Heaven’s Shadow

He Yi had never seen this dog before, or rather, even if he had, he wouldn’t have paid attention to such an ordinary black dog. However, seeing the dog now, he was slightly surprised. It was strange that a place as ominous as this, where all living things avoided at all costs, had a dog wander in. He was also surprised by the dog’s injuries and scars.

This was clearly a severely injured dog, not only scarred but also missing an eye and part of its tail, making it look ugly and frightening. He Yi, being a normal person, frowned at the sight of the black dog, feeling a bit disgusted.

However, his expression soon softened slightly. This change wasn’t due to a sudden burst of compassion, but because the sight of the dog reminded him of his brother, He Gang. He Gang had been severely injured and disfigured after being attacked by a pack of demonic black jackal dogs in the Confusion Lands. After a series of events, he now looked neither human nor ghost, causing He Yi, as the elder brother, to feel heartache. Somehow, seeing this black dog, He Yi felt a sudden pang of sympathy.

So, instead of chasing the black dog away, He Yi paused to watch it for a moment before walking over. The black dog watched him silently without moving, neither retreating nor avoiding him. There was a strange glimmer in its single eye, fixated on He Yi.

He Yi glanced at the dog and then outside the door, confirming that there was no one else around. It seemed no one had deliberately brought the dog here. This made it even more puzzling, as He Yi had noticed that this place was filled with a dense, ominous atmosphere that repelled all living creatures. Not even rats or cockroaches could be seen in this cemetery.

Could it be that the dog’s black color made it unafraid of the darkness of the cemetery? This absurd thought crossed He Yi’s mind, making even him feel bored. Still, he felt some goodwill towards the dog and waved at it, saying, “This isn’t a place for you. Go away.” He made a shooing motion as he spoke.

The black dog took two steps back, still staring at He Yi. Perhaps because He Yi hadn’t shown much hostility and had even been somewhat gentle, the dog didn’t react aggressively. It glanced into the cemetery’s courtyard, seemingly hesitant. The dark and eerie atmosphere inside clearly made it uncomfortable, and it didn’t want to enter.

After a moment’s hesitation, the dog retreated more than a yard and lay down under a big tree, as if waiting for something. He Yi glanced in that direction, shook his head, and decided not to bother. He had enough trouble dealing with people; who had the time to worry about a dog?

※※※

He Yi turned and walked deeper into the courtyard. The door to the room where Su Mo and the newly arrived errand boy, Lu Chen, were being held was still locked. In the darkness on the other side, the corpse keeper emerged from the shadows like a ghost.

He Yi nodded at him and looked at the closed door, a worried expression on his face. He asked the corpse keeper, “Elder, are they going to be alright?”

The corpse keeper’s face was ashen, his expression always seeming stiff and lifeless. He responded flatly to He Yi’s question, “They won’t die.”

He Yi shook his head, seemingly smiling bitterly, and sighed, “Any results?”

The corpse keeper replied, “Under the Mind Control Technique, the soul is damaged, trapped in terrifying illusions. There is no falsehood in what they say. It shouldn’t be these two.”

He Yi fell silent. The corpse keeper paid him no further attention and casually gestured. A gust of eerie wind arose, sweeping through the courtyard, and the door suddenly creaked open.

He Yi frowned and walked into the room. After a while, he came out dragging two people, Su Mo and Lu Chen. Lu Chen’s face was pale, his eyes vacant, sitting on the ground with a confused expression. He occasionally muttered something, but it was unclear what he was saying. As for Su Mo, his condition was even worse, likely because he had been there longer. He looked like an idiot, drooling, eyes askew, completely transformed from the once noble young man he had been.

He Yi glanced at Lu Chen, then focused most of his attention on Su Mo. After observing for a while, he suddenly stood up and said to the corpse keeper, “Elder, thank you for your help this time, but I think we should leave it at that. As for tracking down the demonic cult members, I’ll figure something out on my own.”

The corpse keeper’s expression remained unchanged. He just glanced at He Yi and said coldly, “I owed you a favor, so I helped. Since you don’t need it, I won’t interfere anymore.”

He Yi sighed, “It’s mainly because your ‘Mind Control Technique’ is too domineering. I’m afraid that if this continues, these two people’s minds will be completely destroyed. It doesn’t matter much for that errand boy, but Su Mo has a family background, and we can’t mess around with him.”

