Chapter 14: Shocking and Unprecedented

Seeing that the cripple couldn't figure out what Mi Wenjun and the others had done, Er Mao stopped asking questions. He tied up the donkey again, spread out a mat, and prepared to rest.

The cripple's work was far from finished, and he sat on the mat, continuing to sew a scabbard.

After lying down, Er Mao found it hard to fall asleep. The earlier tremors were too intense, and something major must have happened. Thinking back on Mi Wenjun's earlier words, then recalling the recent events and what the cripple had said, Er Mao suddenly had an idea. He turned over and sat up.

"Zha shi (rising from the dead)!" The cripple was startled by his sudden outburst.

"I figured it out," Er Mao said. "They once said that if they linger by the sea for too long, it would definitely attract the authorities. This means they are keeping the search for the dragon horn secret from the government, right?"

"Mm." The cripple nodded.

Er Mao continued, "If what they are doing with the dragon horn has nothing to do with the authorities, or if it's beneficial to the government, then there would be no need to hide it. So, the fact that they are keeping it a secret means whatever they are doing with the dragon horn is harmful to the authorities, right?"

"That makes sense." The cripple quickly threaded the needle.

Er Mao went on, "If Kunlun Mountain and Taishan are really the entrances to the divine realm and the underworld, then what Mi Wenjun and the others are doing with the dragon horn must be related to the gods. The reason they are hiding it from the government is because the government and the gods are in cahoots."

The cripple's expression grew serious, and he paused his work. "Go on."

Er Mao continued, "You said earlier that the third watch on the ninth day of the ninth month is when the gods return to their positions. Does that mean that the gods who were once among humans are either going back to the divine realm through the Kunlun Mountain passage or to the underworld through the Taishan passage?"

"Yes." The cripple nodded.

"Then it makes sense," Er Mao said. "Mi Wenjun once said that the dragon horn left behind by a successful dragon's tribulation still has the breath of true dragon wood. Whoever possesses the dragon horn can use it to ascend to the divine realm or descend to the underworld. Mi Wenjun also said that they only have two dragon horns. I thought they intended to use these two horns to go back and forth, but now it seems otherwise. They have used the two dragon horns on Kunlun Mountain and Taishan."

"What do you mean?" The cripple furrowed his brow.

Er Mao organized his thoughts and whispered, "What I mean is, the gods who ascend go through the Kunlun Mountain passage, and those who descend go through the Taishan passage. Mi Wenjun and the others must be using the dragon horns to ascend and descend through these two passages. The dragon horns are like one-time pass cards. Mi Wenjun and the others are using these two pass cards to enter the two passages that connect the human world to the divine realm and the underworld."

Before the cripple could speak, Er Mao continued, "The gods have just returned through those two passages, and now Mi Wenjun and the others are rushing to use the same passages. They must not be going to the divine realm or the underworld, as you said the gods are just returning and the passage is at its fullest. They are walking into their own doom..."

"I see what you're saying," the cripple said, suddenly enlightened. "You mean they are not looking to enter the divine realm or the underworld, but to enter those two passages between the human world and the divine realm and the underworld."

"Yes, yes, yes," Er Mao nodded repeatedly. "Each person can only have one pass card to those two passages. Once they go in, they can't come back. I suspect they never intended to return. The reason they are risking their lives to break into those two passages is to destroy them, trapping the gods in the divine realm and the underworld so they can never come back."

The cripple immediately got goosebumps. What shocked him was not how keen and thorough Er Mao's thinking was. After all, he raised Er Mao and knew his intelligence. What truly shocked him was the result of Er Mao's reasoning. If what Er Mao said was true, then Mi Tiangang and the others were in direct conflict with the gods. This was beyond reckless; it was earth-shattering, unprecedented.

With all the scattered clues coming together, Er Mao felt very excited. "It has to be this way. Mi Wenjun didn't lie to me. She really didn't know what her father was doing with the dragon horn. If she had known in advance, she would never have told me about the dragon horn's connection to true dragon wood and its ability to ascend and descend."

The cripple furrowed his brows and didn't reply. The truth was, he had been present when Mi Wenjun and Er Mao had spoken, and he had heard their conversation. His experience and knowledge far surpassed that of fourteen-year-old Er Mao. The reason why Er Mao could piece everything together while he couldn't was because he never even considered this direction. To think of challenging the gods with a mortal body was something he couldn't even imagine.

Seeing the cripple silent, Er Mao asked, "Am I wrong?"

"It seems right." The cripple nodded blankly.

"What are you thinking?" Er Mao asked.

The cripple said, "I'm thinking that all the major sects are involved in this. It's clear they've been planning this for a long time."

"Do you know if they succeeded?" Er Mao asked.

"Do you hope they succeed or fail?" the cripple retorted casually.

"I don't know," Er Mao shook his head. "I hadn't thought about it, and it has nothing to do with me."

"How can it have nothing to do with you?" The cripple gave him a sideways glance. "If they succeed, they'll soon be up against the imperial court and the shamans. If they fail, the gods and the imperial court will retaliate. Whether they succeed or fail, there will be bloodshed all over the Nine Provinces for a long time."

Upon hearing the cripple's words, Er Mao suddenly realized, "Right, I almost forgot. The Xuan Yun Sect is also one of their factions. If I go to the Xuan Yun Sect to learn magic, I'll be dragged into this too."

"It's getting late, sleep," the cripple said, ending the conversation and lying down.

Er Mao wasn't sleepy, but since the cripple no longer wanted to talk, he lay still for a while. Gradually, he calmed down from his excitement and then closed his eyes to sleep.

Because their campsite was near the roadside, they were woken up by the sound of fast-moving hooves at dawn. Er Mao opened his eyes and saw a large group of soldiers galloping eastward. The dust kicked up by the horses lasted for a full quarter of an hour before dissipating. There were thousands of soldiers passing by.

"Something big has happened." The cripple said.

"Are we still going to Liangzhou?" Er Mao asked.

"Don't ask me. You decide," the cripple replied.

Er Mao didn't immediately answer. Everything had happened so suddenly that he was still dazed. He had never thought about what the Nine Provinces would be like without the gods, nor had he ever considered opposing the imperial court and the authorities.

Seeing Er Mao hesitate, the cripple didn't force him to decide immediately. "Pack up. It's at least a month to Liangzhou. You have plenty of time to think it through."

Er Mao quickly packed up his things. He thought about leading the donkey to the pond to drink, but remembering the strange sounds from the night before, he decided against it. What if something was hiding in the pond and took his donkey away?

He glanced toward the pond and saw that the surface was covered with belly-up dead fish. 

Seeing the dead fish, Er Mao was puzzled, but they were all quite large, some weighing over ten jin. No matter how they died, they could still be eaten after just one night.

At this moment, the cripple was squatting in the grass, so Er Mao mustered the courage to run toward the pond. He had thought the mist hanging over the pond was just vapor, but when he got closer, he realized it was actually steam. The water in the pond was as hot as if it were boiling, and the dead fish floating on top were already cooked.

Something was definitely wrong. Er Mao didn't dare to eat them. He quickly ran back to the cripple, ready to hit the road.