When the youth stood silently in the snow, he resembled a luxurious porcelain doll. Even Lou Muge was momentarily stunned. Despite the cleanliness in his eyes, there was no youthful vitality or curiosity; instead, a sense of steadiness.
Zhang Rong and the other two stood in another area, observing the suddenly appearing youth in silence alongside the people of Shan An.
His gaze gently swept over the crowd, turned in a circle, and then halted on Lou Muge.
“How many more are coming?” Ze Wan murmured softly.
Zhang Rong’s expression remained calm, revealing no thoughts. He spoke to the youth, “Might you have descended from above?”
The youth turned his attention to him and nodded slightly.
“It seems we’re all the same.” Ze Wan addressed the youth, “This is Lord Zhang Rong. My brother and I are members of the Phoenix Clan from the Immortal Realm. I’m Ze Wan, and my brother is Ze Qian.”
The youth’s clear eyes shifted over, and he took a few steps forward. From within his cloak, he extended his hand in a fist, offering a salute. In his hand was a white fan, and the handle was adorned with a string of black tassels and a copper bell.
“I am Ning Shaosi.” His voice was crisp and wrapped in a soothing warmth.
However, this sentence seemed to crash into the calm lake, stirring up ripples. Ze Wan immediately jumped up, “Ning Shaosi?! Are you Ning Shaosi?!”
This thunderous name was known to very few in the mortal realm.
Lou Muge’s breath caught, and his gaze tightly grasped the young man before him. Although he had encountered many Ning Shaosi on his journey, he reacted this way every time.
He had been thinking about how to search, how to find that specific Ning Shaosi among the myriad Ning Shaosi.
The one who vowed to set off firecrackers to celebrate before his imminent death, his good disciple.
While Zhang Rong’s face changed slightly, he remained composed. “What proof do you have?”
The youth didn’t speak immediately. Instead, his fingertips moved, revealing a thin wooden plaque inscribed with a few characters, “Seven hundred and twelve.”
Ze Wan chuckled, and the atmosphere, previously suppressed, lightened instantly.
Lou Muge, seeing this, also felt like laughing—after passing through the Immortal Gate, he almost got a similar wooden plaque himself.
There were only two names for those holding such wooden plaques. Amidst the countless names at this divine gathering, the Immortal Realm people, for distinction and easy supervision, specifically created these wooden plaques. The one outlined with red was Lou Muge, while the one outlined with black was Ning Shaosi.
The youth presented a wooden plaque engraved with black borders.
In truth, Lou Muge couldn’t fathom why so many people dared to bear his and Ning Shaosi’s names. Weren’t they afraid of being killed? He, the true master, was still operating under a false name.
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.
The youth raised an eyebrow, seemingly puzzled by their laughter but chose not to inquire. Slowly, he put away the wooden plaque, turned, and approached Lou Muge.
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“Many go by the name Ning Shaosi, but there’s only one like me.” The youth’s clear voice rang in Lou Muge’s ears.
Lou Muge was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure. He responded with a teasing raise of his eyebrows, “Amongst all the Ning Shaosi, you might not be the most formidable, but you’re certainly the most handsome.”
Simultaneously, he extended his divine sense to probe the youth, confirming that the present Ning Shaosi was a genuine member of the demonic race.
It wasn’t him. The real Ning Shaosi was a noble god, an unparalleled war god in the divine realm, a descendant of the ancient divine beast, the White Tiger. Not a member of the demonic race.
Upon hearing Lou Muge’s seemingly sincere praise, Ning Shaosi blushed slightly and shyly pursed his lips, “You’re, too.”
“Lou Gongzi,” came a timely voice from Tao Ming, “we should set out; otherwise, we might miss the auspicious hour.”
Lou Muge nodded and was about to bid farewell to Ning Shaosi when he asked, “Where are you heading?”
He lifted the basket in his hand, “We’re going to the cemetery to perform a play.”
Ning Shaosi casually took the basket into his own hands, “I’ll come along.”
“Sure.” Lou Muge nodded immediately, with a simple reason in mind—just afraid that going to the cemetery might be too boring, so it’s good to bring someone for a chat. He couldn’t possibly let the guy howl alongside Wen Changchu, right?
Lou Muge now became the leader of the group. After his agreement, no one dared to oppose, all wary of the wolf cub circling by his side.
While others were still in a fog, Lou Muge and his group had already left Shan An village, fetched a few horses from the stable, tied them to the carriage, seated themselves, and slowly departed.
Ze Qian sighed softly, “Didn’t expect another demonic cultivator. This matter might be a bit tricky.”
“Yeah, that guy named Lou Shengsheng, a mere mortal cultivator, just entered the village and already teamed up with Wen Changchu. Heard he caused trouble on the streets today, beating someone to a pulp. Doesn’t seem like a good person,” Ze Wan complained in a low voice. “How does the Immortal Realm assign people?”
“Perhaps it’s more complicated than we imagine,” Zhang Rong remarked.
The two looked up, seeing him with a grave expression, staring at the wheel tracks left on the snowy ground. Both siblings skipped a beat and asked, “Why does Zhang Rong Shengjun say that?”
“Haven’t you noticed?” Zhang Rong raised his hand and pointed at his right wrist, “That demonic cultivator, number seven hundred and twelfth, doesn’t have an Immortal Stone on his wrist.”
———
“Why are you coming now?” When Lou Muge entered the Immortal Gate, it closed right after him. He thought he was the latest to arrive, but it turned out someone was later than him.
“I got lost. Took me a long time to find my way here,” Ning Shaosi said in a low voice. “Have you been waiting long?”
Lou Muge thought he got lost in the mountains, considering it normal. Yesterday, he also spent most of the day finding this place, so he reassured him, “No worries. I just arrived yesterday. This village is too remote; it’s genuinely hard to find.”
