Chapter 68: Letter

“Grandpa Divine Beast, it’s been raining nonstop lately, so my family’s going out of town,” The little child grinned. Raindrops landed on his damp head, producing pitter-patter sounds.

“Mom said we’re moving house. I don’t know when we’re going to come back,” The little child seemed very vexed. He bowed respectfully towards the river thrice, his hands clasped together. Then, he plopped his buttocks on a pile of pebbles.

“You’ve smelled the chicken leg and buns already, right? I’ll dig in then,” The little child took the chicken leg and buns from the enamel cup and nibbled on them as he prattled away nonsensically. The bone of the chicken leg became visible very soon after.

This little child… was quite good at being economical.

Fu Li watched the little child polish off the offerings cleanly like a dark-skinned monkey. He turned towards Gong Fu, but realized that the other party was very calm in the face of this unexpected situation. He seemed to have long grown accustomed to this little child’s behavior. Did this child frequently come to make offerings?

“All of them said that my luck was good for not drowning despite falling into the river. But I know that it was you who saved me,” He stuck his head out and looked at the surface of the water, as if he would be able to look through the deep riverwaters and see the divine beast that saved him. “Grandpa Divine Beast, what do you like to eat? You can send me a dream and I’ll bring some for you to smell.”

Fu Li glanced at Gong Fu. He talked about annihilating the Heavens and Earth, so why had he still saved a child that fell into the water?

“I just didn’t want a human corpse to dirty the bottom of the river even more,” Gong Fu saw Fu Li’s gaze on him and became slightly unhappy. “What are you looking at me for?”

“Let’s talk about the matter of taking revenge then,” Fu Li scanned their surroundings. “Human books and records don’t date back to that historical period, but the mountains, trees, and yao cultivators here might still remember.”

“Aren’t you here to stop me from taking revenge?” Gong Fu shifted his gaze from the little child. “This dragon beside you has very likely joined with the nation’s fate. He will let me take revenge.”

Zhuang Qing shot him and Fu Li a silent glance.

“Although this golden glow of virtue is a bit familiar,” Gong Fu might be the incarnation of an auspicious beast’s resentment, but he had inherited Gong Fu’s memories. Therefore, he was Gong Fu, but also not him. “That fool must have met you when he was alive.”

Zhuang Qing stated calmly, “Gong Fu daren was a very impressive auspicious beast.”

“Then do you know how this very impressive auspicious beast died?” Gong Fu laughed heartily. “He fell sick. His body was so weak that it was a challenge for him to even change into his human form. Even at the end, he still went to save the humans who met with floods. Those humans were the recipients of his grace and they sincerely attended to him till his death. But after his death, those humans revealed their greedy sides and were unwilling to even let his skeleton off.”

Zhuang Qing watched the rapid flow of riverwater. His throat moved, but he had no way of putting in a good word for the humans.

Ingratitude. This was nothing more than that.

The little child seated on the pebbles stood up and waved at the river. “Divine Beast daren, I’ll see you next time.” He turned, took two steps, and slipped, falling into the water.

Before Zhuang Qing and Fu Li reacted, Gong Fu shot out and plunged into the water, dragging the little child out. Seeing that the little child had fainted, he hurriedly stretched out a hand to test for breath. After confirming that he was unharmed, he removed the clammy clothes on the child’s body. Manifesting a thick, large blanket, he wrapped the child in it, placed him at a clean area, and then walked back.

Based on this situation, Gong Fu’s desire to annihilate the Heavens and Earth probably wouldn’t be accomplished, Fu Li thought silently.

“Among all of Father Dragon’s children, I am the fastest,” Gong Fu returned to the barrier and gave this explanation with a blank face.

“I understand,” Fu Li nodded very seriously. “You managed to save that child before us because you’re fast.”

Gong Fu: …

Zhuang Qing: …

There was an awkwardness in the air that was hard to put into words.

“This is for you,” Fu Li looked up at the sky. He took the jade bone umbrella from his Qiankun pouch and offered it to Gong Fu. “I’ll accompany you in finding out the descendants of those ungrateful humans.”

Gong Fu smelled the scent of dragon on the umbrella and didn’t accept it. “An umbrella made of dragon bones?”

“Relax, this type of dragon is a degenerate, it can’t be compared to auspicious beasts like your Father Dragon who can guard the four directions,” Fu Li stuffed the umbrella into his hands. “Resentment is rolling off your entire body, I’m worried that heavenly lightning will scatter your soul before you even make it very far.”

