“It’s not me!” Ning Yan blurted anxiously. “It’s obviously pointing at something behind me! That’s got to be it!”

Ning Yan quickly hurried over to Wu Jianwu’s side. However, as he did, the blood needle on the Captain’s geomantic compass swiveled to follow him.

The Captain’s expression turned very serious as he stared deeply at Ning Yan.

“Get over here!”

Wu Jianwu’s expression flickered as he turned to look at Ning Yan and, without even thinking about it, said, “A barren tree blooms, making new generations; the glimmering light points to distant relations?”

Trembling with terror, Ning Yan ignored Wu Jianwu. He looked confused, and at the same time, his heart was pounding so hard it could dry up rivers and drain seas. He really had thought that he was just standing in between the geomantic compass and the tomb raider. But now it was clear that the needle really was pointing at him. When he thought about what that signified given the circumstances, he started to get panicky.

“Elder B-brother Erniu,” he stammered, “this doesn’t have anything to do with me, really. I… I don’t even know what’s going on!”

Xu Qing looked on curiously, but didn’t say anything.

Eyebrows dancing up and down, the Captain said, “Hurry up and give it to me.”

“Give you what?” Ning Yan said, grimacing. “You and I definitely aren’t blood related!”

The Captain frowned in disdain. “I know this has nothing to do with you. How could I possibly have a descendant like you? I want you to give me that treasured patch of skin!”

Shivering, Ning Yan quickly took the patch of skin out of his bag of holding and threw it to the Captain. The needle followed it. Seeing that, Ning Yan breathed a huge sigh of relief. He’d been scared nearly to death just now.

Wu Jianwu sighed inwardly and murmured, “The world collapses, the bird pees in fright; fate comes and goes for this troglodyte.”

Ning Yan didn’t understand the poetry, but he could sense that it was somehow making fun of him. He glared at Wu Jianwu. Wu Jianwu glared back, and the numerous animals surrounding him joined him. Ning Yan kept his mouth shut.

The Captain was already ignoring their mutual animosity. Picking up the patch of skin and storing it in his own bag of holding, he once again consulted his geomantic compass. It was now pointing in a specific direction.

“That’s the way. Let’s go! I’m very curious to see who the hell went so far as to possess my past-life body!”

Bristling with anger, the Captain hurried back toward the entrance of the tomb.

Xu Qing hurried along. As he did, he checked the shadow beneath his feet, and also sent his senses into his bag of holding to make sure the Spike of Misfortune was ready to use. He was now more determined than ever to stay on guard against them; the Captain’s current situation had made it obvious how important that was. When the shadow sensed Xu Qing’s divine will, it trembled. Inside the Spike of Misfortune, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior shivered. Both tried to exude overt subservience.

Xu Qing’s facial expression remained unchanging. Inside, he was thinking that he should probably learn some more about warding spells, and consider using some to make sure he was fully prepared to deal with any issues with the shadow or patriarch. He didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but also didn’t want to make the same mistake the Captain had made. As he was wrapped up in such thoughts, he followed the Captain out of the tomb and into the morning outside.

Off in the distance, an artificial sun cast out its first morning rays, driving away the darkness. The lush mountain vegetation became clearly visible. Given the bitterness of the world they lived in, the life pulsing through the plants and vegetation almost seemed like an illusion to Xu Qing. But as the day grew brighter, things seemed to turn normal, and the mountain boulders looked less like demonic monsters and more like ordinary rocks.

The small group of four was wrapped up in all sorts of emotions.

The Captain was anxious. Wu Jianwu was sighing regretfully. Ning Yan was still a bit frightened. Xu Qing was completely on guard, as he was convinced that this incident wasn’t going to wrap up as smoothly as the Captain had claimed it would.

Xu Qing had no idea how many years had passed since this previous life of the Captain’s. And if the culprit was still in the Unfinished Mountains, it seemed likely they would be very well prepared.

In all likelihood, whoever we’re dealing with knows that Eldest Brother can transmigrate. In other words, he would be able to guess that Eldest Brother would eventually come back. And that means this guy is definitely extremely cautious.

Xu Qing hurried to catch up with the Captain and then shared some of his thoughts.

