Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 135: A New Script

Before Fang Xiu could even call out a second time, A’Shou appeared on the spot, faster than a voice-activated light switch.

In the quiet, stifling night of the village, a ghost immortal in red wedding robes nearly two meters tall suddenly flashing into view was quite the visual shock. Fang Xiu instinctively stepped back, bumping into Bai Shuangying’s chest.

Bai Shuangying reflexively withdrew his arms, then wrapped his sleeves around Fang Xiu, leaving only his shoulders and head exposed. Unlike before, he revealed himself openly and calmly looked at A’Shou.

Knowing how many tricks Fang Xiu had up his sleeve, A’Shou wasn’t particularly surprised.

She was aware that Dian’er must have repeatedly stressed the uniqueness of the Immortal Encounter E. Considering the situation with the Grave Sealing E, there was a good chance she’d return to observe.

She also knew that once Fang Xiu detected something abnormal about the Immortal Encounter E, he’d guess that she would want to cooperate with them…

“According to Underworld rules, I can’t directly assist you,” A’Shou emphasized.

“Rules and the Underworld are dead things. But I’m alive, aren’t I?”

Fang Xiu put on his signature bashful smile. “I won’t ask you to help me against other sacrifices, and I’ll offer you important information. That’s a fair deal, right?”

What twisted logic. A’Shou looked like she wanted to respond but held her tongue, ultimately deciding to be practical. “What kind of important information?”

Fang Xiu: “I can’t say yet, but I guarantee it’ll be worth it.”

The moment he mentioned valuable information, Bai Shuangying, still holding Fang Xiu, lowered his head warily but said nothing.

Fang Xiu glanced meaningfully at Bai Shuangying and continued confidently, “I won’t force your help. But with your presence, things will go more smoothly.”

Having spent enough time around him, A’Shou really wanted to embroider “No Credit Given” across her veil. Unfortunately, the fact that she’d shown up at all already said something. The situation with the Immortal Encounter E wasn’t something she could handle alone.

Oh well. With so many lice, what’s one more itch? It was Fangs Xiu after all, so what’s one more headache?

“You have a plan?” A’Shou gave a small nod, taking it as implied consent.

Fang Xiu looked up at the sky, which didn’t match the current season at all. “More or less. I only need one thing from you.”

“As an Underworld envoy, I ask that you remove the ‘sacrificial site restriction’ from this area.”

That was it? Such an odd request. A’Shou frowned beneath her veil.

If removing the boundary meant escape, the previous envoys would never have died in the Immortal Remains ritual.

As if guessing her thoughts, Fang Xiu smiled. “From what I’ve seen, this sacrifice is repeating the Weishan ritual.”

“But it’s not occurring exactly on the same timeline as last time. The major events are roughly similar, but not identical. So this kind of reoccurrence doesn’t demand 100% reenactment. It just needs to follow causal logic.”

A’Shou frowned. She did sense something similar.

The Weishan Village ritual had been reproduced, but not exactly. The actions and deaths of the sacrifices had subtle differences. It reminded her of the adapted storybooks she heard as a child.

“The death by ‘trying to escape the boundary’ has already been fulfilled. Whether or not you open it now won’t affect the ‘main storyline’… But if you do open it, it adds a layer of plausibility to this story.”

Fang Xiu looked toward the distant Xushan.

During the Weishan ritual, they’d been confined to the village and couldn’t travel far.

But as a ghost immortal overseeing the Disaster Relief Tower, A’Shou had authority to “intervene in ritual”. As long as he gave her a plausible reason, everything could be justified within the story.

Next, he only had to do one more thing here.

……

“Huh?”

Guan He let out a confused sound.

Just a few minutes ago, the little black dog had quietly slipped into the ancestral hall and tugged on his pant leg. Understanding the signal, Guan He circled behind the statue and pulled out the slightly damp message from the dog’s mouth.

The letter was written on yellow talisman paper, densely packed with tiny script.

[Xiao Guan, this ritual is following the first one.]

[As long as you stay in the village, just follow the original three taboos. Cheng Jie saw things through to the end last time, so she knows the general direction. Next, three more people will die due to “hanging themselves”, “violating the death taboo”, and “being murdered by someone else.”]

