Chapter 55: The Floating Lanterns Illuminate the Bone-White Sea; Half a Month Later, the Ghost Realm Celebration...
Half a month later, the Ghost Realm Festival ended. Xi Le returned to Tianjia Mountain and only then learned of all the things that had happened outside.
She thought of asking Yan Xiao in the Guangyi Palace what he meant. Why would the Emperor, who always took the well-being of the people as his responsibility and used Milan to quell the plague, now stand aside? Those two plagues were no ordinary plagues. Was it simply because they were natural laws that gods could not intervene? As she walked down the steps, she encountered a priest coming out of the palace. He was Fang Zhi, the new Martial God who had succeeded Jing Yan. When she was still a junior priest, she had received guidance from him and greatly admired Xi Le.
Fang Zhi strode forward and respectfully asked, "General Xi Le, do you wish to inquire about the Cloud Locust from the Emperor?"
Xi Le nodded in agreement.
Fang Zhi said, "Then you should go back. There's no need to get involved in this mess."
Xi Le frowned and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Fang Zhi looked around, then turned his head and whispered, "General, you are the only female warrior on Tianjia Mountain. You know best who is right and who is wrong, what is important and what is not. Do you really intend to collude with those sinners?"
Xi Le naturally knew who the sinner he was referring to was. She sneered and said, "You're right. If saving the world means complicity, then I'm definitely going to wade into this muddy water!"
Fang Zhi said with a disappointed look, "Stubborn fool! I think you've been bewitched by that ghost, and you're completely disregarding yourself! If it weren't for the fact that you've given me advice in the past, do you think I would kindly remind you?" With that, Fang Zhi turned and left angrily.
His voice was loud, attracting a crowd of onlookers from a distance, all of whom looked on with mockery.
Ignoring the stares, Xi Le lifted her foot to step onto the celestial staircase, but stopped after taking only one step. She gazed at the towering palace atop the long staircase, recalling how Yan Xiao would always intervene at the slightest disturbance from the officials in the past. Now, however, he sat calmly on his high platform, showing no intention of intervening whatsoever. The outcome was obvious. Well then, she decided to simply not see him!
After leaving Tianjia Mountain, Xi Le called Feng Yi and headed straight for Yun Huai. Even though the two were prepared, they were still shocked by the scene before them.
The Blood Spider Plague and the Mad Tree Plague spread rapidly throughout Yunhuai. Due to the terrifying symptoms, everyone was in danger. Whether infected or not, everyone wore veils, making them look like daytime ghosts from a distance. If someone accidentally bumped into another person, a hoarse scream would immediately rang out, causing people to turn pale and flee in panic, as if ghosts had appeared on earth. Outside the city, the flames and black smoke from burning corpses filled the air. People felt sadness, but even more so, they were terrified, fearing that they would be the next to die.
When the two met Ming Qi and the others, they all looked exhausted, yet they remained extremely focused and diligent. Upon seeing the two, their eyes showed only fleeting joy; they didn't have time for reminiscing, exchanging only a few words before throwing themselves back into the treatment.
Xi Le found Yun Xiang, who was buried in piles of medical books and herbs, with a row of steaming medicine pots next to her, and the whole room was filled with the smell of medicine.
Hearing footsteps, Yun Xiang paused in her hand, pen in hand, without looking up, and said, "Xile, you're here." She hadn't left the room for three days and spoke very little. As soon as she finished speaking, she coughed twice.
Xi Le quickly poured her a glass of water and said, "You must have been exhausted these past few days. We only found out now."
Yun Xiang looked up at her and said gently, "Don't say that. It's not too late for you to come now. There's strength in numbers, and you are our strongest support!"
Seeing the prescriptions on the table, Xi Le said worriedly, "This strange illness must be difficult to cure."
Yun Xiang gave a wry smile and said, "It's too fast... I had already found a treatment, but more and more people are getting infected, and it's even spreading to other countries. The plague is constantly changing, and the speed of treatment simply can't keep up..."
