Welcome the River God

The riverbed was silent and still. Only a few metal-scaled fish could be seen near the bank, yet they did not dare approach River God Village.

As the sun set, the river became as calm as a mirror, without a single ripple.

Li Mo sat in the Ancestral Hall with his eyes closed, resting his mind. Water Spiritual Qi seeped in through his nose and mouth. Most of it was absorbed by the Protective Layer of his Multi-layered Dantian, while a small amount condensed into Low-grade Spirit Stones in his chest.

He could not help feeling helpless. Cultivation truly required finding the right place.

River God Village's Misty Spiritual Energy was pitifully sparse.

Though Li Mo could not make sense of River God Village's circumstances, he had no intention of staying long.

After all, meditative cultivation here was practically useless. At most, it could strengthen the Protective Layer of his Dantian, so he might as well devote his energy to the Spiritual Root Transformation of his internal organs.

Li Mo waited for a long time as the night gradually deepened.

Moonlight filtered through the river and seeped in through the window, wrapping the Ancestral Hall in an azure glow. Several withered duckweed leaves drifted past him.

So long as Li Mo did not maintain his focus, the illusion would affect his senses, and River God Village would return to being that utterly ordinary village.

He had not been idle during meditation either.

Specks of dust had already drifted with the current, scattering throughout the river.

Miasma Spiritual Power excelled at being a jack-of-all-trades. Even after leaving Li Mo's body, it could persist in the outside world for an hour or two without fading.

Li Mo opened his eyes and muttered, "They're here."

"Clang-dong clang, clang-dong clang-dong clang-dong clang..."

At the same time, the sounds of gongs and drums abruptly rang out underwater, while lantern after lantern gave off a fiery red glow.

Then, villagers continuously emerged from their homes. Their faces were still painted with heavy makeup, festive as though they were about to welcome the New Year.

The villagers danced as they gathered toward the village entrance.

"Welcome the River God, welcome the River God!!!"

Wang Baoshan wore an awkward Big-headed Doll Mask and vigorously shook his body, churning the surrounding river water into murkiness.

"Hm?"

Li Mo's expression turned subtle, because he noticed five people dressed in lion dance costumes hurriedly leaving their homes to join the celebration.

When the villagers bent down, they transformed into an auspicious beast that held its head high and wagged its tail—the Waking Lion. Surrounded by the procession, it headed toward the Ancestral Hall.

The Waking Lion resembled a tiger beast more than a lion. Nor was it formed by the usual two people; it was made up of five.

The fiery red, ruffled costumes formed the Waking Lion's legs, while the villager holding the lion head served as its head, mimicking every movement of a wild beast.

Li Mo licked his lips.

So Zombie Ghosts could even borrow the power of a Mountain Lord Bizarre Beast?

Li Mo used Paint Green Clothes. The Ghost Tiger poked its head out of the Ancestral Hall's shadows and allowed him to ride on its back as it slipped out through the window.

The lion dance continued.

Next came the time for Wang Baoshan to recite the Blessing Speech.

Wang Baoshan wore a sorrowful expression, like a man about to march to his death. He tied the Waking Lion's head with a Red Rope, then shouted loudly.

"My righteous brother asks what hour I was born, and the Kan trigram divides as the wood tiger."

"On the twenty-fifth day of July's early autumn, born at the hours of Zi and Chou, metal monkey off by seconds."

"The Five Directions Brothers have all arrived."

"Drink!!"

The five people playing the Waking Lion responded until their voices were hoarse. Their movements became even more forceful, as if they wished to pour their very lives into them.

With strange steps, Wang Baoshan walked to the entrance of the Ancestral Hall.

In a daze, he saw the temporary temple fair built atop the mountain peak, the admiring eyes of the watching children, and the nostalgic expressions of the elderly.

"My righteous brother asks me, where does the lion come from?"

The villager holding the Waking Lion's head answered in a trembling voice, "The lion comes from River God Village. Nine layers of stone slabs, nine layers of mountains—its name has endured through the ages."

