Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 25: The End of the Mountain God

In front of Fang Xiu was still the graveyard west of the village.

It was clearly a different point in time. There was no rain, and the weeds between the graves were lush and green. The setting sun was like fire, and the entirety of Weishan looked as though it was ablaze.

“If someone dwells in the mountain, clad in creeping fig and trailing ivy… I forget the rest after that.”

A little girl with pigtails walked through the graveyard, reciting poetry under her breath, carrying a small grasshopper cage in her hand.

She looked to be about seven or eight years old. Beside her were two boys. One appeared to be the oldest, and the other was younger than she was, sniffling with a runny nose.

Their clothes were old and heavily patched, looking like styles from decades prior.

There weren’t many insects in the graveyard, so the three children headed toward the grove at the foot of Weishan. A few minutes later, they heard the little girl let out a shrill scream.

“Ghost—!”

Immediately, the oldest boy moved protectively in front of them. All three kids could see clearly what that “ghost” really was.

It was a deformed boy.

He had two extra arms, and his spine was curved. His facial features were misaligned, making him look rather frightening.

He wore only a few ragged scraps of cloth, and his skin was covered in bloodstains and bruises. He seemed to have just been beaten. Curled up on the ground, his body occasionally twitched, like a particularly ugly worm made of flesh.

The older boy breathed a sigh of relief. “Ni’er*, it’s okay. It’s just the child nobody in the village wants. He must have been seen by someone who thought he was unlucky and gave him a beating.”

*It’s an affectionate way to address a young girl/daughter. Kind of like calling her sweetheart or honey (but not in a romantic context).

“The child nobody wants?” The little girl asked curiously. “Brother, what do you mean by ‘the child nobody wants’?”

The brother scratched the back of his head. “Remember how the auntie next door was crying? She had a baby last month. Our village has children like this every year. Most of them are born dead.”

“In years with a lot of rain, there are even more of these deformed babies. Grandpa says it’s because too much rain brings heavy yin energy to the village.”

“Then why don’t they want this one? He’s still alive, isn’t he?” The girl pointed at the deformed boy in the bushes.

“They can’t afford to raise him.” The older brother mimicked the adults’ tone. “Grandpa says that even if someone’s reluctant to throw the baby away, most of them only live to their early twenties; a lot die in their teens.”

“They look scary, and they don’t live long. Everyone thinks it’s bad luck. Plus, our village isn’t well-off. Who has the means to provide for him? Better to put him in a vat and leave him outside, letting fate decide.”

“Oh, I remember now.” The girl made a gesture with her hands. “I saw that big vat at Auntie’s place. She even put some food in it.”

Her older brother nodded seriously. “Right, exactly that one.”

But I bet her child is gone by now. I saw that vat in the woods a few days ago, and the smell was awful.”

At this, the three children fell silent for a moment.

The girl looked at the boy curled on the ground, who couldn’t speak and whose shoulders shook as though he were sobbing.

After thinking it over, she said, “If each family in the village gave him a little food, wouldn’t that be enough to keep him alive? He got thrown away by his parents and then beaten up. He’s so pitiful.”

“That auntie next door was really sad. She cried for days,” she added.

“But there’s no real reason to feed him, right? Why would everyone give him food?” The older brother scratched his head hard. “Still, now that you mention it, he really is pretty pitiful…”

“Food, food,” the younger brother repeated with his unclear speech.

The three children squatted silently in the bushes for a while longer.

“I’ve got an idea.” The girl’s face tightened with resolve. “Everyone says he’s unlucky, so let’s claim he’s actually an auspicious sign… That’s it! Like an omen of good fortune! We’ll all say that we saw him fly!”

Older Brother: “……”

Older Brother: “Saying he can fly is too far-fetched. Let’s say he glows.”

Younger Brother: “Glows! Glows!”

“He both flies and glows.” The girl felt she was quite clever. “All those grandpas and grandmas really believe in that stuff. They’ll definitely be willing to give him food.”

The older brother was more realistic, though only a bit. “Then we should take him to the village chief and ask him to speak for us. That would be best.”

“Yes, yes—and we need evidence.” The girl searched all her pockets and finally found a piece of candy.

It was wrapped in bright red paper labeled “Double Happiness Hard Candy”. This was a rare treat. Their parents had brought back a few pieces when they attended a wedding banquet in town.

It was a round candy with a transparent, vivid red hue. She had looked at it many times, unwilling to eat it.

