White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 69 The whole city is in turmoil
The child wiped his eyes, raised his head, and said earnestly, "As long as I'm with my dad, I'm not afraid of dying."

Bai Wuxiang looked at the child kneeling in front of him. The fields, overgrown with weeds, were full of life, supporting countless plants and animals, yet they could hardly support the survival of a child.

He replied softly, "Then so be it."

Bai Wuxiang extended a finger and touched the child's forehead. The child's flesh and blood disintegrated, and a weak soul was absorbed into the Wuxiang Diagram.

The skeleton then crawled into the painting, becoming one of the many bones.

In the painting, a lively child figure has been added to the people of Black Stone Village.

The world has lost a child with a tragic fate.

Rather than suffer endless torment from hunger, cold, and illness, it is better to be free.

Even if Bai Wuxiang, out of kindness, discovers his faults and helps him temporarily, he can't stay with this child forever. Without family or friends, he's doomed to die anyway.

At least in the painting, the child and his father lived a happy life.

Bai Wuxiang put away the scroll and walked to the front of the city.

The city walls were covered with traces of fire and dried blood, indicating that the city had recently been the site of a major battle.

At the city gate, a group of soldiers were checking people coming and going.

Bai Wuxiang casually picked up a fallen leaf from the ground, crumpled it in his hand, and turned it into a road sign.

In ancient times, traveling was not something that could be done on a whim. To reach distant places, one needed an official travel permit, and even a household registration.

Of course, the situation is much better now that the Southern Zhao court is no longer able to control the southern cities.

However, Fuyun City was considered a border city. Several thousand troops were stationed there, so the checks on passersby were naturally quite strict.

Having deceived the city guards with an illusion, Bai Wuxiang entered the city.

Instead of the desolate scene outside the city, it was a picture of peace and prosperity.

Street vendors on both sides of the road sell all sorts of things: rice, flour, oil, grains, cloth, clothes...

He walked through the commercial street and came to a stage.

But below the stage, a large crowd gathered, while on the stage stood an old man and a young man.

An old man was playing the erhu, and a little girl of about ten years old, dressed in a white dress with flowing sleeves, was dancing lightly in the sunlight, moving to the accompaniment of the melodious erhu music.

The young girl's dance was like a butterfly in flight, following the old man's erhu music. With a pluck of the string, her sleeves billowed, and she twirled like swirling snowflakes. As the string snapped, she swayed, her silk robe half-undone, revealing her fragrant shoulders.

The audience applauded and cheered at the dance. When the dance ended, the young woman bowed and performed a curtsy, saying, "Thank you all for your patronage. My grandfather and I are here to make a living by performing. We hope you gentlemen can give us some money."

Her voice was melodious and captivating when she opened her mouth, and many people in the audience took out coins and threw them onto the stage.

There weren't any wealthy people who spent lavishly; most people just tossed around one or two coins at a time, and the scattered copper coins amounted to several dozen coins.

Of course, most of the onlookers present, like Bai Wuxiang, did not throw any money.

Bai Wuxiang was penniless; they were struggling financially and had no spare money.

The girl then danced several more times until she was drenched in sweat, her forehead and temples wet, before announcing that her performance for the day was over.

The crowd dispersed, savoring the moment, though many eyes lingered on the girl.

Bai Wuxiang stared at her for a long time. The woman's appearance was nothing special to him, but beneath her skin, the swaying of her bones in her graceful dance was quite charming.

He said with a smile, "If there were no flesh and blood, and only skeletons to dance with, that would be truly lifelike and delightful."

"What are you saying, sir?" the girl asked curiously as she picked up the copper coins on the stage.

Bai Wuxiang smiled and casually took out a white jade hairpin from his sleeve. "It's a rare treat to see such a dance, so I'll give you this hairpin."

After saying that, he turned and left.

The girl looked at the white jade hairpin on the stage with amazement, happily picked it up, thanked Bai Wuxiang who was leaving, and then ran to her grandfather and said with a smile, "Grandpa, look how beautiful this white jade hairpin is."

"This is indeed a valuable item! You must keep it safe and not flaunt it outside," the white-haired old man hurriedly instructed her.

Bai Wuxiang left the bustling city and stopped in a chaotic slum. The white jade hairpin he had just seen was merely a hairpin he had crafted from bones; as long as it wasn't burned, it wouldn't destroy the illusion.

He looked at the desolate neighborhood, with dilapidated houses and abandoned dwellings on both sides of the road, and many beggars gathered together by the roadside.

