What kind of melodramatic widow story is Chapter 24...?
After listening to Ping Yu's words, Nezha's gaze fell downwards. The boy suddenly reached out and clenched his fist; golden light flickered a few times in his palm before solidifying into a physical form.
"where……"
Before Jinzha's shout had even faded, his younger brother raised his arm and slammed the Qiankun Ring into the collapsed patch of wild grass!
There was no dent or crack; instead, a sudden, resounding boom echoed through the air—the hum of metal coming together. The shockwave shot straight to the ground, spreading outwards and sweeping away the withered weeds.
Fearing he might accidentally hurt the siblings' mother, Nezha deliberately restrained his strength, causing the disguise of grass and mud on the ground to crumble.
Having completed the attack, he put away the Universe Ring.
The illusion that had been obscuring their view had vanished, replaced by a rectangular door.
“No wonder it made that sound just now.” Ping Yu rubbed her still-ringing ears and looked at the square door on the ground. “It looks like it’s made of bronze.”
“It is indeed bronze.” Jinzha picked up the door knocker embedded in the surface of the bronze door: “Bronze can ward off evil and bring good fortune.”
After he finished speaking, he exerted force and pulled the ring!
With a flick of his wrist, the practitioner easily opened the door.
Sand and mud seeped down the edges, and Pingyu stared blankly at the scene revealed behind the door: There was a square pit, seemingly dug by someone with a shovel or similar tool. She couldn't tell the depth of the pit because it was densely covered with white…
Is this fur? Or bacteria?
Pingyu didn't know, but she felt that the whole cave was furry and exuded a cold, watery vapor.
"Looks like you guessed right."
As Nezha spoke, he blew a breath onto his fingertip. Instantly, the flames burning on it grew fiercer and more intense, not only illuminating the scene inside the cave clearly but also casting an indistinct shadow on his face. The boy moved his lips and whispered, "The skin covered in white fur is a symbol of a zombie transformation."
He had barely finished speaking when Tong'er called out into the cave:
"mother!"
The call, like a finger bait, attracted the largest fish in the lake to bite the hook. From the white fluff filling the hole, a pair of blue beads appeared in response.
It turned around stiffly twice, finally aiming at Tong'er, flashing a soft green light.
Everything inside the cave demonstrates that Ping Yu's reasoning was flawless.
The zombie and the monster stared at each other like that.
They stood outside the cave, where a zombie-like woman occupied the bottom. White hair grew wildly, and her body lay limply like folded clothes. Jinzha was speechless. Even though he had spent years cultivating elsewhere, he usually resided on Five Dragon Mountain. The sacred mountain was teeming with spirits and monsters, and the villagers at its foot were simple and honest; they had never witnessed such a horrific sight.
Nezha remained calm and reminded him, "When a mortal dies, they become a corpse because of a lingering resentment in their throat. They cannot speak human language. If they do speak, the resentment will dissipate from their throat, and their soul will be scattered."
"Then, then my mother..."
Tong'er hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back; he knew what a zombie was.
Some villagers worked as tomb raiders, rummaging through graves and stealing treasures. Occasionally, they would raid the tombs of wealthy families, reselling the burial goods and making a fortune. They would then boast at the village entrance, carrying wine and meat, about which traps they had encountered that day and which coffins they had opened the previous day. They often said they brought a black dog with them when they went into the tombs, to avoid accidentally opening the coffins and losing their lives.
That corpse was a "zombie," with skin of copper and bones of iron, which would eat any living thing it saw.
When Mother was alive, she forbade them to hear such things. She said that if children listened to talk of ghosts, they would be prone to nightmares at night. But now that she had become a zombie, Tong'er was the one who wanted to be haunted by nightmares. If this were a dream, would Mother be able to speak?
He and Xiao Bei missed their mother so much that they were heartbroken.
Tong'er felt his head turning frequently; Xiao Bei had heard the cries and wanted to see his mother too. But how could he let his younger sister see such a scene?
He gently stroked his head, comforting Xiao Bei, saying, "Be good, little sister. Mommy isn't feeling well right now. Once she's feeling better, brother will let you talk to her." As he spoke, two dark clouds gathered in his eyes, and ink-like liquid streamed down his cheeks.
Pingyu couldn't stand seeing this.
She tugged at her companion and whispered, "Nezha, is there any way to help them? At least we need to get her out of the cave first."
Nezha didn't answer; instead, he held out his hand to the boy: "Give me the cup."
