Dongting Immortal Clan

Chen Changhe remained unmoved by Zhou Yefeng's stern words.

Since he dared to come, he must have already thoroughly investigated the Zhou family's background.

The Zhou family's greatest asset was Zhou Yesheng, who served as the grain transport official in Yuezhou. He did have some real power and could command respect from local officials.

But what do all these things matter to him?

He is now a cultivator, and ordinary officials in the mortal world have no say in matters of cultivation.

Just as Chen Changhe was about to say something more,

Suddenly—

A chilling, bone-deep coldness suddenly surged from my tailbone and spread throughout my body in an instant.

A sharp pain shot through my senses, as if countless cold, fine needles were piercing me at the same time!

There was also a malevolent thought, like a maggot clinging to his bone, that wouldn't leave him, as if it wanted to devour him alive and tear him to pieces.

Chen Changhe had experienced this feeling once before, a few years ago, when he was facing the monster beneath the lake.

Chen Changhe was shocked, but his face showed no change.

His gaze swept across the crowd like lightning, quickly settling on the Zhou family.

She was a thin, withered old woman who never uttered a word, only fiddling with a string of greasy prayer beads on her wrist.

The old woman was dressed in a coarse gray-black cloth dress. Her hair was gray and held in place with an ebony hairpin. She was hunched over, her hands folded in front of her, her fingers thin and withered like chicken claws, and her nails long and yellow, as if they hadn't been trimmed in a long time.

Her face was covered in wrinkles, her skin was loose, and she had deep bags under her eyes, but those eyes…

Unlike the murky, dark, and eerily bright appearance of ordinary old women, these eyes were like two bottomless wells.

She stood there, motionless, like a dead person.

The old woman's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. However, Chen Changhe's spiritual sense seemed to "hear" it.

She was saying—

"That brat from the Chen family... he'll die a horrible death!"

"The Chen family...one by one, they all must die!"

"It would be better if they were all dead!"

Chen Changhe felt a chill run down his spine, not from fear, but from the icy aura that instinctively disgusted him.

With a slight thought, Chen Changhe sent a wisp of his spiritual sense toward the old woman. The moment he touched her body, it was as if he had touched a block of ice, so cold that he immediately withdrew his spiritual sense.

He remained outwardly calm, but his heart was churning with emotion.

There's something on this old woman!

Chen Changhe slowly stood up and straightened his robes.

"Master Zhou, since we can't reach an agreement on the land today, let's discuss it another day."

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, then turned and walked towards the courtyard gate.

Seeing this, Chen Yupeng silently sheathed his short sword and followed closely behind.

……

Back home, Chen Changhe sent Chen Yupeng away and went straight to find Old Zhang.

Old Zhang was sitting under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, teasing Zhang Nianci, when he heard familiar footsteps. He was somewhat surprised and asked:

"how?"

"The Zhou family refuses to give an answer?"

"It's looser, but not completely loose."

Chen Changhe sat down on the small stool opposite him and recounted his experience in Zhoujia Village in a low voice. When he mentioned the strange old woman, his voice became even more somber.

"That old widow from the Zhou family?"

Old Zhang frowned, and unconsciously twirled the pipe in his hand.

"Are you talking about Zhou Yefeng's sister-in-law, Zhou Yexing's wife?"

"I don't know, but there was definitely something on her," Chen Changhe said, still shaken.

"What is it?"

"Something very similar to that wisp of evil spirit in Zhoujia Village."

Chen Changhe's voice was low, and his gaze was solemn.

"I couldn't see clearly, I only sensed that it was a hazy gray, like mist, or like something alive, clinging to her body."

"I used my spiritual sense to probe it, and it was very cold, like touching a piece of ice."

Old Zhang was silent for a while, then lit his pipe and took two puffs.

"It sounds like something sinister."

"That old woman you mentioned... I vaguely remember her."

Old Zhang spoke slowly, his tone filled with reminiscence.

"She seems to be surnamed Wu, and she was born in Tongguan Town. She married Zhou Yexing, the eldest son of the Zhou family. Zhou Yexing died early, and she never remarried. She said she wanted to guard the ancestral home and offer incense for the Zhou family."

