The bone ruler’s ability as a magical artifact was related to space. It not only created a thirty-year-long dream for Wu Renmei, but when she had a story but didn’t know where to begin, it conveyed her emotions and recreated her memories to everyone.
This young girl had only lived for twelve short years. Her story wasn’t very long, but it carried a weight none of them had imagined.
“What do you want?”
When the story ended and everyone fell into silence, Fu Sang was the first to ask.
“I, I saw him come back…”
Wu Renmei held the bone ruler tightly, her head lowered. Perhaps because she had recalled too many painful and sorrowful memories, her voice was a little choked.
Although she didn’t name anyone, everyone in the room knew who this “him” she spoke of was.
Huo Wei exchanged a glance with the two brothers of the Zhuge family, each seeing the complexity in the other’s eyes.
They had previously discussed the suspicious points about Chen Binglong, but at the time, they were only arguing over whether he was a fraud and how much of what he said could be believed. As it turned out, the man was indeed a professional con artist, but what he told them couldn’t be considered entirely false.
Because he had concealed a lot of information on top of the truth. No one had expected that once the parts he hid were dug out and pieced together, the complete picture would reveal such an ugly and unbearable truth.
Thirty years ago, in a remote mountain village thirty years ago, relying on information asymmetry, he exploited the villagers’ belief in the mountain god to cheat and extort money, and even took lives.
That fire wouldn’t have started out of nowhere from the Wu family’s house. Things had already reached this point, so they naturally didn’t mind using the worst malice to speculate about the murderer.
And what was more arrogant than all of the above was that after killing and setting the fire, he had dared to revisit the same place thirty years later.
This swindler probably didn’t expect that back then, when he impersonated a god and committed atrocities, the god didn’t punish him, but years later, a ghost would come to collect from him.
Although Huo Wei didn’t really support breaking the law to seek revenge, since they had suffered so terribly, she wouldn’t find any request they made strange.
Perhaps it should be considered lucky that the person listening to Wu Renmei’s wish was Fu Sang. This person’s moral sense was appallingly low, a complete outlaw, an extremely self centered person. As long as he could achieve his own goals, he wouldn’t hesitate to make everyone else pay any price. This meant that no matter how outrageous Wu Renmei’s next request might be, in order to resolve the karma, Fu Sang could help her fulfill it.
Whether it was tearing out tendons and bones or subjecting him to a thousand cuts.
The thin and frail young girl knelt there, sobbing softly. After a long while, she finally choked out her words under everyone’s gaze:
“I want… I want him to…”
Uncharacteristically patient, Fu Sang waited for her answer.
‘Make him pay? Die a miserable death? Grind his bones to dust?:
‘None of those would be difficult.:
“Make him…” Wu Renmei seemed to have struggled internally for a long time, before softly uttering one word:
“…Apologize.”
“?”
This question mark probably wasn’t just Fu Sang’s.
He was putting it on behalf of everyone present.
“Did I do something wrong… Why did he have to deceive us like this? Why did he hurt my younger brother? …But I’ve reflected on it countless times, and I’m sure I didn’t do anything wrong. So, he has to apologize to me.”
Wu Renmei gritted her teeth, her fingers clenched tightly, repeating over and over:
“He has to apologize to me… to us.”
“Got it.”
Probably not wanting to listen any further, Fu Sang interrupted her.
He reached his hand out to her:
“Give me the thing. I will help you accomplish what you want to do.”
“…” Hearing this, Wu Renmei looked up at him:
“…Really?”
Fu Sang raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone casual, impossible to tell if he was joking or serious:
“Fake. I’m lying to you. Should I apologize to you too?”
Huo Wei couldn’t help herself and punched him in the back of the shoulder.
Fu Sang ignored her and only gestured again for Wu Renmei to hurry up.
Wu Renmei pursed her lips and used both hands to hand the bone ruler toward him.
Fu Sang took the bone ruler and looked down, carefully examining the bloodstains, dust, and scratches on its surface.
Then he raised his hand to form a seal. The ghost blood whip clinked softly with his movements. After placing several seals on the ruler, he held it in his hand and twirled it. In that instant, Wu Renmei and Wu Renshuai beside her had already turned into smoke and condensed into the white ruler.
“Why did you put them away? Chen Binglong hasn’t apologized to the girl yet.” Huo Wei couldn’t help asking when she saw this.
“It’s none of your business.” Fu Sang replied coldly, glancing at Shou Mo who was crouching nearby:
“Dispel the domain.”
He then instructed Zhuge Buhuo and Zhuge Buyi:
“Go find Chen Binglong and bring him here. Don’t say much to him.”
