Chapter 22 - The Mist

At the bottom of the cave, the giant nightmare and the realm spirit were locked in fierce combat, with the giant nightmare gradually gaining the upper hand. After all, this was its home turf. Another reason was that the realm spirit had been trapped in the soul nurturing jade for too long, weak as if it hadn’t eaten for days. Although it managed to bite the giant nightmare a few times when it was immobilized by the power of the talisman, it was hardly enough to turn the tide.

Soon, the giant nightmare devoured the realm spirit within it, its body swelling in size as it roared and charged towards the cave’s ceiling.

Chen Shaoxian watched the giant nightmare rushing towards him but remained calm. As it nearly reached the top of the cave, he casually threw down his lantern. Thinking to himself, “The great number of extreme yin is complete, what goes to extremes must reverse; wonder if it’s actually true.”

The moment the lantern touched the giant nightmare, the black flames on its body turned white and began to seep inward. Simultaneously, thunder rumbled from the cloud above. Hearing the thunder, Chen Shaoxian felt a surge of joy, thinking, “It really is true.”

He quickly threw the five thunder talisman at the giant nightmare and started sprinting down the mountain, shouting, “It’s thundering, time to get the laundry!”

The giant nightmare howled as it burst forth, its entire body turning into a white fiery orb, its light as bright as the sun illuminating Qianniao Garden. Thunder roared in the sky, and suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the giant nightmare, followed by another and another. Each bolt peeled away a piece of white flame from its body, disappearing into the night sky like shooting stars.

The giant nightmare’s body shrank with each lightning strike, soon vanishing into the night. As it disappeared, a massive bolt of lightning struck the hill, causing it to collapse with a thunderous crash, sending clouds of dust billowing. At that moment, Chen Shaoxian, who had just reached the base of the mountain, was engulfed in the dust.

Xiao Zhuang was waiting in his car for Chen Shaoxian. Seeing him running down the mountain, he quickly drove towards him. However, the ensuing scene left even the usually composed Xiao Zhuang stunned. Seeing Chen Shaoxian overwhelmed by the dust, he hurriedly got out of the car and rushed towards him. It was Chen Shaoxian’s good fortune that Xiao Zhuang collided with him just as he was choked by the dust and fainting. Xiao Zhuang grabbed him and rushed out of the dust cloud, quickly driving away from Qianniao Garden.

Chen Shaoxian opened his eyes to find himself lying in a hospital room, surrounded by pristine white walls. The sunlight lazily streamed through the window, bathing him in a warm, indescribable comfort. Feeling a bit stiff, he stretched lazily and sat up. The room’s furnishings suggested that it was a high-end hospital room, complete with a fridge and a color TV.

He got out of bed and did a set of punches in front of the window. Feeling hungry, he was just wondering what to eat when the door opened and Liu Baodong entered, carrying food.

Chen Shaoxian turned and saw Liu Baodong holding the food, chuckling and saying, “When you’re lucky, everything just comes your way. I was just feeling hungry, and here comes the food.” He walked over, intending to take the food from Liu Baodong.

Seeing Chen Shaoxian bouncing around, Liu Baodong’s face lit up with joy, but then quickly turned serious as he pointed at Chen Shaoxian and scolded, “I don’t blame you for knocking me out, but you were reckless! What if something serious had happened to you?”

Catching his breath, Liu Baodong continued with red eyes, “You’re the only one left in your family. Why don’t you think about Grandpa? You always try to act tough. I know you’re stubborn, but why can’t you be more prudent? Have you ever thought about what would happen if something really happened to you? We might be outsiders, but what about Grandpa? He’s old and to go through the ordeal of burying his grandson, could he bear that?”

Hearing Liu Baodong scold him, Chen Shaoxian knew that Uncle Liu was speaking from the heart and meant well, fearing for his safety. His throat tightened, and his eyes reddened as he said, “I’m sorry, please don’t be angry. You all are the dearest to me, and I don’t want any of you to get hurt. Aunt is pregnant, and you can’t afford any accidents. I promise I won’t act recklessly anymore.”

Seeing Chen Shaoxian admitting his mistake, Liu Baodong’s tone softened as he pulled him aside and said, “Shaoxian, I know you did it to save someone, but you are still young. We aren’t being selfish. Think about yourself, think about our family, and think about all those who care about and love you. For our sake, you can’t afford to get into trouble. Enough said, you must be starving. Let’s eat.”

After speaking, Liu Baodong placed the dishes he brought on the table. Looking at Chen Shaoxian, he said, “I know you’ve been weakened. Your Grandma Liu specifically made this ginseng soup for you, using up one of your Grandpa Liu’s stored ginseng roots to really nourish you.”

Chen Shaoxian took the soup, took a sip, and joked, “The old man must be heartbroken, I remember he couldn’t bear to use it even the day after Uncle Liu got married.”

Liu Baodong’s face turned red, and he playfully tapped Chen Shaoxian’s head, “Don’t be disrespectful. Your Grandpa Liu wasn’t heartbroken at all. He even said to stew one ginseng root per day to make sure you’re well nourished.”

Chen Shaoxian fell silent, bowing his head and taking big sips of the soup, swallowing his tears with it.

After finishing the soup with a burp, he asked Liu Baodong, “By the way, how are Su Jingya and the others doing?”

Liu Baodong nodded, “Your Grandpa Liu and I split up to visit them yesterday, and they’re all fine now.”

“Huh? Yesterday? How long have I been asleep?” Chen Shaoxian scratched his head.

Hearing this question, Liu Baodong became a bit heated again, “You dare to ask? You’ve been asleep for two days, really worrying your Grandma Liu and my nephew’s wife to death. Especially my nephew’s wife, running back and forth between her good friend and you. You’ve been lying here oblivious to everything. Finally, your Grandma Liu couldn’t stand it anymore and insisted the girl go home to rest.”

