Prince Xiao was absent, but the four horses and the driver of this carriage were still not petrified and continued to obey orders.
"To Thunder-Hit Mountain!" Chen Shi got into the carriage and said eagerly.
The Thunder-Hit Mountain of which he spoke was the mountain that had been almost razed to the ground by the Hongyi Cannon. The driver immediately gave a shout, and the horses set off at once, roaring away.
Before long, they arrived at the foot of Thunder-Hit Mountain. Chen Shi searched around and found an intact Hongyi Cannon in a mountain ditch; the Divine Machine Battalion soldiers who had operated the cannon were already dead, their corpses lying horizontally and vertically across the ground.
Now the moon had not yet risen, and the corpses were still there.
Chen Shi immediately jumped down from the carriage, and after a moment, he hoisted the two- or three-thousand-catty cannon onto his shoulder and placed it inside the carriage.
The driver looked at him in confusion and did not ask any questions.
Chen Shi did not carry the cannon carriage, as it was already damaged, but only loaded the baskets of head-sized black iron projectiles onto the carriage and said excitedly, "Let's go! Return to Huangpo Village to ascend the throne!"
The driver drove the carriage to Huangpo Village. Chen Shi was brimming with enthusiasm, jumping down from the carriage and walking back and forth through the village carrying the Hongyi Cannon, in high spirits.
The two- or three-thousand-catty behemoth was borne on his shoulder, yet he could walk around the village three or four times without feeling tired.
Not a single villager dared to show their face; households locked their doors tightly. Let alone children kneeling to welcome King Chen and supporting King Chen's ascension to the throne, not even a ghost's shadow could be seen.
Chen Shi quickly lost his enthusiasm and, feeling rather dejected, took the Hongyi Cannon to the Old Chen family home, standing it up against the wall. Those black iron projectiles were piled by him into the dog kennel.
Black Pot lay on the ground, watching its little master bustle back and forth. After a while, the dog crawled onto the black iron projectiles to sleep. These projectiles were ice-cold, making it very comfortable to sleep.
When Chen Shi finished his work, a sudden whim seized him, and he hoisted the Hongyi Cannon again, intending to fire a couple of shots to add to the festivity for King Chen who had just ascended the throne. But thinking that it after all belonged to the Divine Machine Battalion, and in case it drew the people of the Divine Machine Battalion, King Chen would probably be brought to justice, he had no choice but to drop the idea.
Chen Shi glanced at Black Pot, who was lying atop the projectiles, and sneaked quietly into his own room. He took out a piece of iron wire, crawled under the bed, poked around in a mouse hole, and hooked out a small cloth bag.
He opened the cloth bag; inside were a few taels of loose silver.
He let out a long breath of relief. This loose silver was his private stash, saved with great difficulty without being found by Grandpa, nor fished out by Black Pot.
I'm strong enough now. As long as my breath of true Qi doesn't scatter, the divine shrine can maintain itself for a long time. If I save a little more money, I can go to the private school in town to register and participate in this year's county examination to pass as axiucai.
Chen Shi counted the meager loose silver and thought, Once I become a xiucai, there will be a divine conferral ceremony where a true god descends to bestow a divine embryo. If I muddle through, perhaps the true god will bestow a new divine embryo upon me, and then I won't be a cripple. In the future, I can pass the provincial examination and take Grandpa along to live a good life oppressing the villagers.
Just as he thought of this, he suddenly noticed an extra dog head in the shadow cast by the sunlight on the ground. He couldn't help starting with a jolt and hurriedly looked up.
He saw the large black dog with its two front paws resting on the window sill, its dog head poking out of the window, looking at him gloomily.
"My money has been discovered!"
A vicious impulse arose in Chen Shi's heart. He lunged forward, grappling with the black dog, and shouted, "Black Pot, you've discovered my secret, so today I'm going to kill the dog to silence you!"
Black Pot fought him for its life, also barking frantically and refusing to yield an inch.