Zhuge Buhuo put his hands on his hips: “Hey… you’re ordering us around now?”
Fu Sang raised an eyebrow and held out the bone ruler, with the two ghosts inside, toward him:
“Not happy? Then you do it.”
Zhuge Buhuo was, in fact, somewhat convinced. He admitted that Fu Sang did have a bit more courage and skill than him, barely qualified to give him orders, so he still went up the mountain cursing under his breath.
Receiving the same orders, Shou Mo didn’t say much. He silently got up and paced around inside the cave, perhaps looking for a suitable spot to perform the spell.
Those who should be put away were put away, those who should leave had left. The cave, which had been a bit crowded just moments ago, suddenly became empty and quiet.
Huo Wei, who hadn’t been assigned a task, stood quietly in place, a rare occurrence.
She looked at her toes, then at Fu Sang. She appeared very quiet on the surface, but inside she was bursting with things she wanted to say but didn’t know how.
Just as she was feeling anxious inside, Fu Sang seemed to read her thoughts and said abruptly:
“Say what you want to say.”
“Ahem… Actually, it’s nothing, I just think…” Encouraged, Huo Wei coughed lightly, feeling a little guilty, and finally spoke:
“Don’t you think that Su Li that Wu Renmei met… gives off a particularly familiar feeling?”
“?” Fu Sang and Huo Wei had known each other for too many years. They understood each other so well that a single look was enough to know what nonsense the other was about to spew.
What did she mean by that? She was clearly implying that Su Li looked like him.
“Get your eyes checked if they’re bad.”
“Hey, I’m not exaggerating, he really does look like you!!”
Did that even need to be seen with eyes?
That cold, aloof, sharp-tongued attitude…it was practically carved from the same mold as Fu Sang! If it weren’t for the fact that Fu Sang was probably nowhere to be found thirty years ago, Huo Wei would really think he had dressed up in ancient costume and gone to cosplay.
Speaking of which, Fu Sang had no parents. Could that Su Li be his father or something? If he were a son taking after his father, that would be reasonable.
Looking at that person’s ornaments and mysterious demeanor, he was probably in the same line of work as them. The family background seemed to matched, and the age was about right too. The possibility of him being the father was extremely high. But the biggest problem now was that Wu Renmei died thirty years ago, not three hundred or three thousand years ago. People in the eighties and nineties didn’t wear ancient-style clothes either! This isn’t how you do retro!
Although all the current guesses had unreasonable aspects, Huo Wei didn’t think her idea was wrong.
Because the sense of familiarity and impact just now was too strong. She would recognize Fu Sang even if he turned to ashes. Ignoring the outfit, that silhouette was exactly the same as Zhuge Fusang when he was seventeen or eighteen!
If you had to pinpoint any difference aside from the outfit… it would be the personality. It felt like Su Li spoke a little more gently than Fu Sang, just an imperceptible little bit. Actually, there probably wasn’t much difference, but because Fu Sang was so difficult and hateful, even that tiny bit of gentleness seemed incredibly conspicuous on him.
Huo Wei was eager for confirmation, so she looked at Qi Changying beside her:
“Young General, you be the judge. Do you think they look alike or not?”
Fu Sang didn’t intend to join the conversation anymore, only listening absentmindedly, but after a long while, he still didn’t hear Qi Changying’s response.
Until Huo Wei couldn’t help calling out again:
“Young General?”
“…Huh?”
Qi Changying seemed to have just come back to his senses.
“Were you daydreaming?” Huo Wei smiled.
“Ah, yes… What was Miss Huo asking?”
“Oh, I was just asking you, do you think that Su Li from just now looks like San You or not.”
“…”
Qi Changying fell silent again.
Fu Sang finally couldn’t help but turn around and glance at him. He saw that this ghost had rarely furrowed brows, his eyes downcast as if pondering something, not seeming to intend to deny it.
A subtle feeling of displeasure spread in his heart.
Fu Sang withdrew his gaze and walked toward the cave entrance.
Shou Mo seemed to have already lifted the domain, because Fu Sang noticed a subtle change in the light outside the cave.
He stepped out.
Indeed, the atmosphere outside was much more comfortable than before. The initial dark, fierce, oppressive, and unpleasant aura was completely gone. All Fu Sang could smell was the fresh, damp morning mist and the scent of grass and trees.
After standing outside for a while, he heard a footstep so light it was almost negligible.
It was Shou Mo, who had jumped down next to his feet.
Fu Sang caught a glimpse of his small dark shadow from the corner of his eye but paid it no attention, only gazing at the newborn sunlight in the east.