One by one, the disheveled and filthy beggars would steal glances at him.

Bai Wuxiang found a deserted spot, sat down, set up a flag with the words "Resolve grievances between humans and ghosts" written on it, and then sat quietly in place without moving.

The reason he came to Fuyun City was because he sensed that the resentment in this place was extremely heavy, and he came to collect the resentment.

When the beggars discovered the flag, although they couldn't understand the words on it, they knew that this person was a businessman!
Before long, several beggars came over with malice and surrounded Bai Wuxiang. One of them, who had a bag tied to his body, sneered: "This is the first time I've seen people doing business in front of beggars' doors!"

"Young man, this is Beggars' Sect territory. Those of you in the martial world need to know the rules. If you want to do business here, you'll have to pay!"

Bai Wuxiang ignored these people and simply said, "I won't do business with you."

"Hahaha, you won't do business with us? There isn't a single decent merchant or household here besides us beggars. If you won't do business with us, are you going to do business with ghosts?" one of the beggars, whose hair was covered with fleas that kept popping out, couldn't help but laugh.

“You’re absolutely right. I’m in the business of dealing with both humans and ghosts. It’s written right there,” Bai Wu replied.

The beggar with the bag around his waist glanced at the flag, his expression changing slightly. He could read, and he knew it was best to avoid getting involved with such charlatans who dabbled in superstitions.

So he raised his hand to stop the beggars, carefully examined Bai Wuxiang, and seeing his well-dressed appearance, said, "So you are a master of the Xuanmen sect. We have offended you. I am Cui Laoqi, an elder of the Beggar Clan in Fuyun City."

"Just stay here and do your thing. If you need anything, just let me know. There are at least a hundred beggars in Fuyun City; they can be of some help."

His overly solicitous manner left the surrounding beggars puzzled, who curiously scrutinized Bai Wuxiang.

Bai Wuxiang ignored Cui Laoqi's flattery and simply closed his eyes to enter meditation.

Seeing this, Cui Laoqi chuckled and said, "Then we'll have to disturb your cultivation. Farewell."

With that, he waved his hand and led the beggars away, clearing out the area that was more than ten feet wide.

The group of beggars asked in bewilderment, "Elder, this kid looks so thin and weak, how capable can he be? Why are you giving him so much face?"

"That's right, this kid is just taking over our territory for nothing. And you're still going to give him a hard time? We're a gang, after all, why should we be afraid of this nobody?"

"You bastards! A bunch of clueless fools!" Old Cui said sternly, "The people you should never mess with in this world are officials and those who are associated with ghosts and gods. Although I can't see anything about this person, judging from his appearance, he is more profound than the expert that the prefect invited."

"These supernatural things, it's better to believe in them than not! Listen up, all of you, never mess with that person, or if I find out, you'll be in for a world-class beating!"

"Yes! Yes! Elder!"

"We understand!"

The beggars all nodded in agreement.

……

Night gradually fell. A curfew was in effect in Fuyun City every day at sunset to prevent spies and bandits from operating. Soldiers also patrolled the city streets to prevent any disturbances.

Of course, the place where the group of beggars in the west lived in dilapidated houses was completely ignored.

Under the dim moonlight, Bai Wuxiang raised his Dharma flag and chanted in a low voice, "Settle grievances, avenge grievances; make enemies. Come quickly! Come quickly!"

His voice echoed through the city, and soon ghostly figures began to appear.

In front of Bai Wuxiang's stall, there were many ghostly figures, a dark and gloomy group of ghosts.

Evil spirits have been drawn here, and they want to pounce on any living person they see.

But after Bai Wuxiang glared at it, the ghost was immediately frightened and retreated.

"Can I really get my revenge?"

"Let me kill that bitch! Kill that bitch!"

"I'm going to kill him! Kill him!"

……

A cacophony of ghostly noises erupted, creating utter chaos, much like a bustling marketplace.

Bai Wuxiang said, "Line up, one by one. Those who come first, stand in front; those who come later, stand in the back. Those who don't listen, then you'll have to go inside my belly."

Seeing that the ghosts had indeed formed a long line, he explained to them with satisfaction: "There are beings in the world without form, who delight in feeding on resentment. Those who harbor resentment can worship them, form a pact, and exchange their resentment for power."

If you have no grievances, you may offer sacrifices of your seven emotions and six desires to help you fulfill your wishes.

I have come to Fuyun City today to fulfill your wishes.

Listen up, everyone! You must state your name, identity, and the background of anyone you wish to avenge or who is still alive. If you make a mistake, don't blame me for being ruthless; I'll eat you too.

