On the Path to the Great Dao
Chapter 397: Refuse to Be a Hero!
Patriarch Qiongyang led everyone flying over the yellow earth slope beside Qianyang Mountain. Suddenly the slope's influence tugged at them, nearly pulling them down. She hurried to steady herself and barely landed outside Huangpo Village.
Although she was a supreme Great Ascension Realm expert, the yellow earth slope still exerted a major influence on her. Flying over that slope could easily drag someone down.
Outside Huangpo Village, the Celestial Court group's morale had sunk. Their goal this time had been to reach beyond the heavens to inspect what had happened to the Celestial True God. But even after flying out of Western Ox New Continent into space, they found the effort futile.
The demonic energy beyond the heavens was so dense they could barely protect themselves, let alone investigate the Celestial True God.
The sun and moon circled them, yin and yang energies ran rampant, and their faces flickered between light and shadow under the celestial glow.
Situ Wen tried to rally spirits, shouting, "Everyone. We can rebuild a Shuji! The Celestial Court has the manpower and resources, remaking a Shuji won't be hard! We were unprepared this time, but if we're careful next time, we can go beyond the heavens again! Next time, we'll certainly reach the True God!"
Yu Lingzi shook his head, "The demonic energy beyond the heavens is too strong. As soon as we get there, we'll be corrupted. We won't be able to control ourselves then."
He recalled the corrupted Daoist Jinghong and sighed, "Once corrupted, we'll turn to slaughtering each other. We won't even be able to survive."
A heavy silence settled on everyone.
No one spoke. Hu Feifei's gaze landed on Chen Shi, and she softly asked, "What should we do next?"
Others turned to Chen Shi as well.
In the Celestial Court, Chen Shi's code name was True King; he was their anchor. Without ideas, they pinned their hopes on him.
Li Tianqing looked eager, "Little Ten, you always have ideas. Think of something this time, and we'll follow you!"
Yu Tiancheng chuckled, "You're the Celestial Court's True King. You hold the True King's jade seal and the topographic map of Western Ox New Continent's fifty provinces. You possess the power to confer godhood. You must have a plan, right?"
Situ Wen laughed, "You even killed that powerful Young Master, you're amazing! This time you'll have a solution. Tell us what to do, and we'll do it!"
Chen Shi opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find what to propose.
Wu Qingyu couldn't bear it, "Everyone, he's only thirteen. You can't press a thirteen-year-old like this when you have no plan!"
"But he's the True King!"
Situ Wen panicked a little, "He defeated that Young Master and passed the palace exams, so he must have a method, right? He thought to combine the Shuji with the Mysterious Mechanism Hundred Transformations Furnace to fly to the heavens — and it worked; we even went beyond the heavens! If he comes up with another idea, we'll surely be able to do it!"
Yu Lingzi, Yu Tiancheng and the others nodded.
Patriarch Qiongyang smiled, "He's the Child Prodigy, and he's Chen Yindu's grandson. He must be able to devise a solution!"
Chen Shi's mind was in chaos, all sorts of impractical notions surfacing only to be dismissed one after another.
He felt panic and unease. The weight of everyone’s expectant stares pressed on him like an unimaginable burden, on his chest and heart, forcing him to want to bend over, to kneel and gasp for air, to turn and flee.
The pressure made it hard to breathe.
Chen Tang gripped his hand and said in a low voice, "Everyone, Little Ten is no longer just the Child Prodigy. His Innate Dao Embryo was taken. He was dead for eight years. He is not the person you think he is."
Yu Tiancheng grew angry, "He's the Child Prodigy! Why would the Celestial True God give the Innate Dao Embryo to him but not me or others? Just because he's powerful! He’s quick-witted! He must have a method!"
Yu Lingzi smiled, "He's my junior uncle. If he can't find a way, who can? His skills surpass mine. He killed core disciples of the Thirteen Great Clans in Western Capital and walked away unscathed!"
His admiration was genuine, without a hint of falseness.
But the more they said this, the more Chen Shi panicked.
"Yes! He's the True King. He has the Western King's Jade Seal! He led all of us who passed the provincial exams through the center of Western Ox New Continent without losing a single person and got us to Western Capital!"
"Right! He even brought us out of the Buddhist Sect's hell, out of the underworld! Such defiance of fate — I haven't even heard such things from storytellers!"
"He is also the Skeleton King of Heavenly Pool Kingdom!"
