The sound of墨川's voice had barely faded when a series of loud roars echoed from the depths of the pond. Subsequently, the water's surface began to churn, its ripples growing larger until waves crashed against the shore.
"Damn it! Old Zhang! Pull back!" 墨川 grabbed 苏月卿, pulling her away from the bank and into the cave.
The once-calm pond grew increasingly turbulent. 墨川 watched intently as the small island in the center of the pond began to grow, bit by bit.
"That's not an island!"
Before 墨川 could finish speaking, the so-called "small island" revealed its true form—a colossal turtle shell, with numerous "small" turtles clinging to it.
A giant tortoise's head, adorned with short horns, emerged from the water. Illuminated by the setting sun and reflected light from the pond, 墨川 could clearly discern the dark green scales on its neck and chin, its bright yellow markings, and a few grey scars.
The tortoise opened its enormous eyes, each larger than both 墨川 and 张翰山 combined. Its ink-black pupils fixed upon the retreating figures of 墨川 and his companions.
"Little one... you've come to see me? ...And brought two humans?"
The voice was ancient and calm, tinged with a hint of confusion and curiosity. This giant tortoise was clearly a venerable demonic beast, possessing strength of at least the eighth-tier.
"Grandpa Jiang, these are my friends. They have something they wish to ask you," 苏月卿 said. Though she had known them for less than a day, influenced by 墨霏's charm and her own innocent nature, 苏月卿, who had few friends, had already come to regard 墨川 and the others as such.
"Greetings, Senior Jiang," 墨川 said after careful consideration. "We have come to inquire about a terrifying aura emanating from the east."
The giant tortoise's expression shifted almost imperceptibly. "Little one," it spoke with a touch of surprise, "you haven't even reached the third tier, have you? How were you able to sense that faint aura?"
"I heard about it from 苏月卿," 墨川 replied.
The giant tortoise glanced at 苏月卿, then pondered for a long moment before speaking. "I am a collateral descendant of the Zhenwu Xi clan, possessing some ability to predict the future and detect auras."
"Yesterday morning, I sensed a faint, malevolent aura rising from the east."
"I then performed a divination for the next three days." As it spoke, the giant tortoise visibly trembled with fear. "I saw dense forests destroyed, rivers dried up, the earth torn asunder, mountains collapsing, and the sky engulfed in flames."
"All life vanished in a cataclysm."
"Therefore, yesterday afternoon, I gathered all the lords and informed them of my divination."
"After much deliberation, all the lords decided to lead their people into hiding within their territories."
"What type of aura was it? Demonic, ghostly, or monstrous?" 墨川 asked.
"A mixture of ghostly and monstrous energy. I have sensed it three times in my long existence. Based on past experiences, there are two possibilities: the East Sea Monster Tide or the Hundred Ghost Night Parade of Yingzhou."
"Yingzhou?" 墨川 found the word somewhat unfamiliar.
"That is what you humans call Nihon, isn't it..." the giant tortoise tilted its head, appearing to be in thought.
"But isn't the Hundred Ghost Night Parade only supposed to occur once every hundred years? By the calendar, it has only been ninety-nine years since the last one. It should appear in early August next year, shouldn't it?"
"The power of darkness has arrived prematurely. The world's balance of Yin and Yang is being disrupted. Alone Yin cannot birth, alone Yang cannot grow..." As the giant tortoise spoke, its eyes became distant and its words slurred, transitioning from mumbling to incoherence. Phrases from the Daodejing and Guiguzi, among others, spilled from its mouth.
A tortoise as large as a house on its back quickly said, "Grandpa, you're having a qi deviation! You can't speak any further!"
The giant tortoise blinked at this, then closed its eyes. "Jiang Zixuan, you entertain our guests. I need to sleep a bit longer..." With that, the giant tortoise sank back into the pond.
The large tortoise, accompanied by two slightly smaller ones, crawled ashore. With a flash of dark light, they transformed into three robust middle-aged men. "I am Jiang Zixuan. The three of you, please follow me."
Shortly after, Jiang Zixuan led 墨川 and the others into a stone chamber. The furnishings resembled an ancient hall from the Dragon Country. Jiang Zixuan sat in the main seat, with the other two clan members standing behind him. 苏月卿 sat in the first seat to the left, followed by 墨川, and then 张翰山.
"Our clan has been in lockdown recently, and we have nothing to offer you. Please excuse us."
"It's alright... but did Senior Jiang mean that the Hundred Ghost Night Parade has come early?"
"Yes... My clan has some dealings with the Canglang Dragon clan of the East Sea. I visited them this morning and received confirmation."
"Seven of the eight seals in Yingzhou have loosened. Something significant is likely to happen soon, though I don't know if it relates to Grandpa's dream."
"..." 墨川 pondered for a long time before finally saying with a smile, "Alright. Thank you for your help, Senior Jiang. I will return to express my gratitude once I've dealt with my current matters."
"You're too kind. You owe it all to that little one," Jiang Zixuan said with a smile. "Given the current circumstances, we won't see you out. Please take care."
"Wait a moment, we have something else we'd like your help with."
"?"
...
墨川 and his companions left the cave. 张翰山 pocketed the test tube and said, "Brother Chuan, it's still you! I couldn't have pulled this off."
"Bad guy brother! I'm hungry!"
"Huh? You brat, giving me nicknames? You're not having dinner tonight!"
"Ah!!—You big bad guy! I'm going to find Sister Fei'er!"
"Go ahead. See if she'll give you any."
Watching 苏月卿 stomp off towards 墨霏, 墨川's smile gradually faded, replaced by a deep worry and unease.
"Ding! Detected host completing temporary mission [Find the Cause]. Reward: 600 experience points, Blue Gift Package *1."
"Ding! Host has leveled up to five. You can choose to learn one from [Desolation] (Revised), [Wall of Pain] (Revised), and [Corruption] (Revised)."
"Ding! Host, do you wish to open the Blue Gift Package?"
The system's voice didn't bring 墨川 joy; instead, it deepened his concern—this confirmed his suspicion that the current events were likely an early Hundred Ghost Night Parade.
Shaking his head, 墨川 looked at the options in his mind and said, "Learn [Corruption] and open the Blue Gift Package."
"Ding! Learning successful.
[Corruption] (Revised):
Passive: Recover 4% of maximum mana for each unit killed.
Activate: Deal magic damage to nearby enemies per second.
Deactivate: Deal magic damage to nearby enemies. The maximum damage is equivalent to three seconds of the activated state."
"Ding! Host opened the Blue Gift Package. Acquired: [Thresh · Blood Moon] (Epic); [Ludens Echo] (Fragment) *2; 400 Gold Coins."
墨川 raised an eyebrow at this news. After calculating his current balance, he opened the shop and said, "Purchase [Banshee's Veil]."
"Purchase successful."
"I still need to get stronger..." 墨川 thought to himself, gazing at 墨霏, who was coaxing 苏月卿, and 张翰山, who was observing the moonlit forest, under the night sky.