Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Chapter 28 Like Respecting the Gods
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Granny Sha stared blankly at the scene before her. The rapid succession of events had left her utterly dazzled.
Chen Shi let out a long sigh of relief. He removed the ram-horn copper lamp from his back and smiled.
"Granny, I've brought back the copper lamp you lost!"
Suddenly, the little old woman came rushing over, trembling as she pulled him into a tight embrace. Her body shook, her voice choked with sobs, and she clung to him fiercely, tears streaming down her face like rain.
"Child, my dear child... Granny will never let you take risks like that again!"
The little old woman wept bitterly, ignoring the copper lamp she had so desperately longed for. Chen Shi felt a pang of alarm.
Granny Sha held him as if he were her own flesh and blood, reluctant to let go.
It was a long while before Granny Sha finally released him. She wiped the tears from her face and carefully checked him over for injuries. Only when she saw he was unharmed did she relax.
"Granny, are you all right?" Chen Shi asked tentatively.
Hearing his voice, Granny Sha thought of her own son, and fresh tears poured down her cheeks.
"My son Tianyu was just as clever and lovable as you. If he were still alive, he'd have a family by now, and I'd be holding my grandson. The boy would be about Little Ten's age."
Touched by the sight before her, the little old woman recalled her own son, Xiang Tianyu. Seeing Chen Shi escape from certain death in the underworld reminded her inescapably of him.
Xiang Tianyu had been exceptionally clever and endearing, with remarkable aptitude. He had been around ten years old back then.
Boys are always mischievous, yet sensible too, and Xiang Tianyu had been just like that.
When he was naughty, she itched to grab him and give him a good thrashing. But he had his thoughtful moments, caring for her with gentle inquiries about her well-being, massaging her shoulders, and pounding her back.
She had doted on this son endlessly. Yet back then, she too harbored her own grand ambitions. Her mastery over souls was profound, and she yearned to advance further. But for some reason, she could never break through. So she conceived a bold idea.
To venture into the underworld and seek a rare奇石 found only there: the Three Lives Stone.
If refined into a pill and consumed, it would awaken memories of one's past life, transforming that past cultivation into one's present strength, allowing a breakthrough to the next realm.
But the underworld was no place anyone could enter at will. Those who went had to be either the pure yang spirit of a young boy or the pure yin spirit of a young girl.
The spirit of a young boy was purely yang, able to resist the underworld's阴气 and avoid soul dispersal.
The spirit of a young girl was purely yin, suffering minimal damage even there.
She trusted no outsiders—after all, the Three Lives Stone was immensely precious—so she decided to send her own son, Xiang Tianyu, to sneak into the underworld and steal it for her.
For his safety, she made exhaustive preparations: layers of life-saving talismans and seals, spells, sacred blood, arming him thoroughly before allowing his soul to leave his body and enter the underworld.
Xiang Tianyu was an exceptionally sensible child. He undertook this perilous task for her without complaint or refusal, venturing into the underworld just like that.
But Xiang Tianyu never returned.
She waited seven days, and he never came back.
Seven days was a critical threshold. A cultivator's soul could leave the body, and the flesh would survive for seven days. After that, the body died and decayed.
Her son was dead.
That mischievous yet sensible little boy was gone.
His soul was lost in the underworld, unable to find its way home.
His death struck her a devastating blow. It also shattered her marriage—her husband broke with her, and they became strangers. Because of it, she spent her life in guilt and regret.
Years ago, when Grandpa Chen Yindu sought her help, she had refused at first. But seeing Chen Shi's face, so like her son's, she agreed. She fought with reckless abandon, bridging the worlds of yin and yang to call back his soul.
It was then that she offended major powers in the underworld, making deadly enemies. She could never set foot there again, or she would face relentless pursuit.
Granny Sha let out a wistful sigh and stroked Chen Shi's head.
"Granny won't let you do anything dangerous anymore," she murmured.
Chen Shi held up the ram-horn copper lamp and grinned.
"Is this the lamp Granny was looking for?"