"Moreover, these two plagues must be cured before Qingming Festival, otherwise once the dodder seeds begin to multiply, the epidemic will become even more uncontrollable."
Xi Le had a question: "The symptoms of these two plagues are very strange. They are neither ordinary plagues, but poisoning?"
Yun Xiang shook her head and said, "At first, I also suspected it was poisoning. When Mi Zhen's mechanical doll was stolen, I even thought that someone had cast a witchcraft on it. But we investigated many times without success. Even after other countries also saw similar outbreaks, we still couldn't find the source of this plague."
Xi Le said, "Now that we're here, let's solve this together."
Yun Xiang didn't stand on ceremony with her and pointed to the row of medicine jars, saying, "Then please keep an eye on those medicines for me."
......
In the following half month, Yu Zhi developed a method to use the sound of the guqin (a seven-stringed zither) to soothe the emotions of the patients, thereby slowing down the progression of the disease; Mu Yi led the soldiers of the royal city to regularly distribute prepared sulfur and mugwort to the people to fumigate the dead corners of the rooms to kill the eggs; Ming Qi, based on the cold-sensitive nature of the mad wood plague, mixed honeysuckle vine juice with borneol, preserved it at low temperature, and applied it to the affected area to inhibit the spread of toxins; Yao Qi and Feng Yi regularly delivered the latest medicines and related supplies to Yun Huai and surrounding countries.
After the snowstorm, the sky, which had been overcast for many days, finally cleared up. The mute girl from the pawnshop in the West Market excitedly carried a bowl of water mixed with talisman ash and went door to door. She used both her hands and feet to show people the water in her bowl, saying that this water could cure the plague.
The neighbors looked at each other in bewilderment and laughed, "The one who cured us was a deity from Tianjia Mountain. How could this bowl of talisman water, which we don't know where it came from, cure diseases?"
"That's right! Dumb girl, have you gone mad and come here to act crazy?"
Seeing that no one believed her, the mute girl jumped up and down in desperation. In doing so, her veil fell off, and someone caught a glimpse of her face, exclaiming, "Her face!! Look at her face!!!"
Everyone turned to look at her upon hearing the sound. Her face, which had been scabbed over from the plague, was now smooth and even, without a trace of scarring. Even a divine ointment couldn't have worked this well!
The crowd swarmed around her, all asking where the mute girl got the talisman water. The mute girl pointed to the alley at the end of the West Market, where a peddler from the Yuezhi Kingdom had come from, and she had bought the talisman water from him.
"A dot of cinnabar on the forehead—a steamed bun to ward off evil spirits—"
"Save your life at midnight, revive your soul at dawn; even the Ghost King would give way upon you—"
A peddler, dressed in hemp clothing, sat on the ground leaning against his carrying pole, a straw in his mouth, calling out his wares intermittently. People flocked to him, and soon the alley was packed with them.
The peddler spat out the straw in his mouth, stood up, glanced at the long queue, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "Are you all here to buy talisman water?"
Upon hearing this, everyone started chattering and scrambling to buy the talisman water. The peddler chuckled and said, "Please be patient, everyone. Healing requires treating the symptoms. These two types of plagues have different symptoms and are quite varied, so you can't just drink talisman water indiscriminately."
The crowd agreed with his reasoning and fell silent. The leader then said, "Then tell me, how do you plan to treat this problem?"
The peddler took out several items from the box, each with a different colored paper strip attached to it to distinguish between the Blood Spider Plague and the Mad Wood Plague.
The peddler, holding a silver needle in one hand and cinnabar in the other, lowered his voice and said, "To treat the Blood Spider Plague, simply prick the red markings daily to release a cup of blood, then bathe in this cinnabar at night. Continue this for seven days, and the disease will be completely cured." He then took out a scraping board and a steamed bun soaked in human blood, adding, "And the key to treating the Mad Wood Plague is to use this scraping board to scrape away the scabs, then eat this steamed bun soaked in human blood, and you will recover completely!"
