CALID Chapter 64

Burden of Grain

In the twenty-fifth year of the Taiyuan era, on May 13th, an ominous celestial event occurred: the planet Mars was in opposition.

The Emperor suffered a seizure and fainted, only regaining consciousness after a day. The Great Imperial Astrologer, Feng Yi, submitted a report indicating that the celestial signs suggested the presence of an extremely wicked individual by the Emperor’s side, with calamity looming in the harem. He requested permission to conduct a search of the palace, which was granted. After five days of searching, several female corpses were found in the abandoned well, while within Lady Yu’s palace and the Fifth Prince’s residence, three humanoid wooden dolls were discovered, each inscribed with obscure incantations, suspected to be witchcraft.

Enraged, the Emperor sent Lady Yu to the cold palace and imprisoned the Fifth Prince in Guanghe Palace.

On the night of the twentieth day of the fifth month, the lights were dim in Guanghe Palace. The candle in the Fifth Prince, Han Mingxuan’s, chamber had already extinguished, yet he had not retired to bed. Instead, he sat in the courtyard, clothed and waiting, as if expecting someone. Before long, a figure cloaked in black entered through a side door and approached Han Mingxuan. Upon removing the hood, it was revealed to be Lady Yu herself.

Although nearly forty years old, Lady Yu’s complexion was as flawless as that of a young woman in her twenties. It was no wonder the Emperor doted on her incessantly. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Didn’t you say there was no chance of failure?”

Han Mingxuan furrowed his brows and replied, “I used concealment techniques on the bodies and dolls. Under normal circumstances, they should never have been discovered. Who is this Feng Yi?”

“Just a useless and parasitic wretch, relying on the recommendation of Qingxuan Master to hold his position as Great Imperial Astrologer. He has no real abilities. I warned you countless times that your concealment techniques were unreliable. Now that things have come to this, what do we do? Where are your supposed supernatural powers?”

“I’m currently inhabiting a human body and cannot unleash my full abilities.”

“Then leave this body! Do you want to be trapped and die in this Guanghe Palace? It all depends on the Emperor’s wishes. Whether you use curses or possession, as long as you can persuade the Emperor to pardon us, there may be hope.”

Han Mingxuan clenched his fist. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

“You know nothing about the affairs in the palace. We agreed to cooperate, and you were supposed to follow my lead in palace matters.” Lady Yu’s voice grew colder.

After a moment of confrontation, Han Mingxuan reached into his collar and produced a bone pendant. “Fine.”

“What is that? Let me see.”

A cheerful and hearty voice echoed, and a huge silver-white magic array suddenly appeared on the ground of Guanghe Palace. The light from the array enveloped the bone pendant in Han Mingxuan’s hand. Han Mingxuan instinctively withdrew his hand as if stung. The owner of the voice gestured with his finger, and the bone pendant flew into his palm like a gust of wind.

Feng Yi stood in the centre of the magic array, wearing a white Daoist robe embroidered with the golden images of the twenty-eight constellations. He leaned on his wooden staff, the bell on the staff ringing urgently, as if beckoning souls. With his pale and slender left hand, he toyed with the bone pendant, smiling. “Indeed, it’s a fine item. Half human bone, half eagle bone, containing the lifelong magical power of at least three powerful witch doctors. It’s revered as a sacred object by the Danzhi. No wonder you’ve been causing trouble in the palace for so long, and I haven’t even detected your ghostly aura. You’ve concealed it perfectly, Ghost Lord.”

He tossed the bone pendant upward and pointed at it with his wooden staff. As the radiance intertwined, incantations churned, and a circular wind forcefully poured out from the bone pendant, causing the lanterns in the entire Guanghe Palace to sway desperately. Han Mingxuan’s gaze ferociously reached out to snatch the bone pendant, but he, now sealed with ghostly aura within the pendant, was as vulnerable as an ordinary person. Just as he was about to touch the pendant, a surge of radiance erupted, and in the blink of an eye, he saw the bone pendant return to the hands of Feng Yi, while Feng Yi’s staff pointed at his heart.

