The wooden cart rattled as it headed towards the countryside. The lantern from Heiguo had long been extinguished and was placed at the front of the cart by Chen Shi. Grandfather and grandson sat on the cart, their bodies swaying with its movement.
"Grandpa doesn't have many friends, just a few around Heavenly Yang Mountain," Grandpa said. "Near Yellow Stone Mountain, there are two more friends. One is a man named Du Yiran, who carves gravestones there. If you ever have something you can't handle or someone you can't deal with, you can find him. It's not hard to find him; his place is full of gravestones. He specializes in carving them for others."
Chen Shi was taken aback. Grandpa's third friend was also involved with evil spirits.
Grandpa continued, "Another friend is a beekeeper named Ah Zhuo, who lives around Great Southern Lake, keeping bees there."
Chen Shi looked hopeful. This beekeeper, Ah Zhuo, must be a living person.
"He might have also become an evil spirit by now," Grandpa said uncertainly. "He raises evil spirits, and after all these years, he's probably been tainted by them... But Ah Zhuo is very loyal. If you have trouble, tell him you're Chen Yin's grandson, and he'll help you at any cost."
He paused and added, "There's also Prince Xiao, Granny Sha, Jin Hongying, and Li Jindou. Although they aren't exactly Grandpa's friends, they owe Grandpa a big favor because of this demon incident. After I leave, if you face difficulties, they won't ignore you."
Chen Shi was lost in thought, looking at the young man in black in the distant fields. Suddenly, he said, "Grandpa, if my illness can't be cured, maybe I should just die and go to the underworld with you. I have no other family in this world. In the underworld, I can take care of you."
Grandpa was silent for a long time. This grandson was too sensible, so sensible it hurt his heart.
Chen Shi looked up to see Grandpa wiping away tears.
"Silly child, you still have your parents!" Grandpa reached out his rough hand, patted his head, and smiled, "After I'm gone, Chen Tang will take care of you."
"But I don't know him!" Chen Shi said, lowering his head. "I've never even seen him."
To him, Chen Tang was just a stranger. Grandpa was his only family in this world.
Grandpa was silent for a moment, his voice low, "Little Shi, don't worry. Grandpa will do everything to keep you alive. No one can take away my grandson, not even the King of Hell."
A fierce determination rose in his chest. If it was the King of Hell, he'd fight to the Hall of Yama. If it was an evil god, he'd take down the evil god.
At this moment, the green oiled paper umbrella emitted a burnt smell, as if unable to suppress his fierce spirit. The man in black, Mysterious Mountain, suddenly moved closer, and only then did the umbrella not catch fire.
These days, Mysterious Mountain had been helping him suppress his demonic nature.
They returned safely. Chen Shi and Li Tianqing, two children, busied themselves preparing medicinal soup for the four injured people.
What they called "spiritual pills" actually came in four types.
The first type was made by simmering different herbs over a low flame until the water was gone, leaving an oily residue that was rolled into pills, known as spiritual pills.
The second type was made by grinding herbs into powder, mixing it with refined honey, and rolling it into pills.
The third type involved using one's own true fire to heat a furnace, adding various medicinal stones, known as Five Metals and Eight Stones, along with herbs to refine a golden pill, called an external pill.
The fourth type used one's own true fire as the flame, one's own true water for quenching, using the three dantians as furnaces, and using qi, blood, and spirit as medicinal stones to refine a golden pill, called an internal pill.
Whether internal or external, these were great medicines, essential for cultivating the Nascent Soul.
But the easiest to prepare and refine was medicinal soup. First, because it was quick to make, and second, because it worked fast.
The four patients were now relying on medicinal soup to keep them alive. Luckily, Grandpa's medical skills were excellent, which prevented them from losing their lives.
"How do we repay the debt of saving our lives?" Jin Hongying said softly, "If only I had no conscience."
The other three agreed deeply.
It was precisely because they had a conscience that they felt they had to take responsibility. Without a conscience, there would be no need to bear responsibility.
