Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 579 Braving the eerie fog, treading the perilous path

Seeing Shang Lu and the others return pushing the cart, Steward Sun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but dared not show it outwardly. He even sternly scolded them:
"Why did it take you so long to pick up the goods? Were you slacking off on the way? You're all lazy as ever! Hurry up and get the leather to the warehouse."

Xu Zhen and Cheng Ren were obsequious and dared not say more, for fear of giving themselves away—looking up at the building in the distance, the ears of the four-eared, five-eyed beast were flapping incessantly, and its eyes were scanning everywhere.

Only Shang Lu, with his silver tongue, responded to Steward Sun's words and performed the play so vividly.

The three pushed the cart into the backyard, and led by Steward Sun, they pushed the cart into the warehouse.

"Hurry up and unload the goods! You can only go out to rest after the goods are unloaded and stacked!"

Sun Guan first shouted the order loudly, then muttered under his breath, "I have to stay here and keep an eye on you guys, so you don't slack off and do nothing again!"

These words were spoken to the four-eared, five-eyed beast on the distant watchtower.

As he spoke, Manager Sun walked to a corner of the warehouse, crossed his arms, and struck a pose as if he were going to supervise the work. In reality, he tapped his toes lightly on the ground a few times in a disciplined manner.

No sound was made, but a faint mist rose from beneath Steward Sun's feet and vanished instantly.

About four or five breaths later, Shang Lu and his men clearly heard a sound in their ears—the sound of unloading.

Even this time, looking into the warehouse from the doors and windows, you could see people busy moving and unloading goods.

At the same time, a witch's rune suddenly appeared on the wall beside Steward Sun.

Immediately afterwards, the witch's mark transformed into a painting.

The people in the painting looked very familiar to Shang Lu and the others; they were Zi Shu Xun Shou, Lü Yang, and Pan Yin Tong, whose childhood name was Lingling.

The people in the painting can move, and can even see what's happening outside the painting, waving to them.

In addition, there was another unfamiliar person, also wearing the robe of a constable from the Imperial Guard. This should be Pan Sheng, the minor official who went with Zi Shu on his hunting expedition and Lü Yang to arrest him.

Manager Sun didn't say anything, but strode towards the painting on the wall.

When he walked up to the wall, he didn't touch it, but instead walked directly into the mural—the mural on the wall rippled like water and absorbed him.

Upon seeing this, Shang Lu, Xu Zhen, and Cheng Ren did not hesitate. They immediately dragged Feng Ping out from the stinking leather goods piled on the cart, pulled him along, and quickly followed, also "crashing" into the mural.

Upon entering the mural, Shang Lu, Xu Zhen, and Cheng Ren discovered that there was more to it than met the eye.

Looking around, the area wasn't very large, probably about the same size as the warehouse outside, filled with a large amount of weapons and equipment, secret medicines and talismans, as well as some sealed remnants of spirits.

It seems that this place is the real key to this stronghold.

As soon as they entered, they heard the Mouse on patrol ask, "Why are you only coming back now? Did you run into trouble on the way?"

He then quickly introduced the place: "This is a secret realm within a painting, created using fragments of a secret realm. People outside can't see or hear anything here. It's a pity that the secret realm within the painting is not easy to move and requires a matching witch array. Otherwise, it would be much more convenient to use it to capture people."

"This fellow is lingering around the widow and won't leave, wasting time."

Hearing that this place would be unseen and unheard by outsiders, Xu Zhen felt relieved and, while replying, kicked Feng Ping.

By this time, Feng Ping had regained consciousness.

But it was no use. A witch's talisman was stuck to his body, and the power of the witch's curse was like a mountain, pressing down on him so hard that he could hardly breathe, let alone move. He couldn't even open his mouth or make a sound.

In the secret realm within the painting, another minor official from the Bureau of Civil Affairs, Pan Sheng, also regained consciousness.

His condition was slightly better than Feng Ping's; although he couldn't move, he could speak.

