Chapter 53

Chapter 52: Bright Moon, God of War

Inside the apartment building.

Shi Zong quietly listened to Xing Zhi’s account and finally understood the general course of events.

According to He Zhen, the soul is connected to the etheric body, and everyone’s energy field is different, which affects their perception of another dimension.

The reason Xing Zhi often encountered ghosts as a child was because his energy field was special.

This was probably why Bright Moon, or rather his past self, had sought him out.

From Bright Moon’s self-introduction to Xing Zhi, he could observe this world from outside its time, much like fast-forwarding a video while watching a movie.

So of course he could know whether it would rain where Xing Zhi was, and what score he got on the written exam.

Bright Moon himself did not possess the ability to foresee the future. He simply reported to Xing Zhi what he had observed.

As for the trick of the jade “relentlessly haunting” Xing Zhi, it was probably because Bright Moon failed the first time, and repeatedly transmitted the jade to this space during three separate times as Xing Zhi went down the mountain, finally succeeding in attracting him to take the jade home.

Incidentally, Xing Zhi happened to know the talisman technique, which was also why Bright Moon targeted him.

If one saw through this trick, its essence was actually very simple.

But Shi Zong knew that to achieve this goal, Bright Moon must have put in a lot of effort.

After all, finding a specific Xing Zhi in the vast sea of people was already very difficult.

Transmitting the jade three times seemed simple, but it involved material exchange between two spaces, which must have been extremely hard to accomplish.

Additionally, Bright Moon mentioned “quantum tunneling” to Xing Zhi.

This indicated that the jade was an important medium.

It not only helped Shi Zong restore his memory but could also assist in traversing dimensions.

This meant the jade was not simply a communication tool. Xing Zhi saw Bright Moon not because of a video call, but because part of Bright Moon’s soul had genuinely crossed from the past into the present, from another dimension into this world.

From this perspective, the so-called hell actually possessed highly advanced technology.

The rulers in hell, such as the Yama Kings, must have a special origin. Their race was naturally capable of shifting between multiple forms of life.

So the material that looked like jade was obviously not real jade. It was probably a high-end product supported by some special material.

Through Xing Zhi’s words, Shi Zong also realized that his jade was arranged for him by Bright Moon. But what about He Zhen’s jade?

Bright Moon had no reason to help his nemesis, the Song Emperor, recover his memory.

One possible explanation was that He Zhen’s jade had been arranged by the Song Emperor.

In any case, the possibility that he planned to kill Shi Zong and drag him back to hell for punishment was very high.

In a very short time, Shi Zong calculated many things in his mind.

Then he looked at Xing Zhi: “Show me how you drew the talisman. Also, try it again with your own blood. Let me use your bedroom for a moment; I have something to say to the person inside the jade.”

Xing Zhi was taken aback by this. “Y-you… aren’t you the… White Impermanence inside the jade?”

“Who told you there’s only one White Impermanence? That one is my twin brother.” Shi Zong glanced at him. “I don’t have much time, hurry up.”

“I-I-I’m going right away!” Xing Zhi immediately moved.

Five minutes later, inside Xing Zhi’s bedroom.

The curtains were drawn up, the door locked from the inside. Shi Zong checked again to make sure there were no listening or surveillance devices. Then he walked to the jade and quietly waited for the person to appear.

He waited for about three more minutes.

A semi-transparent figure appeared above the jade.

He had long hair, wore a long robe, and his semi-transparent appearance was ghostly. It was Bright Moon.

With a slightly appraising gaze, he looked at Shi Zong a few times and smiled faintly. “Hello, future me.”

Before Shi Zong could speak, he said in a pleased tone, “You’ve come this far, which means half of my plan is already complete.”

In this way, Shi Zong met his past self in a mysterious manner.

His mood was relatively calm, and he asked Bright Moon expressionlessly, “What is your plan?”

“Such a traversal is not easy; it requires a lot of energy. Moreover, I calculated the time you would find Xing Zhi and pre-marked it in this jade-like device, otherwise our meeting wouldn’t have been so easy. After this meeting, I may never again have the chance to communicate face-to-face with my future self.

