[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-book-of-strange-tales":3,"chapter-the-book-of-strange-tales-the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-577":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Book of Strange Tales",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2317857,4532,"Chapter 577","the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-577",577,"\u003Cp>During the years the Long River changed course, not only did the common people suffer, but the court also faced a great calamity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For it not only destroyed villages, homes, and flooded cities and military outposts, but also ruined farmland, hardening the soil into a crust and rendering it barren—what is called “earth cracked, five grains fail to grow.” Then it paralyzed the grain transport system; affecting the economy was minor, but it made delivering food to disaster zones nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people across the land drowned in misery, while the court’s relief efforts were like a drop in the ocean, and soon, refugee uprisings erupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uprisings meant war, and war bred demons and evil spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At precisely this time, the state’s finances were also affected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the regions struck by the Long River’s shift were often the empire’s relatively wealthy areas—either bustling trade hubs or major grain-producing zones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exhausted, the court had to both relieve the disaster and suppress rebellions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By day, they led troops into battle; by night, they exorcised demons and eradicated evil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finally quelling the rebellions, they still had to devote massive efforts to flood control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This too required enormous expenditure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could even exceed military spending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such massive expenditures, corruption and graft emerged, forming decadent interest groups—tumors on the body of the state. As long as they remained hidden, all was well; but once they grew, they could not be easily eradicated. They would cling to the dynasty for years, draining its blood and continuously breeding new dangers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, this dynasty was not in its final days, but rather at its peak—and it somehow endured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the court had clearly weakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the Gu family of Yangzhoucheng, this great calamity had originally posed little threat—but out of kindness, they exhausted themselves, distributing porridge to the people and spending nearly all their wealth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Gu was a chess fanatic, renowned since youth; through his skill, he easily amassed wealth. His wife managed the household wisely, making them even richer, so he did not greatly value Qian Cai. Fortunately, his wife was also well-read, courteous, and considerate, allowing him full freedom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet dangers also abounded during the calamity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Gu’s wife had once sworn never to use magic or spiritual power, content to live as a mortal—but in this chaotic age, she could no longer hold back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the years, some wicked men, believing them wealthy and kind-hearted, thought them easy prey; they crept into the house at night with knives, only to be silently bound in spider silk and dumped into the river outside the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A terrifying ghost drifted to the Gu residence, hovering behind the chess master as he focused intently on the board, utterly unaware—until he suddenly felt a chill breeze at his back. As he turned, the woman standing by the door blew a single breath, scattering the spirit into nothingness. When Master Gu looked back from the lamplight, he saw nothing, only felt puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evil entities born from the calamity roamed, harming people; the woman, compassionate, could not bear it and drove them away at night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some demons, taking advantage of the chaos to cultivate or deceive and feed on blood, came to this household—only to find a giant spider shadow on the wall; the next day, the demon was dumped at Dingfeng Temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there were also wicked men with ill intent…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman acted with great subtlety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who would believe that the renowned chess master, the great benefactor Gu, had for a wife a woman so well-read, courteous, and praised by all—as a demon?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master! Good news! Today the court sent an imperial envoy to return all the refugees in Yangzhoucheng to their original homes—they’ve made arrangements!” the woman laughed. “This calamity is finally over!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That truly is good news!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Worthy of celebration!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Gu was about to smile, but when he looked down, worry creased his brow:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the immortal said years ago that you were pregnant—why, after all these years, has your belly grown larger, yet you still haven’t given birth?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, don’t worry. We’ve done so many good deeds together—this cannot be a bad thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s precisely what puzzles me,” Master Gu frowned. “We’ve done so many good deeds—why is such a strange thing happening?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That proves it’s not bad! Just as these past years, the south was in chaos—even though the flood never reached us, the turmoil spread. Neighbors everywhere suffered some disaster, yet our home remained perfectly safe—isn’t that clearly divine protection?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman had her own suspicions—perhaps due to her being human and demon—but she comforted him aloud:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, legends say many powerful figures were born after years of pregnancy—or even from ‘gazing at stone and conceiving,’ ‘staring at heaven and conceiving.’ In chaotic times, the extraordinary emerges, and so do great talents. Perhaps our child will become someone extraordinary!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Gu nodded, finding it reasonable, yet still could not suppress his worry: “Wife, could this be connected to the immortal in my dream?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? Why do you think that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two wonders have come to me—how could they be unrelated?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman wanted to go along with the flow and blame the immortal, as she had done with ancient legends—but her instinct told her that the immortal was not someone she could casually frame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t think about it, Master, and don’t speak of it. Outside, everyone is shouting ‘exorcise demons, eradicate evil.’ If others find out, they might kill us both as demons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s impossible!” Master Gu said, then paused, nodding. “Still, be careful. Wear looser clothes. If anyone asks, say you’ve grown fat. Luckily, we’ve spent all our wealth aiding refugees and dismissed our servants—now only the two of us are home, so no one sees.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll buy the vegetables!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, can you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not? Can it be harder than playing the Heavenly Old Man?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not? Could it be harder than playing Go with the Heavenly Old Man?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The couple smiled at each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Gu was about to step out to buy vegetables when he opened the door—and saw a giant monk standing outside, bowing and chanting a Buddhist mantra, telling him his wife was a demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The official was just about to go out to buy vegetables when he opened the door and found a large monk standing outside, bowing to him and chanting a Buddhist mantra, informing him that his wife was a demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young friend, your chess has improved greatly—you’ve reached two hundred moves with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Immortal, you’re letting me win,” Lin Jue said, placing a stone. “Besides, I have a master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They moved the board outside beneath the Yuanqiu tree; petals drifted down with the wind. The old heavenly man’s attendant stood quietly beside them, ignoring the fox that stretched its paw to tug at his trousers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old heavenly man chuckled: “Each generation produces its own talents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have two masters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue picked up a stone and replied thus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other was clearly the one before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue’s expression was calm, unhurried, free of distractions or attachments—before him, only the board existed. He pondered long, luxuriously, before placing his stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue’s expression was calm, unhurried, his mind free of distractions and attachments; before him there was only the chessboard, and so he luxuriously pondered for a long time before making his move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raindrops struck puddles by the road, blooming into beautiful circles—then countless sharp cracks erupted across heaven and earth, a chaotic din.