ATEG Chapter 84.1

The underground formation had been completely destroyed by Li Chi. The earth vein power had returned to the depths, the mastermind’s schemes had all come to nothing, and the villagers had finally gained peace and liberation. The Tree God’s obsession had dissipated, but who would witness this land’s desolation?

The last trace of vitality in the divine tree had been severed with the shattering of the earth vein heart. Beneath the completely withered divine tree, the avatar bearing the qin case stood in silent contemplation, the strings gently trembling as a wisp of qin music scattered into the air.

Within Li Manor, the deity who had been sitting cross-legged with closed eyes suddenly opened them. His pitch-black eyes were like bottomless abysses, and his robes flowed with light that seemed both black and white.

The deity raised his right hand, his long sleeve sliding down his wrist. At his slender fingertips, a brush gradually coalesced, crystalline white as bone, its bristles full as if dipped in thick ink. The deity made a gesture in the air, and a drop of ink fell from the brush tip, sketching in the void the dispersing spirit of the Tree God.

“I offer sacrifice to your grievances and suffering, continue your karmic bonds—I shall grant you justice.”

The voice rang like a bell, penetrating directly into the soul. In this sound, the Tree God suddenly understood his situation.

The earth vein heart had shattered, the tree body had perished—he should have dissipated along with them. That he still existed was because the deity had exercised great divine power, allowing him to temporarily reside in that single drop of ink from the brush.

Body dead, path extinguished, all was concluded, karma dispersed. But if he could have his karma continued, he would naturally be able to continue existing. To continue karma meant to continue the karma with the cultivator who had planted him seven hundred years ago. That was both the grace of having been planted, nurtured with a stream of qi to grow, and guided onto the path of cultivation—and also the enmity of using him in schemes to seize the earth vein heart, harming his life, refining his worshippers, causing him to be afflicted with resentment and consumed by bitter suffering.

The Tree God bowed once and said, “I no longer have the will for this.”

“Very well.”

The deity’s wrist turned slightly, and that dot of ink carried the Tree God’s remnant spirit back into the ground beneath Divine Tree Village, dispersing into the earth veins. Perhaps after countless years, this place would have the chance to give birth to a new heaven-born earth god, and the Tree God’s spirit would condense and be reborn along with the earth veins.

In Divine Tree Village, Li Chi lifted the hand he had pressed against the tree trunk, holding a mass of incense offerings in his palm. When the villagers of Divine Tree Village performed their worship, they had also worshipped the cultivator who had rescued their ancestors from the flames of war all those years ago. That cultivator had not taken this portion of incense offerings, so the Tree God had collected and preserved them.

The scheming cultivator was no ordinary person. When Li Chi followed the karmic threads of Divine Tree Village to trace them, he saw only vast obscurity. Though there weren’t many in this world capable of obscuring their own karma, the total number wasn’t exactly small either. But for Li Chi, this made no difference. Although his current state wasn’t good, there were only a scant few existences capable of obscuring karma before his eyes.

The original villagers of Divine Tree Village had come to avoid the flames of war, settling in a remote and quiet place. The Tree God had grown in the mountain forest, and nearly everything he had witnessed in his life had been the people of Divine Tree Village. He no longer wished to settle any accounts—so let it be. Though this karma could not be used, these incense offerings from prayers might prove useful.

On the other side, Xu Li had recovered his wits. He had a karmic connection with the Tree God, and this experience had eliminated the remainder of his foolish destiny. This was the opportunity Heavenly Maiden Wuyou had spoken of.

Li Chi swept his sleeve, his voice ringing out leisurely. “Return.”

The wind rose suddenly, gently supporting the two of them.

……

Inside Xu Family Village, Mother Xu was extremely anxious. Yesterday, Xu Li had gone into the mountains with Xu Tian, and now nearly two days and a night had passed, yet the two had not returned. They never spent the night in the mountains—something must have happened!

Just as she was in distress, she suddenly felt a pain in her heart.

It felt as if something very important had passed away. What was it? Had something happened to Ah Li?

She seemed to hear the rustling sound of leaves in her ears, but her memory felt shrouded, as if she could vaguely see some light and shadow in her haze, yet she could never recall what it was. Only two streams of tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.

The door suddenly pushed open. She hastily wiped her eyes and looked up.

“Mother, I’m back.” Xu Li was standing in the doorway.

“Ah Li, you, you…” Mother Xu was just feeling delighted when she noticed the change in him. “You’re well?!”

“I’m well, Mother.”

Mother Xu couldn’t help but embrace him, grinning widely. In her ears, she seemed to hear the rustling of leaves again, and tears fell once more.

……

The long wind blew leisurely from the desolate Divine Tree Village to the outskirts of a border county town in Liang Kingdom, landing and dispersing to transform into a cultivator in dark green robes bearing a qin case.

The wind carried the sounds of bustling crowds from afar. Li Chi followed the karmic thread that had been attached to him since his awakening, gazing into the distance, then turned and walked toward the county town.

