Chapter 8 (Part 1) of Book 2: What is Fate?

  When I was in Luoyang, a wandering Taoist told me that ghosts are most afraid of black dog blood, but where can I get these things now? Just thinking about it, "pa-ta", I got hit on the head several times, and it turned out to be scattered crab shells. Lifting my head again, that white light had already appeared outside the pipe, crawling up*, flashing into the eggshell like lightning.

  My heart was on fire, I jumped onto the pipe and kept jumping up, soon I climbed to the highest point. I pulled the white fluff, the eggshell opened slightly, a strong gust of wind blew out, inside it was like a dark abyss, extending endlessly downwards, that spot of white light flickered within, particularly eye-catching.

  "Damn it, I must catch you! Braving the strong wind, I carefully crawled into the eggshell. Just as I took a few steps inside, a mysterious and irresistible suction force suddenly emerged from below, firmly grasping me and pulling me down. Oh no! Below was a rapidly rotating red whirlpool, and I plummeted downwards at high speed. The whirlpool was like a huge mouth that swallowed me in one gulp."

  The pressure around me surged, my body felt like it was being crushed into pieces, and I was in excruciating pain. I struggled with all my might, but I was powerless. The whirlpool wrapped around me, rapidly spinning downwards, after hundreds of circles, I was already dizzy and couldn't hold on anymore, and fainted. In a daze, I seemed to see that white light flashing in front of me. "Am I going to die inside the sea monster's belly?" This was the last thought that flashed through my mind.

  When I opened my eyes again, everything around me was silent.

  I sprang up with a start, to find the whirlpool swirling above my head, spinning at high speed. I immediately regained consciousness and realized that I had fallen from the whirlpool above. Fortunately, although my whole body was sore and aching, my life was saved!

  I looked around, empty and desolate, a vast expanse of blackness, the ground beneath my feet like undulating hills, thick and soft. I stumbled forward, feeling my way. After about an incense stick's worth of time, a faint blue glow began to emanate from up ahead. As I walked closer, I saw that the ground was covered in large mushrooms, standing upright like umbrellas, shimmering with blue light. By the faint light, I saw a figure not far away, crouched on the ground, scribbling something wildly. Hearing footsteps, she raised her head, and a pair of piercing green eyes stared at me intently.

  My whole body shook violently, and my hair stood on end. Oh my god, it's a person! Inside the belly of the sea monster, there was actually another person!

  She was an old woman, with a face full of dense wrinkles, I had never seen before, a face could have so many wrinkles, like an old walnut. Her white hair fell down, dry and long, covering half of her face.

  She and I stared at each other like this, I don't know how long it took, I coughed and said: "Old lady, you, you're good."

  The old lady looked at me coldly and after a while said: "Am I very old? A wife is just a wife, why add the word 'old'?"

  Her voice was very pleasant, not old at all. I smiled awkwardly: "Auntie, hello, I'm Lin Fei, I accidentally got eaten by a sea monster and came here. Do you live here?"

  The old woman said impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense. You're here, of course, because you've been eaten by the dragon turtle. What's your name and what does it have to do with me? Of course I live here, are you blind? Can't you see that you're young but full of nonsense?"

  My goodness! This old lady's temper is too weird! I hesitated for a moment, and said: "So this giant sea creature is called Long Jing (Dragon Whale)?"

  The old lady rolled her eyes, filled with disdain, and obviously thought I was talking nonsense again. I simply stopped speaking, looked left and right, and saw that the floor was cluttered with books, at least several hundred volumes. Many of the books were worn and old, with curled pages and yellowing text, seemingly from another era. "Purple Mansion Secret Dao Technique", "Dragon Tiger Secret Dao Technique", "High Immortal Feather Mystery Secret Dao Technique", "Six Ding Jia Yu Technique", "Hun Dun Jia Yu Technique", "Evil Hiding Classic", "Yin Yang Supplement Evil Technique", "Fetal Transformation Long Life Evil Scripture"... As I browsed through the covers of the books, my eyes grew red and hot, and my heart pounded like a drum. What the...?! Was I dreaming?! Were all these books really about secret dao techniques, armor techniques, and evil scriptures?!

  So many secret books, how can they all be piled up here? I'm trembling with excitement, unable to speak, just like a penniless bum who suddenly entered a treasure trove filled with jewels and treasures. With these hundreds of secret books, if I randomly pick a few to cultivate, I'll immediately become a very powerful demon or immortal.

