Chapter 13: The Return of the Gods

Over the years, Ermao had gotten used to following the Lame Man. As they approached Liangzhou, where the Lame Man was about to part ways with him, Ermao couldn't help but feel reluctant. "You're getting old and need someone to take care of you. How about we don't go to Liangzhou after all?"

The Lame Man glanced at Ermao but didn't respond.

A few more days passed, and the two of them reached the heart of Qingzhou just in time for the Double Ninth Festival. All the counties and villages were preparing offerings. The government routinely prepared large amounts of offerings for the gods each month, but the ritual on Double Ninth was the grandest. According to the shamans, on this day, the gods wandering the mortal realm would ascend to the divine realm of the Nine Heavens and descend into the Nine Underworlds, returning to their original forms, where they would deliberate on the deeds of the common people.

In every county of the Nine Provinces, besides the local officials, there were also priests of varying ranks who were tasked with receiving and conveying the will of the gods. Their status was higher than the county's governing officials, and the sacrificial rites were their responsibility.

Though it was said that gods were always present just above people's heads, ordinary people rarely saw them in person. Even shamans, who served as the gods' messengers, were seldom seen by the common folk. When priests in their ceremonial robes appeared to conduct the ritual, they attracted a large crowd of worshippers and onlookers.

As Ermao watched piles of grains and foodstuffs go up in flames, barrels of wine being poured out, and herds of livestock being slaughtered and burned, he felt a pang of regret. Most of the common folk were struggling to survive, and seeing so much food and wealth wasted was truly a shame.

The Lame Man was uninterested in the ritual. In fact, he seemed quite repulsed by it. Not only did he refuse to watch, but he also urged Ermao to hurry along and leave the area.

"Old Uncle, do you think the gods can really receive these offerings?" Ermao asked casually.

"Just call me Lame Man, stop calling me Old Uncle. It sounds awkward," the Lame Man replied.

Ermao gave a sheepish grin. "There were things I didn't understand before, and I thought you might have kidnapped me. Now I know, it wasn't easy for you to raise me, so I'll be more respectful when I talk to you from now on."

The Lame Man sneered. "You've got a lot to learn."

Ermao quickly returned to the topic. "Do you think the gods can really take all this grain and livestock?"

"Who knows?" The Lame Man shrugged dismissively.

Not wanting to push the subject further, Ermao changed the topic. "Actually, we don't need to hurry to Liangzhou. If the cart isn't worth much, we can just sell it to the man with the donkey. I'll push the cart, and you can ride the donkey. It'll be more comfortable for you."

The two of them continued in silence. As evening approached, they found a place to camp. Nearby, there was a pond, and after a day of travel without time to wash, Ermao took the chance to wash their clothes after dinner.

While Ermao was off washing, the Lame Man gathered firewood and started a fire, working on something as the sound of hammering filled the air.

Around the second watch, when Ermao returned with the washed clothes, he found the Lame Man working the bellows, with an unfinished iron ingot on the forge.

After hanging the clothes to dry, Ermao went over to help with the bellows. He noticed a faint golden gleam in the nearby water bucket, so he reached in to fish it out, only to pull out a heavy lump of golden beans.

"Where did all this gold come from?" Ermao asked, surprised.

"Just something I've been saving over the years," the Lame Man answered casually. "Gold bars are hard to carry, so I melted it into gold beans. It's more convenient for you to store and spend."

"All of this is for me?" Ermao blinked in astonishment.

"Who else would it be for?" The Lame Man pointed to the ingot on the fire. "I'm also going to make you a weapon. Do you prefer a knife or a sword?"

Ermao was deeply moved by the Lame Man's actions. Until now, he had never respected him much. The two reasons were that he had once suspected the Lame Man had kidnapped him, and also because the Lame Man had been strict with him, taking the hard-earned money he made. He never expected that the Lame Man hadn't kept the money for himself but had instead been saving it for Ermao.

Seeing Ermao's eyes redden, the Lame Man raised an eyebrow. "Don't get all sentimental just because someone says a few kind words. That's not sincerity, that's shallow. You need to figure out if they have any ulterior motives."

Ermao felt awkward at the Lame Man's words. He sighed in helplessness. "Then what's your motive for being so good to me?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Just answer, do you want a knife or a sword?" the Lame Man pressed.

"Just make whatever you think is best," Ermao replied.

The Lame Man's expression grew serious. "I'm not your father. I have no right to make decisions for you. Besides, even if your father were alive, he wouldn't have the right to make decisions for you once you're grown. You have to face the consequences. You need to learn to make your own choices."

