Chapter 12: The Best Sacrifice |
Chapter 12 The Best Offering 7
The next day, Wu Zhong woke up groggy, roused by the Taoist.
"Buddy, get up. Don't sleep in."
Wu Zhong sat up feeling alert—he must have slept a long time. He had never slept this long before. It felt amazing.
"How should I address you, Daoist?" Wu Zhong asked as he climbed out of bed.
The Taoist folded his hands inside his sleeves and gave a slight lift, as if greeting him: "This humble Daoist is Zhang Qinglang from the Celestial Master's Residence."
"My name is Wu Zhong," he replied.
Zhang Qinglang smiled. "Let's go—breakfast."
"The fried rice noodles here are amazing. You have to try them."
He obediently followed him to the dining hall afterward. It was all buffet-style and the food was extremely plentiful.
Wu Zhong rarely ate breakfast to save money.
Seeing such a spread now, he didn't hold back—he stuffed himself.
Zhang Qinglang only casually ate a bowl of fried rice noodles and watched him eat.
Wu Zhong couldn't help asking, "This place feels like a military base. How does a Taoist like you end up here?"
Zhang Qinglang replied casually, "Exorcising demons and protecting the Dao, serving the people."
"..." Wu Zhong gaped, then dropped the subject and prodded, "Can you cultivate immortal arts?"
"Huh?" Zhang Qinglang laughed. "Of course I can. I'm the legitimate sixty-sixth generation disciple of the Celestial Master's Residence, versed in the Six Lines. Want me to divine your fortune?"
Wu Zhong clarified, "I mean the kind with spells and sword flight."
Zhang Qinglang smiled, "Uh—yes, though I'm not fully mastered."
Wu Zhong got excited. "You really cultivate immortal arts? Can you show me?"
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qinglang shook his head. "I can't demonstrate. We don't use magic lightly. At best I can cast a divination for you."
Wu Zhong pouted. "Then do the divination."
"Give me three numbers." Zhang Qinglang held out his palm.
"Hmm... 233?" Wu Zhong blurted.
Zhang Qinglang pinched his finger and tutted, "Very ominous. There's no worse hex than this. You're going to suffer a blood-related calamity soon, beset by malevolent spirits—beware of death."
"..." Wu Zhong's mouth twitched. Wasn't that obvious?
"You... are you kidding me?"
Zhang Qinglang laughed. "Just tell me whether it's accurate!"
Wu Zhong snorted. "Anything else?"
Zhang Qinglang sipped soy milk. "You will receive unexpected wealth, more than your entire assets."
Hearing that, Wu Zhong's heart jolted.
But he still shoveled a bun and fried noodles into his mouth and swallowed them down.
With his cheeks puffed he said, "Actually, a Huashengbao user added me and sent me a million. I've never seen so much money in my life."
Zhang Qinglang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Someone randomly gave you a million?"
Wu Zhong wiped his mouth. "Really. Though I often post my account online and joke to strangers to 'verify me 50' and stuff."
"But I never expected someone to actually give me money—straight up one million!"
"I originally planned to transfer it back, but the transfer takes two days... honestly, that period was torturous and greed crept in."
"You know my grandfather's situation. I needed the money, so I canceled the transfer and spent a few ten thousand first... tsk. If that person wants the money back, I can pay them back slowly—treat it as a loan. Right, that's not illegal? He transferred to me for no reason."
He said it convincingly. Zhang Qinglang didn't detect a flaw.
"Interesting—someone sent you a million... that's no small amount."
Wu Zhong drank milk. "Here, I'll show you..."
He fished in his pocket, then blinked. "Oh right, my phone was confiscated. If you want to verify, go check it yourselves. The transfer records are there; I have no privacy."
Zhang Qinglang hummed. "That's not my business. I just divined it."
Wu Zhong didn't buy it. "You divined it? You must have looked at my transfer records."
Zhang Qinglang said earnestly, "I really divined it. Unexpected windfalls are easy to calculate."
Wu Zhong completely disbelieved him. To his mind, the man was using divination as a pretext to probe him.
His phone had been taken last night, so Niguang's million-yuan transfer couldn't be hidden.
And with these people's access, checking his entire fund flow would be trivial.
Still, the money really had come from Niguang, and he had indeed planned to return it but canceled the transfer.