Tong'er didn't understand his meaning, so he quickly took out a wine cup and handed it to her.
Nezha made a hand gesture towards the yellow-mouthed wine cup, and it was enveloped in a burst of red light. Gradually, the wine cup began to change. It began to widen and lengthen, transforming from a vessel into a different shape, until finally, it became a complete spine dragging on the ground.
Pingyu: !
The Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) also slid close to the ground into the cave, wrapping around the zombie's arms and lifting it out. The woman, already thin at the bottom of the cave, was now even thinner, like a newborn cat, lifted by Nezha with the Hun Tian Ling. Her body was limp and lacked support. In the moonlight, her fur resembled an unmelting snowman. The red ribbon turned her around, revealing a knife wound on her back that ran from the back of her neck to her tailbone. It was a gash that could be torn open; zombies have strong regenerative abilities, and the blood from the wound still gushed out.
Nezha pushed the spine in his hand inch by inch into the opening.
Only then did Hun Tian Ling put the woman down.
Unlike the Qing Dynasty zombies in Pingyu's movies, she didn't have straight arms, and her whole body was like a straight spring.
The peddler didn't put a talisman on his wife, who had turned into a zombie, and it's unknown how he managed to cure her.
With a spine, women can move freely.
Upon seeing the zombie, the three men reached out their hands to Tong'er.
"It's actually conscious!?"
Jinzha was also surprised; he couldn't sense any malice from the woman.
Upon hearing this, Pingyu asked in confusion, "Wait, she was able to stand up not because of Nezha's magic?"
“I just returned her spine.” Nezha still held the Hun Tian Ling in his hand, and said something terrifying with clear eyes: “I was even thinking that if she hurt someone, I would strangle the mother and child together.”
"Don't do this!"
Pingyu clung tightly to Nezha's waist to prevent him from suddenly attacking. Her slender arms were weak and powerless. Nezha released the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) to avoid losing control and turning the girl from a human into a ghost.
Tong'er turned her back first, letting Xiao Bei take control of the body. The girl called out silently, and together with her brother, she ran wildly towards her mother. The two ghosts and the corpse embraced each other, unwilling to let go for a long time. Tong'er wept with joy, sobbing as he said to the woman, "Mother, it was these immortals who helped Xiao Bei and me. If this sister hadn't been willing to listen to me, and if the two immortals hadn't disregarded my and my sister's ghostly forms, we wouldn't have seen you today!"
After her son finished speaking, the woman led the children and knelt down before Pingyu and the others.
Starting with the girl, and then moving on to the young man, the mother and her two children kowtowed nine times to each of them. Each time was solemn and forceful, and they kowtowed a total of twenty-seven times.
Tong'er bowed his head, refusing to rise. He said, "When I asked the immortals for help before, I promised them that if they were willing to help me, my soul and Xiao Bei's soul would be at their disposal after the matter was completed. Whether it was forging weapons or making medicine, we would do it willingly. Now that my brother and I have been reunited with our mother, it is time for us to keep our promise!"
Pingyu also looked at Nezha.
She hesitated whether to speak up, but Nezha and Jinzha were the ones who had faced life-or-death situations with her. Apart from finding their mother at the end, she felt that her involvement this time was not very significant.
If you don't contribute enough, you won't have a say.
The zombie gestured twice, then pointed at the child, waved her hand, and then pointed back at herself.
After several movements, the woman kowtowed heavily to Nezha again.
They all understood the meaning: not only the children, but also mine, please take them.
Nezha, who was always chasing ghosts around with his Universe Ring, was hearing nothing but insults and pleas for mercy from demons for the first time. The feeling of being thanked by a ghost was novel, like tasting a sour, tingling sensation in his heart. If he weren't certain the other party wasn't powerful enough, the boy would have thought he was cursed.
He ignored Tong'er's words and replied to the three ghosts, "We still have a use for the peddler."
Tong'er paused briefly, then quickly raised her face again: "Immortal Master, once you're done with your work, could you return it to us? We, the three of us, will not be at peace until he is dead."
"Don't worry," Nezha said. "I hate my dad too."
When his younger brother compared his own father to such scum as the peddler, Jinzha could only pretend to be selectively deaf and act as if he hadn't heard it.
Jinzha clapped his hands, and two golden rings returned from not far away.
They returned to the Dragon-Hiding Pillar, signifying that both humans and the great demon had been released.
