Volume One: The Soul-Calling Gourd, The Soul-Burning Lamp Chapter Eighty-Five: The Change of the Metal Horse Year

Time raced on, and the sun and moon chased one another by.

With bodies worn to the bone, the three of them had finally, after tremendous effort, climbed to the top of the aloe plant.

Looking out, they saw all manner of towering, otherworldly flowers and herbs glowing faintly against the sky. Beneath them, however, the darkness seemed packed with unknown dangers.

Then Xiao Yulou, seated cross-legged in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes and formed a hand seal.

“Since neither of you has guessed it, let me say it plainly: this is the miniature realm.”

At that, Gu Mo was instantly baffled beyond measure.

But Li Hetang, standing nearby, clearly understood what Xiao Yulou meant.

“Daoist Xiao, are you saying that the earthbound master created this miniature realm beneath the Well of Gods and Demons? So those gigantic things we saw just now were the insects we normally pay no mind to?”

Hearing this, the immortal-looking Xiao Yulou smiled in immediate agreement.

“Exactly so.”

Gu Mo, on the other hand, having heard this startling clue, darkened at once and sneered in rebuttal.

“Exactly so my foot! Even if this is a miniature world, how long we can survive is still a question!”

With that, another thought burst from Gu Mo’s mind.

“Forget anything else for now. The ants we normally ignore could kill us outright! By that logic, if a spider or centipede showed up, it would be stronger than a flood dragon!”

No sooner were those words spoken than all three trembled like chaff, their nerves tightening as if their very lives had already been assigned a hundred million gruesome endings.

And why not?

Even a single drop of aloe juice could surge like a waterfall and gather into rivers. In this miniature world, almost nothing seemed impossible.

Glug, glug!

A few unmistakable sounds rang out, and the gluttonous ghost on Gu Mo’s shoulder actually extended its long tongue and rolled out several bags of popular chips.

At the sight, Gu Mo, Xiao Yulou, and Li Hetang all gaped wide-eyed, saliva practically spilling three thousand feet. Their eyes were brimming with naked desire.

Then, all at once, the fluffy little glutton tilted its head with an innocent look, its starry eyes fixed on the three of them, and let out a mew so adorable it could make hearts bleed.

Yes.

That little black lump of a glutton had meowed again.

Only then did Gu Mo come back to himself, forcing a fawning smile as he cupped the little creature in his hands.

“Fluffy, let’s talk about something, all right?”

“Glug, glug!”

“You pull out the food you’ve got stashed in your mouth, and then…”

As he said this, Gu Mo pointed straight at Li Hetang and spoke without the least courtesy.

“Once we get out, how about this sleazy guy buys you double?”

At once, Li Hetang frowned and looked at Gu Mo with utter innocence.

“How did I get dragged into this while lying down?”

In that instant of tension, Gu Mo’s face went cold, and he launched into a string of scolding at Li Hetang.

“Hmph! If it weren’t for your old flame, would the three of us be in this hellhole? If someone’s paying, it’s you!”

Hearing this, Li Hetang could only swallow his bitterness and keep silent.

Who would have thought that the gluttonous fluffball would immediately stick out its long tongue and form the shape of the numeral three?

Seeing this, Gu Mo had no choice but to agree for the moment. Heaven knew how long they would be trapped in this bizarre miniature world.

When supplies were scarce, every useful resource became a lifeline.

After they struck a deal, the glutton handed three bags of chips to Gu Mo. Naturally, the shameless opportunist even generously threw in three bottles of cola.

With that, the three finally managed to rest properly for a while.

After a long time, Gu Mo studied the darkness around them and thought it through carefully.

Judging by the rules of this miniature world, the sand and stones they had encountered earlier might well have been dust invisible to the naked eye in ordinary life.

Then the being designated O for this mission would be in grave danger.

Thinking of that, Gu Mo turned to Li Hetang and said,

“Young Brother Hetang, matters have come to this. You ought to share the intelligence you have on hand.”

Li Hetang, drinking cola, let out a slow burp before meeting Gu Mo’s eyes.

“What would Mr. Gu like to know?”

Hearing this, Gu Mo curled the corner of his mouth into a sly smile.

“Everything about your subsidiary foods company, and all the clues regarding the White Lotus Sect.”

