Chapter 23 - Dream of the Chitu God's Palace.

“So that’s what happened. These people are really troublesome.”

“Yes, because of their selfish desires, they’ve ruined the lives and families of countless common people.” Mo Li sighed softly. “By the way, did you find anything in the city?”

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you.” Then, Xu Xuan recounted everything he encountered in the city, as well as matters related to the Chitu God, to Mo Li in one go. After hearing Xu Xuan’s words, Mo Li’s expression grew increasingly grim.

“This King of Chu, he deserves to die!” After hearing Xu Xuan’s final words, Mo Li’s voice once again turned cold.

“What did you think of?” Seeing the chill emanating from Mo Li’s face, Xu Xuan couldn’t help but ask.

“Think back carefully to what you heard about sacrifices on the road. The emergence of the Novelist School, the inexplicable appearance of a deity. The King of Chu personally stepping in to help create a god, and the current situation of the Chu State. Also, the clearly abnormal policies of oppressing the people in Chu that we heard about along the way. Connect them all.” Mo Li said with a cold expression, looking at Xu Xuan.

“Are you saying… the King of Chu is sacrificing to some evil entity? He wants to cultivate some evil entity to help him win the war? In that case, his purpose in attacking the State of Song is to use the people of Song for live sacrifices?” At this point, Xu Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. “Not only is he capturing his own citizens to nourish an evil god, but he also wants to capture the citizens of Song as offerings? This person is insane, completely deranged.”

“Whether he’s insane or not, we’ll know tomorrow. If the King of Chu is truly nourishing an evil god, then I might not return tomorrow. So, you should leave tonight.”

“…” Hearing her words, Xu Xuan finally fell silent this time. He had originally expected to witness a confrontation between the Mohist School and the Gongshu School, similar to what was described in textbooks. However, what Xu Xuan hadn’t expected was how dangerous the internal situation truly was. If things were as they suspected, then the King of Chu’s palace this time was no different from a demon’s den. Reason told Xu Xuan that it would be better to mind his own business this time. Leaving Chu now and going to Jixia Academy to find his senior brother Gan Jiang seemed like the wise decision. After all, Jixia Academy was a place where all the talented people of the world gathered, and the safety index certainly wouldn’t be low.

But looking at Mo Li, Xu Xuan inexplicably recalled his previous life. Yet, Xu Xuan truly didn’t want to leave so directly. Firstly, he couldn’t give up the chance to witness a showdown between automaton masters. Secondly, he always felt that if he left now, he would look down on himself in the future...

“My prideful nature,” Xu Xuan finally sighed helplessly, then looked at Mo Li. “Rest. Tomorrow, I’ll go with you. And Xiaozhuang seems to have left some help in the palace; only I recognize what those butterflies look like. So I’ll accompany you to see, and I’ve never seen what the true form of that Chitu God looks like either. Honestly, I’m quite curious.”

“…” Seeing Xu Xuan’s gaze, Mo Li was silent for a moment before speaking. “The long night is coming, and demons will reappear. Remember to protect yourself.”

After speaking, Mo Li walked back to her room.

“This is how a man valued by this concubine should be.” The Chiyou Sword Spirit’s figure had appeared beside Xu Xuan at some unknown point. Her hands seemed to be wrapped around Xu Xuan’s neck, but Xu Xuan felt no touch whatsoever. “Don’t worry. As long as this concubine is here, and as long as you are willing to entrust your body and mind to this concubine, even if your opponent is an immortal, this concubine can save your life.”

“If Mo Li hadn’t mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten that the Year of the Long Night, which occurs every four years, seems to be approaching. These people aren’t rushing to store food, yet they still have the inclination to wage war against each other…”

“Do you know another name for common people?”

“What?”

“‘Grass people,’ oh. To the great figures of the world, common people are merely weeds that can be harvested at any time. This is the privilege of the strong.” After saying this, the Chiyou Sword Spirit’s figure vanished before Xu Xuan.

Sighing helplessly, Xu Xuan walked towards his room. Lying down on the bed and closing his eyes, Xu Xuan slowly drifted off to sleep.

However, when Xu Xuan opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find himself in an underground palace. At the same time, what also astonished Xu Xuan was that countless people were walking with him in the underground palace. These people appeared to be dressed as commoners, nobles, and merchants. But everyone’s eyes were filled with an almost fanatical look.

What surprised Xu Xuan even more was that strange patterns had appeared on some people’s arms. These patterns weren’t drawn on; they looked more like some eerie scars. Many of these people had patterns covering their entire bodies, and many others had patterns extending all the way to their eyes, except their pupils were empty, a pitch-black void. However, Xu Xuan noticed that all these people walked with their hands raised, because their eyes were actually in the palms of their hands.