That karmic thread pointed toward the capital of Liang, but he had no intention of heading straight there. This avatar of his had just stepped into the border regions of Liang when he encountered Heavenly Maiden Wuyou and an existence capable of obscuring karma before his eyes in the matter of Divine Tree Village.

Heavenly Maiden Wuyou was a righteous god of the Divine Court, especially skilled in fate and destiny. Her guidance to Medicine Divine Lady Wangyue was still just like most Divine Court deities’ guidance at critical junctures in believers’ destinies, but with Xu Li, she had been attempting to re-organize his already chaotic destiny. This was not something ordinary deities could accomplish.

A coincidence?

For existences like them who comprehended karma or destiny principles, coincidence was a meaningless word.

……

Inside the county town, the streets were thronged with people, shops on both sides bustling with welcoming customers. The entire county showed almost no effects of the great calamity.

Inside a tavern with wide-open doors, billowing steam rose along with waves of rich fragrance, instantly dispelling most of autumn’s chill and making people’s stomachs rumble with hunger. A waiter stood at the entrance, smiling broadly as he ushered passersby inside. In the pouch at his front were stuffed a large handful of hot roasted chestnuts. When satisfied customers emerged from the shop, he would grab a small handful of chestnuts and press them into their hands, eyes crinkling with a smile as his tongue rattled smoothly, “From Old Man Yu’s chestnut stand next door—come again when you have time!” After the customers walked a few steps away, he would call out to the street again. “More seats available!”

Occasionally children would come to his side to wheedle a few chestnuts from him. He wouldn’t get angry but would smile and press two into their hands to send them off—though if they came again, he would shoo them away.

The warm, fragrant dishes inside the shop were enticing, the soft, sweet chestnuts at the door were visible—right now was mealtime, and this establishment had been bustling with customers without pause.

Li Chi found it interesting and slowed his steps, looking over a few more times.

The waiter had sharp eyes and actually noticed him, enthusiastically calling out to Li Chi. “Are you from out of town, sir? Come try our hotpot! It’s the best in the county!”

Li Chi looked at the waiter’s raised thumb and smiled slightly, lifting his leg to walk in. “Is that so? Then I’ll give it a try.”

The waiter grabbed a small handful of chestnuts and pressed them into his hand, his voice rising and turning. “Guaranteed not to disappoint! Please come in, honored guest!”

As soon as he entered the shop, another waiter came up, leading him to a seat while asking, “Shall I take that qin for you?”

Inside the shop, steam billowed, sweeping away the autumn chill clinging to people. Most customers had a copper pot before them, bubbling with different dishes, boiling out various sour fragrances, spicy fragrances, fresh fragrances…

Li Chi’s gaze swept over the empty seats in the shop. He shook his head with a smile. “No need, I’ll handle it myself.”

The waiter led him to a spot against the wall, which happened to be convenient for leaning the qin against it. As they walked, he made small talk. “First time here, sir? Would you like to try our hotpot? If you can eat spicy, you can order a spicy pot—very satisfying! Pickled vegetable hotpot is also good in autumn, calming qi and dispelling dryness. One pot is enough—best to add a few flatbreads to dip in the broth, absolutely exquisite! For one person, a small pot is just right.”

Li Chi amiably ordered a small spicy pot, and the waiter went off to busy himself. Customers on either side sat in groups of three or two around different pots, eating and chatting—quite lively.

“Where’s Han Sheng? Why haven’t we seen him come out with us lately?” At the neighboring table, three young men were chatting around a pickled vegetable pot.

“Him? He’s going to become Marquis Wu’s son-in-law, so he’s quite busy!” Another young man extended his chopsticks to pick up a slice of fatty pork belly from the pot.

“How could that be?” The others asked in surprise.

“A few days ago, he went to Marquis Wu’s Temple with Liu Si and Ding Wang, pointed at the goddess statue inside as a joke, and said he wanted to marry her as his wife.” The chopsticks stirred up a cloud of steam over the pot, obscuring the faces across from him.

“Are they crazy? How dare they make such jokes at Marquis Wu’s Temple?”

The others were so shocked their chopsticks paused for a moment. Only the speaker continued fishing out a piece of frozen tofu that had absorbed the broth.

“Aren’t they usually that kind of wild and reckless by nature?”

“But they wouldn’t dare do that at Marquis Wu’s Temple…”

“Who knows? Maybe they were drunk…” the speaker said casually. “I remember that day they skipped classes together to go out and have fun—they probably got excited and drunk.”

“Don’t just focus on eating—hurry up and continue! How are they now?”

“I heard that same night, Marquis Wu appeared in all three of their dreams, saying he was honored by their regard and agreed to these marriages. He even personally set the wedding dates, saying when the time comes he’ll come to receive them. These past few days, they’re probably busy preparing three sacrificial animals to thank their future father-in-law.”