[Don’t be confused. This isn’t a real ritual. Remember to create situations for the four on the other side that match their death types and try to delay time. Dou Dou and Grandpa Dao are not simple. Make sure to sow discord between them. Don’t let them unite too smoothly.]

[The two believers who went out with me have been handled. Now it’s your stage.]

[From now on, use your own judgment and take the lead. We’ve been through six rituals together. You two can handle this.]

[I’m off to deal with the Immortal Encounter E. See you at the end.]

The message was signed by Fang Xiu.

Even though he knew Fang Xiu was unlikely to run into real trouble, Guan He still let out a huge sigh of relief. He patted the little dog’s head and reread the message that was covered in dog slobber.

Use our perspective and take the lead?

What a strange way to put it.

Guan He crouched, thinking. The little black dog snorted and chomped down on the fragile yellow talisman paper, swallowing it in two bites. Afterward, it licked Guan He’s hand affectionately, then vanished into the air.

The next moment, Dou Dou seemed to sense something and leaned in curiously, bending over. “Hey little brother, what are you doing behind the statue?”

The candlelight behind her flickered. Backlit like that, Guan He couldn’t make out her expression. Although Dou Dou looked harmless and cute, the hairs on Guan He’s arms stood on end.

He swallowed. “Nothing. Just wanted some peace and quiet.”

Dou Dou tilted her head. “Hmm… They’ve been gone a while. I think I heard someone calling earlier. Should we go out and take a look?”

Guan He shook his head immediately.

Dou Dou straightened up. “Right, true. The situation’s still unclear. Our brothers are professionals. We might as well wait a bit longer.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, soothing to the ears. The kind of sweet voice that would normally be very popular with young men… Too bad Guan He’s head was full of something else…

Next, the four Disaster Resolvers from the Guishan Sect had to be dealt with by him and Auntie Cheng, two ordinary people. They had always relied on Fang Xiu as their backbone. Was this really going to work?

No. No point in losing hope. Guan He slapped his face and took a few deep breaths.

They had the Weishan script in hand. It basically meant they were “rebirth”. If they couldn’t even beat a few cultists with that advantage, they might as well die right now.

From here on, it was their turn to execute their own plan.

From my perspective, this was actually cheating.

This team was supposed to be the story’s protagonists, but they deliberately split up. If the light-hearted sacrifice was to be told properly, the protagonist had to continue adventuring in the village.

Why wouldn’t they just follow the sequence? How was the other, unstable story supposed to proceed?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t change the story.

After all, it was that person’s wish.

……

Elsewhere.

The sky grew darker.

At some point the rain had stopped. The scent of burning in the air faded, replaced by the earthy smell of wet soil and the thick scent of plants.

Fang Xiu snapped a branch for use as a walking stick. With his back to the brightly lit village, he headed toward the nearby mountains.

There was no path in the area, and the rain had made the dirt slippery. Bai Shuangying watched his human totter forward and moved up beside Fang Xiu and held on tightly, preventing him from face-planting into the mud.

A’Shou rolled her eyes discreetly and led the way. Two ghost flames floated beside her, barely illuminating the rugged terrain.

“Did you see that guy in black?”

Seeing the two behind almost stuck together, A’Shou broke the silence first.

She cleared her throat and spoke in a firm, commanding tone.

“That man in black doesn’t count as an evil spirit. The Underworld has no records of anything like him. He must be the product of human interference.”

“Yeah, I thought so too,” Fang Xiu said, still enjoying the free ride from his ghost companion and showing no interest in extending the conversation.

A’Shou: “…” So guarded.

She was dying of curiosity to know what vital intel Fang Xiu had.

A’Shou tried switching topics, only to find in frustration that Fang Xiu was utterly airtight.

Xushan was indeed remote, but Fang Xiu had plenty of food and fire, and a beautiful ghost clinging to him for warmth. He was more than well-equipped. Even without her, he probably would’ve been fine.

All A’Shou could do was sullenly turn around and continue deeper into the mountains.

As they walked, the environment subtly changed. The moist summer earth dried, snow-speckled hard soil appeared, green grass turned yellow, and the night wind turned cold and sharp.

It felt like a real-world climate shift.

Fang Xiu rubbed his arms and exhaled a white breath. He didn’t slow down, walking confidently into the mountains as if he knew exactly where to go.

