Chapter Sixty-Five: Midnight Execution

Every piece of clothing crafted by Madam Wang, the spirit seamstress, is a masterpiece. When Weiyang and I were wed, both her wedding dress and daily attire came from Madam Wang’s hands, stunningly beautiful. It’s no wonder even the Lady City God herself commissions paper garments from Madam Wang. Madam Wang once told me that the Lady City God visits her almost every month.

Accompanying Madam Wang, I helped her select several paper garments: two were custom-made for the Lady City God, the rest were gifts. The City God Temple is governed by the underworld, and since both Niu Dahuang and I have taboos with the underworld, we could not accompany Madam Wang. She instructed us to wait at her home; she assured us she would return within half a day.

So, we waited.

With nothing else to do, Niu Dahuang and I reminisced about the past, especially my origin. After leaving the Thirteen Streams of Yunmeng, I had discovered the source of my fate: my life is actually that of Lin Yuan, the ferryman. The other part of my identity naturally concerns my birth parents, about whom I still have no clue.

I asked Niu Dahuang if there was any possibility I was born of the great white serpent. This question has always troubled me deeply; whenever I touch alcohol, scales appear on my body. Since snakes have scales, this is the only reasonable explanation—perhaps I am the offspring of the white serpent.

Given all that has transpired, even if this is the truth, I might not find it impossible to accept.

However, Niu Dahuang’s answer matched exactly what my grandfather had told me. He explained that if I were truly born of the white serpent, I could not have been born in human form. When an animal attains a certain cultivation, it must refine essence into qi, then transform qi into spirit, and only after forming its primordial spirit can it assume human shape.

As for me, I have neither a primordial spirit nor even a trace of true qi within. If I were a serpent demon, I would certainly appear in snake form, not remain human.

My grandfather said the same, but I remain baffled—if I am not the child of the white serpent, then where did I come from?

Who are my parents, and why do scales appear on my skin whenever I touch alcohol?

"Child, do not be anxious. All things have their destined course. Because scales appear when you drink, others may see you as an oddity, which is why your grandfather forbade you from drinking. Yet perhaps this is not a bad thing for you," Niu Dahuang said gently.

I nodded, then brought up the Abbot of White Clear Temple, and we began to discuss the matter of White Dragon Pool.

The last time I visited White Clear Temple, Madam Wang had told me a legend. I recounted it to Niu Dahuang, but he seemed irritated, exclaiming, "Nonsense! That legend is entirely fabricated!"

Truthfully, I had doubted it myself; dragons have always been creatures of myth. But Niu Dahuang clarified, "That’s not what I mean. I’m not saying the dragon is fake, but the story you heard, what’s inscribed on the stone tablet outside White Clear Temple, is not the truth. It’s a tale deliberately distorted and invented by the Daoist sects."

This piqued my interest; clearly, Niu Dahuang knew the real story. I pressed him.

He explained, "There are two treasures on a dragon: first, the dragon pearl, which is the source of a dragon’s divine power—much like your grandfather’s Mountain God Token, the dragon pearl represents the dragon's divine status. Second, the dragon essence, which is the primordial spirit formed after the dragon refines qi into spirit."

"Long ago, the Daoist sects, seeking the last dragon pearl in the world, orchestrated a massive joint slaughter. Though none possessed the power of a primordial spirit, their sects’ formations were formidable, especially those involving live sacrifices—cruel beyond compare."

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“Nine hundred boys and girls were sacrificed in a killing formation controlled by the Maoshan Sect and the forces of the underworld, which finally subdued the dragon beneath White Dragon Pool. Naturally, the Daoists seized the dragon pearl. But because of this, the Daoist sects and the underworld split, waging war for years, leaving both realms in turmoil.”

“Eventually, the Heavenly Way intervened, destroying the dragon pearl, finally ending the chaos between the two realms. To cover their shame, the Daoists and the underworld erected temples and steles, rewriting history in stone and legend, blaming everything on the dragon—calling it an evil dragon that ravaged both realms, and sealing it beneath White Dragon Pool, never to rise again.”

