After the battle, Chen Shi was exhausted and drowsy. He dozed off in the cart, and when he woke up, they had already reached Yellow Slope Village.
His grandfather was busy boiling medicine late into the night. Finally, the medicine was ready.
Chen Shi drank a large bowl of it and then soaked in a medicinal bath, gradually falling asleep.
Fortunately, the night passed without incident, and his old illness did not flare up.
"Could it be that I'm cured?"
When he woke up in the morning, Chen Shi was delighted. Even the breakfast his grandfather made didn't taste as bad as usual.
Moreover, his grandfather had indeed brought back treats from the county town, like candied hawthorns, rice cakes, stinky tofu, and sugar figurines, making him smile from ear to ear.
"Grandpa's medicine works, and practicing the Three Lights True Qi Technique daily also helps. Maybe I can cure my illness!"
Chen Shi was hopeful about the future, so he worked even harder. After paying respects to his godmother, he practiced the Three Lights True Qi Technique, using the Big Dipper to refine his body.
The day was fulfilling. In the evening, he drank more medicine, soaked in the medicinal bath, and practiced the Three Lights True Qi Technique before going to bed.
He didn't know how long he had slept when a sharp pain suddenly pierced his chest, and his heart began to spasm violently!
Chen Shi woke up, realizing his heart condition was acting up again. He struggled to get up and activate the Three Lights True Qi Technique to resist it.
However, the pain was too intense, draining his strength. His heart felt like it was being squeezed, stopping the flow of blood in his body!
He tried to breathe but couldn't.
It felt like the air in his lungs was being sucked out by a green ghost hand!
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
Chen Shi was overwhelmed with fear, trying to call out for his grandfather, but no sound came from his throat.
It was still night, and his grandfather was likely not home, unaware of the danger he was in.
"Heiguo! Heiguo!"
Chen Shi tried to call for Heiguo, but no sound came out. The big black dog in the yard seemed to hear something, lifted its head to listen, then shook its head and went back to sleep.
Chen Shi's vision gradually darkened, until he couldn't see the moonlight or the beams of the house.
His eyelids grew heavier, his mind foggier, and his body began to twitch uncontrollably, like a fish out of water.
His body jerked violently on the bed twice before finally calming down, with occasional twitches that grew less frequent and weaker.
Eventually, Chen Shi became still.
In the darkness, a light seemed to shine, illuminating the darkness before Chen Shi.
He opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by thick, white mist. In the distance, he heard mournful cries, like those of humans or wounded animals.
Chen Shi widened his eyes, trying to see around him, but saw nothing.
"Grandpa!" he shouted.
"Grandpa!" "Grandpa!"
Voices echoed through the mist, calling for grandpa from all directions, as if it were an eerie chorus.
Chen Shi was engulfed by fear. He knew he should stay put and wait for his grandfather to find him, but he couldn't help but move forward.
He felt lighter than ever, as if he didn't exist. The mist passed through him like fine, weightless sand, cold and chilling.
"I must be dead," Chen Shi thought sadly.
Footsteps approached through the mist, and he saw a young woman with a pale face, looking lost.
Blood dripped from her neck, and as she walked, it gushed from a slit, staining her clothes red.
She seemed to speak, but Chen Shi heard nothing.
The woman lowered her head, and her head fell to the ground.
She crouched, groping around for her head but couldn't find it.
The woman's helpless cries echoed through the mist.
After a while, she found her head, placed it back on her neck, and silently followed Chen Shi.
Another figure emerged from the mist, a pot-bellied man, looking once powerful and commanding, now pitiful, with countless stab wounds still bleeding.
His belly was cut open, intestines spilling out and dragging on the ground.
He struggled to hold his intestines and followed Chen Shi.
Chen Shi wandered forward, encountering more people in the mist, each with their own gruesome end—missing limbs, caved-in skulls, ruptured organs, oozing pus, some blown apart, others charred...
Chen Shi wasn't afraid; he had seen many ghosts and gods and was no longer scared.
"I must be dead."