Ning Shaosi nodded, not saying more, half-turned his body, occasionally glancing at Lou Muge. At a glance, his beautiful black eyes seemed calm like water, but in reality, there seemed to be turbulent waves.
His gaze at Lou Muge didn’t resemble someone looking at a stranger but more like a long-awaited reunion after prolonged suppression.
However, Lou Muge was lost in thought, not noticing it. On the other hand, Wen Changchu, lying across from them, did see it. He tilted his head and stared at Ning Shaosi for a long time.
Thinking over the words of Chang Anning and her son, Lou Muge couldn’t figure out a reasonable explanation. Planning to share the gathered information, he briefly summarized the key points for Ning Shaosi. Then he asked, “What do you think could be the cause of this strange disease?”
“Perhaps it’s indeed just an illness,” Ning Shaosi pondered, responding, “We can start investigating things commonly touched by the people in the village.”
“Too broad a scope,” Lou Muge shook his head. “Moreover, the Immortal Realm didn’t send us here to treat illnesses for those people.”
“We can narrow it down,” Ning Shaosi, despite having limited information, earnestly considered Lou Muge’s question. His youthful face was entirely serious, showing a hint of maturity beyond his years. “For example, food.”
“Food?” Lou Muge leaned against the carriage, appearing lazily casual. “What do they eat, rice? Wheat? Or water?”
After saying this, he paused for a moment, suddenly enlightened, “Right, water.”
In this small village hidden deep in the mountains, the drinking water must come from a specific source. It was highly likely linked to the lake associated with the Water Goddess, perhaps indicating an issue with that lake.
Lou Muge patted Ning Shaosi’s shoulder, “Well done. It’s impressive how your young mind is more agile than those three clueless immortals in the village.”
Ning Shaosi lowered his head slightly, a faint blush on his fair face. “Not as clever as you.”
Lou Muge nodded matter-of-factly, “I am indeed quite clever.”
Of course, it was just a joke, but Ning Shaosi wholeheartedly agreed, nodding along with a demeanor resembling an obedient little kitten.
Lou Muge couldn’t help but wonder why he seemed to attract these puppy- and kitten-like people recently.
However, he didn’t mind. After eight hundred years of darkness, simply standing on the ground and taking a breath made Lou Muge feel a sweet sensation from his throat to his heart. Even the beggars lying on the roadside looked adorable to him.
The only drawback was his current body, which was somewhat frail. If he wanted to make waves, he needed to retrieve his original body.
The carriage remained in its original place. After getting off, everyone hurried toward the stage, but night had already fallen. The lanterns they carried were dim, making it inconvenient to walk.
Lou Muge carried a basket himself, walking and eating. Ning Shaosi walked quietly beside him, holding a lantern.
Among the plain-dressed crowd, the two, adorned in slightly luxurious clothing, seemed out of place. However, standing together, they resembled a golden boy and jade-like girl, as long as you overlooked the fact that Lou Muge was dressed as a woman.
As in previous times, upon reaching the stage in Shan An village, the people first discarded the frozen food on the tables, replaced it with freshly made dishes, and then sat below the stage, each covering their eyes with black cloth.
Lou Muge observed their uneasy expressions and gestured, “Rest assured, I absolutely won’t speak again.”
Although a few people remained skeptical, they had no other choice. Both Tao Ming and his brother stood on the stage, waiting for the drums to sound.
The sharp beat of the drum pierced the night’s silence, and a loud singing voice followed. The play began in the chilly wind. Lou Muge listened to the first two lines, unable to understand what was being sung. He turned to see Ning Shaosi attentively watching.
“Hey,” Lou Muge nudged his arm, “Let’s go check the graveyard ahead.”
Ning Shaosi nodded, following Lou Muge as they left, leaving behind the people engrossed in entertaining the spirits. Only Tao Zhai, the only one on the stage with open eyes, could see, but he just glanced indifferently and looked away.
The graves here held generations of people who had lived in Shan An. They rarely used wooden coffins, mostly burying directly in the soil and erecting a stone tablet with a few carved numbers in front.
Ning Shaosi’s lantern was the only source of light. Though dim, it served some purpose in this pitch-black area.
Lou Muge looked around and suddenly beckoned him, “Come here.”
Ning Shaosi walked over and saw him squatting in front of a stone tablet. As the lantern approached, the inscribed words became visible. More attention-grabbing, however, was the fresh blood on this particular stone tablet.
Lou Muge reached out and touched it. His fingertips stained crimson, and the scent of decay, intensely nauseating, wafted through the air. He furrowed his brow in disgust.
Ning Shaosi squatted beside him, turning his head slightly to catch a glimpse of his fair and smooth face, paying no attention to the peculiarities on the stone tablet.
“Could there really be evil spirits here?” he mumbled softly.
“Don’t you have the Spirit Bell? Try it, and you’ll find out.”
Lou Muge turned around, only to see Wen Changchu, who had been hopping around as a wolf pup during the day, now back in human form, standing with crossed arms.
Lou Muge was actually a bit curious about why he suddenly turned into a wolf pup, but after giving it some thought, he ended up asking, “Do you know about the Spirit Bell?”
—–——
Author’s Note:
Ning Shaosi: Hello, everyone, I’m Number 712, Ning Shaosi.
Hehehe and so it begins
Poor NSS, he even can’t be the one and only NSS 😂
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(˃͈ દ ˂͈ ༶ )
Ning Shaosi seems so smitten! 😆
Look at our little ML, so smitten with his master he don’t care about anything else 😂
thx for the chapter!
I swear wen changchu must be the second ML!
ML showdown next chapter! I think…