The connection between the bone pendant and the Ghost Lord was broken, and the ghostly aura on Han Mingxuan’s body could no longer be suppressed, spreading ominously and densely.

Feng Yi’s hand holding the wooden staff began to redden from the fingertips, the redness spreading rapidly up his arm, along his neck, and onto his cheeks.

He chuckled, “Don’t come near me, it’s too filthy.”

His body was overly sensitive to ghostly auras, apart from those of his bloodline ancestors, any other ghostly aura would trigger a strong reaction.

Han Mingxuan, erupted with ghostly aura, finally broke free from his mortal shell, revealing the ghostly figure of a ten-year-old child amid the billowing smoke. Countless sharp white bones sprouted from his body, thrusting towards Feng Yi, the powerful ghostly aura looming like a dark cloud.

The redness had spread to Feng Yi’s forehead, the wooden staff drawing a complete circle in his hand, pressing against the floor tiles, the formation emitting even more dazzling light.

“The way of heaven is complete, three and five form, the sun and moon both rise.

Out of the mist, into the darkness, the aura spreads the way, connecting to the divine.

Evil spirits and thieves vanish in the aura.

Those who see me are blind, those who hear me are deaf.

Anyone who dares to plot against me will suffer.”

From the moment Feng Yi uttered the first word, countless rays of light surged out of the formation, entangling the Ghost Lord as if by hands, rendering him unable to move. When he finished the last word and smiled at the Ghost Lord before him, the ghost on the other side had already been wrapped into a cocoon. His wooden staff spun rapidly three times in his hand before pointing at the Ghost Lord, who immediately prostrated on the ground, unable to move.

Feng Yi stretched lazily and looked at the trembling Concubine Yu who had long collapsed on the ground. He said, “Concubine Yu, what’s wrong? Am I, the Imperial Tutor who lives a life of debauchery, deceit, and drinking, still meeting your expectations?”

Concubine Yu’s face turned pale, her lips trembling. Feng Yi bypassed the prostrate Ghost Lord and walked up to her, bending down to smile, “Concubine Yu, to be honest, it was out of compassion from Master Qingxuan that I left the Star Pavilion and came here, despite the difficulty.”

“Times change, people nowadays have even forgotten the title of the Star Astrologer.” Feng Yi pointed to himself, saying, “My surname is indeed He Jia.”

The baleful star of Mars, passed down through generations of the He Jia clan’s bloodline, with a curse that always responds, killing without fail. Throughout the ages, none could obstruct them; each generation stood as the most powerful sorcerers of their time.

Feng Yi, with his pale and frail body, supported by a wide Daoist robe, billowed in the wind like a flag, his half-red face casting an eerie ghostly aura. Concubine Yu, barely holding on, said, “You and I… have no enmity… I…”

Feng Yi waved his hand, leaning on his staff. “Your son, His Highness the Fifth Prince, Han Mingxuan, fell seriously ill two years ago, to the brink of death but miraculously recovered. However, Han Mingxuan did indeed die two years ago. In order to preserve his prosperity and colluding with the Ghost Lord, you allowed him to possess Han Mingxuan’s body. He concealed his ghostly aura using Danzhi spirit bones, making him indistinguishable from an ordinary person. But evil spirits inevitably feed on humans. At his suggestion, you sought palace maids for him to consume, and at his behest, you trapped the souls of these young palace maids in puppets to maintain your youth. Am I not correct, Concubine Yu?”

“I… I am the daughter of the Minister of War, and my son’s future… may be the crown prince! Or even the emperor! If you’re willing to spare…”

“Hehehe.” Feng Yi couldn’t help but chuckle. “Concubine Yu was just accusing me of idleness moments ago, now she wants me to bend the law for her? How about considering my suggestion? I think it’s a good story: Concubine Yu conspired with the Fifth Prince to flee the palace and assassinate, discovered, and then committed suicide in the palace. Isn’t that a good story?”