He felt a bit sad. "I died in pain on the bed, and Grandpa didn't notice, nor did Heiguo. They might be very sad when they find me dead the next day."
He wondered how his face looked. If it was too twisted, Grandpa would cry.
He didn't want Grandpa to cry.
Ahead was a long line of people, stretching into the mist, moving mechanically, destination unknown.
Chen Shi and the strange people behind him joined the line.
They continued forward, more people joining the large group.
Chen Shi found himself surrounded by many others, forming another two lines, all walking like zombies, stretching endlessly.
More lines appeared ahead, a vast crowd, yet eerily silent.
Only the occasional mournful cries broke the silence.
Suddenly, a giant claw emerged from the mist, bony and scaly, unlike a human hand, grabbing someone and retreating into the mist, followed by chewing sounds.
"Hehehe!"
Something laughed in the mist.
Chen Shi felt fear, but the people around him were oblivious, continuing to walk numbly forward.
More claws emerged from the mist, snatching people away, with chewing and laughter echoing from all sides.
It felt like they had walked into a feast hosted by the mist, where they were the delicacies, and the creatures hidden in the mist were the gourmets, savoring the rare treats!
Chen Shi dared not move forward, but his legs seemed out of his control, mechanically marching on.
The mist was filled with more and more "gourmets," and the laughter grew louder, with more claws snatching people away.
Chen Shi's scalp tingled as a large claw reached for him. He wanted to dodge, but his body continued to march forward, unable to avoid it!
Just as he was about to be grabbed, a drum-like sound echoed, like a drum or a broken gong, a dull, rustling sound that startled the claw back into the mist.
"Chen Shi—"
A voice called from behind him, mingled with the drum sound.
A faint scent of incense wafted into Chen Shi's nose, also faint.
"Little Shi—"
This call was clearer, his grandfather's voice, and the drum sound became distinct.
"Grandpa!" Tears streamed down his face.
His grandfather's voice came, "Little Shi, follow the sound!"
Chen Shi struggled to stop, painfully turning around to follow the sound, each step agonizing, like walking on knives or through fire, his legs burning with pain.
He followed the sound with difficulty, but it was intermittent, only reaching his ears with the drum sound and incense scent. If either faded, he lost direction.
Surrounded by the moving crowd, Chen Shi was the only one going against the flow, stumbling and falling.
He walked for an unknown time, still unable to leave the feast, surrounded by clawed hands ready to snatch him away.
Just as he was about to collapse, the mist parted, and a giant creature snorted smoke and fire, stomping the ground, shaking it as it charged forward.
As it approached, Chen Shi saw it was a giant black dog, resembling Heiguo but many times larger, like a small mountain.
"Heiguo, is that you?"
The black dog, like a demon god from the underworld, fierce and terrifying, shot fire from its eyes, burning the clawed hands, biting one off with a snap. It sniffed the incense scent, its burning eyes rolling, fixing on Chen Shi.
"Woof woof!"
The mountain-sized Heiguo wagged its tail excitedly, creating gusts of wind, crouching down for Chen Shi to climb on its back, then turned and ran.
"Boom boom!"
The drum sound grew louder, and Grandpa's call clearer. Chen Shi clung to Heiguo's fur, feeling the light grow brighter, blindingly so.
He raised his hand to shield his eyes, and a joyful voice said, "He's awake, Little Shi is finally awake!"
Chen Shi opened his eyes, adjusting to the light, looking around in confusion. He found himself in a dim, unfamiliar room, filled with the strong scent of incense, the walls blackened by smoke.
An old woman with white hair sat in a corner, holding a drum-like object, tapping it to make a sound like a drum and a rustling noise.
On the floor was a large fire basin, with talisman papers burning inside, the flames reaching over a person's height.
Behind the flames crouched a big black dog, its eyes glowing in the firelight, snorting smoke, indeed Heiguo.
Grandpa sat on the other side of the fire basin, a mix of water and fire floating above his head.
"What is this place?" Chen Shi wondered.
——Thanks to Aixinjueluo Shengjie for the reward, long live the boss!