Welcome to the World of Men
"Waaaaaaah!"
Nezha stared in disbelief at the mangled corpse. His master, though he hadn't taught him anything proper, was still a deity, so how could he be so easily defeated?
"What to do? What to do? What to do? People are born of parents, even if he wasn't a good person, someone would be sad if he were beaten to death like this, right? We can't let him die like this!"
Nezha recalled the pain of losing Xiao Mu, and his eyes hardened. He used the same method of enlightening the Wood Spirit that he had used to revive Xiao Mu, enveloping the surrounding area completely. However, he did not integrate his own consciousness into it, but only confined the true spirit and soul of Taiyi Zhenren within a certain range. However, Nezha had no idea what to do next.
After thinking it over, he turned around, opened the bottom panel, revealing the warehouse that had been dug out underneath, and rummaged through it to find all sorts of precious woods that his father had brought from all over the country. Although Li Jing often broke his Wooden Person, the relationship between father and son was actually quite good because he often gave Nezha some precious woods.
Only...
"We can't let Dad know about killing someone! We need to find a place to bury him first, then ask Master if he has any ideas!"
With that in mind, Nezha chose a log that was said to be able to remain intact for a thousand years, picked up a chisel and a plane, and temporarily opened up a coffin.
"You stay inside for now, I'll go find my master to rescue you."
As he spoke, Nezha used his Hunyuan Silk (a magical ribbon) to scoop up Taiyi Zhenren. Although it was mixed with some dirt, Nezha could no longer sift it, so he could only stuff it all into the coffin. Then, he used his spiritual power to seal and shrink the surrounding space, finally forming a fist-sized sphere, which he then stuffed into the coffin.
"Phew, next I need to go find my master. I wonder where he is now."
Nezha muttered to himself, glanced at the magical Magic Treasure that Taiyi Zhenren had dropped, stuffed them along with his carpenter's set into the Leopard Skin Pouch, and then jumped over the wall carrying the coffin.
The servants, experienced in such matters as the Third Young Master carrying a coffin and jumping over the wall, were not surprised. Although this coffin was a bit large, hadn't the Third Young Master made a giant Wooden Person? Who knew if the Master would break it again?
Thinking of this, the servants of the Li Mansion couldn't help but mutter to themselves, "Don't be fooled by General Li's usual imposing demeanor; he's actually a rough man who secretly plays with children's toys and always breaks them!"
What? You don't think it's childish?
Just kidding, the servants want to play too!
Nezha carrying the coffin through the streets didn't arouse any surprise. Although it wasn't as commonplace as it was for the servants of the Li Mansion, they still saw it once or twice every few days. Most people just thought that this third young master was childlike and actually prepared coffins for each of his toys and buried them himself. Nezha didn't care much about other people's opinions. He carried the coffin through the street and first went to check on the house where he used to learn carpentry, only to find that it was covered with a thick layer of spider webs. He could only sigh helplessly.
"This has really caused trouble. As a result, I killed everyone who could name him..." Nezha sighed again, remembering Feng Xue's words that if he caused trouble, he shouldn't mention his name. He wondered if he should just make a wooden body for this Taiyi Zhenren.
"Hmm, ordinary puppets can be inhabited by Wood Spirit, so making a large puppet shouldn't be a problem. The only problem is how to turn Taiyi Zhenren's spirit into Wood Spirit... Sigh, it's not even mentioned in the Comprehensive Guide to Trendy Woodworking!"
Just as Nezha was having a headache, a mournful erhu melody suddenly rang in his ears. Although faint, it immediately cheered him up.
"It sounds like my master's zither music... Is he busking under the overpass again?"
Nezha immediately stood up straight, carried the coffin, and rushed to the overpass. There he saw his master dressed in beggar's clothes, playing the erhu with great enthusiasm. Many pedestrians stopped to watch, and people would occasionally give him a few coins.
Seeing this, Nezha immediately went up. The people who were pushed aside wanted to shout angrily, but when they saw the Third Prince carrying the coffin, they immediately shut their mouths. The Third Prince carrying a coffin, this is not someone to be trifled with!
In an instant, the crowd dispersed, though some curious onlookers remained at a great distance.
When Feng Xue saw Nezha, she stopped playing the Erhu, but her face darkened when she saw the coffin.
