For several days in a row, the two whose cheeks had been burned said not a single word. They refused food and water—the only certainty was that they were human.
Zachary Justice had examined their bodies. The spell he cast locked their souls in place, making escape impossible, yet he found nothing when probing their souls.
Their souls were sealed by a restriction Zachary had never seen before. It resembled something from the Taoist tradition, but he couldn't be sure. To unravel the mystery, Zachary decided to return to Mount Immeasurable.
He hadn't been back in over a decade. During his travels, he'd heard that the place where he'd once been fostered had grown prosperous.
With countless questions weighing on him, Zachary set out with his two young disciples. The journey would take at least a month, and with these two in tow, he chose to travel through desolate mountains and avoid crowds.
Zachary Justice didn't travel fast. Each day, he taught his disciples something new. The elder disciple, Wu Ju, was much like Zachary—unfazed by hunger, curious about everything, and free-spirited.
The younger disciple, An Le, lived up to his name, always longing for stability and fretting over where the next meal would come from. Yet, compared to Wu Ju, he was more adept at judging the situation.
Both children were picked up along the road—a matter of fate. That's why Zachary took them in. Among wandering Taoists, Zachary Justice was well-known. He had connections with many from the Mount Mason Order, often seeking their advice. Though they only taught him the basics, Zachary always managed to glean something new from it.
The elder disciple was slow-witted but optimistic and eager to explore. Zachary planned to nurture him, hoping he'd forge his own path. The younger disciple was sharp, with a photographic memory, but showed little interest in new things. Zachary intended to pass his legacy to him.
"Master, I haven't had a full meal in days. I can't walk any farther."
Half a month into their journey, one afternoon, An Le could go no further. Wu Ju walked over to him.
"Junior brother, I'll pull you along. Come on, just a bit farther and we'll reach a market soon..."
"You and Master always lie to me. 'Just a bit farther'—we've been walking for two days and haven't seen a soul."
Zachary Justice smiled helplessly, took a shriveled bun from his coat, broke it, and handed it over.
"Master, you eat. I'm not hungry."
Wu Ju smiled as he spoke. An Le immediately snatched the bun and stuffed it into his mouth, finishing it all.
Now, what worried Zachary most were the two trailing behind them. They hadn't eaten at all, yet their bodies showed no signs of weakness. It was deeply unsettling.
Finally, they reached a town. Zachary Justice set up a fortune-telling stall. By late afternoon, the three finally had a proper meal. Wu Ju ate little, carefully saving the leftovers in his coat.
An Le ate a lot, but still looked unsatisfied.
In a dilapidated hut outside town, Zachary and his disciples settled in. Opposite them sat the two pale-faced men—this time, their eyes were open, staring at him as if watching his every move.
But on the tenth day, a corpse was laid at the gates of the mountain.
"Brother Invisible..."
Zachary Justice glared angrily at the Taoist lying on the ground. The body had been dead for several days, with a bowl-sized wound where the heart should have been. The heart was gone, and the fatal blow had struck directly from the front with immense force.
Master Boundless sat quietly at the mountain gate, waiting in silence. Zachary Justice was anxious. He knew Master Boundless's disciples were all strong—Brother Invisible was the youngest and only a little weaker than himself—yet someone had killed him so easily, leaving Zachary stunned.
"Master, let me go for help. I can be back in three days at most."
As Zachary spoke, Master Boundless opened his eyes.
"I know who you want to ask for help, Zachary. But as Taoists, we do not accept the aid of those who are impure. I hope you understand this."
Zachary Justice stared quietly at Master Boundless. On the second and third days, more corpses of Master Boundless’s disciples were laid at the gate. Each had been killed with a single blow, a bowl-sized hole where the heart should have been.
The one Zachary Justice wanted to ask for help was a Ghost Lord. The closest to Mount Immeasurable was the Infernal Ghostlord. Over the past ten years, he had sought out seven Ghost Lords. They had not caused trouble, but lived freely, never bothering the Taoist world.
Zachary Justice and the Infernal Ghostlord got along well. They had once shared drinks together. To seek help, he only needed to enter the Infernal Ghostlord’s territory.
Everything was just as Eli Moon had told Zachary Justice years ago: there is no true division between black and white in this world, only between people and ghosts. Both humans and ghosts have good and evil, beginnings and endings. Zachary no longer thought about black and white, for he could not grasp it, nor could he make clear distinctions. So for him, gray was best.
Ten days later, Brother Natural returned. As Master Boundless’s senior disciple, he had lost a hand and crawled back, covered in wounds.
"Who were they?"
After tending to Brother Natural’s wounds, Zachary Justice asked angrily.
Brother Natural shook his head.
"A group of masked people. Especially the one with the golden mask—he’s terrifying, hardly human. I could barely handle the ones with blue masks, and there were many with red and black masks. They’ve surrounded Mount Immeasurable."
Master Boundless stared silently at the scene outside. Then he stood up with a faint smile, picked up his horsetail whisk, and walked out.
Outside the mountain gate, in the woods, a crowd of masked people gathered. Three with golden masks led the group, followed by a dozen blue-masked, dozens of red-masked, and hundreds of black-masked figures.
In that moment, Zachary Justice was filled with rage. He had no idea where these impossibly powerful people had come from.
"Wang Qi..."
"Pan Ming..."
"Mie... Hahaha..."
The three golden-masked leaders spoke. The wild-eyed man on the left was Wang Qi; the one in the middle, slightly taller, was Pan Ming; and the one on the right, nearly two meters tall and built like a tree trunk, was called Mie.
With a whoosh, Zachary Justice’s eyes widened—Mie was suddenly in front of him before he could react. Mie struck, swinging a white horsetail whisk.
With a loud smack, Mie spun through the air and fell back, landing hard on the ground.
"Lord Mie..."
The blue-masked men prepared to charge forward, but Mie stood up angrily, clenching his fists. At that moment, Pan Ming stepped out, raising his hand to block Mie and Wang Qi.
"Afu said, this time out you have to listen to me. If anyone disobeys Afu, you won’t be allowed out for thirty years when we get back."
"I understand. That old Taoist seems pretty strong, though his disciples aren’t much."