Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 146 The Sea of ​​Decay
The next day at dawn, the mountains on both sides became increasingly rugged.

The trees were sparse and withered due to the drought, their scorched yellow leaves curled up and hanging on the bare branches, occasionally blown off by the dry wind, swirling down.

Throughout the journey, deathly silence was the only theme.

As dusk fell, the two crossed a bare mountain ridge, and a breathtaking view suddenly opened up before them.

A colossal city, like a primordial beast lying dormant on the vast, cracked earth.

The city wall stands tall, built of huge dark blue-green stone blocks, its surface mottled and marked by the vicissitudes of time.

The walls are topped with jagged battlements, and watchtowers stand at intervals, while copper bells hanging from the eaves sway gently in the evening breeze.

We've arrived at Hongnong Prefecture!
Beneath the city walls lay a vast number of rotting corpses, killed by arrows.

Half a mile away, there was a dark mass of people—a camp for refugees.

The tent was propped up with tattered cloth and straw mats, crooked and slanted, like a festering sore on the earth.

Countless figures slowly crawled through the area, while many more collapsed directly into the dust, huddled together with garbage, filth, and even the silent dead.

A pungent stench, a mixture of decay, excrement, and despair, wafted through the air, nauseating all who heard it.

Most of them had vacant eyes, their faces were withered with only a thin layer of skin taut against their bones, and their breathing was weak, like mosquitoes in late autumn, waiting for their last bit of strength to be drained.

This was no longer a crowd; it was clearly a sea of ​​living corpses slowly rotting and about to wither away completely.

The old Taoist priest Songfeng felt a chill run down his spine, his lips trembled, and he murmured in a low voice, "Amitabha... This, this is simply hell on earth!"

Having cultivated himself for many years and considered himself accustomed to poverty, the scene before him still shook him to his core. A sense of sorrow and anger choked in his throat, turning into a silent sigh.

Qi Yun paused and gazed into the distance, his face calm and composed, except for his deep, cold eyes, which reflected this human tragedy, like two pieces of frozen ice.

After a long silence, he finally managed to squeeze out two words through gritted teeth, chillingly cold: "Let's go."

By the time the two had truly approached Hongnong Prefecture, it was already completely dark.

A string of torches lit up the city wall, their flickering light outlining the stiff silhouettes of the guards patrolling back and forth, like a silent shadow play.

The towering iron gates were tightly shut, dividing the city into two distinct yet equally cruel worlds.

They passed through the area inhabited by refugees.

The ground was muddy and filthy, and one had to constantly avoid human figures curled up on the ground.

In the darkness, extremely faint groans could be heard, along with... a chilling, subtle chewing sound.

No one looked up at them; all their vitality seemed to have been exhausted, leaving only the most instinctive struggle to survive.

Songfeng couldn't bear to look any longer, turned his head away, quickened his pace, and just wanted to leave this land abandoned by gods and Buddhas as soon as possible.

Finally approaching the base of the city wall, the shadows swallowed the two figures.

Song Feng took a breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and asked in a low voice, "Daoist, what is the purpose of our risky journey to Hongnong?"

Qi Yun glanced at the firelight of the patrol on the city wall, "Let's go and meet that prefect."

"The Prefect?" Song Feng was taken aback. "The Taoist priest intends to assassinate you?"

"We'll see," Qi Yun said, his tone unchanged. "Let's 'borrow' something first."

Do you know the location of his residence?

Song Feng frowned in thought, then shook his head: "This humble Taoist does not know its exact location."

However, since ancient times, the east has been considered the most prestigious, and government officials' residences were mostly located in the eastern part of the city.

"Just head east into the city, find the most prestigious and heavily guarded mansion, and you'll most likely find it." Qi Yun nodded: "Alright. Since you don't know martial arts, wait in a secluded spot outside the city."

I'll come back as soon as I go. "

Songfeng knew he would be a burden if he went along, and despite his worries, he could only bow solemnly and say, "Daoist Master, please be careful in everything you do!"

Qi Yun said no more, lowered his body, and like melting ink, silently disappeared.

Under the cover of night, they sped across the arrow-strewn terrain.

He selected a corner of the city wall, where the bricks were old and slightly weathered.

Above, a group of soldiers patrolled by carrying torches, their footsteps and the clanging of armor fading into the distance.

Just as the sound was about to fade away, Qi Yun moved.

With a light touch of his toes on the barely perceptible protrusion of the wall bricks, he soared into the air like an owl, making no sound.

As the upward momentum was about to end, the five fingers of the left hand, like hooks, precisely gripped a crack in the brickwork, using the force to suspend the body, pressing it tightly against the wall, and the breath was reduced to almost imperceptible.

As the footsteps of another patrol of soldiers echoed from the inner wall, passed by, and faded into the distance, he used his waist and abdomen to propel himself up the rampart like a reversed bow.

He then immediately jumped off from the other side.

When you land, your knees bend slightly, which dissipates all the force, just like a leaf touching the ground.

Although it was only a short time after nightfall, Hongnong City was already deathly silent.

The streets were wide, but every household had its doors and windows tightly shut, and there were no lights. Only the weak echo of the night watchman's clapper reverberated, making the surroundings seem even more desolate and empty.

Spiderwebs covered the eaves, and garbage piled up at the street corner, creating a desolate and dilapidated scene.

Occasionally, squads of soldiers would patrol by, carrying torches and lanterns, their footsteps echoing far across the empty streets, their wary eyes sweeping over every dark corner.

Qi Yun moved through the shadows like a ghost, avoiding the main streets and choosing only narrow alleys and dark corners, speeding towards the east of the city.

The further east you go, the cleaner the streets become, and the more grand mansions appear, but the deathly stillness remains.

Qi Yun stopped in front of a high-walled compound.

The mansion before us has a tall, imposing vermilion gate, ferocious stone lions, and lanterns hanging above the gate that are lit up, displaying the words "Li Mansion".

Inside and outside the mansion walls, sentries and checkpoints were everywhere, and patrol teams came one after another. Torches illuminated the surroundings as bright as day, and the security was so tight that it was almost impossible to pass through.

Qi Yunyin hid at the entrance of a narrow, dark alley across the street, his eyes flashing like lightning as he quickly scanned the defensive layout, pondering a way to infiltrate.

Just then, a patrol of five soldiers arrived at the alley entrance, glanced inside as usual, and continued on their way.

Just as the last soldier in the column passed the alleyway, in the darkness, Qi Yun's "Nine Netherworld Silk Seal," which he had already quietly condensed, moved at will, his index finger pointing forward almost imperceptibly!
An invisible, dark thread shot out and instantly pierced the soldier's acupoint in the back of his heart!

The soldier froze instantly, his pupils dilated, and an overwhelming sense of coldness and stiffness overwhelmed all his senses and ability to move. He couldn't even utter a sound and was about to fall backward.

Almost at the same moment, a long, powerful hand with distinct knuckles silently emerged from the darkness at the alley entrance.

With a quick inward flick of his fingers, he dragged the still-fallen body deep into the alley.

The whole process was extremely fast, and apart from a slight ripple in the air, there was no other trace.

The team ahead remained oblivious and continued moving forward at their pace.

In the darkness, Qi Yun quickly stripped off the soldier's uniform, armor, and helmet and put them on himself; the size was barely a good fit.

Just as they were dressed, the leader of the team seemed to sense something, paused slightly, listened intently, and suddenly frowned.

The number of footsteps behind me seems wrong!
(End of this chapter)