The Captain nodded. He had considered such things as well. However, he still felt confident. Clasping Xu Qing’s shoulder, he lowered his voice and said, “Whoever the hell did all this, little Junior Brother, you can rest assured that there’s one thing he didn’t think of. And that is… all I have to do is touch him and I have my ways of taking control.

“You see, whenever I transmigrate, I always ensorcel my new body as soon as possible after being born. That way, the body is ready to be used as a weapon at any moment. Because of that, this past-life body really can’t escape me.”

Xu Qing looked the Captain up and down. “You did the same thing with your current body?”

“Of course, little Ah Qing!” the Captain said, looking down his nose. “On that fateful day back in the county capital, I was ready to open all my seals and call all of my past-life bodies to me. That’s no exaggeration. If I called all my past-life bodies together, then even gods would have to call me ‘Big Bro.’” 1

Xu Qing chuckled. He had long since grown used to the Captain’s bragging. However, considering that the incident related to Xu Qing himself, it had a different level of meaning. He nodded earnestly.

Seven days passed. During that time, they followed the Captain’s geomantic compass deep into the Unfinished Mountains. The mountain peaks were tall and forbidding, the vegetation was dense, and they saw lots of wild animals.

Similar to both cultivators and mortals, the animals in the Moonrite Region were also cursed. Because of that, they had all changed, and were much fiercer than their out-of-region counterparts. Just now, a swarm of tiger-headed butterflies was flying past, their wingspans nearly two meters. As they flew along, they scattered extremely poisonous powder. Xu Qing captured a few of them, whereupon his eyes glittered with curiosity. He looked in the direction they were flying.

The powder has the red moon curse in it…. But it’s very active, like it was just created.

Though his curiosity had been aroused, he decided to think about such matters later, and instead followed the Captain.

At a certain point deep in the mountains, the sensation the Captain was getting from his blood prompted him to mask his presence. Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan also used similar methods to conceal their auras. Xu Qing took out the mask his Master had given him, then went into his Gruegloom state, making him virtually invisible.

In a small valley, the Captain squatted on the branch of a tree, then turned to what seemed to be empty air next to him and said, “Little Ah Qing, about a day ahead of us is where my bloodline power is strongest. However, only scraps are left behind. The origin isn’t there. .

“Instead of running around after him, I want to lay in wait until he returns. Incidentally, because of various reasons, this old body of mine likely doesn’t have Void Returning battle prowess. It should be in Spirit Trove. Spirit Trove fleshly body battle prowess.”

“Okay,” Xu Qing replied from a different direction.

The Captain blinked a few times. Hmm. Little Ah Qing’s concealment abilities have really improved. I need to pick up the pace.

However, now wasn’t the time to put a lot of thought into such things, so he just squatted there unmoving.

Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan were nearby, hardly daring to breathe.

After all, no one knew who exactly had taken over the Captain’s previous life body. And in terms of this person’s cultivation base… the Captain might seem relaxed, but if they were dealing with a Spirit Trove cultivator, they might as well be up against a colossal monster. Everyone was being very cautious. Time passed.

Four days later, the Captain suddenly transmitted a message to everyone.

“He’s here!”

Xu Qing looked, not up into the sky, but at a spot in front of the Captain. There was an eyeball there which was projecting an image of the area.

Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan retracted every scrap of their auras. At first, they looked up into the sky, but then quickly shifted their attention to the eyeball in front of the Captain.

***

About a day’s journey from where they were, something dramatic happened in the canopy of heaven. A group of people flew over the horizon. Along with them came music spreading out in all directions. There were over a hundred people in the group, and all of them were playing flutes. The music was beautiful and energetic. There were handmaidens flying alongside them, scattering flower petals that caused a fragrant aroma to surround them.

The group wore colorful clothing that made them look like beautiful flowers flying through the sky. The flowers swirled around an enormous marriage sedan crafted from a gigantic skull. It was being carried through the air by thirty-two burly men who weren’t human at all. They were Lionfolk. The way their golden fur shone in the sunlight made them seem like celestial soldiers. 2

In Sea-Sealing County, this type of ostentatious show wouldn’t be very unusual. But in the Moonrite Region, and especially the Unfinished Mountains, it was dramatic to the point of being a bit ridiculous.

