After Transmigrating into an Evil God - Chapter 23

The storyteller’s eyes were vast and misty, as if reflecting a great river. After the clamor below the platform subsided, he spoke slowly:

“The Divine Lord sent him off at the Huai River, and Yu Jian followed the river downstream, drifting with the waves all the way, leaving the borders of Lu Kingdom. Yu Jian took a roundabout route, returning to his hometown in Sui Kingdom from the lower reaches of the Huai River. After that, every spring, he would go to the banks of the Huai River to meet with Meng Huai. Later…”

Later, if the story stopped here, it would be the perfect ending everyone hoped for.

But the world turns without rest, time never stops, just like the Huai River—for millions of years, surging and vast.

The Divine Lord of the Huai River gave the then-ruler of Lu Kingdom a judgment. This verdict was deliberately spread to various kingdoms by those with ulterior motives. From then on, all under heaven knew that the words of Lu Kingdom’s ruler were worthless.

The ruler of Lu Kingdom was enraged and ordered that the people of Lu Kingdom were forbidden to worship the Divine Lord of the Huai River.

One-third of the Huai River’s basin lay within Lu Kingdom’s territory, yet Meng Huai paid no attention whatsoever—he didn’t even deign to cast a cold glance at Lu Kingdom’s ruler.

Yu Jian worried for him, but Meng Huai laughed scornfully. “I am the god of the Huai River, not one of those deities who rely on the faith and devotion of living beings to cultivate. Mortal incense offerings are to me no more than duckweed floating on the river.”

“Mortals rise and fall; I flow onward. The ruler of Lu Kingdom merely governs his own kind in one region, yet he’s so arrogant as to think he can control heaven and earth? Just watch how he leads the once-prosperous Lu Kingdom bit by bit toward decline.”

Later, Lu Kingdom indeed weakened, while Sui Kingdom gradually grew stronger, sending troops into Lu to capture Yong City near the Huai River.

Though Lu Kingdom had declined, it still had its accumulated strength from past days. Yong City could not be taken despite prolonged siege, so General Luo Can of Sui Kingdom, after much deliberation, devised a strategy.

While leading his army to surround the city, he secretly sent people upstream of Yong City on the Huai River to build a dam and dig channels in secret, damming up the river water. He planned that once completed, he would breach the channel connected to the Huai River and use the water to break through Yong City.

The Divine Lord of the Huai River watched all this with lazy eyes.

The Divine Court had its own laws—divine beings could not lightly alter the fate already determined for mortals. For one like him, a righteous god of heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, and waterways, his duty was to maintain order in heaven and earth, ensuring no chaos arose within his domain. Beyond this, there were no other requirements.

As for mortals’ faith and prayers, whether he received them or not, whether he responded or not—it was entirely at his discretion.

Yong City bordered the Huai River and was within the Divine Lord of the Huai River’s jurisdiction. Meng Huai disliked dealing with mortals. He was a dragon lord born of heaven; his years could not be recorded in mere numbers. Mortals whose lifespans were no more than a hundred years were, in the eyes of the Divine Lord of the Huai River, no different from mayflies that lived from dawn to dusk.

But though mortals were weak, they were born with spiritual wisdom, and their fates were predetermined. The forty thousand residents in Yong City had not yet reached their time of death.

Meng Huai couldn’t be bothered to help Lu Kingdom defend the city, so he didn’t interfere with General Luo Can of Sui’s actions. However, after the matter was decided, three days in advance he sent dreams to the residents of Yong City, warning them to quickly evacuate. After that, he paid no more attention.

However, the Lu general stationed in Yong City at the time was a confidant of Lu Kingdom’s ruler. He was convinced this was merely a trick by the Divine Lord of the Huai River to disturb people’s hearts. To stabilize military morale, he even had people guard the city gates, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.

Three days later, floodwaters engulfed the city.

The storyteller half-closed his eyes and let out a long breath from his chest.

The listeners below were so shocked by this sudden turn of events that they were speechless. After a long while, someone asked, “…Those forty thousand people?”

“All drowned in the water,” the storyteller said.

The audience below erupted in uproar.

“No wonder he was punished and imprisoned in a well!”

“Forty thousand people! That’s forty thousand people!”

