Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

Chapter 88 Oh, Heaven, how cruel are you to me?

One must be perceptive.

Those who play demons and monsters must be even more observant and perceptive.

When people harm each other, the only outcome is death.

As the saying goes, death absolves all debts. No matter how deep the hatred, when one party dies, the other party's hatred will dissipate by more than half. Of course, in extreme cases, it may trigger passive effects such as eradicating the root of the problem or desecrating the corpse, but those are extreme cases.

But demons and monsters are different.

In a world where the strong prey on the weak, dynasties suppress and righteousness is eradicated, every extra day of life brings an extra day of risk and fear. How can one not be more discerning?

Those who lack tact would have been wiped out long ago.

Just like the Yellow River Coffin right now, its lid was kicked off by someone who was being unreasonable, and its sleep was disturbed. How could it not be grumpy when it gets up?

Yes, it has a good temper and has never harmed anyone, but that only means it has never plotted against anyone.

Does punishment count?

Do those who stumbled upon themselves, their fates intertwined, and ended up dying on their own?

These are not considered unprovoked murders; even in the underworld, the Book of Life and Death would record them with evidence.

Kicking the coffin lid off is no different from tearing off someone else's roof; it's a sure way to create a deep-seated grudge.

But then again, it depends on who you hold a grudge against.

Ordinary villagers have their own methods, and evenly matched opponents have their own ways of dealing with them. But when faced with someone who can walk on air and doesn't even have the slightest shame to summon the ancestral master... Anyway, the coffin owner admitted that he wasn't as thick-skinned as the corpse rat and couldn't withstand the torture of heavenly lightning, so it didn't matter if he was humble.

If I can't avoid it, then I'll face the storm head-on.

Anyway, I didn't do anything immoral, but I'm not arrogant either. I have a good attitude and accept corrections.

There's nothing shameful about trying to survive!

Moreover, this way, both sides have a way out. Unless they encounter the unreasonable Lushan Dao, things might change. But this is the Yellow River, the Taihang Mountains. Those red and black turbaned monks are already overwhelmed with their own affairs, so they don't have time to travel so far to cause trouble for us.

By doing this, Zhang Wei actually seemed a bit rude and unreasonable!

When viewed from above using one's divine eye, the coffin emitted a swarm of malevolent energy, spewing smoke like a black chimney. However, once the coffin lid was opened, the result was quite the opposite.

Zhang Wei doesn't harbor hatred as deeply as An Yixi, nor does he consider the bigger picture like Qi Xiang.

There's no need to say much about the wicked; kill them if you can, and find an opportunity to kill them if you can't. But the virtuous, or neutral like the coffin owner, can be treated a little more gently: don't kill them, but don't keep them around either.

Make a mark, and everyone goes their separate ways. If the other person goes astray in the future, he can follow the mark back and receive the ancestor's reward.

"I am not worthy of the title of 'True Person.' Although I have learned a few rudimentary skills from my master, I have not yet entered the door. I am not a Taoist master, much less a True Person."

Coffin owner:

'

'

Does it look like an idiot?

You haven't even entered the door, yet you've learned a couple of rudimentary skills and you can already command the wind and rain? How come your master is also Bodhi Patriarch or Jade Tripod Immortal?

"Young master, you are too modest!"

Seeing the coffin owner's obvious disbelief, Zhang Wei didn't bother to explain: "You said you were submerged in the Yellow River more than a hundred years ago, so you should be very familiar with this river, right?"

The owner of the coffin: "What would you like to ask?"

"Anything will do—a floating corpse, a water monkey, or even a big rock... A rat demon isn't quite up to this scale. If the spells are about to dissipate and there's nothing to replenish them... I might have to apologize to you!"

"clear!"

Killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes is an ancient practice.

Moreover, having passed the Qing dynasty's imperial examinations and become a court official, he was already suspected of forgetting his ancestors. Although he hadn't caused any trouble in the hundred years since his death, he hadn't accumulated any merits either. He was the kind of person who had no great achievements but had minor transgressions. If he were to be executed as a demon, he would have nowhere to appeal for justice.

They were all focused on survival and didn't care about the sentiment of living together by the river.

Moreover, why would you talk about friendship with evil spirits?

At that moment, the owner of the coffin told everyone about the demons and monsters in this section of the river: "Young master, if you go up, you will see a backwater. Although the waterbed there is shallow, the river water rushes back and forth, and there are eddies all over the bottom. There are more than a thousand people who have fallen into the water. There is even an extremely ferocious ancient corpse from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties under the waterbed."

"That thing in the middle of the river isn't some blue stone, but an old turtle. The old turtle eats corpses and often fights fiercely with the ancient corpses in the bay. But the ancient corpses have the help of the drifters, so when I first came here, the two sides were evenly matched. However, in recent years, this old turtle has started to collect water monsters in the river as its henchmen, and the ancient corpses in the bay have gradually become no match for it. Many of its subordinates have been eaten, and it has also lost a leg."

"The rest are just scattered drifters, adrift on the water, and amount to nothing."

"The Yellow River is treacherous, and the drifters are no threat." Only those from the Yellow River have the confidence to say such things. Any other small river would be a major disaster that would shock the surrounding area!

Seeing that he had squeezed the coffin owner dry, Zhang Wei did not go back on his word.

Blood Fiend pulled the coffin lid, which had drifted far into the river, back from a great distance. He personally closed the coffin for the informant on the scene. One by one, the scattered coffin nails were picked up and then infused with rich Blood Fiend. This made the nails, which had been soaked and rusted, shine with a brand-new brilliance. At the same time, miniature versions of Yazi patterns appeared on the four edges.

Throughout the entire process, the owner of the coffin remained as still as a corpse.

Having done all this, Zhang Wei turned to look at the "giant rock" lying prone in the very center of the river, with only its back visible. He formed a lightning spell in his hand, and the sun, which had just appeared, was helplessly covered again by a thin blanket. He said, "Look, we're so close. You must have heard what it said. Don't you want to come out and make some excuses?"

"6

'

"Not going to say anything? That's fine too. Let's save time and get straight to the procedure!"

Having already experienced being tutored before, Zhang Wei's hand gestures became incredibly fast, and dark clouds gathered above his head once more, with streaks of silver snakes dancing wildly within them, creating a deafening roar that echoed across the surrounding area.

At the bottom of the water, the old turtle stared in despair at the illusory human figure formed by the water currents before it, cursing the damned corpse rat in its heart.

Why didn't you just die peacefully? Why did you have to struggle so much?

Now look what's happened! Not only have you been reduced to ashes, but you've also dragged others down with you.

It simply couldn't understand it. Immortals and gods had vanished for a thousand years, and its own Jiaojun (a mythical dragon-like creature) had also abandoned its territory and left hastily five hundred years ago upon receiving a summons from the River God. For five hundred years, no trace of immortals or gods had been seen on either side of the Yellow River, and so much time had passed that it had forgotten that it had once been a patrolling general under the Jiaojun.

It had already given up all hope and begun to accept this new world where demons reigned supreme. Just as it had recruited a large number of water monsters and their minions to stir up trouble underwater, this hope abruptly ripped open its eyelids, forcing it to confront this cruel reality.

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