Chapter 36 Chapter 36

Chapter 36

1

Inside the towering ancestral hall, two thick, straight stone pillars stood tall and imposing. Lin Chenxin walked over and, working up her nerve, walked around them.

The surface was carved with intricate patterns, but the pillars were too tall, and with only flickering candlelight around, you couldn't make out what was carved in the dim light.

Lin Chenxin picked up a red candle and cautiously held it up to the pillar. Suddenly, her pupils dilated, and she stumbled back, startled.

A massive dragon head loomed over her from above.

Its eyes, as big as fists, were bright and fierce, with a hint of menace in their majesty, like some creature hiding in the dark.

She caught her breath. She tentatively circled to the back of the pillar and, sure enough, saw a phoenix in flight.

A chill ran up her spine. She looked up at the towering pillar, her heart pounding hard.

The dragon-and-phoenix pillar stood for harmony between yin and yang, a perfect match, and also meant many kids and good fortune for the family.

But long ago, it also stood for the emperor's power.

She felt like she couldn't breathe, stumbling back a few steps before gasping for air.

From the moment she stepped in, her chest had felt heavy and tight, and now it was even worse.

She gripped the red candle, clinging to the little comfort it gave her.

Once her heart calmed down, she took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and touched the cold, hard pillar.

As her fingers traced the dragon and phoenix intertwined, the heavy feeling got worse.

Fighting off the creeping dread, she ran her hands over every spot she could reach, but found nothing.

She frowned and quickly pulled her hand back.

Then, she turned to the other pillar in the dark, walked over with the flickering red candle, and hesitantly reached out and touched it.

A bone-chilling cold instantly seeped into her.

She closed her eyes, walked all the way around it, and finally felt a tiny lock.

Her eyes brightened, and she immediately held up the red candle for a closer look.

It was so tiny you'd miss it if you weren't looking carefully.

But she didn't have a key to open it.

She looked around, then locked her eyes on the metal candlestick in her hand, her eyes gleaming.

A loud banging echoed through the quiet, dim hall.

Lin Chenxin hit it hard, bending the candlestick in her hand. She threw it aside and grabbed another.

Breathing fast, her eyes on the lock burned unusually bright, like two flames.

After smashing three candlesticks in a row, the sturdy little lock finally came off.

A crack appeared in the dragon on the pillar.

She tossed the lock on the ground. Her hand was scraped, beading with blood, but she didn't care, reached inside and pulled out a scroll.

It had the words "Records of the Noble Houses" carved on it.

She took a deep breath. Her fingers were shaking from the effort, and she frowned and unrolled the scroll with trembling hands.

The first line was a date.

It was the day the family tree started.

She focused her mind and read on, the candlelight dancing in her eyes. As she grasped the contents, her pupils shrank, and her face turned pale.

This scroll chronicled the thousand-year history of the Chen family, and also told a terrifying tale.

—

A thousand years ago, endless warfare had plunged the people into misery.

The Chen family, as wealthy local gentry, were kind and generous, often aiding the starving refugees.

But a sudden natural disaster struck, leaving the land barren for miles around. Even the Chen family had to ration their food, barely able to sustain themselves.

Yet those they had once helped, instead of showing gratitude, stormed their mansion, looting and killing.

Forced to flee, the hundred-plus family members were reduced to a dozen frail elders and children after the brutal struggle, all huddling together in a small thatched hut in the wilderness to survive.

War had awakened humanity's savagery. Before long, corpses littered the fields, and stray dogs fought over them as a common sight. The starving people even resorted to swapping children for food.

Looking around, rotting flesh and decaying bodies made the land a living hell.

It was in this dire, hopeless situation that the Chen family's old patriarch hanged himself, offering his flesh to his descendants.

The youngest child in the Chen family was barely a month old.

The family wept bitterly as they held the dried, meager meat.

Just then, someone knocked on their door.

Suppressing their grief, the Chen family opened the door to find a gaunt itinerant sorcerer sitting against the wall, his lips cracked and dry, weakly asking for a cup of water.

But in this famine, where could water be found?

Unable to bear seeing the sorcerer die on their doorstep, the Chen family fed him the old patriarch's blood.

The sorcerer drank it as if it were sweet nectar, gulping down the bowl without stopping, even licking the last drops clean.

After that bowl of blood, the sorcerer seemed reborn, his eyes clear and bright, astonishing the Chen family, who feared he might summon a mount and ride off into the clouds.

The sorcerer asked, "I heard weeping inside earlier. What has happened?"

At this, the Chen family wept again.

The old patriarch's wife was nearly blind from crying.

They recounted their family's ordeal, tearfully telling the sorcerer that what he had just drunk was the old patriarch's blood.

Hearing this, the sorcerer was greatly shocked.

He had never imagined there could be such virtuous people in the world.

The itinerant sorcerer immediately rose, solemnly brushing the dust off his tattered robes, and asked to light a stick of incense for the old master.

The Chen family naturally agreed.

The old master, who had bled and carved off his own flesh, was now nothing but a terrifying skeleton covered in wood ash. They dared not let the scent of blood drift out, nor could they bury his remains. Sadly, the Chens didn't even have a ragged mat to cover him, leaving his bones exposed inside the house.

The itinerant sorcerer, with a grave expression, pulled three incense sticks out of his tattered sleeve like a magician. He rubbed his fingers together, and the tips sparked into flame.

He held the incense above his head and gave a deep, respectful bow.

The Chens sobbed their hearts out beside him, their wails could make even a stone Buddha cry.

