"Little Shi, you have the talent to be a top scholar!" Scholar Zhu praised under the old willow tree.
With the county exam approaching, Chen Shi had been preparing and came to learn from him every day.
Scholar Zhu was generous with his knowledge, explaining books like The Analects, The Book of Poetry, The Book of Documents, and The Doctrine of the Mean thoroughly. Chen Shi listened intently, feeling very grateful, and said, "If I succeed in the future, I will definitely set up a memorial tablet for you and make offerings every day."
Scholar Zhu was also very happy and said, "I've taught you everything I know. The exam hall is your battlefield to shine, and you will definitely succeed."
"It's thanks to your excellent teaching!"
"Oh, it's mainly because you have a wise heart, intelligence, and perseverance!"
The two of them, one human and one ghost, praised each other, both feeling satisfied.
Chen Shi returned home and continued copying the Water and Fire Purging Technique. The model he was copying from was an old book his grandfather had taken from the True King’s Tomb, with pages already aged.
He had already copied one book and given it to Prince Xiao.
This one was for Granny Sha.
The Water and Fire Purging Technique describes how to become a Corpse Liberation Immortal.
This method is quite peculiar, requiring one to die first, either by drowning, burning, or being killed by a weapon.
Once dead and buried, the body won't decay for seven hundred years.
After seven hundred years, as the body begins to decay, the magic of the Water and Fire Purging Technique comes into play.
Heaven will send true water to flood you. If your bones remain intact after the wash, true fire will burn you after another forty years.
If your bones can withstand the true fire, your true form will emerge from the fire, growing flesh, tendons, and organs, forming an immortal body, known as the Corpse Liberation Immortal.
The Water and Fire Purging Technique is about preparing true water and true fire in advance to refine the body, so when the great tribulation after seven hundred years arrives, one can face it calmly without being completely destroyed.
"Did Grandpa use this method to preserve my body so it wouldn't decay?"
Chen Shi put down his pen and started to ponder.
Years ago, after his Divine Fetus was taken, he must have died and been buried by Chen Tang.
Grandpa rushed home, dug up his body, and found that it had been past the seventh day, and he couldn't summon his soul back. So he immediately broke into the True King’s Tomb to get the Water and Fire Purging Technique to preserve his body using the method of water and fire purging.
After that, Grandpa searched for other ways to revive Chen Shi.
"It wasn't until two years ago that Grandpa finally brought my soul back, letting it enter my body. But after being dead for eight years, all my previous memories are gone, probably because of this!"
Chen Shi took a deep breath, pulled the book in front of him, took out a stone box and a jade seal, placed them aside, and then counted a stack of silver notes.
There were still five silver notes, totaling five hundred taels of silver.
After Grandpa was gone, he realized how expensive his medicine was. The herbs used for daily decoctions cost five to six taels of silver.
In a month, it would cost one hundred and sixty taels of silver.
The little money he earned before was not enough for the medicine.
"No wonder Grandpa didn't save any money."
Chen Shi put away the silver notes, took out the jade seal and the stone box to play with.
These two items, one from the Mountain Lord Temple, the other hung on a branch by Prince Xiao, were given to him by Scholar Zhu.
Strangely, when Chen Shi brought the jade seal home and placed it next to the stone box, the box emitted a faint blue light.
When Chen Shi brought the jade seal close to the stone box, the box again emitted a blue light, flickering as if it were breathing.
When he moved the jade seal away, the blue light gradually disappeared.
He placed the jade seal aside and tried to open the stone box while it emitted blue light.
However, the stone box remained tightly sealed with no sign of opening.
Chen Shi raised his fist and punched it a few times, but the stone box didn't budge.
Instead, his fist hurt from the impact.
He rubbed his fist and muttered, "What is this stone box? If it's a trick, why is it so hard and glowing? Is there really something inside?" He shook the stone box hard, but there was no sound from inside.
At this moment, he heard Heiguo barking outside, and Chen Shi looked out the window.
The sun had unknowingly closed its eyes, and moonlight was spilling down.
It was getting late.
He lit a fire to brew medicine for himself, cooked a pot of herbs, and prepared some meat for Heiguo. After drinking the medicine, he soaked in it.
Heiguo added firewood to the pot.
Since Grandpa was gone, he gradually got used to living with just him and the dog.
The next day, Chen Shi went to Hillock Village and knocked on Granny Sha's door.
"Little Shi, why are you here?"
Granny Sha was surprised and quickly let him in, saying, "I haven't seen you in the past two days. Business has been booming here. There were many deaths during the recent demonic transformation, and many people came to summon souls to see their loved ones. Are you here to summon your grandpa's soul?"
