Chapter 335
Chapter 335
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: The Huodou's Past and Family Reunion
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Wei Yue tumbled and rolled dozens of miles away before finally stabilizing his form. He immediately rushed back this way, thinking to himself:
"Yang Bi harbors killing intent toward me. The guards of the Twelve Yuan Chen Palaces have all been replaced by his people. If I fail at this task, I'm afraid he'll do me in! I absolutely cannot let the huodou kill Chen Shi!"
His original injuries hadn't fully healed, and now being slapped flying by the huodou only made things worse, compounding his wounds.
His heart was filled with utter confusion. Why wasn't the huodou obeying anymore?
The huodou was a netherworld aberrant beast, innately possessing a Ghost God Domain and able to command demonic fire. Its combat prowess was astonishing.
This kind of creature was even closer to a demon—extremely dangerous.
This huodou had originally lain prostrate outside Chen Shi's mother's Yuan Chen Palace, deep in slumber. It would only awaken when someone approached the Yuan Chen Palace, blocking the intruder and even devouring ghost gods.
After taking charge of Immortal Capital, Wei Yue had always assumed the huodou was a guard left behind by King Yama to watch over Chen Shi's mother and deal with Chen Shi.
The netherworld was full of such ghost monsters, known as jail wardens, tasked specifically with guarding the great prisons to prevent escapes.
And so, Wei Yue had ordered ghost gods to stealthily approach the huodou and fasten chains upon it, bringing the colossal beast under control.
Over these past years, the huodou had always cooperated with them. However, whenever they drew near Chen Shi's mother's Yuan Chen Palace, it would abruptly awaken and slaughter anyone who approached.
At those times, they would affix special talismans to the huodou's forehead, sending it back into slumber.
The last time the boatman and his daughter had abducted Chen Shi's mother, a horde of yin attendants had followed the huodou in pursuit to recapture her.
But this time, Wei Yue sensed something was off.
He suppressed his injuries and sped over, only to witness the huodou lowering its massive head to nuzzle Chen Shi's mother's palm. He froze in shock.
"No! That's not right! This huodou isn't a jail warden left by the King Yama to guard Chen Shi's mother!"
Realization dawned on him in an instant, and he groaned inwardly.
"This huodou was placed outside Chen Shi's mother's Yuan Chen Palace specifically to protect her! They've known each other all along!"
He had believed it to be a jail warden, thinking that slapping a dog chain on it would make him its new master. But now it was clear—this thing was the guard dog posted at the door!
"Release the chains! Release the chains!"
Wei Yue shouted at the top of his lungs as he charged toward them.
At that moment, atop the huodou's back, those several hundred yin attendants were still straining with all their might, yanking on the chains in a desperate bid to restrain it.
The colossal beast suddenly erupted in fury, thrashing its body violently. The several hundred yin attendants were instantly flung scattering through the air.
Wei Yue's heart shook violently. Without a second thought, he wheeled around and fled into the distance, thinking:
"Young Master Yang Lake was wrong. Chen Shi doesn't need my rescue at all. The huodou charged over here to save him! Unleashing the huodou was a grave mistake!"
He fled without a trace, the other yin attendants scrambling after him in panic.
Chen Shi stared dumbly at the scene, shaking his head as he thought:
"How can I confirm that what I'm seeing is real? Have I truly not been hoodwinked by the huodou, my perception unaltered?"
He knew all too well how terrifying Black Pot's abilities were. The huodou's powers had to be even more horrifying—capable of influencing even the mortal realm!
He feared being mesmerized by the sight before him, convinced of its reality, only to return home with the huodou and discover that all this bliss was an illusion, with he and his mother already back in their prisons!
That was the prospect that truly terrified him.
"Shi Ji, is this scene real or fake?"
Chen Shi asked the Shi Ji Niangniang in the little temple.
Shi Ji Niangniang twitched twice but made no sound.
Black Pot gazed up at the huodou with a puzzled look. The huodou dwarfed it many times over, radiating a far more potent aura. Black Pot's netherworld form was already massive, but next to the huodou, it was little more than a speck.
The huodou extended its scarlet tongue and licked Black Pot's face twice, slathering it head to toe in drool.
"It's my dad."
Black Pot thought to itself.
"Or maybe my mom."
It mused further.
