Unintended Immortality

Chapter 116: The Haunted Brothel of Peach Blossom Peaks

“The first one, thirty taels.”

“Mm.”

“Forty li outside the city, there's a village called Peach Blossom Village. The village has a mountain called Peach Blossom Peaks. An official road to Changjing passes right under it. Apparently, around three years ago, merchants traveling under the mountain at night or local villagers returning from the mountain after work would occasionally spot a pavilion on the mountainside filled with enchanting women.”

At this point, Heroine Wu glanced at the Daoist to see if he reacted. Seeing that he remained calm and composed without any visible change in expression, she continued, “Some were terrified, while others couldn't resist the temptation. Foreign merchants, unaware of the situation, thought they were nearing Changjing and walked right in.”

“Did they meet their end?”

“It's hard to say.”

“What do you mean?”

The woman explained, “Well, the next morning, those people would wake up in the wilderness under peach blossom trees with nothing more than sore backs and aching bodies, with no serious harm done.

“But that was three years ago. Back then, the demons causing trouble there probably weren’t very powerful, so they didn’t appear frequently. Although rumors of their allure started to spread, many thrill-seekers—especially lustful and courageous ones—deliberately sought them out. Local men often roamed around the mountain at night, but you still needed quite a bit of luck to encounter them.”

After taking a sip, the woman continued, “In my opinion, the demons there are quite... considerate. Or perhaps not considerate, but restrained. They never drain people completely, they’d just leave them with a few aches and pains for a few days. It's still the same now. But as the demons absorbed more yang qi over time, they grew stronger.

“What used to be a once-a-month occurrence became every ten days or so, and now it happens every few days. More and more people are getting harmed. They still wouldn’t drain people completely each time, but the men kept going back. Once their addiction kicked in, they couldn't control themselves, and eventually, people from the nearby villages started dying.”

Song You asked, “And what did the authorities do?”

She replied, “The government had noticed early on, but since it wasn’t happening often and no one had died initially, they didn’t take it seriously. They sent people to investigate a few times, but nothing was found, so they stopped caring. They just hung up warning signs along the road, telling travelers to be cautious of ghosts on that road.

“But by then, many were going there on purpose—who cared about warnings? When the soldiers arrived, some even told them not to meddle.”

Heroine Wu paused, then leaned in curiously, asking Song You, “Hey, is this sort of thing really that addictive? To the extent where people don’t even care about their own lives anymore?”

Song You remained calm. “Since it involves demons, perhaps there’s more to it than mere lust.”

“So, do you think they’re going there voluntarily?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Song You paused. “But regardless, once lives are lost, it’s unacceptable.”

“Oh...”

Heroine Wu dragged out the sound, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. However, she didn’t forget the task at hand and continued, “Later, the authorities sent soldiers, sought out local exorcists to deal with the demons and ghosts, and even sought out experts from Tianhai Temple before posting the notice.

“But those demons are cunning. Every time the government sent people—whether soldiers or experts—they could only see an empty mountain. I haven’t even heard of any wandering martial artist with vigorous qi and lifeforce encountering them. It seems they only prey on the weak.”

Song You asked, “An empty mountain? Isn't the mountain full of peach blossom trees?”

“Some suspected that the peach blossom trees on the mountain had become spirits, so they cut them all down, but that didn’t help...”

Heroine Wu rubbed her chin, her eyes reflecting the fierce resolve of a seasoned jianghu wanderer, her mind ticking over with the typical methods of her kind. “In my opinion, those are likely wild ghosts hiding deep within the mountain. If we want to rely on the soldiers to get rid of them, I'm afraid they'd have to empty out the entire mountain.”

“Perhaps.”

Her thinking was simple but aligned with the effective demon-slaying and ghost-hunting methods of the time.

If some place was haunted by ghosts, they would just dig up graves. If a mountain spirit caused trouble by the roadside, they would just burn the mountain. Their methods were brutal and straightforward.

Heroine Wu took another sip of tea and said, “I think this one is the trickiest. Mainly because it’s impossible to find the demons. If we could spot them, I’d take them out with a single strike!”

But all she heard from the Daoist beside her was, “It’s not that difficult.”

“Hmm?”

“If your information is correct, I believe they can distinguish who approaches. The first challenge is to hide one’s own cultivation skills, qi, and bloodforce.”

“Can you do that?”

“I’m quite skilled in this.”

“Are you confident?”

“Very.”

“Then let's give it a try.”

“It’s a bit late today. We won’t be able to cover those forty li before dark. Besides, tonight is Lady Calico's last night catching mice at Lord Ye’s house. I have to escort her there.”

“You make the call.”

“The next one is Minister Zhou's residence. I'll go inform him that the cat is tired and needs a few days' rest before returning...”

A soft sound came from nearby, “Meow!”

“Oh, right, I meant lie to Minister Zhou, not inform,” Song You added, correcting himself. “We’ll set off tomorrow afternoon. We should arrive before nightfall. Does that suit your schedule, Heroine Wu?”

“It’s settled then!”

“I'll have to trouble you to take the notice from the board.”

“No problem! You're better at catching demons than I am, so I’ll handle all the small tasks.”

“Thank you, Heroine Wu.”

“I'll be heading off then...” Heroine Wu downed her tea in one gulp, placed the cup down, and strode out.

