Chapter 92: Attending the Wedding Banquet (Part One)

On an autumn night in Greenfish Town, a stone marker at a distant crossroads still stood upright, bearing the warning that the road ahead was blocked and reminding passersby of the danger beyond.

In front of a thatched hut on the rise, a fire had been kindled.

Fang Yue and Fang Baoliang sat before it.

Fang Baoliang was a man of few words, glancing now and then toward the stone marker.

Fang Yue, meanwhile, was focused on roasting several fish. Greenfish Town lay by the sea, and the townspeople made their living by fishing, so fish were the one thing they never lacked.

With the night long and endless, Fang Yue had sent for a large haul of fresh fish and intended to roast them slowly, one by one.

Under the firelight, the fish flesh gave off a tempting fragrance, its golden tenderness enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

"They’re done. Have one."

Fang Yue handed one of the roasted fish to Fang Baoliang.

Fang Baoliang took the wooden skewer in silence and ate.

Fang Yue also picked up one and bit into it. The flesh was crisp and tender, richly fragrant, leaving a lingering taste that stirred the appetite.

Over this stretch of time, Fang Yue had gained some understanding of Fang Baoliang’s bodily mutation.

To say nothing of anything else, his physical condition had been improving at a startling pace, far beyond that of ordinary men.

The hard qi technique Fang Yue had taught him, Fire-Iron Body, had been mastered in less than a month. It was practically as if he had been cheating.

One had to know that for an ordinary martial artist, mastering such a hard-body art would take at least several years of bitter training.

During that time, Fang Yue had also let him choose an internal art to learn.

From Azure Jade Skill, Flying Bear Skill, and Fire Cloud Skill, Fang Baoliang had chosen Flying Bear Skill to cultivate.

In truth, Fang Yue had hoped he would choose Fire Cloud Skill. Though that internal art lacked the later innate portion, it was still a method that could lay the foundation for reaching the innate realm, and was far superior to the other two.

But Fang Baoliang seemed rather resistant to fire-based arts.

Fang Yue did not force the matter and taught him Flying Bear Skill instead.

As expected, Fang Baoliang’s progress in internal cultivation was likewise astonishingly fast.

He had only been training for a month, yet his inner qi already matched what Fang Yue had attained when his Enlightenment Fist had reached the second level.

Fang Yue estimated that in less than half a year, he should be able to refine himself to the limit of the acquired realm.

So this time, he had brought him along to let him see ghosts and monsters for himself.

As for these ghosts and monsters, Fang Yue had more or less figured out their origins. They were not spreading over from the county town.

Rather, they were born from the resentment of those who had died in Greenfish Town during the coastal raider invasion.

This greatly relieved Fang Yue. So long as the ghosts and monsters from the county were not spreading on a large scale, these newly born things remained within the scope of what he could handle.

Fang Baoliang was someone he had nurtured, meant to help guard Fishhead Town in his absence and deal with the occasional stray ghost or monster that might appear.

Though Fang Baoliang had not yet reached the innate realm, his bodily mutation made Fang Yue feel he was capable of handling ordinary ghosts and monsters.

Or rather, sometimes Fang Yue even felt that Fang Baoliang himself was already much like an ordinary ghost.

This time, bringing him here was an experiment.

...

Deep into the night, the world fell quiet.

Fang Yue roasted the fish at an unhurried pace. When one was done, he gave it to Fang Baoliang and ate the remaining two himself.

Fang Baoliang sat there, adding firewood to the blaze now and then, occasionally casting a glance toward the distant crossroads.

Both men had prodigious appetites. By midnight, they had each eaten many roasted fish, yet felt no trace of fullness, as if their stomachs were bottomless pits; what went in was quickly digested away.

"They’re here."

Fang Baoliang, who had been silent for a long while, glanced at the crossroads and suddenly spoke.

Fang Yue nodded and continued roasting his fish. These few were nearly done; it would be a waste to stop now.