Chen Shi went out to visit his godmother. As soon as he stepped out of the house, he saw the man in black, Mysterious Mountain, standing under a tree at the door.
Mysterious Mountain was getting closer and closer to Grandpa.
The man in black nodded slightly at him, and Chen Shi felt a vague unease.
At this moment, Grandpa came from behind and said, "Little Shi, I'll go with you to see your godmother."
Chen Shi agreed.
The grandfather and grandson walked out of the village.
When they reached Yellow Soil Hill outside the village, they saw the man in black, Mysterious Mountain, again, this time by the Jade Belt River, still watching them.
Chen Shi went under the old willow tree, lit incense for the gravestone of his godmother, and prayed softly, "Godmother, please bless my grandpa with good health, safety, no illness, and eternal life."
Grandpa laughed, "Silly child, who can live forever?"
After Chen Shi finished his prayers, Grandpa also stepped forward with incense, silently reciting, "Brother Dao, I don't know your origins, but you're unfathomable. Please protect Little Shi, let him grow up safely!"
He remembered the first time he came to Yellow Soil Hill. He was just a child, only six or seven years old.
Back then, Yellow Soil Hill looked almost exactly the same as it does now, unchanged.
He climbed the hill, and when he touched the gravestone, a giant monument suddenly stood up, and an ancient temple appeared, surrounded by incense smoke. That scene was unforgettable for him.
But since then, he had never seen such a strange sight again.
Later, when Chen Shi was in trouble, knowing he couldn't handle the Green Ghost Hand, he thought of having Chen Shi worship the gravestone as his godmother.
But after all this time, with Chen Shi worshipping countless times, the gravestone never responded, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
This time, he followed Chen Shi to see if there would be any response from the gravestone.
However, after the incense burned out, the gravestone still showed no response.
"Did I see it wrong back then?" Grandpa was a bit disappointed and walked down Yellow Soil Hill.
In the following days, the injuries of Prince Xiao and the others gradually healed, except for Li Jindou's legs, which couldn't be saved.
But the old man was quite open-minded and laughed, "When I recover a bit more, I'll have Tianqing put me in a basket and carry me home."
These days, the man in black, Mysterious Mountain, appeared more and more frequently, making Chen Shi anxious, wishing he could chase him away with a stick.
That night, after finishing his practice, Chen Shi went to bed. As he was sound asleep, he suddenly saw Grandpa coming out of the darkness, shaking him awake.
Chen Shi opened his eyes in a daze and asked, "Grandpa, what's the matter?"
Grandpa sat by his bed, smiling, "Little Shi, Grandpa is leaving. I came to tell you."
Chen Shi was puzzled, "Where is Grandpa going?"
"Grandpa can't delay any longer. I have to go to the underworld. I've stayed in this world too long. If I don't leave, I'll become an evil spirit. I can't put you in danger!"
Grandpa smiled, "Today, we have to part, my grandson. Little Shi, you must take good care of yourself!"
He patted Chen Shi's head and stood up.
"Grandpa, don't go, please?" Chen Shi panicked, crying, and grabbed the old man's hand.
"Grandpa, don't leave. Don't leave me alone. I'm scared alone!"
He rolled off the bed, holding the old man's hand tightly, crying, "Grandpa, don't leave me. I'm scared. Grandpa, wherever you go, take me with you. Grandpa, you're my only family."
The old man somehow slipped away from his grasp and walked into the darkness, as if a light shone on him.
Grandpa turned back, smiled, and waved at him.
"Grandpa, don't go!" Chen Shi cried, running after him, chasing the old man. He cried so hard, running in the darkness, tears blurring his vision, his body trembling with sobs.
"Grandpa, take me with you. Don't leave me behind. Grandpa, don't leave me."
He chased after Grandpa, but the old man walked further and further away in the darkness, gradually becoming a small dot of light.
"Grandpa, don't leave me. Take me with you. Don't leave me alone."