“So, you must listen carefully to what I say.

“Every step you take has been arranged by me. I made you the owner of the Misconcealed Inn for a reason. Zhou Lü, Zuo Sanqiu, Zhu Shuangqiao… I’ve thoroughly investigated all of them. Only by making you the owner could you encounter them in the first dungeon.

“Of course, you will meet some other specific people later. Each one of them is very important. You can treat them as chess pieces, using them to their fullest potential.

“For example, Zhou Lü’s usefulness lies in his real-world network. Zhu Shuangqiao’s personal abilities are very strong; he might prefer to act alone, but you must make him yours. Furthermore…”

Shi Zong interrupted him: “I understand those two. As for Zuo Sanqiu… he’s indeed decent and has helped me a lot. But for now, I can’t see what special role he has.”

“You will know,” Bright Moon said, “I just can’t tell you right now.”

Shi Zong understood. “You’re guarding against me.”

He knew himself too well to not realize what his past self was thinking—

He never trusted anyone, including himself.

“Of course,” Bright Moon squinted, meeting Shi Zong’s gaze with interest, and continued, “To escape the special inspection mechanism of that world, you lost your previous memories.

“In this situation, you will have new experiences and encounters. Perhaps you’ve already become someone not entirely identical to who I am now.

“So maybe you wouldn’t agree to my plan. That’s why I cannot tell you everything. What if you became weak and indecisive?

“When my arrangements push you forward to the final step, you will understand everything. At that point, you must follow my plan. Otherwise, you will die.”

Shi Zong smiled with a hint of mockery. He stared at his past self: “No. You’re doing this because you know what I—or we—hate most.

“I hate being arranged, manipulated, following someone else’s plan. Even if that person is myself.”

“Hmph. Truly like me,”

Bright Moon smiled, then continued, “Besides that, there’s another reason. The saying ‘Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed’ has its meaning. Your appearance is a future I arranged for myself. That future has been precisely calculated and designed by me. I will be very satisfied.

“But if you know your ‘future’ from my mouth and then make changes, the cause-and-effect will be disrupted. That world will follow a new timeline, and the future along that timeline will no longer be what I can see now.

“At that point, your future—or my own future—I cannot predict, and I cannot make precise arrangements. Since you are me, you should know that you hate uncertainty.”

At this point, Bright Moon introduced to Shi Zong that this jade-like device was called Shuyu.

He explained Shuyu’s various functions and methods of use, reminded him to remember the people he needed to win over, and mentioned some precautions.

Finally, he said: “I will split my soul into two parts. I should succeed. So now, you should only possess seven-tenths of the soul. As for the remaining three-tenths, I will temporarily send it elsewhere.

“This will cause your current physical condition to be less than ideal. But it’s nothing serious. Using your badge’s abilities will protect your safety.

“In short, I am looking forward to the realization of the final plan. I know myself, so I know your abilities. I believe you won’t disappoint me, right?

“I trust you, just as I trust myself. I know I will never let myself down.”

So this was the expression he had when he tricked people.

Shi Zong thought this to himself and raised an eyebrow at Bright Moon. “Cut the act. I’ll only think you’ve caused me a lot of trouble.”

“Also, your concern is very valid. I don’t necessarily have to follow your arrangements. The current me stands at your future. So, in reality, where you ultimately go depends on my choice. Given that…”

Shi Zong smiled faintly, lifted his chin, and looked at Bright Moon with a slightly disdainful gaze. “Your future, my future, or rather, our shared future—all of it is decided by me, not you. Stop trying to command me.”

Hearing this, Bright Moon raised an eyebrow. “I realize I can be quite annoying sometimes.”

“Coincidentally, I just realized the same thing,” Shi Zong replied coldly with a hint of a sneer. “Tell me, what’s going on between you and the Song Emperor? The one who wants to kill you—is it him?”

“Your statement isn’t accurate. Right now I’m in Hell, and at this point in time, he doesn’t know what I’m going to do. So, the one he wants to kill isn’t me—it’s you.