People in those days had to get up early for even greater things, and the morning market would be set up as soon as dawn broke. By the time they walked back to the interior of the pass, it was already the busiest time of morning.
Jinzha touched Pingyu's face, and under the influence of magic, she transformed again. This time, the girl wasn't a refugee, but a farmer's daughter dressed in simple clothes. Pingyu looked at her sleeves and suggested to Jinzha, "The clothes need to be two sizes bigger!"
It's not easy for poor families to make new clothes for their children, so they have to make them bigger so that they can still wear them when they grow up.
Nezha caught a glimpse of a shadow flashing by the door out of the corner of his eye, and he ordered, "I'm going to catch someone. Meet at the morning market."
"no problem!"
Jinzha and Pingyu nodded together.
.
As soon as he felt the pressure loosen, the peddler saw that no one was around in the house, so he began to run for his life.
He had seen it clearly from inside the house; those wicked children had indeed found the place where he hid the woman.
Tong'er and Xiao Bei are ghosts, and his wife has become a zombie.
The peddler was terrified, feeling as if the gates of hell were within reach. Fortunately, his shackles had been removed. The man had no time to think further; he simply assumed that the cultivators didn't kill mortals, thus sparing him a chance to live. He needed to escape before the mother and son who were collecting debts noticed him, or he too would perish here.
The peddler rushed into the house, intending to take some money with him and find another place to start over. When Nezha returned to the courtyard, the peddler had just finished packing his travel money and was preparing to leave.
Where are we going?
Nezha looked at him with a half-smile.
The peddler clung tightly to his bundle, making sure his valuables didn't fall. He chuckled and said, "Little deity, didn't you promise me that as long as I didn't tell the demons, you would spare my life?"
Nezha seemed to suddenly remember that there was a Guhuoniao nearby. He swung his Qiankun Ring and smashed it into the bird's only remaining head, saying, "Don't pretend to be dead, or I'll really kill you."
The Guhuoniao had no choice but to open its eyes and glare angrily at the peddler:
That stupid idiot! Why bring up something you shouldn't say? If you want to escape, just escape! Why bring up other demons for no reason?!
When the peddler saw that Nezha ignored him, he called out to him again: "Little immortal? Third Prince?"
"If you want to leave, then leave."
Nezha raised his chin at him and scoffed.
The peddler, relieved to receive confirmation, became even more anxious. He tentatively took a step forward and, finding that Nezha did not stop him, he felt reassured and chose a direction to walk in.
Before he had even taken ten steps, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back.
He instinctively turned around and saw the boy holding a red silk ribbon, which he was using as a whip to lash at him again.
The Heavenly Silk Ribbon possessed divine power, and with Nezha's skillful application of force, even if it tore flesh and shattered bones, no trace of injury could be seen on the surface. The peddler, enduring the pain, asked, "Third Prince, what is the meaning of this?"
"I didn't tell you to go this way."
Nezha slapped him again until the peddler chose the correct direction.
After that, he clung to the man like a shadow. Whenever the man strayed or slowed down, Nezha would whip him with his magic ribbon, toying with him like an animal. The peddler, carrying his bag, dared not relax; when Nezha told him to run, he could only run. He ran until his lungs were practically smoking, but he dared not stop. Gradually, the man's strength began to fail. Jinzha had already given the order, and the soldiers at the checkpoint let him pass. Because of oxygen deprivation, the peddler didn't even realize he had successfully entered Chen Tang Pass.
He kept running and didn't notice that after entering the pass, a little girl was also running in front of him.
The other person scrambled and stumbled, constantly looking back, as if being chased.
Ping Yu saw that they had entered the bustling city, so she took advantage of the most crowded and lively time to deliberately fall flat on her face! She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Help! Father, Mother, someone is going to sacrifice me to a demon!"
"monster!?"
The surrounding pedestrians were in an uproar and stopped what they were doing.
Because of the prevalence of supernatural beings in this dynasty, and the notorious reputation of Nezha, the people within the pass were extremely sensitive to the word "demon." The girl collapsed to the ground, her hair disheveled, crying her heart out, gagging and coughing as she screamed, a pitiful sight. Looking ahead, they saw a square-faced man. His pupils were bloodshot, and he was breathing heavily, truly resembling a demon.
The children nearby were also frightened and cried when they saw this.
The children were crying so hard that the peddler's head was throbbing.
His mind was foggy, and he thought of how Xiao Bei had cried the same way when she saw that woman being killed. Her voice was shrill and loud, as if threatening him that if he did the same, she would become a vengeful ghost and come to claim his life. Disturbed, he stood there, roaring fiercely:
"Stop arguing! If you cry again, I'll cut out your tongues!"
