Chapter 106: The Wen Clan Members Pay Their Respects to the Patriarch

"Senior Brother, what do you think Master and the others are doing now?"
"I don't know."
"Senior Brother, tell me another story! I can't sleep."
"There are no more stories."
"Senior Brother, you're so boring!"
"A little."
"Senior Brother, do you think gods really exist in this world?"
"Maybe."
"Senior Brother, if gods do exist, I think your god would be like Master."
"Being a god isn’t good." After he said this, an eerie silence fell between them.
"Senior Brother… you haven’t been a god before, have you?" Wang Xi muttered. "Senior Brother has no memories from before coming to the mountain. That god who came from the heavens, although we don’t know what happened earlier, seems to remember only one thing."
The young girl, not taking it seriously, continued joking, "Senior Brother, what does it feel like to be a god?"
"Once you become a god, you can never turn back into a human." He didn’t know why he had this feeling, as if he had truly been a god before, and that memory of choosing to escape was not something good for him.
But why was that god who had gone far away so crazy and unhinged, while he could barely still be considered normal?
That self-proclaimed god only wished to die by Master’s hand.
Yet when he first met Master, what he thought about was how to kill Master.
Could it be that gods also have factions?
Just as Master said, if that person was a god, they must have been a god who was ostracized?
"Senior Brother, how do you know these things? At times, I really think you’re very knowledgeable."
Wang Xi squinted her eyes. She cared deeply about anything concerning Wen Jinge. After all, Liang Si had been Master Wen’s disciple for three years before her and should know more of the inside story.
"I don’t know." Liang Si closed his eyes, unwilling to dwell on the topic any longer.
"Senior Brother!" Just as he was about to fall asleep, Wang Xi shook his arm to wake him. "D-Do you notice the ground moving?"
At first, Liang Si thought it was quicksand, but soon he realized something was wrong.
It wasn’t the sand changing, but the entire ground was shifting rapidly in an incomprehensible way, like the sleepless city of the Black Mountain Demon—turning from barren grass into lush greenery.
This desert was no exception.
During the day, it was an endless sea of sand; at night, it was dotted with twinkling lights, plains, mountains, and even bustling city-states appeared.
Torches were placed atop the city walls, as if guiding the blind through the night.
Though they were some distance away, they could faintly see the gate crowded with people, hear songs drifting through the air—the city seemed to be hosting a grand banquet.
"Senior Brother…" Wang Xi’s face twisted into a look of confusion. "I remember this is the way back to Qianyan, but there is no such city in Qianyan. Why is it appearing out of nowhere?"
The atmosphere grew heavy, adding a layer of mystery to the dark night.
Liang Si grasped her hand and hurriedly gathered their belongings. "No matter what, we can’t cause any unnecessary trouble."
If even a god could be trapped here, how much more so for two inexperienced novices like them? He wanted to be cautious, holding tightly to Wang Xi’s hand as they prepared to leave.
"This is strange! There shouldn’t be a city like this here." Wang Xi muttered as they walked, puzzled. Suddenly, she noticed Liang Si had stopped moving and looked in the direction he was facing.
Ahead was a valley filled with crumbled ruins, looking abandoned for a long time.
"Senior Brother, should we—"
With the unknown valley in front of them and the dazzling sleepless city behind, Wang Xi didn’t know where to go. At this moment, Liang Si was her only anchor.
"I refuse to believe this!" Liang Si led her to the left side. But after some walking, they came upon a wide river.
The riverbanks were lush with greenery, a place of water and beauty—no longer a barren desert. Spirit foxes and wild creatures thrived here, unlike the human world.
"Then should we try the right side?" Wang Xi tentatively asked.
They turned back, and on the right side was a towering mountain range, previously invisible from where they stood. The jagged mountains twisted and turned, rarely touched by humans, with occasional monkey cries echoing.
"Senior Brother, do you think they want us to choose a path?"
Liang Si remained silent.
He didn’t understand the meaning or want to get involved. "May I ask, who are you, elder? Why do you deceive us with illusions, senior brother and sister?"
To him, the scenes before his eyes were all real, yet their vividness made them seem unreal. So he asked, "Please show yourself, elder. We are merely passing through. If there is any misunderstanding, I would like to clear it face to face."
The night was silent. In the stillness, weary souls found solace.
But night was also dangerous; wild beasts lurked in the forests, and a single misstep could mean death.
Night was also anxious—just like now.
"Elder, I ask for a word."
Only his own echo answered him from the mountains. "Junior sister, which path will you choose?"
"Can’t we choose neither? Just wait here? That god is trapped there—how can we get out?"
Liang Si was helpless. After thinking, he said, "Let’s wait in the valley!"
Compared to other places, the valley was clearer and seemed desolate—no signs of human presence. The other three directions might be dangerous, and Liang Si wasn’t sure if he could protect Wang Xi.
"Alright."
Unbeknownst to them, their Master was also watching a valley at this very moment.
"Amitabha..."
"Well said, well said." Wen Jinge replied. "Is there something you wish to say?"
The Buddha of Joy and Sorrow smiled. "I wonder how Immortal Wen sees it?"
"And what about the monk?"
"The Buddha says..."
"Don’t be clever. If you get clever, I’ll shoot you down."
Though he didn’t understand what “shoot you down” meant, the monk was clearly afraid.
Even though his cultivation was gone, a swordsman’s sword wasn’t purely reliant on spiritual energy; ordinary people practiced swordsmanship too, though their blades lacked the sharpness of a swordsman’s. Many skilled fighters roamed as rangers.
"The monk doesn’t know."
"I don’t know what you’re babbling about," Wen Jinge glared at him. "Can you bring back the son of the demon tribe?"
"I can."
"Hmm?" Wen Jinge looked surprised at the monk. "You can mimic voices?"
There was no one else here. Lu Wei had gone after the demon prince, so only the two disciples and the Buddha of Joy and Sorrow remained.
But the voice wasn’t from any of them—it belonged to a stranger.
"Who’s there?" The Buddha of Joy and Sorrow held his prayer beads tightly and paced. "Who is here?"
"A member of the Wen clan pays respects to the ancestor."
"Huh?" Wen Jinge was as puzzled as the two-zhang monk—who was this ancestor? She wasn’t a vampire!
"Master, the voice is coming from the valley," Ling Yi said with bright eyes.
In the valley within the painting, a group of people in black robes had appeared. The leader removed the hat from his head, showing features seventy percent similar to Wen Jinge’s.
"Please, ancestor, come with me."