“That’s true. Most of the current dragons have low cultivation and no power in their limbs. Compared to the dragon race of those years, they’re very far off,” Gong Fu took the umbrella. “Although this dragon beside you still has some redeeming qualities.”

Zhuang Qing asked expressionlessly, “Should I thank you for the praise?”

“If all you juniors know how to be polite, thanking me would be fine,” Gong Fu stepped out of the thick mist and onto the muddy road. He looked back at the little child lying at the side, and with a sweep of his sleeves, erected a protective barrier around him.

He had heard that the trafficking of children was now popular in the human world.

The common people living here were dependent on the river. However, because this area was poverty-stricken, the majority of those in the prime of their lives went out to work, leaving the old, the weak, and the women at home to work the land. The government had already urgently sent the common people away, so the entire village was desolate. Green-tiled houses and little two-storey houses dotted their surroundings, looking extremely withered.

Gong Fu remembered many people being at this village. The elderly weaved fish nets and the women planted crops, while the men fished at the river for money. Nature’s most wonderful gift to them was the river that he had been submerged in for 1500 years.

A temple so dilapidated that its original visage could no longer be made out stood at the shabbiest corner of the village. It was unknown what year or dynasty it had been built in, or how many times it had been rebuilt. When Fu Li and the rest arrived at this temple, they found that many of the stone steps in front of the temple had already been eroded by wind. The green tiles that blocked wind had all come off and several rotten, fragmented sticks of wood swayed unsteadily from side to side. Weeds had broken out everywhere.

With a wave of Fu Li’s hand, he got rid of the weeds in the temple. There was a stone statue displayed in the room that was carved out of an unknown stone. They could still tell after much difficulty that this stone statue bore some resemblance to a lizard.

This seemed like… Gong Fu’s true form?

Was Gong Fu this ugly?

“Those three boys in front, that place is dangerous, don’t stay there,” A middle-aged man with the legs of his pants rolled up waved at them a short distance away. “You came from elsewhere? Don’t you know that this place is going to be flooded? You’re still not leaving?”

Zhuang Qing walked to the middle-aged man and took out his identification. “Hello, I came from the capital to investigate something here.”

“You’re here to look into the stone statue?” The middle-aged man took a glance at the identification and grasped Zhuang Qing’s purpose for coming. “I am the village head. I came back for an important document I lost at the village committee. I can answer anything you want to know, but this place is dangerous, let’s talk while walking.”

Zhuang Qing looked at Gong Fu, who nodded.

“Many thanks,” Zhuang Qing thanked the village head.

“Why so polite? You’re also doing things for the sake of the common people,” The village head turned towards Fu Li and Gong Fu, who had caught up to them. His mouth stretched into a smile. “Does the big city also take into account appearance when choosing employees?”

Zhuang Qing stared blankly before understanding what the village head meant. “No, it’s just a coincidence.”

“Then your big city’s natural environment must be good for nurturing people,” The village head sighed. “Unlike this place of ours that’s been poor for generations. Fresh fruits and vegetables are really difficult to find.”

“Head, who is that damaged temple dedicated to?” Fu Li took the chance to inquire.

“I’m not very sure either. That damaged temple was already that way when I was young. Apparently, during the years when feudalistic superstitions were being done away with, some children weren’t sensible and went to tear down the temple. Who would have imagined that they would end up with a high fever when they returned? They nearly lost their lives.” The village head glanced back at the shabby temple. “Ever since then, no one went near that place. The village shaman said that that temple is dedicated to a god, and that anyone who offends him will receive retribution.”

The village head realized that he had revealed quite a bit and hurriedly changed the topic. “Of course, as the grassroots manager, I definitely don’t believe in this sort of feudalistic superstition. But the wishes of the masses must still be obeyed. At any rate, the village is spacious since there are few people. It’s not like it’ll be in the way if it’s left there.”

Fu Li: …

Village head, your political awareness is pretty high.

“Why are you sure that it was dedicated to a god?” Gong Fu mocked. “Perhaps it isn’t?”

“I’m not sure about that,” The village head was startled. “These were passed down by the older generation, its authenticity isn’t clear.” What was wrong with this youngster, why was he carrying an umbrella when it wasn’t raining and there was no sun out?

Gong Fu was silent, his face expressionless.

“This place of ours does have a legend related to the temple’s deity though,” The village head twisted his hands. “Are you interested? I’ll narrate it for you.” The children in the village had gotten tired of hearing this legend, so the village head was ecstatic at finally finding outsiders to brag to.

Seeing his eagerness, Zhuang Qing nodded. “Tell us then.”

