CHAPTER 181: THE GONGSHU FAMILY

From within the grand hall, another person stepped out, his sharp gaze fixed intently on Li Yanchu.

It was a young man with an unnaturally pale face, resembling a fallen-down scholar. His hands were tucked into his wide sleeves. His eyes were full of hostility, as if he were staring at a corpse.

Li Yanchu gave him an impassive glance. From the youth’s body emanated a dense aura of death and corpse qi.

If it wasn’t some unclean entity possessing a corpse to return to life, then this person must work closely with corpses and the dead as a profession.

“Master,” Li Yanchu asked, “may I know who your young master is?”

“He’s Young Master Pei Yu of the Gongshu family,” the fierce monk replied in a deep voice.

He offered no further explanation, as if merely stating Gongshu family was enough.

Li Yanchu nodded slightly. “So that’s how it is.”

Back when he had participated in the Exorcism Assembly, the gathering had brought together all sorts of strange experts from across the jianghu, as well as elite masters from both the Buddhist and Daoist sects.

During that event, he heard the name of the Gongshu family.

This family was famed for its expertise in mechanical constructs; their inventions were uncanny and ingenious, said to make bronze speak and cause wood and stone to move.

Within the cultivation world of the Kingdom of Qian, their reputation was vast.

The fierce monk before him was brimming with physical strength and surging blood and qi, but lacked even the slightest trace of the compassion and serenity expected of a Buddhist monk.

He looked more like some ruthless bandit from the jianghu

.

At this moment, the monk’s qi was already locked onto Li Yanchu, clearly prepared to attack at the slightest provocation.

Li Yanchu smiled calmly. “I’m willing to join.”

“Hand over the jade fragment on you, to show your sincerity,” the monk said.

These fragments were tied to the mysteries of the Blissful Land and were proof of entry into the Blissful Land. Even though their full use had yet to be revealed, everyone knew they were extremely valuable artifacts. The Gongshu family really was overbearing.

Still, Li Yanchu wasn’t lacking in jade fragments. Since arriving in the Blissful Land in Mount Jinting, he had already acquired three of them.

He put on a hesitant expression, pretending to struggle for a moment. Then, he finally pulled a fragment from his robe and tossed it to the monk.

The monk caught it with a sneer. “To be able to serve Young Master Pei Yu is the greatest opportunity of your life. You’d better cherish it.”

Li Yanchu followed the two into the hall. Inside this Daoist temple hall, he saw five more people.

The one leading the group was a young nobleman who had rosy lips, white teeth, long phoenix eyes, and strikingly handsome features. He wore a light blue long robe, with a white jade belt around his waist. At first glance, he seemed like a refined, elegant young aristocrat.

Unfortunately, those narrow, elongated phoenix eyes revealed a certain coldness in his nature, suggesting he might be somewhat indifferent or heartless.

The fierce monk led Li Yanchu into the hall and promptly handed the jade fragment over to the young nobleman.

This elegant young man was precisely the one the monk had referred to earlier. He was Gongshu Pei Yu, the Gongshu family’s heir.

Pei Yu didn’t even bother to take Li Yanchu seriously. He cast a cold glance his way, then immediately lost interest.

The fierce monk proceeded to introduce Li Yanchu to the others gathered in the grand hall.

There were four more individuals: a lean old man, a middle-aged Daoist, and a pair of twin sisters.

The lean old man was named Mr. Chen, and like the fierce monk, he also belonged to the Gongshu family. However, compared to the brutish monk, Mr. Chen’s status was clearly higher.

He wasn’t of the Daoist or Buddhist schools; rather, he was a martial artist from the jianghu

.

Li Yanchu didn’t know his real name.

Mr. Chen appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, but his blood and qi surged like a roaring furnace, and his eyes radiated a sharp, penetrating light.

It was clear that even at an age where one’s strength should be declining, this man still maintained such powerful energy. His true strength was likely unfathomable.

Mr. Chen seemed quite amiable, even giving Li Yanchu a nod of greeting. He exuded no visible edge or hostility. But that, in fact, made Li Yanchu all the more cautious. The man’s smile and gaze gave him a strange, bristling feeling, as if stabbed by invisible needles.

The middle-aged Daoist was named Mei Xuanzi, a Daoist from Donghai Prefecture, said to specialize in ghost-rearing arts.

He looked dignified and upright, with an air of righteousness about him.

As for the twin sisters, they were from the Xie family of Qinghe Prefecture. The older sister was named Xie Ru, the younger Xie Ru as well.

