Chapter 23: Ghost Mother

“That’s right, it’s Yinfeng Cave!”

Sky Splitting Tiger nodded. His face was very serious, even more tense than ever before, but his attitude was firm. The brother and sister looked at each other, their expressions nervous as if they were speaking in some secret code. Only Mu Feng was kept in the dark.

“Then… alright, if we’re going, we should go early. Let’s go now!”

Jing Wushuang nodded. She looked up at the sky outside, then turned to Mu Feng and said, “Brother Mu Feng, there is one person who might have a way to quickly heal the meridians inside your body. She was the one who taught me my medical skills. However… that person has a very strange temperament, even terrifying. Going to see her suddenly might be quite dangerous. What do you think…”

“No problem! As long as there’s even a sliver of hope, it’s worth any danger!”

Mu Feng did not hesitate at all.

Tomorrow was the final deadline. As long as he could unblock the Shaoyin and Lesser Yang Meridians, he could break through to the Mortal Realm in one go. Even if there was danger, even if a mountain of knives or a sea of fire lay ahead, he wouldn’t even blink.

“Good, let’s go!”

There was no time to lose. As soon as Mu Feng finished speaking, Sky Splitting Tiger eagerly took the lead.

The sun was setting, and it would be dark soon. The three of them hurried, walking faster and faster. Soon, they left the small mountain village, surrounded on three sides by hills, far behind. After a little more than an hour, they finally arrived at a remote valley, carrying torches. They walked along a clear, winding stream all the way to the valley’s end. By the faint light of the torches, a bottomless cave entrance appeared before them.

Whooo…

The dark cave had gusts of Yin Wind blowing through it. Chilling breezes came from time to time. They went through their clothes, seeped into their pores, and went straight to the depths of their bones, making all three of them shiver at the same time.

Within the Yin Wind, strange noises were mixed in from time to time. Sometimes it sounded like a baby crying, sometimes it sounded like a vicious wolf whimpering. If they listened carefully, it sounded like someone was cackling loudly deep underground. It was eerie and especially weird, making all the hairs on their bodies stand on end.

Yinfeng Cave!

To help Mu Feng overcome his difficulty, Sky Splitting Tiger and his sister mustered their courage and brought him to this forbidden land deep in the mountains.

“After we go in, watch more, speak less. You must be careful!”

Jing Wushuang warned Mu Feng, then stepped inside first. Sky Splitting Tiger held the Overlord Spear and guarded the rear. The three of them carefully moved forward.

The gloomy cave was rugged and hard to walk through. There were loose rocks everywhere, and it was damp and dark. The terrain got lower and lower as they went. Slowly, water dripped from above, and from time to time, drops of icy cold spring water fell on them. As they walked, a particularly fierce gust of Yin Wind suddenly rushed toward them. The torches in the hands of the three were extinguished instantly, and everything went pitch black before their eyes. They lit the torches and walked forward only a few steps when another gust of Yin Wind came. The freshly lit torches went out again.

Different from the wind at the cave entrance, the Yin Wind blowing toward them was especially cold. With just a light blow, it felt as if all the blood in their bodies would freeze. Even more strange, after the Yin Wind blew past them, it suddenly swirled around and blew back, whistling, as if controlled by someone. Standing in the darkness, Mu Feng felt as if needles were pricking his back, as if his every move was being coldly watched.

This situation wasn’t right!

Mu Feng stopped walking. He was just about to activate the Eighteen Blood Witch Commands to protect himself when his right hand was suddenly pressed down by Jing Wushuang beside him.

“Brother Mu Feng, don’t act rashly!”

Jing Wushuang whispered a warning, then gracefully bowed toward the darkness. “Granny, Shuang’er has come to see you. This is my big brother and my second brother. Please don’t be upset.”

“Second brother?”

A gust of Yin Wind came forward, swirling around Mu Feng up and down. The cold air was piercing. Then, a sinister voice came from the darkness. “Shuang’er, didn’t I tell you not to approach Yinfeng Cave at night? Have you forgotten all of Granny’s warnings? And who is this boy? Since when did you have a second brother?”

The sinister voice was drifting and unpredictable. It seemed to come from above the three of them, and also from deep underground. It carried a biting chill, clearly unwelcoming their arrival. Sky Splitting Tiger and Jing Wushuang were okay, but Mu Feng felt as if a poisonous snake hiding in the darkness was watching him. The Yin Wind swirling around him up and down was clearly not right. The Ancestral Sorcerer’s Essence Blood inside his body beat fiercely, as if it also sensed an unprecedented danger.

