“They still haven’t made it back to Heaven’s Origin Academy?” When he heard Zheng Muyao’s report, Su Yi couldn’t help but furrow his brow. Did something delay Lingxue on her way back? Or did something happen to her?

“Go back and tell your father to use the Zheng Family’s power to investigate their boat.” Su Yi said this, then described the passenger ship that Wen Lingxue had boarded six days ago, including its distinctive characteristics and its departure time.

Zheng Muyao had only just entered the House of Waveswept Rocks, and her butt had yet to even warm the seats; she was deeply reluctant to leave so soon. However, when she saw how serious Su Yi’s expression was, she realized the gravity of the situation and scampered off in a hurry, not daring to delay.

“Young Lord, Miss Lingxue has Zhu Guqing, a Grandmaster, to accompany her. There’s no way anything happened to her,” said Cha Jin gently.

“Zhu Guqing’s attainments in the Martial Dao are inferior to even Chang Guoke’s,” said Su Yi. “I couldn’t possibly place all my trust in her.”

“But this is the world of the mundane,” said Cha Jin. “Here, Zhu Guqing’s strength is near the pinnacle. Unless she encounters another comparably mighty Grandmaster, she can surely protect Miss Lingxue.”

Su Yi nodded. “Let’s wait for more information. Hopefully, I worried for nothing.”

As soon as he said this, he heard someone knocking at the front gate—

“Go open the door.”

Cha Jin hurriedly did so, only to see a petite figure in a white, cloud-marked dress, with the immature features of an adolescent. The girl walked right in.

“Young Lord….” Cha Jin was just about to say something when Su Yi arched his brow.

“That’s all I need from you. You can leave for now.”

Cha Jin nodded, then silently left the room. Just now, when she saw that unfamiliar girl, she felt an indescribable terror intimidate her mind and soul. She was too stunned to ask any questions before the girl walked right into the House of Waveswept Rocks.

Who was that? Cha Jin’s beautiful eyes filled with uncertainty. Don’t tell me that was an Earthly Immortal?

This possibility startled even her. How could an Earthly Immortal appear here, in the Imperatorial Provincial Capital? I bet that woman was just some incredibly strong Grandmaster.

As Cha Jin thought this, she pricked up her ears and strained to listen.

“I only just left Heaven’s Origin Academy today at noon, yet you’ve already come looking for me tonight? What’s this about?” Su Yi sat in his room, as if all of this were perfectly ordinary, staring at the woman with the countenance of a young girl.

“Fellow Daoist, I’m sure you noticed the mysterious phenomenon that took place tonight too?” Ning Sihua casually sat off to the side.

She had a highly distinctive temperament—detachment from worldly affairs combined with the innocence and immaturity of a young girl. It was a bewitching but inhuman combination.

“Strange phenomenon?” Su Yi instantly seemed enlightened. He exclaimed. “I sensed it. Are you here because you suspect I provoked it?”

Ning Sihua shook her head and smiled. “How could I be so ignorant? A phenomenon like that might not appear even once in tens of thousands of years. Never mind someone of your cultivation, not even an Origin Dao cultivator could possibly accomplish such a feat.”

“You think?” Su Yi laughed too. “That’s not necessarily the case.”

“Fellow Daoist, it seems you know something?” Ning Sihua asked with great interest.

“Are you here to request my guidance?” asked Su Yi flatly.

Ning Sihua was the palace master of Heaven’s Origin Academy. Had anyone else dared ask her such a thing, she would have turned her nose up in disdain, or possibly taught them how to behave themselves. 

But facing Su Yi, she didn’t feel the least bit offended; she could tell at a glance that she and Su Yi “walked the same path.”

Her voice was clear and pleasing, like the music of the heavens. “I came here precisely because I’m confused about the phenomenon I just witnessed. If you’d be generous enough to impart your wisdom, I’ll naturally give you my full attention.”

Su Yi picked up his teacup and took a sip. “But why should I instruct you?

Ning Sihua was briefly stunned. She blinked, then said, “Just take it… Just take it as me owing you a favor. How about it?”

Su Yi smiled. “Do you remember what I said today as I left Heaven’s Origin Academy?”

Ning Sihua’s expression went a bit strange. “Fellow Daoist, are you still nursing a grudge over what happened when we sparred?”

Su Yi glanced intently at her. “It was just one attack, but it was enough to make you realize that even if you went all out, you couldn’t necessarily keep me here. That doesn’t count as ‘acting with good intentions.’ Don’t you think I ought to carry a grudge?” 

Ning Sihua took a deep breath, then clasped her fist. “I truly acted out of turn today, and I humbly request your magnanimity.”

Su Yi laughed. “You’re the lofty and esteemed Heaven’s Origin Palace Master. Why act like this? When we find the chance, you can just take one of my attacks; that’ll be plenty.”

Ning Sihua didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; she wouldn’t have guessed someone like Su Yi would care so much about such a minor incident.

Still, when she thought about it, she realized that she really had acted in poor faith, which made it difficult to argue with him.

“How about this? Down the line, whenever you wish to spar, I’ll accompany you to the bitter end. Worst case scenario, I get beaten up.” Ning Sihua laughed and relented. 

Su Yi decided to quit while he was ahead. “Enough, never mind that. I do know a little about tonight’s strange phenomenon, but I’m afraid I cannot divulge its secrets.”

“Why is that?” Ning Sihua furrowed her delicate brow.

“‘Why’? There is no ‘why’. Do you need a reason for everything?” asked Su Yi. “Then can you tell me whether you’re a yao so ancient, you’ve forgotten how long you’ve lived? Or whether there’s something unique about your bloodline’s innate talent?”