The itinerant sorcerer looked over the room filled with the old, the young, and the infirm, and let out a long sigh.

“What goes around comes around. Since I have received the grace of the old master’s flesh and blood, why should I be afraid to shed this skin and bones?”

Hearing this, the Chens turned their tearful eyes toward him.

The sorcerer, as if he'd seen through it all, sat down cross-legged on the ground, looking carefree, and let out a hearty laugh.

Soon, his expression turned serious as he asked the Chens if they wanted to get back their old glory.

The Chens' eyes lit up, and they stared at him hard.

But the itinerant sorcerer continued, “This will take a huge sacrifice and could lead to total ruin. Yet it can bring the Chen family prosperity and glory, even being second only to the emperor.”

Hearing his confident tone, the Chens' chests heaved violently, their eyes glowing red, looking like starving wolves.

At that moment, a man stepped forward and said, “The Chen family has never done harm to anyone, yet we’ve fallen to this state. My brother died at the hands of villains and was devoured. I'm the head of the Chen family. If there are consequences, I'll take them!”

The rest of the old, weak, and young folks stood behind him, their eyes locked on the sorcerer, clearly backing him and agreeing to his call.

The itinerant sorcerer asked, “If you have to sacrifice one of your sons to take on the whole family's bad luck, and this burden will go on for your descendants forever, are you willing?”

The man froze, hesitating.

He could decide to sacrifice himself, but when it came to his kids, he couldn't just say yes.

Seeing this, the itinerant sorcerer swept his gaze over the crowd and said calmly, “Your Chen family's luck has run out. In three days, not one of your clan will be left.”

The Chens were stunned, terror on their faces.

The man clenched his fists, his eyes red.

“You're talking nonsense, sorcerer! My Chen family has been virtuous for generations, once hung a plaque that said 'Do Good and Accumulate Virtue.' How could we be wiped out, with no one left?”

The itinerant sorcerer merely shook his head and said no more.

“I've laid out the risks for you. You only need to make a decision.”

With that, the sorcerer closed his eyes.

The man staggered, his face white as a ghost.

He could never bring himself to sacrifice a kid from the clan.

“I will do it.”

Suddenly, a woman holding a baby in a blanket came out of the house.

She was thin and pale, with a white cloth on her head, but her eyes were sharp as cold stars.

The itinerant sorcerer opened his eyes and looked at the woman stepping forward from the crowd.

“Sister-in-law!” the man gasped in shock.

The woman stood before the itinerant sorcerer and said plainly, “Tell me, immortal, what do we need to do to change the Chen family's fate.”

The sorcerer's bright eyes locked on the woman, then on the baby in her arms. After a long pause, he closed his eyes and sighed.

“It's the times, it's fate.”

When he opened his eyes again, the sorcerer looked like he'd aged ten years.

“This is dark magic.”

As the sorcerer's faint voice rang out, the man's expression shifted drastically, and he immediately looked at the woman.

But the woman only gazed calmly at the sorcerer.

“One child will bear the burden of all evils, becoming the Scourge Lord. At the end of each month, they'll feel bugs gnawing at their bones. The Scourge Lord can't have children, and their job is to protect the whole clan. They won't live past thirty.” The sorcerer looked at the woman.

“My youngest son can take on this duty.”

The woman showed the swaddled baby to the sorcerer.

Strangely, in this famine where everyone was starving and skin and bones, this baby had a rosy face and was unusually fair and chubby.

At that moment, he was sucking his fingers, sleeping peacefully, unaware of the world's cruelty or the weight on him.

The woman originally had two sons and a daughter, but they all died in the looting and were long eaten by others. Now, only this youngest son was left in the Chen family.

“So be it,” the sorcerer said softly.

The woman was one who could bear great responsibility—calm enough, decisive enough, and ruthless enough.

The man's face was already white as paper, and he dared not utter a word.

“But from now on, the firstborn son of every generation's family head must bear the duty of the Scourge Lord. This method has no solution. Are you willing?”

The woman turned to look at the man.

She could no longer bear children, so when the man married and had sons in the future, he would have to take on the role of family head.

Meeting the woman's gaze and feeling the earnest looks behind him, the man closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and trembled from head to toe.

After a long time, he spoke in a hoarse voice, as if spitting blood.

“I am willing.”

The sorcerer let out a sigh. Soon, his eyes shone with a bright light, and his face grew solemn.

“Now, here is a warning for you.”

The man forced himself to listen attentively.

“This method has no solution, but prosperity must decline—that is the way of heaven. You must never commit heinous acts, nor covet power and wealth.”

The sorcerer's eyes gleamed with light, making it impossible for anyone to meet his gaze.

The Chen family didn't dare refuse, nodding repeatedly in agreement, even vowing to inscribe this decree into the family genealogy.

The itinerant sorcerer’s expression remained cold, not saying a word.

He gazed at the swaddled infant, his tone gentle.

“The Scourge Lord bears the clan’s bad karma with a mortal body. I hope you will treat him kindly, respectfully, and with love, and not regard him as an outcast.”

The man quickly nodded.

Of course he wouldn't.

“If any of the above is violated, backlash will surely follow. The Scourge Lord’s life will not exceed thirty years, and a new heir must be born before his fall to ensure the Chen family’s prosperity lasts forever.”

With these final words, the itinerant sorcerer looked like he'd lost half his life force, his temples now streaked with white hair.

The room fell silent for a long time. The woman, her eyes clear and resolute, handed over the infant.

“Please, immortal one, do the ritual.”