Chapter 6 Before the Great Wave (Part 2)

Ghost Beach is after all another dimension, where time is roughly the same as in our world, but there are also some differences.

I stayed in Guidaowan for a few months. How long was it exactly? I have no idea anymore… After all, in that place, there was no distinction between day and night for a long time, so I gradually forgot about time.

But when we came out, it was already deep winter outside.

Xiao Chengqian had told me before that in the Holy Village, everyone lived a tortured life… Among them, Huigen’s life was especially difficult. Compared to the others, Huigen had a more straightforward and fiery temper, and suffered more torture.

“Almost every two or three days, Huigen would be beaten by the old monsters. If it weren’t for his good health, I think those few months would have left permanent damage on him,” Xiao Chengqian said.

The day my master and the others appeared, the day we escaped from the ghostly bay, was a snowy afternoon… The cold weather had frozen many parts of the Yellow River, but due to the strong currents in the backwater bay, the water was still flowing normally.

On that day, Huigen was beaten again. This time, I don’t know if it was because his mental state was at its limit and the pressure he was under was also at its limit, so when Huigen first came out of that terrible punishment room, he didn’t come out standing, but was carried out in a semi-comatose state.

Xiao Chengqian heard the news in the afternoon. Worried, he decided to once again violate the bottom line of the old monsters in the Holy Village and visit Huigen, and to bring some medicine for Huigen.

“It’s no secret that I protect them… it’s almost a matter of course. Many people in the Holy Village think that I should be imprisoned along with them, but Wu Tianyi has denied this. I’m still living a seemingly ‘free’ life in the inner village, but it’s actually a kind of house arrest. I don’t have much power, and every action I take seems to provoke the bottom line of the old monsters in the Holy Village, but sometimes I have to do it.” Xiao Chengqian described his situation at the time like this.

In fact, I also understand Xiao Chengqian’s situation. Today, when we have the opportunity to talk privately, I can’t help but ask, “So, that Wu Tian seems to be treating you well? Why…?”

There are so many things in this “why” that I can’t ask in detail, but I think Xiao Chengqian understands.

“Oh, he’s good to me? Do you know why? In fact, among his many descendants, only he and I have the most compatible life paths. He wants to work with the gods to use a technique that goes against the heavens to take over my body and gain youth. It’s like ‘taking over a body’ or ‘borrowing me to live again’… Do you understand? In other words, after the gods were destroyed in Guidaowan and the Heaven Pattern Stone lost its power, the secret technique could not be completed. If it wasn’t you who returned safely, but Wu Tian and the others who returned first, I would have lost my value.

So that’s why… Wu Tian is so good to Xiao Chengqian, and so indifferent to the other younger generations.

And what is the consequence of losing its value? I can imagine without Xiao Chengqian’s detailed description.

It’s just that it’s hard to believe that an ancestor would be so ruthless to his descendants… Seeing my expression, Xiao Chengqian couldn’t help but sneer and added, “Chengyi, do you know? Our generation’s worship of Wu Tian and the kind of heart that vows to follow him to the death is no colder than your generation’s heart for Grandmaster Li… When I first saw him, when he explained his identity to me, you don’t know how excited I was… Do you think I didn’t hesitate? Struggled? But what is the truth? I think you know the truth. He told me without any hesitation that my ancestors were sacrificed in the Ghost Island. He said that useless people could only be treated like that. He only accepted the best of the best, and he was disappointed by the achievements of my grandfather and his descendants. He also said that he had high hopes for me. From that moment on, my heart turned cold towards him.

Is that really the reason? Maybe it is, but there is another reason. Wu Liyu and the others have been ‘mixed up’ with my master and his people. I’m afraid that after living together for so many years, they have influenced each other, and Wu Tian’s ‘way’ may have become difficult for them to accept.

In Wu Tian’s opinion, it would be better to sacrifice these “useless” juniors to the partner “god” than to keep them. If the god could successfully devour my master and his group, I’m afraid his power would increase greatly.

However, something went wrong, and the god failed to succeed, while my master and the others inexplicably fell into a state of “meditation.” Grandma Ling Qing… There are too many mysteries in this, and my master never told me about it because I never asked. It seems like it’s time to ask him.

