On the Path to the Great Dao

After the harrowing battle, Chen Shi was both exhausted and drowsy. He dozed off in the cart, and when he woke up, they had already arrived at Huangpo Village.

Grandpa busied himself boiling medicinal herbs late into the night, only finishing the preparation after much effort.

Chen Shi drank a basin of the medicine, then soaked in a medicinal bath. He gradually fell asleep in the tub.

Fortunately, the night passed without incident, and his recurring illness did not flare up.

"Could it be that I’m cured?"

The next morning, Chen Shi woke up in high spirits. Even Grandpa’s usually bland cooking didn’t taste as bad anymore. Grandpa had kept his promise this time, bringing back delicious treats from the county town: candied hawthorn skewers, glutinous rice cakes, stinky tofu, and sugar figurines. Chen Shi was overjoyed.

"Grandpa’s medicine works, and practicing the Three Radiance Righteous Qi Method every day is also helping. Maybe I can really cure my illness!"

With newfound hope for the future, Chen Shi threw himself into his training with even greater dedication. After paying respects to his Godmother Tree, he began cultivating the Three Radiance Righteous Qi Method, using the power of the Big Dipper to temper his body.

That day was fulfilling. By evening, Chen Shi drank another dose of medicine, soaked in a medicinal bath, and practiced the Three Radiance Righteous Qi Method before going to bed.

He didn’t know how long he slept when suddenly an intense, unbearable pain radiated from his chest, making his heart spasm violently. Chen Shi woke with a start, realizing his heart condition had returned. He struggled to sit up and activate the Three Radiance Righteous Qi Method to counteract the pain.

But the agony was overwhelming, draining all his strength. It felt like his heart was being crushed into a ball, stopping the blood flow in his body.

He tried to gasp for air, but his lungs felt emptied, as if the air had been forcibly expelled by an invisible ghostly hand.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

Terror engulfed Chen Shi as he opened his mouth to call for Grandpa, but no sound came out. It was nighttime, and Grandpa was likely not home, completely unaware of the danger Chen Shi faced.

"Black Pot! Black Pot!"

Chen Shi tried calling for his dog, but no sound emerged. In the yard, the large black dog seemed to sense something, lifting its head to listen. After a moment, it shook its head and lay back down to sleep.

Chen Shi’s vision darkened; he could no longer see the moonlight outside or even the beams of the roof. His eyelids grew heavier, his mind foggy, and his body convulsed uncontrollably like a fish pulled ashore, gasping for life.

After two violent spasms, his body stilled, only to twitch sporadically, the frequency and intensity diminishing until he lay completely quiet.

In the darkness, a faint glow appeared, illuminating the blackness before him.

Chen Shi opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by dense white mist. From afar came intermittent wails—eerily human, yet also resembling wounded beasts.

Terrified, he widened his eyes, trying to make out his surroundings, but could see nothing through the fog.

"Grandpa!" he shouted.

"Grandpa!" "Grandpa!"

His cries echoed in the mist, but he couldn’t tell if it was an echo or something else entirely.

Fear consumed Chen Shi. He knew he should stay put and wait for Grandpa to find him, but he couldn’t stop his feet from moving forward.

His body felt unusually light, almost nonexistent. The mist passed through him like fine, weightless snow, leaving a cold, icy sensation in its wake.

"I must be dead," Chen Shi thought mournfully.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the fog. He turned toward the sound and saw a young woman approaching. Her face was pale, and she looked lost.

Blood dripped from her neck as she walked, the crimson staining her clothes. Then, her head fell off her neck and hit the ground.

The woman crouched, groping around for her head, her cries filled with despair. Eventually, she found it, placed it back on her neck, and silently followed behind Chen Shi.

Soon, another figure emerged—a portly man adorned with gold and silver, his air of authority now replaced with disarray. His body was riddled with stab wounds, blood still oozing from the gashes. His protruding intestines dragged along the ground as he struggled to keep them in place with both hands.

Chen Shi continued walking in a daze, encountering more people in the fog. Each bore the scars of their deaths: missing limbs, caved-in skulls, ruptured hearts, and even charred, unrecognizable forms.

Oddly, he wasn’t afraid. Having seen countless ghosts and spirits, he had grown desensitized to such horrors.

"I must be dead," he thought bitterly. "I died from the pain, and Grandpa didn’t notice. Black Pot didn’t notice either. They’ll probably be heartbroken when they find me tomorrow."

Ahead, a long line of people stretched endlessly into the mist, all trudging forward mechanically, their destination unknown.

Chen Shi merged with the line, followed by the bizarre figures he had encountered. As they walked, more and more people joined the procession.

Suddenly, giant skeletal claws emerged from the mist, snatching individuals and retreating back into the fog. The sounds of chewing and eerie giggling echoed around them.

Chen Shi’s fear swelled, but his legs continued forward as if controlled by some unseen force.

Just as a massive claw reached for him, the sound of distant drumming pierced the air, startling the claw into retreat.

"Chen Shi—"

A voice called out to him through the mist, faint but familiar. It was Grandpa!

"Little Ten—"

Tears streamed down his face as he turned and struggled toward the voice, the drumming growing louder.

The journey was excruciating, each step like traversing a mountain of blades or a sea of fire. He pushed forward, relying on the faint scent of incense and the rhythm of the drum to guide him.

Finally, the mist parted, revealing a towering black dog—Black Pot, but many times larger, like a small mountain.

"Black Pot, is it really you?"

The monstrous dog’s fiery eyes locked onto Chen Shi. With a wag of its massive tail, it crouched down, allowing him to climb onto its back.

Black Pot bolted toward the source of the drumbeat. As the light grew brighter, Chen Shi shielded his eyes.

A familiar voice exclaimed joyfully, "He’s awake! Little Ten is finally awake!"

Chen Shi opened his eyes to see himself in a dim room, the air thick with incense. Grandpa sat beside a blazing brazier, his head crowned with a swirling mix of water and fire.

"Where am I?" he wondered, his heart still pounding.