After Transmigrating into an Evil God - Chapter 46

Yun Ling jolted awake.

The room was pitch black, without a trace of light.

She lay in bed in confusion for a moment. What was that sound just now? Thunder? But it didn’t quite sound like it. Such a loud noise, like a dog barking, but how could a dog’s bark be so loud and so terrifying?

Yun Ling lay with her eyes open in the darkness. The night was cool as water, raising goosebumps on the skin exposed outside the quilt.

Too quiet.

Not even the sound of insects chirping or grass and trees being blown by the wind. This kind of silence made the dog’s bark from just now linger in her mind, echoing ever more clearly.

That roar-like dog bark was both fierce and shocking, and seemed to contain some meaning within it. But Yun Ling couldn’t quite make it out.

When she finally snapped out of trying to discern the meaning in that bark, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

Night was naturally cold, but the present night was too heavy. The air seemed capable of condensing into droplets of water—damp, soft, heavy, clinging to her breathing. The medicinal fragrance that always lingered in the air and put her at ease was gone. Moonlight from outside the window extended into the room, flowing across the floor all the way to the foot of the bed, then… as if swallowed, it disappeared without a trace, as though that patch of floor had become a pitch-black abyss, leaving only a bottomless shadow.

But that shadow was moving.

Yun Ling raised her head and followed the shadow with her gaze. A black beast larger than a tiger was crouched at the foot of her bed, its deep, dark eyes staring fixedly at her!

“Ah!”

Yun Ling suddenly sat up in bed.

The dim light of early morning filtered through the window gauze, illuminating the room in a hazy, murky twilight.

Her heart pounded violently in her chest, cold sweat seeping from between her fingers and palms.

The warm medicinal fragrance gradually filled her nostrils, calling her frightened consciousness back.

Yun Ling gasped in shock for a moment before gradually calming her breathing.

It was a dream…

It was already dawn.

The early morning carried a chill, but compared to the dripping, damp cold of the night in her dream, this chill was like dissipating steam from a stove.

The morning light was still faint for now, but it would soon warm up.

Yun Ling steadied herself, got up, and pushed open the window. The stuffy air in the room immediately dispersed.

That dream just now… was it only a dream?

The Medicine Divine Lady was quite accomplished in divine arts related to dreams, and the Yun family had almost never had nightmares. Although the Medicine Divine Lady had left yesterday, the medicine pouch she left behind remained. How could she suddenly have such a nightmare?

Setting aside these detailed thoughts, Yun Ling went during the day to have the old shopkeeper check her pulse.

The old shopkeeper stroked his carefully groomed beard with one hand while taking her pulse with the other, carefully sensing for a long while before smiling and saying, “No problem at all. Miss Yun Ling is in perfect health—no problem eating two big steamed buns in one meal!”

Yun Ling widened her eyes. “You’re teasing me again!”

After exchanging a few playful words, the slight worry and fear she’d felt that morning from the nightmare dissipated. Only then did the old shopkeeper ask with a chuckle, “Is Miss Yun Ling testing me? Why did you suddenly think to have your pulse taken? Or is something bothering you?”

Yun Ling shook her head. “Nothing really. I had a dream last night and felt a bit uneasy, that’s all.”

“Mm…” The old shopkeeper nodded. “Your spirit was indeed slightly disturbed, but not enough to need a calming decoction. Just go out and walk around a bit to clear your mind.”

Yun Ling pouted. “My father is watching me! These past few days with the Medicine Divine Lady away, he’s even more determined not to let me go out!”

The old shopkeeper stroked his beard. “Why not go pay respects at the Earth God Temple?”

Yun Ling nodded. She’d been planning to do that anyway. Although her body was fine, she felt uneasy in her heart. Going to the Earth God Temple to pay respects would give her peace of mind. Besides, with this reason, her father surely wouldn’t stop her from going to worship a deity.

On the way to the Earth God Temple, Yun Ling couldn’t help but keep thinking about that dream.

That thunderclap-like dog bark had awakened her consciousness in the dream, making her mistakenly think she had woken up, when in reality she was still dreaming.

