Back To When The Demon Lord Was A Beggar - Chapter 31

Once her hunger was sated, she returned to the Mountain God Temple, reverting to her original form. She looked like nothing more than an ordinary stone statue, as if the night’s events had nothing to do with her.

Everyone looked pale, especially Yun Guitu. He was white as a sheet, barely able to keep his footing. Who could have guessed that the true culprit behind the scenes was the very Mountain God the townspeople had worshipped for years?

Chu Nanzhen pondered for a moment before asking, “Didn’t any of you hear anything that night?”

Logically, such a massive disturbance should have drawn a crowd, yet no one appeared that night. If someone had stepped out to save their junior brother back then, perhaps he wouldn’t have lost his life.

“No,” Yun Guitu shook his head. “It was very quiet that night. We didn’t hear a single sound. We had no idea our junior brother was going through that…”

He lowered his gaze, frowning as he bit his lip. “His body was discovered by other disciples the next morning. It wasn’t just him, either. Whenever our other brothers met their end, we never heard a thing.”

“Perhaps the Mountain God’s statue can only be seen by those about to be killed,” Chu Nanzhen and Zhi Shiyi said in unison. As the words left their mouths, they both froze, looking at each other.

“How does she do it? How does she make it so others can’t see or hear?” Yun Guitu couldn’t wrap his head around it. If such an immortal technique existed and fell into the wrong hands, the world would be plunged into chaos.

“Is it possible she did something to the people while they were worshipping her? We might not be able to see the spell she cast on us, only the intended victim can see her. Then, through this technique, she picks one of them at random to harvest their brain,” Lin Fengye suggested. Having seen the illusion and heard the discussion, this theory suddenly popped into his head. It felt like the right answer.

Thinking it over, the theory made sense. Still, Yun Guitu had one more doubt. “If that’s the case, why could we see her in the illusion?”

If Lin Fengye was right, they shouldn’t have been able to see anything. Hearing this, Shen Shangli patted his shoulder with a sigh. “What we saw wasn’t our own perspective, but Wuxiang’s. Cat demons are yin-aligned by nature, so they naturally see things differently than we do.”

Yun Guitu blinked, finally understanding.

However, right then, Zhi Shiyi suddenly dropped a bombshell. “The statue placed in the Mountain God Temple isn’t a Mountain God at all. It’s a Sea God.”

“?”

The group was stunned. Why would a Mountain God suddenly turn into a Sea God?

“How is that possible? I’ve been at the Yunshan Sect for quite a while. Every half month, we go to worship the Mountain God. It was like that before, and it’s like that now. The stone statue in the temple has always been the same one. It’s never been changed,” Yun Guitu said firmly.

Chu Nanzhen countered, “Look at her appearance. Does she have even a shred of a connection to a Mountain God?”

He had sensed something was off the moment he first saw the statue. Now that Zhi Shiyi had mentioned it, he was certain. There was also that lingering sense of familiarity he’d felt, he still couldn’t remember where it came from.

Setting everything else aside, if one really thought about it, the Mountain God really didn’t look like a Mountain God. For a moment, Yun Guitu didn’t know how to argue or answer. He opened his mouth, and after a long silence, finally asked, “How do you know?”

“As for how I know, it’s because I met her once, a hundred years ago.” If anyone else had said this, they wouldn’t have believed it. But Zhi Shiyi was different. His tone was calm and his expression serious, carrying a weight that made it hard to doubt him.

Except for one person.

Lin Fengye shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”

Zhi Shiyi frowned in annoyance. “Whether you believe it or not has nothing to do with me. If you don’t, there will be someone who does.”

Chu Nanzhen nodded emphatically. “I believe you.”

However, a hundred years was a long time a whole lifetime for a mortal. Since Zhi Shiyi spoke of it so casually, everyone couldn’t help but wonder just how long he had lived.

Chu Nanzhen asked, “Then why didn’t you say so earlier? Why wait until now?”

“Years ago, when passing through this town, I went in to ask her for something. I recognized the stone statue the moment I saw it. I figured it wasn’t strange for a deity’s statue to be worshipped here. If I hadn’t seen what the statue did in the illusion today, I probably wouldn’t have told you any of this.”

Chu Nanzhen nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sorry. My question earlier was a bit abrupt.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me,” Zhi Shiyi said, lightly touching Chu Nanzhen’s hand with a faint smile. “Even if Little Chu wants my life in the future, I’d give it willingly. To me, you can never be wrong.”

Chu Nanzhen’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. He turned his head away and stuttered, “Am—am I the kind of person who just takes lives randomly? Don’t make me out to be so villainous, okay!”

“Enough, enough! If I didn’t know you two were best friends, I’d think you were actually a couple!” Lin Fengye couldn’t take it anymore, waving his hands wildly in the air as if he were being possessed by some ghost.

