The sky was overcast.
Mo Chuan's perspective shifted. He saw Xiao Bailong, intending to bring rain to a mountain village and simultaneously evade Guo Dahai, who constantly hoped Xiao Bailong would perform miracles in Huaihua Village, leave the small pond and head upstream along the river.
Guo Dahai, however, arrived once more. Beneath the water, his slightly weary voice echoed: "Dragon God... Dragon God..."
The owner of the perspective seemed to loathe this voice and instinctively wanted to leave.
So that's how it is... The perspective changed from Xiao Bailong to Xiao Heilong...
For some reason, Xiao Heilong seemed to recall something. He turned his gaze towards a shimmering, ethereal figure on the other side of the water and finally began swimming towards it.
As the perspective drew closer to the water's surface, Mo Chuan gradually discerned the situation. Guo Dahai was waiting for Xiao Bailong by the shore as usual. However, Guo Dahai now appeared unwell, with a receding hairline and prominent eye bags, increasingly resembling the old monk he would later become.
Mo Chuan also vaguely sensed a hint of peculiarity in Guo Dahai's eyes – inner conflict and hesitation.
"Dragon God, you..."
"I am no Dragon God."
Guo Dahai looked closely and realized that the figure emerging from the water before him was not the white divine dragon from before, but a black divine dragon.
Xiao Heilong clearly held no affection for Guo Dahai. He spoke with a sharp tongue, "Don't come looking for us anytime you please. This place is inherently a dragon's pool. Saving you was incidental. You disturb our peace repeatedly. We are not deities enshrined in temples, demanding daily offerings and annual sacrifices."
As Xiao Heilong's increasingly harsh words continued, Guo Dahai gradually lowered his head. His hands clenched, and he began to tremble slightly.
At this moment, Mo Chuan noticed Guo Dahai seemed to be holding something.
Before he could get a clear look at what it was, Guo Dahai suddenly raised his head, glaring at Xiao Heilong with bloodshot eyes and shouting, "What do you know! They all say you are fake! That I am lying! They clearly receive your blessings, yet they have never even seen what you look like!"
"Today! I will prove... that I am right..."
Guo Dahai raised the item in his hand – something resembling a remote control. He pressed a button, and a slightly rusty steel fork instantly pierced Xiao Heilong's body. Amidst his wails, a fishing net enveloped him, preventing him from swimming back into the pond.
"Even if it's not the white one, as long as I show you to those idlers who only gossip all day, I can prove I am right."
At this moment, Mo Chuan clearly saw the madness in Guo Dahai's eyes. He also watched helplessly as Guo Dahai dragged Xiao Heilong step by step towards the shore and then slowly pulled him down the mountain path.
The soil on the mountain path was often embedded with sharp stones, which continuously scraped against Xiao Heilong's as-yet-unformed dragon scales. The thorny bushes lining the path further tore open Xiao Heilong's wounds.
Slightly dark red blood stained the entire mountain path. The dragon's might and the metallic scent of the blood stirred the wild beasts of the mountain, making them restless yet afraid to advance.
...
A white car sped along the ring road.
"How is it? Can you contact Mo Chuan?" Taotu asked, communicating with her teammates via phone while using her ability to search for Mo Chuan's aura.
"Still no... The tracker on Brother Chuan has no signal. He's clearly been taken outside the city or to some abandoned area," Zhang Hanshan said from the other end of the line.
Although Tang Jingjing was driving, her slightly trembling hands revealed her state of mind. He Danrui, in the back seat, was constantly communicating with the passing birds, trying to locate Mo Chuan.
Just moments ago, ten minutes after Mo Chuan entered the haunted house, Taotu had keenly noticed that the mark she had placed on Mo Chuan had vanished. Simultaneously receiving news that Zhang Hanshan's tracker had malfunctioned, Taotu decisively ordered her team to seal off the haunted house.
However, the situation inside was astonishing – there was no one there.
Therefore, the entire squad was now going all out to find Mo Chuan's whereabouts. This incident would expose a large gathering point of followers of Yama of the Five Places, along with most of its key members.
But the current situation was extremely difficult. Mo Chuan had lost all means of communicating with the team. Even Taotu's ability, "Rabbit's Warren," hailed as the strongest communication and teamwork skill, could not pinpoint Mo Chuan's location, only his current vital signs (alive).
"Kid... don't die..."
...
In Huzhou, at a manor owned by the Tang family.
Due to its proximity to the outer city and its remote location, this area was sparsely populated. However, its good environment and limited development had made it a favorite among the wealthy.
Yet, the poor lived in bustling cities, wielding steel forks but unable to reach their loved ones; the rich resided in deep mountains, practicing martial arts but unable to dispel unrighteous friends.
The deeper into the mountains and forests one went, the more visitors there were.
Since Guo Dahai brought the unconscious Mo Chuan and the people from the haunted house here, a large number of people from Jianzhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou began to visit. From wealthy merchants and magnates from other regions to common laborers, they all arrived here without exception.
Even Ye Ling, who had managed businesses in Qingzhou and Bazhou for years, found that influential merchants and prominent families she knew, or had heard of, had all gathered here within a few hours. Ye Ling felt she herself didn't have such connections.
The once spacious hall was now packed to capacity.
The hall, originally decorated in a Chinese style, had its excess screens and decorations removed, replaced by huge red cloths and bronze candelabras. In the dimness, only the flickering candlelight and torches served as the few light sources. In the center of the hall stood a raised platform covered in red cloth.
Everyone was clad in black robes, holding candelabras, chanting incantations, and standing in an orderly fashion around the platform.
A moment later, Guo Dahai, also in a black robe, ascended the platform. He raised his arms and chanted, "The world is pure black; we offer red."
The people below raised their lamps and candles, responding in unison, "We offer red."
"Present the sacred image."
With that, a pitch-black statue, three times the height of a person, was carried onto the platform by eight individuals. The followers, eyes fixed on the candlelight, recited scriptures.
On the other side, Ye Ling took a puff from her pipe, a slight frown on her face. "I didn't expect this small cult could attract so many big names..."
"Greed. Speak cautiously."
The young boy (Taishan Wang) emerged from the corridor behind Ye Ling. He looked down at the congregation below and slowly said, "The fervor of these people... has allowed Yama of the Five Places to almost surpass Yama of Chu Jiang and rank among the top three Kings..."
But soon, Guo Dahai's pronouncements once again stunned Taishan Wang.
"Present the Holy Son!"