ATEG Chapter 83.1

This night was exceptionally long for Xu Tian. It wasn’t until the first rays of dawn filtered through the window paper in pale blue light that he finally fell into a drowsy sleep.

It seemed like he had just closed his eyes when he heard some scattered sounds. After being awakened, Xu Tian discovered that it was already broad daylight.

Fatigue and exhaustion tugged at every inch of his muscles and thoughts. He almost closed his eyes to continue sleeping, but a thought lingered there like a pebble in his shoe, preventing him from peacefully closing his eyes and sinking into comfortable, lazy sleep. That thought was woven from countless trivial yet necessary matters, collectively forming a single notion: “Not everyone has the privilege of being lazy enough to sleep in.”

Xu Tian rubbed his face several times with his calloused hands, and after his mind cleared somewhat, he sat up. He was startled when he saw his surroundings clearly.

This house looked as if no one had lived in it for over a decade. Everywhere was covered in a thick layer of dust, the walls showed peeling earth and cracks, the base of the walls bore dried traces of mold, the window frame was crooked, and daylight fell through gaps in the broken roof tiles overhead.

Xu Tian instinctively turned his head toward the brightest area. Looking toward the light streaming in from outside, he saw Xu Li standing by the window, holding dry rations in his hand, biting them and slowly nibbling at them.

This way of eating would hardly make any noise, but Xu Tian still woke up, even though he was so tired he desperately wished he could let his creaking joints repair and lubricate themselves properly and slowly on the bed.

“Ah Li, is that gentleman still here?” Xu Tian asked.

Xu Li nodded. Seeing that Xu Tian had awakened, he walked over and handed him the dry rations. “Still here.”

Only after receiving a positive answer did Xu Tian accept the dry cake. He hastily finished it in two or three bites with cold water, then urgently called for Xu Li to go out. If that deity left now, he would have no way to find him again.

He had been thinking about this matter, his mind on the deity as he opened the door. Rows of skeletons sat in meditation surrounding the house, their empty eye sockets all facing him.

Xu Tian’s breathing stopped. Only after all the hair on his back stood on end did he remember this matter.

The gentleman carrying the qin was standing outside the courtyard. He looked no different from yesterday, but the surrounding environment had already changed drastically. Wild grass grew askew, houses had collapsed, and in the center of the village stood an extremely thick tree, but it appeared to have died long ago, leaving only withered branches like a hand with exposed veins. The room where they had stayed last night was already the most intact in the entire village. A gust of wind blew through, creating a mournful wailing sound among the ruined walls and dead trees that made one’s hair stand on end.

Li Chi stood at the entrance to the courtyard, quietly gazing at the withered tree whose branches stretched toward the sky.

The matter here had not been truly resolved. He was not present in his original form—this was merely an avatar. To truly resolve this matter, it would be best if he could obtain some karmic connection. That all the people in this village had turned into living corpses was no coincidence, and the “ghost-hitting- wall” outside the village was not the work of spirits or ghosts in the mountain forest—it was an array formation specifically set up for this place. That array formation had even been arranged when the village was first established.

Inside that tree, the only remaining spirit of this village still existed, constantly wailing in agony.

“Please save us, deity!”

Li Chi looked down to see that Xu Tian had already walked out of the courtyard, pulling the dazed and confused Xu Li to kneel and beg.

“The road has already been revealed. If you follow the path, you can return,” Li Chi said.

Xu Tian did not rise. Pulling Xu Li, he pleaded, “Please save this child, deity! He… he wasn’t like this originally. He was the smartest child around us, and he could even read. But five years ago…”

Only five years ago did he become like this? Li Chi’s interest was piqued.

Li Chi had long ago noticed that Xu Li’s mind was incomplete, but he wouldn’t thoroughly trace the causes and karmic threads of every living being he encountered, so he hadn’t previously paid attention to the reasons.

However, Xu Li’s soul was undamaged, and there was no injury in his skull. In such cases, if one’s mind was incomplete, it was mostly due to congenital ailments, yet his condition had developed later…

Li Chi’s gaze fell upon Xu Li. Only upon this closer examination did he discover that Xu Li had only half a human heart. The other half was a beast’s heart. The two halves worked together, preventing Xu Li from losing his life, but his mind had been affected.

Li Chi looked into Xu Li’s karmic threads.

As Xu Tian had said, five years ago, Xu Li had still been a mentally normal ordinary person. His father had died early, and only his mother remained in the household. His mother was a very far-sighted and resilient person. Not only had she raised Xu Li alone, but she had also sent him to study at the school in town. Xu Li had also lived up to expectations. The teacher at the school appreciated him and recommended him to work under the County Magistrate.

Just when their family’s life was getting better and better, Xu Li’s mother suddenly fell ill.

