Chapter 51: Shen

An employee of the management bureau’s internet communications team took notice of this piece of news on the internet. The employee spoke to their colleague, “The weather bureau seems to have also been scolded by netizens the other time for not announcing the sudden downpour in the southern region?”

“Weren’t they pitted by the dragon clan at that time?” The colleague was combing the internet for various supernatural incidents. All sorts of supernatural occurrences would frequently circulate on the internet, so their communications department had to keep a lookout at all times. If there was really a yao or ghost creating trouble, their department would then have to respond swiftly. In reality, however, there was basically not a single true rumor among a hundred of such supernatural rumors.

Certain youngsters nowadays would summon ghosts for fun out of boredom. If their summons didn’t succeed, they would disdain the lack of stimulation. But if they were to really summon an evil ghost, the stimulation might be so intense that they would lose even their lives. The communications department comprised entirely of human cultivators. Their cultivation was just so-so, but their expertise in computer operations and in handling public opinion emergencies on the internet meant that they were also the bureau’s technical staff. Even the upkeep for the cultivation world’s forum was done by them.

“Didn’t something happen last night? A ghost cultivator friend called me in the middle of the night saying that the Ghost Market closed midway due to an emergency,” The employee looked at a video online depicting something that looked suspiciously like a dragon absorbing water. “Did you guys join in the fun yesterday night?”

“It’s the same old thing every year at the Ghost Market, what fun is there?” The colleague sneezed. “Look at the time, there’s still no news from the higher-ups. Even if something happened, it wasn’t major.”

“Oh, monitoring online activity?” Zhang Ke stood behind the two people. Seeing the short video on the computer of a dragon inhaling water, he smiled. “Isn’t this a cyclone at sea? These netizens really know how to guess, they even cooked up the appearance of a real dragon and said that they’re identical.”

With the speed and altitude at which dragons flew, they wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye even if a dragon really had been present. What’s more, the current rules were extremely strict. Anyone in the sky who dared to not conceal themselves with a barrier would receive a pile of penalties the next day.

“Zhang ge,” The two employees instantly straightened. “What are you here for?”

“I took a video yesterday night. Touch it up and do a bit of editing. You’ll be creating an educational piece for the cultivation world,” Zhang Ke passed a video-recording stone to the two of them. “You guys can take a look first.”

The two people inserted the video-recording stone into a notch and the images it contained were automatically transferred to the computer. Upon clicking open the video, they saw a sky filled with black wind, flying sand, and tumbling rocks. The strange creature that subsequently appeared in the video left the two people drenched in cold sweat.

Was this the thing that barged into the Ghost Market last night?

“Zhang Ke, what is this?”

“Oujiang,” Zhang Ke patted the two people on the shoulder. “Trouble you to remember to edit the video in a way that showcases the intensity and hot-bloodedness. A close-up of Oujiang’s bitter end must also be shown from all angles. Let everyone in the cultivation world understand the result of recklessly doing evil.”

What a miserable end this strange creature called Oujiang had; even in death, it was used as a bad example to educate the entire cultivation world. Even the ancient, famed great yao Zhuyan hadn’t received such treatment.

“Oh right, after editing it, remember to send the azure dragon clan two extra copies,” Zhang Ke raised a brow. “I think they need to watch it a bit more.”

After Zhang Ke left, the two people directly skipped to the end of the video. The continuous bolts of heavenly lightning raining down from the sky seemed to be landing on them, causing them to involuntarily touch their own backs.

No wonder the higher-ups wanted to use this as a warning. Those lacking in courage would probably suffer psychological trauma just from seeing the lightning and rain-filled sky.

“Editing videos is what we’re best at after all. Do close-ups, exaggerate the atmosphere, adjust the brightness, and add appropriate background music. The heroic, gallant appearances of the boss and Fu ge has to be the most prominent. Oujiang’s viciousness and unrestrained behavior must be thoroughly brought out,” The employee chatted idly as he played the video from the beginning.

Ssh. The instant Fu Li’s actual form was swallowed by the green python, the two employees sucked in a breath of cold air. This breath of air was only released when Fu Li tore his way out of the python’s belly. Only after watching the entire video did they realize how dangerous the situation had been last night.

