Chen Shi hesitated for a moment, then spoke honestly, "A barren mountain suddenly appeared near our village, and there's a temple on it. I was able to train really fast in that temple. But a stone from the sky smashed it, so I'm planning to find another place."
"Training in an ancient temple?" Granny Sha was surprised and looked at him deeply, reminding him, "Little Shi, you no longer have a Divine Fetus. Do you know what it means not to have a Divine Fetus?"
Chen Shi smiled broadly, "I know. Granny, I want to find a place where I can train faster, so I can retake the county exam and regain my Divine Fetus. I want to become a scholar..."
Granny Sha interrupted him, "Without a Divine Fetus, you can never cultivate True Qi again. It means you'll become a useless person!"
Chen Shi's smile froze, and he stuttered, "If I pass the exam, I can get a good job, and Grandpa won't have to work at his age. I..."
"You can't regain your Divine Fetus!" Granny Sha said sternly, interrupting him again, "The Divine Fetus is a blessing from the Heavenly True God, not something you can cultivate. It's a one-time blessing in a lifetime, no second chances! Little Shi, stop dreaming!"
Chen Shi's face turned pale, and he wobbled as if he couldn't stand steadily, arguing, "Granny, I can definitely regain my Divine Altar! If I work hard and diligently, maybe the Heavenly True God will bless me again..."
Granny Sha shook her head coldly, "It's impossible. Let go of this fantasy. Little Shi, being an ordinary person isn't so bad. Go home."
Chen Shi was deeply disappointed and walked out with his head down.
Granny Sha shook her head, "Silly child, still thinks he can regain his Divine Fetus..."
She sighed, remembering how Chen Shi once amazed everyone, but that Chen Shi had his Divine Fetus taken away.
Now, Chen Shi was just a person who couldn't cultivate.
After a while, Granny Sha walked out of the courtyard and was surprised to see Chen Shi sitting on the stone steps outside her house, not going home.
"Little Shi, why haven't you gone back?" Granny Sha asked.
"Granny, I want to grow up quickly so Grandpa won't worry about me," Chen Shi said, looking at the ground. "I don't want Grandpa to work so hard at his age. I just want to have some skills to take care of him. I want him to enjoy life..."
Granny Sha felt a pang of compassion and said, "If you want to know about that place, you can, but you have to do something for Granny."
Chen Shi brightened up, quickly wiped his tears, and smiled, "Granny, just tell me!"
Granny Sha smiled, "Years ago, I lost something in the River of Forgetfulness. It's dear to me, and I've been thinking about it all these years. If you help me retrieve it, I'll tell you where the temple is."
Chen Shi hesitated.
Granny Sha sneered, "Scared? If you're scared, just go back and be an ordinary person!"
Chen Shi gritted his teeth and said, "I'll do it!"
He exposed his neck, "Granny, you can kill me, and I'll go to the River of Forgetfulness to get it for you! Just make it quick, I'm a bit afraid of pain."
Granny Sha was both amused and touched.
"I thought he was scared, but it turns out he hesitated because he thought he had to die to go to the River of Forgetfulness. Facing fear of death for the sake of regaining his Divine Fetus shows a rare determination. Maybe he'll achieve something in the future."
Granny Sha thought of this and smiled, "Why would you need to die to go to the River of Forgetfulness? If you had to die, it would ruin my reputation. Don't worry, you don't have to die."
Chen Shi was both surprised and delighted.
He had indeed struggled with the thought of dying to reach the River of Forgetfulness, but he didn't expect he could go there alive!
Granny Sha went inside and brought out an iron chain, weighing over thirty pounds, and tied it to Chen Shi.
Chen Shi had been getting stronger recently, so he didn't find it heavy.
"Going to the River of Forgetfulness isn't easy. It's the river of the dead in the underworld. After a person dies, underworld messengers come to the living world to capture lingering ghosts and ferry them across the River of Forgetfulness into the underworld."
Granny Sha also brought a bundle of hemp rope, several dozen yards long and very sturdy. The other end of the rope was tied to a large hook, sharp like a fishhook, but it must have weighed over ten pounds.
Chen Shi had fished before and seen hooks of all sizes, but never one this big. He wondered, "What kind of fish is Granny trying to catch with such a big hook? And the bait must be huge too, right?"
Granny Sha carried the hook and rope and walked out of the village, with Chen Shi quickly following.
Despite her old age, Granny Sha moved lightly, and Chen Shi had to exert himself to keep up.
They walked over ten miles to where the Jade Belt River flowed into the Virtue River. The water was turbulent, rushing towards the sea, just two hundred miles downstream.
"All rivers in the world connect to the River of Forgetfulness, so you can enter it through these rivers."
Granny Sha chose a large tree by the riverbank and tied the rope to it, saying, "It's easy for ghosts to enter the River of Forgetfulness, but for the living, it takes some skill."
She picked up the hook, her old eyes glinting cunningly, and smiled, "There's a big fish in this river that can swim between the yin and yang realms, called a Gun Fish. It likes to eat people. When it swallows the hook, it gets hurt and flees to the underworld, entering the River of Forgetfulness."
Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat, "Granny, does this hook go through my mouth and out my chin?"
He realized he was the bait.
Granny Sha shook her head.
Chen Shi turned pale, "Through my stomach?"
Granny Sha went behind him, threading the oversized hook through the iron chain, and laughed, "You think I'd thread you like a worm? If I did that, your grandpa would come after me!"
Chen Shi felt a bit relieved, "Granny, what did you lose in the River of Forgetfulness?"
Granny Sha's eyes flickered, "A bronze lamp with a handle. The light isn't bright, but you can see it from afar."
Chen Shi was puzzled, "When did you lose it, Granny?"
"Nine years ago."
"A bronze lamp lost nine years ago? Why haven't you looked for it before?"
Chen Shi was even more confused, "Where did you lose it? Can I find it from here?"
Granny Sha's eyes dodged, and she snapped, "Why so many questions? Are you going or not?"
"Of course, I'm going!"
Chen Shi hesitated again, "After the big fish swallows me, how do I get out of its mouth?"
"How would I know? I've never been eaten," Granny Sha said, feeling guilty. "You'll find out when you go. Don't worry, when you find the lamp, pull the rope hard. I'll feel it on the shore and pull you back to the living world. Nothing will happen!"
Chen Shi asked, "Have you tried this treasure-hunting method before, Granny?"
"Of course I have!" Granny Sha smiled broadly and urged, "Go quickly and come back soon, so your grandpa doesn't worry!"
Chen Shi carefully entered the water. It wasn't that he was timid, but using himself as bait to catch a fish that could travel to the underworld's River of Forgetfulness seemed unreliable.
The Virtue River's current was strong, pushing him as if a dozen people were shoving him, making it hard to stand.
Chen Shi looked at the river's surface, seeing whirlpools moving downstream, indicating even stronger currents in deeper waters.
"Go deeper!" Granny Sha urged from the shore.
Chen Shi shouted, "Granny, if I can't find it, you still have to tell me where the temple is!"
Granny Sha agreed repeatedly.
Chen Shi continued into deeper water, worried that the heavy chain and hook would prevent him from swimming. If he drowned...
"Granny would summon my soul anyway, so I won't die!"
Chen Shi gathered his courage and went deeper.
Granny Sha watched him enter the water, her heart in her throat, thinking, "The ancient book described using a person as bait to catch a Gun Fish that travels between realms. But it didn't say how to get out of the fish's mouth."
She was anxious, as this was her first time trying to catch a Gun Fish with a person as bait.
Whether it would succeed, she wasn't sure.
Suddenly, Chen Shi stepped into a hole and sank, making Granny Sha's heart skip a beat!
But the next moment, Chen Shi resurfaced.
His body had become much stronger from recent training. Before, the weight would have dragged him down, but now he could swim with ease.
Granny Sha sighed in relief. Just then, a loud splash came from the river, sending a wave two or three stories high into the air. In the spray, a massive tail flashed, its blue-black scales reflecting the sun with a metallic sheen!
The tail was much larger than any fishing boat on the river!
"So big?" Granny Sha was stunned.
Chen Shi heard the noise and looked up, but could only see the white water surface, not what was moving beneath.
He felt nervous, hearing Granny Sha's voice from the shore, "I see a big Gun Fish! Swim deeper to lure it to eat you!"
Chen Shi shouted, "Granny, where is the Gun Fish? I can't see it!"
Granny Sha looked at the river, seeing waves rising as if something huge was moving underwater. She vaguely saw a head bigger than a house, with a wide open mouth filled with sharp steel teeth.
Granny Sha's heart skipped again; the Gun Fish was bigger than she expected!
And with teeth like that, Chen Shi might be chewed up before being swallowed!
"The rope might not withstand this big fish. A slight tug from the Gun Fish could break it! Even if it doesn't, its teeth could cut it!"
She thought of this and immediately grabbed the rope with both hands, pulling Chen Shi back to shore.
Chen Shi also sensed something huge approaching underwater, feeling terrified, and swam towards the shore with all his might.
"Crack!"
A thunderous sound came from the river. Chen Shi turned to see a mountain-like blue-black fish leap out, its shadow blocking the sun, its mouth like an abyss, coming to swallow him!
"Boom!"
The Gun Fish crashed into the water, and Granny Sha felt the rope in her hands jerk violently, pulling her towards the river!
The next moment, the tree the rope was tied to shook under the massive force, leaning towards the river!
Granny Sha used all her strength to hold the rope, but before she could steady herself, there was a snap, and the broken rope flew out of the water, landing on the shore!
Granny Sha stood in shock, seeing the big fish swim away quickly. Suddenly, a blue light flashed underwater, and the fish disappeared!
"It's over, it's over..."
Granny Sha's forehead was drenched in cold sweat, her body trembling, as she shakily retrieved the remaining rope, seeing the clean cut where the Gun Fish's teeth had severed it.
"Little Shi is probably chewed up by the Gun Fish. Even if I know how to summon souls, I can't bring him back... How will I explain this to Old Man Chen?"