The children immediately fell silent, which elicited gasps from the adults.
Such cruelty—could it be that there are demons running rampant in broad daylight?
For a moment, the bustling morning market was completely silent. Only Pingyu took action; she picked up a stone and threw it at the peddler.
She cried even harder, her teeth aching with hatred. The girl shouted angrily, "You still dare to talk! You heartless wretch, cutting off that girl's flesh wasn't enough, you even wanted to cut off someone else's tongue... If it weren't for Nezha saving me today, I'm afraid I wouldn't be back!"
Nezha, the Third Prince?
The peddler knew perfectly well that he had never seen the other party before. How could he not understand? No wonder Nezha's actions regarding releasing the man were so suspicious; it turned out there was a trap waiting! Someone nearby repeated Nezha's name, unable to contain their curiosity, and asked Pingyu, "Kid, don't be afraid! Is that Third Prince you're talking about the son of General Li of Chentang Pass?"
“It was that little deity!” She clasped her hands together, her eyes shining brightly when she mentioned Nezha: “There’s a powerful demon in that family who makes wine from children. If the Third Prince hadn’t arrived in time, I probably would have been killed in the waist.”
"But why would the Third Prince go there?"
Some people questioned this, finding it hard to believe that Nezha could be so kind. They completely forgot that if Nezha hadn't eliminated all the demons around Chentang Pass, their lives wouldn't have been so peaceful.
Pingyu's eyelashes were still wet with tears, half-real, half-fake, which, combined with the fear on her face, made her quite convincing. By this time, the onlookers were already seven or eight parts convinced; Nezha was indeed capable of anything to exorcise demons!
"Where is the Third Prince? Perhaps you've mistaken him for someone else; that's not the Third Prince, but someone else's Taoist priest!"
The child poked his head out and asked a clear question.
“Red silk, golden ring, and wind-fire wheels—who else but the Third Prince uses these three magical implements?” Pingyu was questioned, so he retorted, “Everyone born and raised in Chentang Pass knows who the Third Prince is. If you can’t even recognize him, you might as well move somewhere else!”
Everyone agrees on this point.
After saying this, the girl frowned again, her face showing worry: "He protected me and ran out, then went back to fight the demon! I wonder how the battle is going now, whether he's..."
The final "matter" was interrupted by a loud noise.
A heavy object, like a meteorite, plummeted from the sky and crashed onto the open ground. Those nearby were momentarily stunned, all staring blankly at the horizon. By now, it was fully light, and under the clear sky, a petite figure was locked in combat with a giant bird. Those with good eyesight shielded their eyes from the sunlight and squinted to see.
The figure rode on a wheel of fire, holding a fire-tipped spear in his hand.
He exclaimed in surprise, "It's the Third Prince!"
He became Ping Yu's stooge, drawing everyone's attention to the sky before disappearing back into the crowd.
Nezha was fighting against the Guhuoniao in the sky, but if you look closely, you can see that the bird demon was being beaten on one side.
With tears welling in her eyes, Guhuoniao pleaded, "Little deity, can we stop acting? If you want to kill me, just give me a quick death!"
"OK."
Nezha answered decisively; he was also tired of acting.
The Hun Tian Ling instantly wrapped around the last head of the Gu Huo Niao and snapped its neck with a crack.
As the boy carried the bird demon's corpse down, the crowd stepped back, yet couldn't resist taking another look.
The demon the Third Prince brought back is enormous; if it were to be placed on the ground, it would probably fill the entire street. And the girl was right, this demon truly does have nine heads.
With witnesses and physical evidence, they now fully believe that Nezha saved people.
Nezha was about to pick up the demon's head that had fallen to the ground. For the first time, he felt that the people were looking at him without fear, and he immediately became uneasy. The boy held the demon's head and explained succinctly, "I've been staking out this place for more than half a month. I learned that it eats children. If no one offers it any tribute, it will even steal children at night to eat them."
In other words, Nezha went to catch demons specifically for the sake of everyone's descendants!?
Before the people could react, he pointed at the silent peddler and said, "You're colluding with a demon, get out of here."
At a command, the Universe Ring transformed into shackles, binding the man's neck. Nezha seized the ring, and together with the demon, they soared into the air. The young hero, riding his Wind-Fire Wheels, looked incredibly majestic as he apprehended the demon and thief!
