Chapter 49 Part 2

Upon seeing these damaged deity statues, the Ear Whisperer God couldn’t control its mouth. “Truly heinous, utterly heinous! To commit such a blasphemous act, aren’t they afraid of retribution? Those without a reverent heart will surely suffer!”

Its voice wasn’t soft, and it was very shrill.

Some people resting with their heads down looked around for the source, but saw no child.

Yinyu quickly covered the Ear Whisperer God’s mouth, but this thing didn’t even use its mouth to speak; covering it was useless.

Lian Sheng stopped walking, drew an X over the Ear Whisperer God’s mouth, unwilling to crowd together with others, and said, “Let’s look elsewhere.”

The Ear Whisperer God immediately couldn’t utter a single syllable, only its wooden-carved eyeballs whirled incessantly.

Yinyu turned to walk out. As she went out, she felt a weight on the top of her head. Glancing up, she realized it was Lian Sheng shielding her.

She gave a dry laugh. “Boss Yu is kindhearted. The beast of burden I promised before hasn’t been done yet, and now I owe again.”

Lian Sheng glanced at her nonchalantly. “I never imagined you had such tastes.”

“I’d feel uneasy if I owed and didn’t repay,” Yinyu drawled. “It would weigh on my heart.”

“Why choose to be a beast of burden of all things?” Lian Sheng’s skirt hem dragged through the snow, yet she didn’t lift or pull it. Turning her head, she added, “Now that we’re back here, there’s no need to keep calling me ‘Boss Yu’ anymore.”

Yinyu had wanted to laugh, but her teeth chattered from the cold. “If not Boss Yu, then what should I call you?”

Lian Sheng shielded her from the snow as they walked out. “Whatever you like.”

“What do you like to hear?” Yinyu kept her head slightly lowered.

Lian Sheng didn’t answer, leaving her to ponder it herself.

Yinyu’s head was lowered, but her gaze kept darting toward the sky.

This place was indeed different from her dream. In her impression, this place should have been like spring all year round. Even when it rained, the sky should have been blue with white clouds.

Now, the sky was dusky, layered clouds like a lid. Blocked by these dark clouds, the whole Dark Snow Heaven had no light.

The snow was heavy. She spotted a lamp in the distance. The lantern swayed wildly in the strong wind, its flame flickering faintly.

Yinyu rubbed her wrist; it still hurt. She had helped Lu Sansheng and the others remove their Servitude Nails, but her own were still firmly embedded.

“Let’s look at the other temples and Daoist Temples,” Lian Sheng said, her expression grim, also looking up at the sky.

Yinyu gauged her expression and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

“Before leaving Wisdom Water Red Mountain, I left a strand of Divine Sense in the White Jade Capital. Now I can’t even detect its whereabouts,” Lian Sheng said, dragging that seemingly cumbersome robe, yet walking very freely. She added, “Dark Snow Heaven is different from the old days. I’m afraid the White Jade Capital has also changed.”

“Then what do we do?” Yinyu’s heart pounded with anxiety.

“Let’s check over there first,” Lian Sheng pointed into the distance.

They spotted a Daoist Temple in the distance. Upon reaching the door, they found it nailed shut with wooden planks, sealed very tightly.

The planks were nailed in overlapping layers, clearly meant to block the path completely.

The Ear Whisperer God’s eyeballs were practically spinning into blurs, looking utterly desperate to criticize, but sadly unable to make a sound.

Just looking at its eyeballs made Yinyu dizzy. She simply stuffed the puppet against her chest, raised her hand, and knocked on the planks. “It wouldn’t also be wrecked inside, would it?”

These planks couldn’t possibly stop Lian Sheng. She pointed at the door, and the Nails on the planks all fell to the ground. The planks collapsed, and the door opened.

Fortunately, this place was on higher ground, so even the Incense Burner in the courtyard wasn’t completely buried by the heavy snow.

However, the banners in the temple had all been cut to shreds. The portrait of the founding master hanging high inside had also been torn into strips. The arranged Spirit Altars were toppled over, everything in utter disarray.

It seemed it wasn’t just Buddhist temples; Daoist Temples hadn’t been spared either. Whoever ruined this place seemed to believe in nothing, wouldn’t tolerate others believing, and even harbored deep-seated hatred.

Yinyu stood under the eaves, not entering the room. Although she wasn’t there to smash things, she still needed to draw a clear line, lest she be implicated in the anger.

