That cool light flowed downward, and the dust-shrouded Shenyang Mansion[1] lit up once more. The delusive thoughts of the great void vanished like snow in the presence of blazing light. The sea stirred again, and the lotus bloomed once more.
Li Ximing felt a current of icy clarity circulate once through his Shenyang Mansion, like drinking frozen snow. All the delusion in his heart was completely swept away.
The talisman seeds have dispelled this delusion! thought Li Ximing.
Joy surged in his heart as his spiritual sense extended from the Shenyang Mansion. He glimpsed boundless gloom as heavenly light shone brilliantly below. A breath of icy coolness sank beneath his tongue, like sweet liquid seeping down his throat, and the delusion was gone.
At this moment, his spiritual sense had already departed the body along with the Shenyang Mansion. This mouth was in fact the Shenyang Mansion itself. The spiritual sense had no tangible vessel, so the innate senses had substituted themselves, making it feel like a mouth.
The coolness in his mouth was precisely the divine ability within the Shenyang Mansion. When he saw the talisman seeds display their might and charge through the final barrier in one breath, Li Ximing’s delight receded. He dared not be careless and kept his mouth tightly shut.
There are still endless illusions! he thought.
At once, figures rose out of the void before his eyes. Banners fluttered, golden light strode out from the darkness, horses neighed in chaos, and shouts shook the heavens. A full army appeared before him.
The entire host was clad in golden armor, each with different though vivid and lifelike features, bearing spears and halberds. Their leader wore a phoenix-winged helm and a mask that concealed his face. He sat astride a tall steed, reins in hand, treading the air. He thrust a golden spear straight at Li Ximing’s throat.
"Ha!"
In an instant, golden-armored soldiers surrounded him on all sides. They had their swords drawn and bows raised, weapons leveled at him. Li Ximing lowered his gaze and saw his own hands were empty, his body clothed in plain garments, nothing more than the form of an ordinary man.
"Who are you?!" The distant scene grew ever clearer until it was a mountain valley. The general pressed the spear to his throat and shouted, "Why are you here?!"
Knowing that the divine ability was in his mouth, Li Ximing refused to open it. The general grew both suspicious and angry, while the guards to either side pressed closer, their shouts uniting into one thunderous roar.
Such a show of force could not intimidate Li Ximing. He held his silence. The general flew into a rage, tugged his reins, and rode away, taking his guards with him like the wind.
Only then did Li Ximing relax his brow. But suddenly a black-striped tiger leaped out of nowhere and sank its fangs into his calf. A sharp crack resounded as the beast’s teeth tore through his flesh. His bones and tendons were exposed, as blood splattered everywhere.
Li Ximing was in unbearable pain and flung his hand out to drive it away, but a huge snake with a purple head lunged at him from behind. The snake had pale yellow pupils and slick scales. It ripped open his chest and carried off a chunk of flesh with one bite.
He reached to cover the wound, only to grasp a few bare ribs. A flat-headed viper sprang up, darted into his belly, and yanked out a steaming string of entrails, scattering them across the ground.
Venomous insects and savage beasts of all kinds rushed from the shadows, fighting over his body. In his haze, Li Ximing kept his mouth shut, gradually forgetting where he was, knowing only that the divine ability lay within his mouth and must not be released.
Soon the beasts dispersed. Torrential rain poured, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the general returned with his men. They were hauling a great bronze cauldron. It was glowing red-hot, its oil boiling and seething.
He asked, "Who are you?"
Li Ximing still refused to respond. A group of people was dragged forward from afar, led by a frail, elderly man with snow-white hair. It was his grandfather, Li Xuanxuan.
Soldiers on either side brought out dark, bloodstained boards and struck the old man fifty times. They questioned him again, and when he gave no answer, each drew blood-spotted rasps and began grinding away at his fingers.
The old man’s wails shook the heavens, yet Li Ximing kept his mouth shut. When all five fingers had been rasped away, the general lifted the old man and held him over the cauldron of oil, saying coldly, "Speak your name and be spared."