Concubine Yu widened her eyes, pointing shakily at the prostrate Ghost Lord, tears streaming down her face. “He… he bewitched me! Master Imperial Tutor! I… I was just momentarily confused…”

Feng Yi tapped the ground with his staff, pressing down the struggling Ghost Lord again. “He, he will have his monarch to judge him. Ancestral spirit, it’s your turn.”

As he spoke, a figure in red appeared from the formation. The tall and pale female ghost wore a headdress, and beneath it hung a curtain of red glass beads reaching down to her waist, clinking softly as she walked, her black hair faintly visible through the curtain, along with her striking features and cold phoenix eyes.

He Simu squatted down, lifting the curtain with his hand to look at the prostrating Ghost Lord, calling out his real name, “Song Xingyu.”

Without the protection of the spirit bones, the summoning command took effect immediately. Song Xingyu’s head lowered, saying bitterly, “Here… I am.”

“You are indeed remarkable. I ordered the evil spirits not to interfere in earthly politics, yet you possessed the prince and still aim for the position of crown prince, ruling over the world?”

Song Xingyu clenched his fists, raising his eyes to glare at He Simu. “Who wouldn’t want to rule the world? Just being in the ghost realm means nothing. As the ruler of the mortal world, not to mention soul fires, everything of the living can be in your hands.”

He Simu stared into his eyes, lightly laughing. “Such a good idea. Who suggested you do this?”

A glint flashed in Song Xingyu’s eyes. In that moment of hesitation, He Simu let go of the curtain of beads and stood up, chuckling, “You and him have a pact. The pact restrains you from speaking his name.”

Her Ghost King lamp at her waist ignited with blue flames. In that moment, Song Xingyu finally panicked, shouting, “I… I know how the former Ghost King died… Don’t kill me, I’ll tell you!”

The blue flames swiftly spread over Song Xingyu’s body. In that moment, he remembered the distant past when he was still human, the excruciating pain of being tortured alive, tearing him apart, making him howl in agony. The girl standing in front of him amidst the flames chuckled softly, saying, “Did you really think I don’t know who instigated you? Did you really think I don’t know how my father died?”

“You hoped I would believe he died for love, so I pretended to believe it. My father deeply loved my mother, but he also loved me. He promised to be with me forever, so he wouldn’t irresponsibly leave me to die in a chaotic and unfamiliar realm.”

Song Xingyu couldn’t produce any sound anymore. His limbs and body turned to ashes in the intense fire. Though he felt no physical pain, it was as if a hundred ants were gnawing at his heart, as if he saw himself, holding a knife, from thousands of years ago. In that strange world, his most trusted father subjected him to a thousand cuts.

Just now, He Simu said her father loved her.

How could this be? What did the word “father” imply? What did his father do to him?

The last trace of Song Xingyu’s hope was also burned to ashes, turning into a pile of dust.

In a village thousands of years ago, disaster struck, and the villagers had to select a child to sacrifice to the heavens to appease the calamity. So, a father peeled the skin off his ten-year-old son with his own hands, turning him into an offering.

That village suffered an even greater calamity a hundred years later, levelled by the vengeful child. Thousands of years later, the child who sought to fill his hatred and resentment with everything in the world finally returned to dust.

Feng Yi walked to He Simu’s side, looking at the pile of ashes, and said, “What’s wrong, Ancestral Spirit, do you pity him?”

He Simu shook her head.

Knowing the pain of being oppressed when weak, one should not oppress the weaker after gaining power.

Although Song Xingyu had yet to understand this, he was already dead.

Feng Yi fell silent for a moment before saying, “He just mentioned that your father, Ancestral Spirit…”

He Simu glanced at him, and Feng Yi understood that this wasn’t something he should inquire about. He pretended as if he hadn’t heard anything and continued to tidy up the aftermath.

The author has something to say: Feng Yi’s shining moment.

The incantation used here is borrowed from the exorcism spells of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.