A’Shou grew uneasy. The Xushan range was as vast as a province. Fang Xiu going in on foot? Who knew when he’d come back out.

“You—”

She hadn’t even finished the sentence before the surroundings changed again.

Night remained, but the wind became mild. Snow and rain vanished. Dense mountain fog surrounded them. Looking back, the brightly lit Weishan Village was completely gone. Whether it was hidden or truly vanished, she couldn’t say.

There had been no sign of spellcasting. In just a blink, the world shifted silently and madly.

Fang Xiu finally stopped. “It really is a script. We did it.”

“…What?”

“We’ve exited the Weishan ritual’s script range.”

Fang Xiu reached out and brushed the dense fog. “The Immortal Encounter E has no mind. It can’t create its own stories. It needs a template.”

“Since the ritual site is next to Xushan, it copied a village ritual story that once took place at the foot of the mountains. So I figured, if we walked into the mountains, it would copy some story that occurred inside.”

Fang Xiu dropped his walking stick and smiled at the mist.

“Templates don’t come from nowhere. If this story is recreated inside Xushan, it’s bound to be connected to the Great God of Calamity.”

“From here on out, we get to play a new script.”

A’Shou had been about to question him but suddenly realized the logic.

Even if the Immortal Encounter E could alter reality via cause and effect, its style was “go with the flow”. It didn’t seem capable of fabricating things from nothing.

Not to mention that Xushan held the God of Calamity’s seal. This wasn’t a place for just any stray ghost. Few dared enter. If it needed a convincing script, it would almost certainly be related to the God of Calamity.

Earlier she’d been distracted by the figure in black, focusing on how to follow the Weishan script, and never connected the dots.

…She had to admit, teaming up with Fang Xiu was annoying, but this human was formidable.

A’Shou narrowed her eyes and focused her power into her vision. The swirling fog was filled with tiny annotations of [Swirling Fog], which quickly vanished when her focus drifted.

After just a few steps, a glow emerged ahead in the mist. Faint voices followed, mixed into the fog. The accents were strange but real; clearly living people.

A’Shou froze. A gust of cold wind swept her. Her wedding robe vanished, replaced by a neat green robe, her long hair tied in a high ponytail.

Her face was finally revealed—dark brows with sharp peaks, phoenix eyes deep and black. There was a certain androgynous boldness to her features at first glance, but she was clearly a woman.

Only her lips were pale, and she lacked vitality, making her oddly match the eerie night fog.

Fang Xiu was still observing when he suddenly felt a chill. His red T-shirt had turned into a dark red robe, and all three of them were now dressed in Kui Dynasty garb.

He also now had a lock of long hair tied lazily behind his head. Though tall, beside the other two he seemed oddly youthful.

A’Shou raised an eyebrow at Bai Shuangying. “Not a bad spell.”

Bai Shuangying was still sizing up Fang Xiu, nodding in satisfaction.

That accent they’d just heard was unmistakably from the Kui Dynasty. His human looked far better than anyone from that era.

Wait a minute…

Kui accent?

Humans entering the mountain?

Bai Shuangying stiffened like someone had grabbed his throat. He turned his head slowly and spotted a swaying flag through the fog, the flag of the Kui Dynasty military.

This setting, this time period… Could it be…?

“Who goes there!”

Two soldiers burst from the fog at the sound of footsteps, their spears blocking the group. “This is a restricted seal site. Outsiders may not enter!”

Realizing what script they’d entered, Bai Shuangying choked up.

Before he could say a word, his human dashed forward. Fang Xiu lifted his chin and straightened his back, adopting a mystifying air. “Outsiders? We’re Taoists helping you seal the evil. Is this how you treat guests?”

Fang Xiu’s tone carried a strange accent, vaguely Kui-style. The two soldiers exchanged a glance. One narrowed his eyes. “There was no notice from Master Zhuang. No guests expected today.”

Even so, there was hesitation in his voice.

Fang Xiu sneered, playing with a ghost flame on his fingertip. “No guests? Then we’ll leave. It’s your disgrace, not mine. Only Zhuang Guiqu will be humiliated.”

He turned on his heel. Hearing him name Zhuang Guiqu so casually, then walk off without hesitation, the soldier broke into a sweat. Before Fang Xiu had taken two steps, the soldier jogged after him, bowing repeatedly.