Xu Li invited every physician he could find, but each one said that his mother’s illness was from accumulated exhaustion, and she had already burned through her reserves.

“…To buy medicine, he spent all the little savings they had just accumulated. Then later, a female deity came to our village…” Xu Tian continued to speak.

Li Chi’s gaze fell into the karmic threads of the past. He saw a female deity with a gentle face saying to Xu Li: “…The destiny principles are in chaos, thus giving rise to troubles. When the destiny principles return to their proper positions, their underlying principles can be understood. By acting according to these principles, one achieves freedom from worry.”

“That female deity said her name was…” Xu Tian’s words continued.

“…Heavenly Maiden Wuyou.” Li Chi’s voice merged with his.

“You… you know that female deity?” Xu Tian asked in surprise.

Li Chi did not answer.

Heavenly Maiden Wuyou—he had heard this title before. Back then, the Medicine Divine Lady Wangyue, who was worshipped by the Yun family in Shuigu Town, had come to him seeking the opportunity to become a demon god after receiving guidance from Heavenly Maiden Wuyou. The Shuigu Earth God Lu Gu had said she was a righteous deity without a fixed temple, especially skilled in discerning fate, who often pointed out confusion for others. Li Chi had no real connection with her; it was only because she had perceived the critical point in Wangyue’s destiny that they had a brief indirect connection through Wangyue. He hadn’t expected that he would now encounter traces of her activities again in Liang Kingdom.

She had saved Xu Li’s mother and replaced half of his heart. The words she had spoken to Xu Li at that time became particularly meaningful now.

Because the destiny principles between heaven and earth were in chaos, troubles arose. The troubles she spoke of were not the ordinary troubles people commonly had, but fundamental, unsolvable troubles. If the destiny principles were restored to their proper positions and straightened out, the underlying principles of how destiny operates would become clear, and all living beings could act according to these principles.

It was like karmic cause and effect—ordinary people feared negative consequences, but those who understood this principle knew that what truly should be feared were the causes that would create negative consequences. If one did not create such causes, one would not receive such effects. If one feared the agony of drowning, one should not jump into a turbulent river to swim; if one feared starving to death in winter, one needed to plant, harvest, and store in spring and summer. These were merely the most superficial manifestations of cause and effect, yet those who were recklessly brave or lazy were hardly few and far between.

The principles of how destiny operates were the same. If one could understand these principles and act according to them, one could avoid or even change the unfavorable parts of one’s destiny, naturally achieving freedom from worry.

However, the destiny principles between heaven and earth were now in chaos, and karmic cause and effect were severed. Even if one had no intention of gaining benefits by evading karmic consequences or forcibly altering destiny, under the interference of countless severed causes and erroneous destinies over so many years, the destinies of most living beings in this world had been affected to varying degrees.

Xu Li’s destiny was chaotic. Although Li Chi couldn’t claim to be thoroughly versed in discerning fate, he could still deduce some things from the karmic threads. Before Xu Li was born into his current human form, he should have had one lifetime as an ignorant beast, but his destiny had become chaotic. The beast lifetime and his subsequent human lifetime merged into one, and he was directly reborn as a human fetus.

Compared to a human body, the unfortunate aspect of beasts lay in their ignorance. Without the opportunity to develop spiritual wisdom and cultivate into demon form, they would only live their entire lives in a muddled state, unable to understand principles. Heavenly Maiden Wuyou had replaced half of Xu Li’s heart precisely to compensate for the original beast lifetime and restore order to his fate.

“…Your destinies are too deeply entangled. If you want to preserve her life, your destiny must be restored.”

“How long will it take me to fully restore my destiny and return to normal?” Xu Li had asked at that time.

“Your fate is already in chaos. This matter cannot be clearly seen,” Heavenly Maiden Wuyou shook her head. “When the time comes for your destiny to be complete, you will naturally return to normal.”

So if Xu Li wanted to save his mother, he would have to remain ignorant and muddled for who knew how long—perhaps three to five days, perhaps three to five years, or perhaps… it wasn’t impossible that he might remain this way for the rest of his life. If he was unwilling, then his mother’s destiny had reached its critical point in this lifetime; since it couldn’t be changed, it meant her demise.

He was still very young. His teacher appreciated him greatly. His future was boundless, while madness would be enough to destroy everything. His mother was already very old, and her wish was for him to succeed… In a snap of the fingers, an ordinary person has 3.2 billion thoughts, thoughts continuously flowing between good and evil. No one knew how many thoughts flashed through Xu Li’s mind at that time, but after receiving Heavenly Maiden Wuyou’s answer, it took him only an instant to give his response.

“Please cure my mother,” he bowed to Heavenly Maiden Wuyou.