One person asked doubtfully, "Where did this treatment method come from? Why should we believe you?"
The peddler said, "Alas, it's my fault for arriving too late. This method has already spread throughout the five kingdoms of the mortal realm. This cure is effective immediately; isn't your mute girl the best proof? Not only ordinary people, but even royalty uses it! The medicine of the immortals can't save us commoners, so we have to seek better ways. Everyone is having a hard time during this famine year, and I only wanted to do my part, which is why I risked my life to carry these goods to Yunhuai." After saying this, the peddler couldn't help but cover his face and wipe away tears.
Upon hearing this, many people began to waver. Although the immortal's method was effective, the process was slow and fraught with hidden dangers. They had witnessed the mute girl's transformation firsthand, and there was no guarantee that this method would actually work.
One person asked, "How much do all of these cost?"
The peddler said, "It's not expensive, it's ten taels of silver for the same price."
"What?! Ten taels of silver for one thing! Why don't you just rob someone?!"
The peddler said, "Oh dear, you've really wronged me! Go ask around outside, these things in other countries start at ten taels of gold. I'm only selling them for ten taels of silver, is that expensive? Besides, everything is only for one use. If other people come later, they'll sell them for even more. If you want my price then, you won't find it even if you search high and low."
Under the peddler's patient persuasion, the desire to survive overcame everything, and everyone took out their silver, and those who didn't have enough used their own accessories to make up the difference. In no time, they had bought out all the peddler's goods.
Those who bought the medicine found it remarkably effective, and the news spread like wildfire. The people began to refuse to follow the previous epidemic prevention methods, and more and more people wanted to buy the medicine from the peddler, but he had long since disappeared. Those who couldn't buy the medicine then made their own, following the peddler's instructions. For a time, the people were as if possessed; even when Mi Zhen and Yu Zhi personally spoke to them, they wouldn't listen.
Feng Yi tore the talisman he had obtained from the common people to shreds, and said angrily, "What's wrong with those people? We give them free medicine every day to treat their illnesses, but they would rather cut off their own flesh and blood to believe in that crooked and evil magic?"
Ming Qi sighed softly and said, "In the face of disaster, people are filled with fear. They are just trying to survive."
Mi Zhen said, "It's ridiculous! They were the ones who used to be overjoyed and prayed to the gods to save their lives, and now they're the ones who are bleeding from their heads and trying to steal the cinnabar... I did my best to treat them, but I'm not even as good as those few scribbles?!" As he spoke, Mi Zhen smashed the pestle on the table, his pupils contracted, and his whole body trembled.
The three were startled by Mi Zhen's reaction. Yao Qi stepped forward and grabbed him, saying, "Mi Zhen, calm down! What's wrong with you? You've been acting strange ever since we came back from the border. What happened?"
Mi Zhen seemed to suddenly come to her senses, glanced blankly at Yao Qi, shook off his hand, slumped wearily into a chair, and said, "I'm just a little tired. You can all go back, I want to be alone for a while."
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, the three had no choice but to leave.
Seven days later, news of people dying suddenly spread throughout the capital. Not only that, neighboring countries also reported deaths due to the use of this substance. Public resentment soared, and all blame was directed at Yun Huai and Mi Zhen.
"The people of Yunhuai are all plague-ridden! You should take those poisonous weeds and insects back to your graves and let them rot!"
"When Yunhuai dies, the plague will end! A murderous capital should be extinct!"
"Why should my child bear the consequences of the sins committed by Yun Huai? Make Mi Zhen come down and pay with his life!"
"Behead Mi Zhen as a sacrifice to the heavens! Slaughter Yunhuai City and purify the world!"
"Iron spiders, wooden dummy curses, coffin nails made of cloud-woven acacia; red silk binds, green skin rots, nine generations of descendants die without end!"
......
