The immense, contorted black shadow only manifested for a few seconds before quickly receding and dissolving back into Yu Kongyou’s usual appearance. Hovering in mid-air, he gazed down at the enormous snake, which shivered in fear and dared not move.
With a curious gesture, Second Treasure poked the body of the giant snake, emitting a sigh. This was the largest creature it had ever seen since its birth, a long body that shot up to over ten meters high, and even one of its scales was as large as its own paw.
Despite smelling slightly appetizing, its taste was mediocre and failed to pique Second Treasure’s appetite. But being such a big and robust specimen, it was undoubtedly a substantial snack that its big brother would absolutely adore.
Seemingly aware of the implications behind Second Treasure’s measuring gaze, the giant snake shuddered and, opening its mouth, spoke in heavily accented human speech.
“Don’t… don’t eat me! I’m all rotten, only bones left! Not tasty!”
To prove its point, wisps of black smoke emitted from its body. In the blink of an eye, it disintegrated into nothing but a gleaming white skeleton. Second Treasure, hoping to taste its flavor, bit into thin air, extending its claws in bewilderment, scraping the empty space twice.
Where was the meal it was expecting?
That big, savory, and appetizing nocturnal treat?
How did it turn into a pile of bones???
The snake’s bones were as white and translucent as jade, with a small, almost imperceptible bulge on its forehead, faintly indicating its age and wisdom.
Yu Kongyou, holding the fiercely protesting Second Treasure, gently landed on the giant snake’s head. His tone softened, a smile gracing his face, as if the intimidation moments ago hadn’t come from him.
“Don’t be afraid. We just have a few questions for you. If you answer well, we won’t eat you and might even provide offerings for you. How about it?”
Initially trembling due to Yu Kongyou’s presence, the giant snake’s fear vanished upon hearing the mention of offerings. “Is that true? Such a good deal?”
“Of course, I never lie.” Yu Kongyou patted Second Treasure, instructing it to inform Xu Yintang and the others to come over. Then, his tone shifted, a threat evident in his words. “But you’re not allowed to breathe a word about what you saw just now. Otherwise, I’ll tear you apart. Understand?”
The terrifying power that emanated from an unsealed malevolent spirit and the unmasked true form’s hideousness was proportional.
In all his years of living, there was only one time Yu Kongyou regretted, which was seeing what he looked like through others’ eyes during reaping. No matter how casually other malevolent spirits could go out in their true forms, he felt that he could never reconcile with his own bare face.
“Understood, understood!” Whether the giant snake truly understood or not, it muttered in excitement about offerings, appearing not particularly bright.
When Xu Yintang, listening to Second Treasure’s tearful account of the tragic transformation of the nocturnal snack into bones, arrived at the position of the giant snake, a faint glow emitted from the small bulge on the skull in the darkness, flickering and swaying with its movements, resembling a bulb about to lose power.
“It has never harmed humans and has a very clean aura,” Yu Kongyou jumped down from its head. “And it even has a bit of an offering smell.”
“Yeah!” The giant snake raised its head proudly. “I used to live in a temple on the mountain, a genuinely meritful snake!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
We Tlcajcu ilrafcfv klat lcafgfra jcv jrxfv, “Vb, tbk vlv sbe vlf?”
“P vbc’a xcbk.” Ktf tbiibk rbmxfar bo atf uljca rcjxf’r fsfr gfnfjifv j tlca bo mbcoerlbc. “Qtfc la uba mbiv, P’v tlyfgcjaf lc j mjnf. Qtfc P kbxf eq, P kjr yeglfv tfgf.”
“Ccv atfc sbe’nf yffc uejgvlcu atlr qijmf fnfg rlcmf? Rfnfg atbeuta bo ublcu firfktfgf?”
The giant snake shook its head vigorously. “Can’t leave. I have a mission to guard here!”
When it spoke of this matter, it grew proud, boasting about how it was chosen by the City God of Beijing’s jurisdiction after its death. It was tasked with guarding a Yin Road, responsible for guiding the lost souls who took the wrong path onto this route. When it completed its merits, it could ascend to become a ghostly immortal, with statues erected and incense offerings received at the City God Temple.
City God Temple!
Just hearing this name was a hundred times more magnificent than its previous remote mountain temple. Being in the imperial city’s vicinity made the giant snake bubble with excitement.
Xu Yintang’s expression turned subtle. “So, because it said it was the City God, you believed it?”
