Chapter Nine: First Steps into the Mortal World

“We should head to the gathering place of the Eastern gods and meet the Emperor of Heaven, the leader of the Eastern pantheon, to negotiate the unification of divine civilization. If we happen to encounter a few Eastern high-ranking warriors, we’ll deal with them as well; I’m not at all concerned about these so-called negotiations. Frankly, I find it much more effective to seize what we want by force. With the might of us Northern gods, claiming the territory of the Eastern gods would be effortless—why bother with diplomacy?” Thor spoke carelessly.

“But Father’s intention was for us to come here only to negotiate the unification of the divine civilization. Isn’t it inappropriate for us to eliminate the Eastern gods’ high warriors on our own accord?” Loki continued, hesitantly.

“Loki!” Thunder God Thor nearly shouted. “Remember your place. You are not permitted to speak to me in this way—just follow orders!”

“Enough. Let’s leave quickly, before we attract the attention of the Eastern gods,” Athena said, flying off in a certain direction.

“You should learn a bit of Athena’s wisdom,” Thor remarked as he used his hammer to depart as well.

At that moment, Loki lowered his face, unable to argue, and glanced back at the fragments of Yang Jian’s shattered soul, the foremost Eastern war god.

“Is it just because I am the son of the Giant King that I must endure such treatment? I grew up alongside my brother—I am Odin’s son too!”

Loki took out a green vial from his pocket, opened it, and sprinkled its contents in midair. “This is the blood of Venus, the goddess of life, one of the twelve ancient gods said to have existed on Earth. I don’t know if what I’m doing is right, but I am certain my brother’s actions are wrong, and they go against Father’s will!”

After finishing this statement, Loki discarded the empty vial and left as well.

Within the dissipating fragments of Yang Jian’s soul, a shard touched by the green liquid suddenly seemed to regain consciousness. It transformed into a streak of white light and shot down to the earth.

The white light flickered erratically, aimlessly darting about, until it spotted a corpse lying on the ground—a body clad in a Taoist’s robe, its skin tinged blue as if poisoned.

The white soul-light paused, considered for a moment, then entered the corpse, gradually merging with the lingering soul still within.

...

“Am I dead?”

Fang You, who had been poisoned by his senior brother Zhang Zhiheng’s green snake venom, began to feel warmth returning to his body. He tried moving his fingers and slowly rose from the ground.

“How strange—I should have died from the poison, yet now I feel perfectly fine.”

He attempted to channel his energy and expel the poison, discovering his meridians were more open than ever; not only was the toxin gone, but he felt as light as a feather.

“Could someone have secretly cured me while I was unconscious?”

---

At that moment, Fang You checked his phone and found many missed messages and calls.

His uncle was urging him, asking when he would arrive at the paper shop.

“That’s right, I must hurry to Uncle’s house—he mustn’t be kept waiting.”

Thinking this, Fang You dusted the dirt from his clothes and continued on his way. Dawn was breaking, and cars were beginning to traverse the earthen road ahead.

He walked along the roadside, hailed a cab, and headed to his uncle’s paper shop.

Soon after—

The cab carrying Fang You stopped at a secluded alley in a certain city.

The area was quiet, lined with shops for funeral supplies.

Fang You stepped out and walked into the alley, following the address on his phone.

Suddenly, a voice called out, “Nephew, I’m over here!”

Turning, Fang You saw an elderly man who had opened his shop early, dressed in a suit jacket and oversized briefs, rising from a chair and waving a common fan as he approached.

“Why did it take you so long to arrive?” the old man asked, half complaining.

“Are you Uncle?” Fang You asked, regarding him closely.

“Of course! I’ve prepared some food for you—come inside!” The man, claiming to be Uncle, led Fang You into the paper shop.

Inside, many paper figures were already finished, though their eyes were left unpainted.

Fang You knew that paper figures possessed a certain spiritual nature; if their eyes were painted, they could be exploited by evil spirits, or even become monsters themselves.

Moving further inside, there was a small room for cooking and rest.

Uncle placed some noodles on the table and said, “Settle in and help out. You’ve just come down from the mountain—you need time to adjust to society. If you have any plans for the future, we’ll discuss them later.”

---

Fang You’s stomach was ravenous, and he immediately began devouring the noodles.

Just then, a voice called softly from outside, “Is anyone here?”

“There’s someone here!” Uncle hurried to greet the visitor.

Outside was a young woman in her twenties, looking quite anxious.

“Is there something you need?” Uncle asked at the door.

“I need a pair of boy and girl figurines! My classmate passed away, and I’m rushing to the funeral. I was delayed earlier this morning, so I need a pair for the ceremony—my classmate’s family asked me to order them. I’m really out of time!”

Seeing her urgency, Uncle quickly selected a fine pair of figurines.

“One pair is two hundred sixty, but I’ll give you a discount—two hundred forty.” He wrapped them up and handed them to her.

“Here’s two hundred fifty—keep the change. Wait, why haven’t you painted the eyes? Never mind, I’ll do it myself.” She placed the money on the counter and hurried off.

Fang You came out, having witnessed the exchange.

He noticed a trace of dark aura lingering on the girl’s forehead—a clear sign of ill fortune.

“Uncle—” Fang You began, but Uncle spoke first. “You noticed it too, I see. Your Maoshan skills haven’t gone to waste.”

“So Uncle understands as well?” Fang You asked.

“Don’t underestimate a paper artisan’s craft. Every trade has its own mastery, its own techniques. Judging by her appearance, she’ll face disaster within three days. She took the figurines and said she’d paint the eyes herself, but with her luck so poor, painting the eyes now could trigger something strange. Nephew, go and check on her.”