12dz Chapter 3 Anomaly
Chapter 3 Anomaly
Lin Mo walked down the rugged mountain path for about half an hour before the outline of human habitation finally appeared in the distance.
It was a small town built along the water, but it looked quite lively. A wide river flowed through the town, with sails dotting the surface and crowds thronging the docks.
We've arrived at Qinghe Town.
He did not rush into the town, but instead found a secluded stream not far outside the town.
His reflection in the stream showed his tattered, blood-stained, and muddy coarse cloth clothes. The strips of cloth wrapped around his bare feet were worn through, revealing scabbed wounds underneath. His hair was disheveled, and his face was covered in filth. He looked exactly like a beggar fleeing a disaster, or rather, a "living corpse" that had just crawled out of a mass grave.
With that kind of appearance, let alone trying to get information, he'd probably be driven away by the townspeople as soon as he got close, and might even cause unnecessary trouble.
He took out the few pieces of silver and copper coins from his pocket, weighed them in his hand, and figured that it should be enough to buy a set of the most ordinary clothes and a pair of straw sandals.
He squatted down and carefully washed his face, hands and feet, and managed to tie up his disheveled hair. Although he still looked disheveled, at least he wasn't as frightening anymore.
After doing all this, he took a deep breath and headed towards Qinghe Town.
There were no guards at the town entrance, only a weathered stone tablet inscribed with the three large characters "Qinghe Town". Stepping into the town, a complex aroma, a mixture of the fishy smell of the river, the dust of goods, the fragrance of food, and the odors of people and animals, hit you. The streets, paved with bluestone slabs, were not wide, but lined with shops on both sides, and the sounds of hawking, shouting, and bargaining filled the air, brimming with the vitality of a bustling marketplace.
Lin Mo's appearance did not attract much attention. Occasionally, a few eyes would fall on his tattered clothes and slightly strange gait, but they would only glance at him curiously and then ignore him.
In this world, it is not uncommon to see homeless people and beggars.
His gaze swept quickly across both sides of the street, soon settling on a rather old-looking clothing shop, its shelves overflowing with garments. At the shop's entrance, an elderly tailor with graying hair was squinting as he mended an old shirt.
Lin Mo walked over, his voice a little hoarse: "Boss, I'd like to buy some clothes, the cheapest ones will do, and a pair of straw sandals too."
The old tailor looked up, sized him up, his cloudy eyes devoid of emotion, and simply pointed to a row of gray and brown coarse cloth short jackets hanging nearby: "Over there, thirty coins a set. Straw sandals five coins."
Lin Mo chose a dark gray set of clothes and a pair of sturdy-looking straw sandals. He counted out thirty-five copper coins and placed them on the wooden stool next to the old tailor. The old tailor took the money, stopped looking at him, and continued mending.
Lin Mo took the clothes and went to a relatively quiet corner behind the shop, where he quickly changed out of the tattered clothes that smelled faintly of decay.
The new clothes were made of rough fabric, which rubbed against his skin and caused some discomfort, but they were clean and fit him well, finally giving him a sense of being a "living person".
Wearing straw sandals relieved the stinging pain in my feet considerably.
He casually crumpled up his worn-out clothes and threw them into the nearby trash heap.
Now, he needs information.
He walked slowly along the street, seemingly aimlessly, but in fact, he was listening carefully to the scattered conversations around him.
"Have you heard? Something seemed to be going wrong at the mass grave to the west last night. Soldiers went there, and apparently someone died..."
"Shh! Keep your voice down, don't talk about government affairs. But it's true, the canal guild in the city is recruiting workers recently. They're short-handed at the docks, they provide meals, and they even pay ten copper coins a day!"
"The Grand Canal Gang? I heard they've been losing a lot of goods lately, it's really weird. If you go to work there, be careful not to get into any trouble..."
"What trouble could there be? We're lucky to have food to eat! These days, there are so many homeless people; why be picky when there's some physically demanding work to do?"
"That's true... By the way, it seems like some good stuff has recently leaked out of the black market in the south of the city, but that place is not somewhere we can go..."
"The four great families seem to be making moves lately, I wonder what they're plotting..."
The fragmented information, when pieced together, gave Lin Mo a preliminary understanding of the situation in Qinghe Town.
The Grand Canal Gang is recruiting workers, goods have gone missing, the four great families, the black market in the south of the city...
But what he was more concerned about at the moment was his own problem. He had to find out the cause of those strange meridians and their ability to attract corpse energy as soon as possible.
Ordinary rumors from the streets obviously cannot provide the answer; he needs more professional channels, such as... places where martial artists gather, or bookstores that sell strange tales and martial arts manuals.
He noticed a teahouse ahead with a sign that read "Qingyuan Teahouse." Inside, many martial arts practitioners carrying knives and swords were making a ruckus. However, he was penniless and his identity was sensitive, so it was not appropriate for him to enter.