At this, Xiao Yulou smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

Li Hetang was also startled by the question. Everything Gu Mo had asked was classified among the most secret of secrets. If any of it leaked out, even if Li Hetang were shot dead, he would have to die ten or eight times over.

“The appetite of the gentleman before me is truly enormous.”

Though Li Hetang’s blood was hot and he had no intention of betraying the company, the situation was critical now. Perhaps in the very next second the three of them would all be dead and gone. Those buried secrets suddenly seemed of little consequence.

Thinking this, Li Hetang let out a long sigh and held out both hands toward Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou.

Seeing this strange gesture, Gu Mo was instantly confused. But Xiao Yulou beside him decisively took Li Hetang’s hand.

At the sight, Gu Mo immediately curled his lip, and in his mind flashed a disgusting scene of men embracing.

Then, with narrowed eyes and a faint smile, Li Hetang drew out a special dagger.

“Mr. Gu, if you keep imagining things like that…”

Under the threat of death, Gu Mo could only smile along and place his hand in Li Hetang’s palm.

In an instant, a translucent blue glow surged over Li Hetang’s entire body. Meanwhile, Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou’s vision went black.

By now, Gu Mo understood. The “war god” standing before him was also an awakened one.

As soon as that thought arose, a flood of fragmented memories flashed before Gu Mo’s eyes.

Seven four nine, five zero seven. These two clues, strange beyond strangeness, were branded deep into Gu Mo’s mind like crimson seals.

Then came the Double-Fish Jade Pendant, the vanished tribe, the giant turtle of the Yellow River, the fierce ghost of room six hundred and nine, the Xiangxi Corpse King, the strange northern city zombie attack, the Yingkou falling dragon…

The hair-raising supernatural incidents, each more chilling than the last, made Gu Mo inhale sharply.

In that brief instant, Gu Mo’s mind was swollen and aching from the knowledge Li Hetang had forced into it. After the link was severed, he remained unable to calm himself for a long while.

But Li Hetang looked entirely unfazed. As if taking a leisurely stroll among flowers, he took out three cigarettes.

Once they were lit, the three silent men began to exhale clouds of smoke in quiet succession.

After quite some time, Gu Mo took a deep breath, crushed out the cigarette butt, and blurted out in astonishment,

“Damn it, all those folk rumors were true?”

Li Hetang, sitting cross-legged, nodded with perfect composure.

“Mr. Gu, that is everything you wished to know. Right now, we’re all grasshoppers tied to the same rope. And the content on the internet is only half true and half false. After all, these matters are too shocking; this was done to keep things under control and avoid unnecessary trouble.”

Hearing this, Gu Mo drew in another cold breath. Xiao Yulou, with his ethereal, Daoist bearing, seemed already to have known all of it.

Then Gu Mo frowned deeply and looked at Li Hetang in utter helplessness.

“So then, who is the company’s supreme president now?”

Having said this much, there was no need for Li Hetang to keep hiding anything.

“Codename Seven. The man from the photograph before.”

At this, Gu Mo grew somewhat puzzled. By rights, the subsidiary foods company had existed for quite some time. Yet that man in camouflage military uniform looked to be only in his forties, which made little sense.

Across from him, Li Hetang kept studying the micro-expressions on Gu Mo’s face. Since they had already opened the skylight and spoken plainly, this “war god” had thrown caution to the winds as well.

“Mr. Gu, as you know, our subsidiary foods company has three supreme presidents in all: Codename Seven, Codename Four, and Codename Nine…”

He paused deliberately and glanced sidelong at the silent Xiao Yulou.

“The company’s very name comes from the codes of those three. And ever since I, Li Hetang, was chosen at the age of eight by Codename Seven, I have only ever seen that one supreme president. As for the other two, I have only heard of their deeds.”

Then Li Hetang gave another sly smile and turned to the silent Xiao Yulou.

“As for the rest… that will have to be asked of our Daoist Xiao.”

At this, the silent Xiao Yulou seemed to have known everything long ago.

The immortal-looking Daoist gave his sleeve a flick, clasped his hands in salute, and said leisurely,

“The Honored Lord Without Limit.”

Before Gu Mo could darken his face and curse, Xiao Yulou looked directly into his eyes with remarkable docility and said,

“Brother Gu, all these mysteries begin with a great upheaval eighty years ago.”