In the end, the girl reluctantly unwrapped the candy and placed it in the deformed boy’s hand.

“Hold it tight. This is your magic core*,” she said in a serious tone, not caring whether he could understand or not.

*Neidan or internal alchemy. It’s an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death (also known as Jindan (golden elixir)). Its reference is often used in cultivation.

The deformed boy clutched the candy, neither letting go nor making a sound, as if he did sort of understand.

……

The village chief of Weishan Village was a kind middle-aged man, short in stature. All the children knew he was the only teacher in the village.

At first, hearing the three children’s outlandish story, he couldn’t help but laugh. But seeing the wounds on the deformed boy, his smile gradually faded.

He fetched a basin of water to gently clean the boy’s body, then brought out a bottle of red medicinal liquid to treat his wounds. The child was covered in injuries, so skinny his bones showed and his ribs protruded sharply.

Seeing this, the village chief frowned deeply, letting out a constant string of sighs.

“The village chief believes us. He definitely believes us,” the little girl said, clenching her fist as she spoke to her older brother. “We’re really good at this.”

The younger brother whispered, “All three of us, all three.”

“You kids have an interesting idea… I should’ve done something about this long ago.”

After settling the boy down, the village chief patted their heads. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell everyone in the village that these children are the children of the mountain spirit.”

“Children of the mountain spirit aren’t unlucky. All they need is a bit of offering, and they’ll bring good fortune.”

“‘Mountain spirit’ sounds scary,” the girl mumbled. “Chief, didn’t you just teach us that the mountain spirit is really a mountain god…”

The village chief finally smiled, deep wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.

“You’re right. Then let’s call them the children of the mountain god.” His tone was gentle. “They’re all children of the Mountain God.”

The girl was satisfied. “He even has a magic core! That’s a real treasure. Chief, make sure you don’t lose it.”

“I understand. Now go on home and memorize your poetry.”

Early the next morning, the village chief really did announce the news to the entire village and brought up the fact that the boy had been beaten.

Some villagers immediately jumped out to say it was nonsense. After all, for more than two hundred years, people had quarried stone from Weishan to make inkstones, and they hadn’t seen even half a mountain god during that entire time.

Others found it hard to accept, since everyone had always believed these deformed babies were unlucky. How could the story suddenly change?

But more people stayed silent and offered to provide a bit of food. Among them was even that auntie from next door. The little girl stared at her in shock.

“Auntie never believed in ghosts or gods, right? She even argued with Grandpa about this.” The girl tugged on her older brother’s sleeve with one hand while holding onto her younger brother’s hand with the other.

Her older brother thought for a long time. “Maybe she just can’t bear to see it anymore.”

He didn’t say what exactly she couldn’t bear to see.

The boy ended up living at the village chief’s home. He grew up on communal offerings, got taller and stronger, and learned to speak and write.

Even so, he still didn’t have a name. People jokingly called him “the God of Weishan”. Some meant it kindly, some maliciously.

He knew, of course, that he wasn’t actually a mountain god. He also knew the villagers knew that, too.

As for that piece of candy, he kept it in a little wooden box, hidden in the deepest corner under his bed, as though it really were some kind of immortal’s core.

Everything was just a crude little lie.

Another deformed baby was born. This time, the child had four legs but only one eye. Before the village chief could even respond, he stepped forward.

“I can help write letters and read,” he said. “I can earn money. I’ll take care of her.

She can share my offerings. Don’t throw her away.”

And so it went, from the time he left the foot of Weishan to the time he passed away peacefully, a total of ten years.

Before he died, he took the box from under his bed and handed it to the seven-year-old deformed girl. Behind her stood two other deformed children, about three or four years old.

He’d been teaching her to read and write all these years; she was in a much better state than he’d been back then.

“You are the next God of Weishan. Inside the box is the Mountain God’s core. Take good care of it,” he said.

The girl blinked her single eye, staring at him in confusion.

The dying God of Weishan smiled. “But remember, you’re actually not the God of Weishan. That thing isn’t a true core, either.”

Live well. Don’t let down the villagers.”

“And don’t cry.” He turned to another girl by the bedside.

That girl, who had given him the candy all those years ago, was now eighteen. Her name was Sun Ruyi, his benefactor.

In the ten years since, he and the three siblings had grown very close. He was happy now, because he knew she had a long life ahead of her… She was going to leave the village to study.