“It’s said that a very long time ago, there were many days of torrential rain and the village neighboring us encountered a sudden flood. At that time, things weren’t like they are now. The country wouldn’t think of all sorts of methods to rescue us just because of a small matter. Help was remote during those times and the local county magistrate was holding a cushy job, how could he be bothered to care about the life and death of the common people? After several villages were flooded, the common people cried out day after day. Who would have expected a divine dragon to suddenly descend from the skies and not only sweep all the common people to a safe mountain, but also give them many food rations? Perhaps the divine dragon overexerted itself from saving too many people, but it passed away from illness not long later. The neighboring villages built this temple in remembrance of him,” The village head said. “The elderly say that the divine dragon will revive and return to the great sea as long as our offspring make offerings to it every day.”

Gong Fu laughed mockingly.

The village head thought that he was laughing at the ignorance of such thinking, and thus replied with some embarrassment, “But these are all rumors, they may not be true. All these years, apart from a few elderly people and children, nobody has gone to make offerings.”

“Humans are all like that, forgetful and fickle,” Gong Fu gazed at a mountain in the distance. That was the place ‘he’ had found for those humans to settle at after saving them.

“Ah?” The Village Head looked at Gong Fu in confusion. People from the city were really interesting nowadays; their resentment extended to the entire human race.

Fu Li glared at Gong Fu, transmitting his voice to him, “Gong Fu daren, if you scare this ghost off, we won’t be able to ask about things with value.”

Gong Fu snorted wordlessly.

The four people reached the highway. Seeing an overturned motorcycle ahead, the village head rushed over in a fluster. “Someone got into an accident!”

Zhuang Qing and Fu Li didn’t move. There was a hint of pity in the gazes they directed at the village head.

The village head rushed to the side of the motorcycle. There was a faint strange feeling in his heart. Wasn’t this his motorcycle? Who crashed into his motorcycle till it ended up in such a state?

He was stunned when he saw the blood-soaked person lying on the ground.

Wasn’t that… himself?

He stared blankly at the corpse before turning towards Fu Li and the rest, as if seeking an answer. His mouth widened. Only after an eternity did he ask in disbelief, “I-I died?”

He had no wife or children and didn’t die in a very painful way, so it wasn’t a big deal. He had gone back to retrieve the local commoners’ subsistence allowance, which the people living a harsh life were waiting for to buy rice. Since he was dead, this matter would probably be further delayed.

Also, this highway ought to be fixed. It would become wet and muddy the moment it rained, which made it easy for accidents to occur on the road. He was an obvious example of this.

“Yes, you’re dead,” Gong Fu stated without the slightest shred of courtesy. “Are you an idiot? You don’t even know whether you’re alive or dead?”

“Hehe,” The village head wasn’t angry despite being mocked in such a way. He scratched his head and flashed a few smiles. As a grassroots worker, he would occasionally be scolded directly by the common people. Sometimes, he would encounter scuffles and have to emphasize civilized behavior and good conduct. Therefore, after working this job for a few years, he gradually became an even-tempered person.

“Then what should I do now?” The village head was a bit worried. “Where should a dead person go?”

“A yinchai will bring you to the underworld,” Fu Li took out his phone to make a police report. Worried that he would attract police suspicion, he called for emergency medical aid as well.

“Oh,” The village head sat down cross-legged beside the highway. “You guys should quickly leave then, I’ll wait for the yinchai here. I’m a ghost and needn’t fear floods, but you guys aren’t exempt from drowning.”

“Who said we’re human?” Gong Fu sneered. “How can humans see ghosts?”

The village head leaped up in shock. “Then what are you?”

“I am…”

Fu Li covered Gong Fu’s mouth. “He was joking with you. The three of us learnt a few skills from an expert, so we can see you.”

“So you guys are great masters,” The village head looked doubtfully at Zhuang Qing. “The identification you showed me just now was fake. What did you come to our village for then? To steal the statue of our god?”

Zhuang Qing wrinkled his brows. “What would I do with a stolen chunk of stone? Use it as a stool?”

The Village Head: …

That was true.

Gong Fu glared at Zhuang Qing, who remained unmoved. Lowering his head, Zhuang Qing took out a handkerchief, pulled Fu Li’s hand over, and wiped it. “Mud got onto your hand.”

“Ah?” Fu Li beamed. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Zhuang Qing shot a glance at Gong Fu before telling Fu Li, “Obtaining information more than a thousand years ago from trees is practically impossible because no tree here has lived for so many years. These mountains are also very ordinary, none of them have become mountain spirits.”

“Then what should we do?”