...
Wu Qingyu couldn't help but say, "But Little Ten is still a child. You can't force him like this! Even the True King couldn't accomplish some things! In six thousand years, who could…"
"Mother. No more."
Chen Shi loosened Chen Tang's hand, passed by Wu Qingyu, and softly said, "Scholar Zhu handed me the Western King's Jade Seal. The True King entrusted me with the map of nations and the True King's tomb. If so, I have to do something."
Wu Qingyu froze and was about to speak, but Chen Tang came up and rested his hand on her shoulder, gently shaking his head.
Wu Qingyu withheld her words.
"Everyone."
Chen Shi scanned the faces of the group, met one pair of expectant eyes after another, and said in a grave tone, "I may disappoint you. I may not be able to turn the tide. I may not be able to make the sun rise again. I'm only a mortal, a common man whose divine embryo was cut away — a man who escaped death and got a second life. I appreciate your trust in calling me the True King.
"Listen. It might be seven days — or seven days from now the sun could vanish entirely, leaving only the moon to hang in the sky. Go back. Tell the Red Mountain Hall Talisman Master Associations across the regions to prepare food as much as possible, gather supplies, hunt anomalous beasts, preserve bones, meat and hide — prepare for winter."
A shiver ran through everyone.
Prepare for winter?
"You must prepare to survive the winter. Seven days from now winter will come, and this winter may be extremely long and bitterly cold. Crops may not grow; there may be no harvest. Many will starve. Many anomalous beasts will die."
Chen Shi studied their faces, which flickered under the sun and moon. His measures were not to save the world but to keep people alive.
"This winter many hungry people could freeze outside and die. Demonic energy might fill heaven and earth until righteous energy vanishes. Evil spirits will multiply. Demonic flowers may bloom; demons may walk the mortal world."
"There may also be underworld officers appearing in the mortal realm, hunting wandering ghosts. Ghost gods might claim territories and rule mountains; monsters could be everywhere. The boundary between yin and yang might no longer be so distinct. People might become evil spirits, people eating people."
"Many pairs of eyes will look at you and your food with hostile intent. You might be their meal. Powerful bullies could wreak havoc. Beings may be treated like weeds. I'm not asking much. I don't ask you to be heroes. I only ask you to survive first."
"Put the safety of yourselves and your families first. Protect others where you can. Preserve your humanity; don't become soulless evil spirits, don't become bloodthirsty demon gods. I hope when I find you, you are still human — you still have compassion."
"Watch for ancient temples appearing nearby. Pay attention to them; they might be lifesaving opportunities. Be heroes if you must, protect those temples at all costs; even if you die, hold them. Bet your life on that cause. Perhaps it's the only chance to save the world."
"Tell everyone what I said and send them to the fifty provinces of Western Ox New Continent. Keep the fires alive and wait patiently. Contact with the minor heaven might be cut, but wait. One day I will find you."
They listened in silence.
After Chen Shi refined out the demonic energy inside them, they each raised a Celestial Court token and entered the minor heaven.
"Little Ten, take care."
Li Tianqing came forward and hugged Chen Shi hard.
Chen Shi patted his shoulder, "You too."
Li Tianqing also entered the minor heaven. They planned to head to the fifty provinces, go to the local Red Mountain Halls, and act on Chen Shi's instructions.
Wu Qingyu asked, "A Tang, what will the Western Capital court do?"
Chen Tang shook his head, "I don't know. I only hope the Thirteen Great Clans won't plunder the people's wealth in this crisis. Little Ten…"
He looked at Chen Shi, who had at some point left the village gate and sat atop the yellow earth slope, leaning by the stone stele and quietly brooding.
"Don't bother him."
Wu Qingyu said, "He's surely thinking about how to get through this disaster."
Chen Tang looked up at the sky and after a while said, "Is there a solution?"
Wu Qingyu replied, "If there were, Despair Slope wouldn't exist."
Chen Shi sat beneath the old willow tree, thinking intensely from afternoon into evening.
Western Ox New Continent had entered another long night. This night felt longer than before. The moon hung in the sky, silently watching the world below, cold and impartial. The rise and fall of human affairs, birth and death, seemed irrelevant to it.
It was merely a detached observer, neither causing calamity nor offering help.