Seeing Feng Ping being dragged in, he let out a miserable cry: "Old Feng, you've been captured by these thugs too?"

At this moment, Pan Sheng already understood that the person who had kidnapped them was definitely not a strongman.

He's at least not just an ordinary strongman.

But he couldn't figure out the other person's identity. After all, he was just a minor official in the Public Security Bureau, and there were many things he didn't know.

The Judge of the Underworld had now returned to its original appearance and was no longer pretending.

Although her eyes were covered, her hearing was still sharp. She heard that another target had also been tied up, and she was about to remove the blood-stained cloth from her eyes.

“No rush,” the Rat Hunter said, “Lock him up here first, and come back to interrogate him after nightfall when he has ‘slept.’”

He raised his hand and pointed towards the real world outside the mural: "The Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast is still watching. Don't let it realize something is wrong."

Shang Lu and the others naturally had no objections and immediately left the secret realm within the painting with Zi Shu Xun Shou, leaving only Feng Ping and Pan Sheng behind.

These two people were already immobilized by the witch's talisman, and even if they could speak, their shouts could not escape the secret realm within the painting.

As for this part of their memories, once the Yin Child performs the "soul-searching and spirit-stripping" process, it will naturally be able to be extracted, causing them to "blur" and forget.

After everyone left the secret realm within the painting, Steward Sun slapped the wall with his hand, and the painting immediately disappeared, restoring everything to the appearance of an ordinary leather warehouse.

Shang Lu, Lü Yang, and the others watched in awe.

The fact that Steward Sun and his team were able to produce these things under the eavesdropping of the Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast speaks volumes about the difficulties and sacrifices they made.

Back at the warehouse, the group immediately began unloading and stacking the goods. After finishing, they left the warehouse with Manager Sun.

Zishu Xunshou, holding an account book in one hand and leading the disguised Panyin Tong out of the warehouse with the other, followed by Lü Yang, who looked like a lackey, made it seem as if he was leading his servants to check the accounts and inventory. He even pretended to pick out a few problems from the account book.

In the blink of an eye, Shang Lu and the others had finished their supper and returned to their dormitory, locking the door and closing the windows as they had done the night before.

Before long, night fell, and an eerie night fog once again enveloped the capital of Chu.

Just as Shang Lu and the others were figuring out how to get to the warehouse, a blot of ink suddenly appeared on the wall of the dormitory.

The ink droplets spread and grew larger rapidly.

It resembles a door, or perhaps an opening.

Can you do this?

Not only Shang Lu, but also Lü Yang, Xu Zhen and Cheng Ren were surprised.

The judge was not surprised because she could not see.

Lu Yang made a gesture and asked Shang Lu, "Shall we go in now?"

Shang Lu indicated that there was no rush, took out the shadow puppets that Zi Shu had given him during his patrol, distributed them to everyone, and gestured for them to blow air onto them.

When Feng Ping was brought back, he took out a shadow puppet to return it, but was stopped by Zishu Xunshou, who wanted to use it to impersonate them for this moment.

After the night fog rolled in, the four-eared, five-eyed beast dared not stay on the watchtower any longer and had to go inside.

Once indoors, its surveillance capabilities are limited, but its ears can still listen.

Therefore, the necessary preparations still need to be made.

The necessary caution should not be neglected.

These shadow puppets, after being inflated, cannot move, but they still breathe and have a heartbeat... enough to deceive the four-eared, five-eyed beasts who cannot see the situation.

Soon, the shadow puppets swelled up and were placed on the bed. Then, Shang Lu and the others crawled into the ink hole in the wall.

Once everyone had entered, the Ink Cave vanished and ceased to exist. At the same time, the group that had passed through the Ink Cave appeared in the secret realm within the painting.

The Rat Patrol and Steward Sun were already waiting there, and they called out to the Judge of the Underworld, "Let's begin."

Led by Xu Zhen, the judge walked up to Feng Ping and Pan Sheng, and began to peel off the blood-stained cloth covering her eyes layer by layer.