The old man’s blood dripped into the cauldron and bubbles splattered with searing heat. His voice rasped in plea, but Li Ximing gave no answer, shutting his eyes and refusing to look. The general had no choice but to let go, then ordered his men, "This fiend’s sorcery nears completion, he must not be allowed to remain."
Soldiers stepped forward. One thrust a spear straight into his chest, causing the muffled sound of steel piercing flesh to echo in his ears. Another swung a saber, and cold steel brushed his neck, forcing stars to explode before his eyes. At that, Li Ximing nearly opened his mouth.
After a dazed moment, darkness welled up before him. Heavy iron chains hung on either side, crossing over his arms and neck, binding his waist and belly. The chains weighed him down until he could not lift his head. Two icy gazes were fixed upon his face.
On either side stood two figures. One held a writ, its tiny words like crawling ants and flies, faintly showing the titles Messenger of the Nine Underworlds and Tenth Generation Merciful King . Since Li Ximing would not open his mouth, the two soul-fetchers asked nothing further and dragged him all the way into the Underworld.
Li Ximing beheld a scene of collapsed walls and iron plaques strewn across the ground. Two little demons wielded long ladles of molten copper. Without a word, they hurled him in, shoving him deeper with their ladles, then expertly scooped up the copper and poured it over him.
The molten copper burned through his chest and belly, scalding him until he nearly lost consciousness. If he had possessed a mortal body, he would have screamed by instinct long ago. Only willpower could hold it back. Fortunately, this was the body of his spiritual sense, which he could just barely control.
After one round of molten copper, the little demons hauled him up. One of them remarked, "It is rare to see such a ghost fit for torment. Few such remain in the mortal world."
The other demon replied, "Indeed. The Lord of the Underworld is in seclusion, and the seats of Supreme Shaman and Xiukui have long gone unfilled. The dead die as they are. What ghosts can there be to speak of?"
The two flipped him over, trying iron cudgels and pestles, boiling cauldrons, flaming pits, and mountains of blades and forests of swords one after another. Midway, the soul-fetchers led over a white-haired old man. One demon called out, "Lord, which fellow Daoist have you brought?"
The soul-fetcher stood aside next to the old man and replied, "It is Daoist Chi Wei."
Li Ximing nearly let a sound slip. He lifted his head and indeed saw an old man, clad in Azure Pond Sect robes, beside the soul-fetcher, gazing down upon him with lofty eyes.
One little demon glanced at him and grinned. "Have you any grievances? The King watches from the heavens. He is the Tenth Generation Merciful King. Speak a word, and this man will be struck down."
Li Ximing struggled faintly, but only lowered his head without a word or even a groan. His mind was clouded to the extreme. The little demon gnashed its teeth and tormented him all the more viciously with blades and rasps.
He endured it all, until the command above resounded, "This one is sly and obstinate. Send him to the Vast Sea to be reborn as a woman."
Li Ximing trudged on in gloom toward reincarnation, until at last his vision brightened. By now he had even forgotten about the divine ability within his mouth. Only one thought remained, he must not open his mouth.
He looked about and found himself born into a wealthy household, yet burdened with countless illnesses. He would not open his mouth to eat, nor to take medicine. Though his life was not in danger, his ailments tormented him endlessly without medicine. Still, he clenched his teeth in silence. The family simply regarded her[2] as a mute girl, beautiful beyond compare.
She never ate. They tried to pry her mouth open by force early on, but her lips were sealed as if forged from iron, unyielding to any attempt. Though she had never taken food, she grew day by day, and her parents secretly grew fearful.
Though bedridden and unable to speak, she remained strikingly beautiful. Relatives who came and went, ignorant of the truth, often teased her with words or took liberties in secret. Thus she grew to sixteen in bitter suffering.
At last a man of the Lu Family from the same village came to seek her hand. Her family hastily married her off. Fortunately, Lu Sheng cherished her deeply. They lived in affection for several years. Her health slowly improved, and she bore a son and a daughter. Yet no matter how much Lu Sheng pleaded, she never once opened her mouth.
1. This is referring to the Shenyang acupoint. ☜
2. Referring to Li Ximing reincarnated as a girl. ☜