But Sun Ruyi was still crying, and her brothers tried to comfort her without success. Their own eyes were red, so how could they console her?

[You know the mountain spirit is also a god; at the foot of Weishan, the trees stand dense and tall.]

…..

The second God of Weishan took up her post at the age of seven.

Year after year, besides those two younger children the first god left behind, she took in three more deformed kids.

With so many people, it was no longer suitable to stay in the village chief’s house. The villagers decided that each family would contribute a bit more to build an extra dwelling.

“It’s the God of Weishan’s home. It’s practically a shrine!”

The old village chief laughed. His hair was now mostly white. “How strange and wonderful that our Weishan Village finally has its own shrine.”

From then on, the God of Weishan moved into that shrine. During the day, she helped villagers write letters and taught the deformed children to read. At night, they all slept together on a large communal bed in the shrine.

By then, the village had a younger teacher, so the old village chief no longer taught classes. In his spare time, though, he would come by to teach poetry to the children.

Before long, the God of Weishan faced a new challenge.

Some of the older deformed children had begun their studies earlier, so they were more advanced. The eldest among them knew his life would be short and started to resent the healthy villagers.

He lashed out at the people who brought offerings, tore up his younger siblings’ books, and even stole someone’s hatchet. Finally, when he tried to attack the old village chief with the knife, the second God of Weishan flew into a fury.

She gave him a brutal beating, then banished him from the village.

“Isn’t that repaying kindness with enmity?” she snapped angrily.

“Calm down now, it’s not good for your health to be angry.” The old village chief was wrapped up in bandages from his injury but still spoke gently. “No place can guarantee that everyone will be good.”

After thinking it over, the God of Weishan said, “This isn’t going to work in the long run. I need to come up with a plan.”

A few days later, the second God of Weishan sought out the old village chief.

“I’ve got it. Like you said before, we’ll claim that we’re all children of the Mountain God.

We’re deformed because the children of the Mountain God don’t fit mortal bodies. Dying young means returning to the celestial realm as immortal attendants… I’m the God of Weishan, so they’ll believe what I say.”

“I’ll choose the kindest, most sensible child to be the next God of Weishan. I’ll only tell the truth to that one.”

She wove a new lie.

The deformed children continued to live short lives, but at least they could be happier, without falling into despair and doing harmful things.

The old village chief smiled, though with a hint of bitterness.

Before him stood the “God of Weishan”, who was really just a sixteen-year-old girl.

“All right,” He patted her on the shoulder. “That’s a good story. You should write it down.”

Immediately, the God of Weishan fetched pen and paper and wrote carefully, word by word…

[The God of Weishan is the deity of Weishan, worshiped by the villagers of Weishan Village.]

[Any who are born deformed are the children of the Mountain God, guests in Weishan Village.]

[The children of the Mountain God must train in the human realm. When their time is up, they will return to the mountain. Those of upright conduct will naturally be possessed by the God of Weishan, becoming the next God of Weishan.]

It looked rather terse, so she recalled something from her books and added two lines the old village chief had taught her:

[Do not commit even a small evil; do not neglect even a small good*.]

*This comes from an edict by Liu Bei, which basically means don’t do bad things even if you think it’s small and do good things even if you think it’s trivial.

“Words alone may not be enough. We need clear rewards and punishments.”

The old village chief smiled as he watched her. “If one of them does something bad, how will you punish them?”

The God of Weishan’s eyes lit up. “I can hide some bitter mountain yams.”

“They’re wild plants from Weishan. If you rub them on yourself, they itch like crazy but aren’t harmful. If anyone tries anything wicked again, I’ll rub some on them and say it’s the God of Weishan’s curse… oh, right.”

She picked up her brush and wrote another line:

[Do not offend the God of Weishan. Any who do shall suffer misfortune.]

“I have to scare them,” she said angrily.

And with that, she finished writing the story of the God of Weishan.

She died at seventeen, an ordinary lifespan for a deformed child. In her final moments, she really didn’t pick the oldest child but rather the one with the best character. She gave him the wooden box containing the candy and told him everything.

“You are the next God of Weishan. The box holds the Mountain God’s core. Make sure you keep it safe,” she said.

“But remember, you are not actually the God of Weishan.”

On the day she was buried, twenty‑eight‑year‑old Sun Ruyi returned from afar, bringing with her two beautiful tombstones.