That black beast crouched at the foot of the bed, fierce and mighty, with thick black fur and a wide mouth—though she couldn’t see the teeth inside, one could imagine how terrifying those sharp teeth in its gaping maw would be if it pounced and bit! And those eyes…

Those pitch-black beast eyes didn’t quite look like the eyes of a wild animal. Though they possessed the ferocity of a predatory beast, they weren’t as cold and emotionless. They seemed to contain some kind of emotion.

But just as Yun Ling couldn’t understand the meaning in that dog’s bark, she also couldn’t read the meaning in those beast eyes.

What could this dream represent?

The noisy, bustling voices of people pulled Yun Ling from her thoughts. She came back to herself and realized she’d unknowingly already reached the Earth God Temple.

People seeking divine favor came and went. Burning incense sticks stood in a huge copper furnace, blue-white smoke rising to the clouds, receiving warmth from the heavens above.

The chill from the dream dissipated completely. Yun Ling blinked and let out a relaxed breath.

It should be nothing. Perhaps she’d just had a nightmare because she wasn’t used to the Medicine Divine Lady being away?

It wouldn’t be right to trouble the Earth God over such a small matter. Yun Ling took three incense sticks, paid her respects to the Earth God, and prepared to head straight home.

…

Behind the Earth God Temple, Shuigu’s Earth God, who had been meditating with closed eyes, suddenly opened them, his gaze falling distantly on Yun Ling.

When she entered the Earth God Temple, she had been tainted by a trace of sinister ghost qi. This thread of sinister qi was faint—dispersed by the incense smoke in the temple. If left alone, with a bit of sun exposure, it would dissipate on its own before long.

But where in Shuigu Town could one pick up ghost qi? Had she come into contact with a ghost cultivator who hadn’t yet achieved divine status?

The Earth God’s divine consciousness stirred, extracting a wisp from the incense smoke that drifted like cloud and mist. This was the incense Yun Ling had burned.

He heard Yun Ling’s prayer from the incense—nothing special, just a wish for peace and smooth fortune.

After brief consideration, the Earth God transmitted a thread of divine thought to a temple guardian.

….

After paying her respects, Yun Ling was preparing to leave.

“Faithful believer, please wait.”

Yun Ling turned her head. One of the temple guardians from the Earth God Temple was calling to her, handing her a protective charm wrapped in red cloth.

Yun Ling instinctively accepted it.

The temple guardian blessed her warmly. “May all things go smoothly, health and peace be with you.”

Yun Ling quickly bowed in return. Why would the temple guardian suddenly come to give her a protective charm? But when she raised her head again to ask, the guardian simply nodded with a smile and walked away.

Yun Ling opened her mouth but didn’t pursue the question.

Had the Earth God instructed the temple guardian to give her the charm? Had the Earth God seen something about her? That dream… was there really a problem?

But the temple guardian hadn’t said more, so Yun Ling didn’t know what was really going on. She furrowed her brow, carefully tied the charm to her person, and hurried back to the Yun family home.

…..

At the Yun Family Medicine Shop, Ding Qin was waiting inside.

She’d come to talk with Yun Ling. Now she no longer needed to gather and sell medicinal herbs. Last time, among the gifts the Earth God had given to thank Li Chi, besides items for cultivation, there was also considerable wealth.

But she got along well with Yun Ling, and recently she’d often come to Shuigu Town to study the Seven Emotion Triggers with Yu Jian, so she frequently came to talk with Yun Ling.

Sometimes she came at an inconvenient time when Yun Ling wasn’t there. She would greet the old shopkeeper, then head straight back. The old shopkeeper always smiled and saw her off, often grabbing a handful of dried longans or red dates from the cabinet to give her.

But this time, the old shopkeeper actively asked her to stay.

“Miss Yun Ling came to have me check her pulse this morning, then went to the Earth God Temple to offer incense. She’ll be back soon. Why not wait here for a bit?”

Ding Qin agreed. She sat on a chair in the back courtyard, propping her chin on one hand, her fingers lightly tapping her cheek. She was recalling what the old shopkeeper had said when asking her to stay.

