Chapter 275 Strange Conversation
The refugees who fled to the mountains and were saved by the goddess of the moon established the village of the moon, which worshipped the gods. However, in later generations, they moved out en masse, seemingly out of some kind of fear.
I tried to summarize the information I had previously gathered.
As for the content of their fears, neither the innkeeper nor the regular customers could give a clear answer. They couldn't even determine whether the villagers of Guyue Village—or rather, Hujia Village—had avoided Yueyin Mountain out of fear.
Seeing this, I had no choice but to ask in a different direction: "Do you know anything more about the deeds of that Ancient Moon Goddess?"
"Well... I heard that the Ancient Moon God not only conjured up food and water, but also clothing and shelter for the refugees to survive the winter. I don't remember much else," the shopkeeper said. "Those who experienced it firsthand have all passed away. I only remember that in the stories that have been passed down, it is said that the Ancient Moon God could grant any wish. As long as the believers could imagine it, the Ancient Moon God could conjure it up."
A regular customer added: "Not only are essential supplies needed to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter provided, but even abstract things like 'health' and 'courage' seem to be provided to believers by the Ancient Moon God—at least that's how it's described in the legends of Moon Hidden Mountain City."
Anything imaginable can be conjured up—
This so-called "ancient moon goddess" who can grant any wish gives me the feeling of a silver moon with the power to "turn fantasy into reality".
In Luoshan, only the Great Impermanence is considered a god, while those at the Great Completion level are at most considered demigods. No matter how outstanding Silver Moon is among those at the Great Completion level, the mainstream opinion among demon hunters would not consider her a god.
However, it was a different story for ordinary people, especially for the general public who had low levels of education a century ago.
Whether it's conjuring up an inexhaustible supply of food, an endless source of water, or altering the climate of a mountain peak… these are things they undoubtedly believe only gods can accomplish. With the power of the Silver Moon, she can basically satisfy all human desires. And once she unleashes her fury, she can even wipe out an army or destroy a city with a single blow.
Some deities in Eastern and Western mythology may not even be as powerful as her.
Furthermore, upon closer reflection, the name "Gu Yue Shen" is quite interesting. "Gu Yue" is a homophone for "Hu," so Gu Yue Village is Hu Family Village, and Gu Yue Shen is Hu Shen (the God of Hu). "Hu" is a homophone for "fox," so "Hu Shen" is "fox god." This also subtly aligns with the identity of the Great Accomplished Fox Demon, Yin Yue.
Therefore, the naming conventions of "Guyue Village" and "Guyue God" may have been intentional. It's possible that Yinyue didn't conceal her fox nature from the refugees, or perhaps the villagers of Guyue stumbled upon Yinyue's true identity by chance and hid part of the truth within the local culture that has been passed down through generations.
At the same time, this practice of hiding the truth within legends and culture also reveals the taboo surrounding the Guyue villagers who fled the mountains in the past. They wanted to preserve and pass on history, but they were also afraid that revealing the truth would bring misfortune.
As I analyzed it, I slowly began to sense a feeling similar to when I was investigating folk tales and legends, and a sense of nostalgia rose in my heart.
“You mentioned before that some tourists accidentally wandered into Hu Family Village on Moon Shadow Mountain… Since you specifically brought it up as a topic of conversation, it must mean that it wasn’t an ordinary event, right?” I asked.
Incidentally, the "fireflies" I released to scout the Moonshadow Mountain area beforehand did not find any trace of Hu Family Village; it just looked like a dense, intricate forest.
“There are only a few families left in Hujia Village now, and it’s located in an undeveloped area of Yueyin Mountain. Generally, tourists can’t find Hujia Village. They probably just carelessly wandered off the mountain path and got lost in the forest,” a regular customer said.
The innkeeper scoffed, "Careless? I think it's arrogance. Occasionally, some young people with such overconfidence appear out of nowhere, ignoring the guide's advice and sneaking into the mountains to do some kind of adventure or camping, and then they never come back. It's all because of those overconfident fools; fewer tourists are coming here."
"Didn't a boy also find dead in the woods a week ago? His hair was dyed white, and he was wearing white ancient costume. I wonder if he thought he was a young hero who roamed the mountains. In the end, no one has claimed his body."
A boy with white hair and dressed in white ancient costume? I immediately asked him for details, and the shopkeeper took out a newspaper from under the counter and handed it to me.