Li Chi had already seen through this entire karmic thread, and Xu Tian’s story was also finished.

“Their family has only an orphan and a widow left. Although his mother’s illness was cured, she can no longer do heavy work. Ah Li became like this and lost his original good position, but he’s very obedient and very willing to work hard, sparing no effort, it’s just his mind…” He looked at Li Chi anxiously, but Li Chi only gazed at the withered tree in the village.

Xu Tian didn’t know if the deity had listened. On one hand, he was afraid of annoying the deity by saying too much; on the other hand, he was afraid of missing this opportunity. His voice gradually grew quieter but he refused to stop speaking.

Li Chi didn’t speak further about this matter. Instead, he suddenly said, “Bury these bones under the tree.”

Though he didn’t turn his head, both men understood these words were directed at Xu Li. Xu Li said “Ah” and got up to begin the work.

He didn’t know fear. He only remembered that Fourth Uncle had instructed him last night to respect this gentleman, so he would be obedient.

Xu Tian wanted to hold him back, but hesitated because these were the deity’s words. In that moment of hesitation, he failed to stop him. Xu Tian couldn’t help but feel anxious. Those bone frames had been moving and talking ghosts yesterday! Even though they were now motionless skeletons, they had no flesh but their bones hadn’t scattered—this… this was clearly abnormal!

Xu Tian gritted his teeth. “Let me do it!” He said as he tried to get up to replace Xu Li in collecting those remains.

“Let him do it himself,” Li Chi said.

Xu Tian had no choice but to stop, watching Xu Li with worry.

Strangely enough, these skeletons had sat there all night. Despite wind and stones, they hadn’t scattered, but the moment Xu Li’s fingertips touched their surface, the bones scattered on their own, falling into neat piles without rolling about.

Xu Li’s mind was incomplete, yet at this moment he seemed clearheaded, doing things very methodically. He first returned to the room, took the bundle cloth from the basket and spread it on the ground, then picked up the scattered bones one by one onto the cloth. The order in which he picked them up was methodical, and he muttered words as he collected the bones.

Xu Tian was so shocked he nearly jumped up. Xu Li was still simple-minded now. Although he could do work like chopping wood and cutting trees, that was because these were things he had done before becoming simple-minded, so he still retained the instinct. But what he was doing now was the skill of a bone collector—Xu Li had never been exposed to this before. How did he know how to do it?!

At this moment, Xu Li felt as if he had suddenly seen a light.

Ever since his mind aperture was sealed, he had been like being sealed inside a sturdy jar, able to understand the world only with difficulty through the jar. Many things—he could see them and hear them, but couldn’t understand them or feel them. Just like yesterday when they got lost in the forest, he could see himself and Fourth Uncle going in circles, but couldn’t understand what that meant, much less feel fear.

But just now, the moment he touched the surface of those bones, the jar enclosing him seemed to suddenly crack open. Through that crack, he saw light…

“…Tree God, today’s offering is rice wine brewed by our own family. Do you like it?” A young man was making offerings under the old tree in the village. After arranging the offerings, he casually picked up a fallen leaf, held it in his palms at chest level, and released it, letting it fall naturally.

The leaf fell with its back side up. This represented a negative answer.

“…Ah? You find it ordinary?”

Front side up. This meant the Tree God was saying “yes.”

“…”

“Do you like it?” He asked again.

Back side up.

The young man refused to give up and asked several more times, all with the same result. Finally, he annoyed the Tree God so much that the leaf fell completely outside his area.

The Tree God was ignoring him now.

The young man pouted and asked again, “Then do you like sweet wine? Should I bring you sweet wine next time?”

Front side up.

……

By the time Xu Li had finished collecting the last bone, this suddenly revealed memory also ended. But the light through the crack didn’t extinguish. Xu Li faintly seemed to hear a voice from within…

“…Tree God, my child has fallen gravely ill. Is there any way to save him?” That was a female voice.

……

Li Chi had already walked to the base of the tree. Xu Li was digging a pit to bury the bones beside him. The soil there was very easy to dig. The tree roots underground had propped up many small spaces. After hoeing twice, it would collapse, just right for burying a set of bones.

Xu Tian watched with his heart in his throat. Those tree roots underground formed hollow nests one after another. In all his years, he had never seen tree roots grow like this.

Li Chi stood silent, his gaze looking somewhere distant. Xu Tian looked up at him, feeling that those black eyes were as deep as an unfathomable pool, making one involuntarily shiver.

“Do you know of this village?” Li Chi suddenly asked.

“I don’t…” Xu Tian was about to deny it when he suddenly stopped. He had originally thought he had never seen or heard of this village’s existence, but just as he was about to say it, he suddenly felt something discordant.