Yun Ling had sought the old shopkeeper to check her pulse first thing in the morning—she must have felt some physical discomfort. But the old shopkeeper hadn’t said anything, meaning he’d found no problems, which was why Yun Ling had gone to the Earth God Temple afterward.

The old shopkeeper had asked her to stay because he was concerned. The Medicine Divine Lady Wangyue, whom the Yun family worshipped, was away these days. Although there were many other deities in the town, it wasn’t as reassuring as before.

Ding Qin understood this, so she stayed to wait.

Before long, Yun Ling returned.

When Ding Qin asked about the situation, Yun Ling told her directly.

She still felt uneasy in her heart. That black beast in the dream was too terrifying—its sound like muffled thunder, its size like a fierce tiger, crouching at the foot of the bed, staring at her eerily like a predator eyeing its prey. Although after waking from the dream it hadn’t caused her any actual harm, who could stand being stared at like that in their dreams all the time?

The Earth God giving her a protective charm actually confirmed that there really was something wrong with that dream.

“Let me take a look at you,” Ding Qin said.

She activated her spirit eyes and carefully observed Yun Ling.

After looking her over, Ding Qin found nothing amiss and shook her head. “There’s no problem.”

Seeing Yun Ling’s tension, she comforted her further. “It’s probably just that you accidentally picked up some sinister qi somewhere. Ordinary people do have nightmares when tainted by sinister qi—it just didn’t manifest when the Medicine Divine Lady was around. This kind of sinister qi won’t cause any serious harm and will dissipate in a few days. You just went to the Earth God Temple, so it was probably dispersed by the temple’s incense smoke.”

Ding Qin looked at the protective charm and added, “If there were really a serious problem, the Earth God wouldn’t have just given you a charm.”

Yun Ling thought it over, and her unease lessened considerably.

Ding Qin continued comforting Yun Ling, but since she couldn’t see anything, she was also worried—what if it was her own insufficient ability that caused her to miss something? So she prayed inwardly, asking Li Chi about this matter.

Li Chi, through Ding Qin’s eyes, looked distantly at the karmic threads on Yun Ling’s body. Mortals reincarnated countless times—even if they’d done no evil in this life, they would still carry some karmic threads born from evil deeds. As long as the karmic threads hadn’t solidified into actual strings, their karmic consequences wouldn’t immediately descend.

Through Ding Qin’s eyes, Li Chi couldn’t deeply examine past karma, but there were no ominous, dangerous karmic threads solidifying on Yun Ling’s body.

However…

Li Chi’s gaze paused on one karmic thread that was on the verge of solidifying but hadn’t quite yet. His voice sounded in Ding Qin’s ear, “The time hasn’t come yet. Come again in a few days. For now, there’s no harm.”

…..

A day passed, and indeed everything was normal—nothing bad happened.

Night came again. Yun Ling placed the protective charm under her pillow and fell asleep in the fragrance of the medicine pouch at her bedside.

She slept well all night. Yun Ling didn’t dream again of that black beast as large as a tiger.

Two more days passed, and she slept well each night, having no more troubling dreams.

It seemed there was no problem after all. Yun Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

With the Earth God watching over Shuigu Town, surely there wouldn’t be any major problems. Moreover, Ding Qin had been coming to town frequently lately. The Medicine Divine Lady had advised that the deity Ding Qin served was very powerful—even if it were some serious trouble, she could seek help from Ding Qin.

Yun Ling put the matter completely out of her mind with relief.

…..

Several more days passed. Midnight.

The medicine pouch at the head of the bed released its warm medicinal fragrance. The protective charm under the pillow formed a stable aura. Yun Ling fell peacefully into dreams.

Moonlight shone through the gaps, winding like a cool water trace. Something black squeezed in along with the moonlight.

It was something with hidden ghost qi, carrying yin and malevolence. The warm medicinal fragrance tried to repel it, but the scent and the demon power within only caused it slight revulsion.

Hmph! A rabbit!

What truly obstructed it and made it angry was that heavy divine power aura, solid as the earth itself.

But now things were different. The black shadow rippled, and the aura on its body suddenly changed—it became a cool, yin-cold aura like moonlight, stabbing like needles toward the divine power aura formed by the Earth God’s protective charm.

