Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 540 Whispers of Snail Shell Alley
The shell is as small as a house, and the house is as small as a tomb.
If a person stays indoors for too long, their heart will remain there.

One might ask, how can this be explained?
One must sever attachment, clinging, and dwelling.

—From *Zi Bu Yu* (The Master Did Not Speak Of), "On Disliking Staying at Home"

East of Wangchuan Town.

Si Ming and Selian followed a dilapidated stone path into the foot of a mountain shrouded in mist.

What they saw was a row of very conspicuous buildings.
Seven tin-roofed shacks.

Those cheap rental rooms.

The sheet metal was rusty, the walls were leaking, and the ground was all mud.

In this ancient mountain village, it seemed out of place, like a foreign object forcibly inserted.

Selene frowned: "This place... has a sour smell."

Si Ming didn't speak, but squatted down and picked up a gold coin from the ground.

That's the coin of the Mystic Guild. The reverse side features the Mystic Guild's signature three symbols, while the obverse side has an additional thin spiral pattern.

He glanced at it and said calmly, "The union's investigation team came by. They didn't go far."

"What about them?"

"It looks like it's been 'written' here."

Before Celian could react, she suddenly heard a sticky sound.

"Guji... Guji..."

She looked up and saw that all the walls, windows, door gaps, and air conditioner casings of the iron houses were moving.

It's a snail.

Countless snails. Of varying sizes, crawling densely together.

Some are only the size of a fingernail, while others are about the size of a bowl.

Their shells are all grayish-white spirals, wet, and reflective.

When the wind blows, the snails simultaneously extend their tentacles and turn in the same direction.

At that moment, the whole row of houses seemed to come alive.

Selene felt a chill run down her spine. She raised her foot and kicked away one of the larger ones with disgust.

With a "pop," the shell cracked.

Thick, grayish-white viscous liquid flowed all over the ground.

Mixed inside were several human finger bones and a half-melted eyeball.

Her face paled, and she staggered back several steps: "It...is eating people?"

Si Ming said coldly, "No, it's people 'living' here."

He looked up at the seven iron houses.

A tattered note was pasted on the door: "Single room for rent," the words barely legible.

Water was still dripping from the cracks in the door, and the air was so humid it felt like you could squeeze water out of it.

At that moment, heavy breathing came from the third room.

"Guji... Guji..."

The sound is getting closer.

A figure slowly peeked halfway out of the door.

It was a man—or more accurately, a "man in transformation."

His lower body had fused with the snail shell.

The skin is translucent, and there are concentric rings of ridges on the back.

He was still wearing his union uniform, the badge on his chest almost completely corroded away.

“…Be careful…” he began with difficulty, his tongue tied in knots, “Don’t…look…at…the…vortex…”

“What vortex?” Celian frowned.

The man could no longer speak.

Grayish water began to ooze from the corners of his mouth, his tongue slowly slid into his throat, and he collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing.

"Guji——"

The sound came from his body, like something wriggling under his skin.

The next second, a gust of cold air blew from the end of the alley.

All the snails stopped at the same time.

They raised their tentacles in an orderly fashion, and the threads on their shells slowly rotated.

Siming's expression finally changed: "Don't move. Don't look at the center."

Selene held her breath and asked in a low voice, "What center?"

Water began to seep into the ground, and the mud underfoot quickly became slippery.

The walls of the seven iron houses creaked simultaneously, as if they were being twisted by something.

The dark shadows in the crack of the door began to wriggle.

Selene instinctively reached out to conjure blood claws, but was stopped by Si Ming.

"Don't move yet."

He said in a low voice, "The monsters here can't be dealt with by fighting."

"What should I do?"

Si Ming raised his hand, lightly tapping the ground with the tip of his pen, and said calmly, "Let's see what it wants first."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the first room slowly opened.

An old man with a hunchback crawled out.

He had a huge gray shell on his back, the surface of which gleamed with a cold light.

His face was glistening and wet like a snail's membrane, and sticky fluid was still dripping from the corners of his mouth.

He laughed, his voice as low as the wind: "The house is too small... but I can't bear to move..."

As soon as the sound came out, all the snails in the alley stirred.

"Guji... Guji..."

The shell was spinning, the house was shaking, and the ground was tilting slightly.

Selene clenched her fist: "This is the monster?"

Si Ming stared at the old man, his brows furrowed.

“Yes,” he uttered two words, his voice icy, “an old man who has become like a snail.”

The ground shook more violently, and the air seemed to be twisted into a vortex.

Mist poured in from the alley entrance, and spiral patterns spread beneath their feet.

Si Ming pulled Selian aside: "Come on, don't look at that shell!"

"But how do we get there?"

"I'll pave the way."

With a flick of his finger, the ground instantly lit up with squares of light.

The two followed the light back the way they came.

Behind him, the old man in the snail shell raised his head and let out a cold, damp laugh.