Ever since the “Mountain God” legend began, villagers had liked to bury deformed children at the westernmost edge of the graveyard. Weishan Village didn’t lack stonemasons; they made many simple stone plaques to serve as tombstones for these children. Many of the children were stillborn and had no names. The stonemasons considered it inauspicious to engrave them, so they simply left the stone unmarked.

The two tombstones Sun Ruyi brought likewise bore no inscriptions.

“I understand not engraving the god’s name, but why not carve the birth and death dates?” her younger brother asked.

“Because the God of Weishan is immortal,” Sun Ruyi replied.

[You know the mountain spirit is also a god; At the foot of Weishan’s cliff, the trees stand dense.]

[Pitiful abandoned children, discarded like an old shoe; Ascends to immortality, dressed in blue robes.]

……

The third God of Weishan took office at age twelve, and he now had six children under his care.

He dutifully taught them to read and write and told them the story of the God of Weishan. The old village chief passed away, but the new one was a decent person who strongly supported his work.

A few years later, torrential rains fell on Weishan Village, causing flooding.

The God of Weishan faced an unprecedented problem…

Some people in the village began bullying the deformed children; mostly other youngsters without disabilities.

They would deliberately knock them over, hide nails around the shrine, or pretend it was an accident to brush past them with blades, leaving bloody cuts in their wake.

Some of the deformed children became depressed, staying inside the shrine day after day, saying nothing and never venturing out. Others turned aggressive and got into brawls with the village kids, coming close to causing serious casualties.

In order to calm the villagers, the God of Weishan discussed matters with the village chief. Publicly, the chief announced that they would be driven out; secretly, he sent the deformed children who bore grudges against the village up onto Weishan. There were a few abandoned quarry huts there where they could barely get by.

But that was not a lasting solution.

The third God of Weishan decided to consult the Sun family. The second God of Weishan had told him that the three Sun siblings were very dependable. Once the eldest Sun sibling heard the whole story, he directly grabbed one of the bullies and made him explain himself in person.

Confronted with the frightening appearance of the God of Weishan, the child burst into tears on the spot.

“What gives them the right?”

“Every day I’m up before dawn gathering fodder for the pigs and don’t get to sleep until nightfall. They were born short-lived and pitiful, but I’m pitiful, too!”

“All they do is read a few books and nothing else! Mom and Dad insist on feeding them while I don’t even have enough to eat!”

Feeling awkward, the eldest Sun sibling said, “That’s not true. They’ve earned some money, too…”

“You dare say they haven’t been freeloading? You dare say that?” the child shouted tearfully.

The third God of Weishan fell into deep thought.

Because of the village’s frequent rains, disaster years were common, and they couldn’t live off the villagers’ compassion forever. If the deformed children couldn’t do physical labor, then they would have to use their minds.

He began writing more letters for the villagers and asked someone to buy more books from the town. He wanted the children to learn more so they could help the village in other ways. Unfortunately, by the time these preparations were complete, he himself was on the verge of death.

“You need to read more, read books that are truly useful.” Bending his arm tremblingly, he took the hand of the future, the fourth God of Weishan.

“We have no parents or personal attachments. That makes us best suited to uphold fairness… The village doesn’t have enough teachers, so you must also help teach the children of the village…”

He gave him the wooden box with the candy, imploring, “Remember, you are not the God of Weishan. But you must be a competent God of Weishan…”

He, too, died at seventeen. That year, Sun Ruyi was thirty‑three.

She had been doing business outside and made a decent amount of money. Returning home for the funeral, she donated a large sum to her family and once again commissioned wordless tombstones.

“From now on, my family will provide the tombstones for the God of Weishan. Think of it as our good deed,” she said.

[You know the mountain spirit is also a god; At the foot of Weishan’s cliff, the trees stand dense.]

[Pitiful abandoned children, discarded like an old shoe; Ascends to immortality, dressed in blue robes.]

[The village’s boys and girls are its guests; Honored ones inside and outside the shrine.]

……

The fourth God of Weishan took up the position at fourteen, never betraying the previous one’s trust.

Weishan Village was remote, and villagers were used to settling disputes themselves. Petty conflicts broke out constantly; once tempers flared, injuries easily resulted.

After the God of Weishan stepped in, matters improved a great deal. This God of Weishan was quick-witted. He had studied law from a young age. He could argue any case in an orderly way that convinced people. Now, villagers brought disagreements to the shrine to reason things out instead of coming to blows.