Lian Sheng, however, walked in fearlessly. Pinching a corner of the torn portrait before the hall, she said indifferently, “Seems like deep resentment.”

Knowing this place differed from the previous world, where gods and Buddhas could actually manifest, Yinyu boldly speculated, “Could it be that the gods and Buddhas did something they disliked?”

Lian Sheng shook her head, glancing sideways at the thick, dark sky outside. “Since when do gods and Buddhas have such leisure?”

Yinyu added, “Then it’s praying for something, not receiving it, and becoming angry out of shame.”

Lian Sheng turned her head back, a faint smile appearing. “That reasoning holds some logic.”

Remembering the wooden puppet in her arms, its mouth still sealed, Yinyu simply followed her into the room and raised it in front of Lian Sheng. “Perhaps this thing can see something.”

The puppet’s eyes whirled around, its mind written all over its face—

Quick, release my mouth!

Lian Sheng had no choice but to raise her hand, touch its mouth, and undo the Silencing Spell.

In that instant, the words from the Ear Whisperer God’s mouth poured out like a torrent. Using its old person’s tone but childish voice, it said, “Truly heinous! No wonder this place is charged with Ghostly Qi! They got what they deserved!”

It let out a cold snort. “In my view, many more people will die here.”

“Can you see why this place turned into this?” Lian Sheng tapped the puppet’s mouth, signaling it to say something relevant.

“I only see the future, not the past,” the Ear Whisperer God completely refused to admit it was due to its own limited ability.

Yinyu walked toward the toppled Spirit Altar and righted the small three-legged cauldron on it. She had wanted to use the Retrocognition Spell to see past events, but unexpectedly, after arriving here, she couldn’t see anything at all.

It seemed Wisdom Water Red Mountain was indeed different from the previous Little Desolate Islet.

“Let’s go look elsewhere,” Lian Sheng walked out again. Just as she was about to step beyond the eaves, she suddenly paused and cast a glance backward at Yinyu.

Yinyu was tired from walking. She lazily cast a glance back. “Let’s go, Boss Yu.”

Lian Sheng didn’t raise her hand this time. Her gaze was chilly. With a flick of her wrist, she materialized a Paper Umbrella.

“Could it be you also possess the Seventy-Two Divine Powers?” Yinyu had never seen such an ability. If she weren’t almost numb from the cold, she’d definitely think she was still in a dream.

“I don’t have such an ability,” Lian Sheng said modestly, opening the umbrella and shielding Yinyu’s head. “Let’s go.”

Standing under the umbrella, even her shoulders and back were no longer hit by snow. Yinyu exhaled a breath. “Why didn’t you use the umbrella earlier?”

Lian Sheng admitted frankly, “Stayed in a Small World too long, forgot.”

There were quite a few houses around, but seeing a single person was extremely rare. Just as the two were searching for the next temple or Daoist Temple, they suddenly spotted a trail of footprints on the snowy surface in the distance.

Judging by the snow, the footprints could only be fresh; otherwise, they would have been covered long ago.

Yinyu found the solitary footprints peculiar. Raising an eyebrow, she said, “In this heavy snow, where is this person walking all alone?”

A few steps later, they saw a piece of Yellow Paper on the ground, as if dropped by that person.

In Dark Snow Heaven, where people were so disrespectful to gods and Buddhas, someone still carried Yellow Paper? Truly bizarre.

Lian Sheng followed the footprint trail and looked into the distance, her expression as usual. “Let’s follow and see.”

Yinyu dawdled along the way, stepping shallow then deep into the snow, her joints aching faintly again.

Sensing the person beside her walking slower and slower, Lian Sheng turned her head. “What’s wrong?”

There was truly no comparison. Even though the sky was so freezing, Lian Sheng’s expression remained unchanged.

Yinyu breathed on her wrist and rubbed it a few times slowly. “It’s freezing. Let’s walk faster.”

They followed the footprints in the snow for a while. Unexpectedly, that person was indeed heading toward a Daoist Temple. The temple door was ajar. Worried someone might intrude, the person who entered had propped something against the door from inside.

Lian Sheng reached out and pushed. The chair bracing the door inside tilted and fell into the snow with a muffled thud.

Stepping through the temple gate, Yinyu felt this place was somewhat different. Although it also showed signs of being vandalized, it was ultimately still quite intact.

At the very least, the torn portrait had been sewn back together. Although the deity statue had broken fingers, compared to others, it could barely be called whole.