“Fu Sang.” In the end, it was Shou Mo who spoke first, calling his name.
“Say what you want to say.”
“How will you handle those two little ghosts?”
“Do I need you to worry about that?”
“…” Shou Mo was silent for a brief moment, then couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh:
“Is that how you always talk? Will you ever change?”
“None of your business?” Fu Sang felt that Shou Mo’s words seemed to carry a subtle deeper meaning, but he had no evidence and couldn’t be bothered to argue with the cat.
“Now that the bone ruler and the little ghosts are in your hands, I have no reason to stay any longer. I should return to where I belong. I think I should say goodbye to you properly. So, farewell, and may we meet again if fate allows. It was nice to see you here… Fu Sang.”
Shou Mo didn’t mind Fu Sang’s thorny words and followed his own plan, earnestly bidding farewell to Fu Sang.
Fu Sang raised an eyebrow slightly, as if a little surprised, and finally gave him a bit of attention.
Looking down, he saw Shou Mo crouching at his feet, always looking up, gazing at him intently, reflecting his shadow in those bright yellow eyes.
“I know you’ll handle the two of them properly. So we’ll part here.”
With that, Shou Mo stood up.
The unusually slender black cat raised his front paws and used his claws to tear open a crack in the grass. He turned his head to glance at Fu Sang one last time, then leaped into that fissure, disappearing entirely.
Fu Sang stared at the patch of ground that had been clawed open and then healed itself, lost in thought for a moment.
Until he heard someone calling him from a distance:
“Hey, you, the one surnamed Fu!”
He looked over and saw the Zhuge brothers leading Chen Binglong down the mountainside.
Fu Sang had instructed them earlier not to say much. Although he didn’t trust Zhuge Buhuo, his younger brother Zhuge Buyi was a bit smarter and could understand human speech, so they should have followed his orders. Fu Sang saw that Chen Binglong was still following the two brothers with a carefree smile, not a trace of guilt on his face. Clearly, he didn’t know what had happened or what they had learned.
Zhuge Buhuo, however, had a sour expression. He strode over briskly and patted Fu Sang on the shoulder:
“The beast is yours to deal with. Handle it yourself. I don’t want to get tangled up in that karma.”
Fu Sang glanced at him and deliberately dodged his hand:
“I didn’t need you anyway, so don’t overestimate yourself.”
“?” Zhuge Buhuo glared at him in anger.
But Fu Sang completely ignored his gaze. He walked past him toward Chen Binglong.
“???” Zhuge Buhuo wished he could burn a hole through Fu Sang’s back with his burning glare.
“Hehe… Daoist master, have you already taken care of everything? That was fast!”
As soon as Chen Binglong saw Fu Sang, he rubbed his hands together and scurried over in small steps.
Although the one with the different-colored eyes was fiercer, spoke harshly, and wasn’t easy to approach, Chen Binglong had been in the game for many years and had some skill in reading people. He could pick out the one in charge from a crowd at a glance.
So he quickly came over to thank him and curry favor.
Fu Sang lowered his eyes and looked Chen Binglong up and down, letting out a noncommittal “hm.”
He still held the ruler in his hand. He held it by the tail like a sword and twirled it lazily. As he finished the motion, he lightly tapped Chen Binglong on the back with it.
Chen Binglong was a bit confused by the tap: “Ah? What, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Fu Sang gestured down the mountain with his eyes:
“You’re free. Go on down.”
Having lived in fear for half a month, Chen Binglong seemed a little incredulous at being suddenly pardoned:
“Ah, I, I can go? I can go anywhere? No more ghosts coming after me?”
Fu Sang nodded.
But Chen Binglong was still a little uneasy: “At least you saved my life… Should I give you something?”
Fu Sang was very generous: “No need. I’m kind-hearted. Saving you was incidental. No money needed.”
“Oh my, I’ve really met a living Buddha… Well then, I’ll be going.”
“You’re welcome to stay longer if you don’t want to leave.”
“Hehe, look at you, saying things like that…”
Chen Binglong wasn’t blind. As he walked, he could see that the world he was in was subtly different from before. A long-lost sense of security returned to his heart, and he completely relaxed.
He naturally didn’t want to stay in this unlucky place any longer. So after saying goodbye to Fu Sang and the others, he walked along another path, looking back every few steps.
He avoided the direction of Mitou Village.
A very deliberate action.
Fu Sang stared at his back for a moment before looking away.
“You, you just let him go like that?” Zhuge Buhuo had watched the whole thing and couldn’t help asking.