His voice grew increasingly blurred, and his hands shook uncontrollably. Though the Waking Lion's head was clearly made of cloth, countless Flesh Roots now sprouted from it.

The Flesh Roots pierced into the villager's neck. The Waking Lion's head began its Activation, its hollow eyes revealing ferocity. Sharp teeth grew from its mouth, along with a barbed tongue.

Wang Baoshan's voice was filled with grief as he cried, "Respectfully send off the Five Directions Brothers!!!"

Screams rang out without end.

The Waking Lion completed its Activation, transforming into a Green-eyed, Red-striped Mountain Lord. In its peculiar posture, it moved through the riverbed with indescribable weirdness.

It tried to break free of the Red Rope's restraint, but Wang Baoshan remained unmoved.

With a pull of the Red Rope, Wang Baoshan made the Waking Lion curl up in agony. After several attempts, it no longer dared bare its fangs and snarl.

"Zi Shi has arrived, Zi Shi has arrived..."

Wang Baoshan led the Waking Lion in a daze, finally tying it to the withered tree outside the Ancestral Hall. In an instant, he seemed to have aged more than a decade.

The villagers' gongs and drums did not stop, but they were now playing their companion off.

The Waking Lion opened its mouth and spat out bubbles, sweeping the villagers with venomous eyes. Its limbs strained to break free of the Red Rope, but it was all in vain.

"True Person, the Sinister Beast has been delivered to you."

Wang Baoshan opened the Ancestral Hall's doors, only to find it completely empty.

He immediately fell into a brief stupor, muttering words that sounded neither like laughter nor tears as he repeated the Blessing Speech from the Waking Lion dance.

The instruments came to an abrupt halt, and the villagers stood blankly in place.

"Old Wang, why go this far?"

Li Mo's voice came from the corner behind the Ancestral Hall, but only his voice could be heard; he was nowhere to be seen.

Riding the Ghost Tiger around River God Village once, he had already figured out the chain of cause and effect.

As though grasping at a life-saving straw, Wang Baoshan knelt and said, "True Person, the Demon has already been delivered. You need only take its head to settle the matter."

"Where is the true body?"

Wang Baoshan's face turned deathly pale, and he hurriedly explained, "True Person, because of the Demon, we have been trapped here and unable to move. If not for being able to catch fish, we could never have held on until now."

"But once the Demon emerges, we are merely ordinary people of flesh and blood. The whole of River God Village will surely be destroyed alongside it."

Li Mo sighed. "Old Wang, how long have you been trapped here?"

"Two... two years, perhaps."

Li Mo neither confirmed nor denied it. Judging from the bones he had investigated, it had been far more than two years. The villagers had likely become Zombie Ghosts nearly a decade ago.

"So whenever a True Person came here, you summoned the Mountain Lord's Demon substitute, allowing the True Person to return to the Yamen and settle the matter?"

"This lowly one deserves death, deserves death..."

Wang Baoshan wanted to kowtow and beg forgiveness, but Miasma Spiritual Power held his body up.

"It's all right, Old Wang. You have truly been too tired."

Li Mo withdrew the Ghost Tiger and stepped out from the shadows. Clutching a tuft of tiger hair in his hand, he said calmly, "Old Wang, have you heard of Zombie Ghosts?"

"Of course. Legend says they are souls transformed after being harmed by the Mountain Lord..."

Wang Baoshan opened his mouth, then murmured incredulously, "Zombie Ghosts."

He understood what Li Mo meant, and his legs gave out beneath him.

Forgotten memories flashed through his mind. It seemed that ten years ago, River God Village had already been destroyed by the Mountain Lord Demon's attack.

Wang Baoshan realized that his unwavering defense of the village had been absurdly laughable. It was merely a Zombie Ghost's obsession with refusing to accept death.

Relieved, he said, "True Person, we..."

Li Mo interrupted Wang Baoshan and asked with a smile, "I was born in Niu Family Village. I heard that every five years, during Spring Festival, you would perform the lion dance at the Morning Market. Might I be fortunate enough to witness it?"