It sensed a familiar aura—the scent of its closest kin, one it had smelled since the moment of its birth.
Chen Shi eyed the colossal beast, full of doubts. How did the huodou know his mother? And how had Grandpa ended up bringing Black Pot home?
As if detecting the ripples in his thoughts, the huodou swiveled its enormous eyes—ablaze with demonic fire—and fixed them upon him.
Chen Shi's gaze met those eyes, and in an instant, the scene around him transformed. Towering mountains jagged like fangs interlocked in all directions, razor-sharp peaks sprouting chaotically. His viewpoint shifted to the huodou's own, locked in brutal combat with immensely powerful foes amid this hellish terrain.
It was pregnant, hemmed in by enemies. It fought its way out of the encirclement with great difficulty, but it was covered in wounds, its strength all but spent.
The enemies' target was the child in its belly.
A fully grown huodou was undoubtedly powerful, but it would never acknowledge a master. Creatures straddling the line between ghost monster and demon god possessed a unique pride—even unto death, they refused to submit to any other being.
But a newborn huodou made the perfect servant for a ghost god.
That was why these foes sought the unborn little huodou in its womb: slay the mother, seize the child, and claim mastery over it!
On its last breath, amid its mortal injuries, it birthed its offspring. It licked the blood from the little huodou, then hardened its heart to bite the whelp dead.
Such was the custom of their kind. It would never allow its son to become a slave.
It was then that a fellow battered figure—an old man dragging his exhausted body—passed by the spot.
This elder had ventured alone into the netherworld in search of family and had been beaten to the brink of death himself, his life hanging by a thread.
"Huodou, I wish to strike a deal with you."
Though teetering on the edge of death, the old man's spirit remained indomitable. He declared loudly:
"I will protect your son and bring him to the mortal world. I will raise him to adulthood. In exchange, you remain in the netherworld and safeguard one person for me. When your son comes of age, he will return to your side!"
The huodou's formidable spirit scanned the old man's mind, sensing his unfeigned honesty.
In that moment, two cornered beings forged their pact.
The weary elder carried the little huodou back to the mortal world, while the huodou—regaining a sliver of strength—made for Immortal Capital.
It located the Yuan Chen Palace imprisoning Chen Shi's mother, lay down, and stood guard there.
The vision before Chen Shi's eyes shifted abruptly, the northern ice fields reappearing.
Suddenly, a gust of阴 wind swept through, and the huodou vanished.
Black Pot barked incessantly, charging into the netherworld, but found no trace of the huodou.
A moment later, it returned to the mortal world, looking somewhat lost and forlorn. It turned to Chen Shi:
"Woof....."
"It might fear that those who captured you will track you down,"
Chen Shi speculated.
"Those people likely wield great influence in the netherworld, and they probably aren't from the Thirteen Great Families. Also, Black Pot—it's not your dad. It's your mom."
Black Pot said:
"Woof?"
Chen Shi replied:
"I'm certain."
Black Pot, puzzled, said:
"Woof woof."
Chen Shi shook his head:
"I don't know where your dad went either."
He had his mother return to the little temple for now and resumed their journey. With no ghost gods in pursuit this time, both Chen Shi and Black Pot relaxed considerably.
"Black Pot, you pilfered a ghost scripture from that Yuan Chen Palace. Whose palace was it?"
Chen Shi asked.
"Could it have been your dad's Yuan Chen Palace?"
"Woof woof woof!"
"How should I know if huodous even have Yuan Chen Palaces? You went there to steal the book yourself—surely you knew whose it was?"
"Woof."
Xinxiang Province, Qianyang Mountain, Huangpo Village.
Chen Tang had been back home for several days now. Over these days, he had cleaned the rooms, tended to Chen Yindu's grave with sweeping and offerings, then gone up Yellow Earth Slope to thank his teacher, Scholar Zhu, for instructing Chen Shi so superbly that the boy had placed first in the imperial exams.
--Scholar Zhu had been utterly shocked upon hearing the news.
He had pressed Chen Tang for confirmation over and over before accepting that Chen Shi had truly become top scholar.
"This world has gone as rotten as I foresaw!"
As Chen Tang descended the slope, his teacher's cynical wail echoed down from above:
"The Ming empire's realm is finished!"
