Witch God Abyss (Lily) - Chapter 17

At the foot of the mountain, Shen Yuan finally found a tavern.

“Owner, what local specialties do you have? Bring me a few.”

“Just some common wild vegetables, plus buns and wontons.”

“Any… game?”

Shen Yuan, having traveled from Wubei to Zhongdu with Bujian Tian, knew such remote taverns often had unusual signature dishes.

Otherwise, who’d come so far from the city to eat?

The owner said, “This morning, we caught a ten-pound salamander fish. But…”

“But what?”

“It’s pricey. Fish this size are usually tributed. They say one tael of meat costs one tael of silver. But this year, with the county official’s incident, no one came to collect. So it ended up with us small mountain shops.”

Shen Yuan pulled out a silver note.

“Is this enough?”

The owner nodded eagerly.

“Enough, enough! How would you like it, sir?”

“Your usual way.”

“One fish, three ways: belly meat grilled on an iron plate, body cut and braised, limbs and tail stewed in soup.”

“Good.”

The owner, thrilled, took the silver note and bowed deeply.

“This old man will arrange it in the kitchen!”

“Add two plates of wild vegetables.”

The owner said, “Alright, alright.”

As Shen Yuan waited for the food, she pulled out the booklet to see where to go next, suddenly recalling that the continuous rain and monthly sacrifices were resolved, but what about the “Immortal Divine Sect” mentioned in the booklet?

“I didn’t see any temples or altars along the way…”

The food arrived gradually.

Shen Yuan asked, “Owner, is there a sect here called the Divine Sect or Immortal Divine Sect?”

The owner thought and shook his head.

“Each village has great priests and witches, but I’ve never heard of any sect like that.”

“Any Taoist temples or cultivators nearby?”

The owner shook his head again.

“I’ve run this shop for over ten years and never seen a Taoist.”

“Thanks.”

Shen Yuan tucked away the booklet.

“Eat first, think later!”

As she ate heartily, a woman sat across from her, shouting, “Owner, bring a jar of wine!”

Shen Yuan, holding a large piece of grilled salamander meat, looked up.

It was Shujuan, but the voice was Nan Yuanxi’s.

“You? No, both of you?”

Shujuan saw the dishes and rolled her eyes.

“How could you eat it?!”

Shen Yuan, a bit guilty, forced a casual smile.

“Heh, don’t be mad. It’s just a salamander, a distant cousin at most! Besides, you’ve eaten plenty of people over the years, right? And I didn’t refuse to help you because of that, did I…”

Though Shen Yuan spoke confidently, her voice grew quieter.

Shujuan turned aside, avoiding the sight of the butchered, cooked salamander, facing the door.

“I thought of a way to let her spiritual energy attach to me, so I can take her around. Clever, right?”

Shujuan looked smug.

“Hah… clever?”

Shen Yuan sneered, unsure whether to praise or scold.

“Shujuan, you’re a foolish demon. Nan Yuanxi, are you foolish too?”

Shujuan asked, “Why scold us?”

“Some cultivate alone to ascend. Others pair as cultivation partners to advance further. What are you two doing? Dual destruction? She’s a bound spirit—do you know what that is? She’s tied to this land. Leaving will make her dissipate quickly.”

The owner brought a wine jar and placed it on the table.

Shujuan opened it and poured two bowls.

Shen Yuan waited for the owner to leave, then muttered, “And you, a demon, let her spirit attach to you—do you know what happens? It’s like drinking slow poison daily. You think you’ll become immune? You’ll only get poisoned and…”

Shujuan shook her head frantically, interrupting.

“Not listening, not listening. She doesn’t have much time left anyway. Eight hundred years without leaving this wretched mountain village. I want to show her the world!”

“And your voice now—is it you talking, her talking, or you speaking for her?”

“Both.”

Shujuan grabbed at her ear, reaching toward Shen Yuan with slightly curled fingers.

“Look.”

Shen Yuan saw clearly: in Shujuan’s palm stood a translucent woman, finger-sized, her tiny mouth moving, speaking silently.

Her spiritual energy was reduced to so little.

Shen Yuan had never seen such a tiny spirit…

Shujuan placed her back on her shoulder, where the translucent spirit sat.

“She says, thank you for your concern. She’s very happy now.”

Shen Yuan shook her head, raised her wine bowl.

“To you both—may you find peace wherever you go, free to stay or leave, watching the clouds roll by.”

Shujuan dipped her finger in wine, touched it to her shoulder, then drank a large bowl with Shen Yuan.

“She says you understand her. When she named me Shujuan, it was for this freedom. But fate trapped me for centuries.”

Shen Yuan said, “One willing to take, one willing to give. Frankly, you both deserve it.”

Shujuan pulled a three-inch bone flute from her sleeve and handed it to Shen Yuan.

“She says, take this. If you need us in the future, blow it at the cave entrance, and we’ll appear.”

Shen Yuan took the flute, straight unlike most but curved.

“This is a rib?”

Shujuan said, “Nan Yuanxi’s rib.”

Shen Yuan turned the flute in her hand.

“I’m leaving now, probably never coming back in this lifetime. What could I need you for?”

Shujuan said, “She’s skilled in divination. Before we left, she cast a reading with yarrow stalks. You’ll need it.”

“But you’re going far. How far can this flute’s magic reach?”

“That’s why it’s not an ordinary flute. Made from Nan Yuanxi’s rib, if you infuse it with magic, she’ll know.”

The flute had a leather cord tied to one end. Shen Yuan looped it around her waist. She calculated with her fingers but found nothing.

Shujuan said, “Don’t bother. Diviners can’t read their own fate.”

Shen Yuan, unconvinced, said, “Tell me the reading.”

Shujuan shook her head.

“Heaven’s secrets can’t be revealed!”

Shen Yuan released her fingers, picked up two pieces of grilled salamander meat from the iron plate, and kept eating.

“Fine, don’t tell me.”

Shujuan drank two more bowls of wine, glanced at the braised fish and soup.

“You really can eat… I’m leaving. Enjoy.”

She vanished.

Shen Yuan was about to say, don’t appear or disappear suddenly in front of mortals…

“Sigh, centuries in the mountains, no grasp of worldly rules. They’ll get in trouble sooner or later…”

Shen Yuan finished the fish soup, then realized, “Says I can eat? I hiked for three days to find you, starving, and just broke that wretched seal—I’m nearly exhausted! Says I can eat!”

…

A month later, Wujian Village, Great Priest Weilan’s bamboo tower.

“Reporting to the Great Priest. The live sacrifice sent up the mountain three days ago hasn’t been touched.”

On a rattan chair, a woman with long black hair knelt with closed eyes.

Draped in five-colored woven brocade, layered silver ornaments on her neck and wrists, a massive black buffalo horn headdress atop her head, she softly asked, “Not touched?”

“Yes, we waited three days up there. The… Guardian Spirit… didn’t come out to eat… We brought the person back down, or they’d starve. The lamb’s still tied at the cave entrance.”

“Go. I’ll check the mountain myself.”

“Yes.”

Weilan opened her eyes, removed her silver ornaments, revealing a ghastly scar on her neck.

She changed into light hunting clothes, picked up the silver staff beside her.

“Eight hundred years, and you’ve finally dissipated?”

She touched the scar on her neck.

“I haven’t avenged this strike.”

Eight hundred years ago, Weilan’s throat was cut by Nan Yuanxi’s staff.

While Nan Yuanxi was busy saving Shujuan, she didn’t notice Weilan’s neck wound slowly healing.

Shujuan’s residual demonic power in Weilan’s body was mending it…