“Of course not! I’m not a fool!” The giant snake, displeased, wriggled its body. “I went to the City God Temple to meet the City God before agreeing! Besides, this is the capital city. Who’d dare impersonate the City God here if they value their life!”
But this City God sounded highly unreliable, very problematic, and much like a fake.
Xu Yintang intended to continue questioning but was promptly silenced by Xiao Qing, who, armed with information from the National Special Investigation Team, knew the giant snake had been deceived. Yet, they hadn’t rushed here in the dead of night to promote the state’s anti-fraud app. Seeing that even a snake reduced to bones wouldn’t make a good soup, their only option seemed to be to deal with the one posing as the “City God.”
The real world truly wasn’t generous; even finding a midnight snack was this challenging.
Sighing inwardly, Xiao Qing exaggeratedly said, “Oh my! It seems a flood has struck the Dragon King’s temple!”
“Snake Brother, we’ve come to pay respects to the City God!” He naturally lifted the giant snake’s status, fumbling in the backpack and pulling out a thin incense stick. Before lighting it, he made the giant snake stare fixedly at it.
“Is this…?”
Xiao Qing gathered some soil on the ground, lit the incense, and inserted it. Wisps of smoke rose. “A small token, nothing more. Our friend here has a poor temper and was a bit rash earlier when seeking an audience with the City God. Please pardon his behavior.”
The giant snake, fixated on the incense, eagerly accepted the offering. “Pardon… inhale… all pardon…”
It didn’t care about Xiao Qing’s hasty and informal offering ceremony. Amidst inhaling the incense smoke, the small horn on its head even brightened a bit more, as if it had tasted something incredibly delicious.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Qing continued, “The City God is hard to find. Could you help us by pointing out a clear path?”
“Point… point…” The giant snake, lured by the merits promised by the City God, was absentminded. Used to its high-quality offerings, it had forgotten about being scared by Yu Kongyou earlier. When thinking of these devout believers seeking the City God, it swayed and revealed an underworld path.
A yellow dirt path emerged under the crooked willow tree. In the darkness, a mist rose, with a vague warm-colored light visible within it. Melodious music drifted from afar as if the end of the path was an otherworldly realm.
“This path leads straight to the City God Temple.”
Lin De’an finally got a chance to ask, “Oh right, on my way here, I encountered a 000 bus that also seemed to lead a bunch of lost souls onto a road like this. Could that also be… um, working for the City God?”
The giant snake, preoccupied with enjoying the incense, mindlessly repeated “bus” several times before suddenly realizing it. “You mean the big iron box? Yes, yes! That’s another Yin Road guarded by the City God, but it can carry one or two hundred souls in a single trip. If there are too many dead, it neglects some tasks.”
“It surely can’t compare to your abilities.” Lin De’an complimented it sincerely. Then, skillfully, he subtly inquired about other entities chosen by the “City God” to guard Yin Roads, such as the water ghost in the pond, the hanged ghost on the big locust tree slope, the zombie family in the cemetery, etc. They all seemed to correlate with recent murder cases and numerous horrifying tales circulating around the old cemetery tower.
As for the “City God,” there’s no record of a City God Temple being built in the eastern outskirts of the capital city from ancient times to the present. But as Yu Kongyou walked on the yellow soil road, he suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!’ His voice involuntarily raised a bit, “I remember now!”
Except for them, everyone else on this road was ordinary spirits brought in from the so-called “Netherworld.” They floated forward with a bewildered look, following the direction of the music. It seemed like a festive crowd, but Yu Kongyou’s voice immediately drew their attention. The dead, hollow eyes made Yu Kongyou unconsciously float a few centimeters higher.
“It’s fine,” Xu Yintang grabbed Yu Kongyou and continued walking. Initially, these spirits stared fixedly at Yu Kongyou, trying to squeeze closer, emitting a chilling atmosphere that seemed like a provocation. It almost pushed Yu Kongyou to the point of showing a bleeding, gory appearance, but after walking a short distance, these spirits gradually seemed to forget about him, turning back to their ignorant and drifting state.
Indeed.
Xu Yintang whispered, “They are similar to patients in a hospital.”
At first glance, these spirits reminded him of patients who had stayed so long in hospitals that they couldn’t leave. Their mannerisms resembled those of hospital patients, mechanically following fixed routines without much personal awareness, automatically identifying and rejecting any “abnormalities” in the queue.