Just as he disappeared from sight, another woman rushed out from the crowd.
She held Pingyu in her arms, weeping bitterly, "My child, I have finally found you! My darling, your father has been killed by a demon. If something were to happen to you, how could I live?" Her crying was extremely pitiful, with snot and tears streaming down her face.
Pingyu nestled in her arms, her temples throbbing. The girl was filled with a urge to complain; she thought: What kind of melodramatic widow story is this?!
Who would have thought that the common people would fall for this? They all advised the Taoist priest that it was good he was alright, and that surviving such a calamity meant he was bound to have good fortune in the future.
As they were trying to persuade him, someone blurted out, "It was the Third Prince who chased all the demons away!"
Only then did everyone realize what was happening, and their tone changed, praising Nezha for his hatred of evil and his unparalleled heroism.
That's how people are; when their own interests are protected, they can praise even salt as if it were heavenly honey.
Yesterday, Nezha was a mischievous demon king, but today he has transformed into a compassionate and benevolent god.
The woman wiped away her tears and pressed on, saying, "If it weren't for his daily exorcisms, my family would have truly perished! He is our family's greatest benefactor, and I will remember the Third Prince's kindness in the future."
The conversation then shifted to expressing gratitude to Nezha, led by Jinzha.
"Every day, I have to tell my hens the story of the Third Prince subduing demons. It's because they've heard the story of the Third Prince that my eggs are big and round, and you can't buy them anywhere else!" The old lady selling eggs said with great seriousness, while pushing her basket forward.
Wouldn't telling a chicken a story about catching demons scare it to death? The Guhuoniao is a bird, after all!
“My eldest brother was almost dying,” a young nun said, munching on a pancake and joining in the fun. “One night he saw the Third Prince fighting a fierce ghost, and the next morning he immediately ran to the yard to chop wood. He also said that the Third Prince’s righteous spirit deeply moved him, and even his sick body recovered. When he was having snacks, he ate many things that he would never normally eat.”
Instead of that, you should go find a Taoist priest to check on your family first. Your brother has been completely possessed, hasn't he?
"And me..."
The crowd parted to make way for an octogenarian leaning on a cane. He wobbled and trembled as he reached the center. He cleared his throat and said in a trembling voice, "The Third Prince saved my family's cow when I was three years old..."
Everyone praised, "Uncle, your memory is amazing! It seems the Third Prince really does good deeds anonymously! That auntie was right, we must remember the Third Prince's good deeds!"
Pingyu stared at the old man, who looked as if he would breathe his last if he said another word, and her pupils dilated in shock. Wait, did Nezha save your family's ox when you were three? How old is Nezha this year...? That must have been in a past life!?
She silently looked at Jinzha, who was wiping away tears with a handkerchief like a woman. Seeing his demeanor, so secretly pleased with himself, Pingyu thought to herself:
In modern public opinion management, one has to go to the Jinzha Temple to burn incense.
This is the true patriarch!
After the performance, the young man left the scene with the girl.
They returned to the peddler's yard.
When they arrived at their destination, everyone gathered in the main hall. The peddler was ashen-faced; he no longer begged for mercy, but slumped to the ground, awaiting his fate.
Tong'er and her mother, who had become a zombie, surrounded the peddler.
Pingyu asked, "What are you going to do? Kill him?"
She didn't object to violence, especially since the peddler was such a beast; his death was too lenient. Tong'er nodded, placed his hand on the man's head, and said in a vicious voice, "If he doesn't die, the hatred in the hearts of my three children and me will not be appeased."
"Then what will you do?" she hesitated. "If you kill someone, will you become a demon completely? Then..."
The girl looked at the two brothers who were practicing cultivation.
Jinzha turned his back and pretended to be blind, demonstrating through his actions that he had nothing to do with the matter.
Nezha, however, did not hang himself high up as usual.
He pondered for a moment, then held up two fingers to Tong'er and Xiao Bei. The boy had given them a multiple-choice question to answer:
"Do you want him dead, or do you want her to be able to speak?"
A note from the author:
I'm going to be a paid content creator tomorrow! Updates will start promptly at 0:00! There will be a 10,000-word bonus update. Thank you all for your continued support!! [shy] By the way, I added over 1,000 words to the second half of yesterday's chapter. If you haven't read it yet, remember to check it out, otherwise the plot won't flow smoothly! (Okay, okay, I know, stop talking, everyone knows that already. (gets dragged away)
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