“This is Brother Mu Feng, whom Shuang’er just acknowledged. He was the one who added the final stroke to the ‘Academy’ character on the horizontal plaque, helping Shuang’er fulfill Father’s dying wish.”

Sensing Granny’s hostility, Jing Wushuang quickly explained Mu Feng’s identity, afraid that Granny might attack him the next moment. “Granny, Shuang’er came this time because there is an important matter to ask of you. Brother Mu Feng suffered from a serious illness since childhood. All the meridians in his body are severely damaged. Shuang’er has looked at him, but I have no solution at all. I beg you, Granny, to help him and completely cure the meridians inside his body.”

Jing Wushuang understood the other party’s temper and quickly stated their purpose. This time, without the other party’s consent, they didn’t even dare to light the torches again. The three of them stood trembling with fear in the darkness.

“Oh? There is such a thing?”

A surprised exclamation came from the darkness. The next moment, the three felt their bodies become light, swept up by a gust of Yin Wind. With a ‘Whoosh’, they were carried into a spacious stone grotto. Far away, on a raised platform at the end of the grotto, sat an old woman with disheveled hair. She was hunched over, her whole body shrouded in a faint black mist, her facial features indistinct. An iron chain, as thick as a thumb, pierced through the shoulder blades on her left and right sides, locking her to the cold stone wall behind her.

“Shuang’er pays her respects to Granny!”

Seeing the old woman’s figure, Jing Wushuang hurriedly bowed. Even the usually fearless Sky Splitting Tiger was no exception. Once here, he stood honestly and did not move.

“Gah gah gah, welcome to Yinfeng Cave!”

Looking at Jing Wushuang and the other two, the old woman on the high platform let out a cackling laugh. Her voice was sharp and hoarse, like a nightingale crying. The next moment, her expression changed, and she coldly continued, “Old rules. If you come to my Yinfeng Cave to ask me for a favor, you must first pass a test. Shuang’er, for your sake, I won’t make things difficult for you. You just need to taste the flavor of this pot of soup.”

The old woman gave an evil smile. As soon as she finished speaking, a large pot suddenly appeared in front of the three of them. It was steaming hot, with some unknown bones and pieces of meat rolling around inside. From far away, they could smell a foul stench.

“What is this?”

Jing Wushuang covered her nose and mouth, retreating several steps in terror.

“Infant soup! Legend says drinking it grants eternal youth and immortality! Gah gah gah!”

The old woman cackled loudly. She reached out her hand and made a grasping motion in the air, pulling the large pot toward her from a distance. She extended a finger and dipped it into the soup, then put her finger into her mouth. An expression of bliss appeared on her face, as if she were tasting a rare delicacy of the world. She cackled again and suddenly raised her head, startling even the usually calm and composed Mu Feng.

They saw that she was very old, and the skin on her body was covered with age spots. Horrifyingly, the skin on her face was festering, with almost no intact skin left. Blood and pus were mixed together. She looked neither human nor ghost. One glance made their hearts run cold!

“Gah gah gah, what’s the matter, boy? Is my appearance very ugly?”

The old woman who called herself Ghost Mother looked at Mu Feng and gave a cold laugh. A wave of cold air immediately rushed toward them. Following that, she waved her right sleeve, and the steaming large pot reappeared in front of Mu Feng and the other two. “Such a delicious thing! I’ve already tasted it. Now, it’s your turn. There are only half an hour left until midnight. If you don’t want to return empty-handed, hurry up!”

“Granny, I…”

Mustering her courage to look at the large pot right in front of her, Jing Wushuang happened to see a bone that looked like a skullcap. Instantly, her whole body was covered with goosebumps. She couldn’t help but step back several more steps. Her face turned pale ‘shua’ in an instant, without a trace of blood. Sky Splitting Tiger beside her was no exception; all his hairs stood on end.

Although they had long known that the Ghost Mother Granny inside Yinfeng Cave was always evil and terrifying, they never expected her to be evil to this extent!

Looking at this large pot in front of them, someone a bit more timid might have their heart stop beating!

“Gah gah gah, I’ll count to three. If no one tastes it, you can go back on your own. Of course, if you want to stay and taste it with me later, feel free to stay.” Ghost Mother cackled and began to count down. Sky Splitting Tiger and Jing Wushuang looked at each other. They didn’t want to leave like this, but even if they steeled themselves, they didn’t dare to step forward and taste the terrible thing in the pot.

“Three…, two…” On the high platform, Ghost Mother deliberately drew out the sounds, looking at the three of them with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, like an eagle watching chicks.

“I’ll do it!”

Just as she was about to count to one, Mu Feng suddenly stepped forward boldly, showing no fear.