A tinkling sound of percussion instruments surrounded my ears, and a thick mist obscured my vision, making it impossible to discern my location.
Yet, I was acutely aware that I had been standing before the bronze door, about to use the six-pointed key. How had I suddenly ended up here? Had I been pulled into another illusion?
With that thought, I silently recited the Clear Spirit Incantation, closed my eyes, and bit down hard on my tongue.
The unique metallic scent of blood filled my nostrils. When I opened my eyes again, I found that I had not escaped the illusion. The mist remained, though it had thinned considerably, and a languid melody began to play.
The sound started softly, growing louder as the mist receded, which also allowed me to see my surroundings more clearly.
First, my eyes fell upon six towering pillars. Carved with lifelike dragons and phoenixes, they would have been mistaken for real creatures had the mist not begun to dissipate.
Beyond these six stone pillars coiled with dragons, faint figures flickered. Vaguely visible were women in pure white robes playing music. Attempts to see them more clearly only made them more indistinct, so I gave up.
At this point, the thought of escaping this illusion had vanished. This display was more advanced than any illusion set by Sui Wan'er previously. With my current strength, I couldn't even break free from Sui Wan'er's illusions; it was the jade pendant my master had given me that had saved me. Now, I could only take it one step at a time. Facing such a powerful expert, my survival was entirely out of my hands.
I took a deep breath, forcing my racing heart to calm down as much as possible. I gathered the Heaven Retreat Seal into my hand and took a step forward, hoping its power to dispel evil would help me break through the illusion.
But good intentions were met with harsh reality. The step forward did not break the illusion. Instead, my feet felt soft, as if I were treading on clouds. Looking down, I saw that I wasn't stepping on clouds but on wool that was nearly half a foot long.
Before I could react, a booming voice reached my ears.
"It is a joy to have friends come from afar..."
The voice conveyed a sense of peace and auspiciousness. A grey-robed elder walked down from the clouds. His beard and hair were white, giving him the appearance of an immortal descending to earth.
But I knew he was no immortal. As an Yin Gua Master, I believed in ghosts and spirits, but never in immortals. The concept of ghosts and spirits had always existed, but immortals remained elusive and unheard of.
Facing the sudden appearance of this "old immortal," I instinctively swallowed. My voice was somewhat hoarse as I asked, "Are you human or ghost?"
The elder chuckled, "Human or ghost, can't you tell, young friend?" With a wave of his hand, a sandalwood table appeared between us, with two cups of fragrant tea steaming upon it. He then gestured for me to sit, taking his seat first.
Though I was wary of this unexpected elder, I had no means to break the illusion. I could only encourage myself, thinking that since I was here, I might as well accept it. If I died, so be it.
Putting thoughts of life and death aside, I relaxed. I bowed to the elder and then sat down cross-legged before him.
As the fragrant tea was placed before me, its aroma first entered my nostrils. After I sat down, the scent became subtler but lingered in the air, creating an almost unbearable itchiness, a strong desire to take a sip.
But I knew everything here was an illusion, that the elder before me was influencing me. What looked like tea might be something else entirely.
While learning from my master, I had once heard him tell a story.
A midwife, renowned throughout eight villages, was taken away one night by several burly men who claimed they needed her to deliver their child. Initially, the midwife refused, citing the late hour and the difficult roads, which could lead to accidents.
However, she couldn't withstand the menacing demeanor of the burly men, who threatened her life if she refused. Seeing their attitude, the midwife reluctantly agreed. She did, however, mention her old age and frailty, stating she couldn't travel long distances and needed to be pushed in a cart.
To her surprise, the burly men readily agreed, claiming they had already prepared one and it was waiting outside. The midwife had no choice but to follow them.
As it was dark, all the houses were already asleep. Not even the sliver of a moon was visible. Along the way, the midwife felt the wind rushing past her ears, and the cart she was in made a whooshing sound.
Terrified, the midwife clutched the sides of the cart. This action, however, led her to discover a huge secret. When she gripped the cart tightly, she found it could be moved. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was made of sorghum stalks.
The midwife, having seen much of the world, made no sound about this. She simply sat in the cart, feigning sleep. After an unknown period, a brightly lit mansion came into view.
"You have worked hard, madam. Please forgive any bumps along the road."
The midwife nodded without a word. Upon entering the mansion, the cries of a woman in labor reached her ears. Hearing this, the midwife forgot her fear, as saving a life was a great virtue.
After washing her hands, she lifted the curtain and entered the room.
The delivery was very smooth, but one thing surprised her: not only was the number of children born excessive, but she counted fourteen in total.
If it were just the number, it might have been acceptable. What she couldn't accept was that each child had an extra tail. However, remembering the sorghum stalk cart from earlier, she suppressed her doubts and carried on.
Seeing the children born safely, the burly men repeatedly thanked the midwife, offering her red-skinned eggs and a bowl of steaming noodles as thanks for her hard work.
The midwife politely declined, saying she wasn't hungry, but secretly put the red-skinned eggs and a few strands of noodles into her pocket. As she was leaving, the burly men gave her a handful of beans as a token of their gratitude for her delivery service, and then sent her home in the cart.
Upon returning home, the midwife did not recount her experience to her husband, fearing she would frighten him. She simply said the delivery had gone smoothly and then went to sleep in her clothes.
When dawn broke the next day, the midwife, unbeknownst to her husband, took out the red-skinned eggs and the few strands of noodles she had put in her pocket. As these items appeared before her, she was so shocked that she fell to the ground.
The red-skinned eggs turned out to be horse dung eggs, and the noodles were wriggling earthworms. The beans the midwife had brought back had also changed; all dozen or so beans had transformed into golden beans.
Combining this with the strange scenes she had encountered during the delivery, the midwife knew she had met with great spirits. From then on, she stopped delivering babies, and she and her husband vanished from public view.
With this thought, I collected my senses, focusing my gaze, and tried to imagine the tea before me as something evil. Only when I felt a wave of nausea did I speak.
"The elder bestows, and I dare not refuse. However, I am not thirsty, so there is no need for me to drink."
The elder merely smiled at this. After taking a sip of tea, he said softly, "Since you have come, it is fated. However, you must not enter the tomb. Do you understand?"
I cursed inwardly. Who would want to enter this place? If it weren't for Li Zuoquan, that old scoundrel, forcing me to open the door, I would have already taken the money and gone back to see my father.
"I did not wish to come here either. However, I am threatened by bandits behind me, and my life is in peril. I had no choice but to fulfill their wish."
The elder looked understanding and said, "I know. Kun three, Qian two, Kan west three, positioned in the northeast, will allow you to live. Be warned, be warned..."
Then, his figure gradually dissipated before my eyes, and the hazy mist reappeared.
Seeing him leave, I realized I had spoken at length but still didn't know who he was. I called out in a loud voice, "Who are you?"
"You already know, why do you ask me?"
Thinking back to my earlier deduction that this was a Tang Dynasty tomb, a realization dawned upon me.
"Are you Yuan Tiangang?"
"Haha..."