Premier tome de la série Le Magicien Oolong Qui suis-je

Chapitre 62

"Oh, hello, my name is Li Hai, and this is my friend, Lin Xiao!" Li Hai replied quickly.

"You've been lost for quite a while, haven't you? Are you hungry? I've just prepared dinner; why don't you come over and eat with us?" Yiqinge warmly invited us. Li Hai and I thanked her profusely. Everything seemed perfectly normal: the hospitable and warm-hearted ethnic minority, the doting parents, the slightly timid boy, and the villagers around us offering friendly smiles. Everything felt so natural that I began to seriously doubt whether I had truly entered the Moonshadow Clan's barrier, or if this was the real world, and everything before was just an illusion?

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, I entered Kasang and Yiqinge's house. The furniture and decorations seemed to be handmade, yet exceptionally exquisite and delicate, making me marvel at the ingenuity of this people. Looking at Li Hai, he seemed equally curious about his surroundings, almost as if he needed a magnifying glass to examine everything closely. However, it was strange that the house seemed quite small for a family of three, with only one room that appeared to be a dining room and kitchen. So, where did they sleep? Didn't they have a bedroom?

Seemingly noticing our confusion, Yiqinge smiled and explained, "Our Moonshadow Clan's bedrooms are all underground!"

Underground? I paused, what a strange custom! Aren't the people sleeping underground the dead? Dead? I shook my head. This isn't the time to let my imagination run wild. These people in front of me seem to be living, breathing people! I clearly noticed earlier that they all have shadows! If they're ghosts, shouldn't they not have shadows?

"Come on, dinner's ready!" Just as I was lost in thought, Yiqinge brought out several side dishes from the kitchen. The aroma of those mouthwatering dishes couldn't be lying, could it? Thinking this, I stopped thinking about it and started trying to appease my rumbling stomach. Yiqinge's cooking seemed especially delicious, and Li Hai and I were truly starving, so the meal ended with us wolfing it down.

After dinner, Kassan said he would take us to the bedroom. As we were wondering about the entrance, Kassan casually touched a strange pattern carved in the center of the table. Then, silently, the table gradually disappeared into the wall before our eyes, and a series of stairs leading to the ground appeared beneath the table.

Curious, I followed Kassan down the stairs. Instead of the darkness I had imagined, we were greeted by a soft, hazy white light streaming in through round openings in the walls. The walls were black, creating a stark contrast with the white light; the texture seemed to be marble, or perhaps a cold, steel-like material, cool to the touch. The corridor twisted and turned like a maze, making me dizzy.

"Hehe, this is the underground palace of our Moonshadow Clan. Don't be fooled by our individual houses; underground they are all connected!" Kassan, who was leading the way, said as they walked.

No wonder! I was wondering how a small house could be so winding and complex underground. It turns out that although the houses appear to be separate from the surface, they are connected underground, forming a huge underground maze.

Although the white light was soft, I always felt something was off. Perhaps it was because I was in a maze. My head was a little dizzy, a thin veil of mist appeared in front of my eyes, and even my steps began to falter.

Gradually, I fell three or four steps behind Kassan and Li Hai. My body grew heavy, and my left eye began to throb with pain, like being cut by a knife. I was about to collapse to the ground when I managed to reach out and grab the wall. The cold wall sent a shiver down my spine. Looking up, I saw Kassan and Li Hai had already reached a corner and were about to disappear from sight. In my panic, I was about to call out to them, but the sight that caught my eye for a moment turned my voice into an extremely low groan.

Yes, through that smooth black wall, I saw a left eye, a red eye filled with boundless resentment, staring coldly at me from the shadow of Kassan reflected on the wall. Kassan's face was blank, only that red left eye looked at me as if it held hatred for lifetimes. Fear, like a scathing pain, was etched into my body.

"Lin Xiao, what are you standing there for?" Li Hai had appeared in front of me without me noticing, and I was covered in cold sweat when I realized it.

"What's wrong, young man? Are you feeling unwell?" Kassan's warm voice rang in my ears, but to me it sounded like a soul-reaping voice from hell.