Man and dog fought for quite a while before each making concessions: Black Pot would not tell tales, and Chen Shi would not kill the dog to silence it, but he had to go to town to buy it one or two catties of exotic beast meat. At the same time, as compensation, Black Pot had to contribute a little black dog blood for Chen Shi to draw talismans.
Both man and dog were very satisfied with this outcome.
Chen Shi took the dog and set out once more riding the carriage. It had to be said that Prince Xiao's carriage was swift, and before long they arrived at Qiaowan Town, which was twenty odd li away.
The so-called Qiaowan referred to the bend of the Dejiang River, where a five-arched bridge had been built spanning the river surface. Qiaowan Town was located here and took its name from the terrain.
Chen Shi bought two catties of exotic beast meat for Black Pot, and also bought some kites, tangram puzzles, Luoban locks, bamboo diabolos, and spinning tops. Chen Shi didn't even have these toys himself and desperately wanted to play with them, but he forcibly held back.
He put the toys into his book box, rode in Prince Xiao's carriage, and before long arrived at Huangyang Village.
The villagers of Huangyang Village felt some trepidation when they saw him.
Country folk clearly distinguished between gratitude and grudges. Chen Shi had kindness toward Huangyang Village: first he saved the children, then he spent money to bury the dead and avenge three children. Furthermore, he had taught Godmother a lesson so that she no longer bullied them. After Sanwang died, Chen Shi avenged Sanwang and killed his enemy.
This debt of gratitude was remembered by everyone in the village.
However, the villagers were still worried. Six members of the Zhao family from the provincial capital had died in Huangyang Village; if the Zhao family retaliated, how could ordinary mortals like them resist?
Chen Shi called over the elders of Huangyang Village and said, "The Zhao family of the provincial capital lost six members this time and probably won't let the matter rest. If people from the Zhao family come to investigate the village, directly give them my name. When they come looking for trouble with me and are beaten to death by me, naturally they won't go looking for trouble with you."
The clan elder was advanced in age—a man over seventy—and somewhat hard of hearing. He hadn't heard clearly, and muttered to himself, "Although our Huangyang Village doesn't have formidable figures, we certainly won't betray our benefactor! The one who betrayed our benefactor last time was Guanghao's wife; she couldn't endure the torture and confessed under beating, losing face for our village. We've already tied her up, and at a single word from our benefactor, we'll send this wench on her final journey!"
Chen Shi was taken aback. No wonder when he arrived he had seen a woman tied to a tree; he had thought the villagers were playing some interesting game, not expecting she was tied up waiting for him to dispose of her.
Chen Shi picked up a branch from the ground, walked up to the woman, lashed her twice, threw the branch aside, and smiled. "Ingratitude indeed deserves a beating, but now I have already punished her. Guanghao's wife, let bygones be bygones regarding the past, and do not commit this offense again."
The woman lowered her head and thanked him.
Chen Shi repeated his previous words again. Only then did the clan elder hear clearly and heave a sigh of relief, though he still felt some worry, saying, "Wouldn't that invite disaster for our benefactor?"
Chen Shi smiled. "This matter has nothing to do with your Huangyang Village anymore; it's my affair. My affairs, I'll resolve them myself! If people from the Zhao family come, I'll kill one if one comes, and kill a pair if two come. Once more people die, the Zhao family will naturally be willing to let go of their grudge."
After giving some instructions, he boarded the carriage and headed straight into the mountains.
The driver carried him and Black Pot without a single word of complaint.
Along the way, Chen Shi offered incense to the mountain spirits such as Granny Zhuang, the great snake Xuanshan, and the Stream Maiden, and also gave the various fun toys he had bought to the little fruit spirits in the woodlands to thank them for rescuing Prince Xiao.
These ginseng spirits were extremely jubilant, playing with the toys to their hearts' content.
