Granny Sha stood there, stunned by the rapid changes unfolding before her eyes. Everything happened so fast that she could barely keep up.
Chen Shi let out a long breath and took the ram-horn bronze lamp off his back, smiling as he said, "Granny, I got back the lamp you lost!"
Suddenly, the old lady rushed over, trembling, and hugged him tightly. Her body shook, her voice choked with emotion, and tears streamed down her face like rain.
"My child, my dear child, Granny won't let you take risks anymore!"
The old lady cried sorrowfully, paying no attention to the bronze lamp she had been so concerned about, leaving Chen Shi feeling a bit uneasy.
Granny Sha held him as if she were holding her closest family, unwilling to let go.
After a long time, she finally released him, wiped away her tears, and carefully checked Chen Shi for any injuries. Only after confirming he was unharmed did she relax.
"Granny, are you alright?" Chen Shi asked cautiously.
Hearing his voice, Granny Sha couldn't help but think of her own child, and tears fell again.
"My son Tianyu was just as smart and adorable. If he were still alive, he might have settled down by now, and I could be holding a grandchild. The grandchild would probably be about Little Shi's age."
The old lady was reminded of her son Tianyu when she saw Chen Shi escape from what seemed like certain death in the underworld.
Tianyu was especially clever and lovable, with a high level of understanding, just like Chen Shi at that age.
Boys are always mischievous but also sensible. Tianyu was like that too.
When he was naughty, she wanted to grab him and give him a good scolding, but he also had his sensible moments, being very considerate and caring, offering her warmth and comfort, massaging her shoulders and back.
She loved her son dearly, but back then, she also had her own ambitions. She was highly skilled in soul-related arts and wanted to advance further. However, for some reason, she couldn't break through, so she came up with a bold idea.
That was to sneak into the underworld to find a rare stone called the Three Lives Stone, which could only be found there.
If she could refine medicine with the Three Lives Stone and take it, she could awaken her past life's memories and turn her past life's cultivation into her current life's cultivation, allowing her to break through to the next level.
However, not just anyone could go to the underworld. Those who went had to be either a Pure Yang Boy Spirit or a Pure Yin Girl Spirit.
A Pure Yang Boy Spirit had pure yang energy, which could resist the underworld's yin energy and prevent the soul from being scattered.
A Pure Yin Girl Spirit had pure yin energy, which wouldn't be damaged too quickly in the underworld.
She didn't trust outsiders, as the Three Lives Stone was extremely precious, so she planned to have her son Tianyu secretly enter the underworld to steal the stone for her.
She made extensive preparations for Tianyu's safety, using various life-saving talismans, treasures, and spells, equipping him thoroughly before allowing his soul to leave his body and enter the underworld.
Tianyu was a very understanding child. He did this dangerous task for her without any complaints or refusals and entered the underworld.
However, Tianyu never returned.
She waited for seven days, but Tianyu never came back.
Seven days was a critical point. A practitioner's soul could leave the body for seven days while the body remained alive. After seven days, the body would die and decay.
Her son was dead.
That mischievous yet sensible little boy was dead.
His soul was lost in the underworld, unable to find its way home.
Her son's death was a huge blow to her. It also caused her husband to break off with her, leaving them like strangers. She spent her life in self-blame and regret because of this incident.
Back then, when Chen Shi's grandfather, Chen Yin, came to her for help, she initially refused. But seeing Chen Shi's face reminded her of her son, so she agreed, risking her life to cross the realms of life and death to summon Chen Shi's soul.
It was during that time that she offended a major figure in the underworld, leaving her with many enemies, making it impossible for her to set foot in the underworld again without being attacked.
Granny Sha sighed deeply and patted Chen Shi's head.
"Granny won't let you do anything dangerous again," she said softly.
Chen Shi raised the ram-horn bronze lamp and smiled, "Granny, is this the lamp you were looking for?"
Granny Sha perked up and nodded, "For this lousy broken lamp, I almost got you killed. Little Shi, do you hate Granny?"