Inside the marriage sedan sat a man and a woman. The woman appeared to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Clad in a beautiful gown embroidered with a cloud-studded red sunset, she was petite, with skin as fair as snow, and eye-catchingly attractive. She was currently leaning up against the man, and had pulled his arm around her. From the gentle way she stared at him, it was as if he was the only person that existed in her world.

Beneath her slender neck was a milky-colored chest that was only half-covered by her garment. The silk band around her waist accentuated her long, shapely legs, which ended in feet as dainty as lotus blossoms. Altogether, she was incredibly enticing, and could definitely be described as a consummate beauty. 3

The man was tall and muscular, with rather crude facial features, and grayish skin that seemed devoid of life force. He had one large eye and one small eye that didn’t seem to match. When he breathed, he exhaled dark, turbid energy. Even the whites of his eyes seemed strange. They were yellow as if with sickness. Some patches of skin on him seemed to be decaying, and he even oozed necrotic corpse fluids in some places, making it hard for anyone to look at him for long.

This man hardly seemed a good complement for the young woman. That said, he was also impressive in his own way, with a strong baleful aura. What was more, his strangely mismatched eyes contained an inherent apathy toward life. All-in-all, he had his own type of dignity that few people would dare to underestimate.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination. There, the man stood, and the woman rose with him.

They looked at each other. One pair of eyes was cold. The other abounded with emotion. They kissed, and it was hard to imagine how the woman could stand the dark energy he exhaled. And when their tongues touched each other, it was appalling to say the least. If nothing else, it seemed to show that these two loved each other very deeply.

Eventually, the man stepped away and flew to the nearby mountaintop. The surrounding cultivators bowed respectfully, and then left with the sedan chair.

Meanwhile, on a plant leaf below, there was an eye that slowly closed and then dissolved into liquid.

***

In a nearby valley, Xu Qing looked at the image being projected by the eyeball.

Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan didn’t seem very surprised by what they had just seen. After all, they didn’t recognize either of the people.

However, the Captain turned to Xu Qing, his gaze somewhat vacant. “Little Ah Qing, did that girl look familiar to you…?”

Xu Qing almost couldn’t believe what he had just seen. From what he remembered, that woman was completely obsessed with the pursuit of beauty. Yet now she was apparently on intimate terms with a person who oozed necrotic fluids. Though it seemed unbelievable to Xu Qing, when he heard the Captain’s words, he nodded.

“She looks just like the same person whose house you ruthlessly plundered. The same person who hates you to the core of her being. Nethersprite.” 4

Xu Qing stopped talking, but then added one further thought. “Captain, any chance you still have some of her clothes?”

1. Although it’s not specifically explained, the “fateful day” mentioned by the Captain is presumably the day of the Lieutenant Governor’s Coup. In chapter 533.1 and 533.2, the Captain was preparing to interfere, but never went all out. ☜

2. The last time a “sedan chair” was mentioned was in chapter 468.2. The Chinese word used there is slightly different than in this chapter, but refers to the same thing. In this chapter, the specific word for a “marriage sedan” is used (the word in 468 could be for a marriage sedan or sedan chair used for other purposes). Here’s a link to the same picture gallery as before to show what they look like. ☜

3. The description of her feet uses the term “lotus feet,” which often refers to feet altered by the traditional practice of footbinding. From what I’ve seen nowadays, this term also gets used simply to describe beautiful feet, so I don’t think the implication is that this woman actually has bound feet. That said, it’s not impossible. If you’re unfamiliar with footbinding, you can find more info in the Wikipedia article. ☜

4. Nethersprite was first introduced in chapter 273. The Nethersprite heist arc (in which we met the grown-up Qing Qiu) was from roughly chapter 328–338. Nethersprite was mentioned in other chapters. She appeared briefly in chapter 501.2 and 501.3. In chapter 509 we learned that she escaped captivity during the war. And in chapter 513, we got the grand elder’s perspective, as well as a theory from Xu Qing that Nethersprite wasn’t even missing. ☜