Chapter 34: Joy God

Chapter 34: The God of Joy

Just as Li Huowang felt his consciousness slipping away, he reached for his waist and gave a sharp tug; the instant an ear-piercing chime rang out, that sickening sensation rapidly receded.

With a heavy thud, the back of Li Huowang's skull slammed against the ground, leaving his mind buzzing with a deafening ring.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, Li Huowang gritted his teeth and shook the bronze bell in his hand with all his might, having nearly been ambushed by this wretched creature.

The edges of the Eight Immortals table, the bamboo poles of the stage, the borders of the Hu ancestors' memorial tablets—all the lines now began to warp and twist, rapidly coalescing into a grotesque amalgamation.

With a splitting headache, Li Huowang pointed a trembling finger, sending Lord You lunging toward the retreating fake Top Scholar Lü.

Seeing that its foe had reinforcements, the creature tried to flee, but it was already too late; Lord You had already closed in on it.

Yet it did not approach Top Scholar Lü's body; instead, it dove straight downward, burrowing into the black shadow cast by the lantern light.

As the lines on Lord You's form sliced like razor-sharp blades, shredding the shadow of the woman with bound feet into tattered fragments, the entity let out a beastly shriek, collapsing to the ground and thrashing in desperate struggle.

"So the true form of this thing is the shadow on the ground? No wonder cutting its body in half was useless." This thought flashed through Li Huowang's mind.

Under Lord You's relentless assault, the fake Top Scholar Lü formed by the creature deflated rapidly like a punctured bladder, while the human-shaped shadow on the ground spread swiftly, ultimately dissolving into a pool of foul, viscous black fluid.

Just as Li Huowang believed it was all over, with a swift swoosh, Lord You darted back, spinning rapidly around him in tight circles.

"What's going on? Could there be more?" Li Huowang, who had just been about to slow his bell-ringing, immediately intensified his efforts.

Realizing its concealment had failed, the woman with bound feet flickered out from a distant, writhing line, standing there and staring grimly in his direction.

"The one that turned into Top Scholar Lü just now wasn't this one; there are two of them." Just as this thought crossed Li Huowang's mind, another woman with bound feet split from her, and then they began to multiply, growing ever more numerous and ever smaller.

Not just one, but several women with bound feet leaped from the distorted lines all around, likewise splitting into ever-smaller copies.

At Li Huowang's pointed command, Lord You charged forward, attacking the women with bound feet who were now no larger than the palm of a hand.

Yet no matter how fast the attacks came, they could not outpace the creatures' division; these identical tiny women surrounded Li Huowang, multiplying as they parted their blood-red, cherry-like lips, twisting their grotesque bodies and beginning to sing a nursery rhyme in exceedingly shrill voices.

"The God of Joy rejoices, the God of Joy smiles, robes and courtesies shared in warm kinship."

"The God of Joy dances, the God of Joy revels, red scrolls on doors with fresh ink anew."

"The God of Joy rages, the God of Joy weeps, fragrant skulls bearing lanterns bright as the deep."

"The God of Joy starves, the God of Joy hungers, heart and liver in the left hand, entrails in the right, come to the village gate to welcome the God of Joy~!"

The instant their song ended, their entire bodies exploded, splattering some black substance from within, thoroughly dyeing all the writhing, twisted space around them in absolute black.

Though he knew not what they were doing, Li Huowang sensed something was amiss; he stopped ringing the bell, preparing to retreat first.

But the very next second, his feet were nailed to the spot, and a hazy, faint guidance from an unknown source compelled Li Huowang to lift his head straight up, gazing into the sky directly above.

It was pitch black up there, with nothing to be seen, yet Li Huowang sensed something; surely, something immensely grand was stirring within the darkness.

"The God of Joy?"

The moment this thought arose, Li Huowang saw outlines of various sizes beginning to emerge in the dark, "No, that thing sensed my thoughts! I must leave this place immediately."

This was what Li Huowang thought, but his body did not obey; it grew frenzied, his breathing turned ragged, veins bulged on his face, and his hands tore open his Daoist robe, raising high to welcome the entity in the darkness.

The black outline grew clear yet distorted, and Li Huowang could see it now! The blood vessels in his eyes began to burst from the sheer agitation, and two trails of bloody tears slowly slid down from his sockets.

"I can't look anymore! I absolutely must not look anymore!! Close my eyes right now!!" Li Huowang struggled with all his might, yet it was utterly futile.

Li Huowang could already see the head of the God of Joy, if that massive cluster of chaotic, viscous matter could truly be called a head.

Just as the thing was about to fully crawl out of the darkness, a very peculiar clattering sound suddenly rang out.

Immediately, the entity in the dark halted abruptly, shrinking back a great distance into the pitch-black sky, as if something within the darkness was pulling it back.

Suddenly, an exceedingly resounding rooster crow echoed, and the darkness in the sky shattered like a mirror.

Accompanied by the cracking of bones, Li Huowang regained his senses as his head snapped back; he jerked his head down, bracing himself on the ground with both hands, gasping for breath as he stared at the stone bricks.

"What on earth did those women with bound feet summon? What exactly just happened?!" All sorts of questions, destined to remain unanswered, flashed through his mind.

Leaning on the Eight Immortals table beside him, Li Huowang sat up with great effort; he looked up, seeing nothing in the air, as if everything just now had been an illusion.

The sky was already breaking into a pale dawn, the fifth watch had passed, and it would not be long before the Hu family came to fetch their ancestors.

The distant stage was still resounding; Top Scholar Lü and his troupe had indeed sung the entire night through, and even though they swayed unsteadily from the bell's influence and their voices were hoarse, they dared not stop for a single moment.

Looking at the various black memorial tablets beside him, Li Huowang belatedly realized that the clattering sound just now seemed to be the noise of these spirit tablets striking the table in unison.

Li Huowang stared in astonishment at the Hu ancestors' tablets before him, "Could it be that they were the ones who lent me a hand just now?"

Thinking it over carefully, the more he pondered, the more he felt it was possible; he quickly stood firm and performed a Qingfeng Daoist salute toward the half-immortal table holding the tablets, "Many thanks for your assistance, seniors."

Hardly had he finished the salute when the tablets suddenly began to tremble slightly, the clattering sound growing louder and louder. "Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack."

Watching this eerie scene unfold before him, Li Huowang gripped his Daoist bell and warily took half a step back.

"What's going on here? Did my thanks invite trouble instead? It's almost dawn, why aren't you returning, what are you still waiting for?"

Yet just as Li Huowang thought this, with a sudden clatter, all the tablets on the Eight Immortals table before him toppled backward in unison, followed immediately by a familiar yet ethereal voice whispering in his ear, sending his body plunging into a bone-chilling ice cellar. "My child..."

(End of Chapter)