Countless civilians perished, and the black smoke from the burning corpses shrouded the hard-won clear sky in a thick fog. Yan Xiao was furious and summoned Yao Qi and Ming Qi back to Tianjia Mountain. Just then, a messenger from the Ghost Realm arrived, urgently requesting Feng Yi's return to oversee the situation. In the end, only Yun Xiang and Mu Yi remained at Yun Huai.
When Feng Yi and Xi Le returned to the Ghost Realm, they discovered that the vengeful ghosts sealed beneath the magma of Yan Sha Chang were beginning to stir. Layers of bluish-gray bodies surged out, trying to break free from the chains. Their faceless heads tore at each other, and severed limbs were reattached in the pulling of mucus.
As if summoned by some force, the other ghosts in the Fiery Arena lost their minds one after another, becoming violent and enraged. They devoured each other, making a crisp "crunching" sound. Their ripped intestines, brains, and eyeballs, mixed with blood, were tangled together with the ghosts.
Du and Feng Xi are leading the ghosts to suppress the demons. Judging from their posture, they seem to want to leave the ghost realm and go to the human world.
Feng Yi immediately sealed off the Ghost Realm and suppressed it with his magic. At the same time, Feng Yi sensed a powerful force within them. He had a premonition that this force would not only appear in the Ghost Realm.
Tianjia Mountain. Guangyi Hall.
When Yaoqi and the others arrived, Yanxiao was the only person in the entire hall.
Yaoqi and Mingqi bowed and said, "Your Majesty."
Yan Xiao turned his back and remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do you regret it?"
The two men paused for a moment, then asked, "Why regret it?"
Yan Xiao turned around, raised his hand and waved it, and the scene of the human world appeared in front of the three of them.
The Blood Spider Plague and the Mad Tree Plague, which originally only affected humans, have now spread to animals. On earth, all animals have been drastically altered by the plague; they attack humans, kill each other, and their blood causes vegetation to wither. This scene is nothing short of a living hell.
The two exclaimed in shock, "How could this be?!"
Yan Xiao said, "I warned you long ago not to interfere in this matter. Mi Zhen has long harbored resentment because of your ascension, and now he is spreading plague throughout the mortal realm, causing all living beings to wail in agony."
Tianjia Mountain will also be implicated by him.
Ming Qi said, "Impossible! Mi Zhen is definitely not that kind of person!"
Yao Qi said, "Your Majesty, this matter is strange and there must be some hidden story. I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly!"
Yan Xiao said, "Further words are useless. Now that Mi Zhen is endangering the common people, I must personally kill him and quell this calamity."
The two exclaimed in unison, "Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
Ming Qi said, "Your Majesty, the most important thing right now is for all the gods to work together to resolve the epidemic. Killing one person to appease the public's anger is definitely not the best policy!"
Yao Qi said, "Your Majesty, please give us a little more time. We will definitely find out the truth!"
Yan Xiao's face darkened, and he said sternly, "Can you wait? Can the common people wait? Why don't you go back now and see for yourselves? If what I said is true, I will kill Mi Zhen without mercy!"
The two looked at each other in silence. Yao Qi remained silent for a moment, then looked at Yan Xiao and said, "If Mi Zhen is indeed harboring evil intentions, I will deal with him personally."
Mingqi: "Yaoqi! You..."
Yan Xiao said, "Very well. When you return, the throne of the Emperor will be yours."
When the two returned to Yunhuai, the city was in complete chaos. The people were either dead or had fled, and there were hardly any survivors left in the imperial city. Those who remained either couldn't escape or refused to leave.
On the street corner, a young child nestled in an old woman's arms, crying loudly, "Are we...are we going to die?"
The old woman held the child tightly in her arms, gently comforting him. Her expression was remarkably calm as she said, "Yes, we will all die. People need tombstones when they die, but this is our home, and we live on even without names." The old woman picked up two wooden planks and said, "Come, let's write our wishes on these, and let them be our tombstones."
