Chapter Forty-Six: Entanglements

The psychological defenses of all people are fragile, even for someone as close to ascension as Ge Hong. There is always a weakness, and as long as there is a weakness, it can be exploited. With just a gentle prod, the defense will naturally crumble. Chen Jin had just tested Wu Quan’s weak spot by first trying Zhang Hui, but that wasn’t it. Then he tried Wu Quan’s sister, and unexpectedly, that was indeed the weakness. Chen Jin immediately used this as his entry point to cast an illusion upon him. Otherwise, without breaking through his psychological defenses, it would have been difficult to hypnotize him.

“What did you want to lure me to Ge Hong Mountain for?” Chen Jin asked.

“You… you… you…” Wu Quan still retained some resistance in his heart.

“What secret is there on Ge Hong Mountain?” Chen Jin eased his pace instead of forcing Wu Quan to reveal everything at once.

“Ge… Ge Hong Mountain has… has a medicinal catalyst left by the immortal master Ge Hong… it… it can return one from death…” Wu Quan stammered.

“Bring the dead back to life?” Chen Jin asked in surprise.

Could Ge Hong really be that powerful? Chen Jin had interacted with Ge Hong before, but he wasn’t certain if Ge Hong truly had such abilities. Wait—Celestial Master talismans! Ge Hong possessed Celestial Master talismans; perhaps with them, he could disturb the order of life and death and revive the dead.

However, even if Ge Hong had that capability, his character and moral standing would never allow him to do such a thing. He advocated the highest virtue, like water nourishing all things, and would never act against the will of heaven and the laws of nature.

Moreover, it was impossible for Ge Hong to have left such a crucial medicinal catalyst on Ge Hong Mountain. If he were to leave anything, it should have been at Luofu Mountain, which was his true domain, not in this obscure place. Was he hoping to leave a chance encounter, a wisp of his spirit to play the role of the wise old man in legends? Clearly not—Ge Hong was never so idle, and at that time, he was busy handling family matters. He wouldn’t have had the mind for such things.

Chen Jin seriously doubted there was a hidden agenda at play.

“You want to bring your sister back to life?” Chen Jin asked.

That question was almost unnecessary.

“Yes,” Wu Quan replied.

“So you need a sacrifice to make the catalyst effective?” Chen Jin pressed further, following his own guess.

“Yes,” Wu Quan admitted.

“Why choose me?” This was the question Chen Jin most wanted answered. Surely, it couldn’t be that they simply chanced upon him and decided he was fated?

“Your… fate… is the closest match…” Wu Quan's will was still resisting.

“Fate? What a pointless disaster,” Chen Jin thought helplessly. Just because of those two words, he was to be sent to his death.

But if that was the case, why hadn’t they taken him as the sacrifice back when they saw each other every day, when Chen Jin had no cultivation at all?

“Why did you only now think to lure me to Ge Hong Mountain?” Chen Jin voiced his doubt.

“Only a cultivator… only a cultivator can succeed… only they can exchange one life for another… ordinary people cannot…” Wu Quan’s face was twisted with struggle.

After hearing this, Chen Jin understood. There were thousands of people with the same fate among ordinary folk—perhaps dozens in Xialake County alone—but among cultivators, such a fate was rare. That’s why, only after Chen Jin became a cultivator, did Zhang Hui set his sights on him.

“Were the cultivators who disappeared on Ge Hong Mountain before this just like me?” Chen Jin asked.

“Only one… you… you…” At this point, Wu Quan suddenly snapped out of his trance.

A sharp slap sent Wu Quan back into unconsciousness.

Chen Jin then dragged him back into the car, stopped the bleeding, bound him securely, and tossed him onto the back seat.

Chen Jin still decided to visit Ge Hong Mountain, not for some show of bravado, but because he had a feeling that there might be something there connected to him.

He first called Zhang Hui.

Surprisingly, the call went through.

“Take Wu Quan away! Don’t come! Don’t—” Zhang Hui’s voice was shouting frantically, but halfway through, his voice was abruptly cut off.

A loud static, like a radio losing signal, filled the line.

Then, the call ended.

Strange—absolutely strange! It seemed Zhang Hui wouldn’t even need Chen Jin to deal with him.

Chen Jin stopped the car, hesitating about whether he should return to Xialake County, knowing there was real danger at Ge Hong Mountain.

In the end, he decided to check WeChat first.

18:09

Mist Among the Peaks: @Sorrowful Drunk, are you still alive?

(No response)

18:11

Little Dragon of the East Sea: Meow meow meow?

Mist Among the Peaks: Who has Sorrowful Drunk’s number? Call him; I suspect something bad has happened.

Little Dragon of the East Sea: [emoji: terror] Has something happened to the group leader?

Qingming: I’ll try…

18:14

Qingming: No answer. Looks like we’ll need a new group leader.

(Why are you so practiced at saying that? thought Chen Jin.)

Little Dragon of the East Sea: Hey, hey, hey, can we think about the leader’s life first? @Mist Among the Peaks, what happened to the group leader?

Mist Among the Peaks: The group leader went to Ge Hong Mountain—seems something happened to him there.

Mist Among the Peaks: Also with him are @Parking for Love, @Hesitation, @A Lone Sail… (there are too many, I won’t list them all)

Little Dragon of the East Sea: So… both bigshots are caught up in this?

Qingming: Got through, the group leader is still alive. Guess we won’t be getting a new leader after all. [emoji: disappointed]

Mist Among the Peaks: What happened to the group leader?

Qingming: Seems there was no signal earlier, but now they’ve found a spot with service. Something about the weak signal—they couldn’t even get WeChat messages.

Mist Among the Peaks: Can you send me the phone number?

Qingming: 13925868839

Chen Jin saw the number and immediately dialed.

“Hello? Is this the group leader?” Chen Jin asked cautiously.

“Yes, it’s me. What’s up?” The voice on the other end was indeed the group leader, Zuo Dingshan.

“Is Zhang Hui with you?” Chen Jin asked.

“Zhang Hui? Who’s that?” Zuo Dingshan replied in confusion.

“Zhang Hui—oh, oh, I got the name wrong, sorry. I was looking for Parking for Love, but I forgot the name for a moment…” Chen Jin quickly corrected himself.

He shifted the name so quickly because he suddenly remembered something that happened in the world he crossed into—a certain incident in Lan Family Village. Upon entering, some of his memories had been subtly erased, and if he hadn’t escaped in time, he might have become just another ghost in that village.

“Do you want me to get Parking for Love on the phone?” Zuo Dingshan asked.

“No, no need. Where are you now?” Chen Jin asked.

“We’re in a village inside Ge Hong Mountain. Never thought there’d be a village here—it’s quite odd…” Zuo Dingshan sighed.

“Whew… do you still remember why you came to Ge Hong Mountain?” As expected, Chen Jin exhaled deeply.

“To look for group members, why?” Zuo Dingshan said, puzzled.

“You need to leave that village right now, understand? Leave. How many of you are there?”

“Ten, plus me, eleven. Why though? Why should we leave?”

“You originally had fourteen people, but now three are missing. The Zhang Hui I mentioned was one of the—”

“Hey there, come eat!” A woman’s voice cut him off from the other end of the line. The voice was very familiar—it was Zhang Chunlan, the woman who had cuckolded her husband.

…