"Ah, no... nothing!" I stared blankly at the black wall beside Kassan. There was nothing there anymore; not even a shadow could be seen. Was this just another hallucination?

"Let's go, we'll be there soon." Kassan led us onward. Along the way, I kept looking for any shadows reflected on the black wall, but until we stopped, I didn't see that strange sight again.

“This is my and Yiqing’s room,” Kassan pointed to a room with its door wide open and introduced it to us, then continued forward. I glanced quickly at the furnishings in the room; there seemed to be nothing special about them.

"We're here. You two can stay here tonight!" Kassan chuckled, patting Li Hai on the shoulder. He then turned to us and said, "Don't wander around tonight. People unfamiliar with this place won't be able to find the right exit. I can't guarantee you won't accidentally stumble into a young woman's room!"

"Hehe, how could that be! We promise we won't wander off!" Li Hai nodded to Kasang, and I forced a smile before following Li Hai into the room. There were no windows, but the light streaming through the ceiling was enough to illuminate the entire room. Two simple wooden beds, a half-person-high storage cabinet, and a chair—it seemed to be a simple guest room designed specifically for guests.

"Hey, what's wrong? You don't look well!" Li Hai asked me with concern as soon as he entered the room.

"Didn't you notice anything strange?" I asked Li Hai after closing the door.

"Strange? Yes, it is strange! All the bedrooms are built underground," Li Hai replied.

“That’s not what I meant!” I shook my head and said, “Did you see Kassan’s shadow on the black wall just now? I saw a red eye! And Aru’s left eye looks completely different from his right eye, it seems very venomous!”

"No way!?" Li Hai tilted his head in surprise and said, "How come I didn't see anything special about it? And I don't think there's anything special about that child's left eye! Are you just overthinking it?"

"Please, think about it carefully, okay? Shouldn't the Moonshadow Clan all be dead? Don't you think it's strange that so many Moonshadow Clan members have suddenly appeared? Also, the clothes they're wearing seem very strange; they don't look like modern people at all!" I said anxiously.

“I do find it strange, but,” Li Hai asked me with his hands on his hips, “how can you be so sure that all the Moonshadow Clan members are dead?”

"Baiyun and Anzhengxi didn't say..."

"Wait!" Li Hai interrupted me, saying, "Don't forget that the legend of the Moonshadow Clan's extermination is over ninety years old! No one can guarantee its authenticity, right? And to this day, it seems no one has ever claimed to have seen a real member of the Moonshadow Clan. Perhaps the entire Moonshadow Clan fled into this idyllic barrier to escape the pursuit of warlords or bandits? They're isolated from the world, which is why their clothes look ancient!"

Huh? I never expected Li Hai to think that way. Although what he said was unfounded, I couldn't come up with any solid evidence to refute him for the time being. So I sat down angrily and said irritably, "So you think they are all good people?"

"Hey! I didn't say that! It's just that there's no evidence yet to prove whether they're human or ghost! But one thing I'm sure of is that there's someone controlling this barrier!" Li Hai said.

"Who could it be?" I asked hastily.

"Didn't you say you met two women who called themselves Yueji and Yuewa?" Li Hai asked me.

“Those two are definitely not human!” I answered immediately and decisively.

“The barrier isn’t necessarily being manipulated by a person; it’s possible that something is behind it!” Li Hai stared intently at me.

“If it’s one of them, then what was the purpose of bringing us here? And where did Baiyun go?” I asked.

"Well~~~!" Li Hai smiled mysteriously and said, "Then we'll see how we perform tonight."

"Hey!" I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, a very bad premonition. I frowned and asked, "You're not planning to go into this maze-like underground palace tonight to find the answers, are you?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Li Hai shrugged and asked me.

Sigh! It seems there isn't one! I sighed. Although I've always failed at maze games since I was a child, it seems there's really no other way this time!