Before this, the two had been suppressing their auras, appearing to be nothing more than two strong, ordinary men.

To ghosts and monsters, such men were excellent bait.

Fang Yue once again handed a finished fish to Fang Baoliang. Fang Baoliang froze for a moment, but still accepted the wooden skewer.

He did not eat, only kept looking toward the crossroads.

The sounds of horns and suona reeds had already drifted over from afar, brimming with festive cheer.

But in the deep dead of night, that cheer became eerie and chilling.

By the time Fang Yue calmly finished his two fish, the wedding procession had nearly reached the foot of the rise.

Fang Yue set down the skewer, stood up, and walked to the slope’s edge.

Below the rise, the bridal procession was led by musicians in red wedding robes, blowing horns and suona reeds with all their might to create a lively, jubilant atmosphere.

In the middle were sedan bearers in the same red attire, carrying a bright scarlet bridal sedan chair that swayed as they walked.

Beside the sedan was not a matchmaker, but an old man following along.

Behind them came a group of wedding guests whose faces could not be made out.

Fang Baoliang quietly tightened his grip on the blade in his hand, watching Fang Yue and waiting for the signal to strike together.

After studying the procession for a while, Fang Yue frowned, then slowly shook his head, indicating that they should not act yet. The key specter was not here.

According to what Yuan Zhixing had said, ghosts and monsters were divided into two kinds: one was the spirit formed from the resentment of heaven and earth, which generally preferred to remain where it was born and did not like roaming about.

The other was the monster formed from the ferocity of heaven and earth, in other words, a demon beast, and those rather liked to wander.

The county town had accumulated mostly resentment, so what had formed there ought to be mostly ghosts. Fang Yue had originally worried that they might spread to Fishhead Town.

But for now, it seemed Yuan Zhixing’s words had been confirmed.

A stone in Fang Yue’s heart finally fell away. Although ghosts were not completely incapable of wandering elsewhere, with this habit of theirs, Fishhead Town was much safer.

The key specter in this wedding procession was not present. It was probably still waiting in its lair for this procession to lead prey back to it.

"Above, the two fellow townsmen—meeting is fate. Today is the joyous day of my daughter’s wedding. Please, both of you, come down and drink a cup of wedding wine."

The old man below called up to the two men on the rise.

Fang Yue said, "It is indeed quite the fate. We would be glad to come—though should we bring a gift? And if so, how much would be proper?"

The old man waved his hand. "No, no, no gift is needed. We’re all fellow townsmen here. As long as you come, that is enough."

"Very well."

Fang Yue smiled. "Then I shall trouble you, old sir."

He went down the slope first and joined the procession.

Fang Baoliang had no choice but to follow.

The two mixed into the crowd at the back and went with the wedding procession.

The horns and suona reeds never ceased, and the musicians were full of breath.

Within the line, Fang Yue observed the "people" around him. No matter how he looked, he could not make out their faces.

He shook his head. These "people" might have no faces to begin with.

They simply walked on in silence with the procession.

After what seemed like an hour, the wedding party finally arrived before a grand mansion hung with lanterns and festooned with bright decorations.

Fang Yue looked around. This was barren countryside, yet a large estate had suddenly appeared here. It was indeed strange.

He observed the mansion from outside for a while, but saw nothing.

"Not having entered the innate realm yet, I am still a creature of flesh and eyes. Even if I know this is false, I cannot see through it."

With that thought, Fang Yue led Fang Baoliang into the estate.

This was the scene he had seen in the bronze mirror. The key specter was hidden here.

After entering the gate, several banquet tables had already been set in the courtyard, with guests whose faces were difficult to discern seated sparsely around them.

Fang Yue casually found a table and sat down. One guest was already seated there.

That guest sat there stiffly and blankly. There was no expression to be seen, because it had no face at all.

Fang Baoliang also took the seat beside Fang Yue and stared at the faceless guest.