Chapter 92: Guardian Deity

"The other side knows this environment. They must have stayed here for quite some time."

Yuan Gang gave the warning. Niu Youdao nodded slightly in agreement. Some sections of the underground river had been eroded by water into something almost like a maze. Without Shang Shuqing guiding them, it would have been extremely difficult for their group to keep to the proper route.

If the other side were unfamiliar with the terrain, they could hardly have found the torch caches so easily and tampered with them. Niu Youdao tilted his head toward Shang Shuqing.

"Commandery Princess, did the people who used this route in the past ever report anything unusual?"

"I never heard of anything. There probably wasn't."

"How long has this passage been unused?"

"I'm not certain. At the very least, after Father encountered disaster and the imperial court carried out its purge, arrangements like this were kept dormant. The route hasn't been activated again since."

The others understood. In other words, whoever was here might have been living in the passage for years. That was more than enough time to become familiar with the terrain.

As for how they had entered, it did not necessarily have anything to do with the entrances Prince Ning had planned. Across a subterranean region this vast, who could guarantee there were no other cave mouths or openings somewhere?

Niu Youdao remained silent for a moment before saying, "Actually, there's no need to worry too much. The other side's strength should be limited. If they were powerful enough, they could simply come straight at us. There'd be no need for this sort of trickery. We can't let them lead us around by the nose. If we keep running like this and wear ourselves out, we'll only make it easier for them to strike. We need to remain steady and make sure we don't put ourselves at a disadvantage."

With that, he lowered Shang Shuqing from his back and tilted his head toward Yuan Fang.

"Old Bear, fish more of those torches out of the river."

Yuan Fang stared.

"They won't light. What's the point of bringing them back?"

Yuan Gang immediately snapped, "Why so much nonsense? Master Dao told you to do it, so do it!"

Yuan Fang laughed dryly. Even so, he glanced at the torch in his hand, whose flame was already growing weak.

By then, Yuan Gang had taken down one of the bundles he carried, set it on the ground, and opened it. He tossed Yuan Fang one of the broken torch heads. The handle was short, but still long enough to grip safely. Yuan Fang froze. He had no idea when Yuan Gang had prepared this many torch heads. Then he looked at Niu Youdao, who seemed to regard the preparation as perfectly natural. Yuan Fang was impressed. These two really were formidable.

They had even prepared for this. Had they guessed in advance that someone would sabotage the torches? That was giving them too much credit. Niu Youdao had not predicted that anyone would tamper with the torch caches.

At the time, he did not even know who the other side was or whether they meant harm. But the moment he discovered something abnormal, his instincts from long experience in the jianghu made him consider the kinds of disadvantages they might face. In a place of absolute darkness, illumination was the first problem. So he had taken immediate control of that variable as a simple precaution.

Shang Shuqing had slept so deeply before that she had no idea when Yuan Gang had gathered all those torch heads either. She too looked somewhat surprised. Yuan Fang lit his remaining torch with one of the prepared pieces. No longer worried about illumination, he drifted back toward the river and got to work. Whenever another torch floated downstream, he scooped it up and threw it onto the bank.

That alone showed the saboteur was continuing to destroy the torch caches ahead, trying to leave the group completely disadvantaged. Niu Youdao took his sword back from Shang Shuqing and casually planted it before himself. He smiled at her.

"You're tired too. I woke you before you'd slept for long. Keep resting. Nothing will happen."

Shang Shuqing shook her head. After this unexpected development, how could she possibly sleep? She sat down against the rock wall instead, occasionally looking around the darkness. Yuan Gang kept two broken torch heads in reserve. He piled the rest together and lit them all at once. Once the flames were burning fiercely, he threw their nearly exhausted full-length torches into the fire as fuel.

Then he gathered the soaked torches Yuan Fang had thrown onto shore and tossed a pile of them directly into the blaze. Wet or not, they could still be dried and burned as firewood. Afterward, he collected another batch of wet torches and laid them beside the fire to dry. He worked alone, methodically and without pause. Yuan Fang, running back and forth across the water, saw what Yuan Gang was doing and suddenly understood.

At last he realized why Niu Youdao had ordered him to retrieve the soaked torches. With a plan now in place, the anxiety hanging in his heart eased considerably.

He became almost enthusiastic about the work, darting over the river and throwing one torch after another onto the bank. Niu Youdao stood straight beside the fire with both hands resting on his planted sword. His cold gaze slowly swept through the surrounding darkness. Shang Shuqing sat nearby hugging her knees. By now, she understood what they were doing too. Seeing the preparations proceed in such an orderly fashion, she felt much more at ease.

Then her gaze settled on the lone figure standing upright beside the fire, sword planted before him. He looked like her guardian deity. Perhaps like everyone's guardian deity. With that steadfast figure standing there, it somehow seemed there was no difficulty capable of defeating them. An inexplicable sense of security washed through her. Once she understood the plan, Shang Shuqing rose as well. Like Yuan Gang, she sat beside the fire and helped dry the soaked torches. She would contribute whatever strength she could.

Niu Youdao only glanced at her once. He said nothing and returned his attention to the darkness. By the time the wet torches on shore had piled into something resembling a small hill, Yuan Fang finally returned to exchange torches again. Niu Youdao spoke.

"Old Bear, that's enough. Eat something first and rest."

Yuan Fang truly was exhausted. He was panting slightly. Running across the river surface by continuously using spiritual power had become extremely draining over time. Even so, he smiled.

"I'm fine. I can still—"

Then he noticed Yuan Gang looking sideways at him. He shut his mouth immediately. Right. Same old rule. Whatever Master Dao told him to do, he did.