Chen Shi hesitated and asked, "Is it possible?"
"No, it isn't!"
Granny Sha shook her head, "Old Man Chen's body went to the underworld. Summoning his soul would bring him entirely back to the Yang realm. Without the suppression of Mysterious Mountain, he'd likely turn demonic immediately."
Chen Shi felt down but quickly smiled, "I came to give you a book."
With that, he took out the Water and Fire Purging Technique.
Granny Sha was so excited upon seeing the book that she trembled, quickly grabbed it, flipped through a few pages, then closed it, her expression changing unpredictably.
"Did your grandpa ask you to give this to me?"
Chen Shi nodded.
"That Old Man Chen, even after death, he wants to scheme against me!"
Granny Sha was furious, "He knew that if you brought the book, I would have to accept it, and then I'd be obligated to you. If you get into trouble, I can't just stand by. Hmph."
She snorted twice, intending to return the book to Chen Shi, but halfway through, she pulled it back, hesitating.
Chen Shi laughed, "Granny, even without this book, if I were in danger, wouldn't you save me?"
Granny Sha replied without thinking, "Of course I would. You risked your life to steal the Ram-Horn Heaven Spirit Lamp from the River of Forgetfulness. Even if you asked me to fight for you, I wouldn't hesitate."
Chen Shi smiled, "Then why hesitate? Just keep the book."
"Keeping it means falling into Old Man Chen's trap... Oh well, I'll keep it. Why argue with a dead man?"
Granny Sha accepted the Water and Fire Purging Technique with a smile, "You look better lately, not as thin as before. You should eat more. You're still growing. If money is tight, come to me. I may not have many skills, but I can at least feed you well!"
Chen Shi said, "I'm preparing for the scholar exam, studying these days."
Granny Sha was about to speak when Heiguo started barking loudly in the yard, the sound growing more intense.
Chen Shi felt a stir in his heart and said, "Heiguo says something's happened, something that scared it so much it stuttered. It must be big."
He hurried outside, with Granny Sha following, surprised, "You can tell when a dog barks like it's stuttering? How do you do that? Teach me."
They reached the yard and saw Heiguo barking at the sky.
They looked up and saw two suns in the sky, but in front of them, a small crescent moon had appeared.
The moon had appeared during the day.
Chen Shi and Granny Sha were stunned.
Since ancient times, the sun and moon have always had clear roles: the sun appears during the day, and the moon at night.
The moon rising signals the time for evil spirits to be active.
But now, the moon had appeared during the day.
The moonlight was faint, especially with the sun present, almost imperceptible.
But the moonlight was real, mixed with sunlight, subtly affecting the world.
"Grandpa always said evil spirits are influenced by the moon. Now that the moon is out, where's the evil?"
Chen Shi's heart suddenly raced, "Will evil spirits appear during the day?"
Granny Sha's face changed dramatically, and she said, "Something big has happened, really big. The moon appearing during the day, could it be that the Heavenly True God is also affected?"
On the high mountain, the great black serpent of Mysterious Mountain coiled around the peak, gazing into the distance, observing the changes in the world of Heavenly Yang Mountain.
The Heavenly True God of the Western New Bull Continent was eternal and unchanging, with a steadfast heart.
The great black serpent of Mysterious Mountain was like the god of Heavenly Yang Mountain.
He aspired to the state of the Heavenly True God.
Since he achieved his path, he observed the world around Heavenly Yang Mountain, experiencing the changes of the world and the emotions of humanity.
His heart grew stronger through this practice.
Today, he was somewhat distracted.
He had learned from the Heavenly True God, cultivating an eternal and unchanging state of mind, watching the changes of the world.
But two months ago, night fell a quarter of an hour early.
He thought it was just a minor mistake by the True God. Or perhaps the True God's changes were so slow, occurring only once every millions or tens of millions of years.
So he didn't mind it.
That change in his heart made him eat a roasted Spirit Boar leg offered by Chen Shi.
He didn't expect that in broad daylight, the moon would also open its eyes early.
Once was fine; he could say the True God's changes were extremely slow.
But in just over a month, it changed twice.
The great black serpent of Mysterious Mountain's eye twitched, his eternal heart stirred.
Even the demonic transformation, which killed so many people and nearly destroyed Heavenly Yang Mountain, couldn't shake his heart.
Now, his heart was like waves blown by the wind, the wind growing stronger, and the waves growing larger.
He felt restless and uneasy.
"Could something have happened to the True God?"
He wondered.
The appearance of a crescent moon during the day might be a small mistake for the eternal Heavenly True God.
But for the countless beings of the Western New Bull Continent, it was a huge anomaly.