Ermao was somewhat dazed by the Lame Man's scolding and said absentmindedly, "Make a knife then, a single-edged one. It'll be easier to use."

With Ermao's definite answer, the Lame Man began to hammer and shape the blade. Forging a knife was not only physically demanding, but also quite intricate. It required continuous hammering and quenching to remove impurities and refine the copper and iron into pure metal.

By the third watch, the long knife was finally forged and the edge was sharp.

The Lame Man then began to craft the scabbard. At that moment, the earth suddenly shook, and the ground trembled violently.

The sudden quake startled both of them. Although they had both experienced earthquakes before, they had never encountered one so violent. The shaking continued, accompanied by a darkening sky, with the stars disappearing and the moon obscured.

"What's happening?" Ermao asked in panic.

The Lame Man looked equally bewildered. There was no way to explain the strange phenomenon.

As they looked on, the startled donkey broke free from its rope. Ermao hurriedly stumbled over to catch it. Even with his hand on a nearby tree for support, he still had trouble maintaining his balance due to the intensity of the tremors.

It wasn't just the donkey that was frightened; the entire mountainside was in chaos as birds and beasts ran and flew in all directions, panicked and screeching.

Everything around them turned pitch black. Ermao could only see what was near the campfire. Anything farther away was obscured. But one thing was clear: the tremors were not limited to their area but were affecting a vast region.

At first, Ermao thought the shaking would subside, but instead, it only intensified. Trying to stay calm, he muttered, "It's over, it's over, the sky is falling."

"It shouldn't be that bad," the Lame Man replied, staying remarkably composed.

"Haha, are we going to die?" Ermao asked nervously.

The Lame Man didn't answer.

Since they were camped at the top of a mountain, they didn't have to worry about rocks tumbling down, but Ermao tried to steady himself and look around. To the southeast, north, and east, everything was pitch black, while in the far west, there was a bright light.

Looking up again, Ermao saw that the sky was split between black to the east and white to the west. The line between the two was clear, but they seemed to connect at the ends, resembling two enormous fish in the sky, one black and one white, intertwined.

"What exactly is going on?" Ermao asked the Lame Man again.

The Lame Man was just as confused as Ermao. Neither of them had any answers.

Moments later, the violent shaking suddenly stopped. Ermao, still dizzy from the tremors, collapsed onto the ground.

After sitting for a while, Ermao realized the tremors hadn't completely stopped. The ground was still slightly shaking beneath them.

Moments later, the slight tremor ceased entirely, and the stars in the sky reappeared.

Ermao, still puzzled, couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

The Lame Man didn't respond immediately but instead gazed up at the sky.

Following the Lame Man's gaze, Ermao looked up and saw two blazing meteors in the sky. The two meteors streaked across the heavens and rapidly fell. The red meteor vanished to the north, while the white meteor fell to the southwest.

As the meteors disappeared, the Lame Man lowered his gaze and spoke, "The tremor just now came from two hundred miles southwest. That's where Mount Tai is located. It's said that..."

Before the Lame Man could finish, there was a sudden loud thud in the distance, followed by the sound of water splashing.

Ermao turned around in surprise. "There's something big in the pond! Oh no, I was just there washing clothes."

"Fish don't make that much noise," the Lame Man said, frowning.

"Maybe it's a giant turtle," Ermao urged. "Come on, finish what you were saying. What's going on at Mount Tai?"

The Lame Man raised his hand and pointed to the west. "It's said that Mount Tai is the entrance to the Nine Underworlds. The tremor came from two places: one at Mount Tai and another far to the west. If I'm not mistaken, it's likely from Kunlun Mountain. Legend has it that the entrance to the Nine Heavens lies in Kunlun."

Hearing the Lame Man's words, Ermao suddenly remembered the dragon horn he had found a few days ago. "Mi Wenjun once said the dragon horn could travel between heaven and earth. Do you think they might have used it to reach the heavens?"

The Lame Man didn't immediately answer but looked up at the sky, trying to judge the time. "It's just past the third watch, and the tremors began exactly at the third watch. Today is the ninth day of the ninth month, and the third watch is the time when the gods return to their positions. If they're heading to the heavens at this time, they're surely seeking their own doom."

"I still suspect it's related to them," Ermao said. "They've been so eager to find the dragon horn, I bet they're planning something big with it."

"That makes sense," the Lame Man nodded.

Ermao added, "Mi Wenjun said they have two dragon horns. There were exactly two tremors just now. It's definitely their doing."

"This is undoubtedly their work," the Lame Man agreed. "But what exactly have they done..."