Chapter 121: A Multitude Beneath the Earth

The Kingdom of Qianyan was vast. The mother and son Wang Xi and the others had encountered earlier were merely on the outskirts; the further one traveled inward, the more populous it became. The perimeter of Qianyan remained a wasteland, but as they drew closer to the capital, the landscape grew increasingly lush and green.

After ten days of travel, Wang Xi finally laid eyes on the familiar city walls. Yet, there were no guards upon them; the gates stood wide open and empty, making the place feel more like a ghost town.

"Am I..." She began to doubt herself again. "Am I truly dead?" The words of that mother and son resurfaced in her mind. They had called her a corpse, a sinner responsible for the fall of Qianyan.

"I will go and ask," Qiao Yu said, stepping forward.

"I will go with you!" Bei Moying had, without realizing it, taken on the role Lu Wei once held, becoming the most loyal bodyguard for this group of children on their journey. Because he was a Saint Son of the Demon Clan, the demonic aura he radiated was potent enough that lesser demons or demonic cultivators lacking true sentience would sense his malice and steer clear of them.

Liang Si offered no objection, or perhaps, now that he had fully regained his memories, he secretly wished for Qiao Yu to perish.

"Senior Brother..."

"It is alright." Liang Si patted Wang Xi on the shoulder. "We will accompany you inside to take a look."

"People, people, so many people." Beixi Buddha had said little on this journey, only pointing things out when they piqued his interest. Now, he gestured toward the city gates of the ancient Kingdom of Qianyan. "So many people."

"Where are there people?" Neither Liang Si nor Wang Xi could see anyone.

Yang Wennan and Ling Yi remained silent. What they saw were the phantoms of the capital’s former prosperity; presumably, the monk saw the same.

"Underground, there are so many people underground."

"Underground?" Yang Wennan and Ling Yi exchanged a glance. They were seeing the spectral remnants of the city's past inhabitants, not anything hidden beneath the earth.

"They will come out once the gate is opened." Having said this, the mad monk ran inside himself. Once through the gate, the vacant look in his eyes gradually faded. He turned back to the others, appearing momentarily bewildered. "Just now, did you little benefactors push me?"

"You ran in on your own."

"I... by myself?" Beixi Buddha blinked, then walked back out through the city gate along the same path. "Eh?" He turned again, looking at the group behind him. "Open the gate. I must open the gate. Do not pull me."

"Who is pulling you?" Liang Si sighed.

The monk swung between madness and lucidity; if he were not mad, they would simply chase him away, but in this state...

"Is it not..." The monk looked at him timidly, finding the man frightening. "Is it not you, benefactor?"

"Then let me push you to open the gate!"

"Yes, yes! Quickly! If we are too slow, it will not open!" The monk clapped his hands in delight.

Wang Xi was the first to strike—or rather, to kick. Seeing everyone looking at her, she said, "He said it had to be quick, and my arm strength is not enough."

"That bow of yours is made of wood, yet even most men struggle to lift it, and you say your arm strength is not enough?" Yang Wennan sneered. "Junior Sister, do not joke."

"Senior Sister’s leg strength is quite astonishing as well!"

Beixi Buddha was sent flying into a storefront facing the gate, roughly fifty meters away—all from that one kick by Wang Xi. The monk struck the building and immediately lost consciousness, his speed so great that he had no time to revert from his foolish state back into the true Beixi Buddha.

"Now the gate cannot be opened," Ling Yi muttered with dissatisfaction. "And the show is ruined."

"Let us head inside." Liang Si led his junior brothers and sisters into the city. The moment they crossed the threshold, he felt a fierce gust of wind rush toward them. However, the wind was not directed at him, and once it passed, there were no follow-up attacks.

The storefronts along the street were draped in thick layers of cobwebs, and many signs had fallen to the ground. Liang Si looked at one on the ground; the characters for "Su Family Cloth Shop" caught his eye. He stepped inside. Bolts of cloth lay on the floor, yet most were arranged neatly, suggesting the people had not left in a panicked flight.

He exited the shop and checked several others, only to find the same state of affairs. Some rice had already turned moldy, yet the stalls were filled to the brim, as if they were prepared for business, only for the people to vanish into thin air.

"Let us... let us go to the Imperial Palace," Wang Xi said, her face ashen and her emotions erratic.

Liang Si wanted to comfort her but did not know how. Yang Wennan and Ling Yi walked behind them in silence. On the street, only the sound of their four sets of footsteps echoed, leaving a trail of footprints that stretched from the city gate into the heart of the capital.

The palace gates were tightly shut, a layer of dust coating the door knockers. It seemed they had not been opened for a long time.

"I only... I only went to study under a master on behalf of my Royal Brother. Why, why is there nothing left upon my return? On the road... there were residents! They were still talking about the Kingdom of Qianyan. Why, why has this city become a city of the dead?"

"Perhaps the world they see is different from ours," Yang Wennan said, reaching out to push the palace gates.

The heavy gates emitted a dull, creaking groan. As a sixth-rank Profound Master, it took considerable effort for Yang Wennan to force them open.

"Regardless, we must go in and see for ourselves before drawing any conclusions."

"Different?"

"Yes," Ling Yi took up the thread. Although he was not yet a Profound Master, he was a child of immense spiritual insight; his perspective already surpassed that of an ordinary practitioner, let alone the panicked Wang Xi. "Beixi Buddha was once the Great Beixi Buddha, but now that he is foolish, he is merely an ordinary monk. Lacking his former wisdom, the sights he sees are the same as those of any common person."

"And you..." Wang Xi looked at him. "You are just an ordinary person yourself!"

"Have you ever seen an ordinary person who has been worshipped as a god by foolish masses since childhood?"

Wang Xi was silenced, a rare occurrence. Had the timing been different, she would have certainly taught this child a lesson in humility.

"Let us go." Yang Wennan patted his head with a smile. "Stay close to me."

"Can't Senior Brother just hold my hand?" Ling Yi reached out to touch Yang Wennan’s hand, only to find him pull it back. The chill of his fingers was not that of a normal person. "Senior Brother, you... you just pushed the gate."

"Yes, I will be fine in a moment." Yang Wennan’s hollow eyes stared at the gate, adjusting his gaze until he looked normal again. "It must be some form of barrier. If I use the power of the Soul Clan to break it, I get the illusion of being back in that snowy wasteland."

"Is that so?" Ling Yi frowned.

"If you are afraid, go hold your Senior Brother’s hand. It is best to stay away from me at times like this, lest I cause you trouble."

"But you are not sleeping!"

"Who knows!" Yang Wennan sighed, taking the lead.

There was no helping it; many things here bore the marks left by the Soul Clan. He moved with practiced ease, navigating the city as he pleased, as if he had been here many times before.