The Mid-Autumn moon gradually rose to the midpoint of the sky, casting its glow over the red walls and green tiles of the Forbidden City in the north of the capital, over the gardens and ponds of the noble families, over the goldfish bowls and banana trees in the courtyards of the east and west city, and over the dilapidated thatched cottages in the muddy gullies of the lower city.
The moon is at its fullest on Mid-Autumn night, and every household, whether rich or poor, sets up an incense altar to pray to the moon, wishing for peace, joy, and good health for their families.
Yet, at this moment, the old Yang family ancestral hall stood cold and desolate, with only a few tall elm trees swaying gently in the breeze, their rustling leaves scattering the fragmented moonlight onto the moss-covered old walls.
From time to time, the long, mournful cries of a cold bird added to the loneliness of the moonlit night.
Suddenly, a faint glimmer of light emerged from within the ancestral hall.
Yang Jin solemnly faced the ancestral tablets, holding incense in both hands, and knelt deeply, his head touching the ground. After bowing four times, he remained prostrate for a long time, as if turned to stone. Upon closer inspection, one could see his body trembling uncontrollably, his hands clenched so tightly that his sharp nails pierced his palms, and two thin trails of blood quietly flowed out.
After a long while, he slowly raised his head. Anyone who saw him now would be shocked: the once handsome and youthful Yang Jin now looked like a man in his fifties, his face wrinkled and his hair gray. His cloudy eyes were filled with tears as he murmured to the rows of ancestral tablets before him: “Ancestors above, your unfilial descendant Yang Jin is here. On this Mid-Autumn night of reunion, I offer a cup of clear water and a few wild fruits to my forebears. May you help me save my father’s spirit and avenge his disgrace. Even if I must be crushed to pieces, I will not shirk my duty! May you partake of this offering!”
With that, he stepped forward and inserted a thin stick of incense into the old, worn-out incense burner in front of him. A wisp of smoke rose slowly before the tablets, then gradually dissipated.
Yang Jin stepped back a few paces, then turned and hobbled to a coffin placed to one side of the ancestral hall.
“Father,” Yang Jin knelt beside the coffin, his hand resting on the wooden lid as he murmured, “Don’t worry, your son has already retrieved that item. At midnight tonight, I will surely relieve your suffering…”
As he spoke, his voice choked with sobs, and he continued in a tearful voice: “Father, you always taught my brother and me to be upright and honorable, to serve our ruler with loyalty, to serve our father with filial piety, to treat others with sincerity, and to handle affairs with integrity. But why has our Yang family, who has always done good, and you, who upheld justice and maintained the family with virtue, come to such an end? They say that heaven’s ways are unpredictable, yet it always protects the virtuous. Where is that heavenly justice now? Where is it?”
At this, Yang Jin banged his head against the coffin lid, the sound echoing loudly. Blood streamed down his forehead, but he made no move to wipe it away, crying so bitterly that it seemed his heart might break.
As if in response, a “creaking” sound suddenly came from within the coffin, as if something alive was moving inside.
Hearing this, Yang Jin quickly stifled his sobs and gently stroked the coffin lid, saying, “Father, please be patient. In just a few moments, it will be midnight. I have secretly learned the method to free you, and with the help of your old friends, I have obtained the necessary ritual tools. Just endure a little longer, and I will surely release your trapped spirit and free you from this suffering.”
The sounds from the coffin softened as Yang Jin spoke, emitting a few long, slow creaks before falling silent once more.
The quiet moonlight shone through the broken window panes of the ancestral hall, casting long patches of light on the moss-covered brick floor. The thin stick of incense in the burner burned slowly and steadily, its smoke drifting in the moonlight, creating an ethereal, ever-changing haze.
A gentle breeze swirled in the center of the hall, forming a small whirlwind. The long-untouched dust in the ancestral hall was suddenly swept up, forming a yellow column of smoke in the vortex.
Suddenly, with a soft “whoosh,” all the swirling yellow dust paused for a moment, then scattered and fell to the ground. In the center of the whirlwind, a human figure instantly appeared. He had gray hair cascading over his shoulders, a face as dark as iron, a grizzled beard, and wore a dark yellow robe. In his hand, he held a long staff, and his cold gaze fixed on Yang Jin, who knelt beside the coffin.
“Altar Master Yang, why have you suddenly lost contact these past few days—why have you come here? Where is Protector Zheng?” the man said coldly.
“Your humble servant greets Protector Shi. The matter is complicated…” Yang Jin was startled at first, but upon recognizing the man, he quickly rose and stepped forward.
“What’s going on!? Yang Jin, have you used the Heaven-Severing Curse?” Protector Shi, seeing Yang Jin’s aged appearance, interrupted him in shock.