As soon as she reached the neighboring house, she pulled out her key and was about to unlock her door when she heard a faint, clear female voice from next door, “Are you going out to catch demons?”

“Something like that.”

“What about me?”

“Unfortunately, it's not convenient to bring you along this time. But the main reason is that we’ve left quite a bit of money at home—money that you worked hard to earn. We need to pay the rent, and we can’t afford to have it stolen, so I’d like you to stay home and watch over the place.”

“Okay!”

“But it's not an easy task...”

“No problem!”

“...”

Heroine Wu shook her head and pushed open her door, pretending not to have heard anything.

***

The next afternoon, just outside Changjing…

Two people and a horse left the city.

“I took down the notice but didn’t give your name. If I had, the authorities would have asked where you live, and that would have been a hassle. Don’t worry, we're from the same hometown—I wouldn’t set you up.”

“That's for the best.”

“Do you think we’ll make it before dark?”

“We will.”

“You’ve got some stamina, then.”

Dressed as a man, Heroine Wu lay on her small yellow-maned horse and turned her head to glance at Song You. “It’s a pity your horse isn’t here with you, huh?”

“Walking has its benefits.”

“Benefits like being very slow and getting tired.”

“...”

Not long after, the woman climbed off her horse to walk alongside Song You. The horse was small, and her movements were agile. So, the transition was smooth, though it looked rather comical.

The green mountains loomed far away, one ridge after another, with a winding dirt road weaving through them. There were no ruts, so the road was fairly flat and easy to walk on.

The two people and the horse walked further and further. As the sun set, the twilight deepened along the horizon. Soon, only Song You remained on the road.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves approached.

The yellow-maned horse, carrying the female warrior, trotted back and slowly came to a stop. The rider said, “Looks like I didn’t lose my way. Peach Blossom Village is just ahead, and Peach Blossom Peaks isn’t far either.”

“Good.”

“Can you tell that I’m a woman?”

“I can, but it’ll be hard to tell at night. Besides, I doubt they rely solely on appearances to distinguish men from women. However, as a martial artist, you have more yang qi than the average person. When I mask your energy, I'll leave a little extra, so you'll seem even more like a man to those demons.”

“Impressive!”

“...” Song You raised his hand.

Many esteemed folk experts and Buddhist monks had come here, yet all had left empty-handed. The malevolent spirits haunting Peach Blossom Peaks must be hiding deep within; they would need to be lured out on their own.

Song You's fingertips suddenly emitted a strand of spiritual energy. The energy resembled a shooting star, and was snowy white at its core. It was radiating a white light, with an outer layer like frost, appearing both ethereal and semi-transparent.

Winter represented the end, a time when all things retreated and were stored away. In the winter solstice, spiritual energy had the ability to close off and conserve vital energy, halt processes, and induce hibernation or concealment.

Without a sound, the spiritual energy dissipated.

“Brrrrr!” The woman suddenly shivered, trembling slightly. “Why did it get so cold all of a sudden?”

“It's done.”

“Done?”

“Yes.”

“So, am I a man now?”

“Your yang qi now exceeds your yin qi. In the eyes of night spirits, who can't clearly see your face, they'll perceive you as male.”

“Impressive, Daoist Master...” She repeated the phrase, as if it slipped out naturally.

The two figures continued onward.

As soon as they reached Peach Blossom Village, they could see many peach blossom trees planted along the roadside. Some had already sprouted leaves, while others were still adorned with pink blossoms that appeared even redder under the setting sun.

“This whole area is dedicated to growing peach blossoms. Most of the peaches supplied to Changjing in the summer come from the few nearby villages,” Heroine Wu explained. “Last year, I came here to buy peaches. It’s much cheaper than buying them in Changjing, but I didn’t visit Peach Blossom Village—I went to Celestial Peach Village on the other side of the mountain.”

“Around this time, apricot blossoms should be blooming too, right?”

“Yeah, probably in the next few days.”

“I’ve heard the apricot blossoms in Changjing are quite famous.”

“I’ve never gone to see them.”

“I see...”

The two continued their conversation in low voices as they passed through Peach Blossom Village. Soon, they saw the only mountain without any peach blossom trees or blossoms, just countless bare stumps—this was Peach Blossom Peaks.

They sat down, pretending to rest, and ate some dry rations.

As the sky gradually darkened, a faint light appeared.

Looking back, they saw that a brightly lit building had mysteriously appeared on the desolate mountain. A woman stood on the upper floor, watching them from a distance.

“We actually saw a demon,” Heroine Wu whispered.

“Yes.” Song You's voice remained calm.

“I thought even if your method worked, we might have to wait here for a few days. It seems that recently there have been more deaths and fewer visitors, so they must be quite hungry.”

“You're quite perceptive.”

“Hehe...” Heroine Wu grinned from ear to ear, then led the horse over, her expression relaxed as she glanced around.

The building had two floors and exuded a classical charm. It was adorned with lanterns and was brightly illuminated.

Before they even reached the entrance, they heard a voice from above, inviting them in. It was soft and alluring, almost like a whisper by the ear that made one’s bones feel weak, “Would you like to come in and have a look, gentlemen? How about a drink?”

In the jianghu, few feared ghosts, especially the young and skilled ones.

Heroine Wu showed no fear. She tilted her head, meeting the gaze of the woman upstairs, her eyes sparkling with interest.

Her only thought was, She’s really beautiful.