As for Xiao Chengqian? Didn’t he expose the lie? Wu Tian originally wanted to hide it, but then Xiao Chengqian told me. Later, because Wu Tian was too concerned about him, he couldn’t figure it out, so he paid more attention to Wu Tian’s every move. From many small clues, Wu Tian may want to use him.

“In fact, I still had a glimmer of hope, but then you were taken to the altar, and he wanted to rob you of your spiritual awareness and give it to me. Do you remember? He just wanted this body to be more perfect.” Xiao Chengqian lit another cigarette as he spoke.

I was silent. It must be very painful to be treated like this by the ancestors. And I think it’s a coincidence that God wants to take my body, and Wu Tian wants Xiao Chengqian’s body. It seems that people who have reached the extreme of the ‘self’ path have committed the same ‘evil’, that is, they have brought the inferiority of selfishness to the extreme.

I patted Xiao Chengqian on the shoulder, not knowing what to say. After I escaped from the altar and fled to Guida Bay… Wu Tian had no intention of hiding anything from Xiao Chengqian. He felt that Xiao Chengqian should be sacrificed and dedicated to him. The reason for his delay was that at that time I had already entered Guida Bay, and the gods had been plotting to obtain my destiny of a child, so they put Wu Tian’s affairs aside for the time being.

Without the cooperation of the gods, Wu Tian could not complete this secret technique against the heavens… So the causes and effects of the situation are all interlocked in a chain, and Xiao Chengqian sacrificed himself to save me, which, from a certain point of view, inexplicably saved himself.

“Anyway, that’s what happened to me in the Holy Village… Continuing on, that afternoon, I took the medicine to the isolation room. Due to the problems with those old monsters, it was surprisingly smooth… Everyone was locked in an isolation room, supposedly for easy supervision. When I got there, Huigen was still unconscious, and he even had a high fever. You know, with Hui Gen’er’s constitution, a fever is like a myth to him. At that time, I was very afraid, thinking that this common fever was like a sign, indicating that Hui Gen’er was really unable to hold on… “At this point, Xiao Chengqian frowned, and after a few puffs of smoke, his emotions calmed down.

Then he said, “And I had no way to stop those perverted old monsters from torturing them, especially Hui Gen’er’s temper… I’m afraid that if this continues, Hui Gen’er will be gone. What am I going to tell you? Hui Gen’er is your younger brother…”

From Xiao Chengqian’s account, I also felt a heart-stopping sense of sadness. If I were Xiao Chengqian, I would probably be more emotional and more devastated than he was at the time. After all, Huigen grew up almost “stuck” to me since he was a child, especially after losing Huidai. If he were to suffer even the slightest harm, I would really be unable to bear it, let alone this situation.

My palms were sweating, and I couldn’t help but take a cigarette from Xiao Chengqian and light it.

Xiao Chengqian continued, “This is not going to work. The confinement room was cold and damp, and the snow that day was exceptionally heavy… Huigen kept talking nonsense, calling out Master, Master Jiang, and Brother… At that time, everyone was tortured and unable to bear it. Seeing Huigen’s situation, everyone’s emotions were very unstable. Several women were crying You have to know that they are actually very strong and rarely cry… and Chengxin was holding Huigen, his expression was a bit dull, and the situation of the other men was not much better. I know you may not want to hear it, but I can describe it to you. Everyone was wearing a heavy shackle, and Tao Bai was directly locked… locked to the wall! At that time, I felt that I was everyone’s only hope. Huigen couldn’t wait any longer. I don’t know where I got the strength, but I picked Huigen up and carried him away. At that moment, I made up my mind. I would save Huigen no matter what I had to do, and I would make those people promise not to torture everyone else. I knew that those people’s promises were unreliable, but at least it would buy some time… until you came back. You were the only hope in that heavy despair.”

At this point, Xiao Chengqian’s hands trembled uncontrollably.

Since I left, hasn’t it always been deep darkness? And at that moment, just like when dawn is about to break, the darkness became even thicker, making it impossible to see the end of the night, and there was only cold despair.

“Huh…” Xiao Chengqian let out a long breath and said apologetically, “I was very emotional, but at that time I really felt that I had reached a dead end. However, this kid, Hui Gen, I don’t know if he was confused by the fire or what. When I picked him up, he suddenly became sober and said in my ear, ‘I’m here. I think my brother is back, and I think my master and the others have also come back.'”