When the night was deep and quiet, I got up and summoned a few little devils near the village before I finally found out where the old devil lived.
It was a solitary grave in front of a tombstone inscribed with "Tomb of Beloved Son Zhou Aniu" under a tree not far from the village.
I stared at the name on the tombstone for a long time, then rested my chin on my hand and said with a serious smile, "What a coincidence! This old ghost also has the surname Zhou."
It's quite interesting that this old ghost, with such a frail body, has such a robust name.
I called out "Mr. Ah Niu" a few times.
The old ghost slowly floated out of the grave.
I was somewhat taken aback when I saw him.
The once thin, hunchbacked old ghost has transformed into a young, strong, and honest-looking lad.
I thought I had mistaken the grave for the right one.
I looked around, but there were no other graves nearby except for this solitary one, so I tentatively asked, "Are you the old ghost who received my spiritual power for three days that day?"
He nodded at me, seemingly seeing through my confusion, and politely explained, "It is I, young lady. You have not mistaken me for someone else. If it weren't for your spiritual power, I wouldn't have regained my original appearance and wouldn't have had the opportunity to see you again."
After saying that, he bowed to me to express his gratitude.
Then I realized what was happening and hurriedly bowed respectfully in return: "It is also thanks to Mr. Ah Niu's help that I had the opportunity to find my young master's soul."
I continued, "Sir, you were able to see my young master's extraordinary physique at a glance, and you also know how to summon the soul of a supreme god. This is certainly not something an ordinary mortal could know. Surely your identity is also extraordinary?"
Ah Niu chuckled lightly: "You are indeed a discerning and intelligent person."
With his hands behind his back, he gazed at the bright moon in the distance with a complex expression and a deep look in his eyes, and began to speak: "I was originally a medicine boy of the Supreme Lord Laozi in heaven. Because I made a mistake, I was punished by heaven and my immortal body was sealed in the mortal body of reincarnation, so that I became the village guardian here."
"The village guardian?" I asked, puzzled.
“The ‘village guardian’ is a celestial being who is reincarnated as a foolish mortal in special villages in the mortal world where evil energy is strong.”
He sealed his body and spiritual power in this land to protect the people here from demons and monsters, and I am the guardian of this village.
But I was young and impetuous, unwilling to be lonely in the body of a fool, so I secretly broke the seal and let my immortal body wander around. Unexpectedly, a demon with abundant spiritual energy took the opportunity to seize my body and I was unable to return to it.
My immortal body, whose punishment in the mortal realm had not yet ended, was unable to join the ranks of immortals. Furthermore, the spiritual energy sealed within my mortal body was completely absorbed by that demon, leading to my death.
Without the sealed spiritual power, I could only maintain my immortal body and barely guard this place by absorbing the incense offerings from my mortal relatives. As my immortal body gradually lost its spiritual energy and I aged, the girl was able to regain her original appearance thanks to my spiritual power.
After hearing his story, I did not sympathize with his plight. He had made a mistake and was demoted to the mortal realm to guard this place. It was truly unacceptable for him not to properly perform his duties and instead wander around aimlessly.
But when I heard that it was that damned thing again, I was furious. Judging from the timeline, it was probably because he, like me, had absorbed Wen Heng's divine power.
That's how he was able to possess such powerful spiritual energy that he could seize the mortal body of a minor immortal. Thinking about it, it seems I also bear some responsibility for this.
I patted his shoulder, feeling guilty: "Sir, if you need any more spiritual power, I will certainly give it to you generously." At worst, I can sleep for a few more days, but I can't let my family worry like last time, so I need to prepare in advance.
Ah Niu's expression darkened as he waved his hand and said, "Although I have regained my original immortal form, my time in the mortal realm is coming to an end, and I no longer need your spiritual power. You must have come to see me today for something important, right?"
Then I remembered the purpose of my visit, and I quickly and concisely told him about Wen Heng's current situation.
Unexpectedly, he also seemed helpless and said, "As you said, it seems that this young master is indeed a person who has lost his divine consciousness. Losing one's divine consciousness is equivalent to losing one's divine power and being unable to control it. Only a sufficiently strong divine consciousness can autonomously recall the remaining soul and body. Others cannot summon it!"
"Isn't the divine consciousness of the Supreme God powerful enough? He can find it back on his own, right?" I asked with hopeful anticipation.
Ah Niu still shook his head: "Divine consciousness is formless, intangible, and without spiritual power. It is an independent entity that ordinary people cannot see or touch. Only when a person with high spiritual power discovers its existence and actively uses their own spiritual power to nurture it can it become strong! As for the remaining missing one soul and four spirits, without a body with divine consciousness, they cannot be recalled."
If it weren't for the fact that the young master's remaining two souls and three spirits constituted an extraordinary body, it would be truly remarkable that he could still maintain a mental state slightly inferior to that of an ordinary mortal.
Hearing this, I jumped up in even greater anger: "I can't actively recall my divine consciousness; without it, the remaining soul cannot be recalled!"
Does that mean I can only pray every day for a miracle—that some damn divine consciousness will stumble upon some lucky genius who will discover its existence, nurture it, and wait for it to return to its body on its own?
Am I supposed to wait until this flower withers, until the end of time?
I reluctantly grabbed him and asked, "Sir, with your great abilities and far-sighted knowledge, surely you have other solutions?"
Mr. A Niu shook his head helplessly again, plunging my burning heart into despair.
At that moment, just like my heart, which was now ice-cold and chilled to the bone, a sudden, silent blizzard began to fall...
In the distance, two underworld messengers, one dressed in black and the other in white, drifted towards us, their steps treading through the snow...
The white-robed ghost messenger spoke fluent ghost language: "Little Immortal Medicine Boy, you have abandoned your post and lost your immortal spirit. The Heavenly Emperor has already revoked your immortal status, and you will never be an immortal again. King Yama has sent us to take you back to the Underworld for judgment. We have been looking for you for so long, so hurry up and come with us."
I was already furious, and then these two sinister ghost messengers ruined my mood and caused trouble. I was unwilling to give up, so I blocked Ah Niu behind me and said seriously, "No! You can't take him away yet. If he leaves, who will guard this village?"
The black and white ghosts looked me up and down with disdain, as if I could actually speak ghostly language.
Then, upon seeing the divine punishment mark on my forehead that mortals cannot see, I suddenly realized and said, "The identity of the God Wenheng as Zhou Lang and the identity of the young lady as Ahua have taken over the roles of the village guardians here."
"When did I ever agree to be the guardian of this village?"
My anger hadn't subsided when I received this news, and I was so furious that I felt like I wanted to go up and fight him, but Ah Niu stopped me and shook his head.
The tall, dark-skinned guy standing to the side, not wanting to get into a fight with me, threw out a sentence at me:
"Cause and effect, retribution, are predetermined in the dark. Miss, you should know the reason behind your divine punishment. Don't delay our mission."
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