Chapter 290: First Collective Worship

Creak…

A thatched hut door was pushed open.

Old Tang stepped out, leaning on his cane; he had drunk a bowl of meat soup yesterday, and today his entire demeanor looked noticeably better than before.

He carried a deeply conflicted and complex mood.

He gazed toward the center of the village.

He wanted to see living people, yet also wanted to see broken corpses.

Hoping to see living people came from inner conscience, and from the hope that these people might continue to care for them, improve their living conditions, and delay their deaths.

Hoping to see corpses was to prove to these outsiders that he was right—that violating taboos meant death, disrespecting spirits meant death, and ignoring the elders' words meant death too.

He wanted to live, yet dared not take action.

He wanted change, yet he still wanted to shackle the youth with ideological constraints.

But the scene Old Tang saw in the village center nearly made him faint dead away.

There, on the flat ground before the houses, eleven new Lotus Juanren stood in a neat row, as if performing some mysterious ritual, bowing deeply toward empty air.

Some laughed, some cried, some were utterly bewildered.

The scene was absurd, eerie, and chilling upon reflection.

Old Tang, leaning on his cane, trembled so hard his lips shook: "Ghost… ghost… appeared in broad daylight!"

…

But in truth.

The Lotus Juanren were merely worshipping a god.

Only, in the eyes of the natives, neither the offering table, the incense burner, nor the deity statue existed at all.

Before them, misty clouds drifted; three phantom talismans floated in the air, gently swaying as if subtly deforming like clouds in the wind.

These three talismans were:

Shadow Character: Enhances a weapon or item, causing a perfect phantom duplicate to form beside it during attacks, mirroring its strikes with equal strength.

Transparent Character: Enhances a weapon or item, rendering it completely invisible and immune to bloodstains or dirt; the wielder can still perceive a faint outline.

Blood Character: Weapons enhanced by this talisman inflict a "Bleeding" effect upon striking enemies—the wound continues to bleed for a period of time.

Wu Xian pondered for a moment.

He immediately rejected the Transparent Character; its effect was powerful—if applied to a spear or similar weapon, it could serve as a perfect ambush tool, since enemies could not see the weapon and thus could not defend.

But applying it to a boomerang was ridiculous.

Because after throwing the boomerang, the wielder still had to catch it again…

The Blood Character and Shadow Character left Wu Xian torn—both could significantly boost the damage of his bloodstained boomerang.

After much deliberation, Wu Xian chose the Shadow Character.

The Shadow Character's effect worked against any enemy, regardless of nature.

The Blood Character only worked against enemies with blood; their enemies' nature was still unknown—if the foe had no blood, the talisman would be wasted. Also, throwing the boomerang risked self-injury, and uncontrolled bleeding would be a nuisance.

Finally, Wu Xian made his choice.

Wu Xian's deliberation was swift, and since he was the first to worship, he was only slightly slower than the others.

When he finished worshiping and looked around, he noticed the atmosphere had grown noticeably lighter.

Until just now, the newcomers had all felt uneasy.

After last night's danger, they had been powerless—but now, with the worship tools, they had confidence; they would no longer be helpless if danger struck again.

Some had received talismans or divine arts, though their exact nature was unobservable; others had obtained artifacts.

Jiang Chun had received ten golden fingernails, exquisitely carved with openwork, inlaid with gems—clearly priceless—and she was studying how to wear them.

This was a set of "Silver-Gilt Filigree Inlaid Gem Fingernail Covers," originally a palace concubine's nail ornament, imbued with imperial aura, capable of harming dark and impure entities.

Su Xuan had received a small dagger; normally, one would grip a dagger with the blade facing upward in a reverse grip, but Su Xuan held it in an ice-pick forward grip, swiftly slashing twice before sheathing it with satisfaction.

Merely from those two motions, Wu Xian could tell Su Xuan had received dagger combat training—her becoming one of the Three Immortals drunk beneath the bridge must have involved a twisted story.

Wei Qinglan now wore a cloak, and Li Juxian held a box.

Thus.

This collective worship had ended.

Watching the objects slowly vanish, Wu Xian sighed—the deity statue vanishing was fine, but at least leave the table! If they could dismantle these tabletops, they'd have beds to sleep on.

As he sighed,

Wu Xian noticed Old Tang trembling as he shuffled backward; he quickly stepped forward and grabbed Old Tang's sleeve.

"Grandpa Tang, you're awake? I have a question: are there any porcelain shops in the City of the Undying?"

"Porcelain?"

Old Tang shuddered violently, struggling to pull away, but Wu Xian held him fast.

Jian Lingyu walked over, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, asking gently: "I'd like to know too—are there any paper-burning shops over there…?"

"Paper-burning shops!"

Old Tang turned ashen, and scrambled backward with all his strength.

"You old bastard!"

"Don't push it too far!"

Wu Xian glared fiercely, one hand gripping Old Tang's collar, his eyes brimming with lethal intent, even his curls seeming to radiate the menace of a wild beast.

"I know you harbor resentment, but it wasn't us who made you suffer so—on the contrary, we're trying to make your lives better."

"We did break taboos, but if we succeed, it will benefit you too. The risk of dying at any moment is ours to bear—can you really stand here, clueless and silent?"

These elders were miserable.

But misery is not a valid excuse for irrationality.

The longer they hide the truth, the more lives may be lost in this group—some information must be dragged out of them, even by force!

Old Tang was drenched in sweat under Wu Xian's pressure, caught between advance and retreat.

Kindness can indeed move the heart, but for stubborn old men, violence is sometimes more effective.

As the old man opened his mouth several times, on the verge of yielding, Du E's cold fingers suddenly clasped Wu Xian's hand and pressed it down.

Then Du E grabbed the hem of her robe, seemingly flustered, and bowed deeply to Old Tang while holding the fabric.

"Grandpa Tang, I'm truly sorry."

"This person never learned manners—please don't take him seriously."

Released, Old Tang's chest heaved; he wanted to curse Wu Xian but dared not, so he stomped his foot twice hard, then staggered back to his room.

Wu Xian frowned at Du E: "What are you doing? He was about to speak."

Du E spoke in the tone of a naive, innocent heroine: "Using violence to coerce him—even if he gives in, what he says may not be complete. I believe my sincerity will move him to reveal everything voluntarily."

Wu Xian blinked: "How long until he acts on his own?"

Du E pressed her fingers to her forehead, thinking: "Maybe a few minutes."

(End of Chapter)