Master of Strange Dao

```

Yu Ziqing, after a brief contemplation, immediately ceased the process of spiraling thoughts.

He had once imagined this to be a blood and sweat mine overseen by gluttonous supervisors wielding barbed whips, forcing trafficked people to perform perilous and grueling mining work on an empty stomach, resulting in a high mortality rate, necessitating the constant purchase of people from the human traffickers.

Unfortunately, in the end, it was completely different from what he imagined, and the waters here were much deeper than he thought.

No matter how you looked, these ordinary villagers were not ordinary at all.

Yet, they owned a rare resource, at a ridiculously high percentage.

And remarkably, no one came to attack this place or seize the mine.

Forget it, better heed Old Yang's advice to mind one's own business, best to not let curiosity get the better of you, and once the body is healed, gather some supplies and leave before spring starts.

Following Er Han, they proceeded into one of the earthen cave dwellings he had initially seen, and the space within was much larger than anticipated, and much emptier too.

A warm orange-red glow emanated from the depths, with the heat seemingly controlled by an invisible force; a few steps forward caused the temperature to sharply climb, and Yu Ziqing soon began sweating after accompanying Er Han for just over ten steps.

"Er Han, you go ahead, I'll wait here…"

He decisively admitted defeat.

"Huh…" Er Han looked puzzled, pointing inward: "You're not coming in to take a look?"

"Never mind, you go put the things down first, I'll wait here."

Er Han, somewhat at a loss, continued inward carrying a tray, and after about ten steps, the heat warped the air, making his figure appear somewhat distorted, and after a few more steps, he became just a blurry silhouette.

Yu Ziqing smacked his lips, huh, are these ordinary people?

Ridiculous.

Had they really not undergone any so-called cultivation practices?

A moment later, Er Han emerged from the sweltering depths of the cave, without breaking a sweat or a heaving heart. But looking at his expression, it seemed he regretted not sneaking a bite of that fresh magma-like Yellow Rice Cake…

"Is that stuff very precious?" Yu Ziqing couldn't help but ask.

"It's not just precious." Er Han's interest peaked instantly, licking his lips: "Only when we exchange minerals with people from outside each year, can everyone get a tiny bit."

"So before…" Yu Ziqing asked and immediately wondered if such a question was appropriate, but felt uneasy without seeking more information.

"Oh, they're an exception. Grandpa said dying of hunger is the most wretched form of death; they may have committed a grave mistake by stealing and eating white meat out of hunger, but even in death, they should be made into a 'sated ghost'; those dying of starvation turn into starving ghosts.

Though they can no longer die from hunger, they can never eat again, having to endure perpetual hunger, not even madness can kill them."

Er Han paused, a flicker of terror at the plight of "unable to live, unable to die" crossed his face.

"Grandpa is kind-hearted enough to make them a 'sated ghost,' at least they can finally rest in peace."

Recalling something midway, Er Han quickly exited the earthen cave and pointed to a large entrance on the northwest hillside, encircled by a fence with a net woven from vines at its mouth.

"We can't go there, there are a lot of starving ghosts inside, and these ones are particularly fierce, different from any we've encountered before.

There was once a river inside where we could catch a lot of fish, and many insects could be dug on the riverbank, but it's regrettable we can't access it anymore; it's been a long time since I last tasted insects."

Er Han licked his lips, a glow in his eyes at the mention of food.

"Starving ghosts, huh…" Yu Ziqing mused, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.

After circling around the village, they arrived at a ground cave mouth three zhang high where a short yet sturdy woman came out, carrying a wooden stake three feet thick and two zhang long from inside.

As she emerged, Yu Ziqing noted that the other end of the stake was sprouting large clusters of flat-mushroom-like objects.

He estimated these to be the main food source of the village, as he saw no evidence of main crops being cultivated or vegetables being grown here.

Furthermore, he had seen those thick brown stakes before; they seemed to be what they chopped for firewood.

Er Han led Yu Ziqing into the ground cave, winding down for about the time it takes one incense stick, reaching a vast underground space where wooden stakes stood, their tops covered with large mushroom caps, opening like canopies, emitting a rich fungal scent.

What Yu Ziqing learned now was what his work would entail going forward.

Gathering ingredients, returning to cook, and barring unforeseen circumstances, this job would last at least three months, perhaps longer, as this winter would be lengthy.

Yu Ziqing hoped everything would remain stable, allowing him to recover his health, with the ideal being to gain some twenty or thirty pounds.

Er Han swung an axe nearby, chopping mushrooms. Though the wood stakes looked thick, their bases resembled softwood with low hardness, which relieved Yu Ziqing—he truly feared he'd be unable to manage.

After demonstrating, Er Han suddenly stood alertly, peering into the depths of the Mushroom Forest.

Two breaths later, a wooden stake collapsed within the forest, and a flailing dark-red giant beast tumbled out of the cap, its girth greater than a human's waist, at least six or seven zhang long, resembling a massive coiling serpent, yet its head bore insect-like mandibles.