  The old woman was watching me without a word. It wasn't until I got excited for half the day that I remembered, the owner of these secret books is this old woman. In an instant, it was as if a basin of ice water was poured on my head, and my mind immediately cleared up. No matter how good the secret books are, they belong to others. How could she bear to let me see such precious things? It's impossible to rob her, an old woman who has seen so many secret books is estimated to be powerful to the point of being abnormal, a single breath could kill me. In front of such a formidable expert, if I were to be discovered as Long Die, my life would be gone. It's better to retreat and live to fight another day.

  So I said four words to her, simple and clear, no nonsense at all.

  "Goodbye, grandma." I turned around and left.

  "Hey, kid! Stop right there!" came a shout from behind.

  She turned her head and looked at me curiously, asking: "Can you read?"

  I nodded, and she pointed at the books on the floor, asking again: "Then do you know what these are?"

  "Hmph! Since I can read, of course I know these are the secret manuals for Secret Passage Technique, Armor Defense Technique and Demon Technique."

  The old woman curled up her dry lips: "Then why did you walk away? Don't you want to take it? If any of these secret books fall into the Northern Territory, they will cause a sensation and attract countless people and demons to fight for them. Aren't you tempted?"

  "It's foolish not to be tempted. But I couldn't get these secret books anyway. Since I couldn't get them, what's the point of staying here? It would only add to my troubles. Besides, who knows if the secret books are real or fake?"

  "Huh? You little scamp, aren't stupid after all."

  "For me, being alive is already good enough. People die for wealth, birds die for food, can a secret book be more important than life?" I smiled, actually I had long been used to it, in the past when I was struggling to survive in Luoyang, such a prosperous city, I had no illusions anymore. No matter how much silver or how beautiful women are, if they don't belong to me, admiring them is useless and only brings suffering to myself."

  The old woman stared at me in surprise, and after a while, she said: "It's really hard to see that you have some insight. Hehe, but being able to live is not easy. As long as you are in the North Territory, you will have to endure the fate of birth, growth, decay, and emptiness. No matter how strong your power is, one day, you will die under the heavenly calamity."

  She fell silent for a moment, then sighed: "Ten years ago, these secret books were so precious in my heart. Now, they are just a pile of waste paper."

  I was curious and asked: "Grandma, how long have you lived here?"

  "It's been over ten years, I suppose." She said faintly: "I don't remember very clearly. These years living in the belly of Long Jing, I didn't know about the passing years outside, and I didn't dare to look in the mirror. I must look very old now."

  "It's not very old, it's extremely old."

  The old woman burst out laughing: "You little rascal, you're quite amusing. Aren't you afraid of being disrespectful to me? I'll kill you?"

  "I have confidence in you: 'You are a big shot, you must have a broad mind and a magnanimous heart, how could you kill someone over such a trivial matter?'"

  As the saying goes, a thousand cuts and ten thousand cuts can be endured, but flattery cannot. The old lady was indeed very happy: "Youngster, don't try to fool me with this nonsense. Tell me, how did you end up in Long Ji's belly?"

  I said truthfully: "I was being chased by Mizuki and Mitsurou, but then I met Ryujin and ended up becoming a snack."

  The old woman's eyebrows slightly furrowed: "Mizuro, Shinsaburou? How come I've never heard of their names before? There aren't many youkai with the surname 'Shin' in Makai. Shinsaburou, could it be that brat from Shin'yumei?"

  "I gritted my teeth and said: 'It's that rabbit! Grandma, do you know him?'"

  The old woman sneered: "What is he? He's just relying on a bit of trickery to show off." She reached into the pile of books, rummaged around, and pulled out a worn-out book, tossing it over. The cover read "Mirror Pupil Secret Path Technique".

  "Kid, as long as you master this secret manual, you'll be able to beat him until he's covered in dust. The Mirror Pupil Secret Path is the best technique for breaking through illusions. And, it would be even better if you add the 'Earth Prison Demon Scripture'. Hide deeply within the earth, use reality to break through emptiness, and use the boundless solidity of the earth to break through the illusory changes of the illusion." As she spoke, she found another secret manual and threw it at me.

  I held two secret books and stared at her blankly: "Grandma, you mean... these two secret books are for me?"

  The old woman said impatiently: "Nonsense, you kid suit my taste, so I'll give it to you. Anyway, I've read these secret books and they're useless if I keep them."

  My heart is racing with excitement, I'm speechless. We just met by chance, and she's willing to give me this precious manual. All these years, except for three beauties, no one has been so kind to me.

  After a while, I quietly said: "Mother-in-law, I don't have anything to give you."

  The old woman chuckled: "Do you think I'm still interested in your childish games? Hurry up and leave, I'm busy and don't have time to chat with you." She lowered her head and ignored me, her fingers moving on the ground as she furrowed her brow, deep in thought for a long time before burying her head again to write.