Chen Shaoxian stared at Liu Baodong somewhat dazedly and slowly said, “Nephew’s wife? Are you talking about Zheng Ruirui?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Baodong grew even more irritated, pointing at Chen Shaoxian’s head and lecturing him, “Who else could it be? I’m telling you, young man, she is a good girl-beautiful, treats you well, and is also filial. You couldn’t find a better match if you tried. Don’t be ungrateful. When your grandpa gets back, we’ll settle this matter.”

Chen Shaoxian scratched his head, thinking, “Oh no, I’ve accidentally let the enemy into our ranks, and now there’s no explaining this. No, I need to get out of the hospital first.”

Chen Shaoxian chuckled and said, “Let’s get discharged from the hospital first. We can talk about everything else once we’re out; it’s uncomfortable staying here.”

Liu Baodong looked at Chen Shaoxian’s expression and shook his head with a sigh.

They quickly completed the discharge procedures and headed back to Liu Iron Mouth’s home first.

Upon Chen Shaoxian’s return, Liu Iron Mouth and his wife eagerly greeted him, asking about his well-being. During the conversation, Grandma Liu kept mentioning Zheng Ruirui, praising her endlessly, and Liu Baodong’s wife joined in commending Zheng Ruirui as well.

Grandma Liu suggested that the family have a reunion dinner and asked Chen Shaoxian to call Zheng Ruirui. Chen Shaoxian had just mentioned that he didn’t bring his cell phone when Liu Baodong handed his over, already dialed with the number.

Soon, Zheng Ruirui arrived at Liu Iron Mouth’s home. Upon seeing Chen Shaoxian, her face lit up with joy, though she said nothing and went straight to help the Liu family women with the preparations.

Chen Shaoxian and the Liu father and son took this opportunity to walk into the study.

The three entered the room, closed the door tightly behind them, and Liu Iron Mouth pulled Chen Shaoxian aside, asking, “Shaoxian, tell us again what happened on the mountain. I’ve heard some from Baodong, and it seems quite extraordinary.”

Chen Shaoxian detailed his experiences on the mountain to them.

After listening, Liu Iron Mouth pondered for a moment and said, “Your grandpa never mentioned to me that there were such mysteries in the cave; perhaps he didn’t know either. Now it seems we can confirm one thing: when your great-granduncle was alone on the mountain, there was also thunder and lightning. Maybe he was trying to use the same method to eliminate the nightmare underground, but for some reason, it wasn’t successful.”

The three fell silent, each contemplating the reasons behind these events.

Chen Shaoxian lit a cigarette, tapping his fingers on the table, thinking, “If my great-granduncle wanted to destroy that nightmare, why would he bother setting up those things underground?”

Chen Shaoxian suddenly had a revelation and said to the two of them, “We’ve all been thinking about this the wrong way. My great-granduncle didn’t intend to destroy that nightmare, not because he didn’t want to, but because it simply wasn’t feasible at the time. The nightmare hadn’t yet taken form; it was just a mass of resentful energy without a physical body. If left unchecked, it would eventually gather strength and harm more people, but dealing with it directly was not an option. That’s why he built this grand formation to first seal off the resentful energy and used lightning to confine it, making sure it couldn’t escape and would eventually have to recede.”

Chen Shaoxian took a sip of water and continued, “This resentful energy was formed by the vindictive force of people who had been burned to death. The well was filled with animal fat, which this resentful energy was drawn to. The net over the well didn’t affect the resentful energy much, but once it materialized into a nightmare, the net was effective. It trapped the nightmare in the well. And then there’s the grand formation-while it doesn’t do much to mere resentful energy, once that turns into a nightmare, it acts like a millstone, slowly grinding the nightmare away.”

The two listened and found Chen Shaoxian’s analysis quite reasonable. Liu Baodong, following Chen Shaoxian’s line of thought, recalled something and distractedly said, “Based on Shaoxian’s analysis, the torn net above the well was damaged by that smaller nightmare. But why didn’t the net affect this newly formed nightmare?”

Chen Shaoxian agreed, saying, “You’re right, the net was destroyed by that very nightmare. However, we’re familiar with this particular evil spirit; it escaped from the Thousand Souls Stele. Remember when I was bewitched upon entering? It’s related to that evil spirit. Since it couldn’t ensnare me, it fled. But with such limited space, and with the imperial bell in the temple, it couldn’t enter there. Only the well remained, and the old net over it was no longer effective, easily destroyed by the impact. The giant nightmare in the well has been suppressed for so many years, it’s practically at its last gasp. Having a fellow creature for company isn’t so bad. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse, and it posed no threat, but it didn’t expect us. Initially, that creature wasn’t a nightmare at all, just a sheep in wolf’s clothing trying to scare people, which is why our fight felt so exhilarating.”

Liu Baodong, curious, asked, “Shaoxian, how did you manage to summon the lightning that shattered the giant nightmare?”

Chen Shaoxian chuckled and said, “I didn’t summon that lightning; it was those fifty lamps. The great number fifty, use forty-nine and spare one. Heaven and earth are inherently incomplete. When all fifty lamps were lit, they defied the natural order, naturally inviting a strike. I just helped it along by placing a five thunder talisman on the giant nightmare. With that lightning rod, it was hard not to strike it down. Though those fifty lamps were really something special, capable of communicating with heaven and earth-too bad they are probably no longer available; it’s really a pity.” After finishing his explanation, Chen Shaoxian suddenly paused, then excitedly said to the two, “I know what the person behind all this is trying to do.”