Chen Tang paid visits to the great snake Mysterious Mountain, Granny Zhuang, and the other spirits of the mountain.
Everyone greeted his return warmly, but upon learning of Chen Shi's triumph as top scholar in the capital, they all fell silent, mumbling awkwardly.
Chen Tang saw it as glory for the family line and swelled with pride, oblivious to their reactions.
These past days, he couldn't bear to idle. Perhaps from long habit of toil, or from fretting too much over Chen Shi, any downtime led to wild rumination.
He compelled himself to keep busy: repairing every stick of old furniture, whitewashing the walls, replacing the tiles, mending the road before the door, cleaning daily.
He hunted exotic beasts in the mountains, feeding their meat to Chen Shi's wooden carriage. In just days, it gleamed with fresh luster.
He bought black dog blood too, meticulously retracing the talismans on the carriage and its canopy, again and again.
In times past, he wouldn't have done such chores for Chen Shi. But now, he needed the distraction.
Four days prior, Granny Sha had returned to Gangzi Village. He visited her, but she had no word of Chen Shi—only the firm assurance that the boy lived.
Two days ago, the new County Magistrate Hu had arrived on his first day in office and come straight to the village to call on him, the Honored Glory Physician, bearing the court's monthly stipend.
Yesterday, a painted pleasure boat appeared on the Jade Belt River beyond the village. A boat lady and boatman were fishing there. Upon hearing, he rushed over to inquire, but the boat lady only said they had been rescued—whether they escaped the huodou's pursuit, she couldn't say.
Last night, Chen Tang hadn't slept a wink, tossing in anxiety.
Today, he untethered the carriage harness, letting the wooden carriage wander out on its own. He wheeled Chen Shi's mother into the sun, helping her stretch her limbs and loosen her joints.
Before their parting, Chen Shi had imparted the Supreme Sun-Moon Primordial Scripture to him for his wife's cultivation. These days, he hadn't dared slack off even once, refining her golden core to nine revolutions, its foundations growing ever more robust.
He cultivated for his wife: golden core entering the aperture, fire drawn back to the origin. Then he settled her once more in the wheelchair.
After the session, her hair was disheveled anew. He produced a comb and gently combed it for her.
"A'Yu, we've been away from home so long. Yuzhu's all grown up now, and Grandma Yuzhu has gotten on in years. So many folks have aged. When you come back, you'll be shocked—the village is full of new faces, the local children. Back when we lived here, they were just toddlers; now you wouldn't recognize them. Only Godmother hasn't changed a bit."
Comb in hand, Chen Tang continued:
"Little Ten named her Sang Yu, but she's no mulberry or elm tree. Our boy's book learning might not be quite what I hoped."
He prattled on to himself, then paused in silence before murmuring softly:
"A'Yu, I miss you."
Tears fell onto the back of his hand.
"I've missed you for ten years. Your body's been here, but I haven't felt you in it. All these years, I've felt so utterly alone. A'hao, come back. Your son's found you—come back soon......"
He had always been a man of iron will: lofty Vice Minister of Revenue, Dao heart unshakable, emotions veiled even amid the full court of civil and military officials.
Yet before his own wife, his softness laid bare.
Just then, voices rose from the village:
".......he's back?"
"I heard he placed top scholar....."
"Grandma Yuzhu, call me Top Scholar Lord from now on! Yuzhu, now that I'm home, I'm going to bully you all rotten!"
Chen Tang heard a voice brimming with vigor and vitality. His spirit stirred. He started toward the door, then remembered himself and hastily wiped away his tears.
He meant to wheel his wife out to greet Chen Shi when suddenly, she lifted a hand from the chair and clasped his right one.
Chen Tang went rigid.
"A'Tang......"
Her voice emerged, faint and weak.
"A'Tang, I've found our son. He brought me home."
Tears streamed down Chen Tang's face like rain. He dropped to a crouch before his wife, clasping both her hands gently and gazing up at her visage.
The one who haunted his every dream had returned at last, inhabiting this body once more.
"Yes. Our family is finally together again."
He whispered.
His wife, Wu Qinghao, felt the warmth radiating from his palms. Peace filled her heart.
Eleven years.
Their home had lain in ruins for eleven years. Husband, wife, and Chen Shi had endured countless trials, perils, partings, and brushes with death.
Today, the three of them were reunited at last.
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