“More precisely, once part of my plan is realized, the future him may find the future me—that is, you—and then he will kill you and take you back to Hell.”

Bright Moon carefully examined Shi Zong for a few moments. “Why ask so suddenly? Did you have a dream?”

“That’s for you to answer,” Shi Zong said. “What really happened between you two?”

Bright Moon replied with a dismissive tone, “Oh, if you mean that… just consider him my… massager.

“Of course, only for a certain period. And it all started by accident. You don’t need to concern yourself with it.”

Shi Zong: “……”

After a moment of silence, Shi Zong looked at Bright Moon. “Really? Why weren’t you the one on him?”

The only person who could probably make Bright Moon speechless was himself.

So he also remained silent for a moment before speaking again: “I said, all of this began by accident. And that’s in the past; it doesn’t count. Moreover, I need to remind you—

“The Yama King clan is naturally capable of transforming between different life forms, and each possesses powerful supernatural abilities. For example, Seventh Hall Taishan Prefecture Lord can traverse any time at will, without his brain or mind being affected.

“As for the Song Emperor, Yu Qin, he’s the war god of that world. Heaven can’t stop him, the earth can’t hide from him, gods can’t stop him, and Buddhas can’t stop him. All these years, he’s never suffered a defeat.

“If you have that thought, go ahead and try once on him, let me see.”

Shi Zong’s temple twitched. “Thank you. I don’t have that thought, and I’m not interested in him.”

After saying this, Shi Zong became somewhat serious.

This strange world seemed to be controlled by a game. Its timeline kept resetting. Could his past self, Bright Moon, truly calculate everything without omission?

After all, from his past self’s mouth, he never heard the name “He Zhen.”

If his past self didn’t consider He Zhen, what would the timeline connected to him in this world look like?

Shi Zong looked at Bright Moon, about to ask further, but then he heard him say: “To accomplish this, I stole some mental energy from the Seventh Hall. Now they’ve sent people to inquire, so I have to deal with that.

“In short, everything I do is for my own good. When the time comes, you will know everything.”

Bright Moon disappeared.

Shi Zong knew that was his past self, returning to the correct point in time, busy scheming and calculating for his plan.

Shi Zong was confident in his guess. Bright Moon’s plan was, at its core, just a prison break.

But the previous world was entirely controlled by Hell; escape was impossible unless he went to a completely new world, free from the rules of the old one.

Bright Moon’s subsequent arrangements might relate to evading Hell’s pursuit or obtaining a new identity for himself.

There was no rush—Shi Zong knew he would gradually figure out what his past self intended to achieve.

There were only two things Shi Zong still didn’t know—

First, the world he was currently in—was it truly a new world free from any rules?

Shi Zong believed the answer was no. Otherwise, the Song Emperor wouldn’t be moving about so freely.

But if this world isn’t the new world, then what was Bright Moon’s reason for sending himself here?

Second, why did Bright Moon separate a portion of his soul, and where exactly is that part of the soul now?

Could it be that only that portion of the soul went to the new world?

Did Bright Moon do this out of some concern?

In any case, according to what Bright Moon just said, that three-tenths of the soul carries all of his memories.

And the Shuyu jade in Shi Zong’s hand can perform quantum tunneling, allowing that portion of the soul to return to the main body.

By then, he would be completely whole, remembering all of his past lives and this life.

Inside the bedroom, after severing contact with his past self, Shi Zong intentionally waited another hour, then called Xing Zhi in to use blood to try again.

However, this time he couldn’t make contact with his past self.

They might have only had this one chance to communicate.

Regarding this, perhaps his past self hadn’t lied.

So Shi Zong had no choice but to put away the jade, pick up the book with the talismans, and leave.

Before leaving, he called Xing Zhi back to ask a few questions, trying to see if he could extract any of Bright Moon’s other arrangements.

Xing Zhi answered one by one, then, as if mustering immense courage, called after him. “Um… Lord White Impermanence…”

“What is it?” Shi Zong, at the doorway, looked back at him.

