Gungun and Houtu

With worries weighing on his mind, Gungun waited there for another three months. Yet not the slightest sound came from Pangu Hall. It seemed Houtu really had gained some insight and was striving to comprehend it, as though she would soon attain the Great Dao and then transform her body into Reincarnation.

"Ah!" At that thought, Gungun, who had sat there waiting for her for four straight months without enjoying a single lazy nap, hung his head and let out a heavy sigh.

He had been with Houtu for over a hundred thousand years and had thought they could spend nearly another million years together. Who would have imagined she would begin comprehending the Dao now? Judging by the situation, she would probably soon transform into the Underworld and become Pingxin. It had all come so suddenly that Gungun truly felt reluctant to part with her.

Finally, Gungun rose from the ground and rubbed his somewhat numb, chubby legs. Then he spread his arms and solemnly bowed toward Pangu Hall, saying sorrowfully, "Ancestral Witch Houtu, may you fare well on your final journey. I'll miss you."

With that, Gungun turned around, took one last look back at Pangu Hall, then bent down and ran off on all fours.

Inside Pangu Hall.

Houtu sat on the earthen platform bed, her face clouded with worry.

Just how could she attain the Dao? She could not figure it out at all. Or was her Dao not actually Reincarnation, and the feeling she had experienced upon seeing Gungun perform Spirit Washing and send those souls to be reborn merely an illusion?

No, impossible. How could I have been mistaken, especially about something like this!

The more Houtu thought, the deeper her brow furrowed.

She was anxious. The Demon Race had now brought Ao Yue into its fold and, indirectly, Meng Zhang as well. With two more Quasi-Saints, its strength had soared, while the Witch Race was still treading water. If this continued, the Witch Race would be at a severe disadvantage when the final battle came.

On top of that, Taiyi, that feathered beast, had actually tried to poach her battle pet to serve as his mount. He was simply pushing the witches too far! If she did not attain the Dao soon, how could she defeat him the next time they met?

But...

How was she supposed to attain it?

She had returned to the original question.

"Ah!" Houtu sighed. Including the half month she had spent in the void, she had racked her brains for a full four and a half months. Yet her understanding of her own Great Dao still extended no further than the name "Reincarnation" and its literal meaning. As for the actual method of attaining the Dao, she had no clue whatsoever. Surely she could not simply imitate Gungun, collecting Primordial Spirits, performing Spirit Washing, and then searching everywhere for places to help them reincarnate?

Impossible. Houtu did not believe the method of attaining the Dao could be so simple.

So...

"Just how am I supposed to attain the Dao?" Mired in frustration, Houtu pinched the space between her brows and spoke impatiently.

If she had a lead, never mind four and a half months in seclusion-even forty thousand years would have passed in the flick of a finger. But she had no leads at all. She had effectively spent four and a half months staring blankly into space. How could she bear that?

Just then, a voice suddenly reached her ears.

"Ancestral Witch Houtu, may you fare well on your final journey. I'll miss you."

This was not an inner voice, but that big fat bear muttering about her behind her back. As a Quasi-Saint, she had sensed it.

Houtu was bewildered.

"Gungun? He's awake already? Unlike what I expected, he didn't sleep for a year. May I fare well on my final journey? What does that mean? Where am I going? He'll miss me-is that true?"

Whoosh! Houtu immediately stood up, then turned and vanished.

Seclusion?

She was done with that.

If she could not figure anything out, what was the point of staying in seclusion?

Beneath a large tree halfway up Mount Buzhou.

After running there, Gungun immediately flopped down with a thud.

He was very sad. Houtu might become Pingxin as soon as she emerged from seclusion. His sorrow had left him listless, and he urgently needed sleep to save himself.

"Munch, munch~" Sleep alone would not do. He needed something else to distract himself so he would stop thinking about Houtu. So he took a stalk of bamboo from the little world he carried with him, closed his eyes, and ate while sleeping.

For some reason, however, the system gave him no reward this time, and he still could not fall asleep.

Space suddenly rippled, and then a stunningly beautiful woman in a cream-colored dress appeared. The instant she arrived, she spotted the big fat bear lying beneath a tree a short distance ahead, eating bamboo with his eyes closed. Her brows rose.

Eating in your sleep again?

I worked so hard in seclusion inside Pangu Hall, while you were out here enjoying yourself. Does the gap between our lives really have to be this wide?

Houtu then strode toward Gungun.

"Hm?" Suddenly hearing familiar footsteps, Gungun abruptly stopped chewing his bamboo. His eyes flew open, and he sat up with a whoosh, turning toward the sound. Then he saw Houtu.

Houtu?

Yes, that's right! Houtu, not Pingxin!

"Gungun, you rascal, you're at it ag-"

"Lady Ancestral Witch!" Before Houtu could finish, Gungun raced toward her, threw his arms around her legs, and exclaimed joyfully, "You're still here! This is wonderful!"

Houtu: "???"

What does that mean? I've been here all along.

Houtu was puzzled. Then she recalled how, a hundred years ago, Gungun had foreseen Taiyi's arrival to rescue Ao Yue, as well as his claim that Ao Yue would become Taiyi's Dharma Protector. A sharp gleam immediately flashed through her eyes. She reached out and gently rubbed his head, speaking in a cool voice with a nearly imperceptible trace of tenderness. "What's wrong? I was only in seclusion for a while. Why were you worried I wouldn't be here anymore?"

"..." At that question, Gungun's bearish body stiffened. All his sorrow and distress vanished in that instant.

He thought quickly for two seconds, then released his arms from around Houtu's legs and took two steps back. His eyes reddened, and tears swam in them. Wiping his tears with his fat paws, he told Houtu in a trembling voice, "Because... Gungun just had a nightmare. I dreamed that during the war between the Witch Race and the Demon Race, Eastern Emperor Taiyi beat you to death with the Chaos Bell, Lady Ancestral Witch, so..."

As he spoke, Gungun lowered his head.

Damn it, I knew it was fake! It's my fault for being so naive. I never imagined you were this kind of Houtu, blowing such hot air! What was all that about understanding your Dao and attaining it? How could that possibly happen at this point?

You're toying with my feelings! What do you take me, the great god Gungun, for-a monkey? Are you making a performing monkey out of me?

You're still a million years too early to attain the Dao!

Do you even know what your Dao is?

Are you really that impatient to change your name?

Fine, I've come to terms with it too. Go ahead, change it. Change your name sooner so that I, the great god Gungun, can move into the Underworld ahead of time. That way, I can escape the war between the Witch Race and the Demon Race sooner too.

Also, don't give the position of Eastern Azure Flower Great Emperor, who guides suffering departed souls toward rebirth, to anyone else. I'll take it.

Houtu: "..."