“Yes, that is the Roof constellation,” the women replied. They were intelligent enough to quickly recall that, when the Yayu had shouted two names, one was Er Fu, and the other was Wei.

Zu An said seriously, “It seems those two are its enemies. On the other hand, the Weak Water has never been able to cover this temple. It’s clear that due to certain laws, this Yayu is restrained by the temple. Perhaps it’s never even entered it before, let alone found out what happened inside. If I remove Wei and Er Fu’s statues inside, it might actually do something.”

Yan Xuehen said worriedly, “At the moment, however, it seems to be precisely because of this temple’s existence that this Weak Water has not completely covered the mountain yet. If we remove the statues and ruin the layout, what if it does not get the result we want, but instead strips us of that protection?”

Zu An looked at the overflowing Weak Water. He said with a serious expression, “Even if we fail, we’ll just be swept up by the Weak Water. We might still be able to escape. On the contrary, if we don’t do anything and are trapped here forever, we might never be able to solve this trial. That also means we’ll never be able to leave this dungeon.”

Yan Xuehen suddenly became a bit absent-minded. Staying in this dungeon forever might be okay too… At least I won’t have to deal with all of that secular stuff outside anymore, and all of those strange relationships and expectations…

Yun Jianyue said, “I approve of Little An’s suggestion. Fortune favors the bold. Besides, since Wei was hanged that way, he clearly did something deserving of punishment.”

Yu Yanluo also expressed her approval. Yan Xuehen naturally couldn't say anything else.

Soon afterward, Zu An ran into the temple and brought out the statue named Wei, showing it to the Yayu. “Is this that Wei you were talking about? I don’t know what kind of grudge you two had, but back then, he was punished properly too.”

“Wei!” When the Yayu saw the statue, its eyes almost cracked apart. It circled around the statue repeatedly without stopping. “Hahahah! Who would’ve thought that you would end up like this!” it exclaimed. The Yayu seemed to have not spoken for a long time, so its voice was extremely difficult to make out in the beginning. After a short time, though, its speech became relatively clear.

Suddenly, it pounced on the statue and opened its mouth, swallowing it up. The group looked at each other in dismay. It even ate a statue, just like that? Just how deep of a grudge did it have?!

The Yayu alternated between laughing and crying, as if it had gone mad. After some time, however, it stared at the temple and cried, “Er Fu, did you think you could appease my resentment by punishing him? The one who killed me back then was you!”

When Zu An heard that, he returned to the temple, and loud rumbling emerged from the interior. Soon afterward, he returned with heavy footsteps. He had actually removed the main statue by force!

It was thanks to his cultivation that he had so much strength. Otherwise, there really wouldn’t be any way he could bring such a huge statue over to the Yayu.

“Er Fu!” When it saw the human-faced snake-bodied statue, the Yayu’s eyes widened and it let out a furious roar.

Zu An said calmly, “I’ve brought you the main culprit. You can get your revenge if you want.”

The Yayu roared and threw itself at the statue. The group watched expectantly. The statue was so huge; they wondered, how was the Yayu going to eat it?

However, they were disappointed. The Yayu hesitated after opening its mouth, and didn’t devour the statue. Instead, it tore at the statue with its claws. Soon, the statue was already damaged beyond recognition. Then, the Yayu roared again and again, and its tail swept around like a long whip, smashing the tattered temple to pieces.

When it saw the ruins of Er Fu’s statue and the pile of rubble that was once the tattered temple, the Yayu’s sinister and twisted expression gradually faded. Waves of black smoke scattered from its body, and rays of sunlight began to seep through the clouds. The roaring Weak Water began to withdraw at a visible rate, quickly regaining its original appearance.

Just then, all of the black energy around the Yayu began to disperse. A human-faced snake-bodied soul slowly rose from its body; it was the same one Zu An had been about to purify. It no longer bore any traces of past hatred; on the contrary, its expression looked extremely peaceful, as if it were just a kind elder. It said, “Thank you for saving me, allowing me to fully break free.”

The three women all sighed in relief. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario hadn’t happened.

Zu An cupped his hands and asked, “What is your respected self’s name? Is it Ya Yu[1]?”

The figure shook its head and said, “No, I am Yayu (窫窳).”

Only when it wrote out its name did the group finally know how to write it. They were speechless. There’s actually such a strange name as this?

“Just what is going on? Why did you become that Yayu monster?” Zu An asked curiously. In truth, he was actually curious as to why Yayu had such a deep grudge against Er Fu and Wei, but he was scared that asking about them would provoke it again, so he didn’t mention that directly.

The translucent figure sighed again and said, “In the end, it is because fate toyed with us. Back then, Er Fu and I were both human-faced snake-bodied beings. I was somewhat calmer, and I had more affinity with the people. Meanwhile, Er Fu was fiercer and loved slaughter. That was why people often compared the two of us.

“Er Fu was naturally unhappy with that. If that were all, it would not have been that big of a deal, but Er Fu had a subordinate named Wei. That person was extremely good at sowing discord among people. I offended him in the past, and he always had a grudge against me. That was why he always tried to incite disharmony between me and Er Fu.

“Er Fu had been unhappy to begin with. After Wei’s provocation, they found a chance to ambush me together, killing me.”

“Is that why after you died, your resentment turned you into that Yayu monster?” Yu Yanluo asked.

The translucent figure shook its head and replied, “That was not what happened. Back then, I did die. When the Celestial Emperor learned of that, however, out of pity for my benevolent nature and unjust death, he had someone use an immortal medicine to save me…”

“An immortal medicine?” the group all repeated in surprise. They hadn’t expected to find clues regarding an immortal medicine here, and a surviving user of one at that! Yayu really must have been saved after all.

Zu An asked, “Who is the Celestial Emperor you speak of?”

“The Celestial Emperor is the Celestial Emperor. Who else could it be?” The translucent figure gave him a strange look, as if it couldn't understand why he would ask such a question.

Zu An tried to explain himself. However, the figure shook its head and said, “I do not know if it is because my soul is flawed, causing me to lose some of my memories, or if it is for some other reason. However, I do not know the Celestial Emperor’s name. I only know that since ancient times, that has always been what people called him.”

Zu An and the others sighed. They all wondered just what kind of existence the Celestial Emperor was. Could he really be the emperor of the immortals in the heavens above? Just how terrifying was his strength, then?

The figure continued, “After I was saved, though, I was unable to retain my original appearance. In a muddle-headed daze, I fell into the Weak Water and became the Yayu monster. Because hatred and resentment filled my soul, the Yayu’s nature was completely different from mine. It was fierce and cruel, tormenting the people wherever it went. Now, I am fortunate enough to have received your help, which has completely freed me from that nightmarish cycle.”

Zu An and the others suddenly felt a chill run down their backs. Zu An asked, “Wait, you’re saying that you ate an immortal medicine, but then even though you survived, you ended up becoming that monster that lost its mind?”

1. The ‘Yayu’ he used is ‘猰貐’. ☜