As the Plague Rat's will hardened, the golden light flared, and he began to reverse-absorb the body of the Plague-Eating Stove, which had been corrupted into corpse water.
At the end of decay is rebirth.
The divinity of 【Festering】 was the original core of the True Lord of Purity and Filth.
That old fiend had merged his body with the Dao, attempting to command all the plagues in the world, only to eventually lose himself within the divinity, becoming a monster that knew only how to spread disease before finally perishing.
And now, the originally incomplete plague origin within the Plague Rat's body was fortunately fused and completed during this cycle of destruction and reconstruction, becoming whole.
In the ruins of Lantao City's inner city district.
A pile of charred and rotting flesh suddenly writhed.
These were the remains left behind after the Plague Rat and the Plague-Eating Stove had perished together, long since eroded beyond recognition by the divinity of 【Festering】.
But at this moment, golden light burst from the depths of the rot.
The decaying flesh rapidly dissolved in the light and was just as quickly reconstructed within the dissolution.
Sizzle—
A brand-new body broke through the charred shell of flesh and stood upright.
The Plague Rat snapped his eyes open, a flicker of confusion crossing his crimson pupils before being replaced by clarity.
The sinking and struggling within the dream were vivid in his mind, and the words of his lord still rang in his ears.
"I didn't die. Heh, talk about good luck."
"Is this... the first transformation of eerification?"
The Plague Rat clenched his fists, feeling the brand-new power.
With a thought, a cloud of dark green fiendish qi emerged.
【New Ability: Great Plague Heaven】
Once this fiendish qi spread out, all plagues and toxins within its range could be controlled by him; he could spread them to cause disaster or absorb the toxins back into himself.
The Plague Rat grinned.
He sniffed the stench of rot lingering in the air and, no longer lingering, merged into a shadow on the ground and vanished.
In front of the Heart's Desire Hall.
When the Plague Rat emerged from the shadows in the corner, he was stunned by the sight before him.
The sky was beginning to brighten, but the entrance to the Heart's Desire Hall was crowded with a dense mass of people, several times more than the peak the previous night.
These people were mostly lone cultivators and commoners who had survived the night, and every one of them wore a look of fanaticism.
"The Bone God has manifested! We all saw it!"
"That's right! In last night's dream, that black-hearted City Lord was personally slain by the Bone God. I saw everything!"
"...The one you're talking about seemed to be the sword master..."
In the crowd, the monk Ku Chan was draped in a brand-new cassock, loudly and passionately proclaiming the manifestation of the divine miracle.
The news of the Bone God saving the world had spread rapidly throughout the city.
In particular, the fact that the Heart's Desire Hall had disregarded danger to take in a large number of human-face sores patients the previous night—indirectly preserving the hopes of countless families—made this gratitude very real.
"Fellow donors, for last night's great calamity, we were fortunate to receive the Bone God's pity. He descended with his dharma body, slew the evil spirits, and saved the entire city."
Several heads of influential families who had received favors were also helping out from the side.
"Master Ku Chan is absolutely right. The Bone God’s great grace is something we shall never forget."
"My Sun family is willing to donate one hundred thousand spirit stones to rebuild the Heart's Desire Hall."
"My Lin family is willing to offer a hundred century-old spiritual herbs as a small token of our appreciation."
The surviving commoners were fired up.
Everyone had seen the dream that swept through the city last night—the black-robed figure on the divine throne crushing the long, eerie night and saving them in the light of dawn.
The Heart's Desire Hall had achieved godhood overnight.
The Plague Rat, hidden in the crowd, nodded in agreement as he heard these words.
These were all his lord's achievements. That was correct.
Just then, a commotion broke out.
"Make way! Make way!"
A few people dressed as wealthy merchants were directing a dozen strong men, carrying a large object covered in red cloth, toward the Heart's Desire Hall.
Lin Zhixue looked on, stunned. "Boss Liu, what is the meaning of this?"
"Master Lin, just a small token of my respect!"