  I held the secret book, my heart surging with emotions. The old woman had drawn all sorts of patterns and scattered words on the ground, which I couldn't quite understand either. After a long while, the old woman inadvertently lifted her head, saw me, and said: "Why haven't you left yet? Do you want to ask for a few more secret books?"

  I gritted my teeth and said, "Auntie, you're a kind person, willing to give me such a precious manual. I, I can't just take it for nothing. I, I also have something, want to show you."

  She looked at me with a faint smile: "I don't care."

  "I said in a low voice: 'Mother-in-law, I Lin Fei am not used to owing others favors. This thing, I didn't give it to you, just lent it to you to take a look.'"

  The old lady's eyes showed a hint of curiosity, and I slowly said: "It is the map of the Heavenly Realm. Since it belongs to someone else, I cannot give it to you. But you can draw one based on this."

  Against my expectations, the old woman merely stared blankly for a moment, without any expression of surprise. She suddenly said, "No wonder the Mirage Building wants to kill you, it's because of the map of the Heavenly Freedom Land. I didn't expect that you, young man, would have such a precious treasure on you."

  "I asked in puzzlement: 'Grandma, why aren't you surprised at all? Don't you want the map of the Heavenly Realm?'"

  She burst out laughing: "Foolish kid, can a map really lead you to the Land of Freedom? Can a map break the cycle of birth, growth, decay, and emptiness? If it were that easy, I wouldn't have spent so many years pondering here. Keep your map, I don't want to see it, nor do I need to."

  I was stunned, unbelievable, this map that could drive the entire North crazy, in the eyes of the old woman, it was like a waste paper.

  I stood there for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "Well, I'll be off. Goodbye, Mother."

  "Wait a minute." The old woman stopped me again, staring at me with great interest: "You're not a bad kid, really good. You're willing to take out the map of Tianzhu, aren't you afraid I'll be greedy and snatch it?"

  I glibly said, "One look and I knew that my mother-in-law is a peerless great person, with a heart as vast as the northern border, or else how would I dare to reveal this secret to you?"

  The old woman laughed happily: "Good boy, you're quite eloquent. Come on, sit down, let's have a good chat."

  I sat face-to-face with her, the old lady was very straightforward and down-to-earth, without any airs, and it was a pleasure to chat with her.

  The old woman asked: "By the way, Dragon Whale is so vast, how did you get here?"

  I only just remembered that white light, and hastily told her the whole story of how I had been tricked. Finally, I said: "Grandma, you've lived here for so long, you must have seen that thing before? It seems to be around here somewhere."

  The old woman's face revealed a sly smile: "So it was you, hehe, I thought your hairstyle was so strange, turns out it had been fixed by it."

  "Ah, grandma, do you know it? What is it exactly? Is it a ghost?"

  The old woman smiled but didn't answer, and instead asked: "What kind of magic are you practicing? You were able to pass through the Blood Vortex unscathed, your skills are quite impressive."

  "Blood Vortex?"

  "It's that whirlpool that sucked you in, it's the dragon whale's way of protecting its heart. Any foreign object that gets pulled in will be melted into plasma."

  "I muttered: 'I cultivate Dan Ding Liu's Yun Guang Shi Li Fei Dan, so my body is as strong as cloud stone, that's why I didn't get hurt.'"

  The old woman looked at him in surprise: "Yun Guang Shi Liu Fei Dan is the key to alchemy, how did you get it to cultivate your magical powers?"

  I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to reveal the secret that I was Long Die. The old woman winked: "If it's inconvenient to say, then don't say it. Hmm, I also have two volumes of Dan Ding Liu's secret manuals here, if you want them, go find them yourself."

  My heart warmed up and I couldn't help but say: "Grandma, you're really good to me."

  The old lady waved her hand: "Don't be so mushy, since you coincidentally came here, it's also our fate, giving a few books is no big deal."

  "For grandma, these secret books are as light as a feather, but for me they're as heavy as Mount Tai." I chuckled and asked: "Grandma, why do you live in the belly of a dragon?"

  She sighed and didn't speak, staring at the messy pattern on the ground. After a while, she raised her head and suddenly asked me: "Kid, do you believe in fate?"

  I thought for a moment and said, "I don't know either. However, some people are born into luxury and wealth; while others can only be like a piece of mud, trampled at will. Mother-in-law, is this really predetermined by heaven? I'm not resigned to it, but sometimes I have no choice but to accept my fate."

  "What is fate?" The old woman said with a sigh: "Young man, let me tell you a story."