Yang Jin sighed and explained how he and Zheng Jiu had been discovered and trapped, how the countless puppets had been injured, and how Zheng Jiu had been killed by the combined efforts of Bu San and Bu Si. He then said, “Seeing that the situation was hopeless, I had no choice but to activate the Heaven-Severing Curse. Fortunately, I had set up a life stake in my ancestral home beforehand, which allowed me to escape the trap and flee here. But the messenger puppet was destroyed by the enemy, and Protector Zheng was already dead, so I couldn’t send any messages and have been stranded here.”
Protector Shi nodded and said, “I see. However, Altar Master Yang, your cultivation is entirely based on sacrificial methods, with no solid foundation. Using the Heaven-Severing Curse will inevitably greatly reduce your lifespan. This time, you may have lost thirty years. But your loyalty and willingness to sacrifice yourself to obtain the treasure are commendable. The Sect Leader will surely reward you. Now that you have the treasure, hand it over to me, and I will return to report.”
Yang Jin was shocked, his eyes wide as he said, “Protector Shi! Didn’t the Sect Leader say that this item was to free my father’s trapped spirit? Didn’t you also say that my father was ambushed, and after his death, his spirit could not be freed, trapped in his body and turned into a vengeful ghost? That this inkstone, a highly yin and evil object, was needed as a ritual tool to release him? Tonight is the full moon, the perfect time for the ritual. Why are you now saying to return it to the sect?”
Protector Shi, sounding impatient, said, “Altar Master Yang, the rituals involved here are quite complex and cannot be explained in a moment. Just hand over the treasure to me first. As for your father’s spirit, the Sect Leader will make arrangements.”
Yang Jin shook his head, stepping back a few paces, his eyes fixed on Protector Shi as he said, “I cannot comply. Protector Shi, this matter concerns my ancestors. Although I am incompetent, how can I allow myself to be manipulated and deceived? If this matter is not resolved, I would rather die than hand it over.”
“Haha…” Protector Shi threw his head back and laughed. “Yang Jin, don’t push your luck! Since it has come to this, I might as well tell you the truth. Your father was cursed. That’s why he was deranged in life, and after his death, his body was abandoned here, exposed to the elements for three years. Soon, he will become a zombie. When that happens, someone will surely come to collect him. I don’t know who did this, but your father was a high-ranking official in the court. Whoever had the power and influence to curse him is no ordinary person. Our sect cannot afford to provoke such people. If you want to save your father, you’d better give up now!”
“What!?” Yang Jin’s eyes widened in fury. “Then why did you deceive me before, telling me to steal this inkstone?”
“Hmph, if it weren’t for your connections with the thieves’ guild, we wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to get you to retrieve this inkstone. The elders even entrusted you with the secret technique of the countless puppets. What more do you want? If you know what’s good for you, hand over the inkstone now, or you’ll suffer!” Protector Shi sneered.
“Never!” Yang Jin roared. “Don’t think I know nothing. While in the sect, I secretly studied the sect’s scriptures. Although my father was cursed, with an evil spirit artifact as a medium, the curse can be transferred to the artifact, freeing my father! Did you think I would help you steal the treasure without knowing anything? You told me to give up? Tonight, I will show you how to save him!”
“I didn’t expect you to have some cunning, but unfortunately, our sect’s methods require both a medium and a sacrifice. If you want to reverse the zombie curse using this inkstone as a ritual tool, that’s plausible, but what will you use as the medium? Are you willing to sacrifice your own life? You’ve already used the Heaven-Severing Curse once, and your life is more than half gone. If you dare to use any more techniques, you’ll lose your life in an instant! Besides, with me here, do you think I’ll let you act recklessly? Heh, kid, just accept your fate!” With that, Protector Shi took a step forward, closing in on Yang Jin.
“Dream on!” Yang Jin gritted his teeth, his disheveled gray hair making him look like a demon. “Heaven, earth, gods, and spirits, in all directions, as I command!”
As Yang Jin’s incantation ended, a tall, dark figure suddenly appeared beside him, wearing a felt hat and bound with hemp rope—it was the countless puppets.
But this time, the countless puppets did not split into eight, but only into two, one on each side, protecting Yang Jin. Yang Jin looked up, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Protector Shi like a wolf ready to pounce.
“Heh, my Altar Master Yang, if you were in good health and this puppet were intact, it might have given me some trouble. But now, with the backlash from the Heaven-Severing Curse and this puppet severely damaged, do you really think you can stand against me? You’re like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly overestimating yourself!” Protector Shi sneered, then suddenly tossed his staff lightly into the air, shouting, “Watch me destroy your broken puppet. Heaven one, earth two, strike!”
