Ch. 721The Mayor Eats the Ginseng Fruit Alone
Chapter Summary: “The Town Mayor Eats the Ginseng Fruit Alone”
Key Plot Points and Events
- After the Eerie Mist disappears, the survivors discover that time has been distorted. Although their battles seemed to last at least ten days, the Fate Disk records that only one night has passed.
- The survivors’ memories of the Eerie Mist are fragmented and contradictory. They vaguely recall choosing between Blue-Clad and White-Clad factions, fighting enemies who would not die, a giant eye falling from the sky, and possible events involving the town mayor’s son.
- Three children are found with their bodies and features sewn shut, horrifying the survivors and provoking the Filthy Beggar’s anger.
- The group concludes that relatively few people died at the Threshing Ground, but the Filthy Beggar suspects the Eerie Mist was actually far more powerful than usual.
- He explains that, although explicit memories were erased or blurred, emotions remain. The survivors therefore retain strong gratitude toward Li Qingxian and the Night Guards, whom they instinctively feel saved them.
- Conversely, they feel disgust and hostility toward the town mayor and Zhang Hongshou, suggesting that the mayor’s faction committed terrible acts inside the Eerie Mist.
- When the survivors return to the Threshing Ground to meet the others, they find it completely empty. No one arrives, and the sudden silence makes them feel as though they are still trapped inside the Eerie Mist.
- In the Upper Mountain District, the town mayor, Zhang Wentian, gathers powerful residents at his residence. To recover memories suppressed by the Eerie Mist, he consumes Ginseng Fruits—seventy-four in total—despite their rarity and expense.
- The strain causes demon qi to emerge from Zhang Wentian, increasing his power. He then issues an Edict condemning Zhang Wentong, leader of Devil-Transforming Mountain, and his five sons for sending demons into the town and slaughtering civilians.
- The Edict imposes severe restrictions on Devil Sect disciples, authorizes executions of resisting Devil Cultivators, and offers substantial rewards—including silver, Merit, a Blessing Hat, and admission to Zhang Wentian’s school—for killing the demon sons.
Character Developments
- Li Qingxian remains observant and cautious, using the Fate Disk and Heaven-and-Earth Bracelet to investigate the altered passage of time and preserve the Edicts he acquired.
- The Filthy Beggar continues to act irreverently, mocking the town mayor and openly challenging authority. However, he also demonstrates sharp insight by recognizing that emotional impressions survive the Eerie Mist even when memories do not.
- Xu Changren becomes confused by his own involuntary words, showing how deeply the Eerie Mist has affected language and thought.
- The survivors develop an instinctive respect and gratitude toward Li Qingxian, even though they cannot consciously remember what he did. Their emotional loyalty to him strengthens his influence in Eerie Town.
- Zhang Wentian, the town mayor, is portrayed as ruthless and powerful. His willingness to consume seventy-four Ginseng Fruits shows the importance of recovering the truth, while the demon qi suggests either a dangerous transformation or the price of using such methods.
- Zhang Hongshou and the town mayor’s faction are increasingly revealed as likely perpetrators of atrocities within the Eerie Mist, despite the survivors’ inability to recall the details.
- Zhang Wentong and the Devil Sect become convenient public targets as Zhang Wentian uses an official Edict to consolidate control and punish alleged enemies.
Significant Themes
- Memory versus emotion: The Eerie Mist erases or distorts factual memories but leaves behind emotional responses, allowing gratitude, fear, hatred, and loyalty to survive.
- Reality and temporal distortion: The discrepancy between the survivors’ experiences and the Fate Disk’s record emphasizes the Eerie Mist’s power over time and perception.
- Political manipulation: Zhang Wentian uses the uncertainty surrounding the Eerie Mist to issue sweeping accusations and strengthen control over the Devil Sect and the town.
- The cost of knowledge: Recovering suppressed memories requires Zhang Wentian to consume enormous quantities of precious Ginseng Fruits, suggesting that truth carries a severe physical and political price.
- Hidden guilt and moral judgment: Even without conscious recollection, the survivors instinctively condemn the mayor’s faction, implying that terrible crimes occurred beneath the surface of the altered memories.
- The limits of official narratives: Zhang Wentian’s Edict presents one explanation for the disaster, but the survivors’ emotional reactions hint that the full truth may be more complicated.
Character Interactions
- The survivors exchange fragmented recollections, collectively attempting to reconstruct what happened in the Eerie Mist.
- The Filthy Beggar’s jokes and insults unsettle the group but also help expose the strange changes in their speech and memories.
- The survivors recognize a shared, unexplained gratitude toward Li Qingxian and the Night Guards, strengthening their bond with him.
- Their instinctive hatred of the town mayor and Zhang Hongshou contrasts sharply with the official authority Zhang Wentian still commands.
- At the mayor’s residence, the gathered elites silently watch Zhang Wentian endure the Ginseng Fruits’ effects, revealing their fear, respect, and concern over the truth he may uncover.
- The middle-aged woman assists Zhang Wentian when he begins coughing, briefly showing a personal and protective side amid the surrounding political tension.