A moment of silence ensued. No longer were they in the mood to joke around. Their yao cultivator colleagues had practically fought with their lives on the line for the civilians at the foot of the mountain. If they as human cultivators were still able to laugh, then how were they any different from brutes?

Prominent details? Background music? These were merely methods to create emotional fluctuations. But this video had no need for close-ups or editing, because it was already enough to scare people witless.

Although a yao cultivator as formidable as Oujiang had already been killed by lightning, the management bureau still had to hand in a report to the affiliated security department. Xu Yuan arranged the various data while grabbing a hold of Zhang Ke, who had returned from the communications team, so that they could write the report together.

“My beautiful sister, I wasn’t the only person who was at the scene yesterday night, why am I the only one being pestered?” Zhang Ke sat down with a bitter look on his face and started discussing with Xu Yuan how they would write the report.

“I don’t dare to look for the boss and Fu ge. Wei Cang didn’t come to work today,” There was the sound of banging as Xu Yuan typed on the keyboard. “You watched the whole thing from the side last night without even leaving the barrier. If you don’t help, who will?”

Did those with low cultivation have no human rights?

Zhang Ke looked around their surroundings before casting a glance at Wei Cang’s single-person office. The lights were switched off; it didn’t seem like anyone was inside.

What happened to his junior brother? Had he suffered an injury last night? But he had specially brought Wei Cang back to the sect last night to be looked over and he wasn’t found to have any internal injuries.

Just as he was in a daze, he saw Fu Li walking in with a bottle of yogurt in his hands. He took the chance to slip away from Xu Yuan. “Fu ge, you’re here?”

Fu Li took two steps back. He jabbed the straw into the bottle of yogurt, only replying after he took a sip. “What’s with the enthusiasm so early in the morning?”

No matter how enthusiastic he was, he wouldn’t give him any yogurt to drink. Yogurt was the greatest human invention; it was way too delicious.

“A day apart is as long as three years,” Zhang Ke smiled in an ingratiating manner. “My junior brother didn’t come to work today and I’m worried that he fell ill. Could I trouble you to help me take a look at him? You know as well that my junior brother has never arrived late or left early since joining the bureau. For him not to have arrived at this time, he could have suffered internal injuriesk2026;”

“Fu ge, senior brother, why are you standing at the door?” Wei Cang tugged at the cap on his head, looking at the two people doubtfully.

Fu Li turned to look at him before speaking to Zhang Ke, “Isn’t he perfectly fine?”

Wei Cang lowered his head with some uneasiness, evading Zhang Ke and Fu Li’s measuring gazes.

“Junior brother, what happened to you?” Zhang Ke couldn’t help asking upon noticing that Wei Cang was still wearing the peaked cap. “It’s an early September morning, and there isn’t any sun, what are you wearing a cap for?” He took the cap off Wei Cang’s head. Seeing a startling bald patch on Wei Cang’s head, he swiftly put the cap back on his head. “That’s nothing, our bureau has quite a few baldies. You have much more hair than them, don’t feel inferior.”

Wei Cang was downcast. “Are you asking me to compare myself with Chu Yu, Lin Gui, and Song Yu?”

Zhang Ke gave two dry coughs. “Don’t worry, yours will grow back. For them, they don’t even have a chance in their lifetime.”

Wei Cang looked behind Zhang Ke and suddenly revealed a profound smile.

“What are you smiling at?” Zhang Ke looked back. Chu Yu was standing behind him, his face icy.

Fu Li covered his pocket as he avoided the battle behind human and fish, slowly making his way into Zhuang Qing’s office. Zhuang Qing was in the middle of a call with the security department. Seeing Fu Li enter, he pointed at a chair by the side before turning his head and continuing the call.

“Matters related to heavenly law are understood only by the Heavens,” Zhuang Qing’s voice was never too fast or too slow, as if there was no emotion in it. “My colleagues were even injured. I will send you the video of the incident in a while.”

“En,” Zhuang Qing hung up. He turned towards Fu Li. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just wanted to see the state of your injuries,” Fu Li threw the empty yogurt bottle into the rubbish bin. “You should recuperate at the bottom of the sea. Though the elders of your golden dragon clan encountered misfortune and perished, the dragon palace at the bottom of the sea is bound to still be around.”