He cried helplessly, like a child.
"Little Shi, Little Shi, wake up!"
Granny Sha's voice came to his ears.
Chen Shi opened his eyes, finding himself lying on the bed, not in the darkness.
Granny Sha stood by the window, shaking his arm.
Chen Shi was in a daze, the quilt was cold, soaked with his tears.
Was it a dream?
Chen Shi suddenly felt relieved, glad it was just a dream.
These days, he had been too worried about Grandpa.
The appearance of the man in black, Mysterious Mountain, always gave him a bad feeling.
"Granny, what's the matter?" Chen Shi asked.
Granny Sha hesitated and said, "Little Shi, you need to stay calm. Your grandpa, he's gone. He just passed away. Don't cry, child, it's okay. It's okay... Child, come say goodbye to your grandpa. The underworld is very dark. Hold this lamp to light his way... Child, light it up, light the way, let him go smoothly."
Chen Shi held the Ram-Horn Heaven Spirit Lamp, its light faint and mysterious, illuminating the Yang Realm, lighting up the underworld.
Granny Sha shook King Wen's Drum, its sound soft and accompanied by a thumping beat.
An old song came from her mouth, reaching the underworld.
"Light it up, light it up, lighting up the underworld. Old departed soul, walk slowly, family lights the way, watch your step, don't trip and hurt."
Chen Shi lit up the darkness, the light dispelling the mist, scattering the demons hidden within.
The old man walking in the mist seemed to see the light, turned back to look at him, and smiled.
"Light it up, light it up, lighting up the River of Forgetfulness. Old departed soul, beware, the Bridge of Helplessness and Forgetfulness Soup, drinking it will make you forget family."
Chen Shi held the lamp, watching the old man walk further under the light.
"Light it up, light it up, lighting up the Platform of Longing, old departed soul, turn back, the Platform of Longing looks towards home. Don't forget the love of children and grandchildren."
"Cut open the earth, judge the underworld, cut open the underworld, redeem the true soul."
"Gold buys a thousand-year life, fine silk redeems a ten-thousand-year soul."
"One soul returns, two souls return."
"Three souls and seven spirits all return."
"Yin returns with the same year. Return to see children and grandchildren."
The Ram-Horn Heaven Spirit Lamp continued to light the way, further and further, as the old man walked deeper into the underworld.
"Walk slowly, walk slowly, Grandpa, walk slower. The light can't keep up with you."
He held the lamp, lighting for a long time, until he could no longer see the old man.
He didn't know when it became daylight, nor when Prince Xiao, Granny Sha, and the others tidied up the spirit hall.
He was in a daze, as if he had lost his soul, clutching the Ram-Horn Heaven Spirit Lamp tightly.
They dressed him in rough white cloth clothes, put a white hat on him, and arranged for him to keep vigil by the coffin, night after night.
Granny Sha and Li Tianqing urged him to eat, but he had no appetite.
Heiguo lay beside him for a long time. Only when he hugged Heiguo did he finally cry.
"Crying is good, crying is good!" Granny Sha sighed with relief, smiling, "Crying will make it better."
Chen Shi hugged the dog.
Heiguo, from now on, it's just you and me, depending on each other.
In the following days, many people came to pay their respects to Grandpa, mostly villagers from nearby, Grandpa's friends, and strangers Chen Shi didn't know.
In the evening, Chen Shi stood up shakily. Not eating or sleeping well these days had left him extremely weak.
He staggered to Grandpa's room, found the Thousand Mile Communication Talisman Grandpa had drawn from the drawer.
The talisman burned in the air, the flame mysterious and eerie.
Moments later, a middle-aged man's voice came from the flame, "Dad, I told you, I'm not coming back this year. I'm really busy, really busy..."
Chen Shi's lips moved, and he mustered the courage to finally interrupt the man's complaints, "Are you my dad, Chen Tang? I'm Chen Shi, Grandpa, he's gone!"
End of Chapter.