Volume 2, The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter 40: Tsukihime Reappears

Volume 2, The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter 40: Tsukihime Reappears

As night fell, a deathly silence enveloped everything, as if all sound had been swallowed up in this unknown underground labyrinth. I don't know if it was because we were underground or if the Moonshadow Clan's buildings had exceptionally good soundproofing, but this palace, which should have been the residence of all the clansmen, was eerily quiet.

Opening the door, the intense white light in the hallway was blinding, yet it was more unsettling than darkness. Everything seemed clearly visible, yet also seemed entirely illusory.

Swallowing hard, I reluctantly followed Li Hai. He was walking along, glancing at the talismans pasted on the walls, saying it was to help him find his way back and also to test for any resentment in the area. Strangely, although the talismans didn't turn black, they began to tremble incessantly as soon as they touched the walls, as if the walls themselves were shaking, even though they were perfectly still. These yellow talismans, moving without wind, created a strange and mysterious scene, making me feel suffocated.

"Li Hai, are you sure you'll find something?" I asked, picking at my ear. For some reason, it felt like water was in my ear, and even my own voice was ringing.

"Don't rush, how will we know if it will work if we don't try?" Li Hai replied while diligently continuing to stick his talisman on.

"How can these talismans move on their own?" I asked, glancing at the talismans beside me that were trembling incessantly as if struck by a seizure.

"I don't know," Li Hai replied, frowning.

"No way, you don't know? Aren't you a magic student?" I followed behind him, annoyed.

"I've never encountered this situation before. It's probably because we're currently inside the Moonshadow Clan's barrier," Li Hai offered a reluctant explanation. Ugh! I rolled my eyes helplessly. What kind of explanation is that? Looks like I need to be extra careful!

The yellow talismans on the black walls trembled incessantly. Standing in this brightly lit maze-like corridor, I was already feeling parched, and my restlessness was making this seemingly endless groping unbearable. Looking at the tightly closed doors—perhaps these led to the bedrooms of the other Moonshadow Clan members—I hesitated, wondering whether to push one open, when Li Hai, who had seen through my intentions, grabbed me.

What do you want to do?

"Since we haven't found any clues, let's go in and take a look!" I replied.

"Are you crazy? Do you want them to find out?" Li Hai lowered his voice, afraid of waking them inside the door.

"Alright, stop whispering. They won't notice at all. Haven't you realized that we haven't heard a single sound, let alone a human voice, since we got here?" I said, a little annoyed.

"Maybe they've all gone to sleep?" Li Hai hypothesized.

"Sleep down? Did they all fall asleep at the same time?" I pressed my throbbing temples, and the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt. The entire maze was eerily quiet, like a gigantic tomb, without a single sound.

"But you can't go in!" Li Hai tried to pull me forward.

"Do you think we'll find any clues if we keep going like this?" I asked.

"Let's try one more time. If it really doesn't work, we can go back." Li Hai tugged at my clothes. Seeing his determined look, I had no choice but to keep him company.

Time seemed to fly by as we groped our way through, yet it also seemed to drag on. I'd lost count of how long we'd been walking under the bright light; my eyes were starting to hurt more and more, my vision was blurring, and my legs felt like lead, growing heavier and heavier. In a daze, a strange smell drifted through the air, a smell I felt I'd smelled somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place it.

Shaking my drowsy head, I followed the scent step by step. The smell was coming from a half-open door at the end of the corridor. This was the first open door I had ever seen among all the closed doors. My legs moved faster than I wanted, and I hurried over, pulling Li Hai behind me. At that moment, I had only one wish: to see what was hidden behind that door.

Pushing open the door, I found myself in a vast, dimly lit hall. Before me stood an enormous statue of the goddess Senluo, and beneath it, the silhouette of a graceful woman. Her long, black hair moved without wind, obscuring her face, so I couldn't see her clearly.

"Li Hai, look!" I said, turning around, but to my surprise, there was no sign of Li Hai! Only a dazzling white light shone outside the door. Turning back again, I saw the woman's long hair was now loose, and beneath it, I thought I saw a blood-red left eye.

I instinctively took a step back. Now I regret not asking Li Hai for some exorcism talismans for self-defense.