After he finished giving these instructions, he looked at the first vengeful ghost that came to his stall.

"Speak, what is your unfulfilled wish?"

The female ghost had long, flowing hair, a slender neck, and protruding eyes; she was clearly a hanged ghost.

"By the Supreme Being, I, a lowly demon from the Ye family of Fuyun City, beg you to kill the third son of the Zhao family magistrate in the north of the city! He raped me, ruined my reputation, and even killed my husband..."

After she finished speaking, Bai Wuxiang nodded and said, "Extend your hand."

The female ghost stretched out a slender hand, and Bai Wuxiang drew a skull-shaped hand seal on it, saying, "This seal can help you attract the yin energy of heaven and earth. You will be temporarily immune to the yang fire of humans. You can lure and kill, or fear and kill, however you wish, but you can only kill this one person. After that, this seal will absorb your resentment, and you will become an ordinary soul, no longer capable of harming people with your vengeful spirit."

Go ahead, do as you please, kill him however you want.

Upon hearing Bai Wuxiang's words, the female ghost was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed before turning into a gust of yin wind and departing.

"next."

Bai Wuxiang shouted.

This was a male ghost, who cried out, "Unfathomable One, I am Zhu Erniu from Xiahe. Please allow me to go home and see my family. I have an elderly mother and a young child who have no one to care for them. I died unjustly in prison, taking the blame for someone else, and my death was shrouded in mystery..."

Bai Wuxiang frowned upon hearing this and said, "Your resentment is too weak; you can only sacrifice your seven emotions and six desires. In this way, you will gradually lose your soul, and may even be completely destroyed. Are you willing?"

"Yes! Yes!" Zhu Erniu nodded hurriedly.

Bai Wuxiang reached out and touched his brow, and a small skull mark appeared on his forehead. "You only have nine nights. When the sun rises after nine nights, this mark will leave and take away your seven emotions and six desires. You will most likely disappear into the world."

Go for it. "

"Thank you, Wuxiang!"

Zhu Erniu left excitedly.

"next."

"Under the formless one, this little devil is Qi Xiaoyun from household number 62, Jiazi, Jinji Street, East of the city."

I want to kill the owner of that grain shop in the clouds! Not only did he lust after my wife's beauty and rape and murder her, but he didn't even spare me, humiliating me in every way before killing me...

"

“You harbor deep resentment, so I will grant you another chance to kill one more person.”

"Thank you, Lord Wuxiang!"

One after another, vengeful ghosts came and went, but once they left, they would never return.

North of the city, at the home of Master Zhao.

A piercing scream startled everyone from their sleep.

When the servants arrived, they found that the windows of the third young master's house were covered with red bloodstains and gruesome handprints. Only after a large number of people arrived did some strong men carrying torches go inside and find that the third young master's body was covered with claw marks and that he had already died.

Outside the city, in Xiahe Village.

Zhu Erniu's knocking and shouting woke up Granny Sun. She couldn't believe her ears; she heard the voice of her son, whom she hadn't seen for months.

She hurriedly got up, opened the courtyard gate, and saw Erniu, whom she had been thinking about day and night, standing there in the moonlight.

She exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and joy, "Erniu! You're finally back!"

"Mother! Your unfilial son has returned to see you."

……

Many strange things happened in Fuyun City that night.

The next day, many families gathered in front of the government office early in the morning, saying they wanted to report the matter to the authorities.

The prefect looked at the huge crowd and felt utterly overwhelmed.

However, when his subordinates presented their grievances, the prefect was also greatly surprised.

Just because more than twenty people died mysteriously overnight last night!

The family members all claimed that demons were responsible, but when the prefect saw the victims one by one, he felt a chill run straight to the top of his head.

Because most of these people have criminal records, and their families are either rich or powerful, how come the criminals they personally protected all died peacefully?
At this moment, he desperately hoped that it was the work of demons and ghosts, rather than political enemies or martial arts heroes getting involved.

Compared to ghosts and gods, he feared more the people who could cause him to lose his official position and power!

In no time, the common people of Fuyun City were all applauding, and the name Wuxiang spread as these ghostly creatures killed people.

But for those wealthy young men burdened with sins and murders, it was a cause for great unease. As a result, the city's various Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries were overflowing with people.

When Cui Laoqi heard the news his subordinates had gathered, his first thought was that the person who had caused such a stir in the city was very likely the Taoist priest who had suddenly appeared on his Beggars' Sect's territory!
(End of this chapter)