"I can't think of it, I can't!" Chen Shi hugged his head and muttered, "Godmother, I can't think of how to survive this catastrophe. Every idea I come up with, the True King already thought of. Past people thought of them, too, but none changed this situation! Godmother, what should I do? Teach me!"
A faint glow surfaced on the stele, but the Godmother did not answer.
Chen Shi's face went numb, "I see. Godmother, like the True King, you failed. You can't help me solve it."
He lay down and looked at Scholar Zhu hanging above his head, whispering, "Teacher, you can't do it either. You couldn't get past the Thirteen Great Clans. You can't teach me. None of you can help…"
Scholar Zhu couldn't help but say, "Little Ten, don't shoulder this alone. You are not the court; you are not the True King. What you can do is the same as others. Don't be a hero; keep living, save your life. When the time comes that they need a hero, then sacrifice yourself as one."
Chen Shi trembled, then smiled, "Teacher, you're right."
He stood, hands on his hips, and laughed loudly, "I'm not being a hero! Whoever wants to be a hero, go ahead and be one — I'm not!"
He summoned the white-clad fairy who had been sleeping in the small temple, grabbed her hand, and stormed down the yellow earth slope toward the Chen family home.
The white-clad fairy was yanked along stumblingly, utterly bewildered.
Chen Tang was at home discussing with Hu Feifei and County Magistrate Hu about building a temple for Stone Ji Your Ladyship to enshrine this demon goddess. "Stone Ji is bad, but maybe not entirely evil. She might protect Xinxiang County."
Hu Feifei asked, "How many people does Stone Ji eat each month?"
"That needs to be negotiated with her…"
Bang!
Chen Shi kicked the courtyard gate off its hinges and burst in.
"Father, Mother! I'm going to marry this woman!"
Chen Shi pointed at the white-clad fairy and shouted, "I'm thirteen. I can marry! We'll be wed at dawn! I want to have sons with her!"
The white-clad fairy was surprised and delighted, but shy. Her head nearly bowed to her chest; she didn't dare to meet Chen Tang and the others' eyes.
"What?" Hu Feifei was both shocked and angry, slamming the table, "This county cannot agree to this marriage!"
Wu Qingyu was overjoyed and dismissed the magistrate's objections, laughing, "This is a fine match, except she should be a few years older than you…"
Chen Tang said, "Women older by three bring golden bricks. Sounds fine to me."
Hu Feifei fumed, "This county objects! This county once slept with the top scholar on the same straw…"
Black Pot covered her mouth and dragged the little fox spirit out.
Chen Tang hesitated, "The only problem is we don't know the girl's name. At the wedding, what will we call her? Can't leave her nameless forever, right?"
The white-clad fairy suddenly spoke, "Duan, Xiao Duan."
Chen Shi, Chen Tang and Wu Qingyu were stunned.
The white-clad fairy blinked, furrowed her brow in thought, then nodded, "I am Xiao Duan!"
Chen Tang said, "She remembers her name — does this mean her memory is starting to return?"
A thrill shot through Chen Shi's chest.
Wu Qingyu was overjoyed and said, "There, she has a name. Miss Xiao Duan, do you like Little Ten?"
The white-clad fairy glanced at Chen Shi and nodded shyly.
"Good!"
Wu Qingyu was brisk, "At first light we'll arrange the wedding. We'll aim to wed at noon and have the bridal chamber that night! Should we wait for his grandfather?"
Chen Tang shook his head, "No. With calamity approaching, any additional day of joy is precious. Don't wait for Chen Yindu and miss this good time."
Wu Qingyu agreed and hurried out to tell Huangpo Village's people.
The village mobilized quickly: paper cutting, tailoring, embroidery, killing chickens, butchering pigs and sheep, and someone went to neighboring villages to invite an opera troupe.
Nannan was unhappy and cried for a long time, telling Hu Feifei the bride should have been her. But Black Pot cheered her with a string of candied hawthorns. Only County Magistrate Hu cried with trembling sorrow, hard to console.
Chen Shi donned his wedding finery, a bright red flower on his chest and the scholar's hat, his heart racing: "She remembered being called Xiao Duan. Does that mean her memory is restoring? If she recalls being a Qixia Taoist Temple fairy and remembers I smashed her into a fool… never mind!"
Chen Shi felt his Peng Qiao more powerful than ever: "Whether she is a fairy or a ghost immortal, whether she is a calamity or a catastrophe, tonight in the bridal chamber, I will enter meditation!"
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