“But it wasn’t the Divine Lord of the Huai River who flooded them—it was General Luo Can of Sui who came up with the idea and gave the order.”

“The Divine Lord of the Huai River even warned them in advance through dreams. It was also that Lu Kingdom general’s fault!”

“But the Divine Lord of the Huai River could clearly have kept those people alive!”

“But aren’t divine beings not supposed to interfere too much in mortal affairs? If today the Divine Lord of the Huai River could help Lu Kingdom defend the city, tomorrow other deities would help certain kingdoms attack other kingdoms.”

“But…”

Below the platform, arguments continued endlessly. On the platform, a gavel struck.

All the listeners quieted down and looked toward the storyteller on the platform.

“Forty thousand people died unjustly in the water, and Yong City’s vital energy fell into chaos. The Divine Lord of the Huai River was judged guilty of dereliction of duty through inaction.”

“The Divine Lord of the Huai River should have been sentenced to imprisonment, with the term calculated by the remaining yang lifespan of all those who died unjustly in Yong City—a sentence of one million two hundred thousand years.”

“But because this matter was not initiated by the Divine Lord of the Huai River, but rather mortals creating their own karmic retribution, and because the Divine Lord had given advance warning through dreams, the sentence was reduced. Furthermore, by offsetting all his past merit and virtue, the final sentence was thirty thousand years.”

“The following spring, Yu Jian rushed to the banks of the Huai River and called out for a long time, but no one answered.”

“Yu Jian collapsed by the riverside, tears streaming down in grief, crying out in anguish.”

“Yu Jian was a minister of Sui. Four years earlier, seeing in the army a young officer named Luo Can who was well-versed in military strategy and exceptionally talented, he had recommended him to the King of Sui.”

Below the platform, there was silence. On the platform, a sorrowful sigh:

“Remembering last year in spring, we met by the riverside. Today I return to visit, but cannot find my kindred spirit. I see only a well, miserably—breaking my heart.”

The storyteller swept his sleeve and strode out of the teahouse with large steps.

…..

Li Chi’s divine consciousness stirred slightly as he looked toward a certain direction outside the teahouse.

Ding Qin… hmm, there was no great harm.

Li Chi left the tea money on the table and also followed the storyteller out of the teahouse.

On the other side, Ding Qin, following the people from Liquan Village, had already arrived in Shuigu Town.

After asking Zheng Dao to give her a general introduction to the situation and point out the way, Ding Qin parted from him. The people from Liquan Village came to town on average only once a month, and Ding Qin didn’t want to delay him too long.

Following Zheng Dao’s directions, she made her way to the Yun Family Medicine Shop.

The shopkeeper was an old gentleman with a graying beard. He didn’t look down on her youth, but patiently examined the quality of her medicinal herbs one by one, recording them while chattering to her:

“The age of these medicinal herbs is quite good. If you gather more in the future, you can bring them all here—our family will buy them all. Where are the adults in your family? How did you come here alone? These medicines aren’t easy to find, are they? You probably have to go deep into the mountains. That’s not safe—remember to be careful. Life is more important…”

He didn’t need anyone to answer, just rambled on by himself, very amiable and kind.

Ding Qin sat relaxed on a small stool, responding to the shopkeeper with occasional murmurs while looking up at the deity statue enshrined in the medicine shop.

It was a woman carrying a basket, beautiful in appearance with a smile at the corners of her mouth, the basket filled with various medicinal herbs.

Ding Qin sensed demonic energy from the statue—not as strong as the Great King Yishan above Liquan Village, but already showing a trend of transforming into divine energy.

Just as she was pondering this, she suddenly heard a female voice say to her, “This is our family’s Medicine Goddess.”

Ding Qin looked up to see a bright-eyed, white-toothed young woman standing before her with a beaming smile, looking about seventeen or eighteen years old.

“Miss Yun Ling,” the old shopkeeper said kindly, “what brings you here?”

“I was bored at home, so I came out for a stroll.” Yun Ling answered with her hands behind her back. She turned her lively eyes toward Ding Qin. “My name is Yun Ling—ling as in poria root. What’s your name?”

