Chapter Sixty-Four: Lady of the City God

The Flower Maiden nodded, confirming that my grandfather’s three souls and seven spirits had indeed fully gathered. Hearing this, Weiyang nodded as well and said, “Since the Mountain God’s three souls and seven spirits have now condensed, this means Lin Yi has truly succeeded in his apotheosis. With the soul complete, it’s as though he possesses a spirit body. Even if the rightful deity of the mountain range now exists only as a spirit, he is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Underworld, transcending the ranks of mere mortals. The Peddler may have captured the Mountain God and dragged him into the Underworld, but the Underworld has no right to judge a yang-world mountain dragon deity. I believe he will surely return unharmed.”

Weiyang’s words brought me some comfort. I glanced at Niu Dahuang, who also nodded, though worry still clouded his face. He said, “That’s true enough. Still, the Underworld is notorious for its ruthless and underhanded ways. The Peddler at least follows some principles—if the truth comes out, he wouldn’t trouble the Mountain God. My only fear is that other factions in the Underworld might secretly strike against him.”

Weiyang agreed, but there was nothing more we could do but wait for news.

At this point, the Flower Maiden asked why all Weiyang’s hair had turned white. Niu Dahuang was puzzled too, so I explained what had happened earlier. Niu Dahuang reminded us to be more careful in the future.

After that, we returned to the Mountain God Temple.

I carried Li Nanhua’s body to the temple. Niu Dahuang said there was an ice spring beneath the temple where we could temporarily store Master Li’s corpse.

So we sealed Master Li’s body there.

In that place, I also saw two coffins—one red, one black—standing side by side. After laying Li Nanhua’s body to rest, I asked Niu Dahuang whose coffins those were.

He replied that he hadn’t seen the coffins during his last visit to the underground ice spring, which was about a year ago. He explained that the area was my grandfather’s place of cultivation—much like the ancestral shrine in the village, but well hidden. Even he, Niu Dahuang, did not come here often.

The two coffins must hold the remains of two individuals. I was curious whose they were, but out of respect for the dead, we didn’t dare open them. Once we placed Li Nanhua’s body, Niu Dahuang sealed the entrance to the ice spring.

When my grandfather returns safely, all will be made clear.

We waited at the Mountain God Temple for two days, but still there was no word of my grandfather or Li Nanhua. Weiyang and the Flower Maiden were both injured; as spirit bodies, they could only recover through secluded cultivation. After discussing our options, it was decided that Niu Dahuang and I would descend the mountain to seek news, while Weiyang and the Flower Maiden remained at the temple to heal.

After parting ways, Niu Dahuang and I left the mountain, first returning to Old Jieling Village. The village was deathly still—there was not a single soul, nor any livestock or poultry. Old Jieling had turned into a ghost village.

Seeing the desolate state of the village, Niu Dahuang sighed deeply. He had lived here for nearly thirty years, and my grandfather had come down from the mountain nearly forty years ago. Who could have imagined the village would end like this?

I asked him if the villagers had truly perished.

Niu Dahuang replied, “When they wish to incriminate someone, they’ll always find a reason. The Underworld simply used it as a pretext—they’d rather kill the innocent than let anyone escape. Even with your grandfather’s divine status, he may still fall victim to the Underworld’s schemes. As for Master Li, he must have foreseen this calamity. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let the Peddler capture both his and your grandfather’s souls. Perhaps Master Li has a plan in reserve.”

I nodded. Afterwards, Niu Dahuang went home briefly, and I returned to my own house.

He said he would come find me later, and perhaps we could ask Granny Wang to introduce us to someone at the City God Temple to inquire about my grandfather and Master Li.

I hadn’t seen Granny Wang for some time. In my heart, I already thought of her as my own grandmother, and after so many days apart, I missed and worried about her, especially since she’d been injured. I wondered how she was recovering.

Reflecting on the events of the past two weeks, I could understand why my grandfather had distanced himself from Granny Wang. He had too many burdens and didn’t want to drag her into trouble. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for her—he cared too much and didn’t want her to come to harm. Had he not drawn a clear line, the Underworld would surely have targeted her. Even if I went to her house, I would only do so during the day—at night, we might be followed by underworld soldiers, which could bring disaster upon Granny Wang.