During busy farming seasons, families would leave their children at the shrine, where the deformed children taught them. The “children of the Mountain God” taught reading and also arithmetic.

When the God of Weishan was twenty‑three, the village produced its very first college student. The entire village lit fireworks and banged drums. As one of the student’s former teachers, the God of Weishan was overjoyed.

The old village chief was positively beaming. He picked an auspicious day and called everyone together.

“Why don’t we hold a temple fair for the Mountain God?” he suggested excitedly, gesturing with his hands.

“We can do it every year, seven days and seven nights!”

Now that the village was better off, everyone readily agreed.

However, on the sixth day of the fair, the God of Weishan fell ill, so ill he couldn’t leave his bed. He listened to the lively festival music with a smile. That same day, he summoned his successor and handed her the small wooden box that contained the candy.

So much time had passed that the candy had begun to deteriorate. Afraid it would melt, he had wrapped it layer by layer in moisture‑absorbing paper, replacing it each year. Aside from being a bit dulled in color, it looked much as it had before.

“Remember, you are not the God of Weishan,” he told the next successor. “Weishan Village has never had a real god. It was only people.”

On the seventh day of the fair, the villagers commissioned a plaque, made a pair of couplets, and carved a wooden statue of the God of Weishan.

Within the shrine, a gleaming couplet in gold lettering was hung high on the wall, personally composed by the old village chief.

[Do no evil, heaven’s blessings are far-reaching; Practice all virtue, and the rain that nurtures all things brings deep fellowship.]

In the center, an unfinished wooden idol stood. The villagers had faithfully carved the deformed limbs, for the old village chief said that the God of Weishan had always looked unusual and there was nothing to hide. If the statue looked deformed, it would comfort the children who saw themselves in it.

But each God of Weishan had been different—different gender, different features—so no one knew which face to carve. In the end, they left only a faint smile.

They only needed to wait for the paint to dry before giving it a thorough polish.

…What shrine doesn’t have its own image of the deity?

…A small gap in the legend of the God of Weishan, one the villagers happily filled.

The villagers had always known the God of Weishan was not actually divine.

But so what? As long as the God of Weishan didn’t tear the lie apart, neither would they, and thus the God of Weishan remained a god.

On the day that God of Weishan was laid to rest, forty‑two‑year‑old Sun Ruyi returned home. This time, she kept vigil for the first seven days of mourning and never left again. That same year, she became the new village chief of Weishan.

When the statue of the God of Weishan was finally completed, the villagers brought many gifts. Sun Ruyi prepared a poem, not to honor the statue, but to remember her friends.

[You know the mountain spirit is also a god; At the foot of Weishan’s cliff, the trees stand dense.]

[Pitiful abandoned children, discarded like an old shoe; Ascends to immortality, dressed in blue robes.]

[The village’s boys and girls are its guests; Honored ones inside and outside the shrine.]

[Upholding virtue and punishing evil with clear judgment, and henceforth, justice is seen in the hearts of men.]

……

Time flew by, and so did the succession of the God of Weishan; from the fifth, to the sixth, the seventh… all the way to the tenth.

The tenth God of Weishan assumed the position at age twelve. She had three arms, four legs, and a small, undeveloped head at her neck.

She did not adopt any deformed children. The reason was simple: she was the last deformed child of Weishan Village.

Weishan Village was remote and had poor climate conditions. The land was infertile. The only specialty was the Weishan inkstone, which never sold well. Recently, muddy water often ran down the mountain, destroying crops if people weren’t careful.

All the young folks had left for the town, saying there were more jobs there, plus better schools, and indeed, over the years, Weishan Village had produced many college students, so everyone knew the importance of an education.

Many elders followed their children and grandchildren to live in town, only returning on holidays to let the kids pay respects to their ancestors. They said life was better outside, and that people lived noticeably longer there.

Strangely, after the young people departed, fewer and fewer deformed children were born. By the time of the tenth God of Weishan, not a single one had appeared.

Now, only about half the original villagers remained in Weishan. You could hardly see any young people; most who stayed were older folks attached to their home, such as Sun Ruyi.

Sun Ruyi’s older and younger brothers had passed on, yet she herself survived to the ripe old age of seventy‑eight. This was nearly unheard of in the village. She was no longer the village chief but still often visited the young God of Weishan.

With no children in need of teaching and no disputes in need of judging, the tenth God of Weishan had plenty of free time. Carrying her small wooden box, she simply moved into Sun Ruyi’s home.