"You...why don't you come and stay here too..."

The wind stopped, and the fog condensed.

The entire Snail Shell Alley stood still at that moment.

Si Ming's expression darkened: "The domain is about to open."

The door to the iron house was completely closed.

Si Ming and Selian are trapped inside.

The air was so humid it was almost dripping wet, the walls were covered in damp stains, and the sound of dripping water echoed in the corners of the room.

Selene whispered, "Master, something here... seems to be moving."

Si Ming looked up.

The cracks in the corrugated iron wall were gradually bulging, as if something was crawling inside.

"Don't move, and don't look over the wall," he whispered a reminder.

The dripping sound suddenly stopped. The next second, a low breathing sound came from the corner of the room.

"hiss--"

The old man peeked out from the shadows again; it looked like a lump of human-shaped ash.

It had a huge shell bulging on its back, and its body was slowly twisting.

"The house is too small..." the voice was hoarse, like a rusty iron door, "but I can't bear to move out..."

Celian frowned: "Is this guy the old man?"

Si Ming nodded: "Don't come near."

The shadow suddenly laughed, a crack appearing at the corner of its mouth, revealing a row of black and yellow teeth.

“You…the people outside…are there light? That’s good…come in…come in and live with us.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the light bulb in the room flickered. The walls began to rotate slightly.

Selene grabbed Siming's arm, her voice trembling slightly: "The wall... is moving."

Si Ming didn't turn around; his pupils were already covered by a thin layer of mist.

"It is showing us—its dream."

A flash of light, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

They were no longer inside the house, but in a small basement.

The walls were moldy, the floor was damp, and a dim light bulb hung in mid-air.

An old man sat in a corner, drawing spiral symbols on the wall with a brush.

He was drawing while talking to himself.

"Make it smaller... smaller still... that way it will be safe."

His voice was gentle, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

It was raining heavily outside, and water was dripping from the cracks in the ceiling, running down his shoulders.

He looked up and saw the water stains spreading into circles on the wall.

"Like a shell...it really looks like a shell."

The scene changes.

During the day, the neighbors are laughing and chatting.

The old man peeked from behind the door. He wanted to go out, but then retreated back inside.

Someone outside shouted, "Old Wei, can you please stop drawing all over the house? It stinks!"

The door slammed shut.

He leaned against the door, muttering, "I didn't scribble anything... I'm fixing my house."

Turn again.

It's very hot in summer.

The windows in the room were nailed shut, and the air was stiflingly hot.

The old man was covered in sweat, but he smiled and said to himself, "It's nice here... not noisy, not bright, not cold." More and more threads appeared on the wall, and the floor began to bulge.

He curled up, his spine slowly protruding, as if a house was growing on his body.

"I want to shrink...I want to curl up..."

Another turn.

winter.

Someone knocked on the door. No one answered.

The door was broken open, and a stench hit us.

The police shone a flashlight on it—

In the corner, there was only a dried-up corpse.

The back bulges out in a spiral, and the skin blends into the wall.

The bed, the floor, the cabinets—everything curled up towards the center, as if the whole room had shrunk into a shell.

"He's dead," someone said, covering their mouth and nose.

“It’s been at least a year,” the other person replied.

The light dims, and the scene returns to the present.

The old man—Old Man Snail Shell—was standing in front of Si Ming and the others.

He laughed calmly, his voice almost like a sigh.

"I'm not a ghost... I just haven't moved out yet."

Selene took a step back and bumped into the iron wall from behind, the entire wall making a muffled "hum" sound.

She whispered, "He's affecting me... I'm dizzy."

Si Ming raised his hand and pressed it against her shoulder.

"This is an illusion. Calm down."

"But I heard him speaking in my ear."

"Ignore it. That's just the obsession of the whirlpool."

The old man in the snail shell slowly crawled forward, leaving circles of water under his feet.

Each step makes the air more humid and the breathing heavier.

"You'll get used to it."

"Curled up...not crowded, not painful...no one bothers me..."

Si Ming's voice became dry: "Don't listen."

"Why? You all live in shells too, don't you?" The old man tilted his head. "Everyone has their own shell... it's just that yours hasn't grown out yet."

His voice echoed in the room, as if it came from all directions.

The lights flicker again.

Selene's body stiffened for a moment, her shadow began to lengthen, and a shallow vortex appeared at her feet.

Si Ming frowned and pressed her back, saying, "Be careful, it's mental pollution."

The air grew increasingly viscous, like a dream being soaked in water.

The ground shook, and time seemed to slow down.

The old man's laughter faded into the distance, leaving only that echoing whisper—

"It's too big outside... I'm afraid to go out..."

Si Ming raised his head, his brow twitching.

"...Damn it, this illusion is real."

The light inside the room went completely dark.

Only the reflection of the snail shell remained on the ground, swirling in circles and surrounding the two of them.