As the staff rose, it stirred up layers of rippling light, and countless staff shadows like dragons and snakes filled half the ancestral hall, descending from above to envelop Yang Jin and the two puppets beside him.
It was the roundest night of the year. Households, rich or poor, set up incense altars beneath the moon, offering prayers for peace, happiness, safety, and good fortune for their families.
Yet at this moment, the ancestral hall of the Yang family was cold and desolate. Only a few tall elm trees swayed gently in the breeze, rustling softly and casting fragmented moonlight onto the moss-covered old walls.
Occasionally, the mournful cries of cold birds heightened the loneliness of the moonlit night.
Suddenly, a faint flicker of firelight appeared within the ancestral hall.
Yang Jin stood solemnly before the ancestral tablets, holding incense high in both hands. He deeply bowed and knelt, touching his forehead to the ground, bowing four times without rising for a long while, as if turned to stone. Upon closer inspection, however, one could see his entire body trembling uncontrollably. His hands were clenched tightly, his sharp fingernails piercing his palms, blood quietly trickling down in two thin lines.
After a long time, he slowly lifted his head. Anyone witnessing his appearance would have been shocked: the once youthful and handsome Yang Jin now looked like an old man in his fifties, his face lined with wrinkles, his hair white and his complexion pale. His eyes, clouded with tears, gazed at the rows of ancestral tablets as he murmured, “Honored ancestors above, your unworthy descendant Yang Jin kneels below. At this time of Mid-Autumn reunion, I offer this humble sacrifice of clear water and wild fruits. Please bless me to rescue my late father’s soul and avenge our grievous wrongs. Though I may be crushed to dust, I shall never retreat! Accept this offering!”
Having spoken, he stepped forward and inserted a thin stick of incense into the worn incense burner ahead. A thin wisp of smoke curled upward before the tablets, gradually dispersing into the air.
Yang Jin stepped back a few paces and slowly turned to walk toward a coffin placed at the side of the ancestral hall.
“Father,” he knelt on the ground, stroking the coffin as he whispered, “don’t worry. I’ve already retrieved that object. Once the midnight hour arrives tonight, your suffering will be relieved…”
As he spoke, his voice became choked with sobs. Tears streaming, he cried, “Father, you always taught my elder brother and me to live upright lives—to serve our sovereign with loyalty, to honor our parents with filial piety, to treat others with sincerity, and to act with integrity. Yet why has our family, which has always done good, suffered such a fate? You lived a just and moral life, maintaining discipline and virtue at home without a single misdeed. Where is the justice of heaven now? Where is it?”
At this point, Yang Jin struck his forehead against the coffin, the sound of his head thudding against the wood echoing through the hall. Blood streamed from his forehead, but he made no move to wipe it away. His weeping grew so intense it seemed his heart would tear apart, as if he might collapse from grief.
As if in response, a sudden “creaking” sound came from within the coffin, as though something alive stirred inside.
Hearing this, Yang Jin quickly stifled his sobs and gently stroked the coffin, whispering, “Father, please remain calm a little longer. It will soon be midnight. I’ve secretly learned the method to free you. With the help of your old friends, I’ve also obtained the necessary ritual tools. Just endure a little longer, and I will surely release your soul from its torment and deliver you from this suffering.”
In response to Yang Jin’s words, the sound from the coffin softened. It made a few slow, drawn-out creaks before falling silent once more.
The moonlight poured through the broken windowpanes of the ancestral hall, casting long patches of light onto the moss-covered brick floor. The incense in the burner burned slowly and steadily, its smoke drifting in the moonlight, creating a strangely surreal haze.
A sudden gust of wind swirled into the hall, forming a small whirlwind in the center. Dust that had lain undisturbed for years lifted into the air, forming a yellow column in the vortex.
Suddenly, with a soft “shhh” sound, all the swirling dust paused mid-air, then fell gently to the ground. In the center of the whirlwind, a figure materialized.
He had gray hair falling over his shoulders, a face like black iron, a long beard streaked with white, and wore a dark yellow robe. In his hand, he held a long staff, and his cold gaze fixed upon Yang Jin kneeling beside the coffin.
“Yang Altar Master, why have you suddenly gone silent these past few days?—What are you doing here? Where is Elder Zheng?” the man asked coldly.
“Subordinate greets Elder Shi,” Yang Jin, startled at first, quickly rose to greet him.
“What happened!?” Elder Shi stepped forward, interrupting Yang Jin. “Yang Jin, have you used the Heaven-Cutting Curse!?”
Upon seeing Yang Jin’s aged appearance, Elder Shi was visibly shocked.