The leading merchant, full of excitement, yanked off the red cloth.
Golden light shone brilliantly, stinging the eyes of the onlookers.
It was a statue over three meters tall, crafted entirely from gold.
The appearance of the statue was sculpted exactly according to Chen Zhou's bone carving, depicting him draped in a black robe, surrounded by karma-fire, and seated upon a nine-skull throne.
"Pfft," the Plague Rat couldn't help but let out a light scoff as he revealed his form.
"I say, what are you doing with this thing? My lord doesn't care for such vulgar items."
His tone was harsh, but the merchants didn't dare to have the slightest complaint; instead, they became even more respectful.
"Lord Rat," Boss Liu gave a bow and added hurriedly.
"We mere mortals truly cannot produce any rare treasures.
"This golden dharma image was created by our nine merchant guilds pooling all our resources, hiring the best craftsmen in the city to melt gold and forge it overnight. It weighs thirty-six thousand catties.
"It represents the collective heart of all the living souls in Lantao City."
"Yes, please ensure this is presented to the Bone God. We are willing to offer worship to him day and night."
Lin Zhixue quickly smoothed things over. "Lord Rat is right; gold and silver are indeed hard to catch the Bone God's eye. But this is, after all, the sincere heart of the entire city's people in gratitude for divine grace. It would be a pity to throw it away."
"Ahem." Zhao Qingtian walked over with Zhao Qianjun and a squad of Blackwater Guards.
He first gave a respectful bow toward the golden statue, his voice booming like a bell: "Brother Lin, the Bone God surely knows the intentions of the people."
"In my opinion, why not invite this golden dharma image into the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion?"
"First, the City Lord's Mansion is the center of the commandery where providence gathers. It is the perfect place for the Bone God's image to preside and deter petty villains."
"Second, it will allow all the people of the commandery to go there to worship and enjoy the incense of the ten thousand citizens day and night!"
The Plague Rat frowned as he studied the golden statue. In his eyes, it lacked any divine charm and looked unpleasant no matter how he viewed it.
He felt this thing was unbearably tacky, failing to capture even one-ten-thousandth of his lord's majesty.
It wasn't even as soulful as the bone carvings that old man Lu Cheng in the City of the Wrongfully Dead could knock out at will.
"Fine, fine." The Plague Rat waved his hand impatiently.
Although he still found the golden statue eyesore, Zhao Qingtian's suggestion was decent.
Placing his lord's image in the City Lord's Mansion was equivalent to telling everyone who called the shots in Lantao City from now on.
The Plague Rat begrudgingly agreed. "We'll do as you say."
Zhao Qingtian was overjoyed. He planned that once this matter was settled, he would immediately tear down the City Lord's Mansion and build a Shrine of Merit for the Bone God with the highest specifications, so that future generations could admire the Bone God's majesty and remember his great grace.
Having received the divine messenger's approval, Zhao Qingtian no longer had any reservations. He immediately turned to Zhao Qianjun.
"Qianjun, lead a battalion of the Blackwater Guard personally to escort the Bone God's dharma image into the City Lord's Mansion. The ceremony must be grand. Announce it to the entire city!"
"Yes, Father," Zhao Qianjun complied resoundingly.
A massive ceremony to welcome the god began. The Plague Rat didn't care for the spectacle and walked straight into the Heart's Desire Hall.
The entire street where the Heart's Desire Hall was located had been bought by the Lin family, and it had taken in many patients the previous night.
It was still busy here.
Lin Shaobin was leading several workers, drenched in sweat as they boiled medicinal soup.
The little beggars were huffing and puffing as they moved pure lotus roots and detoxifying purple bamboo.
Though the disaster had passed, the residual poison of the human-face sores had not been cleared, and many patients were still groaning in pain.
The Plague Rat watched this scene and gave an impatient click of his tongue. He pushed aside the people blocking his path. "All of you, get out of the way!"
He bellowed, startling Lin Shaobin and the group of little beggars.