In a corner of one page of the newspaper, there was an obituary with a photograph of the deceased. Asa peeked over from the side, and I looked closely too. The person in the photo was a handsome young man with a youthful and adorable face—clearly someone Asa and I both knew.
"Winter carriage?" Ma Zao murmured incredulously.
Fuyutsuya died? And a week ago, before she even met Asahi and me, she had already died in Tsukigami Mountain?
So what about the Winter Chariot that was with us before? Was it really a strange creature that appeared in the outside world after we killed the Winter Chariot?
Speaking of strange creatures lurking in Mount Tsukikage, the only one that comes to mind is Silver Moon. Thinking of this, a ridiculous possibility occurred to me—could it be that Asahi and I had been spending all this time with Silver Moon, who was disguised as a beautiful young boy?
But what motive would Silvermoon have to risk coming so close to me? If she approached me with some purpose, why hasn't she done anything to us?
Or has she already done something in secret that we just haven't noticed?
Countless ideas swirled in my mind. Then, I asked the innkeeper and regular customers, "Since you know that the other tourist who got lost in the mountains accidentally wandered into Hujia Village, does that mean he eventually made it back to the foot of the mountain safely? Was he brought back by the villagers of Hujia Village?"
"No, he was saved by a white-haired boy dressed in white ancient clothing. It seems to have happened this morning," a regular customer said.
The shopkeeper nodded: "Yes, I heard about it too. Fortunately, the person was rescued. Otherwise, if the news of someone's death got out, our business would suffer again."
"Wait a minute..." I immediately realized something was wrong. "Didn't you just say that the white-haired boy was found dead in the mountains? How come you rescued the tourists this morning... Isn't the one who died a week ago the same person who appeared this morning?"
The one that died a week ago was most likely the real Winter Chariot, and the one that appeared this morning was probably an imposter. I clearly told that Winter Chariot not to approach the Moonshadow Mountain area for the next two days, but it still came close. It really is a strange and unpredictable creature; I can't expect it to obey my orders.
That was my original thought, but the reaction of the two people opposite me caught me off guard.
The regular customer looked puzzled, while the shopkeeper asked, perplexed, "What? He was found dead a week ago... When did I say anything like that? That boy didn't die."
"Didn't you just show me the obituary?"
As I spoke, I picked up the newspaper beside me and glanced at it. Then I noticed that the obituary that had been pasted in the corner of the newspaper had inexplicably disappeared.
My first thought was that I was encountering something strange.
Just moments ago, the shopkeeper said Dongche had died, but now he claims he hasn't, and the obituary has vanished without a trace... It's as if the past has been unknowingly altered, and only I retain the original memory.
No, it wasn't just me. Asahi also showed a surprised expression, her whole body tensing as she surveyed her surroundings. She had clearly noticed the contradiction between what she had just heard and what she was hearing now.
I held my breath and scanned my surroundings with my senses, but found nothing unusual. The shopkeeper and regular customers continued to stare at me with incomprehension.
"So... what about that tourist?" I asked again. "Wasn't that tourist rescued by the white-haired boy this morning? Do you know where he is right now?"
"What do you mean, 'saved'?" the innkeeper asked, puzzled. "Didn't I tell you at the beginning that the tourist was found dead in the mountains?"
His words contradicted himself again. I looked down at the newspaper again and saw an obituary in the corner of the page, this time with the picture of an unfamiliar young man.
Meanwhile, Asaho used the fake "Moon in the Water" technique to further influence the innkeeper and regular customers. Previously, she had merely made them willing to answer all our questions, but now Asaho was directly manipulating them. They suddenly became listless, like puppets on strings.
Fortunately, there were no other customers in the restaurant, which made things easier for us. We continued our questioning of the two men while also examining the surrounding area. It was now almost certain that the source of the strange phenomenon was neither with them nor within the restaurant. They were merely victims of the strange occurrences.
If the source of the strange phenomena cannot be determined, then conversely, it could be anywhere in the town.
Judging from the scale of the previous discussion, the entire town, including Moonshadow Mountain, might be affected. Perhaps we didn't just happen to encounter this situation because we were gathering information in this restaurant; no matter where we are in Moonshadow Mountain City, we might encounter situations where our conversations with locals are completely irrelevant.
The investigation yielded no results, so Mazao and I had no choice but to leave the restaurant.
By this time, the night sky had unknowingly become covered with dark clouds, and the sound of muffled thunder could be faintly heard, as if a torrential downpour was about to arrive.
(End of this chapter)
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