"Later, at some point, word spread throughout the village that she was knowledgeable about gods and ghosts, could read feng shui, and exorcise evil spirits. Children who were frightened and lost their souls would often seek her out to call back their spirits..."

"She cast a curse on me today."

Chen Changhe's expression turned solemn as he interrupted:

"What a vicious curse!"

"May I die a horrible death, may my Chen family line be cut off!"

Old Zhang's fingers, which were holding the pipe, suddenly paused. He lifted his eyelids, and a hint of surprise flashed in his dim, yellow eyes.

Are you sure?

"My intuition won't lie to me."

Chen Changhe affirmed:

"When she chanted the incantation, the mist around her body also moved, as if it came to life."

Old Zhang placed his pipe on the table, crossed his hands on his knees, and remained silent for a long time.

……

"I never imagined... that the Zhou family would be hiding such a person."

Old Zhang finally spoke, his tone somewhat low:

"First it was the evil spirit, then it's this old woman. Could it be that the evil spirit in the Zhou family was created by her?"

"Very likely."

Chen Changhe nodded.

He suddenly fell silent for a moment, then said something that seemed unrelated:

"Godfather, today when I went there, I suddenly realized something."

"What is it?"

"The difference between immortals and mortals."

Chen Changhe raised his head, looked into Old Zhang's eyes, and spoke calmly.

"I used to think that this meant that cultivators were stronger and more capable than ordinary people, and that they lived longer."

"But only today do I realize that the difference lies in the very nature of the 'Tao'."

"Things that mortals care about—land, money, face, relationships—are all insignificant in the eyes of cultivators."

"If I harbor murderous intent today, no one in Zhoujia Village will escape; it will be easier than crushing a nest of ants."

"The official power and century-old foundation that Zhou Yefeng is so proud of are nothing but a fart in my eyes."

Chen Changhe gently shook his head:

"Let us continue our cultivation for now, and wait until our elder brother achieves his goal and the Chen family becomes more powerful."

"The Zhou family... might actually be able to change their surname to Chen!"

Old Zhang nodded, seemingly agreeing with him, but still offered a word of reminder:

"Since that old woman cursed you today, she must have already set her sights on you."

Even if you don't provoke her, she might still come looking for you.

"This matter requires careful attention and precautions; we must not be careless."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"How could the Zhou family have raised such a bunch of useless bastards!"

"This kid, barely out of school, dares to ride roughshod over the Zhou family!"

After Chen Changhe left, the old sorceress who had been keeping her head down and silent suddenly raised her head, her voice hoarse and sharp, filled with undisguised resentment and venom.

"sister in law……"

Zhou Yefeng shook his head and said:

"Now that Second Brother is not in Yunmeng, it's better to avoid trouble. Why clash head-on with that Chen family lad now?"

"What's so scary!"

The old sorceress snorted coldly, her eyes darting around in their deep-set sockets, and said in a chilling tone:

"That old scoundrel surnamed Zhang has a murderous aura protecting him, so I can't do anything to him. But how old is the Chen family boy? Even if he has been practicing martial arts for a few years, he is just a mortal with a strong blood and qi."

"Perfect, I'll use it to feed my 'Mu'er'."

Her withered fingers stroked the greasy rosary beads, a strange smile spreading across her lips, revealing sparse, yellowed teeth:

"That kid must be hiding something good on him."

"My 'Mu'er' was very restless just now; it wanted... it wanted it so badly that I almost couldn't control it!"

The old sorceress suddenly tilted her head and listened intently, as if listening to something speak. Her voice became unusually soft, carrying a strange kind of loving tenderness.

"Mu'er, be good, Mother knows, Mother knows..."

"Don't worry, Mother will definitely find a way to get what's on that person for you..."

"Don't be anxious, I know you're hungry... Come on, let's go to the ancestral hall to get something to eat first."

Seeing his sister-in-law muttering to herself in this crazy way again, Zhou Yefeng was already used to it.

After her elder brother Zhou Yexing passed away suddenly from an illness, this sister-in-law's mental state deteriorated day by day, and she gradually became like this.

The elder brother had no children, and the elder sister-in-law never remarried.

But who knows what "Mu'er" she keeps repeating is?