“They’re just minor injuries, nothing major,” Zhuang Qing placed his phone on the desk. “You can return to your work, I’m fine.”

“If you don’t take care during puberty, you’ll regret it when the time comes for your dragon body to undergo the transformation into adulthood,” Fu Li concentrated spiritual qi at his eyes, wanting to see the condition of Zhuang Qing’s original form. Sadly, the other party had the enhancement of the nation’s fate, preventing him from getting a clear view. “Looking at you, you shouldn’t be very far from the transformation into adulthood. I heard that the dragon race’s transformation period is extremely important. If you don’t pay careful attention, it will influence your cultivation in the following years.”

“You’re so knowledgeable of our dragon race’s affairs?” Zhuang Qing stared at Fu Li. “Did you specially look into it?”

Fu Li nodded honestly. “En.”

He had specially looked into the dragon race’s strong and weak points that year. If not for the fact that he had watched the Zhongdiao and Zheng die from lightning right in front of him, he wouldn’t have given up on his original plan.

Zhuang Qing laughed ambiguously. “Busybody.”

Fu Li looked up in confusion. What did that mean?

“Actually, I came today because I have a very serious matter to discuss with you,” Fu Li dragged his stool towards Zhuang Qing’s office desk, closing a bit of the distance between him and Zhuang Qing. “After going back yesterday night, I spent half the night thinking. I still feel that I’m not an ordinary rabbit.”

Seeing that Fu Li had such a thought, Zhuang Qing placed his clasped hands on the desk. “Why?”

“Do you still remember how I was swallowed by the green python yesterday night?”

“Yes,” Zhuang Qing’s index finger twitched. “So?”

“The green pythons raised by Oujiang cannot transform, but they’ve already lived over ten thousand years. Over these years, they’ve been burnt incense and worshipped by humans together with Oujiang. How can they just mysteriously turn into ashes after swallowing me?” Fu Li’s brows furrowed as he recalled the incident. “I remember my entire body heating up at that time. By the time I came to my senses, I’d already crawled out of the green python’s belly. That feeling… was as if something had encased me, making it very difficult for something to harm me from the outside.”

“Could it be heavenly law…”

“Impossible. You’re the dearest son of heavenly law, not me,” Fu Li firmly denied it. “Didn’t you see how I only dragged Wei Cang away yesterday night when the lightning came down without even caring about you?”

Zhuang Qing’s index finger tapped against the back of his hand. “I thought you felt that my cultivation was higher than Wei Cang’s.”

“No matter how high our cultivation, no one can survive lightning. The Zhongdiao and Zheng had such high cultivation, but were they able to escape when heavenly law wanted to strike them down with lightning?” Fu Li thought of the scene when the Zhongdiao and Zheng were turned into dust by lightning, a shiver snaking down his back. “At that time, I nearly thought the lightning would also land on me, so I hid within a barrier without daring to leave.”

“The Zhuyan said that the Zhongdiao and Zheng were killed by the yao emperor,” Zhuang Qing suddenly figured out a key point. All of this seemed to be inextricably tied to heavenly law. The great yao were dormant because of heavenly law. Then, was their awakening… also linked to heavenly law?

“In the legends, the Zhuyan was never much of an honest yao,” Fu Li cocked his head in thought. “If things had really occurred like what he said, I would be the yao emperor he was talking about, save for the mismatch in appearance.”

He was merely a little yao who was supervised and urged to cultivate day in and day out by the yao cultivators on the mountain, a little yao who couldn’t even return a blow from any random yao on the mountain.

Zhuang Qing nearly couldn’t hold back his laughter. There was logic to Fu Li’s words. Fu Li did happen to be at the scene of the incident the Zhuyan had spoken of, so if he wasn’t the yao emperor, who was? But Fu Li’s appearance…

He shook his head. Fu Li was clearly a yao who lacked understanding of the world’s dangers and had been spoiled rotten by other yao cultivators. Those yao cultivators had raised Fu Li till he developed a character this innocent and upright. After their departure from the world, how had Fu Li lived?

“In the past two thousand years, you’ve never interacted with other humans?” Zhuang Qing wondered if Fu Li would still remain the way he was now after coming into contact with the dark side of humanity.

