In the eighty years before the village was built, even infants who died prematurely were recorded in the family genealogy. This was not out of care or sorrow, but because of a sense of guilt.
"Exactly," Chu Haoman nodded and said, "And finally, the most crucial issue lies in the connection between the Qi Shui God and the Qihuai Lady. Remember the description of the Qi Shui God? People who ate fish from Qi Shui Lake had a certain probability of seeing the visage of the youth who later became the Qi Shui God in their dreams.
The Yan, which serves as a ritual vessel, consists of three parts: the Zeng, the grill, and the ceramic. The heat from the fuel passes through the ceramic, forming steam that passes through the grill, heating the food in the Zeng. And the Yan, as a Mutated Object, uses corpses as fuelwood and resentment as fuel, eventually forming black fish. Those who eat black fish can see the young man’s face because the black fish itself is a product of the young man’s resentment. In other words, in the one hundred and eighty years after the establishment of Qi Shui Village, the Qi Shui villagers continuously tormented that young man to profit from him."
"..." Yu Shusheng was dumbstruck. After a while, he processed this and asked, "Wait, are you saying that the Qi Shui God has been imprisoned inside the Mutated Object, the Yan, and tormented for one hundred and eighty years?"
"It’s not surprising. The highest-level Mutated Objects possess myriad capabilities. They can stop time. For example, when Wang Zhi of Jin watched chess while chopping wood, a hundred years passed in a blink. They can also create illusions, like a dream of millet."
Ji Xingwang still looked directly at Chu Haoman and slowly said, "So, no matter whether that Qi Shui God initially sacrificed himself willingly or was forced, he is still inside that Mutated Object, the Yan?"
"No, he should have been freed by now," Li Ang said. "According to Yu Shusheng, during the Late Sui, Bingzhou suffered from a prolonged drought that led to famine. It was a miraculous fish rain that saved the lives of the Bingzhou common people. To commemorate the deity, the people of Bingzhou established the Qihuai Niangniang Temple. This was quite strange. They didn’t worship at the Dragon King Temple but instead created a new deity. Furthermore, this deity’s image matched the illusion I saw after eating the black fish."
He paused and said, "There’s only one explanation: the miraculous fish rain that saved the people of Bingzhou originally came from Qi Shui Lake, hence it had the same characteristics as the Qi Shui black fish. And the reason it’s the female Qihuai Lady instead of the male Qi Shui God is because an accident occurred during the destruction of Qi Shui Village in the Late Sui period. This accident led to the transformation from the male Qi Shui God to the female Qihuai Lady."
"From male to female?" Yu Yong blurted out. "How is that possible? According to Chu Haoman, wasn’t that Qi Shui God always locked up in the Mutated Object, the Yan..."
He stopped suddenly, realizing the issue. "Wait, it’s not that the deity itself changed gender, but the sacrificial victim inside the Yan changed."
"Correct," Chu Haoman took a deep breath and said. "It is precisely because the sacrificial victim being tortured inside the Yan changed—the one who harbored resentment—that the illusion created by the black fish changed from the Qi Shui God to the Qihuai Lady."
Li Ang continued, "And the illusion of the Qihuai Lady I saw after consuming the black fish provided by Zhuo Wenbai’s family also proves one thing: the Qihuai Lady had already replaced the Qi Shui God. Right now, Qi Shui Hollow, Qi Shui Village, and its villagers don’t truly exist; they’re merely some kind of Illusion Realm. If I’m not mistaken, tonight is the historical period when Qi Shui Village is destined to be wiped out. Soon, they will appear."
"Who are they...?" Before Yu Shusheng could finish his question, flickering lights and the sound of footsteps echoed from a distant tunnel.
A group of Qi Shui villagers appeared. They were dressed in festive attire, escorting a woman who was tightly bound, her face wrapped in cloth. Among the escorting party, Guan Anyan also saw two familiar figures—the Zhuo Wenbai couple. Unlike the other expressionless villagers, Zhuo Wenbai and his wife were holding the escorted woman’s arms, their faces filled with sorrow and grief.