He had originally wanted to see the show, to watch how Zhuge Fusang would reveal his evil nature and interrogate the old con man until he was crying and admitting his mistakes. Who knew the guy would just let him go so easily.
Without even taking any money???
“Mm-hmm.”
“Then what about what you promised Wu Renmei? That fat guy is still feeling all smug. Aren’t you going to make him apologize?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“?”
The karma on Chen Binglong’s back was heavy, and no one wanted to get involved.
Besides, this whole matter had been handled by Fu Sang from start to finish, and he was the one who promised Wu Renmei he would get an apology from Chen Binglong for her. Now, seeing Fu Sang so nonchalant, although they were full of questions, no one dared to say anything or interfere. After all, this was someone else’s karma, and interfering would easily cause changes.
So, let him handle it. If there was a result, they’d enjoy hearing it. If not, they’d light a stick of incense for Zhuge Fusang.
The sun slowly peeked out from the east.
With his hands in his pockets, Fu Sang chose the other path that Chen Binglong had abandoned, heading toward Mitou Village.
While still up on the mountain, he had noticed that the village was no longer the same as what he had seen in the large and small domains before.
It was no longer wrapped in a thick miasma of death so dense it was almost impossible to see through. It was no longer a stretch of charred ruins. Nor was it the poor mountain village with winding dirt paths and broken mud walls.
The mud-walled courtyards in his memory had been replaced by two- or three-story white-walled buildings. The dirt roads had become smooth asphalt. Cars and tricycles were parked by the roadside.
Villagers, dressed fashionably, gathered at their doorsteps chatting and laughing. Seeing this group of strangers coming down from the mountain, they all cast curious glances at them.
“Wasn’t this village… burned down by a fire?” Huo Wei surveyed her surroundings as she walked beside Fu Sang, asking in a low voice.
“That was thirty years ago.” In case she had forgotten, Fu Sang reminded her.
“I know, but in Wu Renmei’s memory, that big fire should have killed many people, right? After she woke up, she clearly didn’t see a single person, so how could people later dig through the ruins and rebuild their homes?”
Fu Sang silently took a deep breath, once again astonished by Huo Wei’s concerning professional ability:
“She was already dead by then, just a wisp of lingering thought, too low in rank to be on the same plane as the living. It would be strange if she could find any living people.”
“Oh, right, there’s that aspect, I forgot.”
“?”
“Hey, handsome young men and beautiful girl, did you come down from the mountain? When did you go up? I’ve never seen you around before.”
Just as Fu Sang was contemplating having Huo Wei do something useful and try to gather some information, a curious auntie took the initiative to come over and strike up a conversation.
“Oh… we came up from the other side. We came for a hike and sightseeing! When we were coming down, we saw this village and got curious, so we came over for a look.”
Huo Wei took on the role of diplomat and began fabricating a story as soon as she opened her mouth.
“I see, my goodness, you young people… This mountain isn’t somewhere you can just climb. It’s haunted, unlucky, and unclean! It’s good that nothing happened this time, but next time, don’t you dare stay overnight on a mountain you don’t know!”
The auntie looked frightened, patting her chest as she spoke, as if she had really been scared.
“…Haunted?” Hearing this word, Huo Wei subconsciously looked at Fu Sang: “What kind of haunting?”
“Aiya, that’s a long story. You don’t know, but this village had a big fire thirty years ago. It burned down more than half the homes and killed a lot of people. Those who died in the fire were wronged, with nowhere to go and no way to find release, so they gathered on the mountain. Ever since then, the mountain hasn’t been clean. You can always hear the sound of children crying in the middle of the night, it’s really creepy!”
“…Ah, but talking about gods and ghosts is just talk. Even if there are no ghosts, you shouldn’t just climb undeveloped mountains in the wild, okay! And staying overnight, how dangerous, what if there’s a wild animal?”
“Ah? There was a big fire? But this village looks so nice and pretty, it doesn’t look like it at all.” Huo Wei pretended not to know, showing no signs of acting.
“Of course you can’t tell. We couldn’t just let it keep burning, could we? So many years have passed, we’ve definitely repaired what needed repairing and built what needed building.”
“Oh, I see. Then… I see a lot of tea gardens around the village. Does the village still grow tea?”
“Look at you, young lady, if there are tea gardens, of course we’re growing tea.” The auntie found the girl’s questions increasingly amusing and couldn’t help laughing:
“Our village has been making a living from this for generations. Our tea is excellent! …Ah, you all look so travel-worn. It just so happens that our family’s meal is almost ready. How about staying for a bite before you go? And you can try our tea while you’re at it!”
What words could be more welcoming than these?