Yang Jin sighed and explained how he and Elder Zheng had been discovered and trapped, how the Ten Thousand Marionettes had been gravely injured, and how Elder Zheng had perished at the hands of two unknown enemies. “Realizing the situation was hopeless, I was forced to activate the Heaven-Cutting Curse. Fortunately, I had previously set up my life-pillar within my ancestral home, allowing me to escape the formation and flee here. However, the messenger marionette was destroyed by the enemy, and Elder Zheng was already dead, leaving me unable to send word and forcing me to remain hidden here.”
Elder Shi nodded thoughtfully. “I see. However, Yang Altar Master, your cultivation has always relied on sacrificial techniques, lacking a solid foundation. Using the Heaven-Cutting Curse will surely shorten your lifespan significantly—perhaps by as much as thirty years. Still, your loyalty and willingness to sacrifice yourself for the mission is commendable. The Sect Leader will surely reward you. Now that you have obtained the treasure, hand it over to me so I may return and report.”
Yang Jin’s eyes widened in shock. “Elder Shi! Wasn’t the Sect Leader’s original order to retrieve this treasure in order to free my father’s trapped soul? You yourself said that my father was cursed, his spirit unable to find peace after death, trapped within his body and turning into a vengeful ghost. Only with an object as dark and sinister as this inkstone could we perform the ritual to release and guide his soul. Tonight is the full moon—the perfect time for the ritual. Why now do you say to return it to the sect?”
Elder Shi seemed impatient. “Yang Altar Master, these rituals are complex and cannot be explained in a moment. Hand over the treasure to me first. As for your father’s soul, the Sect Leader will make the necessary arrangements.”
Yang Jin shook his head and stepped back, eyes locked on Elder Shi. “With all due respect, I cannot comply. Elder Shi, this concerns my ancestors. Though I may be weak, how can I allow myself to be manipulated so easily? Unless this matter is clarified, I would rather die than hand it over.”
“Hahahaha…” Elder Shi let out a mocking laugh. “Don’t get too big for your boots, Yang Jin! Since you insist, I’ll be frank. Your father was cursed. As a result, he went mad in life and his corpse was left to decay for three years, absorbing the essence of sun and moon. Soon, he will become a corpse spirit. At that time, someone will surely come to claim him. Though I don’t know who cursed him, whoever could have the power and influence to do so must be no ordinary person. Our sect cannot afford to provoke such a force. Give up on saving your father—it’s pointless!”
“What!?” Yang Jin’s eyes burned with fury. “Then why did you deceive me before, urging me to steal this inkstone?”
“Hmph,” Elder Shi sneered, “if it weren’t for your connection to the Thieves’ Guild, why would the sect go to such great lengths? Even granting you the secret art of the Ten Thousand Marionettes was a great favor. Be grateful and hand over the inkstone now, or suffer the consequences!”
“Never!” Yang Jin roared. “Don’t think I don’t understand. While in the sect, I secretly read the sacred texts. My father’s condition, though caused by a curse, can be transferred to a cursed artifact, freeing his soul. You think I wouldn’t know this? Do you really believe I would help you steal the treasure without understanding? You told me to give up—well, tonight I will prove you wrong!”
“Didn’t think you had a little brain in that head,” Elder Shi chuckled. “But our sect’s techniques require both a medium and a sacrifice. Yes, using this inkstone to counter the curse is possible, but what do you plan to use as the medium? Your own life? You’ve already used the Heaven-Cutting Curse once—half your life is already gone. Use more forbidden techniques, and you’ll die on the spot! And with me here, do you really think I’ll allow you to go through with this? Face the facts, boy!”
With that, Elder Shi stepped forward menacingly.
“Dream on!” Yang Jin gritted his teeth, his white-streaked hair wild, looking like a vengeful ghost. “Heaven and earth, gods and spirits, from all directions—Obey my command!”
As Yang Jin’s incantation ended, a tall, dark figure suddenly appeared beside him, wearing a felt hat and tied with a hemp rope—it was the Ten Thousand Marionettes.
This time, however, the marionette did not split into eight, but only into two, standing protectively on either side of Yang Jin. He lifted his head, glaring fiercely at Elder Shi, his bloodshot eyes like those of a wolf ready to tear flesh.
“Hehe,” Elder Shi sneered. “If you were in good health and the marionette intact, maybe you could give me a little trouble. But now, you’ve already suffered the backlash of the Heaven-Cutting Curse, and this marionette is already gravely injured. You think you can challenge me? You’re nothing but a foolish ant trying to stop a chariot!”
With a flick of his staff, Elder Shi sent it soaring into the air, shouting, “Watch me destroy your broken marionette. Heaven one, earth two—Strike!”
The staff rose, stirring waves of light that spread like ripples. Countless staff shadows, like dragons and snakes rising from the earth, filled the ancestral hall’s sky, descending upon Yang Jin and his two marionettes.
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