The crowd didn't know what was happening, but they instinctively backed away to clear a space.
"Lord... Lord Rat..."
"Don't get in the way!"
The Plague Rat walked to the front of the Heart's Desire Hall and took a deep breath.
He curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
"Great Plague Heaven!"
Boom—!
Dark green fiendish qi swept out, covering the entire street.
"Ah—!"
The patients along the entire street let out cries of pain simultaneously.
The human-face sores on their bodies seemed to be drawn by something. They began to writhe violently and then 'pop, pop, pop' out of their bodies.
All the human-face sores turned into streams of blood-qi that surged toward the Plague Rat.
The Plague Rat opened his arms, allowing that blood-qi to drill into his own body.
Under his skin, one human-face sore after another instantly bulged up, making him look grotesque and terrifying.
But in the next second, they rapidly shriveled, faded, and finally disappeared completely.
The human-face sores were treated like nourishment by his body, thoroughly eaten and turned into part of his fiendish qi.
In just a few moments, all the human-face sores on the patients had receded, and even the pain had vanished.
"This... this... they're cured?" Lin Shaobin removed his mask and touched his face, staring in disbelief.
The Plague Rat curled his lip, feeling a secret sense of satisfaction.
'I wonder if that old fossil, the True Lord of Purity and Filth, would be so angry he couldn't stay in his coffin if he saw his famous technique, 【Great Plague Heaven】, which he spent his whole life cultivating...'
'A move that was supposed to rot everything and exterminate all living things, being used by me to save people?'
'Whatever.'
'That old fossil was a fiend, but I, your Lord Rat, am now an Auspicious One!'
The Plague Rat laughed wildly in his heart.
What was an Auspicious One?
An Auspicious One was one who expelled evil, avoided disasters, bestowed blessings, and purified filth.
"Thank you, Lord Rat, for saving our lives!"
"Thank you, Lord Rat!"
Cries of surprise and gratitude instantly rang out in unison.
"Alright, alright," the Plague Rat waved his hand impatiently. "No need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank my lord."
Hearing this, the crowd stood up and rushed forward to catch up with the departing Zhao Qianjun, preparing to join the welcoming of the god.
The Plague Rat saw the patients off, his gaze scanning the remaining crowd, but he didn't see that familiar small figure.
He grabbed Erya, who was dazing nearby, and lifted her up.
"Hey, little bean sprout, where's your little boss?" the Plague Rat asked. "Why haven't I seen him?"
Erya was startled by his fierce appearance. Her eyes began to dart around, and she whispered, "Jiu... Big Brother Jiu'er, he... he won't let me tell you..."
"Hmm?" The Plague Rat hardened his face, intentionally looking menacing. "Spit it out, or I'll throw you to feed the City Lord."
"Waaah—!"
How could Erya withstand the Plague Rat's intimidation? She burst into tears on the spot.
Between her snivels and tears, she immediately sold Jiu'er out. "He... he's in the broken corner behind the marketplace. He said he's a little sleepy and wants to sleep for a while. He told us not to disturb him..."
The Plague Rat's heart sank for some reason. He muttered, "What a pain."
Then he dropped Erya, and his figure flickered, vanishing instantly from the spot.
He followed the direction Erya had pointed and came to a corner of the marketplace ruins.
Under a collapsed low wall, he saw that small figure.
Jiu'er was curled up there, covered by a few pieces of tattered cloth, seemingly in a deep sleep.
The Plague Rat breathed a sigh of relief. He was just about to step forward and give him a kick while scolding him, but his footsteps suddenly froze.
He saw it clearly.
Though the curled-up child's body was still that of an eight or nine-year-old,
The hair peeking out from under the tattered cloth was completely snow-white.
The Plague Rat frowned and reached out, pulling back the cloth covering Jiu'er's face.
That face, which should have been youthful, was now covered in fine wrinkles. The skin was as dry as the bark of an old tree.
It was the body of an eight-year-old child, topped with the face of an eighty-year-old man.
Rate on N.U.