“I’m called Ding Qin—qin as in water celery.” Ding Qin looked at her curiously. Around Yun Ling’s body, she could faintly detect traces of the same demonic energy as on the Medicine Goddess statue. Was she also favored and protected by the deity?

“Is this your family’s medicine shop?” Ding Qin asked.

“That’s right,” Yun Ling said. “I haven’t seen you before. Is this your first time here?”

Ding Qin nodded. “It’s my first time in Shuigu Town.”

Yun Ling’s eyes sparkled as she said enthusiastically, “Then let me take you around!”

The old shopkeeper interjected slowly: “Miss Yun Ling, if you go out to play, does the master know?”

“Oh my, since Sister Ding Qin is here for the first time, I’ll take her around for a bit—it won’t be too long.” As Yun Ling spoke, she pulled Ding Qin and ran outside.

She brought Ding Qin to a stop on a nearby street. “Sorry about that—I didn’t even ask before pulling you out. Father has been keeping such a close watch on me lately. It’s been so long since I’ve been out to have fun.”

“It’s fine,” Ding Qin said.

“Let me show you around,” Yun Ling said. “Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“No,” Ding Qin shook her head.

Yun Ling thought for a moment. “Then I’ll take you to see the Shuigu Well first! The well cries out on its own, and it’s been especially frequent lately. If we go now, we might even hear it.”

“Cries out on its own?”

“Yes, everyone says it’s the dragon at the bottom of the well crying out.” Yun Ling said, “When I was little, it happened maybe once every few years. I never heard it myself, so I always thought the adults were lying to me.”

“It was only two years ago that I heard it for the first time. Before I heard it, I was still thinking, maybe it was just wind stirring through underground rivers. But when I actually heard it, I realized it was nothing like that at all.”

As they walked and talked, they arrived before long.

The Shuigu Well was located in the western part of town, hidden within a small bamboo grove. Following a path into the grove, at its center was a small plaza paved with bluestone slabs all around. The well stood in the center of the plaza, its opening constructed in the shape of a bagua diagram.

(TL: Bagua=the Eight Trigrams from Taoist cosmology)

Because of the recent repeated disturbances from within the well, people no longer came here to draw water. The small plaza was quite empty, with only the sound of wind blowing through the bamboo grove.

Ding Qin stared intently at the bagua well in the center. She saw pale white water vapor rising from the well opening, coiling like a wandering dragon, extending claws and stretching its neck, its momentum soaring as if about to pounce, like a vast river.

Ding Qin seemed to see a mighty, surging great river, rising from snowy mountains, winding across the earth, circling mountains and passing through gorges, cascading down cliffs, flowing all the way, magnificently entering the sea.

The wandering dragon above the well opening raised its head majestically. It should have been able to move freely and openly across the earth, yet no matter what, it could not escape the confines of the bagua at the well’s opening.

“Oh dear, our timing’s not right,” Yun Ling said regretfully. “How about we draw some water for you to taste? This well water is so sweet!”

“No need,” Ding Qin came back to her senses. “I’ve already seen it.”

Yun Ling was completely unaware and nodded. “That’s fine too. If the well isn’t crying out, there’s nothing much to see. Let me take you to see other places.”

They turned and left the bamboo grove, passing two men on the path, one in front and one behind.

The first was a thin, bearded middle-aged man holding a qin, walking with an elegant gait. The second was a scholar with clear, bright eyes, long sleeves flowing in the wind, his bearing natural.

As Ding Qin passed by the latter, she suddenly felt something and couldn’t help but look back.

She saw the scholar also looking back at her, a smile at the corners of his mouth, making a gesture of silence.

Ding Qin felt her divine seal on her forehead burn hot, and instinctively raised her hand to press it.

From the ancient well in the grove, there suddenly came a long, leisurely cry.

…..

“The guest has followed me all this way. Is there something you need?” The storyteller stopped before the well and turned around.

Li Chi smiled. “Sir’s story isn’t finished yet.”

“The Divine Lord of the Huai River was imprisoned, the ending has fallen—what more does the guest wish to hear?” the storyteller said.

Li Chi shook his head. “When sir first began, you asked the listeners below whether they knew the reason why the howling sounds from the well have become increasingly frequent lately. Now the question remains unanswered—how can the story be considered finished?”