After walking a while longer, he saw a bookstore called "Moxiangzhai," which was small and had a quiet and serene storefront. This might be a good choice.
He entered the bookstore, which was dimly lit and filled with the smell of paper and ink. Bookshelves stood in rows, categorized into classics, historical texts, philosophical works, local chronicles, medical texts, divination, and astrology. A middle-aged shopkeeper wearing a square cap was dozing at the counter.
Lin Mo didn't disturb the shopkeeper and browsed the bookshelves on his own. His goal was clear: to find records related to meridians, physique, unusual cultivation techniques, or corpse energy and death energy.
He flipped through several books, including "Illustrations of Human Meridians" and "An Introduction to Internal Breathing Exercises," which contained only the most basic martial arts knowledge and were of no help to him. He then found a book called "Tales of the Martial World," which recorded many strange and bizarre events involving extraordinary people, but most of them were legends and lacked empirical evidence.
Just as he was feeling somewhat disappointed and preparing to leave, he caught a glimpse of a thin booklet with yellowed pages and badly torn edges in an inconspicuous corner at the bottom of the bookshelf. The cover was covered with blurry writing that read "Miscellaneous Talks on Yin Meridians".
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. He squatted down and pulled out the booklet. The booklet was very thin, only a dozen pages long, and felt cool to the touch.
He opened the booklet; the handwriting inside was also messy and blurry, seemingly a person's casual notes. The opening mentioned that most martial artists in the world cultivate by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine their yang inner energy. However, heaven and earth are divided into yin and yang, and a very small number of people are born with "yin meridians," with a constitution that is more yin, making them more affinityy for yin, cold, and deathly energy.
"Those with Yin Meridians initially appear no different from ordinary people, and may even have a weak and cold constitution. Cultivating Yang-style techniques is much less effective, and they are often mistakenly considered to have low aptitude. However, if they can find a suitable Yin-attribute technique, or be in an extremely Yin place, their cultivation speed will be incredibly fast, and their internal energy will possess the characteristics of Yin coldness and corrosiveness, making it unpredictable and difficult to guard against..."
Upon seeing this, Lin Mo's eyes narrowed. The original "Lin Mo" was assessed as having "mediocre talent" in the Lin family, and his progress in cultivating the family's masculine techniques was slow. Was this because he possessed this "yin meridian," rather than being truly mediocre?
He continued reading.
"...However, the Yin Meridians also have hidden dangers. Without the guidance of a renowned master or the harmonization of authentic techniques, they are extremely susceptible to the erosion of Yin energy and corpse energy, affecting one's mind. In severe cases, they may even transform into mindless, bloodthirsty zombies. Furthermore, the Yin Meridians naturally attract corpse energy and death energy. When practicing, they often draw in surrounding Yin and death energy. If not properly controlled, this can backfire and harm the practitioner..."
Invoking the corpse energy! If not controlled properly, it will backfire and harm oneself!
This description is so similar to his previous experiences in the cave and the mass grave!
Could this body be the "Yin Meridian" mentioned in this booklet?
He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and continued reading. The following pages recorded several methods that were said to temporarily suppress or channel the yin meridians to gather yin energy, but most of them required specific drugs or environmental conditions, and were vague, like the recorder's conjecture. The last few pages were completely blurry and illegible.
Although this book, *Miscellaneous Talks on Yin Meridians*, is brief and vague in many places, it at least provides a direction and a possible explanation. The unusual symptoms in one's own body may very well be related to these "yin meridians."
"Yin Meridians... require a compatible cultivation method..." Lin Mo silently noted this crucial information. Ordinary martial arts methods would likely struggle to resolve his problem, and might even exacerbate the hidden dangers due to conflicting techniques. He needed to find a cultivation method truly suitable for Yin Meridians, or at least a way to harmonize this constitution.
He closed the booklet and put it back. This collection of anecdotes was of limited value, but it confirmed his suspicions and made him realize the seriousness of the problem. Until a solution was found, he had to be cautious in his internal energy cultivation and avoid lingering in places thick with the aura of death, lest he attract too much of this yin, deathly energy and corrupt his mind.
He stepped out of the ink-scented study, the afternoon sun shining on him, yet unable to dispel the faint gloom in his heart. The secrets of his body were beginning to emerge, and the road ahead seemed even more shrouded in mist.
He touched the few remaining pieces of silver in his pocket, then turned his gaze back towards the dock.
The canal gangs recruited workers, provided meals and wages, and even offered a temporary place to hide.
There, you might come into contact with all sorts of people and learn more about martial arts, unusual physical constitutions, and techniques.
Let's go check out the dock first.
He made his decision and headed toward the bustling dock.