Legends of the Primordial World

The next morning, at dawn.

When Second Uncle went up the mountain, his steps carried the wind, and he was clearly a little nervous. But when he saw Lin Xiaosu standing safely on the platform, his expression immediately relaxed. "Nothing happened last night, right?"

"Second Uncle, what kind of damned place is this? Last night... last night, there really was a ghost... Something really crawled out from down below. It was a seven- or eight-foot-long snake. Luckily, Hu Ya was fierce as hell and tossed it around a few times until even its mother wouldn't recognize it."

Second Uncle listened to this hair-raising tale without the slightest ripple on his face. "That's it?"

"A seven- or eight-foot-long snake, and you're so calm, Second Uncle?" Lin Xiaosu did not mention the other, even more explosive matter, because he did not know how much Second Uncle knew about the "Sky Window."

"On Celestial Change Days, heaven and earth undergo upheaval, and the vital currents become abnormal. No strange thing that appears is worth being surprised about. Last time, a butterfly as big as one of your speckled hens came out. Luckily, it was a butterfly. If it had been a mosquito that big, I might not be here anymore. All right, it's fine as long as nothing happened," Second Uncle said.

"But... what exactly is going on here? This completely defies science..." Lin Xiaosu lightly scratched his head.

"Willow Grove Temple holds hidden mysteries. Daoist Lu Yun, the previous temple master, once said that this was a Mystic Gate connected to the Primordial World. If one's fate was sufficient, it might be possible to see the Sky Window open, and witness miraculous things beyond anything you could imagine."

Sky Window?

Lin Xiaosu's eyes flickered. "Second Uncle, have you ever seen it?"

"I've taken charge of Willow Grove Temple for twenty-three years. In that time, there have been seventeen Celestial Change Days. Every time, I sat at the heart of the formation and gazed up at the heavens, not even daring to blink, but I never saw the Sky Window."

Looking upward, he had not seen the Sky Window.

You just hadn't looked downward!

Lin Xiaosu said, "Then what about Daoist Lu Yun? Had he seen it?"

"Him? He was blind. But don't let that fool you. He was more miraculous than ordinary people..."

The former temple master of Willow Grove Temple was named Lu Yun. He had arrived at Willow Grove Temple before Liberation.

Second Uncle's connection with Willow Grove Temple began because of Second Aunt's illness. She had congenital anemia and originally could not bear children. But she and Second Uncle loved each other deeply, and she wanted to give him a child, so she became pregnant despite the risks.

Before she went into labor, she hemorrhaged badly. They took her to the county hospital, and the doctors were terrified at the sight of her. They did not dare admit her at all and told them to rush her to the provincial capital overnight. But it was hundreds of miles away, and no one could guarantee whether she would live or die on the road. Just as Second Uncle was panicking so badly that his mind was in chaos, Daoist Lu Yun drifted in. With a faint smile, he said, "A minor ailment. Come, to Willow Grove Temple!"

Second Uncle and Second Aunt slept for one night in this temple.

There was no medicine and no injections. They simply slept for one night, and the bleeding stopped. On the third day, Li Diandian—whom Lin Xiaosu called Hu Ya—was born here. The instant she was born, her resounding cries shook the entire mountain forest.

And Second Aunt's chronic illness, which had plagued her for years, unexpectedly improved from that day onward.

Daoist Lu Yun had saved both Second Uncle's wife and daughter. From then on, Second Uncle believed in him as if he were an immortal.

More than twenty years ago, Daoist Lu Yun roamed the world. Before leaving, he instructed Second Uncle to guard Willow Grove Temple well. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed. Throughout those years, there had been no word from Daoist Lu Yun, and no one knew whether he was dead or alive.

"Second Uncle, have you told... the higher-ups about Willow Grove Temple?"

The higher-ups, naturally, meant the relevant government departments.

Second Uncle looked dejected. "I did. When that mutated giant butterfly came out last time, I worried that a mosquito as big as a speckled hen might come out next and cause some great disaster, so I told people above twice... The first time, they merely laughed and told me not to spread feudal superstitions. The second time, good heavens, four or five people in white coats came. They nearly dragged me off to a mental hospital."

"I can understand that!" Lin Xiaosu nodded lightly. "If I passed the civil service exam in the future and entered a government office, then some mysterious old Daoist suddenly came to tell me such ghost stories, I might do the same."