He was busy gathering civilians who were suffering in the midst of the war when, in a moment of distraction, the Heavenly Palace Space Station notified him that his Biological CPU had been intercepted!
Good heavens! Feng Xue was initially thinking it was another case of the Western Teachings causing trouble, but then she saw... what? The Biological CPU is Taiyi Zhenren?!
Flip through the Book of Life and Death again... What? It was Nezha who killed Taiyi Zhenren?
What kind of punk plot is this?!
Of course, Feng Xue was also well aware that if he went directly to their door, it would seem a bit deliberate. So he went to the overpass again, playing the Erhu and other instruments. He thought it would take a day or two to adjust, but unexpectedly, Nezha came to their door after only a quarter of an hour.
Only...
Why are you carrying a coffin?
Could it be that Taiyi Zhenren is inside?
Are you planning to shoulder the immortal coffin and rule over all ages?
"Speak, what's going on?" Seeing Nezha's hesitant expression, Feng Xue couldn't help but sigh again.
Upon hearing this, Nezha let out his signature childish wail:
"Waaaaaah! Master, I accidentally killed someone!"
"Oh?" Feng Xue raised an eyebrow and frowned.
"I remember telling you before that you should have reverence for life, and that even when you encounter someone who deserves to die, you must think carefully, understand the consequences, and have the courage to bear them. So tell me, did the person you killed deserve to die?"
Nezha was taken aback by the sudden seriousness in the voice, then said, "He suddenly attacked me. If it weren't for Xiao Mu, I would be dead. But I didn't intend to kill him; I only punched him once. I thought he wouldn't die... I..."
Seeing that Nezha was somewhat confused, Feng Xue nodded gently and then said:
"Since you believe he deserves to die, are you prepared to bear the consequences of killing him? I'm not asking whether you wanted to kill him, but now that everything is a fait accompli, are you prepared to shoulder that responsibility?"
Nezha turned his head to look at the coffin on his shoulder, his expression slightly blank, but he still nodded and said:
"I killed him. If his family and friends come looking for me, I will try my best to make amends. If they want revenge, I will accept it, but I will not sit idly by and wait to die, after all, he was the one who wanted to kill me!"
Hearing Nezha say that, Feng Xue's serious face suddenly broke into a smile. He gently patted Nezha's little head and said with a smile:
"I thought you were too young back then, so I only said half the story. There was a second half to that sentence—"
At this point, he stood up, took the coffin from Nezha's shoulder, and said calmly:
"When you are prepared to bear all the consequences of killing humans, then welcome to the world of men."
Today I finally finished writing the basic setting for the new book, which includes 50,000 words on the world view and basic framework, 2,000 words on the protagonist's Golden Finger, and a catalog of collectibles. Next, I'll start writing the outline.
The new book's world-building is roughly this: there are deep-sea demons (not sea monsters) in the ocean, everyone is connected to the Illusory Dream Realm (not a consciousness empire), watching horror movies can cause nightmares to materialize (not demons), there are cultists and various mutated creatures outside, and four countries are still at war (I'm not good at writing, so I plan to write about four major countries: Star Ring, Shinra, Rainbow Cherry, and Azure Cloud (I will change the names later, those who know, know), and of course there will be some small, marginalized countries, etc.).
The ability system is a manifestation of imagination, which is the idealistic system mentioned before. It is a triangle structure of imagination, willpower, and belief. Because of this system, the technology tree is a mess. The protagonist's Golden Finger is similar to a roguelike cheat. Then, a random system is constructed. What rewards the protagonist can get depends entirely on the Dice God.
The tentative title is "Meat Pigeon-Type Creator," but as always, it's only tentative. Feel free to share any good ideas you have.
Also, I'm preparing because I tend to discard drafts when writing books. This "Weird Tale" novel can be written for at least three more volumes (plus this volume on the Investiture of the Gods, it will take at least three more months). As for whether it can be more... well, that depends on the Dice God.
After all, I still have quite a few drafts to write, so it depends on whether the dice Dice God is lenient with me. If I think the world the Dice God throws out is something I can create, I'll write it. If it's too bland, like a traditional fantasy or modern city, then forget it, there's nothing to write about in that kind of world.