A strange sound began to fill the air.

Tick-tock—tick-tock—

That wasn't the sound of water, but the sound of time being stretched.

Si Ming looked up and noticed that the light bulb was swaying and the light and shadow were slowly distorting.

The shadow on the wall also lengthened, as if being pulled downwards by some force.

"It's starting to move," Si Ming said in a low voice.

Selene turned her head, but her movements were a beat too slow.

Even she herself was stunned—it was as if her body had become sticky, and even blinking took an extra second.

"Master... I don't think I can move very fast anymore."

“It’s devouring our time.” Si Ming stared at the water stains spreading on the ground. “That’s its power.”

More and more ripples formed beneath their feet, one after another, rotating at an extremely slow speed.

With each rotation, the air becomes thicker, and the sound slows down.

The old man in the snail shell slowly rose in the center of the room, his shell turning extremely slowly, and with each turn, the walls groaned.

“You guys will… slow down too.” He laughed, his voice thick and sticky like mud. “Slow down… and it won’t hurt anymore.”

Selene couldn't resist the urge to rush forward. Her blood claws were gathering in her palms, but before they could fully solidify, the light was distorted and twisted.

She was surprised to find that her hand movements were as slow as if they were in slow motion.

"Hurry, Master!"

"The more urgent the better." Siming's voice was drawn out, with strange pauses between each word. "Don't... move."

He took out his pen, intending to draw a chessboard, but as soon as the pen tip touched the ground, the light pattern was swallowed up by the light emanating from the old man's shell.

The handwriting turned into a wisp of smoke, swirled in the air, and then disappeared.

“Can’t draw it??” Celian’s eyes were tense.

“It ‘flattens’ the space.” Si Ming frowned.

"The current floor is part of its shell."

The old man in the snail shell crawled forward, the huge shell behind him making a slight rubbing sound.

With each friction, the air trembled.

The entire iron house seemed to be breathing.

"Curl up."

"Hurry up... or you'll be burned to death by the light outside."

His voice seeped into their minds little by little, like a whisper that was played on repeat.

Selene's vision began to blur, and the scene before her eyes began to spin.

The walls, the lights, and the face of the God of Fate were all distorting little by little.

"Don't look at the shell!" Si Ming almost shouted.

Selene gritted her teeth and forced herself to lower her head. Her blood was flowing backward, and a sharp pain shot through her chest.

"hiss--"

The old man's shell cracked open, revealing a long, wet tongue.

The surface of the tongue was covered with spiral patterns, which meandered all the way up to the ceiling and then stretched out towards them.

Selene tried to raise her hand, but her arm seemed bound by time.

Si Ming was the same; he watched the tongue approach, but could only turn slightly to the side.

Their tongues were less than half a meter away from them.

“You… will also become very comfortable.” The old man chuckled softly, his laughter slow and unnatural.

The room was completely deformed.

The floor is curved, the walls are close together, and the light from the bulbs spreads in circles in the air, as if the whole world is in slow motion.

"...Time is collapsing." Si Ming's Adam's apple bobbed, and cold sweat slid down his forehead.

Selene managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Master... are we... going to be finished?"

The God of Fate did not answer.

He is observing.

His gaze slowly shifted from the old man's face to the massive shell on its back—

Further down, all the way to the shadow at the corner of the bed.

There was a faint grayish-white light there.

It was a small snail shell, like an eye that stood out from the darkness.

Si Ming's pupils contracted slightly.

He finally understood where the real core of this place lay.

But it can't move yet.

Once you move, time will stop completely.

The old man's tongue drew closer and closer, almost touching the god of fate's shoulder.

The damp, cold air fell on his neck, giving him goosebumps.

Si Ming struggled to lift the pen, his voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Selian, look...at my...fingers."

Selene paused for a moment, then reflexively looked at him.

His fingers slowly rose into the air, forming two vertical lines.

Her gaze left the rotating wall and fell on the two fingers.

Breathing resumed instantly.

Siming's movements suddenly quickened by a split second.

He used his other hand to flip the playing cards over, with the tips pointing towards the corner of the wall.

Old Man Snail noticed.

His smile vanished, the patterns on the shell suddenly lit up, and the entire space twisted once more.

“You saw it,” he said in a low voice.

"Then, stay."

The room suddenly shook.

Time stood still.

All colors were absorbed, leaving only gray and white.

The old man with the snail shell opened his mouth, his tongue piercing through the air, straight towards the God of Fate.

—In that instant, the playing card that Si Ming had thrown with all his might flashed in the air.

The light from the playing cards fell on a small snail shell in the corner.

But I haven't encountered it yet.

Only that broken whisper remained in the air:

"Home is inside the shell..."

The outside is a human, the inside is a ghost.

If the shell remains unbroken, the human heart will never be born.

—From *Zi Bu Yu: Ke Xin Lu*

(End of this chapter)