Second Uncle slowly gritted his teeth. "That's why you definitely still won't pass the civil service exam this time!"

"Second Uncle, my exam is only a month away. Fine, you won't give me any blessings, but you're even cursing me?"

"This isn't a curse. I just sincerely hope you won't pass... really!"

Lin Xiaosu rolled his eyes. "Now I understand why Second Aunt nags so much. With the way you get along with people, who wouldn't nag? The fact that she hasn't beaten you half to death already proves she's virtuous and gentle..."

"No, Xiaosu..." Second Uncle edged closer, revealing a somewhat ingratiating smile. "How about you stop taking that civil service exam and come help your uncle guard this temple? You wouldn't have to guard it alone. The two of us can take turns. You guard on even-numbered days, and I'll guard on odd-numbered days."

"Don't even think about it!" Lin Xiaosu cut him off directly.

"How about coming over to stay one night every weekend, so I can go back and keep your Second Aunt company... I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me. Your Second Aunt's problem is actually that she has too much energy. She can't stand living apart for too long." Second Uncle's old face reddened slightly.

Lin Xiaosu's eyes widened. Holy shit!

He seemed to have truly touched upon the root of Second Aunt's illness.

If this root cause were put in modern terms, it could probably be called "young married couple hormone syndrome." People in their fifties rarely suffered from it.

But Second Uncle and Second Aunt were different. They were older, yet after being stimulated by that damned vital current back then, their bodily functions remained young. Second Aunt had her needs, while Second Uncle lived at Willow Grove Temple year-round, leaving the couple apart. Second Aunt was constantly "thirsty." No one else could cure that thirst, but the moment Second Uncle went back, the effect was immediate. My god, what was this? So this was the method you used to treat Second Aunt...

Second Uncle continued trying to persuade him. "Living at Willow Grove Temple actually has its benefits. Your body will be free of all illness too. Once you reach my age, you'll know just how great that benefit is."

"Second Uncle, why don't you bring Second Aunt here?"

"The root of your Second Aunt's illness was planted here. She can't enter Willow Grove Temple."

That completed the circle.

Second Aunt's "thirst" was not actually an illness. Her real illness was that when she was recuperating after childbirth at Willow Grove Temple all those years ago, her qi and blood had been replenished too excessively. Her vital currents had strayed down the wrong path, making her imagine things and constantly feel that Second Uncle had someone else outside...

If she entered Willow Grove Temple, the spiritual energy below would seep into her, worsening her condition. If things went badly, she might truly become a mentally ill person with an incomparably healthy body.

Lin Xiaosu's eyes flashed. "Second Uncle, I have a good idea."

"Tell me..."

"How about we develop this place into a recuperation center? Open it to the public... Think about it. There are so many rich people around the world. They have everything and only fear death. If they knew that staying here for one night could cure illnesses, money would come rolling in like a flood, enough to burst through the door panels. Would you still need to persuade me and force me into something I don't want? You could collect admission fees during the day, then take a helicopter down the mountain at night and enjoy yourself with Second Aunt..."

"You, honestly, what am I supposed to say about you? Call you stupid, and you really do have some business sense. Call you smart, and you haven't understood the severity of the situation at all!" Second Uncle shook his head lightly. "What do you think this place is? It's a connection point to another world, or perhaps a sealing point. Why do you think I don't even dare tell Diandian or your Second Aunt? It's because I fear there are too many hands and too many people. If some restriction is accidentally triggered and the other world descends, it will be a calamity that blots out the sky!"

Lin Xiaosu jumped in fright. "Trigger a restriction, and another world descends? Is that really possible?"

"Daoist Lu Yun said it would come one day. We just don't know when."

"Are there any signs?"

"Yes. Celestial Change Days, Ecliptic Rupture Days, Equatorial Baleful Days, Equatorial Radiant Days... But I can only calculate the lowest level, Celestial Change Days. He mentioned a Dao-Less Calamity Day. When that calamity arrives, all seals will shatter at once, Folded Space will fully open, Earth will expand a hundredfold, a thousandfold, and our current cities will be divided into countless isolated islands. Exotic beasts will run rampant, abysses will spread everywhere, demons will stare from the darkness, and the righteous path will cease to exist..."

A faint chill ran down Lin Xiaosu's back.

Second Uncle's expression was grave as well.

"Second Uncle, when is the next Celestial Change Day?"

"One month from now, April thirteenth."