The Divine Statue Came to Life

When Ye Fu ignored her, she began to puzzle over it. Why was he ignoring her? She frowned and thought it over. Then, inspiration struck. Right! It must be because we're strangers and he doesn't trust me. In that case... She coughed twice and said, "My name is Yu Mu. Yu as in fish, not elm, like in 'elmwood head.' And Mu as in wood. Not the other way around, like a wooden fish."

"Oh."

"What about you? What's your name?"

Although he couldn't make out her face, she sounded hopeful. Ye Fu could tell that if he didn't answer, she would keep asking in all sorts of ways. This person was quite a nuisance. He said casually, "My name is Shi Wu. Shi as in eight, nine, ten, and Wu as in No Man's Sky."

"Shi Wu... How strange. It sounds like a code name from some secret organization..." she muttered. Then something occurred to her, and she pressed him, "What's No Man's Sky? It sounds amazing."

"The heavens. That's No Man's Sky."

"Hm, that's even harder to understand."

"It means the vast, far-reaching universe."

"The universe? Space and time? Now it's even harder to understand."

"..." Ye Fu realized that his way of thinking was different from hers. Was this the difference between a transmigrator and a native after all?

After they had both been silent for a while, Yu Mu asked, "Shi... Shi Wu, what are you thinking about?"

Ye Fu was somewhat speechless. Does this girl have no sense of caution at all? Trying to get close to a stranger like me.

"Nothing."

"You must have something on your mind."

They were back to the subject of "something on his mind" again.

"No."

"Look," she said earnestly, like someone speaking from experience, "really, I'm not lying to you. You shouldn't let too many worries pile up. See, we both know each other's names now, so we're acquainted. It's all right to tell me."

Ye Fu was speechless. You don't even know my name, let alone know me.

When Ye Fu didn't speak, Yu Mu grew even more spirited. She thought that the harder someone was to get along with, the better the practice for her communication skills.

And so, she started chattering away again.

Ye Fu listened helplessly the whole time, keeping his mouth shut and staring blankly outside as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. I don't want to cry either, but I can't help it.

The more Yu Mu talked, the harder Ye Fu cried, and she began to panic. Could I really have touched a sore spot? She didn't know what to do and wanted to move a little closer to comfort him. In her fluster, she stood up and accidentally stepped on a piece of wood in the fire. A red-hot ember flew up and landed on Ye Fu's thigh.

Sss-

That hurt!

Ye Fu slapped it away, but it had already burned a hole in his trousers and left a burn mark on his thigh.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" At a complete loss, Yu Mu hurriedly apologized. "I was too careless!"

Ye Fu managed to say, "It's... It's all right. Look at me. I didn't even blink."

Yu Mu instinctively looked at his eyes. Seeing tears streaming down his face, she felt even guiltier. "You're crying so hard!"

She felt she had to make it up to him. "I have some ointment. Let me bandage it for you."

With that, she felt around on her person, took out a little ointment, and walked toward Ye Fu.

"No need!" Ye Fu wasn't nearly carefree enough to dare use a stranger's medicine.

Perhaps he had spoken too quickly, his voice a little too loud. It startled Yu Mu, and her body trembled. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. Disheartened, she told herself, Just as I thought, I can't do anything right. I can't do anything right...

She gritted her teeth, untied the red ribbon holding her hair, and offered it to him. "At least bandage it, so dust doesn't get in," she said softly.

Ye Fu couldn't move, so he didn't take it.

Yu Mu carefully laid it on his leg, then walked away dejectedly.

After that, Yu Mu didn't say another word to Ye Fu. She crouched alone in a corner, dejected, occasionally raising her head to look at him. Every time she looked, he was sitting there blankly, his eyes blankly open as he stared blankly outside.

"So he does have something on his mind after all... Sigh."

She didn't dare ask him again, afraid that not only would she fail to help him, but she would also cause him trouble.

She waited quietly, feeling dejected.

The rain showed no sign of stopping. Instead, it grew heavier and heavier, and the wind did the same, howling.

As the fire went out, the temple grew gloomy.

Ye Fu was still in that strange state. He felt as though he were receiving something in an unending stream. He couldn't yet say exactly what it was; he only felt that it was something profoundly mysterious.

He waited quietly and cautiously.

In the latter half of the night, the lightning and thunder grew more frequent. Now and then, a blazing bolt of lightning struck, lighting up the night.

The temple grew very cold and gloomy, unnaturally so.

Assailed by the chill, Yu Mu had no mind to rest.

After a bolt of lightning flashed like an explosion, she suddenly saw by its light that the divine statue beside Ye Fu seemed to have come to life. Its mouth was open wide, about to bite down.

Chapter 3: The Divine Statue Came to Life

"Ah!"

Yu Mu let out a startled cry.

"Shi Wu, get out of the way!"

Ye Fu had long since sensed the divine cultivator beside him change, becoming like a ferocious beast. He could also clearly sense that it was about to eat him, and he very much wanted to get out of the way.

But he couldn't move!

"Get out of the way, there's a monster!"

Yu Mu stood up and circulated her Spiritual Qi. It flowed through her meridians and burst out, billowing her robes and skirt.

Ye Fu couldn't move. He was nervous too.

Seeing that Ye Fu wasn't moving, Yu Mu thought he had been stunned by the monster. She gritted her teeth hard, condensed a Spiritual Qi imprint in her hand, and flung it out. Light flashed, and an urgent, violent whoosh split the air. The Spiritual Qi imprint slammed hard into the divine statue.

But the divine statue was not affected in the slightest. Instead, it turned its head toward Yu Mu.