Chapter 113: The True Lord of the Profound and Subtle Manifestation

After hanging up the phone, Ning Zhe continued walking forward; the wisp of smoke drifting toward the blue sky was drawing closer.

The overall layout of Sheep Prison Village is a large, simplified Chinese character "Sheep" (sheep) spread out on the ground. The stone guardian at the southern village entrance is at the bottom of the vertical stroke, while the Earth Temple is in the center of the two diverging paths above the "Sheep" character.

Behind the Earth Temple stood an old ginkgo tree so large it would take over a dozen people to encircle it. Before even getting close, one could smell the scorched scent of burning charcoal.

Ning Zhe transformed into a holly bird and flew above the ginkgo tree. The rolling heat waves nearly knocked him over; the tree was on fire.

The trunk of the ginkgo tree was hollow, with sparse wisps of blue smoke emerging from within. The thick trunk resembled a towering chimney, and long tongues of fire would occasionally reach out from the tree hollow, licking the tender branches and green leaves of the crown—the tree was still alive. In fact, it was thriving.

Looking from above, only a small circle at the center of the crown near the burning hollow was scorched yellow. Above the dry, brown trunk was a lush, emerald-green canopy. Under the blowing heat, the fan-like ginkgo leaves rustled, and the vibrant new leaves and branches were full of vitality.

Beneath the raging ginkgo tree sat a small temple, slightly larger than the Earth Temple on the path outside the village. Ning Zhe turned back into human form and approached, seeing two women, one old and one young, kneeling before the temple gate, respectfully offering incense to the Earth God.

The old grandmother held 3 sticks of incense, and the young girl held 2, totaling 5 sticks inserted into the incense ash before the Earth Temple. These must be the grandmother and younger sister of Ji Taimi.

"Strange..." Watching the backs of the two kneeling figures, Ning Zhe's brows furrowed slightly.

The old woman's appearance matched the image of the grandmother in Ji Taimi's memories, though she was more aged than when he had seen her as a child. Generally, she was still recognizable, but the girl beside her...

"Ji Taimi... at least the Ji Taimi known by his grandfather. In his memories, there is absolutely no cognition or recognition regarding a younger sister." Ning Zhe's nerves tightened slightly, and he hesitated whether to continue walking forward.

Forgetting what someone looked like was one thing, but would a normal person not even know the name of their own biological sister?

Just a moment of hesitation later, the two kneeling before the Earth Temple seemed to notice someone arriving behind them. The grandmother turned around, saw Ning Zhe standing not far behind, and a smile instantly bloomed on her wrinkled face: "Oh my, Ah Mian, when did you get back? You didn't even let the family know. Your mother said on the phone..."

The grandmother stood up, overjoyed, and came to Ning Zhe, pulling at his sleeves and cuffs, looking him up and down. She chattered on about how it had been years, how her grandson had grown taller and older, though his complexion didn't look too good and he was quite thin.

The girl who had been kneeling beside the grandmother turned her head timidly. Between her soft hair was a face covered in red spots and acne, rotted beyond recognition: pimples, chickenpox, psoriasis, fungal infections... every skin condition one could imagine could be seen on the girl's face.

She called out softly in a hoarse voice: "Brother, you're back..."

Her voice was weak; it seemed her throat was also ill.

This face... Ning Zhe glanced at the girl's hands, hidden by long sleeves, and smiled slightly: "It's been a long time since I've seen you. Have you missed your brother?"

Ji Taimi's sister nodded vigorously: "Every day."

As the identity of "the brother known by the sister" was successfully stolen by Taiyi, Ning Zhe learned her name:

【Yin Lishang】

Not surnamed Ji, but Yin... Ning Zhe's gaze narrowed slightly. It seemed Lan Shiwen was right; their family had been forced to change their surname to avoid the pursuit of rogue Gridders, literally hiding their names. But for some reason, while Ji Taimi and his father Ji Wuxie had changed their surnames, the younger sister Yin Lishang had not. "Grandmother, why is this tree on fire?" Ning Zhe asked instead.

In Ji Taimi's childhood memories, this old ginkgo tree had always been perfectly fine.

"It was struck by lightning, of course." The grandmother took Ning Zhe's hand and said:

"Before I was even as old as you, this tree was already growing in the village. The city of Yun sent people time and again to persuade your grandfather, wanting him to sign an agreement to transplant this tree to a city park. If you ask me, the old man is just stubborn; he wouldn't take the free money, and he refused to let anyone dig up the tree."

"Perhaps this ginkgo tree absorbed too much earthly energy in the village, provoking the Earth God to the point he couldn't stand it. On the Dragon Boat Festival three years ago, a bolt of lightning struck from a clear sky in broad daylight, hitting the heart of the tree perfectly. Everyone rushed over to look and found that the heart of the tree was already on fire."

The grandmother stroked the palm lines of Ning Zhe's hand while frequently turning back to look at the raging ginkgo tree, continuing: "But this big tree has some cultivation; the lightning from the sky didn't kill it. The fire inside the tree has been burning for 3 years, yet the ginkgo tree is still living well. It even bore fruit last year."

"This fire has been burning for 3 years?" Ning Zhe found it hard to believe: "Did no one go to put it out?"

"You child, the Earth God is listening, don't talk nonsense." The grandmother hurriedly covered Ning Zhe's mouth and whispered: "This is heavenly lightning and fire requested by the Earth God, who would dare to put it out..."

Almost forgot that Ji Taimi's grandmother was a Buddhist...

Ning Zhe clicked his tongue lightly, his gaze sweeping over his sister Yin Lishang, who was looking at him timidly, and then back at the ginkgo tree. The hollow trunk burned with raging fire, like a giant chimney emitting blue smoke, and the tree had lived for three years under such conditions.

=9+Shu_Ba

Associating this with the elderly people he had seen in the village who were old beyond recognition yet simply refused to die, Ning Zhe naturally formed a hypothesis:

"In Sheep Prison Village, there seems to be no 'death'?"

If that were the case, Ji Taimi, who had fled into the village in a hurry last night, might not be dead at all. If he wasn't dead, where would Ji Taimi be now?

"Grandmother, let me ask you something." Ning Zhe pulled his palm from the grandmother's aged hand and asked: "I saw an Earth Temple on the way into the village, and the Earth God inside looked a bit miserable."

"You saw the Earth God?" The grandmother hurriedly widened her eyes; this matter seemed very important.

"Yes." Ning Zhe nodded and said: "I saw the Earth God's eyes nailed shut, ears sealed with mud, nose sliced off by a blade, and mouth sewn shut with needle and thread. The wounds on His body were still bleeding like a human's."

It was as if someone had dressed up a human corpse in the official robes of an Earth God and placed it inside the temple.

"Heavens... The True Lord of the Profound and Subtle Manifestation!" The grandmother let out a wail and was so frightened she fainted on the spot.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 114 =====