“I thought about going to the human world two thousand years ago, but after seeing the Zhongdiao and Zheng die in front of me, I… got scared,” Fu Li always kept in mind the words the mountain’s yao cultivators had conveyed to him. No matter the time and location, protecting his life was the most important. If he encountered something he couldn’t make sense of, he could just find some place to hide and sleep. When he awoke, perhaps everything would be fine.

He was protected from childhood to adulthood, never once suffering. In the end, he could only follow the method taught by the mountain’s yao cultivators. He found a remote mountain, set up a barrier, and went to sleep.

“Two thousand years passed. I secretly watched the news broadcasts at a peasant household at the foot of the mountain, and then found out that the entire world had changed,” Fu Li’s eyelids drooped, his eyelashes trembling slightly. “I couldn’t just continue sleeping, so I eventually decided to come out.”

He would never be able to return to Reflecting Mist Mountain. No longer was there a White Ape to nag him day and night. No longer was there other yao to pressure him to eat. The sparrow at his entrance would never again chirp ceaselessly. Even the fiery-tempered pheasant would never again drag him off to cultivate. He had at long last started a life of true solitude, a life where he would never be subjected to the restrictions of others.

The him of two thousand years ago had constantly proclaimed loudly that he was an adult yao. Now that he could truly make his own decisions, he realized that there was no longer any yao who would crouch by his side and applaud him when he broke a tree with a kick or exhibited perfect technique with the whip.

Only when one truly experienced loss would they understand the beauty of that which they had once possessed.

Fu Li looked up, smiling at Zhuang Qing. “I think the yao world might not have a so-called yao emperor in the first place. Those great yao might simply have hoped for the appearance of a yao with unparalleled strength that would resist heavenly law for them and once again oppress the humans, thereby resulting in this rumor.”

“If there was really a yao emperor, how could heavenly law tolerate him?”

“You…” Zhuang Qing had an unspeakable feeling that Fu Li was smiling somewhat sadly. He had just opened his mouth when Lin Gui came knocking.

“Boss, Fu ge really is at your place.” Lin Gui told Fu Li, “Fu ge, a man calling himself Fu Si came looking for you. He says he’s an old acquaintance.”

“Him?” Fu Li was a bit surprised. Why was that person looking for him?

He stood up and spoke to Zhuang Qing, “I’ll go down and take a look.”

Zhuang Qing nodded. After Fu Li left, Zhuang Qing asked Lin Gui, “Is he the Fu Si who collaborates with our company in the human world?”

“That’s him.” Lin Gui responded with confusion, “I heard from the shrimp guard that he came looking for Fu ge many times, just that Fu ge wasn’t around every time. Over time, it was delayed till today.”

Zhuang Qing furrowed his brows silently.

“Mr Fu, please sit,” The receptionist poured a cup of tea for Fu Si. Suddenly, Fu Si pointed at the painting of a court lady on the wall. “Does that painting have a tiny mechanism? I seem to see her eyes blinking.”

The pretty receptionist smiled. “Mr Fu has very sharp eyesight. We’ve done some artistic edits to enhance the realism of the paintings on the walls.”

“So that’s the case. Looking at it in the day is still bearable, but if it was nighttime, it would be a bit scary,” Fu Si smiled, his tone teasing. “Fortunately, I have quite a bit of courage, otherwise I would probably have been startled.”

The receptionist smiled wordlessly. A few seconds later, she suddenly spoke, “Mr Fu Si, Mr Fu Li has arrived.”

Fu Si stared at the door curiously. Was there a person? Why didn’t he see anyone?

Fu Li walked into the guestroom. Seeing Fu Si’s gaze on the door, Fu Li glanced behind him. “What was Mr Fu looking at?”

“Nothing,” Fu Si smiled gently, shifting his line of sight. “Your company’s staff has excellent hearing ability. She could make out the sound of your footsteps from such a distance.”

The receptionist directed a small bow at Fu Li. “Mr Fu, I’ll leave first. Please call for me if you require anything.”

Fu Li nodded and sat in front of Fu Si. “May I know what Mr Fu came looking for me for?”

There was a hint of absent-mindedness in Fu Si’s smile. He picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip from it. “Has Mr Fu really not dreamed of anything related to your past life?”