When this group saw Li Ang and the others, they were extremely shocked and confused. Just as they were about to ask, Wang Linian, a cultivator from the Taiyuan Wang Family, swung his sword. The Sword Qi crossed the long distance, slashing at the top of the tunnel. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveIꜰire.net
Rubble fell from above the tunnel, landing in front of the villagers and separating the two sides.
"What are you doing?" Yu Yong exclaimed angrily. "Those people..."
"Those people are just Illusions, part of the Illusion Realm. They’re insignificant," Wang Linian stated calmly. "Haven’t you realized yet? All of this has already happened in history. No matter what we do, things will not change. Tonight, the sacrificial victim in the Yan is destined to be replaced."
"Zhuo Lu..." Guan Anyan suddenly realized something and murmured, "When Zhuo Wenbai invited us to his home, he mentioned to his wife that their daughter was playing with friends in the ancestral hall and didn’t return home that night. That figure being escorted earlier was her. She must have accidentally found the tunnel while playing in the ancestral hall and found this place..."
"And after she discovered the truth, out of sympathy, or possibly induced, she released the Qi Shui God originally trapped in the Yan, causing the ceremony to fail," Li Ang said grimly. "With no sacrifice in the Yan, there were no continuous black fish, and Qi Shui Village could not maintain its prosperity. To ensure lasting wealth, the Qi Shui villagers, including Zhuo Lu’s parents, decided to seal her in the Yan, making her the next sacrificial victim, continuing the cycle."
"That’s right," Chu Haoman sighed. "It’s possible that after the Qi Shui God was released, its resentment was too strong. Or perhaps the betrayal by her parents rendered Zhuo Lu utterly desperate and heartbroken. In any case, shortly after she was sealed in the Yan, the situation spiraled out of control. The continuous surge of resentment from the Yan directly destroyed Qi Shui Village and dragged all the Qi Shui villagers into this seemingly endless, perpetual Illusion Realm, repeatedly reliving the events of that period."
"Constantly repeating..." Yu Shusheng pursed his lips and stared at Chu Haoman. "How many cycles have you experienced here?"
"Twenty-five in total," Chu Haoman sighed. "Initially, I also wanted to save Zhuo Lu and end this endless tragedy. But how could I change what has already occurred in the past? No matter what I do, Zhuo Lu will enter the Yan, generate intense hatred, and destroy Qi Shui Village. If categorized according to the Academic Palace’s ranking, this could definitely be classified as a Level One Mutation. Its repercussions could even ripple through various parts of Taiyuan County. For instance, the unexpected heavenly fish rain that saved Bingzhou in history was a side effect of the explosion of resentment from Qi Shui Lake. It was Zhuo Lu’s resentment that formed those countless fish falling from the sky. The Bingzhou common people, who ate those fish and ’saw’ Zhuo Lu’s face, mistook her for a deity. They erected the Qihuai Niangniang Temple for her and offered her tribute and incense."
"...I see," Ji Xingwang was silent for a long while before slowly saying, "And the reason you didn’t want us coming here..."
"It has been three hundred years since Zhuo Lu was sealed away during the Late Sui," Chu Haoman said bitterly. "Not long after she was sealed in the Yan, the resentment she generated was enough to destroy Qi Shui Village and cause the villagers who killed her to suffer the torment of reincarnation, turning them into beings neither human nor ghost. Only her parents are slightly special; they’ve retained some sanity—perhaps Zhuo Lu still harbors some feelings for them. But now, three hundred years have passed. Three hundred years of reincarnation have allowed a massive amount of hatred to accumulate in the Yan. Added to this is the resentment contained within the Bronze Artifact itself, passed down from the Shang Dynasty. If this were to explode again, it wouldn’t just destroy Qi Shui Hollow. Bingzhou, Taiyuan County, and even the entirety of Hedong Road would all be in danger."
Ji Xingwang was silent for a long moment, then turned to Wang Linian. "You attacked us for this reason as well."
"To be precise, I only attacked Yu Yuan, Liao Kaifeng, and Yan Yan," Wang Linian said expressionlessly. "In my estimation, they would place their own lives above the common people of Taiyuan County and Hedong Road, making them unstable factors."