“As you wish. But remember, after this, don’t come to bother me again.” The corpse keeper said indifferently, then turned and walked deeper into the courtyard. As he left, he waved his claw-like hand over Su Mo and Lu Chen, and a few dim lights floated up from them, following him into the darkness.

Both Su Mo and Lu Chen trembled suddenly, and then their heads drooped, fainting to the ground.

He Yi walked over and checked their pulses, feeling them gradually stabilize, which reassured him a bit.

After all, the Kunlun Sect has its rules, and he couldn’t act recklessly. If he wronged innocent people and caused their deaths, not even his master or the sect leader could protect him.

With the Mind Control Technique lifted, Lu Chen didn’t seem much different, but Su Mo looked much better; at least the foolish expression with the drooling and skewed eyes was gone, and his face gradually returned to normal, though he still looked somewhat pale.

About half an hour later, He Yi suddenly heard a call from the entrance of the cemetery, “Senior Brother He!”

He turned and saw Su Qingjun standing at the threshold, looking serious. Her gaze fell on the two people lying on the ground, and she immediately showed a look of surprise and concern.

He Yi cupped his hands in greeting, “Good morning, Junior Sister Su.”

Su Qingjun slowly walked over, seemingly trying to keep her emotions in check, and asked, “What happened to them?”

He Yi replied, “Just released them to get some fresh air.”

Su Qingjun’s face turned cold, “What did you do to them?”

He Yi shook his head, “I didn’t do anything. But I’ve finished asking all the necessary questions. It seems they have nothing to do with He Changsheng’s death, so you can take them back when they wake up.”

Su Qingjun was stunned for a moment, then showed a look of joy. At that moment, a groan came from the ground, and Lu Chen woke up first. Not long after, Su Mo also woke up.

He looked around in confusion, his gaze still somewhat unfocused. After a while, he suddenly noticed Su Qingjun, and his face changed, rushing over to hug her, shouting, “Sister, Sister…”

Su Qingjun’s face showed pain as she patted his back, comforting him softly while looking at Lu Chen. She noticed that although Lu Chen’s expression was somewhat strange, he seemed to be in control and was shakily standing up on his own.

Their eyes met, and Lu Chen smiled, indicating he was fine.

Su Qingjun took a deep breath and looked at He Yi, coldly saying, “Senior Brother He, since there’s nothing else, can we leave now?”

He Yi nodded, “Forgive me for not seeing you off.”

Su Qingjun helped Su Mo up, and although Lu Chen looked a bit weak, he walked beside them on his own. As they reached the cemetery gate, a shadow suddenly emerged from a corner ahead.

The black dog, Ah Tu, stood quietly by the roadside, its gaze not on Su Qingjun or Su Mo but on Lu Chen. It wagged its tail slightly and walked towards him.

When Lu Chen saw Ah Tu, his expression changed slightly. He glanced at Su Qingjun, who shook her head and said, “I didn’t bring it here. I don’t know how Ah Tu came here on its own.”

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then nodded, “I see. You go ahead; I’ll follow soon.”

Su Qingjun hesitated but decided she needed to get Su Mo back to the Su family in Kunwu City as soon as possible. She couldn’t worry about Lu Chen at the moment. So she softly instructed, “I’ll take Su Mo back. After settling him down, I’ll come back to check on you.”

Lu Chen smiled, “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

Su Qingjun acknowledged and left with Su Mo. The dark atmosphere of the cemetery seemed to surround Lu Chen and Ah Tu.

Lu Chen squatted down in front of Ah Tu, looking at the dog. Ah Tu’s single eye stared back at him.

For some reason, he felt that the light in Ah Tu’s eye seemed different from before. But he didn’t care. He just smiled slightly, patted Ah Tu’s head, and said, “You’ve gotten smarter, silly dog.”

Ah Tu shook its head silently, and Lu Chen stood up, saying, “Let’s go home.”

As the man and the dog walked out, a figure suddenly rushed past them into the darkness, looking anxious and angry.

Lu Chen paused, glancing back at the figure before turning around, expressionless, and continued towards the warmth of the light. (To be continued.)