“Mr Fu still believes in such a thing?” The hand Fu Li stretched towards the pastries came to a halt. He looked up and examined the unfamiliar human before him. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe in things like past and current lives. Even if there really was such a thing as reincarnation, matters related to past lives should belong to that life, how can one see their previous life in their current life?”

Fu Si’s smile turned bleak upon hearing Fu Li’s words. He stared at the steaming cup of tea. “I too am aware that such words are ridiculous, but ever since I saw you at the hotel, I’ve continuously been dreaming of the same person. And that person’s appearance is identical to Mr Fu, just that he’s dressed in a light-colored brocade gown and is a bit younger than Mr Fu. My relationship with him seemed like, seemed like… lovers.”

A hint of self-deprecation could be seen on Fu Si’s face. “I also feel that such thoughts are absurd. Who would like someone from their dreams, and a man at that? Gender isn’t the only thing that lies between us; time might be another factor. I live in an era of tall buildings, whereas he lived in a time hundreds or thousands of years ago.”

Fu Li stood up. He approached Fu Si’s head and sniffed his body.

Fu Si’s expression turned panicked upon seeing Fu Li’s nearing face.

“You smell like the sea,” Fu Li suddenly said. “Did you go to the coast recently?”

Fu Si nodded in confusion. “The friend who organized the bachelors’ party at Affinity Moon Hotel held their wedding on a ship at sea. Is there something wrong?”

“Have you heard of illusions?” Fu Li asked. “Science explains it as a natural figment of imagination caused by reflections within the atmosphere. In reality, there exists an organism in the sea that is capable of creating illusions. He can even lure creatures into dreams, preventing them from distinguishing between reality and fantasy.”

Fu Si’s brows creased. “What do you mean?”

“In the depths of the sea lies a type of yaoguai called Shen. Their appearances are similar to dragons but they are not dragons. They frequently create false fantasies at sea to lure petrels into their snares before eating them in one mouth,” Fu Li suddenly reached out. From Fu Si’s mind, he grabbed hold of a bubble as transparent as a jellyfish. Ignoring Fu Si’s utterly shocked expression, he burst the bubble. A blurry scene appeared in the air.

The him in the scene was dressed in a magnificent brocade gown. He ate with Fu Si at the same table and slept with him on the same pillow; these scenes were intimate beyond compare.

Seeing these scenes, Fu Li couldn’t help but scoff. With a wave of his hand, all scenes in the air vanished. “As long as the Shen is willing, he can fabricate countless beautiful past lives. But what is fake is fake. They will never become real.”

“W-What are you?” The gentle smile on Fu Si’s face disappeared. He simply couldn’t comprehend why he had a favorable impression of this unfamiliar man. “Why do you have so many strange means?”

With a wave of Fu Li’s hand, Fu Si fainted. Fu Li extracted all the memories related to him from Fu Si’s mind.

It wasn’t unusual for the Shen to be capable of fabricating false memories for humans, but this sort of yao had little courage. Despite living in the great sea, it only dared to consume petrels as food. Why would he create false memories and plant them into a human’s mind?

Or, did someone know that he had raised a human pet in the past and deliberately created this situation?

But when had he ever eaten and even slept on the same bed as his pet?

He would let it be if they weren’t mindful about the means through which they deceived yao. But this human even came to him asking him to acknowledge their past and current lives. What were they plotting? Did they want him to raise another pet?

Looking down at the sleeping human on the couch, Fu Li sighed. This human had also suffered harm for no good reason. Who knew why the mastermind had chosen him?

Fu Li called over the receptionist. “Send this person back, take care not to let him discover anything fishy.”

“All right, Mr Fu,” The female receptionist saw that Fu Li’s expression was a bit peculiar, so she asked another question, “Where are you rushing off to?”

“I’ve never been to the underworld in the more than four thousand years I’ve lived. I would like to pay it a visit today,” Fu Li took out his jade bone umbrella from his Qiankun pouch and flung it, tearing open a passage to the underworld.

“Mr Fu,” The female receptionist said anxiously. “The yin qi in the underworld is thick, you…”

“No worries,” Fu Li opened the jade bone umbrella. “I just want to consult someone regarding a few questions I have. I’ll be back very soon.” Then, he leaped into the pitch-black passage.

The female receptionist stared blankly for a moment before running out.

The others had to be informed of this matter.