As a ghost, Yu Kongyou saw things a bit clearer. He murmured to Xu Yintang, “Still a bit different. The hospital ones coexist; as long as the hospital exists, they won’t die. But these spirits have their Yin energy drained. There’s only consumption without replenishment. Over time, there’s a possibility of their souls being incomplete or even dispersing.”
If the hospital had employed such draining methods, he would have risked his soul dispersing just to save Xu ZhongPing. Xu Yintang would have been drained dry ages ago, never making it this far, let alone having three children now.
Xiao Qing also joined the conversation, “What did you just remember?”
Yu Kongyou replied, “Wasn’t it about the City God? I just recalled something an old ghost mentioned before. He said a century ago, the City God Temple in the capital seemed to have suffered a fire. The statue of the City God was charred, so artisans were hired to repair it. However, just after the repairs and before the paint dried, the statue disappeared. There were rumors that it was stolen by some crooked entity, but there was never a definitive conclusion.”
Yu Kongyou shared some gossip he had heard before, hinting that this “City God” might be related to that stolen statue incident.
As they walked, the fog on the road dispersed, revealing a temple not far away. With the signboard of the City God Temple and layers of eaves with swirling incense, it looked majestic. Inside the main hall sat a statue of the City God in a red official robe, solemn and lifelike, albeit with some smudged paint in places, not perfectly even after drying.
However, this didn’t diminish the fervent and devout expressions of the spirits when they saw the statue. They kneeled, bowing repeatedly, continuously uttering phrases like “City God, bless us.” Wisps of white smoke rose above their heads, drifting into the censer in front of the statue.
The fervent yet numb atmosphere in the hall reminded Xu Yintang of the devotees of the Nightmare Church. Lin De’an’s face darkened, mentally agitated, clenching his fists, almost wanting to rush and smash the statue. Having faced monsters in dungeons or mysteries, encountering such occult objects instilled an urge to destroy them.
“Why aren’t you kneeling—”
A distant, ethereal voice resonated in the air. The eyes of the City God statue seemed to move, staring directly at them. Suddenly, it felt as if millions of pounds were pressing down on them, making it impossible to straighten up, suffocating.
The air grew stifling, the atmosphere oppressive. The spirits panicked, repeatedly bowing and pleading for the City God’s forgiveness while resentfully glancing at those who provoked the City God. The main hall was filled with a chaotic sense of fear, as if the world would collapse the next moment due to the City God’s wrath, signaling doomsday.
But Xu Yintang, looking toward the statue, felt an inexplicable absurdity. He chuckled and retorted, “Why should we kneel? Just because of some fur?”
“Then my family’s little rascal has even more fur. Why not let it come up and sit too?”
—His eyes saw clearly. Right in front of the statue was a half-yellowish, not-quite-white mixed-furred ferret, tilting its head to inhale the white smoke rising from the censer, with a mischievous, contented expression.
“Impudence—!”
Caught off guard by the exposure, the ferret first startled, then immediately grew angry, growling low in an attempt to cover its guilt. Its thunderous voice echoed in the hall, increasingly unbearable to hear.
Second Treasure didn’t back down, jumping out and exchanging a few scathing words with the ferret. Its five eyes widened, shooting lightning-like intelligence, piercing through the illusion even more sharply!
Initially, it wanted to comfort the people on its side by touching their souls but hoped to show off in front of its mother. However, it couldn’t find anyone in need and ended up just angrily scolding.
“Everyone was right there, yet not a single one fell for it!”
“No skills! Weakling! Late-night snack!”
“Whatever! If you dare, come down and fight me!”
The ferret also noticed that these people weren’t fooled by its illusion. It bristled, howling fiercely, then leaped high into the air, actually donning a grand red official robe, displaying an aura akin to the City God!
Author’s Note –
I quite like this snake, lol.
Honestly, this team setup is unreasonable for dealing with illusions.
Mother Xu Yingtang has exceptional willpower and inherent illusion shielding. Xiao Qing might get caught, but he can sense something’s wrong.
Lin De’an’s righteousness makes it easy for him to snap out of it. Yu Kongyou can resort to brute force.
And then there’s Little Darling and Third Flora…
Hopefully the snake is helped.
I wonder if Mother Xu is gonna take back a snake to guard the hospital?
I could see that happening
Pitiful snake…
Full team
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