Those records could be checked.
He had concealed that he knew Niguang; judging by the situation, these people probably hadn't figured that out yet. If he didn't say anything about Niguang, how would they know he was friends with that account? Would they dig into deleted friends?
They would likely first investigate through Huashengbao. The transfer friend there was indeed newly added yesterday.
And his asking strangers online to 'verify me 50 for food' was true.
He often had no money after paying rent at month-end; his funds ran out badly. Sometimes he had a few days with nothing to eat, so he skipped meals—three days going hungry over nine meals.
So he'd really posted his Huashengbao account a few times to beg strangers for money, even once getting fifty from a kind brother.
Wu Zhong wove the two truths together, and Zhang Qinglang had no reason to doubt him.
But he also knew this wouldn't fool them for long.
People would be curious about who transferred the money and trace it, eventually finding that Niguang had fled.
Fortunately, Niguang had run away... which made the money issue focus on Niguang, not him.
As long as Niguang wasn't found, the matter would stall.
"Finished eating? Then let's go." Zhang Qinglang stood and beckoned.
"Go? Where to?" Wu Zhong followed.
Zhang Qinglang sighed. "Five Elders Peak."
...
At noon, Lu Guangqi, Zhang Qinglang and the others took Wu Zhong up the mountain.
This place was Mount Lu's summit split by a saddle into five peaks standing side by side; from a distance they resembled five elders seated on the ground, hence the name.
The myth of the Five Elders goes back ages. Taoists call them the Five Elder Celestials; in astrological divination they are the Azure Spirit of the East, Flame Spirit of the South, Yellow Spirit of the Center, Vast Spirit of the West, and Azure-Grey Spirit of the North.
The Five Elders Shrine worshipped those five celestials—the prototype being the Five Directional Emperors of ancient chronicles.
But the place had drastically changed now.
The peaks representing the Eastern Azure Spirit and Southern Flame Spirit were both ruined.
A huge, terrifying cyclone occupied the summit, devouring sky and earth!
From all directions wind and clouds converged; wind pressure reached supersonic speeds.
They could faintly see clouds roiling and threading through, while thunderous noises shook the ears.
"Good heavens... it's this bad?" Wu Zhong, wearing mountaineering gear and wrapped thickly, also wore an oxygen mask.
Mount Lu's altitude was only 1,360 meters.
But Zhang Qinglang had prepared gear as if to climb Everest.
"Of course it's severe."
Lu Guangqi finally explained to Wu Zhong: "Putting ghosts and gods aside, the Mount Lu cloud dragon is ingesting matter and forming a super typhoon. Within a 500-meter radius, trees are being uprooted and rocks are being stripped apart."
"Temperatures plunge to minus seventy degrees. Turbulent flows produce continuous noise above 165 decibels!"
"If this anomaly appeared in a city, it could strip a skyscraper dry in thirty seconds. Fortunately it's on Five Elders Peak; the steep terrain delays spread. Yet even so, in a month the peak will be completely gone."
Wu Zhong was shocked. If this continued, wouldn't Mount Lu vanish? Xunyang City might be destroyed too.
From his distant observations yesterday he only knew the climate was abnormal and there was a great storm.
He hadn't realized how severe it truly was.
He looked up and could already see the cyclone's center glowing like a shining orb.
"What's that glowing ball?"
Lu Guangqi said, "That's the cyclone. Because it continuously devours matter, air in high-speed friction emits strong light and terrifying noise, even infrasound."
"As for what's inside, no one knows. Only that ghosts and gods dwell within—perhaps from another world."
"At least it's small, so the amount of gas it consumes per second isn't huge."
Wu Zhong exclaimed, "Not huge? It's devouring sky and earth!"
Zhang Qinglang said beside him, "Visually it looks severe, but in actual quantity, compared to the planet's vast atmosphere, this rate of atmospheric loss is only eighty-seven times the Earth's natural escape rate."
"Even if this continued a hundred years, the global atmospheric total would only reduce by 0.00016%—negligible."
"However, over time Mount Lu will vanish, and cities downstream will suffer persistent climate anomalies."
"Still, intelligent ghosts and gods are the primary threat."
Wu Zhong understood—they were professionals, and this disaster was caused by ghosts and gods; the ghosts and gods themselves were the greatest danger.