The aura, stable as the earth, wavered, deflating like a punctured lantern.

The black shadow climbed to the bedside. Yun Ling still slept peacefully, her breathing slow and relaxed. The black shadow transformed into a massive black dog, raised its paw to rest on the edge of the bed, and lowered its head to look at Yun Ling, its beast eyes burning with the ghostly flames of rage.

Found you…

…..

The air was damp and heavy. Like water surging into the gaps of cotton, it seeped into every crack between muscles, drilling into the spaces between bones, permeating the marrow, pressing down on her heavily.

Yun Ling felt her breathing becoming increasingly difficult, her chest so tight that each breath felt like drowning in pouring rain, her shoulders feeling heavy too.

She opened her eyes in confusion, coming face to face with a fierce, savage dog’s head. Black fur covered in ghost qi, eyes glaring at her viciously, lips slowly baring sharp, cold teeth—in the next moment it could bite through her throat!

Yun Ling’s eyes widened instantly, her muscles tensed, her mouth opened, but the scream in her throat deflated like a punctured balloon, only producing a few hoarse gasps of extreme terror.

A cold, sharp, massive beast claw pressed on her shoulder. The fierce beast opened its mouth, revealing a dark red tongue and a mouthful of sharp teeth.

“Why…”

Yun Ling’s eyes rolled back and she lost consciousness.

“…are you hiding…” The massive black dog’s latter words caught in its throat. It stared at Yun Ling, who had passed out, seeming incredulous that she’d fainted from fear just like that.

The flames of rage in the giant dog’s eyes burned even more fiercely. It raised its paw and patted Yun Ling’s face, but the unconscious Yun Ling showed no response.

It glared at Yun Ling with resentment, the malevolent aura on its body growing heavier. But it couldn’t enter her dreams now. Although it had cleverly broken through the Earth God’s protective charm, Yun Ling’s consciousness was now unstable from excessive fear. If it forced its way into her dreams, it would likely alert the Earth God.

The giant dog let out a low growl like muffled thunder from its throat, resentfully cast a spell on Yun Ling’s body, then left unwillingly.

…..

Night ended, dawn broke.

In the foothills of the Daqing Mountain range, at Li Manor.

As morning light first appeared, Li Chi sat cross-legged on the great bluestone, facing east, breathing in and out a thread of harmonious yang qi. Around him, nourishing rain and spiritual mist swirled, carrying the flourishing vitality of harmonious yang qi, gradually enveloping all of Li Manor, then spreading beyond the manor, slowly moistening half the mountain forest.

The silver fish in the pond floated quietly on the water’s surface, a thread of sword light in its mouth being refined by the meaning of the rising sun.

The wild monkey sat cross-legged beneath the tree, the birds in the tree closed their eyes. Throughout the mountains and wilderness, all creatures with spiritual essence felt this rare blessing. Even those who didn’t understand cultivation methods were moved by the spiritual resonance, instinctively settling down and breathing according to their natural instincts.

Wood and stone were silent, heaven and earth were wordless, yet within this blessing of a deity giving back to heaven and earth, they became increasingly tranquil and harmonious. Deep within the mountain body, some minor branch spirit veins extending from the main Daqing Mountain vein actually began slowly growing within this nourishment.

After the sunrise period passed, Li Chi opened his eyes, a thread of spiritual light contained within. He looked down toward the mountain’s interior. During his cultivation just now, he’d sensed the leaping vitality of the mountain’s spirit veins. This branch vein had mysteriously developed a sense of resonance with him.

In other words, if he wished, he could make this place his dojo. Even though he wasn’t the mountain god of this place, he would still have the blessing of heaven and earth here.

An unexpected joy indeed.

The spiritual mist shrouding the mountain forest gradually dispersed. The creatures that had been still also resumed their activities, and the mountain forest returned to liveliness.

Several wild deer, not understanding why they’d suddenly stopped, startled. After alertly looking around, they bounded away.

Li Chi raised his head. His gaze swept across Ding Qin. He looked at the extending karmic threads, paused slightly, and said, “Today, you should make a trip to Shuigu Town.”