Xing Zhi asked, “I…I…can I ask one more thing? You, you can go anywhere, do anything, omnipotent… Can you tell me… I plan to confess to a girl tomorrow, will it succeed? When will we get married, will we have children? A boy or a girl?”

Where would Shi Zong know such things?

But that didn’t stop him from giving Xing Zhi a profound, inscrutable glance, speaking in an enigmatic tone: “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”

“But before… oh no, that was your brother…”

“Exactly. He revealed the secret. Otherwise, why would he be sealed inside the jade?

“We’ll meet again. I’m leaving you my number. If you ever recall anything related to my brother, you can contact me anytime.”

Shi Zong placed the business card for the Mizang Inn owner on the shoe cabinet by the door and left.

That night, Shi Zong and He Zhen were already on a flight back to Jin Ning City.

Their seats were next to each other, Shi Zong by the window, He Zhen by the aisle.

When the flight attendant came to deliver drinks, He Zhen helped Shi Zong bring a cup of black tea over.

This action exposed the bandage covering the wound on He Zhen’s index finger very clearly, almost as if deliberately making sure Shi Zong saw it.

Shi Zong did notice and casually said, “Did you hurt it while peeling apples earlier? Be careful.”

He Zhen’s wound was somewhat obscured in the lamplight, but he boldly displayed it to Shi Zong, perhaps hoping Shi Zong wouldn’t suspect anything.

However, seeing that Shi Zong really didn’t ask further, He Zhen felt something was off.

“Did you see Xing Zhi? Did you figure out how to use that ‘jade’?”

“No. He’s sick, doesn’t want to see anyone,” Shi Zong said lightly.

He Zhen knew he wasn’t telling the truth, but he hadn’t expected the lie to be so blatant, so plainly perfunctory. He shook his head and then laughed.

He directly asked Shi Zong, “Aren’t you curious what I did after you left?”

“Just recalling parts of the past?”

On the way, Shi Zong had brushed He Zhen’s hand, felt no trace of hostility, and so didn’t plan to ask further.

But when his gaze inadvertently fell on He Zhen’s expression, he thought of the three words Bright Moon had said, and Shi Zong couldn’t help but smile.

Speaking of which… for He Zhen, that “awkward period” seemed to have completely passed.

These past two days, he had been sitting up straight, cautious, even when sitting side by side, he hadn’t dared lean his shoulder toward Shi Zong at all.

But now looking at him, Shi Zong felt he seemed much more relaxed, his demeanor natural and at ease, as if he had matured significantly in a very short time.

Thinking this, Shi Zong glanced at his fingers, then turned his head, closing his eyes, pretending to nap. He asked He Zhen, “Before getting on the plane, your phone kept ringing. Someone looking for you? That girl from before? Are most of the people chasing you boys or girls?”

He Zhen cast a sideways glance at Shi Zong.

By the window, decorated with drifting clouds and a hint of the airplane wing, Shi Zong’s side profile was almost flawless.

He Zhen stared at him for a while, then said lightly, “It’s my mother. She just wanted to know where I went.”

“You went so far without telling her?” Shi Zong asked, letting out a faint yawn.

“Mm. I can give her what she wants. But she doesn’t need to worry about me so much.”

He Zhen continued staring at Shi Zong, his words seeming to carry some implication, “Sometimes I feel like I’ve learned a few things from another person as well.”

Shi Zong didn’t respond, only said, “Hmm. She won’t think I kidnapped you.”

He Zhen smiled lightly, “No. You don’t need to mind her.”

Shi Zong didn’t say anything further, gently closed his eyes, ignored He Zhen’s gaze, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Whether it was because He Zhen was beside him, or the jade placed on his chest was taking effect, Shi Zong felt as if he was dreaming of a very distant past.

Time in hell did not flow the same as in the human world. In the human world only a few years had passed, but back then, as Bright Moon, he had already endured a full thousand years of punishment in hell.

After passing the final special trial, Bright Moon became the Vermilion Bird Gate Lord under the Three Palaces of Emperor Song, alongside the Xuanwu, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger Lords.

