Hunger can drive a person mad.
Eunuchs bit off their own fingers, generals tore at the flesh of their thighs, and civil officials gouged out their own eyes to stuff them into their mouths.
Yin Xuan was also gnawing on his own arm.
He wept as he chewed, his body completely beyond his control.
"No... please no..."
He let out a raspy low growl, but his teeth bit deeper and deeper.
Yu He bit his lip and glared at the sky.
He had thought a god would at least listen to his plea, at least give him a chance to prove himself.
But he was wrong.
Gods did not care for the logic of mortals.
Gods only demanded obedience.
"Now," Zhu Pan's voice drifted down, "do you still wish to defy the rules?"
Yu He trembled all over.
He looked at those around him frantically devouring themselves, at the pain in Yin Xuan's eyes, and at those once-vibrant lives now reduced to slaves of hunger.
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him.
"I... I was wrong..."
He forced himself to his knees and looked up.
"I beg you... spare them..."
"I am willing to accept any punishment... just please... let them go..."
In the sky, the vermilion light flickered slightly.
"As it should have been."
Zhu Pan's voice carried a hint of satisfaction.
"This is a small lesson to prevent greater transgressions."
Zhu Pan paused before continuing.
"Since you admit your mistake, this seat shall grant you an opportunity."
"Not long from now, the boundary shall shatter, and this seat's true body will descend upon Gloomlight Province."
"If you can sincerely repent then, this seat will forgive your sins and take you back to the Central Province to serve by the side of the gods."
Yu He lowered his head, his grip tightening on his spatula.
Then he stood up with difficulty, walked over to the pile of black meat, and crouched down to pick up the pieces of the sacrificial substitute meat he had so carefully prepared from the three livestock and five fruits.
Yin Xuan was still gnawing on his arm, the white bone already visible.
Others had already eaten half of their own bodies yet continued to frantically gnaw at their remaining torsos.
If he didn't do something soon, they would all starve to death.
Yu He took a deep breath, threw the black meat into the pot, and rekindled the heart-fire in his palm.
The leaping flames reflected his furious expression.
He muttered to himself while stir-frying, his voice so low that only he could hear.
"Yin Xuan... you always said that although the world is miserable, there are still true gods."
"You said the gods never left, that they only changed their faces so that the world no longer recognized them."
"Now..."
He looked up at the cold vermilion in the sky.
"Now I finally understand."
"Everything you said... was all bullshit."
"What true gods, what pity..."
"They are nothing but a pack of beasts... looking down from on high, treating all living beings like grass."
His voice was very soft, but another equally soft voice rang out not far behind him.
"Listen, A Ling. Master is exactly right."
"Only My Lord is a true god. Everything else is just bullshit and false gods."
"Ga!!!"
Yu He froze, his stir-frying halting.
This voice... was unfamiliar.
It didn't belong to anyone present.
He whipped his head around.
At the edge of the Altar of Heaven stood two men, a crane, and a pig, though he hadn't noticed their arrival.
The leader was a man in black robes whose face was blurred, making his features impossible to discern.
Beside him was a young man with bloodshot eyes, whispering into the crane's ear with a hand over his mouth.
Who were these people?
Since when were the palace guards so lax?
Yu He frowned, about to ask.
"Who goes there? How audacious!"
Zhu Pan's voice arrived from the sky before he could speak.
Clearly, he had heard the comment from a moment ago.
Song Zi'an jumped, instinctively shrinking back.
He had only whispered his thoughts to the Nine-Age Crane; how... how did he get heard?
He looked nervously at Chen Zhou, but Chen Zhou remained calm, merely patting the little pig on his shoulder.
The little pig snorted and nodded at Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou understood.
It seemed they had successfully integrated into this dream.
Chen Zhou stepped forward and ascended the Altar of Heaven.
His black robes fluttered slightly in the night breeze as he walked at a steady pace toward the Heavenly Chef.
Yu He watched him warily, clutching his spatula.
"Who are you? Why have you intruded upon the Grand Sacrificial Ceremony?"
Chen Zhou didn't answer, instead looking at the black meat being stir-fryied in the pot.
Under the refinement of the heart-fire, the meat had lost its black hue, revealing a translucent texture and emitting a warm aroma.
Truly fine craftsmanship.
Chen Zhou looked up at Yu He.
"You are the Heavenly Chef?"
His voice was calm and emotionless.
Yu He hesitated before nodding.
"I am. And you are..."
He couldn't fathom how several strangers could suddenly appear during such a critical sacrificial ceremony.
Before Chen Zhou could reply, Song Zi'an couldn't contain himself.
He collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
"Master!"
His voice was choked with sobs, filled with endless longing and grievances.
The Nine-Age Crane also let out a long cry, rushing to Yu He's feet and rubbing its head frantically against his leg.
Yu He was stunned by the man and the crane.
His frown deepened.
"Have you... mistaken me for someone else?"
"I have never taken a disciple."
He was telling the truth.
Although he had an extraordinary talent for the Way of Food, ever since he left Zhenlong Mountain, he had spent these years in the palace researching sacrificial substitute meat and had never taken a disciple.
Not to mention, this young man looked to be in his early twenties and appeared even older than himself.
Hearing this, Song Zi'an's crying faltered.
He looked up through tear-filled eyes at Yu He's youthful face.
Right... this was his Master from five hundred years ago.
At this time, Master hadn't taken him as a disciple yet.
A massive sense of loss washed over him, but it was immediately diluted by the joy of reunion.
Regardless, he had finally found his Master.
Even if it was in a dream, even if Master didn't know him yet.
"Master, I..."
Just as Song Zi'an was about to explain, Zhu Pan's voice rang out again from the sky, carrying obvious impatience and fury.
"Noisy."
"How dare you ants converse so brazenly in my presence?"
With those words, a beam of vermilion light struck down from the sky, aimed directly at Chen Zhou and his companions.
The light was blazing, carrying an aura of destruction as if it sought to crush all who defied it.
Yu He's expression changed, and he was about to raise his pot to resist.
But then he saw the little pig on Chen Zhou's shoulder lazily lift its eyelids.
Then, a wisp of pale purple fiendish qi appeared above their heads.
The vermilion light struck the fiendish qi and dissipated in an instant.
Yu He was stunned.
Yin Xuan was stunned.
Everyone who had been frantically devouring themselves instinctively stopped their movements and stared blankly at the scene.
Zhu Pan's attack... was effortlessly neutralized by a pig?
How... how was this possible?
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