The toddler stopped crying, thought carefully for a moment, bit his finger, and wrote on the wooden board, "I want to eat another bowl of Grandma's wontons." The old woman smiled and wrote on the wooden board, "I want to make wontons for my grandson again."
"Even if the sky falls, we'll laugh. Hand in hand, we'll build a bridge..."
Finally, the child sang the nursery rhyme again, and the two nestled together, quietly awaiting death.
There was more than one such wooden sign. Mingqi picked up a broken wooden sign, which was stained with blood and dirt. The content was also incomplete, but it was still faintly visible that it read "...Braised Food Shop, Grand Opening".
Ming Qi felt a pang of sorrow, as if something was collapsing within him, and asked, "If what the Emperor said is true, would you really use the throne to kill Mi Zhen?"
Yaoqi clenched his fists and remained silent.
The two split up; Mingqi went to find Yunxiang, while Yaoqi went directly to the palace.
When Ming Qi saw Yun Xiang, she was on the verge of fainting from excessive use of her magical power. Ming Qi rushed forward to catch her, anxiously asking, "Yun Xiang! How are you?!"
Yun Xiang kept her eyes closed, breathing heavily. After a long while, she weakly opened her eyes and said, "It's too late... Qingming Festival is in two days, it's too late..."
Ming Qi's eyes reddened, and she said in a trembling voice, "I'm here, I'm here... I'll find a way..."
Yun Xiang suddenly grabbed Ming Qi's arm and said, "I have a way. But you have to help me."
Ming Qi asked, "What are you going to do?"
Yun Xiang touched her belly, a tear rolling down her cheek. She said, "The mortal realm is in chaos, and the Emperor will certainly not let Yun Huai go. Now, I sense that the birds and beasts have lost their minds, and the vegetation is withering due to an extremely powerful force. This matter is definitely not simple. I am the God of Healing, yet I have failed to cure this plague. Now, the only way is..."
Ming Qi interrupted her, saying, "Stop talking! I will never allow you to do that!"
"Mingqi!" Yunxiang coughed twice and said, "Husband, only you can help me... I'm sorry... I'm entrusting the child to you."
Ming Qi was already sobbing uncontrollably. Even though he was extremely unwilling and reluctant, he had no other choice. He had never felt so powerless and helpless, nor had he ever hated his own incompetence as much as he did at this moment.
Ming Qi carried Yun Xiang to a thatched hut. He sent a beam of white light from his palm onto Yun Xiang's stomach. After an incense stick's time, a baby's cry rang out, and the child was born.
Yun Xiang nestled in Ming Qi's arms, looking at the newborn baby with a smile on her lips, and said with a smile of relief, "My daughter, I only wish you a carefree life, and may you sleep soundly in the spring mountains."
At this moment, dawn was breaking. Mingqi looked at the first ray of morning light and said, "Then let's call him Yanchao."
Yunxiang felt her eyelids getting heavy and whispered, "A good name... Husband, thank you..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a soft, azure light surrounded Yun Xiang. Her body grew lighter and lighter, until it merged with the light. As the sun rose, that radiance shone upon the earth.
As if sensing something, Yan Chao cried anxiously, and Ming Qi could only hold his daughter tightly, shedding a silent tear.
On the other side, Yaoqi and Muyi, who were already seriously injured in the palace, felt Yunxiang's departure. They were unwilling to believe it, but looking at Mizhen who had completely lost control, they felt even more tormented.
At this moment, Mi Zhen's hair was disheveled, his face was covered with red marks, and his eyes gleamed with cold light. The blood from the tip of his sword stained the face at his feet, which looked terrified but was already lifeless.
Mi Zhen went mad. He seized that power and slaughtered everyone in the palace. If Yao Qi and the other hadn't arrived in time, Yu Zhi would have almost become a victim of his sword.
Mi Zhen laughed loudly, "What he said is all true! But so what? My friend, are you going to kill me?" He suddenly pointed his sword at Yao Qi, his eyes wide with rage, and roared, "Are you going to kill me for that laughable god?!?"