Chen Shi shook his head, "Grandpa said Granny did a lot for me back then, and I should repay Granny's kindness."
Granny Sha felt warmth in her heart, and tears threatened to fall again. She quickly said, "It's getting dark, let's head back."
The two of them started heading back.
"This lamp is a treasure that only the Ghost King among the underworld messengers can have. It's called the Ram-Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp, capable of illuminating both the living and the dead realms, seeing through the underworld, with incredible power."
Granny Sha explained the lamp's origin, "Back then, I teamed up with a few old folks to resist the lamp's power and severely injured the Horse-Faced Ghost King. The Horse-Faced Ghost King fell into the River of Forgetfulness with the lamp. I thought it was surely dead, but I didn't expect it to survive by using the river's special properties and live until now."
She couldn't help but feel a bit afraid.
If the Horse-Faced Ghost King had any strength left, even a trace of True Qi could have shattered Chen Shi to pieces.
"I'll keep this lamp for you for now, and you can take it whenever you want," Granny Sha said.
They returned to Hillock Village as the sky darkened, where a big black dog was already waiting at the village entrance.
Chen Shi hurried over, "Heiguo, did Grandpa send you to call me home for dinner?"
Heiguo wagged its tail.
Granny Sha said, "Little Shi, you go home with the dog first. Come over tomorrow, and I'll take you to find that ancient temple."
Chen Shi quickly thanked her.
Granny Sha watched the boy and dog leave, feeling a surge of emotions in her heart.
"Just like Tianyu when he was young. So smart, so lively, so stubborn, promising something to others and making sure to do it."
She returned home and placed the Ram-Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp on the table, which creaked under its weight.
The lamp seemed light when Chen Shi carried it, but it weighed over three hundred pounds.
Granny Sha took out a silver hairpin and lengthened the lamp wick a bit.
The wick was inserted into the copper man's head on the ram's back, and the copper man's body was filled with lamp oil. Even after many years, the lamp oil was still plentiful.
When the wick was pulled out a bit, the copper man's face became strange, opening its mouth to let out a piercing scream, echoing sharply in the room.
Once the lamp flame stabilized, it seemed to get used to the pain and stopped screaming, even showing a smile on its face.
Granny Sha activated the Ram-Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp, and suddenly the lamp's light surged. In the next moment, her house, the street, Hillock Village, and even Heavenly Yang Mountain seemed to vanish!
The light that pierced through everything illuminated the house, street, village, and mountains, reaching into the dark underworld!
Granny Sha strained her eyes, using the lamp's light to peer into the endless darkness, through mist and wasteland, death and silence, sweeping over countless ghosts, searching for that small figure.
"Tianyu, where are you? Are you lost? Mother is here to find you..."
Chen Shi returned home, where Grandpa had already prepared dinner and was waiting for him. Chen Shi quickly washed his hands and face before sitting down.
"You went to 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 is a very nice person, she treats me well."
"That's good."
Grandpa, with his back to him, slowly ate a candle, saying, "Granny Sha is a good person, but she's deeply attached to things and can do some extreme things. If she asks you to go to the underworld, don't agree."
Chen Shi felt a chill, thinking, "Too late, I've already been there."
He didn't tell Grandpa about it, fearing he wouldn't let him visit Granny Sha again.
The night passed without incident.
In the morning, after breakfast and paying respects to his godmother, Chen Shi told Grandpa he was leaving and eagerly set off for Hillock Village.
"Woof!"
At the village entrance, Heiguo sat under a tree, barking at Chen Shi's departing figure.
"I know, he lied."
Grandpa stood behind Heiguo, his face dark, "When he came back yesterday, he was soaked and covered in yin energy. Clearly, Granny Sha sent him to the underworld. He's even covering for the old lady."
Heiguo tilted its head to look at Grandpa, "Woof woof!"
Grandpa's face darkened further, "You're right, the brat needs to be taught a lesson for learning to lie. And Granny Sha needs a talking to, so she doesn't put my grandson in danger! What's more, she wants to take my grandson!"