Although Feng Ping and Pan Sheng did not know what was going to happen next, their intuition made them feel scared. Although they could not move, they were shouting loudly, and the content of their shouts was different.

Feng Ping was begging for mercy, while Pan Sheng was shouting insults.

Soon, the Yin Child removed all the blood-stained cloth covering her eyes, revealing bloody, mangled eye sockets without eyeballs.

A crimson light emanated from the eerie eye sockets, enveloping Feng Ping and Pan Sheng.

In a daze, a chilling wind seemed to appear in this secret realm within the painting.

Feng Ping and Pan Sheng almost simultaneously fell silent, ceasing their begging and cursing, and simply staring at the blood-stained eyes of the condemned child.

At that moment, their souls seemed to sink deep into the eyes of the Judge of the Underworld, their expressions instantly becoming dazed.

A moment later, the child judged the underworld began to rewrap the blood-stained cloth around his eyes.

After she finished wrapping him up, Xu Zhen quickly reached out to hug him, but this time, the Yin Child's energy expenditure was significantly less than when he dealt with Chu Wu. He waved his hand, indicating that he still had strength and was in much better spirits.

After confirming the situation of the Yin Child, Xu Zhen turned around, crossed his hands, and reported: "The patrol has finished searching the soul and stripping the spirit, and can begin questioning."

Zishu Xunshou nodded and immediately stepped forward with Shanglu. He asked Pan Sheng, and Shanglu asked Feng Ping. They not only inquired in detail about their identities, backgrounds, family situations, and interpersonal relationships, but also about their recent tasks, the situation in the Xingren Bureau, and their daily duties...

The two asked very detailed questions.

Manager Sun, along with Lü Yang, Xu Zhen, and Cheng Ren, checked for any omissions or oversights. Even Uncle Huai listened attentively, helping to verify if any questions had been missed.

Don't be afraid of ten thousand in everything, just be afraid of the eventuality.

Sometimes, it is the oversight of small details that leads to the exposure of one's identity!
Both Zishu Xunshou and Sun Guanshi were extremely experienced in such matters.

Seeing their serious expressions and repeated admonitions, Shang Lu naturally dared not be careless.

Feng Ping and Pan Sheng were sentenced to have their souls searched and their spirits stripped by the ghost children, and they had to answer whatever questions were asked.

The pokeweed and the rat hurried along, asking questions and taking notes.

Fortunately, both of them were quite skilled. Although Shang Lu had not reached the Mingxin Realm, he had the Five Internal Organs Temple. Both the Mind Spirit Statue and the Yin-Yang Qi Bell were helping him remember the various situations Feng Ping had described. Even the Kidney Spirit Statue was helping him, since the kidneys store willpower and also govern memory.

Therefore, people with poor memory often have insufficient kidney energy... This is not slander.

The interrogation lasted until the early hours of the morning.

After their hunt, Shang Lu and Zi Shu finally gathered all the information and memorized it. They also learned from Feng Ping and Pan Sheng that the Clerk and the Grand Traveler were indeed under house arrest—living in a separate courtyard of the Traveler's Office, guarded by a shaman at the gate. They could move freely inside but could not come out.

"If it's just house arrest, that's fine. But what's worrying is that there's more to the story than we know," said Zishu Xunshou.

Shang Lu nodded in approval.

Feng Ping and Pan Sheng were still too lowly in status, merely minor officials, and only saw the surface.

It's even quite possible that they were deliberately shown this scene. If someone were to kidnap or bribe a minor official, the information they obtained would be false.

Both Zishu Xunshou and Shanglu believed that they needed to investigate in person to ascertain the true situation of Dianke and Daxingren.

"What time is it now?" Zi Shu Xun Shou asked Steward Sun.

Manager Sun took out a mechanism resembling a pocket watch, glanced at it, and replied, "It's three-quarters past midnight."