Chen Shi entered the Mountain Lord Temple with Black Pot. He hadn't come for many days, and the temple lacked sunlight, becoming gloomy and desolate.
Even the extraordinary power was not as lively as before.
Chen Shi put down his book box, inserted three sticks of incense into the incense burner in the temple, and only then did he activate the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, stepping on the Big Dipper Seven Stars as he walked leisurely back and forth through the main hall.
imperceptibly, the extraordinary power within the temple grew lively once more and gradually brightened, except that what shone down from the roof was not sunlight, but hazy moonlight.
Black Pot lay on the ground, raising its head to look at the sky within the temple, only to see a crescent moon hanging in the air with scattered stars, brilliant as the Milky Way.
That crescent moon was not the kind of crescent moon belonging to the native moon at night.
The crescent moon of the native moon was the true god's vertical eye; the true god's vertical eye had two eyelids that closed simultaneously, which was why the crescent moon was willow-leaf-shaped.
Yet the crescent moon seen within the temple resembled a young girl's curved eyebrows, or like the eyes of a young maiden when she smiled, enchanting and tranquil.
This scene left the dog dumbfounded.
Behind the back of Chen Shi, the divine shrine emerged, divine light swirling and lingering for a long time without dispersing.
His divine shrine grew increasingly stable. Although he lacked a divine embryo, at this moment true Qi was actually flowing within his body, accompanied by the continuously bursting starlight of the Big Dipper, refining it into his physical frame.
The Seven Refinements of the Big Dipper were rapidly tempering his body, making him continuously advance toward Five Viscera Complete Truth and marrow-cleansing bone-forging!
At this speed, in at most a few days' time, he would be able to forge Five Viscera Complete Truth and marrow-cleansing bone-forging!
By that time, it would be the Saint Embryo Body!
Having cultivated the Saint Embryo Body, his physical frame would rival a divine embryo!
When Chen Shi grew tired from cultivation, he also stopped, simply lying down in the temple with his hands pillowing the back of his head, gazing at the otherworldly starry sky within the temple and falling into a daze.
Drifting off to sleep, I know not the sky is in the water, a full boat of clear dreams presses upon the river of stars. Where on earth is this other realm? When will I ever be able to go there and take a look in person? He mused inwardly.
Outside Mirror Lake Villa, a thin and tall ghost holding a lantern walked slowly over. The lantern light cast a round patch of light on the ground, and a red figure walked within that patch of light.
Jin Hongying of the Divine Machine Battalion had finally tracked down Prince Xiao's whereabouts.
"To think that in this deep mountain, there is actually such a tranquil villa. Prince Xiao, by hiding here, did you think this concubine wouldn't be able to find you?"
Jin Hongying said with a smile, "With a single sword strike you beheaded the imperial eunuch supervisor of the Divine Machine Battalion, truly living up to your status as a senior of the Divine Machine Battalion. But this single strike equally exposed the fact that your outside is strong while your inside is hollow."
Inside the villa there were only coffins, large and small, standing beneath ancient trees in profound tranquility, with no one to answer her.
Jin Hongying showed not the slightest fear. Lifting her foot to step across the threshold, she landed inside the villa, her expression suddenly changing slightly as she vigilantly looked toward the coffins in the villa.
In this villa, the number of coffins was small, matching the number of trees.
Aside from Chen Shi's, which was a thin-skinned coffin, all the others could be called outer coffins, being extremely heavy and luxurious.
The moment she stepped one foot into the villa, she felt a powerful pressure transmitting from these coffins!
"Playing god and channeling ghosts!"
Jin Hongying let out a cold snort and took another step forward.
As the second step was taken, the pressure increased steeply!
Those coffins entered her field of vision, growing larger and larger, the entire world distorting and rotating within her view!
Jin Hongying's complexion gradually flushed red, and she took yet another step forward.
With this step, her delicate body shook violently, and the thin, tall ghost holding the lantern behind her suddenly burst apart with a pop, turning into green smoke that dissipated as it met an untimely demise!