One old and one young, with nothing particular to do, they read books and newspapers every day, living as though they were grandmother and granddaughter.

A few years later, something new happened in the village.

Officials from the town arrived, hanging banners and setting up a desk at the entrance for public announcements. Their main points were twofold: first, that Weishan Village’s environment contained natural mineral pollution; and second, that its location was poor and prone to disaster if the rains got any worse. In short, they were urging the villagers to relocate.

“Granny, you should leave. Don’t both your children live in the capital? You can go and enjoy your old age.” The tenth God of Weishan said anxiously, “They’re right. There’s a problem with Weishan Village’s water and soil.”

“Our village clearly isn’t poor anymore, yet the elders still die young. Meanwhile, those who left are doing so much better.”

“We can’t sell our Weishan inkstones because they smell fishy once they get wet, right? There must be something dirty in the soil dissolving in the water, and people end up drinking it… The heavier the rain, the worse the pollution, and that’s why there used to be so many kids were born deformed.”

She held the book and analyze it solemnly. “People used to just accept it because they didn’t understand, but now we have a scientific explanation. Everyone should move away.”

Sun Ruyi said nothing.

“They’re not just trying to scare us about potential disasters. Lately the rains have been getting heavier, and the soil on the mountain is unstable. A mudslide could happen. I heard the town can help people apply for free housing…”

“Ni’er, I understand,” Sun Ruyi said. “Weishan Village is already how it is. There’s no need.”

The God of Weishan was taken aback.

“All the young people have already gone, so no children will suffer anymore. It’s just us old folks left; we live each day as it comes. Why make it harder on ourselves?”

“My parents and my brothers are buried here. Why would I leave alone?”

“But… the mudslides…”

“That’s only a ‘maybe’.” Sun Ruyi sighed. “It’s been raining like this for centuries, and we’ve never had a mudslide. None of us have many years left, so what are the odds we’d be that unlucky?”

She patted the God of Weishan’s head and smiled. “You’re still young. You wouldn’t understand.”

The God of Weishan knew that Sun Ruyi had been there when the first God of Weishan came into the world, and she had also sent off the previous nine. Sun Ruyi had read many books, conducted large business ventures, served as village chief, and written poetry for the God of Weishan.

But the tenth God of Weishan still could not agree with her thinking.

She, too, had read many books. She knew that the climate of Weishan Village was shifting and the ground in the mountain was in terrible condition. They were only one prolonged downpour—a truly relentless rain—away from disaster.

So the young God of Weishan gathered scientific articles and newspaper clippings, going door to door to persuade the villagers.

The town officials couldn’t stay in the village every day, but the God of Weishan could. Thanks to her persistent efforts, another half of the villagers left.

As for the remaining elders, they were stubborn as oxen, dismissing her worries as groundless. Irritated by her pleas, they simply refused to see her. They knew she wasn’t truly divine, and she knew it, too.

The final God of Weishan died at twenty‑two.

The day before her death, she was still trying to convince Sun Ruyi to leave. But come the next morning, the old was left burying the young.

In her last moments, the God of Weishan opened the wooden box and took out that candy. There was no one to succeed her; there was no more need to wrap it up. Everyone knew Weishan Village would have no more Gods of Weishan.

In the end, the last God of Weishan clutched the candy tightly and pressed it to her chest.

She still didn’t want to die; she hated her own short life. Never before had she felt such reluctance. After all, the God of Weishan’s mission wasn’t over. At the very end, she hadn’t even managed to persuade Sun Ruyi to leave; how could she feel at ease departing like this?

She knew she wasn’t actually a god. She knew Weishan Village had no god. And yet…

“If the God of Weishan was real, that would be wonderful.”

She murmured these words and took her final breath.

Even in her last moments, her eyes remained slightly open.

When an object carries lingering attachment, and the ties of karma converge, it becomes an “E”.

Eighty years of time, ten generations of karmic bonds, plus one pure yet overwhelming wish. In the corpse’s hand, that piece of candy exuded a dense, chilling aura, gradually turning dull and lightless.

The following day, eighty‑eight‑year‑old Sun Ruyi paused before a new tombstone. Her hands trembled as she set down two pastries and a bottle of drink.

“Now I really can’t go.” Sun Ruyi smiled wryly. “If I left, who would bring offerings to the shrine?”