Yuan Fang obediently went to one side, opened a bundle, took out dry rations, and sat beside the fire to eat.

Warming himself at the blaze, chewing his food, and watching other people work—especially watching Yuan Gang work—somehow felt surprisingly enjoyable in an environment like this. A cheerful smile kept appearing on Yuan Fang's face. He was gradually becoming accustomed to life with Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang. Niu Youdao turned toward Shang Shuqing.

"Commandery Princess, you should eat something too and get proper rest."

Shang Shuqing shook her head.

"I'm not hungry."

Yuan Gang said flatly, "At a time like this, if you don't understand the situation, then listen. Put aside the dignity of a Commandery Princess. Whatever you're told to do, do it. No one's trying to harm you."

Yuan Fang, still chewing his food, almost laughed aloud. Master Yuan really did have character.

Niu Youdao kept scanning their surroundings as he explained with a gentle smile, "He means nothing else by it. In circumstances like these, you need to restore your strength to its best condition as quickly as possible in case something unexpected happens."

His tone and manner were warm, unlike his usual casual manner. It was not that his attitude toward Shang Shuqing had suddenly changed. Niu Youdao was habitually rational and clear-headed. Someone too rational and clear-headed could sometimes appear lacking in human feeling, even cold-blooded.

Very few people or matters could provoke him into acting on impulse, so naturally Shang Shuqing had not suddenly transformed his temperament. He was reassuring her because he knew she had to be uneasy and worried. This was not the moment to place additional pressure on her and frighten her further. If she became flustered and lost her composure, she might only become a greater burden. That would benefit no one.

Besides, for a woman in this sort of situation, she had already shown uncommon strength by not panicking and not causing trouble for the rest of them. She deserved reassurance and confidence.

There was no need to tear apart the shell of strength she was maintaining just to expose the weakness beneath. Across two lifetimes, Niu Youdao had met no shortage of women. Very few had earned his admiration. To a certain extent, Shang Shuqing counted as one. She was simply a little too ugly to look at comfortably!

Once Shang Shuqing understood Yuan Gang had meant no harm, she bit her lower lip lightly, took some dry rations from the nearby bundle, lowered her head, and ate in small bites. She obeyed.

After Yuan Fang had eaten and drunk his fill, he sat cross-legged beside the fire and began regulating his breathing to recover. When Shang Shuqing finished eating, Niu Youdao smiled at her again.

"Sleep beside the fire. It isn't cold there. It's warm. Get some proper rest."

His voice was calm and gentle. Shang Shuqing nodded obediently. She used a bundle as a pillow, took a garment and draped it over herself to conceal the contours of her body, then lay down on her side. Yuan Gang continued drying torches and periodically feeding fuel into the fire.

After a while, he suddenly asked in a low voice, "Master Dao, can the other side see in complete darkness?"

The implication was obvious. If darkness did not give the enemy an advantage, why destroy the torches?

Niu Youdao, still vigilant, explained, "It's simply the difference between yin and yang. Each adapts to its own environment, while the two also generate and restrain one another. Things that live beneath sunlight are mostly unsuited to existing in darkness. Things that live in darkness are likewise mostly unsuited to existing under sunlight. If the two sides want to cross into each other's environment, certain conditions are necessary. For example, humans need firelight to see while living in darkness."

Yuan Gang asked, "Then if the so-called ghosts want to exist beneath sunlight, what do they need?"

"Yang qi."

"Yang qi?"

Yuan Gang looked doubtful.

Niu Youdao said, "As I understand it, under special conditions, dark matter has a certain capacity to shape things and to be shaped by them. The physical body should possess a shaping effect on dark matter. For example, different cultivation methods adjust the body differently and can create entirely different effects of heat, cold, and all sorts of other phenomena. In reverse, the physical body can also be reshaped by dark matter. Take the werewolves of the West. They should be an example of that sort of reshaping. Old Bear is another example. His transformation between human and bear really isn't fundamentally different from the werewolves of Western legend. Put another way, the werewolves of Western legend are simply the monsters of Eastern legend. Cultivators use breathing and circulation techniques to absorb and shape dark matter. Ordinary people, through normal breathing, also absorb and shape dark matter to some degree. The transformed result should be what the human body calls yang qi. Like the results produced by cultivation, yang qi is also a form of energy. It is one of the energies that supports the operation of a flesh-and-blood body in the world of the living. That's why a person without yang qi is no different from a corpse: some part of the body's motive force has disappeared. Ghosts do not exist in the form of flesh-and-blood bodies, so they cannot generate human yang qi for themselves. Without it, they have difficulty moving freely in the world of the living. So they have to obtain it without working for it—for example, by absorbing yang qi from living humans. I suspect the one watching us has exactly that idea."

Yuan Gang asked, "What's the point? If it's already become a ghost, why keep longing for the world of the living?"

Niu Youdao said, "Think of the phrase 'lonely wandering ghost.' Becoming a ghost is a lonely, desolate thing. But thought and awareness haven't vanished. They continue existing through some form of energetic medium. Imagine watching the bustle and splendor of the human world with your own eyes yet being unable to participate in it, all while still remembering what life was like before. Very few ghosts can resist the temptation of the mortal world."

Yuan Gang asked, "Can't ghosts simply live together in groups?"

"Of course they can. But ghosts are rare to begin with. Not everyone has the necessary conditions to continue existing in that form after death. Even if they gather together, too much concentrated yin energy makes them easy to discover. Cultivators and ritual specialists won't simply ignore something like that. The cultivators scattered throughout different regions collecting spirit herbs, for example, form a kind of net. Once they discover such a gathering, they won't sit by and do nothing. Every species has an instinct to protect its own kind."

[End of Chapter 92]