Yu Zhi cried out to Mi Zhen with all his might, hoping he would wake up: "Mi Zhen! Wake up!! Wake up, please..."
Mi Zhen ignored her cries and said, "Since Heaven is unjust, then I will turn the world upside down!" With that, he thrust his sword straight at Yao Qi. Mu Yi reacted quickly and stepped in front of Yao Qi, the sword piercing her heart.
"don't want!!!!!"
"No!!!!!!"
Yaoqi and Yuzhi cried out almost simultaneously, and the next moment, Muyi collapsed in front of Yaoqi. Yaoqi staggered towards Muyi, blood flowing continuously from her heart and mouth. Yaoqi wiped it haphazardly, but no matter what she did, she couldn't get it clean.
Mother Yi said, "Live...you must live...find the truth, save...Yunhuai, save the world."
Yao Qi stared blankly at the lifeless Mu Yi, his heart aching unbearably. He gripped the bow tightly, gathering all his magic power into one, aiming at Mi Zhen. The veins on his hand holding the bow bulged, and he clenched his teeth, but he couldn't bring himself to strike.
Mi Zhen scoffed, "You can't do it! You can't kill me!!!"
Yao Qi closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his eyes filled with coldness. He said, "Mi Zhen, you have committed heinous crimes and cannot be spared." With that, a "whoosh" was heard, and three arrows were fired simultaneously, each piercing the heart.
A mouthful of blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, and Mi Zhen collapsed to the ground. He pointed one finger to the sky, his eyes fixed on the ground. At that moment, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and his hand slowly fell to his sides. But his eyes, filled with resentment and bitterness, remained open until his death.
Yu Zhi collapsed and cried out, "Heaven is unjust! What did Yun Huai do wrong!" She spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground, dying with resentment. Only the sachet given to her by Yun Xiang at her waist still emitted a lingering fragrance.
"Distant wind, please stop for a moment..."
Feng Xi sang the song again, his voice echoing within the barrier Feng Yi had erected. Outside the barrier lay all the demons and monsters of the Ghost Realm, driven mad by this power. Inside the barrier, Feng Yi's magic power continuously sustained it, with Du and Xi Le providing further support. The barrier wouldn't last much longer.
Feng Yi said, "Fortunately, I left a trace of my soul to protect Yun Huai before I left. Now I must not let these ghosts go to the human world, and I must not let anyone know about this matter. Otherwise, the mud that the world has thrown at Mi Zhen and Yun Huai will never be able to be washed away."
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside the barrier: "Lord Ghost King, General Xile, I have come to support you on the orders of the Emperor."
It is Fang Zhi.
These words immediately caused a commotion among the ghosts. The ghosts at the edge of the barrier frantically rammed against it, while on the other side, silver light flashed and ghosts made "whooshing" sounds. Fang Zhi's figure was nowhere to be seen. At this moment, the barrier suddenly cracked, and Feng Yi suffered a backlash, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His magic power was almost exhausted.
"Feng Yi!"
"Father!"
"grown ups!"
Feng Yi spat and laughed, "I'm fine. These ghosts are getting stronger and stronger; even the people from Tianjia Mountain can't stop them. This can't go on. Du, do you have any ideas?"
Watari fell silent, a rare occurrence for him.
Feng Yi and Feng Xi seemed to think of something at the same time. Just as Feng Yi was about to speak, Feng Xi hurriedly said, "No!"
Feng Yi said, "From the day I became the Ghost King, I have lived and died alongside the entire Ghost Realm. They are all my family who have been with me day and night. I cannot bear to see them become like this, and I cannot let them go out and wreak havoc on the world. The only way now is for me to sacrifice myself to completely quell this."
Xi Le shook her head in disbelief, saying, "No way! There must be another way!"
