Chapter Sixty-Seven: First Test of Skill

The man tossed the boy, Tiger, into the cart and, with a nod to his companions, turned to leave. Seeing this, the old woman rushed forward, weeping, and pleaded, “Sir soldier, he’s just a child—please, let him stay with me.”

The boy once again kicked the old woman to the ground. “Children can’t be trained as soldiers, but they can be used to feed the ones who are. The ghostly army is short on supplies. If you weren’t so old, you’d be chopped up with him.”

I glanced at Wei Qi and saw his grip tighten around the Wand of Flowing Clouds, his jaw clenched as if he might leap into action at any moment. I summoned all my strength and readied the thunder in my palm, convinced that I could destroy them.

But Wei Qi held me back, giving me a look and shaking his head—a silent warning not to act. I was doubtful; things had come to this, and if we didn’t step in, that boy was surely doomed. Whether or not he was truly human, being taken away by force was a violation of the natural order.

While I hesitated, the strange troop marched off into the distance.

“Uncle Qi, why didn’t we act? I think the two of us could have handled them.” I stared into his eyes, searching for an answer, knowing he was not one to shrink from trouble.

“We can’t alert the enemy—let’s wait and see,” Wei Qi replied, slipping over to help the old woman up. “Auntie, who are these people?”

With tears streaming down her face, the old woman sobbed, “I don’t know who they are. We used to live here in peace, but suddenly a group appeared out of nowhere, conscripting the strong, saying they were training soldiers. I heard they even eat people. My son and daughter-in-law were taken away, and now my grandson too. He’s so young—he’ll surely be eaten.”

Her grief shook me to the core.

“Don’t worry, Auntie, we’ll definitely rescue your grandson. Can you tell me, what is this place?” Wei Qi probed gently—we had to know where we were. Even a world shrouded in grayness must have a name.

She eyed us with confusion. “You don’t know where you are? This is the City of Shades.”

“What? The underworld?” I blurted out.

“This isn’t the underworld—it’s the City of Shades. It’s a city for the dead. Over the ages, many lost souls and deeply buried corpses have somehow ended up here, settling down. They have no souls, cannot become ghosts, and so they live on in this world. But now, things are no longer peaceful.” As she spoke, the old woman fell to her knees before us, clutching our hands. “Brave sirs, please rescue my grandson.”

Wei Qi and I hurried to help her up. “Auntie, wait for us—we’ll go now and bring your grandson back.” He guided her to one side, then took my hand and hurried away.

Outside, the strange group had vanished. In the distance, clusters of thatched huts dotted the landscape. We rushed over and, in front of one hut, saw those same soldiers accosting a young woman.

“Da Chuan, don’t act rashly, all right?” Wei Qi shot me a grin.

“What? Feeling bold now?” I replied, thinking he was about to show off.

“Not bold—just curious to see how powerful this Wand of Flowing Clouds really is.” With that, Wei Qi strode forward. “What are you doing? Assaulting people in broad daylight is against the law.”

He glanced up, then chuckled—there was no sun overhead.

Still, his words had an effect. The soldiers froze, especially the leader, who tossed the girl aside and strode over to us. “No wonder I smelled the scent of the living—so it’s really true, we have fresh arrivals.”

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll kill you,” Wei Qi warned, unnerved by the imposing figure and unconsciously taking a step back. I tensed, gathering all my energy into my palms.

“Come here! These two are fresh—let’s capture them for General Zhao. The King of the Underworld hasn’t tasted fresh human flesh in ages,” said the leader in a chilling monotone.

At his command, the soldiers lunged at us. Wei Qi shouted, swinging his Wand of Flowing Clouds, which flashed with a bluish light. Limbs flew as the soldiers fell, but their movements were stiff, and though Wei Qi was a heavyset man, he moved nimbly, cutting them down as if slicing through vegetables.

Watching from the side, I began to understand why the old woman called this place the City of Shades. These people weren’t human at all. Their bodies fell apart, yet no blood flowed; only flesh and bone remained.

Even more horrifying, those whose arms and legs had been severed clambered back to their feet. The undead, unkillable—could these be the ghostly soldiers General Zhao had forged?

Yes, they were the ghostly soldiers. If such creatures appeared in the world of the living, humanity would be doomed.

“Da Chuan, help me out here! I’m exhausted!” The Wand of Flowing Clouds was effective, but these soldiers would not die—some, left with only one arm, still clawed forward. At this rate, even if Wei Qi hacked them to pieces, they would keep attacking.

He dashed to my side. “Nephew, use your thunder palm!”

The battered ghostly soldiers swarmed toward us again—headless, armless, hopping on a single leg. There had been seven or eight, but now there seemed even more.

I stepped back, gathered energy from my core through my whole body, and hurled it forward with all my might.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, smoke billowed before me, followed by a rain of flesh. When the haze cleared, the ground was strewn with rotting meat—chunks, heaps, fingers, teeth, even eyeballs. Though they were smashed to bits, parts still twitched—fingers curling and uncurling—but they could no longer attack.

Wei Qi, panting, came over. “Da Chuan, you’re amazing. I’m worn out.”

“What now?” I felt sickened by the carnage.

“If we join forces, General Zhao is no match for us. Even separately, he’s not our equal. What we need to do is return the five-year-old Tiger to his home and figure out our escape. This place is vast, like our own world. Finding Shaoxiang won’t be easy.”

He was right. Though we each had our own magical weapons and skills, we couldn’t stay in this gray realm forever. We needed to return. This place was not meant for us.

The heaps of flesh had lost all capacity to attack and soon stiffened and died. Wei Qi and I found Tiger in the cart and took him home. The boy skipped along like a toy, but he had no warmth, no pulse—in other words, he was not alive.

When we delivered him, the old woman showered us with gratitude. But I found it strange—without warmth or a heartbeat, how could there be emotion? Without emotion, where did the child come from?

After returning the boy, we tried to leave, but the old woman insisted we stay, saying it was dangerous outside at night and safer to wait until morning. I looked up—the sky was as sunless as ever, but darker than when we’d first arrived.

“Auntie, is there a way back to the world of the living?” I asked eagerly. Night was falling in the City of Shades—what was happening in our world now? I had the soul urn with me—Shangguan Wan’er, Xuan Li, and Qing Ting were all at my side. No one was with Wang Ying; she must be frantic by now.

Lost in thought, I looked up to see the old woman bringing us two plates of food. At a glance, I nearly vomited. On the plate was a plump white pig’s trotter—raw, with a stench of decay. How could anyone eat this?