This anomaly would sweep everyone, affecting everyone, and no one could escape it.
At the beginning of this anomaly, everything seemed peaceful and harmonious, and most people's lives were unchanged from before.
Only the incense offerings at the godmothers' shrines in the villages grew more prosperous.
Incense smoke curled up, and everywhere people prayed for safety and good weather.
Chen Shi took advantage of the Moon Festival to travel to various villages, selling Peachwood Talismans and Evil-Repelling Talismans, just like his grandfather did.
Now, even ordinary people sensed something was off.
So Chen Shi's talismans sold well.
As soon as he set up his stall, the talismans he had drawn were quickly snatched up.
Chen Shi bought a lot of spirit-infused meat for Heiguo to enjoy.
Then he drew more talismans using Heiguo's blood.
"Thankfully, it's just a crescent moon. If the moon fully opened its eyes, evil spirits might roam during the day."
He thought, "I've heard some strange stories of evil spirits appearing during the day, so even when I go out during the day, I hang Peachwood and Evil-Repelling Talismans on the cart."
But he hadn't encountered any evil spirits yet.
"Master Chen, Master Chen!"
A woman rushed to his talisman stall. She was in her forties, with a sturdy build, wearing coarse clothes suitable for farm work.
An apron tied in front of her, dusted with flour, indicating she had been kneading dough, she urgently said, "Master Chen, my husband was working in the field and suddenly got possessed. Master Chen, please help!"
The surrounding crowd quickly gathered, looking very anxious, asking what had happened.
Chen Shi had never dealt with evil spirits alone. The trouble in Boxwood Village was caused by the Zhao family's talisman master secretly killing children to make lamp oil, not evil spirits.
When he killed the Silk-Pulling Insect, it was in collaboration with Li Tianqing, so he felt a bit nervous.
But he quickly calmed down.
He was a talisman master; even without a Divine Fetus, he could draw talismans and spells to fight evil spirits.
At worst, he could use black gunpowder to blow up the evil spirits.
"Five taels of silver!"
Chen Shi said.
The woman looked troubled. Chen Shi's price wasn't high; other talisman masters often demanded exorbitant fees for exorcism.
But five taels of silver was a significant amount for her family.
"The village will pay the five taels!"
An elder suddenly said.
A village troubled by evil spirits wasn't just an individual's problem; it often affected the whole village.
They quickly pooled money from each household, gathered five taels of silver, and handed it to Chen Shi.
Chen Shi followed the woman quickly to the outskirts of the village, where a group of people were gathered, shouting, trying to get close but retreating in fear of something, their cries filling the air.
"Everyone move aside, the talisman master is here!" someone shouted.
The crowd parted, and Chen Shi quickly approached. In the field stood a man, eyes closed, sleeping, his arm raised, with fingers gnawed down to the bone, as if something had eaten them, leaving only the bones. Five white bones spread apart, as if something was holding his hand, having eaten his fingers and palm, now eating his forearm.
Most of the forearm's flesh had been gnawed away, exposing the white bones.
Chen Shi felt pain just looking at it, but the man continued to stand there, snoring, sleeping soundly as if having a pleasant dream.
Suddenly, the man awoke in pain, his face twisted, eyes filled with fear, holding his right arm, screaming in agony.
"Help me, save me!"
Then he smiled, as if sleepy again, tilting his head and falling asleep, snoring, as if dreaming something sweet.
And his right arm remained raised, as if something was savoring his arm, gnawing bit by bit, chewing each piece of flesh, smacking its lips as if it tasted good.
The man awoke again in pain, screaming miserably, "Help!"
But the next moment, he smiled again, eyes squinting, sleeping sweetly.
The villagers were horrified, quickly retreating, not daring to approach.
They couldn't see what was eating the man, nor understand why he could sleep while being eaten, filling them with fear.
But Chen Shi could see clearly. Beside the man stood a tall, thin figure in gray clothes, with furry ears, holding the man's arm, fingers long and covered in gray fur, the furless parts pink.
The figure faced away from Chen Shi, savoring the man's arm.
Whenever the man awoke in pain, a pink, fleshy tail would rise from behind the gray figure, rubbing the man's head as if giving a massage.
The man would then smile comfortably, forgetting the evil gnawing his hand, and fall asleep standing.
The gray figure continued eating, one savoring, the other sleeping sweetly.
Chen Shi saw it all clearly.
But the people around couldn't see the gray figure.
Then the gray figure stopped eating, slowly turned its head, revealing a rat-like face, shiny black eyes staring at Chen Shi.
It was a rat wearing human clothes, standing like a human, taller than a human.
"You can see me?"
The gray rat said in surprise.
End of Chapter.