Feng Yi's mind was made up. He knew that any later, and everyone would die. He placed two fingers on his brow, and a ball of eerie blue flame emerged from it. He chanted an incantation, and a faint light emanated from his body. In an instant, countless fluorescent lights converged on him. With a loud "bang," Feng Yi shattered completely. The enormous sound and impact reduced all the ghosts to dust, along with Feng Yi's last, reluctant gaze towards his wife and children, the words they couldn't hear, and their cries.
Feng Xi saw it in a daze and said, "Live well."
Before the three could even grieve, a long, narrow red crack suddenly appeared in the distance. Outside the crack, a large number of ghosts suddenly emerged, some covered in red markings, others with stiff bodies; they were all people who had died in this catastrophe.
Xi Le forced back her tears and quickly calmed down, saying, "Du, please protect Feng Xi."
Feng Xi resolutely replied, "No! Mother, I have Father's weapon, I want to go with you!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the ghosts tore the crack even wider, their empty, bloodthirsty eyes fixed on the three of them, and they pounced on them like hungry tigers.
Xi Le immediately drew a sharp blade from her palm and slashed at him. She then hurriedly turned around and put the sandalwood bead in her hand on Feng Xi's wrist. She then pushed him to Du and said, "Go quickly!"
Feng Xi's body fell rapidly backward, so fast that he only managed to tear off a piece of his mother's clothing. He opened his mouth wide, but couldn't utter a word. His vision blurred, and he could only remember his mother's last smile and the words, "Live well."
This is the second time.
As Xi Le watched Feng Xi gradually disappear into the distance, her smile vanished, her gaze hardening. She drew the curved sword Feng Yi had given her and declared, "Xi Le is here! Those who cross the line shall die!"
Du led Feng Xi to the deepest part of the Ghost Realm beneath the Yansha Field, saying, "Those ghosts came from the human world. Things are probably not good outside. We must stay here for the time being."
Feng Xi struggled and said, "Let me go! I want to go back to my mother!"
"Feng Xi! Calm down! If you go out now, won't all your mother's sacrifices be in vain?!"
Feng Xi lowered his head, speechless.
They all knew in their hearts that Xile's fate was likely grim. But for a seven-year-old child, he didn't want to lose his mother after losing his father.
Du's eyes also filled with tears. He had lived in the Ghost Realm for over a hundred years and had never experienced human emotions until Feng Yi and the others appeared. But this was the first time he had felt sadness, and it was so profound and unforgettable.
"My child, I will always be by your side."
As soon as he finished speaking, a "ah-uh" sound came from behind Feng Xi, and in an instant, the ghosts surged up.
"careful!!!"
Du used a spell to protect Feng Xi in front of him, and the ghost pierced through his body, splattering bright red blood onto Feng Xi's face.
Feng Xi was stunned. He felt as if his breath had stopped, and his lips trembled as he stammered, "Uncle Du... Uncle Du..."
Du chuckled, feigning composure, and said, "Fortunately... Little Kite, if it weren't for you helping me improve my cultivation back then, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to withstand it today."
Feng Xi reached out to grab him, but couldn't touch him no matter what he did. He shook his head, looking bewildered, and said, "...Uncle Du, you, you shouldn't say these things... Don't go... You said you would always be by my side..."
With his last ounce of strength, Du entrusted his soul—the last line of defense for the ghost realm—to Feng Xi and sealed him away. Only in this way could he live.
"Child, live well."
This is the third time.
When Du and the ghosts vanished before his eyes, and when deathly darkness enveloped him, Feng Xi completely broke down. Tears finally streamed down his face.
How could he live well without them?
Qingming Festival. Heavy rain.
The rain dispersed the black smoke from the burning corpses and brought an end to the catastrophe, allowing all things to find peace in the rain.
The rain extinguished the great fire on Tianjia Mountain, turning thousands of acres of catalpa trees into scorched earth; the Tiancai Market was destroyed in an instant; and all the gods of Tianjia perished.
Yao Xu was the only one who survived.