It was as if something responded to her words. The moment Sun Ruyi left the graveyard, a sudden gust of eerie wind rose from the new grave’s center.

In an instant, dark clouds blotted out the sun, shredded grass swirled in the air, and midday became as dark as night. The yin energy was so immense that countless evil spirits emerged in broad daylight.

…And thus, the “E” of Weishan descended upon the world.

Very soon, the villagers discovered something was wrong with the crops in their fields and the water they drank.

Day by day, the strange smell intensified, making everything inedible. Even food brought from outside quickly took on a foul reek.

Strangely enough, the offerings at the Weishan Shrine remained perfectly fine.

The older folks looked at one another. “It must be the God of Weishan causing mischief”. This phrase hovered on everyone’s lips, yet no one said it out loud. In the end, they sighed and gave in. In under half a month, all the villagers had moved away.

Sun Ruyi was no exception.

On the day she left, she lingered for a long time in front of the God of Weishan’s grave.

“You silly child. Why are you so stubborn?” Her eyes were red. “I’ll come back each year for the temple fair to bring you something to eat.”

“…And wherever you are, make sure you still eat well.”

From the next day onward, Weishan Village lay officially deserted.

Until this very day, ten years later.

……

Gulp.

Fang Xiu swallowed the fragments of candy, and countless threads of karma fell silent.

Amid the howling yin wind, a paper figure from the Underworld drifted down like a savior descending from the sky.

Only then did Fang Xiu notice that he, Cheng Songyun, and Shan Hunzi were all cloaked in a faint layer of golden light. Cheng Songyun stood as if in a daze, seemingly not comprehending what had happened. Shan Hunzi glared openly, making no attempt to hide his displeasure.

The surrounding evil spirits continued to encircle them but didn’t charge closer; they seemed quite wary the paper figure form the Underworld.

Ignoring the host of evil spirits around them, the paper figure turned to Fang Xiu with a broad grin.

“Dispersing calamity, dispelling the E—protection from all evil. The ritual is complete. I shall now escort you all back to the Tower—”

“Give it back! Give it back!”

Old Man Fu roared at the paper figure. Unlike the other evil spirits, he charged straight at the group.

“Ten years of cultivation brought me this far! Another ten and I’d become an immortal ghost! How dare the Underworld—ugh!”

The paper figure, Shan Hunzi, Cheng Songyun: “……”

Bai Shuangying: “?”

Fang Xiu, in one swift motion, rush forward and slam his shoulder into the lanky Old Man Fu, pressing his knee against him. With the Underworld’s protection behind him, Fang Xiu swung his right arm, pummeling Old Man Fu’s face with heavy blows.

Though Fang Xiu wasn’t especially brawny, his punches were ruthless. Each fist landed squarely on Old Man Fu’s distorted face. Its gaping mouth-like cavity clamped shut and turned into a narrow slit; that stark-white face was already becoming misshapen.

Old Man Fu’s real form was thin and frail. He wasn’t an evil spirit suited for close combat, and now that with his evil magic nullified, he was reduced to a literal punching bag.

The surrounding evil spirits that had been poised to attack all froze in place, terrified into silence.

For a moment, the graveyard grew deathly still, broken only by the thud of fist meeting flesh.

The paper figure: “…”

Unable to hold back, it asked, “What are you doing?”

“Testing the performance of your ‘protection from all evil’.”

Without lifting his head, Fang Xiu replied, “After all, force is mutual. He’s smashing my hand with his face.”

The paper figure was at a loss for words.

“Protection from all evil” was meant to shield the ritual participants so they wouldn’t be attacked by vengeful spirits after destroying the E. In all the time it had served, the paper figure had never seen anyone use the protection this way.

And yet, it couldn’t exactly scold Fang Xiu to “show some mercy.”

The ritual was clearly over, and yet Fang Xiu was engaging in this “hurt the enemy by a thousand, hurt yourself by a thousand” brawl. Just what was Fang Xiu… Wait… Perhaps there was a point.

No way. The paper figure slowly turned its head.

Sure enough, its bad feeling proved correct. When Fang Xiu finally tired of beating his Old Man Fu, he hefted the barely recognizable Old Man Fu in one hand, panting as he called out to Bai Shuangying.

“How’s this? Can you eat it?”

Bai Shuangying strolled over, the corners of his mouth lifting high. “Yes.”