For a moment, Li Yanchu thought he’d misheard.

How could two people share the same name?

Only after the elder sister explained did he understand the difference in characters.

The elder had a “grass” radical in her name, while the younger did not[1].

The Xie sisters were both around seventeen or eighteen, identical in appearance and extremely beautiful. The only difference was that the elder sister had a cinnabar mark between her eyebrows, while the younger did not.

The Xie family’s cultivation method was rather unique. It wasn’t Buddhist, Daoist, or even conventional martial arts. Instead, it was a technique known as Sword Dance. Also called Sword Weapon Dance, it was a form of dance using short swords.

The Xie family revered Lady Gongsun[2] as their ancestral master and devoted themselves to the sword-dance technique.

This style of Sword Dance was renowned for its mysterious elegance and power.

“Blazing, like Yi[3] who shot the nine suns from the sky,

Swift, like gods in flight with dragons drawing high.

She bursts forth like thunder's rage drawn tight,

And ends like rivers still beneath clear light.”

This was the poetic depiction of Sword Dance.

As for the young man surrounded by corpse and death aura, he practiced an extremely rare profession among common folk. He was a Spirit-Linker. This profession was somewhat similar to a modern embalmer, whose job was to ensure that the deceased left the world with dignity.

But it was more than that. In ancient times, one of the greatest taboos was dying dismembered, with no whole body to bury. And such corpses were extremely prone to becoming vengeful and harming others.

Spirit-Linkers specialized in stitching together the bodies of the dead. The most skilled among them were even said to be capable of rejoining shattered souls. It was a dark and esoteric profession, yet one that many places depended on.

In villages plagued by malevolent corpses, a Spirit-Linker could be summoned to suppress the threat. They would stitch the corpse’s body parts back together, restoring it to its original form, thus dispelling the resentment and aura of death. This was also why that young man carried such a heavy aura of death and corpse qi.

He was the only one among the group who refused to give his name.

As for the fierce monk, his name was Wu Hu. He claimed to be a monk from Mount Wutai, who had been expelled for violating monastic rules. Since then, he had sworn allegiance to the Gongshu family.

Just then, Mr. Chen came over, speaking gently, “Daoist Master Yanchu, this monk has a bad temper and harsh words. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Our young master Pei Yu is not some arrogant or domineering man. He's here to gather the capable and willing. Together, united in purpose, we can strive to seize the immortal fate within this Blissful Land of the Blissful Land. As the saying goes, strength lies in numbers. Banding together gives us more leverage.

“If you’re unwilling, you're free to leave at any time. The Gongshu family will not stop you.”

His tone was sincere, and his words carried a lofty and generous spirit, like that of one who wished to offer shelter to all the suffering in the world.

Li Yanchu smiled faintly. “Then, Mr. Chen, may I have my jade fragment back?”

Mr. Chen’s expression didn’t change. “What fragment?”

Li Yanchu chuckled. “Just kidding. By the way, Mr. Chen, have you encountered anyone else along the way? And what are your next plans?”

Mr. Chen replied, “This Blissful Land relic realm is vast beyond measure. Along the way, we’ve only encountered a handful of others. That divine mountain over there is our main destination. No doubt, the immortal fate lies within it.”

“But I’ve heard of a place where a lush and thriving jujube tree grows. It’s likely a rare treasure of this realm and should be enough to provide us with food and water. Tonight, Master Wu Hu will lead everyone to retrieve that jujube tree.”

1. The elder sister is named Xie Ru (谢茹) and the younger Xie Ru (谢如), both pronounced exactly the same (xiè rú) in Mandarin.

When Li Yanchu first hears their names, he’s startled and thinks he must have misheard, how could two people share the same name?

Only after the elder sister explains does he understand the difference: The elder sister's name, 茹, contains the "grass" radical (艹) on top. The younger sister's name, 如, does not.

Though identical in pronunciation, the characters have different meanings and visual components, and this distinction is often important in Chinese names. ☜

2. Lady Gongsun, one of the most outstanding dancers of the Tang Dynasty, was also highly skilled in the art of swordplay. Renowned for her mastery of the "Sword Dance," her performance art was exceptional. She often performed among the common people and enjoyed great fame, and was repeatedly summoned to the imperial court to showcase her Sword Dance. ☜

3. 羿 (Yì), also known as 后羿 (Hòu Yì), is a legendary archer in ancient Chinese mythology. He is most famous for the myth in which he shot down nine of the ten suns that were scorching the earth, saving humanity from disaster. ☜