They had just gone through a thrilling adventure in an unknown world, and they were all tired, hungry, and thirsty. Having a hot, home-cooked meal was more than they could ask for.
So, after confirming that the auntie wasn’t just being polite but was genuinely enthusiastic, they quickly squeezed into her courtyard.
The auntie was warm-hearted. Having three guests suddenly arrive, she was worried there wouldn’t be enough food, so she immediately rolled up her sleeves and went to the kitchen to add a few more dishes, setting up a big, lively table in the yard to entertain them.
They hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day in the domain. The three of them were starving, wolfing down their food as if they hadn’t eaten in eight lifetimes. Zhuge Buhuo had four whole bowls of rice. His younger brother, Zhuge Buyi, was a bit more reserved but still had two large bowls. Fu Sang never lifted his head or spoke the entire time, but his ears were perked up, listening to Huo Wei and the auntie chat.
During this long lunch, the auntie told them many stories about Mitou Village. It turns out that besides the haunting on the mountain, the village had many other mysterious occurrences.
For example, the village used to have a mountain god.
Legend had it that the mountain god was originally just an ordinary person living in these mountains. At that time, the village was isolated and poor, and people struggled just to stay alive. It was that person who stepped forward, leading the villagers to grow and harvest tea, finding them a way to survive so they could live and thrive here for generations.
Later, that person died from overwork in the tea garden. To commemorate him, people made a statue and placed it on the mountain, telling his story from generation to generation. Over time, he became the guardian deity of these mountains.
Until the big fire thirty years ago.
The fire burned for a full day and night, almost destroying the entire village. After putting out the fire, the repair and reconstruction required a tremendous amount of manpower and resources. However, at that time, the villagers had spent all their money on offerings to the mountain god, and their valuables had been consumed by the fire. They could barely scrape together any money to rebuild their homes.
Just as the villagers were in despair and planning to leave Mitou Village to settle elsewhere, the young couple from the Wu family, who had gone out to seek their fortunes in recent years, returned.
The young couple had been traveling and doing business all these years and had earned quite a bit of money. They should have come home in triumph, but they were met with this great fire. Their children and mother had all died in the fire. The mother and daughter were burned beyond recognition, and the youngest son’s fate was even worse…his body was never found.
The young couple was devastated. After burying their children and mother, they decided to do everything they could to accumulate blessings for the deceased and their hometown. So they offered to help the villagers shoulder some of the post-disaster reconstruction work.
Thus, Mitou Village, which had been devastated by the fire, quickly regained its vitality. Once that year of calamity had passed, the young couple brought new technology and machinery to the village, established a stable, long-term market for their tea, proactively took care of the elderly who had been left alone by the fire, and led everyone to a better life.
Now, the young couple’s business had grown tremendously. They had rebuilt the village roads and helped many village children leave the mountains to go to school. Their kindness was heavier than the heavens, and the villagers spontaneously built a shrine for them in their honor.
In contrast, the mountain god that Mitou Village had worshipped for generations was neglected and gradually lost its offerings.
“Aiya, what mountain god? It was just a way for the older generations to scare people! Look, our village’s prosperity didn’t rely on any god at all! Apart from the help of our benefactors, we ordinary people just have to rely on our own hands and hard work to live a good life, right? Relying on those intangible things isn’t practical; it’s just a psychological comfort. We live in a scientific society now, and we don’t advocate believing in that stuff.”
“Oh, by the way, there used to be a mountain temple on that mountain, but we found it troublesome and tore it down. That spot is great. After demolishing the temple, people from the city came and built a tall signal tower there. It’s very convenient…you can even make phone calls while standing in the mountains!”
The auntie chatted and laughed with them. Then, as if she had thought of something, she lowered her voice:
“…Hey, I’ll tell you a secret, but don’t laugh! Before that big fire, a con man came to the village. He said he was a god descended to earth who could protect the village’s prosperity and stability. He used that pitch to swindle a lot of money out of the village. And what happened? When real disaster struck the village, he was nowhere to be found. He just disappeared with the money!”
“Alas… people’s hearts are truly wicked. Later, some people even guessed that the con man was connected to the big fire, but unfortunately, there was no way to prove it, so they could only count it as bad luck. Only the Wu family, our benefactor couple, have been looking for that person all along. But finding someone thirty years ago was so difficult, and now so many years have passed, it’s like a stone dropped into the ocean. There’s really no way to find him. Sigh…”
Hearing this, Huo Wei gritted her teeth in anger, “People like that deserve to be struck by lightning!”
“Exactly!” The auntie laughed, clenching her fist in shared indignation:
“Struck by lightning!”