“More like begging for forgiveness…” someone muttered.

Marquis Wu was a ghost deity who achieved divinity after death, and most of the goddesses worshipped in his temple were also ghosts. To become Marquis Wu’s son-in-law—the living probably couldn’t enjoy such a blessing.

“I heard they also went to ask the Daoist priests at Xingfeng Temple, but whether it’ll work out is still uncertain…”

Marquis Wu. It seemed this was the deity protecting this area.

Li Chi tossed the few chestnuts in his palm. The chestnuts had lost their initial warmth—if left a bit longer, they would turn cold. He peeled one and put it in his mouth—soft, glutinous, fragrant, and sweet. The waiter at the door had nearly finished distributing his chestnuts. After peeling and eating the last few cooling chestnuts, he spotted a moment when there weren’t many people and quickly ran to the old man selling chestnuts next door. “Grandpa, give me another pouch of hot ones!”

“Be careful, they’re hot!”

“I know, Grandpa! You tuck a handful in your shirt too—they’re nice and warm!” The waiter packed the chestnuts and quickly ran back to the entrance, continuing to smile as he greeted and saw off customers.

Li Chi couldn’t help but smile. In a place like Liang, and during the great calamity, to still be able to maintain an area with such vitality—this Marquis Wu was truly exceptional.

When the waiter brought his hotpot, Li Chi asked him where the Marquis Wu’s Temple was located. Gradually past mealtime now, with fewer customers, the waiter chatted with him a bit more, his tone quite proud. “Guest, you’re from out of town, so you don’t know—our Marquis Wu’s Temple here is very efficacious. As long as you worship devoutly, it will definitely protect you. When all those locusts came before, other places were devastated, but not a single locust dared to land here! All thanks to Marquis Wu’s protection!”

The voices here carried to the neighboring table. Several young men looked over, and seeing Li Chi’s distinguished bearing, they initiated conversation. “That’s absolutely true. That time when the whole county held a grand sacrifice, we were right in the middle of worship when we saw locusts like black clouds flying in from afar. We were just getting frightened when we saw those locusts fly directly overhead without ever landing!”

The waiter, seeing someone taking up the conversation, responded a few times before saying, “Please enjoy your conversation, gentlemen. There are customers calling me over there.” Then he left.

“I’m Liu Jiangcheng, a student at Shanji Academy. Sir, you have an extraordinary bearing—how should we address you?” one of them asked.

“Li Quan, just a traveler.” Li Chi answered.

Though he said this, the group didn’t look down on him. Setting aside his distinguished bearing, in these times, those who still dared to travel everywhere were either reckless fools or those with real ability.

Li Chi was curious about Marquis Wu’s affairs, and the group was curious about him. After mutual introductions, they joined tables and began chatting.

“Speaking of Marquis Wu, everyone here knows his origins. Marquis Wu’s original name was Wu Keji. In life, he was a county lieutenant here—dissolute and unrestrained, most fond of drinking, quite annoying to people. But he always said he was born with immortal bones and would definitely cultivate to become an immortal. When others laughed at him for not going to cultivate but instead becoming a county lieutenant, saying he must be boasting and deceiving people, he didn’t care and never went to Daoist temples or such places.”

“After a few years, while pursuing a bandit who was selling children, he chased to the foot of Huqiu Mountain outside the county town. He fought with the bandits and saved the abducted children. After he sent the children back to the county town, he collapsed and died. When the coroner examined the body, they discovered he had been stabbed seven times, with one blow striking his heart. No one knew how he had persevered to return.”

“When others reached the foot of Huqiu Mountain, they found seven bandits lying there—one was the child thief from the county town, the other six were hiding there waiting to ‘deliver goods’ together. Searching the area, they found a hidden cave with many other abducted children inside.” At this point, Liu Jiangcheng paused, as if expecting something.

The young man’s thoughts were written all over his face. Li Chi smiled slightly and said, “It seems that though Marquis Wu may not have been likable in personality, he was a person of good heart and martial valor.”

Having gotten the reaction he wanted, Liu Jiangcheng was satisfied. He shook his head and continued the story. “The children’s parents erected a small stone shrine for Wu Keji at the mountain’s foot and would occasionally go to worship. But the matter didn’t end there.”

“Once, when the new county lieutenant was passing by with his men, he saw a person in dark robes riding a horse who told him, ‘I want to become the deity of this place. You must tell the people to build me a grand temple, and everyone must come worship me. The yearly incense offerings cannot be lacking—if you do this, I will protect you all, otherwise I will bring down disasters.'”

“The new county lieutenant didn’t recognize him and asked who he was. Then this person pointed at the subordinates following behind him and suddenly disappeared. The county lieutenant was startled. He turned to look at the others and saw their faces had gone white. They were all old hands from the county who had previously served under Wu Keji. They told the new county lieutenant that the person just now was Wu Keji himself.”

“Did the county lieutenant comply?” Li Chi followed along with his story and asked.