Bright Moon had once directly mocked Emperor Song Yuqin, saying he spent all his time pondering ways to punish people, but he hadn’t expected to encounter Yuqin clad in battle armor.

The Torture Hell held the most ferocious spirits. Because there were so many, the space was divided into many smaller spaces, each numbered.

One day, the people of Torture Hell No. 00827 staged a rebellion. After killing many wardens, they collectively charged into the Composite Hell above Torture Hell, killing the wardens there and devouring all the spirits undergoing punishment.

The leader of the rebellion was Wang Huaisheng, who had lived ten thousand years in hell, biding his time for this day.

Most of the spirits in Composite Hell were devoured by him.

After devouring spirits to greatly increase his power, he found a weak point, intending to forcibly break open a spatial rift and head straight to the area of the Yama Lords.

Where the rift was broken, thick molten lava flowed, forming rivers of magma.

By this special river, many ordinary spirits were being escorted to the Naihe Bridge. Unexpectedly affected by the impact on the space, countless spirits fell into the lava during the massive tremor.

At that moment, Wang Huaisheng’s arrogant voice rang from the bottom of the molten lava, through the spatial rift—

“Either let me out! Or let these innocent spirits be sealed at the bottom of the lava forever for me to devour! You have no second choice!

“I know none of you dare come down to fight me! Because you face one man against our tens of thousands of spirit army!

“The Yama Lords in Hell have enjoyed life too long. Indeed, no one dares to fight me!!!”

Bright Moon followed the Azure Dragon Gate Lord to the scene and witnessed the entire event.

What he heard was endless wails and suffering, what he saw was molten lava bursting upward under the impact, as if trying to stain the entire hellish sky red.

Then, a whip-like shadow descended from the sky, splitting the precarious spatial rift open.

Immediately, a figure rode a white eagle mount, unstoppable and commanding, charging through the rift and straight down toward hell.

It was none other than Emperor Song Yuqin!

Another whip-like shadow swept past, and the spatial rift immediately closed.

This was to prevent more innocent spirits from falling below.

The lava no longer churned, the sky no longer glowed red, and the entire world seemed to return to complete stillness.

No one knew what had happened in the space beneath the lava.

No one knew whether Yuqin, fighting against a thousand, had died down there.

After a very long time, no sound came from below. The Azure Dragon, anxious, took a few steps toward the lava and suddenly knelt on the ground.

Bright Moon stood silently, staring thoughtfully at the lava, lost in thought.

About fifteen minutes later, a tremendous crash echoed—the sound of the whip-like shadow splitting open the space.

The long cry of the white eagle sounded. Yuqin, riding his mount, rose triumphantly from beneath the lava.

Following him were the innocent spirits he had rescued.

They attached themselves to a special magical artifact.

The artifact carried them to the edge of the lava, set them down one by one, and finally returned to Yuqin’s hands in midair.

At this moment, Yuqin’s body was covered in scars and blood; even his mask was half broken, revealing half of his face. The corner of his eye was injured and bleeding.

Yet he held his back straight, not even a frown on his brow.

As he rode the white eagle away, he seemed to sense something in midair and turned his head, meeting the gaze of Bright Moon standing at the edge of the lava.

Yuqin looked at Bright Moon and smiled from afar.

The smile carried the confidence and certainty of a victorious king, yet held a hint of nonchalance.

Soon he withdrew his gaze and, with the white eagle, headed toward the Three Palaces, not looking back.

Bright Moon stood still, suddenly sensing the earth veins tremble again, as if the space was about to be struck once more.

Could it be that those villains had not been killed and had returned?

He instinctively frowned, then felt a gentle grip on his wrist.

The warmth from the fingertips slowly brought him back to awareness.

Opening his eyes, he saw Emperor Song, who a moment ago had been bloodied and heavily injured, now with a clean, youthful face, saying to him: “The plane has landed. Did you have a nightmare?”

As the plane taxied, Shi Zong’s consciousness gradually cleared.

At this moment, as Shi Zong, he even felt a fleeting sense of being in another world entirely.