"Why bring me here? If they want to kill me, you brought me to them?" Wu Zhong shivered.
Lu Guangqi said, "To negotiate, of course."
Wu Zhong froze.
He was led along secured steel ropes, step by step approaching beneath the cyclone.
That was the most dangerous zone—they could not go further or the wind would lift them.
Many people in firefighting gear were stationed around, positioned in all directions, surrounding the cyclone—clearly a long-term posting.
"Ji Meng! I've brought the person!" Lu Guangqi called.
At that, Wu Zhong was stunned. "What do you mean?"
Zhang Qinglang pressed him and subtly told him not to cause a scene.
But Wu Zhong felt uneasy—if the gods intended to kill him and these people had arranged to bring him here, did it mean negotiations were already made? Negotiating what—his life as bargaining chip?
Roars sounded.
A dragon head emerged from the cyclone, followed by a dragon-bodied creature squeezing out.
Then a horned bovine monster appeared.
Wu Zhong felt a vague familiarity—like he'd seen them somewhere—but he reasoned they were mythological creatures and calmed himself.
Both monsters hovered in the sky and brightened upon seeing Wu Zhong.
The dragon-headed creature fell silent, its killing intent rising. Grasping a wooden staff, it pointed at him.
With a rush, the staff sprouted and grew, thick and swift, barreling at Wu Zhong.
Wu Zhong couldn't resist—windshowing made it hard to stand; he relied on Zhang Qinglang to steady him.
Thick vines extended from the staff and were about to strike. A massive wall of air condensed and rose from below like an enormous barrier!
The air wrapped into a sphere, enclosing the cyclone and the 500-meter radius area!
The storm paused.
Wu Zhong gaped—he realized a large team of firefighters had jointly formed a huge air shield.
So this wasn't just Lu Guangqi's individual power; many people possessed it.
Could this be actual magic? Was Zhang Qinglang's claim of ability true?
Boom!
Just as Wu Zhong thought the staff might be stopped, Zhang Qinglang dragged him back.
The staff continued to spread, shattering the air shield. The frozen air fragments whipped through the air like reverse rain.
The unstoppable staff bent around, leaving no escape, and struck Wu Zhong's chest before stopping.
"Ugh..." Wu Zhong grunted, finding the impact surprisingly light—just a glancing strike.
The dragon-headed creature thrust forward to pierce him.
"Multi-element moment!" Lu Guangqi snapped his fingers.
He instantly tore his clothes off, standing naked in the minus-seventy-degree storm.
Muscles coiled, golden light shimmering over his body.
He struck like lightning, tearing apart the long vine from the staff and counter-pushing with a massive palm.
Wood splintered and flew!
The continuous vines and thorns exploded!
A cataclysmic burst of golden light erupted, waves of force sweeping like tides.
From over two hundred meters away, the blast obliterated the two gods into mist!
"Holy crap!"
Wu Zhong panted, staring at Lu Guangqi's blazing might—like a god descended to earth.
So powerful—superhumans did exist.
By comparison his own welding ability seemed worthless.
Everyone present stayed serious and locked their gaze on the cyclone.
As predicted, the two gods were not eliminated for long; they soon reemerged.
The dragon-headed creature finally spoke: "Exquisite energy—unknown to this universe. Our lord greatly favors it."
Wu Zhong's pupils trembled—obliterated and yet unaffected?
Zhang Qinglang's earlier claim that these gods could not be killed truly seemed accurate.
What the hell? They grow stronger and can't be destroyed—invincible in the making. Sooner or later they'd topple the world.
"Ji Meng, I cannot kill you. You will not pass me," Lu Guangqi declared loudly.
Ji Meng the god replied indifferently, "It is only a matter of time."
Many firefighters were silent—this was precisely the gods' most troublesome trait.
They could not be killed, and they would keep growing stronger. Today they were clearly stronger than yesterday.
Although now they were weak enough that almost anyone present could smash and suppress them, what about later?
Lu Guangqi asked, "Tell me, where did you come from?"
"And why did you send wandering gods to hunt him?"
Ji Meng had grown bored with answers and stared deeply at Wu Zhong.
The horned bovine monster swayed with the gusts and answered, "We have said before: this world belongs to the gods. We are merely returning home."