Granny Sha rallied her spirits and nodded.
"This blasted thing nearly cost you your life. Does Little Ten hate Granny for it?"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"Grandpa said you've done so much for me over the years. This is how I repay your kindness."
Granny Sha's heart warmed, tears welling up again. She quickly said,
"It's getting dark. Let's head back first."
The two hurried homeward.
"This lamp is a treasure possessed only by ghost kings among the underworld bailiffs. It's called the Ram-Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp. It pierces the veil between yin and yang, peers into the netherworld, and wields tremendous power."
As Granny Sha recounted the lamp's origins, she continued,
"Back then, I teamed up with a few old codgers to withstand its might and gravely wounded the Horse-Face Ghost King. He fell into the River of Forgetfulness with the lamp. I thought him done for, but I never imagined he'd survive by exploiting the river's unique properties—and live on to this day."
She couldn't help shuddering in retrospect.
If the Horse-Face Ghost King had retained even a shred of strength, a single wisp of his true qi would have shattered Chen Shi to pieces.
"I'll keep this lamp safe for you for now," Granny Sha said. "You can claim it anytime."
The two returned to Gangzi Village as dusk fell. There at the village entrance waited a large black dog.
Chen Shi hurried over.
"Blackie Pot, did Grandpa send you? Telling me to come home for dinner?"
Blackie Pot wagged his tail.
"Little Ten, head home with the dog first," Granny Sha said. "Come by tomorrow, and I'll take you to that ancient temple."
Chen Shi thanked her profusely.
Granny Sha watched the boy and dog depart, her heart filled with emotion.
"Just like Tianyu as a child. So smart, so spirited, so stubborn. Once he promised something, he'd see it through no matter what."
She returned home and placed the Ram-Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp on the table. The wood creaked under its weight.
Though it had felt light when Chen Shi carried it, the lamp weighed over three hundred catties.
Granny Sha took out a silver hairpin and lengthened the wick.
The wick was embedded in the crown of a copper figure mounted on a ram's horn. The figure was filled with lamp oil—despite the years, it remained plentiful.
As she drew out the wick, the copper figure's face twisted oddly, and it let out a piercing wail that echoed shrilly through the room.
Once the flame steadied, it seemed accustomed to the pain and fell silent, even smiling faintly.
Granny Sha activated the Ram-Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp. The flame blazed brighter in an instant. The next moment, her house, the streets, Gangzi Village, even Qianyang Mountain—all vanished!
The penetrating light pierced through house, streets, village, and mountains, straight into the shadowy underworld!
Granny Sha strained her eyes, peering through endless darkness via the lamp's glow. She passed mists and wastelands, death and desolation, scanning countless ghosts in search of that small figure.
"Tianyu, where are you? Are you lost? Mother has come to find you..."
Chen Shi got home to find Grandpa already with dinner waiting. He quickly washed his hands and face before sitting down.
"Did you go see Granny Sha? She didn't ask you to do anything dangerous, did she?" Grandpa asked casually.
Chen Shi shook his head and smiled.
"No. Grandpa, Granny Sha's a good person. She treats me like family."
"That's good."
Grandpa ate his candle slowly, his back to the boy.
"Granny Sha's a good soul, but her obsessions run deep. She might push boundaries. If she ever asks you to go to the underworld, don't agree."
Chen Shi's heart skipped. *Too late—I already went.*
He kept it from Grandpa, lest he be forbidden from visiting Granny Sha.
The night passed uneventfully.
At dawn, Chen Shi finished breakfast, paid respects to his godmother, told Grandpa he was off, and eagerly headed to Gangzi Village.
"Woof!"
At the village entrance, Blackie Pot sat under a tree, barking once at Chen Shi's retreating figure.
"I know. He lied."
Grandpa stood behind Blackie Pot, his face dark.
"He came home soaked yesterday, reeking of yin qi. Clearly, Granny Sha sent him to the underworld. And he's covering for the old woman."
Blackie Pot tilted his head at Grandpa.
"Woof woof!"
Grandpa's face grew even blacker.