A woman stood before the Incense table, carefully taking out fruits and vegetables from a basket. In this freezing weather, such produce was rare. They looked a bit shabby, but still conveyed ample sincerity.

After placing the offerings, she made to kneel on the prayer mat. Seeming to hear footsteps behind her, she hastily turned her head.

Startled, the woman hastily straightened her half-bent legs and stumbled back toward the Incense table. She spread her arms, as if trying to protect the offerings on the table. Realizing the newcomers seemed to bear no ill intent, she clutched her chest and asked, “You… what are you here for?”

Lian Sheng walked under the eaves, calmly closed her umbrella, and glanced into the hall. “Whatever you came to do, that’s what we came to do.”

Yinyu followed, stepping over the threshold, rubbing her stiff, frozen wrist. Her appearance was already pale, and she was dressed entirely in plain white. Just a moment ago, outside under the eaves, she seemed to blend in with the surrounding snow.

The woman was at a loss for words. Only then did she notice there was another person, but this person, dressed in white from head to toe, had escaped her notice earlier. Observing their decent attire and unfamiliar faces, she asked fearfully, “Have you two come from the outside?”

This “outside” naturally meant beyond Dark Snow Heaven.

Yinyu warmed her wrists by rubbing them. Based solely on her appearance, one might think she was the aloof and unapproachable one. Unexpectedly, when she smiled, her expression was relaxed and carefree, vividly charming.

Seduced by this smile, the woman relaxed her guard. Patting her chest to calm herself, she sighed, “Of all the places you two could have gone, why come to Dark Snow Heaven?”

“What’s happened to this place? We saw hardly anyone along the way,” Yinyu inquired, taking the opportunity.

The woman glanced toward the half-closed temple gate outside and hurriedly ran out, saying as she went, “Please wait a moment.”

She propped the fallen chair back up, braced the temple gate shut again, and then braved the snow to return. Out of breath, she said, “This place… it’s no good. If you two have no other business, it’s best to leave as soon as possible.”

“How is it no good?” Yinyu asked again.

Her gaze swept across the woman’s face, then halted abruptly. If she wasn’t mistaken, faint, water-like ripples—the Water-Calamity Mark—were visible on the woman’s face.

It was an omen of death by drowning, ripples seeming to ripple across the face, inexplicably adding an aged appearance.

The woman managed a strained smile. Finally feeling at ease, she knelt on the prayer mat, kowtowed toward the deity statue, and said slowly, “The gods and Immortals here haven’t manifested in a very long time. Dark Snow Heaven wasn’t originally like this.”

Yinyu’s heart pounded fiercely. Feigning ignorance, she said, “We just happened to be passing through. The unending snow is indeed strange. We don’t know what it was like originally.”

Lian Sheng didn’t expose the lie.

“Originally…” The woman curled her lip helplessly. “Dark Snow Heaven always had snow in all four seasons, but the snow was the color of Ink. It melted as soon as it touched the ground, and it wasn’t cold at all. It looked just like black velvet falling everywhere. Back then, the sky was bright, without a single dark cloud.”

Now, whenever Yinyu heard “Ink,” her mind raced with connections. “What happened afterwards?”

The woman’s expression was weary as she shook her head. “At that time, Dark Snow Heaven had the protection of a deity. Though it couldn’t compare to other flourishing cities, it was still peaceful. Then the deity left.”

She kowtowed twice more. “Without the deity, the cold came. Crops wouldn’t grow, and everywhere there were people enduring hunger and cold. Back then, some people still believed in gods and Buddhas, but no matter how many offerings were brought, it was useless. Some took their anger out on the deities, looting the offerings and smashing the temples and Buddha halls.”

“Hmph.” A childish snort suddenly rang out.

The woman hastily turned her head. Seeing the two’s expressions remain normal, she assumed she’d misheard and continued, “Later, people kept freezing to death, and some starved. And others… were defiled and tormented.”

“Defiled and tormented?” Yinyu didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

The woman pressed her lips tightly together and began to tremble slightly. She quickly waved her hands, refusing to answer.

That childish voice sounded again: “No wonder this place is crawling with Demonic Evils.”

This time, the woman heard it clearly. Following the sound, she looked toward Yinyu’s arms and saw a wooden puppet wearing a skirt. Her eyes widened in shock, and she stammered, “Wha—wha—what is that thing?!”