“Master, please wait! I’ll confirm this with someone… Do you have a message for Master Zhuang?”

“No. He’ll know when he sees me,” Fang Xiu said coldly.

“Seal site” and “Master Zhuang”, clearly this was the story of Zhuang Guiqu sealing the Great God of Calamity, the most dangerous Xushan “tale”.

At this time, the Guishan Sect wasn’t the full-blown organization it would later become; just Zhuang Guiqu and a few disciples. But records left by the sect gave a decent picture of Zhuang Guiqu’s temperament.

According to historical documents, Zhuang Guiqu did have some real ability. With a genuine ghost immortal and a powerful, mysterious evil spirit beside him, if Zhuang Guiqu couldn’t sense anything wrong, then there really was no point in meeting.

While the soldier ran off to report, Fang Xiu looked smugly at Bai Shuangying, eyes gleaming with mischief.

Bai Shuangying stood there silently.

Fang Xiu patted his ghost’s sleeve. “Don’t worry. No matter how real this seems, it’s all in the past.”

Bai Shuangying gave Fang Xiu a complicated look, then quickly looked away.

Indeed, this was all history, and the outcome was already set. Soon, his past self would embarrass himself in front of Fang Xiu, thoroughly exposing his identity to A’Shou.

In hindsight, that figure in black had been a manifestation of his powers, mindless and stupid. If it had even a shred of intelligence, it wouldn’t have chosen to recreate this part of history!

For the first time in his life, Bai Shuangying looked helplessly at A’Shou, hoping she might offer a different perspective.

But A’Shou just rubbed her temples and accepted it all without question. Back when the Great God of Calamity was sealed, she hadn’t yet become a ghost immortal, so she wasn’t familiar with the details.

Jumping from one script to another, with no progress on deciphering the Immortal Encounter E’s taboos, yet Fang Xiu looked so confident, it was enough to infuriate any ghost. To monitor everything closely, she had no choice but to stay glued to him.

Things proceeded just as Fang Xiu had predicted. Zhuang Guiqu courteously sent a disciple to escort them into the “sealed site”.

More accurately, it was a full military camp. Thousands of soldiers were encamped, their armor pristine and shining.

But oddly, the armor was too clean as there were no scratches. The soldiers were lazy, their skin fair and their spirits low.

Beside Fang Xiu, A’Shou clicked her tongue in contempt and muttered a curse in an ancient dialect.

Zhuang Guiqu’s tent sat in the camp center, grand and ornate.

Its fabric was embroidered with divine beasts, and the air smelled of spices and sweet fruits. The tent’s edges were lined with bells made of pure gold, each engraved with intricate patterns.

“I am Zhuang Feng. Thank you all for honoring us with your presence to help seal the Calamity. Your efforts will be remembered through the ages.”

The disciple who greeted them spoke sincerely. He had a handsome appearance and was clear-eyed.

“However, with the critical moment approaching, my master must remain in seclusion to stabilize his spirit and cannot receive guests today. After tomorrow’s blessings, he will host a fine banquet in your honor.”

Fang Xiu made a show of reluctant approval and nodded stiffly.

They clearly didn’t know the visitors’ intentions and were keeping them nearby for observation. Perfect—Fang Xiu wanted to observe too, especially where the God of Calamity was actually sealed.

Even within Guishan Sect records, the sealing process was glossed over. Now, the Immortal Encounter E was offering a guided tour, which was exactly what he wanted.

Fang Xiu glanced casually at the packed camp. “If we’re sealing a Calamity, why bring these mortals?”

Zhuang Feng’s expression turned solemn. “This will be a moment passed down for millennia. Naturally, it must carry the emperor’s authority.”

Fang Xiu understood now: it was aristocrats under the emperor’s banner tagging along for prestige. These soldiers probably thought they were just catching a minor demon, completely unaware of what “lasting legacy” meant.

A’Shou also gave a few grunts, like stifling a laugh.

Bai Shuangying turned…

Look at me.

Too close. I dislike his presence. I must move further away.

But he definitely remembers what happened here. They should leave, return to Weishan Village, and let the story proceed normally.

If they linger here, everyone will die.

That person’s wish will never be fulfilled.

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