Flowers of the Departed Souls

By the time they reached Bird Slope, it was already 12:35 AM. They had spent nearly half an hour in the Vulture’s Lair.

At this moment, from a distance, they saw the Bird Slope. The tree branches swayed back and forth in the wind. Under the moonlight, partially obscured by thin clouds, they looked somewhat ghostly. And by this time, the Divine Bird Cult’s ceremony should be almost over. Guangming thought as he walked.

“There’s someone over there,” Luo Yifu whispered.

They quickly darted behind a tree. They saw two masked figures holding guns, standing there, swaying, seemingly on guard. Luo Yifu now had a strong premonition that, besides Luo Xiaofeng and the others being here, the Divine Bird Cult might be holding their assembly here. The bird tomb there, and Zhong Dan’s body buried there in a strange flexed-knee posture—Luo Yifu now thought, how much like a standing bird that posture looked. This was originally a religious ritual, and this ritual was intimately connected to birds. Besides the Divine Bird Cult, who else could it be?

Guangming and two other colleagues, each holding a wooden stick, cautiously circled to the east and west of the masked figures. When they weren’t paying attention, they struck them hard on the head with the sticks. The two masked figures fell down. Guangming removed their masks; they were unfamiliar faces. Then he changed into their clothes and moved the two men into the hidden bushes.

Guangming and another colleague wore the masks, disguising themselves as Divine Bird Cult members, followed by Luo Yifu and two other colleagues. A total of five people, they continued inside. As they reached the entrance of Bird Slope, they faintly heard someone speaking, presumably a resonant voice, carried from the open field. It sounded muffled, and they couldn’t clearly make out what was being said, but they felt even more strongly that the Divine Bird Cult’s assembly was being held here.

Following the sound, they slowly saw a dense crowd of people standing in the large open space. At this moment, the moon once again emerged from the clouds. Now, the sky was clear, and the thin clouds showed signs of gradually dissipating. Tomorrow might be a sunny day, Guangming thought as he looked at the sky.

But then, a large flock of small birds suddenly flew overhead, startling them. They thought they had been discovered by the Divine Bird Cult members, but the small birds chirped and flew towards the open space, then perched on the trees at the edge, watching the people at the assembly, as if they too had come to attend. Luo Yifu found it strange. How were there birds here again? Hadn’t these small birds all disappeared recently?

At this point, they could see the people more clearly. They were all wearing black robes, with very distinct white bird-headed masks on their faces. The masked figure seated on the dragon-carved chair must be the leader of the Divine Bird Cult. Looking at his figure and that complete beast-faced mask, Luo Yifu’s heart pounded violently. She was truly afraid that person would take off his mask. The truth was truly before her. She found herself recoiling, afraid.

The tall “black mountain” man who had forced Guangming to join the cult was reading aloud: “The people must unconditionally obey the will transmitted by the Divine Bird True Lord, and unconditionally dedicate everything, even their lives, at any time…” The people below responded in unison: “You should, the people must unconditionally obey the will transmitted by the Divine Bird True Lord, and unconditionally dedicate everything, even their lives—”

“For those who betray or wish to withdraw, their hearts shall be taken and their skulls buried…”

…

However, they looked left and right but did not see Luo Xiaofeng and the others.

“Let’s go search the surroundings first,” Guangming whispered. Luo Yifu nodded. So the group quietly retreated, beginning to search separately, taking two paths, east and west. Guangming, Xiao Zhao, and Luo Yifu formed one team, and the other two formed another.

Guangming and his team walked into the woods to the east. Vaguely, they seemed to hear muffled groans and struggles. It looked like they were nearby. So, the three followed the sound. Right next to the bird tomb, there were two people, holding shovels or similar objects, filling in sand. Guangming signaled, and the three of them, all holding guns, walked over. “Drop everything, raise your hands, and move to the side.”

The two men dropped their shovels and raised their hands. One tried to resist, but was struck on the head by Guangming with a gun butt and fell down. The other no longer dared to resist. Guangming grabbed a rope from the ground and had Xiao Zhao and Luo Yifu tie them up, stuffing cloth into their mouths.

Then a few people jumped into the pit and strenuously pulled out the two people inside. It was Chi Ziming and Kelou. They were bound with ropes, their eyes covered with black cloth, and their mouths stuffed with towels. But strangely, Luo Xiaofeng was not there.

They untied the ropes and removed the towels. Fortunately, they found them still breathing. They weren’t dead, but both were unconscious and very weak. At this moment, the other two colleagues, unable to find anyone, ran over. Guangming instructed Xiao Zhao and these two colleagues, “Take them back to the city for emergency medical attention immediately.”

“What about you?”

“You go back and take them to the hospital. There are also a few injured colleagues; take them all. Luo Yifu and I will go back to the assembly area to see if they say any important information.”