As he approached, Fang Xiu grabbed Bai Shuangying’s sleeve to help himself stand. Once he was finally upright, he leaned weakly against his ghost.

“Was the temple fair fun?” Fang Xiu asked in a low voice.

Bai Shuangying pondered a moment. “The food was good. The ending felt… a bit underwhelming.”

Not that he was surprised. After all, from Fang Xiu’s perspective, destroying the E as soon as possible was clearly the best choice.

Hearing this, Fang Xiu muffled a laugh against Bai Shuangying’s shoulder. Bai Shuangying could feel the vibration of his chest and the racing of his heart.

“Who says the temple fair is over?” Fang Xiu covered his mouth as he whispered, “I have something better to show you.”

Bai Shuangying tilted his head, idly toying with the paper flower he wore. Finally, he seemed to have thought of something.

“All right. If your performance is interesting enough, I’ll give you something in return. Among friends, there should be give and take.”

Watching this pair—one in red, one in white—so blatantly whispering to each other, the paper figure’s mouth twitched.

It couldn’t stand it any longer. Clearly, someone here was bewitched by a seductive ghost!

Remaining strictly businesslike, the paper figure repeated, “The ritual is complete. I shall now escort you to the Tower…”

“May I leave a bit later? Just give me one more hour. I still have something to settle.” Fang Xiu wipe sweat from his forehead as he finally released his “Bai Shuangying crutch”.

Knowing Fang Xiu was a key figure in destroying the E, the paper figure remained patient.

“Ah, by all means, take your time. This ‘protection from all evil’ will last for another hour.”

Luckily for the paper figure, nobody else had so many requests.

After all that trouble, Cheng Songyun was exhausted both physically and mentally. Confirming that the unconscious companions had been teleported back to the Tower, she immediately asked to return herself. With a wave of its hand, the paper figure transformed Cheng Songyun’s body into golden light, and she vanished on the spot.

Shan Hunzi rolled his eyes. Now that it was clear there would be no reward for destroying the E, he couldn’t be bothered to argue any further.

…He was just about to request to return to the Tower when Fang Xiu blocked his path.

“There’s something you still haven’t asked me.”

Fang Xiu picked up the Luoyang shovel from the ground and leaned on it like a cane. He looked exhausted, his lips nearly bloodless.

It took Shan Hunzi a moment to realize what Fang Xiu meant: back when Fang Xiu had revealed that Shan Hunzi was only pretending to be mad, Fang Xiu had mentioned he knew exactly how he had been exposed, and that the answer would require payment.

“Stay with me for an hour, and I’ll tell you. That hour will be your fee.”

Fang Xiu winked. “An hour in exchange for learning how you slipped up. Quite the deal, no?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a rare opportunity, and I have questions for you as well. Besides, who knows, we might run into each other again someday. I don’t want us at each other’s throats.”

Shan Hunzi hesitated for two seconds. “All right.”

It was hard to refuse an offer like that. He would still need to keep faking madness in the future, and if someone else noticed, it would be a problem.

Seeing that the two had come to an agreement, the paper figure forced a smile. “Then I’ll return in about the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn.”

With that, its form flickered and dissolved into a wisp of green smoke.

Freed from the E, the surrounding spirits began to disperse. Bai Shuangying took a seat in a leisurely manner on top of Old Man Fu, casually ripping off an arm to eat.

With Bai Shuangying no longer concealing himself, Shan Hunzi could see the seductive ghost sitting there and looked even more disdainful.

Fang Xiu was still trembling on his feet, as if his strength were spent to the very limit and he was about to collapse.

Yet, to be safe, Shan Hunzi kept a magic weapon clutched in his hand.

“Speak,” he said, clearing his throat and looking at Fang Xiu. “How exactly did you—”

Splurt.

Before Shan Hunzi could finish, hot blood spattered across his face.

A sharp Luoyang shovel had pierced straight into his chest.

---

The author has something to say:

The truth behind the God of Weishan is revealed! Xiao Fang’s mask has fallen off… halfway. (…In the next chapter, the other half will fall off, then Xiao Bai’s will too, and that’ll just about wrap up this volume—

As for the real story, Fang Xiu only guessed the main idea—no way he could’ve guessed all these specifics, lol. I’ll explain the rest in upcoming chapters!)

“Should someone appear on the mountainside,
Clad in creeping vines and girded with trailing ivy.”
—Quoted from Qu Yuan’s “Nine Songs: The Mountain Spirit.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>