I never expected such truth to lie behind the legend.

Niu Dahuang spoke with such authority, it was as if he had witnessed it himself. I asked, “Are these just tales, or did it really happen?”

“Nonsense, of course it’s real! It’s not a legend, but something that truly happened. The dragon still dwells beneath White Dragon Pool. And it was never an evil dragon, but a benefactor to the world. The villagers near White Dragon Pool all received its help and blessings,” Niu Dahuang declared, his tone resolute.

“If it’s imprisoned beneath White Dragon Pool, how could it appear and help the villagers?” I asked.

“They took only its dragon pearl—the divine status. But its essence, its primordial spirit, remains. It can assume human form. The pool holds its body, but not its spirit, which goes out to benefit others.”

“It’s said she often appeared as an elderly Daoist woman. When you were a child, during the great flood, she took that form and warned along the river, saving many lives. Those who ignored her, living close to the river, lost their houses, and when found, had long since perished.”

The mention of the elderly Daoist woman made me pause. I remembered the one I met with Madam Wang at White Clear Temple while seeking aid.

Could she have been the dragon’s incarnation, guiding us?

When she departed, she left a pool of water. Afterwards, White Clear Temple had no record of her. Perhaps she truly came from White Dragon Pool.

Dragons command wind and rain; she wrote a character for “rain” on my palm. That night, perhaps it was she who summoned the storm. I saw a vast shadow in the sky—perhaps her true form.

Thinking back, it seemed this was indeed the truth.

The one Madam Wang and I encountered must have been the dragon beneath White Dragon Pool.

“I have met her,” I said.

“Who?” Niu Dahuang was taken aback by my sudden remark.

“I’ve met the dragon beneath White Dragon Pool. When the Daoists of the Ma family went to Old Grave Hill to seek a bride, I believe it was she who brought the rain and ruined their plans,” I explained.

“Oh, how remarkable! That means you are fated with the dragon!” Niu Dahuang said. He seemed to think of something, but did not elaborate.

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Nearly half a day passed before Madam Wang returned.

She was flustered, her face pale and anxious. Worried, I poured her a glass of water and asked, “Madam Wang, what happened?”

“I’ve found out: after the peddler escorted Master Li and Lin Tianjian to the underworld, he was immediately imprisoned. The other underworld forces took over their cases. It was supposed to be a trial last night, to weigh their merits and sins, but it was all a formality. Without questioning them, they sent both straight to the underworld death cell, and sentenced them to execution at midnight tonight!”

No wonder Madam Wang looked so grim; things had reached a dire point. I asked her what would happen if my grandfather and Li Nanhua, both souls, were executed in the underworld.

She sighed, “An underworld execution is the ultimate punishment. If condemned to the eighteen levels of hell, there’s still hope—at least one could attempt a rescue. But a midnight execution leaves no chance to atone or redeem, it destroys their three souls and seven spirits, and from then on, nothing of them remains in any realm.”

Everything that happened was part of a conspiracy; even the peddler, imprisoned after entering the underworld, must have been used.

Hearing this, my heart sank, and Niu Dahuang’s face was clouded with worry. He asked Madam Wang if there was any way to save them, that they couldn’t just disappear like this.

Madam Wang was silent.

After a while, she seemed to think of something. “Perhaps we can try bribing the executioner.”

“That could work, but who is the executioner?” Niu Dahuang asked.

“It’s not difficult. I’ve already spoken to the Lady City God; she will arrange for us to meet the executioner. Because Lin Tianjian is a Mountain God, bearing the Mountain God’s fate—seven taels and one coin—the underworld executioners cannot kill him unless the King of the Underworld acts personally. Li Nanhua also has great merit, so ordinary underworld executioners cannot execute him. Therefore, the executioner is not an underworld spirit, but a living person.”

“A living person? Who could it be?” I asked.

“The Lady City God said she cannot reveal it directly, but will arrange a meeting. After sunset, we can go to the Earth God Temple in Dongwa Village and talk. She also said that the one destined to execute your grandfather and Master Li is connected to you.”

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