"You're right. That brat needs a thrashing—he's learned to lie. And Granny Sha needs a lesson too, so she doesn't put my grandson in danger again! Worst of all, she's trying to steal him away!"
Blackie Pot looked up skeptically. *That's not what I meant at all.*
If Grandpa wanted to beat Chen Shi, he could do it himself. Why pin it on me?
But this pot, I have to carry it.
Chen Shi arrived at Gangzi Village to find Granny Sha had prepared breakfast early and hadn't eaten, waiting for him.
"Chen Yindu's cooking? Even dogs wouldn't touch it! No wonder you've endured it for years."
Granny Sha took a few bites, then set down her bowl and watched Chen Shi devour his with a smile.
No helping it—Grandpa's medicinal meals were truly awful.
"Eat slower, slower. Don't choke."
Granny Sha laughed.
"There's more in the pot. Let me get you another bowl."
Chen Shi ate until his belly was round—the fullest in two years. He stood, cleared the table, and helped wash the pot and dishes.
Granny Sha waved him off hurriedly.
"Leave them there—I'll handle it! This child..."
Chen Shi finished up, swept the yard, then gazed eagerly at Granny Sha.
She dressed neatly, slung a small basket over her arm—covered with a floral cloth—and smiled.
"I know you're impatient. Let's go."
The old woman and the boy set off into the mountains.
The path from Gangzi Village differed from Huangpo Village's gentler slope; this one was steep and sheer.
It was carved into sheer cliffs, a narrow trail barely wide enough for a burly man. Meeting someone head-on would be perilous—a single misstep could send you plummeting.
Granny Sha appeared frail with age, but her steps were steady, fearless on the cliffs. Chen Shi, by contrast, felt his heart race.
"Old Sister, Little Ten and I are passing through. Mind if we borrow the way?" Granny Sha paused and called out smilingly to a massive, gnarled tree.
She approached, lit several sticks of incense from her basket, and planted them at its base.
Chen Shi peered curiously. The ancient tree was millennia old, its roots sprawling across the cliff face—those exposed alone covered an acre or two!
Its main trunk had been struck by lightning, charred remnants atop the stump. What they saw now was a new trunk grown beside it, yet still thousands of years old.
The tree spirit was an old woman dwelling in a hollow, short even compared to Chen Shi. Her white hair was coiled up, she leaned on a cane, and her kindly face beamed at Chen Shi and Granny Sha.
Her mouth was sunken, missing most teeth—only two or three visible when she smiled.
"Little Ten, come greet Granny Zhuang!" Granny Sha handed him incense.
Chen Shi hurried forward, offered it, and bowed.
"Chen Shi pays respects to Granny Zhuang!"
"Good child, good child." Granny Zhuang chuckled warmly.
They passed through the tree hollows.
"The great mountains command reverence. Respect the mountains as you would the gods. Qianyang Mountain teems with spirits: in grass and trees, rocks and stones, crawling things and beasts. Even the streams and ravines harbor spirits."
As they walked, Granny Sha instructed Chen Shi,
"Hold reverence in your heart, and every path opens. Dismiss it, and even a safe road turns deadly."
They reached a steeper stretch where the path ended abruptly, blocked by heaps of black rocks.
Granny Sha stepped forward, offered incense, and said,
"Dao Brother, Little Ten and I are passing through. Please make way."
Chen Shi's eyes widened as the black rocks shifted with eerie regularity. They climbed the sheer cliff and receded.
Once they were gone, he saw the truth: the "rocks" were scales of an enormous black serpent—so vast they mimicked piled boulders!
Chen Shi followed Granny Sha onward for another four or five li until they spotted the serpent itself.
It coiled atop their peak, head raised in lonely vigil. Its exhalations formed clouds, inhalations winds—each breath churning the valley's tempests in wondrous display.
The great black serpent was a beast spirit of the mountains. Long past flesh-eating days, it supped on wind and dew, nesting amid clouds and mists like a hermit sage amid the peaks, aloof from worldly strife.