Hearing this, Gu Mo was immediately bewildered.

His features twisting, he frowned and exclaimed,

“What the hell? Eighty years ago? There was a temple on a mountain, and inside the temple there was an old monk?”

That sudden bit of cheek nearly threw Xiao Yulou out of joint.

Ahem.

After a soft cough, Xiao Yulou continued with unhurried detail.

“Eighty years ago, a sudden upheaval broke out in the land of the Dragon Kingdom. The Japanese launched a massive invasion, burning, killing, and plundering as they pleased. And in order to expand their military funds, they organized a treasure-hunting expedition. This upheaval was triggered by that very expedition.”

Hearing this, Gu Mo felt utterly numb.

For history, true and false alike, who could really say what was what?

With the years stretched long, even the truth sounded like nonsense. Let alone the fact that victors write history; it is easy enough for all sorts of stray threads to be woven into it.

Then Xiao Yulou lit another cigarette. After exhaling a plume of smoke, he continued,

“That damned treasure-hunting team carried off countless treasures for the Land of Oil, until one day they dug up a lonely grave in the deep mountains.”

Hearing this ghost story, Gu Mo had the eerie feeling that, somewhere in the dark, all the clues were pointing toward him. And whatever the King of Hell’s wife had said must surely be bound up with these ghost stories in an inseparable way.

The next second, Xiao Yulou flicked his Daoist sleeve and said solemnly to Gu Mo,

“The true owner of that lonely grave was, by sheer coincidence, none other than the Supreme Immortal Lord of Purple Micro, Commander of Destiny.”

Crack—

A thunderclap suddenly boomed through Gu Mo’s mind.

“What the hell? That immortal cultivator who enlightened the Ten Kings of Hell?”

Hearing such sensational claims, Gu Mo could not at once overturn his ingrained way of thinking.

“Shouldn’t that great immortal be in the underworld? How could his lonely grave be in the mortal realm?”

At this, Xiao Yulou let out another deep sigh and said, “Brother Gu, what comes next is the most crucial part.”

Having said that much, Gu Mo could only force down his suspicion, shut his mouth, and listen. Xiao Yulou, however, smiled with great helplessness. The reason he had not wanted to tell Gu Mo all this was precisely because he feared Gu Mo would not be able to accept it.

But once the floodgates are opened, how can they be shut so easily?

“Buried in that lonely grave were eight divine implements of the Netherworld Office, along with the remains of the Supreme Immortal Lord of Purple Micro, Commander of Destiny.

The sects and lineages that learned of the clue went into an uproar overnight. How could the treasures of our ancestors simply be handed over to others?

So, in one night, nine powerful figures from different schools gathered together, launched a night raid on the treasure hunters from the Land of Oil, and took back the divine implements and the remains.”

After speaking, Xiao Yulou licked his dry lips, took a sip of cola, and continued,

“That was the upheaval of eighty years ago, known among the wandering world as the Gengwu Calamity.

And the most important matter in that great upheaval was written into a poem and spread far and wide.”

At this point, Xiao Yulou drew a deep breath, looked at Gu Mo and Li Hetang, and recited in a resonant voice,

“The yin-yang boxer, the six-edged blade; the medicine man, the three blacksmiths.
A bell hangs at the hand; the Daoist hides within the jade.”

Then Xiao Yulou shook his head and began to explain:

“The first half refers to eight of the nine great experts.

Namely: the Yin-Yang Master, the Master of the Continuous Fist, the Unranked Blacksmith, the Delicate Holy Maiden, the Medicine Man, the Blade Wielder of Sharp Edges, the Giant Bell, and my old immortal teacher, the Jade Void Daoist.

“The second half speaks of their circumstances:

First, second, and sixth hold the ranks; fourth, fifth, and third form a faction.
Seventh and eighth stand guard alone; only the ninth body has died.”

After saying this, Xiao Yulou, with his immortal bearing, actually seemed to feel a weight lifted from his shoulders.

“Of those nine great experts back then, only the ninth died. To this day, no one knows who that ninth was. But from the wording alone, the remaining eight, though connected in one way or another, eventually fell apart.”

Hearing this, Gu Mo felt completely numb. It seemed that, for him, these clues truly had arrived “too early.”

Yet what Xiao Yulou said next made Gu Mo utterly doubt life itself.