Meanwhile, Chi Ziming’s breath was weak. Buried under the sand, he finally understood that his method of death was being buried alive. This feeling was no better than that of the previous three guests. He felt he could no longer breathe. That suffocating sensation repeatedly oppressed his lungs, his internal organs. A chaotic ringing appeared in his ears, like a tractor on the verge of falling apart rumbling past. His heart, which had been beating violently, became soft and weak. His consciousness began to blur. He thought, Is he entering the death zone again? Yes, again, endlessly, over and over.

At this moment, he felt himself slowly shedding this weak and heavy shell, his soul, freed from all pain, slowly dissolving.

This feeling was so familiar, yet it filled Chi Ziming with so much dread and unbearable discomfort. It was torture, a complete and utter torture from spirit to flesh, leaving no room for escape. Those who hadn’t experienced it couldn’t comprehend the pain of struggling on the brink of life and death, constantly, nor the lingering and floating while body and spirit simultaneously endured multiple tortures. But he knew, this day, after all, had come.

At this moment, he heard that familiar voice that had appeared countless times in his dreams: “Ziming ge—Ziming ge—you’ve finally come—I’ve been waiting for so long—”

Mist was everywhere; he couldn’t see clearly. He heard Ke’er calling him, but he couldn’t see her.

“Ke’er, where are you?”

The mist slowly dissipated. Ke’er’s silhouette gradually emerged before him. Still a sweet face, a playful expression, now, her face showed more excitement. “You’ve finally returned! I thought I wouldn’t live to see this day.”

Chi Ziming smiled bitterly. “Hmm, I’m back.” He turned and looked at the world after the mist had cleared. It was still so clear and cold, and it stood stubbornly unyielding. “Let’s hurry. How can I get you out of this Realm of Qingxu?”

Ke’er nodded. “Give me the jade yue.”

Chi Ziming took out the jade yue. The jade yue glowed in the shape of a long sword. Ke’er held the jade yue as if grasping a sword. She held her breath and began to dance with the sword. This was the first time Chi Ziming had seen swordsmanship outside of TV and movies. Ke’er danced faster and faster, leaving Chi Ziming dumbfounded. After all, she was an ancient person! That level of skill seemed to have reached a state of unity between human and sword. Perhaps, Ke’er achieved the effect of merging with the sword light, allowing her to leave this place by means of this divine jade light.

However, he felt a mass of green light rushing towards them from inside the ruined city. Because of its speed, it looked like a fireball, and its target was clearly Ke’er.

“Miss Ke’er, be careful!”

The “fireball” reached Ke’er. Ke’er unhesitatingly struck it down, but the thing seemed very agile and dodged Ke’er’s sword. However, the “green fireballs” seemed to increase in number, all flying towards Ke’er. All the “fireballs” seemed to be a type of animal, an ancient, simple parasitic animal. They emitted a strange sound, as if calling out: “You cannot leave, you cannot leave, otherwise, you will be cursed.”

Chi Ziming watched anxiously from the side, unable to help in any way. But this seemed to be just the beginning; it turned out Ke’er’s departure was not as simple as just deciding to leave.

“They are the jade spirits who sealed me inside, who can protect me, but also imprison me, stubbornly unyielding. They’re utterly hateful! Wait, I’ll force them back first, then I’ll enter your magnetic track, and then we’ll leave together. Oh, no—”

She shrieked. It turned out the Departed Soul Flowers had also appeared at this moment. They emerged from nowhere and surged forward like a raging flood. Their spread was incredibly fast, and their frantic speed held an invincible sharpness; they could pass through solid walls and any building. All obstacles seemed nonexistent to them.

At this point, Ke’er’s face changed drastically. “Run!” Chi Ziming shouted, “Where can I run to?”

“Go back quickly! Take out that set of jade rods from my coffin. Only when the jade rods and the jade yue are used together can they unleash boundless power that no space can resist.”

“But how do I go back? And how do I come back after that?”

“I have already opened the divine jade light. After you get the jade rods, immediately find me at Illusion Cliff. The magnetic field there is connected to here. Go quickly!” Ke’er freed one hand and shoved Chi Ziming hard. At this moment, Chi Ziming, jostling in the back seat of the car, regained consciousness from his coma, followed by the physical pain.

His mind was filled with the scenes from that illusory realm. Sometimes, he doubted if these things were all fake, unreal, just a series of dreams he had been having. However, that jade yue had accompanied him for so many days. “Stop the car! Stop! Go back to Luoyang Village quickly! Hurry, it’s urgent!”

Xiao Zhao, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at him in surprise. “You’re awake? What? Go back to Luoyang Village?”

“Yes, go back immediately.”

“Why?” Chi Ziming really couldn’t explain the reason to them at this moment. “This matter is very important. There’s no time. We must go back!”

“But Kelou is still unconscious! His life will be in danger if we don’t get him to the hospital in time!”

Chi Ziming glanced at Kelou beside him, then felt his pulse. It was very weak. “I’ll get out. You take him back to the city, quickly, please.”

They stopped the car and watched Chi Ziming stumble, then desperately run. They shook their heads.