it to the government. After investigation, Guobei County found that it was smuggled salt. This was the first incident that occurred in the Kulin Temple."

"More than ten years ago, a group of officials from the imperial court secretly escorted a captured Japanese pirate. The planned route was through Guobei to the prefectural city. However, the entire group disappeared without a trace. The people who were supposed to meet them followed the route and finally found four waist tokens and two broken knives at the Kulin Temple. The case was eventually ruled as a prisoner rescue by Japanese pirates. They were given sufficient compensation, but the matter was ultimately dropped."

The dark-faced man clenched his fists tightly. He was clearly from Shanyin County, but he had never heard of such a thing before.

As they were talking, as if to echo the young master's description, the doors and windows of the dilapidated palace, which had been tightly closed, began to creak and groan.

There was a sobbing sound outside the window, but it was unclear whether it was the howling night wind or the wailing of ghosts.

He was about to wake his sleeping companion when he suddenly noticed that the wooden box that Young Master Su had been carrying on his back since he came in was now shaking slightly.

The dark-faced man rubbed his eyes, but the wooden box was shaking more and more noticeably.

"Today is the Gengshen day. According to the book, today the Heavenly Emperor spreads his virtue and the Moon bestows nectar. The moonlight has special wonders. Plants and trees are enlightened by it, and birds and beasts are transformed into demons after drinking it. If we miss today, we will have to wait another sixty days for the next Gengshen day."

Su Che looked out the window. The tree branches trembled, the tiles shifted, and under the heavy night fog, something seemed to be dancing or singing.

He placed the wooden box across his lap and stroked it with both hands.

Inside the palace, the flames had already taken on a bluish hue.

The dark-faced man let out a long breath, and his mouth and nose were filled with mist.

Why is it suddenly so cold?

He felt numb all over and couldn't muster any strength.

Despite it being a long summer night, the chill had already seeped into the bones.

The constant ringing of the sword case on his lap, though it couldn't bring Su Che warmth, did maintain his inner clarity.

At this moment, the doors and windows of the palace were wide open.

The herb gatherer and his page were both under a spell; they could neither speak nor see, and their bodies felt as if weighed down by a thousand-pound boulder, rendering them completely immobile.

A beam of emerald light, as large as a cartwheel, floated outside the door.

Su Che slowly read the inscription on the sword box.

"My sword possesses a spirit, the essence of Shouyang Mountain. It is nurtured with benevolence and righteousness, and adorned with the five weapons. The three elements combine to form its edge, and the five virtues form its sharpness. The sun and moon are hidden within its markings, and it treads upon the seven stars. It commands rivers and stabilizes seas, where dragons lurk. It guards mountains and locks peaks, where a hundred ghosts hide their shadows. What god does not submit? What ghost dares to stand against it?"

Su Che looked at the sword box in his hand and softly uttered a sentence.

"please."

In an instant, the dark-faced man felt as if moonlight flashed before his eyes.

The box is quiet.

Outside the palace gates, only the bright moon shines, the sky is clear and the shadows of the trees remain unchanged.

The fog has dissipated.

The dark-faced man was momentarily horrified, but vaguely understood what had happened.

His expression darkened, and he clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"May I ask your name?"

“Du Ling Su Che,” the young man in brocade robes smiled lightly, “is the newly appointed magistrate of Shanyin County.”

"Congratulations, County Commandant, on slaying the demon and eliminating the ghost."

Slaying demons and exorcising ghosts? Su Che glanced at the outside room and simply shook his head.

(End of this chapter)