Of all the gods, only Mingqi and Yaoqi remained. Yaoqi used magic to seal off Yunhuai, turning it into a dead land, and publicly declared all those who had brought chaos to the world to commit sins. Mingqi, dissatisfied with Yaoqi's actions, broke with him and went into seclusion, his whereabouts unknown. Yaoqi succeeded him as Emperor, established the Heavenly Court, and redefined the three realms of "Heaven, Man, and Ghost," restoring order and bringing life back to all things. His son, Xu, wished to see Chunting but was unsuccessful, and from then on, he wandered the world with his sword, seeking refuge elsewhere.
Later Chronicles: The plague swept across the land, all spirits perished, white bones covered the fields, grass and trees were scorched, and heaven and earth fell silent.
Ten years later. Somewhere in the human world.
A couple was playing with their young child by the pond. After many years, Feng Xi, who had returned to the human world, looked at the scene before him and felt both strange and familiar. He couldn't help but recall the past and felt melancholy.
"Young man, why are you feeling sad all alone here? You're so handsome, you must look even more beautiful when you smile."
Feng Xi snapped out of his daze and turned around to see a little girl carrying a bamboo basket looking at him with a smile. Her eyes were as bright as stars, and he was momentarily stunned.
"I......"
Before he could speak, the little girl took his hand and placed a seed in his palm.
Feng Xi was taken aback again. He remembered that these were the flower seeds of Ji Chunchao.
"These are seeds that can bring happiness and joy. Here, I'm giving them to you. You're welcome! I hope that with them, you'll smile more!"
Feng Xi remained silent until he realized what was happening and looked up, but the little girl was already gone. He gazed at the flower seed in his palm for a long time and smiled.
......
As time passed and the world changed, Yan Chao grew up peacefully under Ming Qi's careful nurturing. The father and daughter lived together in Xingfeng Cottage, enjoying the flowers in spring, watching the snow in winter, feeling the cool breeze in summer, and admiring the moon in autumn, living a very happy life. However, from the time she could remember, Ming Qi took her to travel to various places in the human world, where she saw all walks of life, and also witnessed people's fear and dread of the catastrophe she had never experienced, as well as their lingering fear and dread of the power of all spirits.
She was instinctively afraid, just like them, but Mingqi frankly told her that she was born with the power of all spirits.
Yan Chao didn't understand and asked, "Am I also the scourge they're talking about?"
Ming Qi was silent for a moment, then gently patted her head and said, "Of course you are not a menace. It's just that the influence of this power is too profound, so people define you as bad. But what people think is not necessarily the truth. I don't want to lie to you. You have the right to know and the right to decide—no matter what you choose, your father will always be by your side."
So, on the day Yan Chao turned fifteen, she took the umbrella Yun Xiang had left her and the dried apricots Ming Qi had made, and went to Ming Qi to ask for her resignation.
"Father, I want to see for myself what the common people are like."
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Author's Note: The long and arduous second volume is finally over! Hooray!
Volume Two was the most difficult to write of the three, and also the volume where my updates were extremely inconsistent. I apologize for keeping everyone waiting!
Due to several commitments, I will try my best to maintain a stable update schedule for Volume 3 while ensuring the quality of the writing. I will also speed up the pace to write a satisfactory ending for the story (which I believe is satisfactory). Volume 2 will not be revised yet; it will be revised together with the main text after it is completed, and then Volume 3 will be updated (because I have been updating so slowly that I have forgotten the contents of Volume 1 [doge]).
There are two parts in Volume 2 I'd like to hear your opinions on: the songs sung by Xiyue (Xi Le) and Yu Zhi. Do you think they're not old-fashioned enough? Or is the current version also good? (If any lovely readers see this, please let me know in the comments section. If no one sees it, just pretend I didn't say anything [doge])
And that steamed bun recipe, I made it up, but I haven't tried it yet [doge emoji]. I'll post the steps on Weibo later, take a look if you're interested!
Finally, thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed Chunshan. Although I write very slowly, I really will finish it! [Rabbit head with upright ears]
As for the rest, let's leave it until after it's finished. [rose emoji]
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