Scripture of Days Past

Chapter 2: You Told the Story Wrong

”What nonsense are you spouting? How did I tell the story wrong?” Uncle Gen snapped, angrily glowering at the outsider.

”There was indeed a corpse reanimation incident in Eternal Joy Village, but the part about the scholar projecting a dream to seek help from the Daoist priest is completely false,” the outsider revealed with a smile. ”Here’s what actually happened...”

From there, the outsider told a completely different story.

According to him, the Daoist priest charged into the room, and after decapitating the corpse, he immediately turned his sword toward the scholar on the bed.

”Why would he do that?” exclaimed one of the boys under the banyan tree.

”How dare you make up lies to slander a Daoist priest like this, you insolent brat!” Uncle Gen harrumphed angrily. ”Are you not worried that heaven will punish you for blasphemy?”

The outsider’s voice spread over the entire area in a subtle fashion, carrying a type of soothing energy as he said in an unhurried manner, ”Don’t be so quick to judge, everyone. Let me explain...”

As the Daoist priest thrust his sword at the scholar, the latter hurriedly sprang up from the bed and retreated, while the bodies of three merchants who had fallen prey to the female corpse abruptly pounced at the Daoist priest.

In the blink of an eye, the three merchant corpses were also decapitated and toppled to the ground.

Meanwhile, the scholar had taken the opportunity to flee. However, the Daoist priest was able to catch up to him and thrust his sword through the scholar’s heart from behind, killing him on the spot.

The Daoist priest then reported the matter to the county office, and the county magistrate personally arrived on the scene with some bailiffs to investigate. Upon their arrival, they discovered that the scholar’s face was ashen and that his body was as tough as iron. Even several bailiffs working together were unable to lift the body, and the same applied to the bodies of the woman and the three merchants inside as well.

After that, they examined the room only to discover that there were candles and sacrificial paper offerings of various colors hidden inside, along with many secret cult scriptures. As it turned out, the scholar had used dark arts to control the corpse of the woman and kill the three merchants.

The county magistrate asked the Daoist priest how he knew about this, and the latter replied, ”It was all revealed to me in a dream.”

”It turns out that the Daoist priest dreamed of a demonic figure that night, and that led him to the scene of the crime, so no one had actually projected a dream to him,” the outsider explained. ”After much investigation, it was discovered that the scholar and the old man running the inn were both demonic followers of the Immortal Dao. They attracted traveling merchants to the inn, killed them, and refined their bodies into animated corpses for use in demonic rituals.

“I’ve often heard people say that what lingers in one’s thoughts during the day often reappears in dreams at night, but never had I imagined that even in the tiny Bo’xing County, there would be a profound being capable of seeing the world around them through their dreams. This level of ability is something that countless cultivators under the heavens desperately yearn for!”

”That’s utter nonsense!” Uncle Gen hurriedly countered. ”The fact of the matter is that the scholar was blessed with the ability to project dreams by the Profound Origin Dao Lord thanks to his devotion to Daoism! Why are you twisting the story to make him a demonic cult member?”

The outsider took a glance at the furious Uncle Gen, then rose to his feet with a smile as he asked, ”Why are you all so angry? Whether the scholar was truly a devout follower of Daoism blessed by the Profound Origin Dao Lord or a demonic murderer of traveling merchants, and whether he was a good person or a bad person, those are things that most likely can’t be confirmed by anyone aside from the Daoist priest. It’s up to you which version of the story you wish to believe.”

The villagers were becoming more and more disgruntled by the outsider’s insolent ramblings, and they began surrounding him with less than friendly intentions.

The outsider merely smiled as he retreated and said, ”Please pardon my intrusion. I’ll be taking my leave now, but before I go, I want to warn all of you that the world is rife with fiends, demons, and cults. The times are tough, so make sure to consider carefully before you decide to go out on journeys.”

The outsider took a few steps back as he spoke, then suddenly vanished, as if the ground had shrunken beneath his feet and carried him away.

The villagers were all alarmed by this sudden disappearance. Meanwhile, Chu Qiguang looked on with intrigue at the place the outsider had stood, while considering the latter’s alternative story.

So there are two versions of reality? This man is clearly no ordinary person. How is he able to move so quickly? Does he really have some martial arts or mystical abilities up his sleeve?

”Don’t listen to his nonsensical ramblings!” Uncle Gen continued to urge everyone in a furious voice. ”Make sure to pray to the Profound Origin Dao Lord all the time. That is the best way to keep your families safe!”

”It’s definitely bad karma to run into such a blasphemer with so little respect for the Profound Origin Dao Lord!” another old man scoffed. ”Remember to burn some straw to smoke yourselves before you return home, and throw the ashes into the river. Otherwise, you’re going to bring the bad karma home and irk the Profound Origin Dao Lord.”

All of the boys collectively nodded and thanked the old man for the advice.

After listening to the old men talk for a while longer, Chu Qiguang felt his stomach squirm and twist as he was overcome by an intense hunger.

It’s time to eat. Every day, I have to do so much work here, but I only get two meals. I feel like I’m starving all the time!

Chu Qiguang’s mind wandered back to all of the delicacies that he once enjoyed on Earth, and that only exacerbated his hunger, causing him to salivate.

However, after looking at his own short and thin body, he could only heave a resigned sigh. He had already lost count of how many times he had sighed since coming to this world.

Ergou’s body was around fourteen to fifteen years of age, but compared to his peers on Earth, it looked emaciated. Not only did he have to work in the fields every day, but he was also severely malnourished, so he was naturally short, thin, and underdeveloped.

He stood up and dusted off his bottom, then began making his way home. On the way back, he was still thinking about Uncle Gen’s story and that outsider.

Is there really supernatural power in this world?

Thinking back to the streak of purple light that had brought him here, Chu Qiguang felt like it was very plausible. And as he walked through the unkempt village, he kept thinking about the bald outsider. He felt that there was something curious about this man.

Suddenly, an energetic orange cat with a coat of long, glossy fur jogged over to Chu Qiguang’s side, then lay down directly before him with a loud meow.

This cat was very familiar with the past Ergou, and it often came to play with him.

Ergou seemed to have been very affectionate of this cat, even occasionally feeding it some leftovers.

Is it trying to come home with me for some free food? I guess this world also has orange cats, Chu Qiguang thought to himself as he looked down at the orange cat by his feet.

He reached down to pet the cat.

It’s very interesting that there are cats and humans in two different worlds. Are cats really that important in this universe? Or maybe this is a parallel dimension... That would explain why this place is so much like Earth...

The cat was thoroughly enjoying his petting. Looking down at its blissful expression while enduring the gnawing hunger in his belly, Chu Qiguang thought to himself, I’ve heard that cat meat is sour. I wonder if that’s true. No, no, no, cats are so adorable, how could I eat them... Unless they taste really, really good...

He couldn’t help but wipe some drool from the corner of his lips at this thought.

The orange cat looked up at Chu Qiguang, then raised its head up high and examined him several times from head to toe. Finally, it gave a pleased nod, and its whiskers twitched slightly as it made a ”tsk” sound.

Chu Qiguang immediately froze.

I feel like I heard someone tut at me just now...

As he stared at the orange cat with a bewildered expression, the latter suddenly said, ”Looks like you’ve finally become enlightened. I’ve waited for many years.”