Ning Sihua fell silent for a moment, then laughed and asked right back, “And you, Fellow Daoist? Are you some old devil living by possessing another’s body? Or a banished immortal who fell from the heavens?”

Before Su Yi could respond, she continued, “When a secret involves my private matters, I won’t share it, and neither will you. Nonetheless, during our first meeting, we each realized that there was something different about the other. That’s why I recognized you as a like-minded individual.

She looked up and met Su Yi’s gaze. “And I hope that you can tell that I have good intentions. After all, in this mundane realm, people like us are extremely rare. I won’t keep it from you; I’ve traveled the Great Zhou for the past thirty years, searching all its mountains and waters, but you are the first and only fellow Daoist I’ve encountered.”  

Su Yi was stunned. “Have you been searching for your ‘fellow Daoists’ all this time? What for?”

Ning Sihua sighed. “To prepare for what is to come. To the best of my knowledge, although the Azure Continent is pitifully barren, and although almost no transmission of lofty principles exists here, it’s absolutely not as simple as it appears.”

She paused, then looked at Su Yi. “Take the Great Zhou’s Eight Great Yao Mountains. Each hides an enormous secret. I’ve only searched three, but without exception, I encountered eerie and unusual dangers. The peril was so great that I had no choice but to turn back.”

Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up; this was his first time hearing about something like this. “Just what kind of eerie situation are we talking about?”

“Take the Ten Thousand Poisons Yao Mountain in the west of the Great Zhou. It has a blood-colored swamp in which white bones sink and float back up to the surface. Malevolent mists fill the air, and thunder and lightning intercross. I once ventured inside, only to happen upon a sacrificial altar carved with strange totems of birds and beasts. Snowy-white skulls were piled up on its surface, an offering….”

When she said this, Ning Sihua’s eyes filled with strange light. “I merely glanced at it once from a great distance, but I felt a strange and formless power shake my heart and soul. I used a certain secret method to just barely retain a thread of awareness and fled at once.

“If you ask me, not even a Xiantian Martial Ancestor could hold their own in the face of such a strange and formless power. I suspect it would be perilous even for an Origin Dao cultivator.”

When he heard this, Su Yi couldn’t help but look curious. “This is actually rather interesting. For there to be places so perilous somewhere so spiritually barren really is out of the ordinary.”

Ning Sihua said with a laugh, “Fellow Daoist, if you’re interested, we can find some time to explore them together.”

Su Yi shook his head. “If the time comes that I can no longer make any further advances in my cultivation, I might consider it.”

He paused, then asked, “What strange places did you encounter at the other two yao mountains you visited?”

Ning Sihua didn’t hide it; she went on to explain in detail.

The northernmost reaches of the Great Zhou were a land of extreme chill bordering waters perpetually coated in ice and snow—the Dark Sea, which was so vast, it seemed infinite.

A mountain floated on the surface of the icy waters, the Silverflame Yao Mountain. It wasn’t overly large, but it included a deep and inscrutable underground cave, like a passageway into the deepest recesses of the abyss.

Ning Sihua had once ventured three thousand feet in, where she discovered a massive labyrinth. It was built almost like a beehive, with countless paths branching through it.

When she tried to investigate its mysteries, less than fifteen minutes passed before she encountered a group of mummies in worn bronze armor. All of them emanated sinister and imposing auras, and they struck with enough power to effortlessly slay a Grandmaster.

At the time, Ning Sihua fled without hesitation.

It wasn’t fear, but rather an awareness that even if she slew the strange, ancient mummies, she’d encounter similar dangers further along the path. 

Ning Sihua called this place “the Corpse Cellar.”

And in the northwest of the empire, there was a perilous land so famous, its name shook the entire nation—

“Treasure Temple Yao Mountain.” This mountain was extremely vast, stretching across a thousand miles. On it, you encountered spirit beasts wherever you went.

Ning Sihua had once ventured deep inside, where she saw dilapidated ruins, which seemed like a long-abandoned, grand Buddhist temple. 

Every time night fell, illusory black lotuses appeared over the ruins, swaying in the skies. There were thousands of them, accompanied by the faint chanting of sutras, the sound as terrifying as the howling of wolves or wailing of ghosts. 

One night, Ning Sihua gazed upon the ruins from afar. Yao qi soared into the heavens, and from time to time, indistinct figures shuttled through the darkness, like a sinister parade of a hundred ghosts.

After hearing all this, Su Yi found himself in a bit of a trance.

The Ten Thousand Poisons Yao Mountain had a blood-colored swamp and mysterious altar covered in offerings of white bones….

The Silverflame Yao Mountain had an underground “Corpse Cellar”, its layout as complex and convoluted as a spider’s web. Furthermore, mummified corpses wandered its depths…

And the Treasure Temple Yao Mountain’s ruins gave rise to sinister black lotuses and unearthly chanting at night….

Hearing all of this at once, it seemed incredibly mysterious.

Were this the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, it wouldn’t have been all that strange. After all, that was a vast realm of cultivation, with too many strange and sinister lands to count.

But for a worldly, mundane place like the Azure Continent to contain so many danger zones was out of the ordinary!

百鬼夜行, Hyakki Yagyō, or the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons” is a Japanese concept dating back to the 13th century Uji Shūi Monogatari, so I’m somewhat amused to see it here. It’s definitely the same term; it’s got the same characters in the same order and everything.

That said, given the term’s long history and the popularity of Japanese pop culture in modern China, I’m not that surprised either, haha. 

Here’s an animated version of it from “Pom Poko”, although the one Ning Sihua is describing doesn’t take place in a modern Japanese metropolis.