“Ooooh ahhhhhh!!!” Right beside Xu Xuan, such a monster let out a terrifying shriek. Immediately after, two small human heads grew out of its eyes, one crying and one laughing. They had no eyebrows or hair, and their faces were one green and one red. The eye sockets and mouths of the two small heads were pitch black, like three dark, empty holes.

Xu Xuan instinctively took a step back, watching this scene. At that moment, he felt as if he had bumped into someone.

“Oh dear, you should watch where you’re going.” The man said as he stood up. He was wearing a black robe with a hood, from which a black veil hung down, depicting a golden eye.

“Liu Xian? Where exactly is this?” Seeing the familiar face before him, Xu Xuan asked.

“In a dream.”

“In a dream?”

“That’s right, in a dream, or rather, in the Chitu God’s underground palace.”

“You’re saying this is the Chitu God’s underground palace? Or in a dream?”

“Yes, this is how believers worship the Chitu God: they enter the Chitu God’s underground palace in their dreams to receive the Chitu God’s blessings and help.” Liu Xian said in a relaxed tone. “I’ve been searching for the secret of immortality, and perhaps I can find it here.” Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

“What’s wrong with those people?” Xu Xuan said, pointing to a deeply mutated person who now had three legs instead of two, and a pair of fleshy wings on his back.

“I don’t know. It seems that after spending a long time here, they naturally start to change.” Liu Xian said calmly. “But don’t worry, this is a dream world. As long as you wake up, any mutations will disappear. Hahaha.”

“That’s not funny at all.”

Just then, Xu Xuan and the others followed the crowd into the grand hall. At the same time, Xu Xuan saw countless deformed people kneeling on the ground in worship. As they worshipped, they roared out certain words in muffled voices.

“Thank you, great Chitu God, grateful for the great Chitu God, appreciative of the great Chitu God!!!!”

As for the front of the grand hall, Xu Xuan instinctively looked up. The next second, he saw a giant hand and six eyeballs in the center of its palm. Unlike the statue seen in the market, this giant hand was at least tens of meters tall. And the moment Xu Xuan noticed it,

his head felt as if it was about to explode. Numerous hallucinations appeared in his mind. Immediately after, he heard the whispers of countless people: ‘Thank you, great Chitu God, grateful for the great Chitu God, appreciative of the great Chitu God!!’

Such sounds constantly echoed in his mind, and at the same time, his body instinctively knelt down with the crowd.

“Oh dear, you shouldn’t just stare at deities. Now look, you’ve been noticed by it.” Hearing the other’s words, Xu Xuan once again struggled to look up. Right in front of him, the six eyes on the palm, at some unknown moment, almost simultaneously turned to stare at Xu Xuan’s location.

“Why can you see… don’t you get a headache?”

“I don’t have a head, what am I afraid of? What you’re saying really makes no sense.” Hearing Xu Xuan’s question, Liu Xian replied indifferently. “Oh, oh. It’s started. See those red soils on the platform? To affirm the Chitu God’s favor, you just need to go up and eat a mouthful of that red soil! Honestly, I’d really like to go up and eat it too, and then ask the Chitu God for the method of immortality. But unfortunately, I don’t have a head, so I can’t eat it. Hey, hey, are you listening to me?”

At this moment, Xu Xuan couldn’t hear Liu Xian’s words at all, because Xu Xuan’s consciousness and senses had become blurred. Strangely, Xu Xuan felt as if he could see things from the location of his palm. He raised his hand and looked at his palm, and the next second, he was shocked to find that he could see his own face, and the astonished expression on it.

An eye had appeared in the center of his palm at some unknown point, and it could also see things. It was at this moment that Xu Xuan felt a sharp pain on his face. The next second, he opened his eyes again.

What greeted his eyes was Mr. Hand, waking him up with a slap as usual.

Instinctively checking his palm and finding nothing but sweat, Xu Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good hit!!!” After thanking Mr. Hand, Xu Xuan grabbed his sword and walked out of the room. It was still dark outside, but at least in this cursed place, he never wanted to sleep again.

Mr. Hand, standing by, was clearly bewildered by his thanks, and for a moment, he froze in place.

Immediately after, Xu Xuan heard the little girl’s soft hum again. The bouncing, eerie girl once again appeared before Xu Xuan.

“Ahhh, you really are cute. I just realized today how good it is to have you, just as Xiaozhuang said, it truly is a blessing.” Looking at the little girl in front of him, and recalling the Chitu God from his dream, Xu Xuan’s face showed a relieved smile. As for the entity opposite him, it rarely tilted its head, revealing an expression of confusion…