Hearing the sound of bells in the distance, Zhuang Qing replied, “The underworld yinchais will be most clear on the life and death trajectories of the local people.”

“Lord Fu Li, Chief Zhuang, why are you here?” Li Xu was a bit astonished when he saw Fu Li and Zhuang Qing.

“We have something to ask yinchai daren. May we know if yinchai daren will be willing to clear up our confusion?” Fu Li bowed to Li Xu. Li Xu hurriedly evaded his bow and smiled. “Please speak.”

“Will the underworld be able to check the life and death records of the civilians here 1500 years ago?” Fu Li glanced at Gong Fu. “This matter is very important to us, we request that yinchai daren extend a helping hand.”

“1500 years ago?” Li Xu thought about it. Taking out his phone, he told the village head seated at the side, “Wait first.”

“As you wish, as you wish,” The village head was watching the excitement with relish. This was a yinchai that he hadn’t even seen in his entire lifetime.

Li Xu accessed the system for the life and death register and did a search for 1500 years ago. After inputting the location, the system spat out the common people’s natal charts, their life trajectories, as well as their cause of death.

A person’s life was a mere few tens of words in the life and death register.

“1500 years ago, approximately 520 CE, nearly all of the people here were killed by roving bandits. More than two hundred people died,” Li Xu said. “Based on their original trajectories, they shouldn’t have died. However, the local people seemed to have used a forbidden technique that caused a shift in their fates. That is also to say – they incurred Heaven’s wrath.”

“Heaven’s wrath…” Fu Li was surprised. “So many people, and all of them met with the wrath of Heaven?”

“Yeah,” Li Xu accessed the recorded information on the incident that year that incurred Heaven’s wrath. Sighing, he shook his head. “When these ghosts reached the underworld, they said that they had received the divine dragon’s blessing, but the divine dragon had died because of them. They said that the divine dragon would one day revive as long as they buried the divine dragon’s skeleton in the sea, built a temple for it,and burned incense and made offerings to it year after year. Who knew where they heard of such a crooked practice?”

“They… wanted to save the divine dragon?” Fu Li suddenly looked at Gong Fu. However, Gong Fu’s head was lowered, preventing him from getting a clear view of the other’s expression.

“If there was really a divine dragon at this place, how could the divine dragon have died from exhaustion just because it saved a few people? This could only mean that this divine dragon was already going to die,” Li Xu kept his phone. “These people attempted to revive a dragon that was destined to die. Such a thing goes against heavenly law, so they naturally incurred the wrath of Heaven.”

“Could these people have lied and merely wanted to keep the divine dragon’s skeleton suppressed in the riverwater to prevent floods from occurring?” Fu Li asked. “Would they still incur the wrath of Heaven?”

“It’s a dead corpse. Even if it was used as waste, what Heaven’s wrath can there be?” Li Xu shook his head. “Why is Lord Fu Li interested in that year’s incident? Does this matter have something to do with the imminent flood?”

“This place is still going to be flooded?”

“According to the records on the life and death register, floods should have occurred at this place a long time ago, and there should have even been many deaths,” Li Xu sighed. “In the end, after keeping watch here for a day, the only thing I watched was an unlucky ghost who rode a motorbike to his death.”

He took out his work phone again and took a look at it. He scoffed, “Changes really happen quickly in modern society. The records on the life and death register have also changed – there will no longer be any floods here. I should be getting off work then.” Li Xu looped the Spirit-Locking Chain around the village head’s soul, feeling refreshed now that he had less workload. “I’ll get off work after bringing him back. Goodbye, everyone.”

“Goodbye,” Fu Li looked at his merry back, momentarily unsure of what to say.

Gong Fu was gazing at a mountain in the distance. With a tap of his heels, he flew up. Seeing this, Fu Li and Zhuang Qing followed after him.

Due to the reforestation policy over the past few years, there was lush vegetation on the mountain, with practically no roads in sight. Naturally, there were also few human traces.

There was a cave located halfway up the mountain. Gong Fu stood at the entrance to the cave without venturing in.

Fu Li took out three large night pearls from his Qiankun pouch, giving Gong Fu and Zhuang Qing one each. The entrance to the mountain cave was instantly lit up.

When they walked into the cave, Fu Li was met with stone carvings on the wall that were so simple and crude they were practically abstractions.

A long river, the humans that had drowned, and the divine beast that descended from the skies.

This was a letter of gratitude that spanned a thousand years.

The people here looked forward to the divine dragon once again awakening, returning to the great sea and blue sky.

But they had used the most ignorant method.