"We meet again." The woman's soft voice echoed through the empty hall.

We meet again? I looked closely at the face hidden under the black hair with suspicion. This... is not Tsukihime, no, or perhaps it's Tsukiwa?

"Are you Tsukihime or Tsukiwa?" I cautiously probed.

"It seems you have a good memory, Lin Xiao. I am Yue Ji." Yue Ji said, tossing her long hair over her face. She looked extremely charming, with eyes like autumn water and a face like a lotus flower. Her delicate body seemed boneless as she twisted toward me.

"If you encountered a ghost, would you forget about it so quickly?" I clenched my hands, my palms already sticky.

"Hehe, I didn't expect you to still be able to joke at a time like this." Yue Ji smiled and then said, "Well then, welcome to the world of the Moon Shadow Clan."

"What on earth is going on?" I asked hurriedly. "Shouldn't all your people be dead? How come they're all here? Also, have you seen a man wearing a mask of the dead? One of my friends was kidnapped by him."

"Death?" Yueji stared at me blankly, and slowly said, "What is life? What is death? How can you and I define life and death?"

“Life is life, and death is death. Does this need to be definitively concluded?” I said.

"The living often fear death, while the dead often yearn for life," Tsukihime said softly.

"I don't care about life or death, all I want to know right now is where my friends Baiyun and Li Hai went? And how can we get out of here?" I asked.

“Your friends are all safe, and you can go out as well. As long as you do me a favor!” Tsukihime said.

"Help you? How can I help?" I asked suspiciously.

“I want you to save my people!” Tsukihime replied.

"Save your people?" I exclaimed in surprise. "Aren't they all perfectly fine?"

"They're all right?" Tsukihime gave a desolate smile and said, "They're all right now, but if the barrier disappears, they'll die!"

"The barrier disappeared? No way, Li Hai clearly said that the spiritual power of this barrier was extremely strong!" I said.

“But the spiritual power will disappear sooner or later, and the deadline is in three days!” Yue Ji replied.

"It will disappear in three days? But... but why? Even so, I can't help you. I don't have any spiritual power!" I said hurriedly.

“I know you have it. You can do it if you use your Lin family’s soul refining technique!” Yue Ji said to me without any room for argument.

"Another soul refining technique? I only know a little bit of it, there's no way I could create a barrier like this for you!"

I rubbed my forehead. This is simply asking the impossible!

“Anyone in the Lin family will naturally know how to use this spell. It’s in your family’s nature, just like how a person is born knowing how to breathe!” Yueji encouraged me.

"Innate nature? But the Lin family you've encountered has already degenerated, so I'm sorry I can't help you!" I said with difficulty.

"No, no, it can't be. You can do it!" Yueji grabbed my clothes, almost pleading, "Can you really bear to watch thousands of people die in front of you?"

"This..." I was speechless for a moment. Yes, could I really just watch so many lives disappear before my eyes? Could I really pretend that nothing had happened? Even if the other thousands of people were strangers to me, could I remain indifferent to the disappearance of Tsukihime and the Kassan family who had warmly welcomed us?

"I know you're a good person, you'll help me, right?" Tsukihime looked at me with teary eyes. Despairing and sorrowful eyes are usually a beautiful woman's most frequently used weapon, and they never fail to work.

"I...I want to help you, but I'm powerless to do so!" I said, feeling a little soft-hearted.

"No, you have the ability! As long as you are willing to cooperate!" Tsukihime said excitedly.

"Cooperate? How do we cooperate?" I asked, somewhat intrigued. If it could really help them, it might not be a bad thing. After all, this ethnic group does have many amazing aspects.

"As long as you cooperate with my sacrificial ceremony, I can summon the power hidden within you, and then a new barrier can be formed," Tsukihime replied.

"Use my power to form a barrier? But isn't this your Moonshadow Clan's barrier? How come in the end you have to rely on someone else's power? Also, Moonwa once gave me a book about the Soul Refining Technique. Haven't you ever read it?" I asked curiously.