The Earth God

"Out here in these wild mountains, please don't let there be tigers, wolves, or anything like that!"

Fang Weiyan stared into the pitch-black forest. Every so often, the roar of some unknown beast reached him from afar, making his heart flutter with panic.

One moment he had been at home playing on his phone. How could he have known that the next would find him in these wild mountains?

Fang Weiyan reckoned he had transmigrated, but he had no idea exactly how it had happened.

In his heart, Fang Weiyan prayed that he wouldn't run into any wild beasts.

But the very next moment, his expression changed.

"Actually, let it be a ferocious beast. Just don't let a ghost set its sights on me..."

By a sliver of moonlight, Fang Weiyan saw a white-robed woman drift past directly ahead of him.

The moonlight wasn't particularly bright, so he couldn't make out her face, but judging by that figure, she had to be a woman.

Fang Weiyan swallowed. Out here in the wild mountains, with the cries of unknown beasts sounding around him, a chill crept into his heart.

If he had been at home, he might have wondered whether an encounter with a female ghost could turn into an erotic dream. But in a place like this, how could he spare the slightest thought for that?

As Fang Weiyan's thoughts ran wild, wavering between taking another route and waiting here until dawn, a soft call suddenly came from behind him.

"Young master up ahead, I twisted my ankle while walking at night. Might I trouble you to help me and take me home?"

Upon hearing the voice behind him, Fang Weiyan's first reaction was, I can actually understand what people say in this world?

His second was, Shouldn't you polish that scam pitch? Go get some advanced training in telecom fraud!

Fang Weiyan kept his head down and walked on, pretending he couldn't hear.

As long as he couldn't hear and didn't turn around, perhaps the ghost couldn't touch him?

That was what Fang Weiyan thought, but little did he know that as he hurried along, he would hear a rapid noise behind him, as though something were rustling in pursuit.

At the sound, Fang Weiyan nearly jumped out of his skin.

Why isn't this thing following the rules? I didn't turn around, so the three flames shouldn't have gone out. Could it be that I don't have three flames on my shoulders?

Fang Weiyan hurried forward, gradually breaking into a jog.

Then he suddenly cried out. His foot seemed to catch on something, and his balance began to shift.

A moment later, Fang Weiyan fell hard to the ground.

As he fell, Fang Weiyan distinctly sensed what seemed to be something right behind him.

Once Fang Weiyan steadied himself and was just about to get up, a small, ice-cold hand settled on his shoulder.

"How heartless you are, young master, abandoning a helpless woman and leaving all alone. Could your heart and liver be black? Why not let me dig them out for a proper look?"

The cool voice rang beside Fang Weiyan's ear, lovely to hear, its delicate sweetness almost dripping.

It made one want to turn around and see just what a woman with such a voice looked like.

But at that moment, Fang Weiyan only felt that half his shoulder had gone numb.

He groaned inwardly. It's over. I've only just transmigrated to this place. Am I going to meet my end here?

Just as Fang Weiyan was turning over every possible solution in his mind, wondering whether reciting a passage of the Heart Sutra might save his life.

A gentle breeze suddenly brushed toward him from ahead, and Fang Weiyan immediately felt the ice-cold little hand vanish from his shoulder.

"Fude, you barely have any divine power left, yet you still dare to spoil my business?"

The woman's voice behind him turned venomous, making Fang Weiyan's scalp prickle.

As her voice faded, a golden light shone up ahead.

At the sight, Fang Weiyan threw all else aside and hurriedly crawled toward it.

A short while later, a small shrine appeared before Fang Weiyan halfway up the hillside, with the Earth God's spirit tablet inside.

People in Fang Weiyan's hometown worshipped the Earth God every year, so he recognized it at a glance.

"In life, I protected the people of this land. Why should I not continue protecting them after death?"

After a brief silence, an aged voice came from the spirit tablet.

The woman behind him sneered repeatedly at those words. "Now that the Dao of heaven and earth wanes while evil rises, you Orthodox Gods deserve to perish one by one if you won't seek a way out for yourselves."

"Very well. I'll spare this one's life today. After tomorrow, your divine power will be exhausted, and then I'll return to take his life."

With that, the sinister figure ahead vanished.

Fang Weiyan gasped for breath. Only with the Earth God to rely on did he feel a little safe.

"Child, hurry down the mountain once daylight comes. That female ghost spoke the truth. After today, I can no longer protect you."

The Earth God's voice carried the weight of age and weariness, then faded into silence.

Fang Weiyan turned to look at the Earth God's spirit tablet, suddenly anxious. But no matter how he called, the god did not appear again.

Fang Weiyan looked closely. The Earth God's spirit tablet had originally held a trace of divine presence, but now it was gradually dimming.

Leave once daylight comes? Can't that female ghost hurt people in daylight?

Fang Weiyan's heart pounded with fear, but all he could do was lean beside the Earth God's spirit tablet, seeking that last shred of shelter.

Deep in the mountain forest, gusts of wind swept through every so often.

Ordinarily, Fang Weiyan would have thought nothing of it, but now the wind felt like a ghostly chill.

After enduring a grueling night before the spirit tablet, Fang Weiyan fought his drooping eyelids and looked around once the sky began to brighten.

Two paths lay before him, one leading down and the other up. From the look of things, the downward path should lead off the mountain.

Seeing this, Fang Weiyan gritted his teeth. Staying here would probably be a dead end. He might as well head down the mountain and see whether he could find a way to survive.

But just as Fang Weiyan started down the mountain, after only a few steps, his body suddenly wavered, then vanished.

Not long after Fang Weiyan disappeared, a white robe drifted over from the distance. "Where is he?"

The white robe had neither head nor body, as though it were nothing but a white garment.

It floated in midair just like that, a sight that would scare anyone half to death.

Seeing no trace of Fang Weiyan before the spirit tablet, the white robe could only leave in frustration.

"Huh? I'm back?"

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Fang Weiyan pinched his face, his heart filled with delighted surprise.

He hadn't expected that he would actually be able to return.

But the question was, how had he come back? Would he go back there again?

At the thought of the female ghost he had encountered earlier, Fang Weiyan's scalp immediately prickled. That thing was terrifying.

Fang Weiyan walked over to the window, then heard roosters crowing outside after opening the door.

A small village appeared before his eyes.

This was Fang Weiyan's hometown. After graduating from university, he should have gone to work, but something had happened at home, so he could only make a trip back for the time being.

The sun rose in the distance. As its light fell on Fang Weiyan, a little of the chill within his body seemed to be gradually driven away.

It felt like drawing out silk and peeling away a cocoon, a numbing sensation like poison being drawn out, and Fang Weiyan instantly passed out.