When I got home, there was little to prepare. I simply took my grandfather’s thunderstruck wood ruler and then headed to my uncle’s house.

His courtyard was spotless, and the house was tidied as if someone cleaned it every day. Yet the village was empty—his kitchen was cold, with no sign of cooking. It was strange.

I went to look at the two ancestral tablets and found the offerings had been replaced and fresh incense had been burned. It puzzled me—after the underworld soldiers swept through, who could have come here to pay respects? Even the tablets themselves were spotless, as if someone had wiped them.

“Is anyone there?” I called out.

No answer. I waited a while and called again, but still, no response.

Suddenly, someone pushed the door open. My heart leapt—could there really be someone left in the village? But it was only Niu Dahuang, and my worry turned to relief. I asked why he had come, and he said he’d just stopped by my house and, not finding me, figured I’d be at my uncle’s.

Stepping inside, he remarked, “Yi Wa, you sure keep your uncle’s place clean. You never put in this much effort at home.” I told him it wasn’t me.

He was taken aback, so I explained what I’d noticed. He agreed it was strange, but as for the ancestral tablets, since someone was offering incense, it was a blessing for the departed. We shouldn’t disturb things—let whoever comes continue their offerings; it could only do good.

I was simply curious, but he said, “After a hundred days of incense, the truth will reveal itself.”

I nodded, recalling the story Granny Wang once told me about Lin Xiaofeng and Bai Ningxiang. I wondered if it could be her, but on reflection, it wasn’t possible. She’d broken her curse just by coming to our village once—she would never risk coming a second time.

Then we went to Granny Wang’s house.

I knocked, and when she opened the door, I saw her complexion had improved, which eased my mind. She was overjoyed to see me and welcomed me inside. She was a little surprised to see Niu Dahuang, but simply invited us in.

Granny Wang asked what had happened lately and why we had been gone so long.

The recent events were hard to sum up, but I gave her a brief account, which she listened to with rapt attention. Then Niu Dahuang said, “Sister Qinghua, we’ve actually come to ask a favor.”

“What is it?” Granny Wang asked.

“Well… you have connections in the secular world, and I heard you also have some ties with the City God Temple. We were hoping you could help us inquire about Yi Wa’s grandfather.”

“What happened to him?” A trace of worry flashed in her eyes, though her words were cool.

“To be honest, he almost had his soul scattered, but thanks to Yi Wa, he was restored to divinity with a new spirit body. Unfortunately, the Peddler interfered, taking both his and Master Li’s souls into the Underworld. Since then, they have been missing,” Niu Dahuang explained, sighing with concern.

Granny Wang frowned, clearly worried for my grandfather. “That master in blue—Master Li, who was so powerful in the arts—he was also caught by the Peddler?”

“Alas,” Niu Dahuang said, “the Peddler got hold of the Mountain God’s token, and Master Li had no choice but to bargain with him in exchange for the token, to restore Yi Wa’s grandfather.”

“So that’s how it was,” Granny Wang nodded.

She said she did have connections at the City God Temple and would set out soon to see what information she could find.

Suddenly I remembered Er Pang and asked, “Granny Wang, have you seen Er Pang lately?” I was afraid he and his mother might have been taken by the Underworld as well.

“Er Pang—you mean Lin Wu from your village?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s him. Has he been here?”

“The day after your wedding, he did come by and spoke to me. He said that if you ever needed my help, I should do whatever I could, and that he’d repay me when he returned.”

“That guy…” I muttered.

It seemed that on the second day after my wedding—before anything had gone wrong—Er Pang, worrying about me, had come to ask Granny Wang to look out for me. To have a friend like that, I felt incredibly lucky. I only hoped he would not be found by the underworld soldiers.

I asked Granny Wang if she could also help look into Er Pang’s whereabouts.

She agreed easily, saying she’d go soon, take some nice paper garments as offerings, and chat with the City God’s Lady—perhaps she would find some answers.

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