Zishu Xunshou looked at Shanglu: "When the night fog dissipates, it will be dawn, and these minor officials will have to rush to the yamen to report for duty immediately. We can't wait until the night fog dissipates before we act, or we'll be easily spotted. We can only take advantage of the night fog to rush to exchange with the shadow puppets."

Shang Lu had no objections, but asked, "How should we deal with the strange creatures in the night fog? What are the rules for traversing the night fog?"

He vividly remembered the strange eyes that had peered through the crack in the door last night.

"The night fog that shrouds the capital of Chu is also a remnant of the collapse of the secret realm, receding in the morning and arriving in the evening."

If an ordinary person walks in the night fog, even if they don't encounter any strange creatures, they will be confused by the fog and go insane.

However, the night fog is not insurmountable. Whether one recites the mantra of tranquility and movement or holds a piece of candle grass in their mouth, one can resist the pollution of the mind by the night fog.

In the night fog, there are two common types of eerie creatures.

A creature resembling an eyeball, formed from resentment and malevolent energy, is called the Eye Demon.

They roam around, searching for people lingering outdoors. Once they find someone, their eyeballs transform into gaping maws, devouring the person!

If they cannot devour them, they will call upon their friends, summoning not only more Eye Demons but also another kind of eerie creature, the Mist Nightmare.

The Mist Nightmares have no physical form; they can not only blend into the mist but also hide in the shadows. Therefore, their attacks are very sudden, and they do not harm the physical body but the soul!

However, both the Eye Demon and the Mist Nightmare fear fire. They dare not approach any fire, but they are cunning and will try every means to extinguish it…”

Although Eye Demon and Mist Nightmare are strange and cunning, Shang Lu is not worried.

Steward Sun and his men have been lurking in the Chu capital for years; they must have a way to deal with this. After all, many things are difficult to handle during the day.

Shang Lu simply asked, "What about the less common ones, such as Eye Fiend and Mist Nightmare?"

Unexpectedly, the Rat Hunter shook his head: "What is unusual? Nobody knows, because everyone who has seen it is dead."

Shang Lu was taken aback and asked in confusion, "How do you know that there are unusual and strange creatures in the night fog?"

"Because the manner of their death is different from those attacked by Eye Fiend or Mist Nightmare," said the Rat Hunting Serpent in a deep voice.

Steward Sun added, "Currently, all we know is that uncommon supernatural creatures are probably not afraid of fire! Because the Black-Clad Guards patrolling the capital often find torches and other items still burning next to the strangely transformed corpses..."

The Rat Patrol instructed, "If you encounter a strange creature in the night fog that is different from the Eye Fiend or Nightmare, do not think about fighting it. Just run into the nearest house! Go inside, close the doors and lock the windows, and wait until you have escaped the hunt before thinking about anything else."

Shang Lu stood firm, crossed his hands, and replied, "Yes, Your subordinate understands!"

"In the night fog, besides the strange creatures, there are also the Black-Clad Guards that need to be avoided. These people are directly under the command of the King of Chu, and their cultivation levels range from the seventh-grade Tongtian Realm to the fifth-grade Inner Palace Realm."

They are not only proficient in witchcraft, but also skilled in the methods of various schools of thought, such as Legalism, the School of Names, and the Yin-Yang School, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

If you are targeted by the Black-Clad Guards, either escape immediately or kill them with swift and decisive action. Do not hesitate, and do not give them a chance to warn you…

Zishu Xunshou and Steward Sun quickly recounted to Shang Lu all the circumstances inside the night fog and the various dangers they might encounter.

After he finished speaking, the mouse on patrol asked, "Did you understand?"

Shang Lu crossed his hands: "I understand."

The rat on patrol stared at him, enunciating each word clearly: "Then do you have the guts to venture into this eerie fog?"

The pokeweed smiled.

I've already burned incense and prayed at the dock, what am I afraid of this eerie fog?

Not to mention, it's midnight right now!
During this period, he was terrifyingly strong!
(End of this chapter)