Jin Hongying's nostrils felt warm, and two streams of fresh blood flowed down from her nostrils, landing upon her snow-white bosom and tracing a path down the middle.
"Blech—"
She finally couldn't help it, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood. Daring not to linger any longer, she turned around and fled.
No sooner had she cleared the villa than a sweep of red robes suddenly transformed into a crimson garment that flew off with a rustling sound.
After a moment, the sound of garments piercing the air sounded outside again; that crimson garment actually flew back, and Jin Hongying's laughter came from outside the villa: "Prince Xiao, I suddenly recalled—since living people cannot enter the villa, what if what enters isn't a living person?"
Under the moonlight, two snow-white little paper figures walked toward this place from outside the villa.
They were paper figures cut out from paper, possessing limbs and heads, only as tall as a palm, walking with arms and legs moving on the same side in a clumsy fashion.
They climbed over the threshold and entered the villa, muttering as they walked, speaking words that nobody could understand.
The two little paper figures pulled two paper swords from behind their backs, chanting incantations in their mouths without knowing what they were saying.
Suddenly, the two little paper figures accelerated their pace, rushing fiercely toward Prince Xiao's coffin, leaping up abruptly as their paper swords stabbed toward the coffin.
The small sword revolving around the coffin immediately flew out, colliding with one of the paper swords and actually bursting forth with a string of sparks!
The force transmitted from the paper sword was shockingly huge, startling the small sword into retreating repeatedly.
This sword was one of Prince Xiao's twin swords, named Bailao.
The Bailao Sword protected the coffin, going to block the paper sword of the other paper figure. No sooner had it parried than the first paper figure landed lightly, immediately springing up with extreme speed and wielding its sword in an attack.
The two tiny paper figures shifted left and right, front and back, their paper swords fluttering wildly as they drove the Bailao Sword into a tight corner, unable to cope.
Suddenly, the Bailao Sword increased its speed drastically; one of the paper figures was stabbed through the back, pierced right through by the Bailao Sword!
The other paper figure leaped up, deflecting the Bailao Sword with a clang to rescue that paper figure.
The Bailao Sword thrust repeatedly, resembling an invisible grandmaster of swordsmanship waging an offensive. The two paper figures instantly felt doubled pressure, and the paper figure that had been stabbed could not parry in time, taking yet another hit as it was sliced in half by the Bailao Sword and fell to the ground.
Just as the Bailao Sword prepared to attack the other paper figure, it saw that paper figure kneeling on the ground, making a loud weeping motion toward its companion's corpse.
The small paper figure, possessing only its upper torso, tremblingly stretched out a hand to grasp its companion's hand, raising its head as if wanting to say something, before its head drooped and it breathed its last right there.
That paper figure wailed aloud, beating its chest unceasingly, then turned its head, glaring viciously with a malevolent gaze at the Bailao Sword.
The paper figure leaped up, lunging with even greater speed. However, the Bailao Sword was faster still, every single sword stroke never leaving the paper figure's chest or back.
After parrying a few swords, the paper figure could no longer sustain the sword moves, its chest being stabbed three times in succession as it fell to the ground.
Knowing its life was beyond saving, the paper figure crawled along the ground toward its companion, laboriously stretching out a hand in an attempt to grasp its companion's palm.
The Bailao Sword flew up and cleaved it in two. The paper figure raised its head, striving to extend its right hand, but it drooped listlessly down as it finally exhaled its last breath.
The Bailao Sword breathed a sigh of relief when suddenly more than a dozen paper figures were seen climbing over the threshold of the villa. These paper figures were just like the previous ones, walking with limbs moving on the same side, clumsy and endearing.
Some paper figures were pulling paper-made matchlock muskets and cannons from behind the threshold, while other paper figures shouted back and forth on the sidelines as if directing operations, evidently intending to attack this villa.
Before you continue