Shen Shangli muttered to himself, Wait, aren’t they?

Chu Nanzhen coughed a few times, getting back to the point. “So, is the stone statue the Sea God herself?”

“Maybe. But her nature shouldn’t be like this. Someone is likely using her as a tool,” Zhi Shiyi said seriously.

“Since we know she did it, are we going to the Mountain God Temple now to settle the score and have a massive fight with her?” Wuxiang asked.

Lin Fengye spoke up first. “I think we should go to the town inn first and get a better understanding of this Sea God before we head to the temple. Going directly might be dangerous. What if we end up losing our lives there?”

That made sense.

After finishing their discussion, they headed into town together. The streets were bustling with people coming and going. It was quite lively, as if the events of the morning had never happened to them.

The town wasn’t big, and there were only one or two inns, so they picked the closest one. Likely because the surrounding area was quite desolate, there was almost no one in the inn, though they did run into an acquaintance.

“Oh! What a coincidence! Fancy meeting you here!” The speaker was the stall owner from the Inner City, who walked up with a face full of smiles.

They were all taken aback. It really was quite a coincidence to meet here. Yun Guitu looked between them and pointed at the stall owner. “You know him?”

The stall owner was visibly startled when he saw Yun Guitu.

Wuxiang and Lin Fengye replied, “We’ve met once.”

Chu Nanzhen looked delighted. “It really is fate. Are you working as a waiter here now?”

The stall owner snapped out of it and nodded with a smile. “Yeah. It wasn’t easy getting out of that death-trap of a city alive. Without power or influence, I have to earn a living somehow, right?”

He then pointed at Yun Guitu and asked, “And this is…? I didn’t see him back in the Inner City.”

Chu Nanzhen explained, “He’s a friend we met at the Yunshan Sect. His medical skills are incredible!”

Being praised like that made Yun Guitu a bit embarrassed, and he gave a modest nod.

The stall owner nodded thoughtfully and asked, “Are you all here for a meal or to stay the night?”

Since they couldn’t go back to the Yunshan Sect, staying at the inn was their only option.

Zhi Shiyi said, “Staying. Six rooms.”

The stall owner handed them six keys and gestured toward a row of adjacent rooms on the second floor. “Those six rooms are yours. Just go up and unlock them yourselves. Give the keys back to me when you leave.”

Chu Nanzhen smiled. “Thanks! One day, when I plant new peach trees and they bear fruit, I’ll bring some to you. We had a deal, remember!”

The stall owner agreed with a laugh. After a moment, he added, “Don’t keep calling me ‘stall owner,’ it sounds awkward. Coincidentally, my surname is also Chu. My name is Chu Shunshui. Just call me by my name from now on.”

“Chu Shunshui…” Chu Nanzhen repeated the name quietly before praising, “That’s a great name!”

They picked a room and went inside. Because the room was a bit too small, it felt cramped with six people in it. They sat in a circle on the floor. Chu Nanzhen said, “Shiyi, you can tell us everything you know now.”

“The first time I met her was on a night a hundred years ago. Back then, I wasn’t a true cultivator yet. Some might not believe it.”

The world wasn’t just home to cultivators, there were gods, immortals, demons, and the Heavenly Dao that governed all things.

A hundred years ago, Zhi Shiyi was just a young child. He didn’t know who his parents were. For as long as he could remember, he had lived in a fishing village, following an old master who practiced cultivation. His daily life didn’t just involve catching a few fish to survive, he also had to follow the master to learn basic immortal arts.

The old master once told him, “If you practice cultivation well, you can live for centuries and witness the changing of the mountains and rivers.”

He had expected to live there forever, but his luck didn’t last. Not long after Zhi Shiyi reached adulthood, a vast area of the sea suddenly dried up. The fishermen lost their livelihoods and were forced to eat leaves and grass to fill their bellies. The fishing village was in a remote location, and reaching the nearest town would take over a month. Most people feared they would die on the road before reaching it, so no one wanted to leave. At least in the village, they could survive for a little while longer.

As a cultivator, the old master could have easily made the trip to the town on behalf of the people, but he simply said, “Everyone has their own fate, and fate offers two choices. If a problem is solved, that is a good fate that allows one to live. If it cannot be solved, then it is a fate of death.”

Zhi Shiyi looked visibly disappointed upon hearing this. Seeing his reaction, the master added, “However, you can try praying to the Sea God Maiden. Perhaps she will take pity and return the water to the dried-up sea. If that happens, everyone in the village can live.”

Zhi Shiyi didn’t believe it at first, but he still asked with a glimmer of hope, “Where should I go to pray to the Sea God Maiden?”

The old master said, “Wherever there is a sea, she is there.”

And so, he went to the edge of the dried-up seabed, kneeling on both knees to pray. “Sea God Maiden, please come and save our village. Save us, save these parched waters…”

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