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid wind and rain, a woman protected her husband, drenched to the skin, sprinting swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them, a giant monk chased relentlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Monk! You’re a monk too—how can you have no compassion?” the woman cried, pregnant. “Though I am a demon, I’ve devoted my life to staying with my husband forever. I’ve never harmed a soul, and have saved countless people, done countless good deeds—can’t you just let us be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A demon is a demon! A human is a human! Your intrusion into the mortal realm is already a sin—your union with a human violates heavenly law!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What heavenly law?” Master Gu, soaked through, shouted back. “You first claimed my wife deceived me—but now I know she’s a demon, and I still choose to be with her. This is mutual consent. Even if human and demon differ, history records such unions—why chase us so relentlessly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am of the Fomen. Exorcising demons and eradicating evil is my duty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, he won’t listen! He means to kill me—run, I’ll hold him off!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wife, you’re pregnant—you run! I’ll hold him! I’m human—he has spiritual power, but he can’t use it on me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, go first—to Feilai Mountain! I’ll follow you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where do you think you’re going? Vajra Exorcism Seal!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The giant monk formed a hand seal and slammed it downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Golden light flashed across heaven and earth—a massive palm imprint appeared through the rain, crashing down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman stood straight, raising her palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A golden light flashed across heaven and earth; in the rain curtain, a massive palm print appeared and slammed down violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pebbles, gravel, roadside grasses drenched in rain surged upward; even the transparent raindrops formed curtains, colliding with the golden palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! The raindrops in the sky shattered!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman had just straightened when she heard a dragon’s roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A golden dragon shot from beneath the monk’s robe, twisting through the air, claws outstretched, smashing through the rain toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman widened her eyes and dodged swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she was deeply frustrated—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the monk was of the Fomen, his path mirrored Daoist talisman sects: he cultivated Buddhist teachings and worshipped Buddhist deities to borrow divine power. His strength depended entirely on how much the bodhisattvas and buddhas were willing to lend him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now was the Second Jiazi Purification Era!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zi Di, to suppress Yu Jian Di Jun and promote demon eradication in the south, had begun supporting southern Buddhist sects. These buddhas and bodhisattvas, with the Heavenly Emperor’s tacit approval, gladly served as blades to spread their incense offerings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were working with great zeal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, even though she had cultivated for two hundred years, she could not match this monk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Added to that, she was pregnant—her weakest moment—and could not possibly oppose him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM! A thunderclap split the horizon!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman crashed into a roadside puddle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! A bolt of lightning exploded across the horizon!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She spat out a mouthful of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hair was wild and soaked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked up—distant green mountains blurred into hazy shadows by the rain, layered endlessly, stretching far beyond sight. The official road vanished before its end. Amid the mountains and mist, lightning struck again and again—the thunder arrived belatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any other demon, ghost, or spirit would fear such a storm—the more evil they’d done, the more they’d dread it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking up toward the distance, the endless green mountains were blurred into hazy shadows by the rain mist, layer upon layer stretching impossibly far; the official road vanished into obscurity before its end, and within the green mountains and rain mist, thunder and lightning continually struck, the thunderclaps arriving belatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only because she was utterly upright and had done no harm, but because she was a spider. Rain and thunder might destroy a spider’s web—but they might also aid it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like bringing more prey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides being upright and having never done anything wrong, she was also a spider. Storms and thunder might destroy a spider’s web, or they might benefit it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, bringing the spider more food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, helping the spider head toward distant lands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Dragon lunged again, ferociously!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a flash! The woman dodged the Golden Dragon, shoved one hand forward, and countless silk threads and webs slammed toward the giant monk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Child's play! Golden Bell Shield!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ancient bell rang through heaven and earth; its sound echoed across countless mountains through the rain curtain, and the phantom golden bell formed to shield him from this attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he looked up, his expression hardened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman behind him suddenly released countless extremely fine, delicate silk threads, spreading upward like a dandelion, or forming a light, drifting cloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boom... boom...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunder rolled endlessly! Tiny sparks of electricity seemed to dance along those slender silk threads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mountain wind blew, and the woman instantly rose into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reached out, seized the official beside her, and flew through the thunder, rain, and mist toward the distant, hazy mountain silhouettes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Golden Dragon!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A piercing dragon roar echoed as the Golden Dragon shot skyward, one claw seizing the woman and shattering her calf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What happened to my wife?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm fine! Go!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman’s face turned deathly pale as she looked downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There stood the giant monk at the cliff’s edge, arms hanging naturally, eyes blazing as he stared at them: \"The sea of suffering is boundless—you cannot escape. Turn back, and you’ll find shore!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning back is not shore—it is death.\u003C\u002Fp>",2153,"2026-06-20T14:45:37.804Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fbde8f46d52e429788363b1674aa4f15e50de9676f7d0920fda8f5797c3c6ad6","the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-578","the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-576",608,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-book-of-strange-tales-cover.jpg"]