"Worm!" Er Han yelled in excitement, his figure streaking forward like a forceful arrow, quickly engaging in combat with the colossal insect.

Yu Ziqing stood at a distance, his gaze following some sudden sensing from within his heart, peering deeper into the forest's end.

On a distant rock wall, a skin-shriveled creature lay, its sparse hair and sunken belly suggesting missing internal organs, appearing like a dried corpse and completely blackened, silently lurking there.

He seemed to merge with the rock wall; upon feeling Yu Ziqing's gaze, he raised his head slightly, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, and moved toward Yu Ziqing, gliding like a gecko along the stone.

Its pitch-black eyes reflecting Yu Ziqing's image began to project an infinite malice, propelling its lightly interspersed limbs toward Ziqing at an ever-increasing speed, utterly silently.

"Starving ghost?"

Yu Ziqing was startled, having just heard from Er Han about starving ghosts in the vicinity, not expecting such an encounter this soon.

With a glance back at Er Han, who was entwined with the worm and focused solely on the meaty feast, Yu Ziqing instantly understood—the giant worm had discovered this starving ghost, getting startled into tumbling down.

Yet in the moment of thought, Yu Ziqing looked again and made an immediate denial.

No, not a mere starving ghost; it was a hungry ghost.

The sort that ordinary folks like Er Han, who could laugh heartily while wrestling with giant worms, would not have noticed—not having the reason, nor the ability to detect them.

Only a hungry ghost would evoke a sense before Er Han could detect it.

With certainty, Yu Ziqing calmly drew out the rusted short sword, quietly adhered his gaze to the approaching hungry ghost, and murmured in a low voice.

"I don't wish to kill you, don't seek death."

Even without making any preparations, the rusted rust between the sword and the scabbard began to fall away like dust, carried away by a light breeze, and a barely visible dark gleam slowly seeped out from the gaps as if water were spilling over.

Er Han, amidst flying stone splinters and collapsing wooden stakes with the giant worm, felt nothing.

But the hungry ghost, rapidly closing in, seemingly sensed a lethal danger, its body gliding along the rock wall suddenly halted, a terrifying unseen pressure pinning its limbs and body to the stone, imprinting a human form deeply into it, unable to escape or even utter a sound.

When the adversary's form grew noticeably frail and its eyes grew dim, Yu Ziqing, bearing sympathy upon noting its abdomen, tucked away the short sword, and the dreadful killing intent perceptible only to the hungry ghost abruptly dissipated.

"Seeing your internal organs absent, with no aura of bloodthirst upon you, it seems you haven't harmed anyone or shed fresh blood.

If not for reason, adhering to oneself till now is exceedingly challenging; why abandon it suddenly and tread onto evil paths leading to harm?

Once stepped onto, there is no turning back, no day of liberation.

Do you truly desire this?"

Yu Ziqing's soft whispers reached the hungry ghost.

The hungry ghost, frozen, seemed to awaken after a few breaths, a complexity shadowing its coal-black eyes, vanished into darkness.

Yu Ziqing tucked the short sword back into his bosom, shaking his head.

Had something else appeared earlier, Yu Ziqing wouldn't have even entertained the notion of mercy, his first instinct would have been... to call Er Han for help and save his skin.

Yet unfortunately, it was a wretched hungry ghost; if unnecessary, he really didn't wish to dispose of it. Back in the early days of his arrival into this world, he had some dealings with hungry ghosts, surviving the first month here largely due to them.

"If others come to bully me, that's one thing, but you, a hungry ghost, dare try and trouble me too, are you out of your mind?"

…

"The people from Daqian's Langya Institute came to bully us, that's one thing, but now any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to come seeking trouble with us?"

Not far from the mountain range where Jinlan Mine was located, at the place where Yu Ziqing once obliterated evidence.

The remnants of the fire pit had been scattered by the wind, and with the recent snowfall, practically all traces of what transpired here were erased; only some fragments of shepherds' unburned bones remained buried beneath the snow.

A Black Mountain Sheep, with limbs of pure muscle, standing as tall as a man, cursed while spewing human words, gnawing on the few remaining fragments of the shepherds' bones.

Moments later, the Black Mountain Sheep distorted its face, wore an expression of disgust as if swallowing a stool, and with a hiccup, spat the chewed fragments onto the ground, a swathe of blazing heat slipping quickly away from the bones, leaving searing black marks inside its mouth.

Beside it stood another figure, shrouded in a black cloak, who let out a subtle gasp upon seeing it.

"This level of intense and pure Fierce Sun Qi clearly does not come from Daqian's Langya Institute; they're dismissive of those brute warriors whose Qi-blood is like dragons and scorching like the blazing sun. The changes in the Wilderness mean those sent here came under direct guidance of Dao Cultivators, no brutes among them.

Besides, if they were indeed from Langya Institute, things wouldn't have been handled... crudely."

```