Heiguo looked up in confusion. That wasn't what it meant at all.
If Grandpa wanted to scold Chen Shi, he could do it himself. Why blame it on Heiguo?
But this blame, Heiguo had to bear.
Chen Shi arrived at Hillock Village, where Granny Sha had already prepared breakfast, waiting for him without eating.
"The food Chen Yin cooks, even dogs won't eat! It's hard to believe you've eaten it for so many years."
Granny Sha took a few bites before putting down her chopsticks, smiling as she watched Chen Shi devour the food.
There was no helping it; Grandpa's medicinal meals were truly terrible.
"Eat slowly, eat slowly, don't choke."
Granny Sha laughed, "There's more in the pot, I'll get you some more."
Chen Shi ate until his stomach was round. It was the first time in two years he'd eaten so much, and he quickly got up to help Granny Sha wash the dishes.
Granny Sha hurriedly said, "Leave it, I'll do it myself! This child..."
Chen Shi finished tidying up, then helped her clean the yard before looking eagerly at Granny Sha.
Granny Sha dressed neatly, carrying a small basket covered with a floral cloth, and smiled, "I know you've been waiting, let's get going."
The old and the young set out into the mountains.
The path from Hillock Village into the mountains was different from the one from Yellow Slope Village. The path from Yellow Slope was gentler, while this one was steeper.
The mountain path was carved into the cliffs, a narrow road barely wide enough for one large man to pass. If someone came from the opposite direction, it would be very dangerous, and one wrong step could lead to a fall off the cliff.
Although Granny Sha looked old, she walked steadily and showed no fear of the cliffs, while Chen Shi felt a bit nervous.
"Old sister, Little Shi and I are passing through, borrowing your path." Granny Sha stopped and smiled at a large, ancient tree with twisted roots.
She went to the tree, took some incense from her basket, lit it, and placed it at the tree's base.
Chen Shi curiously observed. The ancient tree, which had lived for thousands of years, had roots spreading across the cliff, covering an area of one or two acres!
However, the tree's main trunk seemed to have been struck by lightning, leaving burn marks. The tree they saw now had grown beside the main trunk.
Even though it was newly grown, it looked like it was thousands of years old as well.
The spirit of this ancient tree was an old lady living in a tree hollow. She was shorter than Chen Shi, with white hair tied up, leaning on a cane, and had a kind and gentle face, smiling at Chen Shi and Granny Sha.
Her mouth was sunken, with only a few teeth left, and when she smiled, two or three could barely be seen.
"Little Shi, come and greet Granny Zhuang!" Granny Sha handed Chen Shi some incense.
Chen Shi quickly stepped forward, offering incense and bowing, "Chen Shi greets Granny Zhuang!"
"Good child, good child," Granny Zhuang said with a kind smile.
The two of them passed through the tree hollow.
"The mountains are awe-inspiring. Respect the mountains as you would the divine. Heavenly Yang Mountain is full of spirits; plants, rocks, crawling creatures, and even streams and water have spirits dwelling within."
As they walked, Granny Sha taught Chen Shi, "With respect, all paths are open. Without respect, even a safe path can become dangerous."
They reached a steeper place where the mountain path suddenly ended, blocked by black stones.
Granny Sha stepped forward, offering incense, "Brother Dao, Little Shi and I are passing through, please grant us passage."
Chen Shi widened his eyes as the black stones began to move in an orderly fashion, climbing up the steep cliff and gradually moving away.
Once the black stones were gone, Chen Shi finally saw their true form: they were the scales of an enormous black serpent, so huge that they looked like a pile of black rocks!
Chen Shi followed Granny Sha along the mountain path, walking four or five miles until they finally saw the great black serpent.
The black serpent coiled on the mountain peak where they stood, its head raised in solitude. Its breath formed clouds, and its inhalations created winds. With each breath, the valley's weather changed, marvelously.
The great black serpent was a beast spirit of the mountain, long past the age of needing blood food to fill its belly. It dined on wind and dew, slept on clouds, and lived like a hermit in the mountains, at peace with the world.