"As for him... he must die."
Both gods fixed their gaze on Wu Zhong.
Wu Zhong stared back, the more he looked the more familiar they seemed, but he couldn't place where he'd seen them—only an odd déjà vu.
Lu Guangqi frowned. "You claim this world belongs to you? Ridiculous. Are you saying you're old rulers? How do you speak ordinary speech?"
The horned creature scoffed, "Gods do not need recognition from the ignorant."
"This human is our best offering. Present him to us as a sacrifice and we promise not to harm you."
Lu Guangqi considered. "A sacrifice? Devouring him gives you huge benefits?"
"What's special about him?"
The horned creature said, "Insignificant to you, one in ten thousand to us."
So they meant Wu Zhong wasn't special to humans, but rare to the gods—perhaps a specific birth time or some other attribute made him the type of offering they required.
"So you mean he's unlucky—he just happens to be the kind of person you need. Among ten thousand humans he's the closest one?"
"And consuming him will restore your strength?"
Lu Guangqi analyzed carefully.
Ji Meng hummed, noncommittal.
The horned creature arrogantly said, "We can restore divine power without him."
Lu Guangqi fell silent—indeed, these gods continuously grew stronger simply by devouring matter.
Perhaps consuming Wu Zhong would speed their recovery.
He pondered.
Wu Zhong panicked—would these people hand him over?
"Hurry and decide! If you don't surrender him, we will kill him ourselves."
"No matter where he hides, day-and-night wandering gods will eventually end his life!"
The horned creature urged.
Lu Guangqi stayed composed, golden light steady in the gale. "Day-and-night wandering gods? If you kill him from afar, how will you devour him?"
The horned creature laughed loudly, "I never said we'd devour him. Killing him is the offering."
"If you are willing to do the work and offer his life to us, that's acceptable too."
Wu Zhong turned pale—so anyone could kill him; either way, he was doomed.
Lu Guangqi shook his head slightly. "I do not have the authority to decide if he will be sacrificed. It must be reported up the chain."
"But we can bargain for a price first."
"What?" Wu Zhong's eyes widened. So they really could offer him as a sacrifice?
"Weren't you supposed to protect me?" he protested.
He struggled to run, but Zhang Qinglang held him down; the air around them condensed and locked him in place.
Ji Meng finally spoke, "Mortal, what do you wish to negotiate?"
Lu Guangqi said, "Your promises are vague. Even if you send night-wandering gods to kill secretly, we'd have difficulty preventing or detecting it."
"So if you want this sacrifice, give us some goodwill—like stopping the cyclone from devouring matter."
Ji Meng shook his head. "Impossible."
"Impossible?" Lu Guangqi frowned.
The horned creature said, "We have labored so hard to succeed—do you think it will be shut down so easily?"
"Change the condition."
Lu Guangqi proposed relocating them: "Then go to outer space, or the open ocean, or the desert."
The horned creature refused again. "No."
Lu Guangqi offered several variations, all regarding the cyclone's position.
No matter what, the cyclone was fixed in place. Conditions about moving it were non-negotiable.
"That won't do. How about you guarantee you'll never leave?" Lu Guangqi roared.
Ji Meng shook his head. "This is our home. For us to return, the gods have waited too long."
"Then three years—if you sacrifice this person, I guarantee no god will leave here within three years. How about that?"
Lu Guangqi frowned and shook his head. "A promise relying on conscience—how can it be trusted?"
Ji Meng said solemnly, "Human hearts are no longer constant. Do you not trust a god's promise?"
"A god's promise once broken would lead to the gods' true fall."
"I see..." Lu Guangqi's eyes brightened, and he took a step back. "Let's end talks for today."
His golden light faded as he led the group away.
Wu Zhong was completely played and remained silent all the way back.
At the base, someone helped him unload his gear.
Seeing his sour face and low spirits, Zhang Qinglang guessed his thoughts. "Relax. They won't sacrifice you."
"Those are just words. Captain Lu was fishing for information and trying to temporarily placate them."
Wu Zhong forced a smile. "Is that so? You scared me. Don't do that again."
Zhang Qinglang laughed heartily. "Relax, you're safe with us. You've seen our strength..."
"If any brat dares come, this humble Daoist will shoot him down with one blast."
...