Chapter 9: The Storm is Coming

After disembarking, Jiangyi and I went to the island of boundary stones. The island was as desolate as ever, but it no longer had the inexplicable dead air that I had felt when I first came here.

The wind blew, making the entire island seem desolate. In line with this desolate atmosphere, the boundary stones on the island still exuded the vicissitudes of time.

We quickly climbed onto the island, stood in front of the boundary stone, and when we got to this point, the sense of crisis in my heart disappeared, replaced by a numb feeling that I can’t describe.

I can’t describe that feeling, but if I had to compare it to something, it would be like a student who didn’t do well on an exam but still has hope. When he is waiting for the results, he is originally cold and nervous, but when the teacher announces his results, which are a terrible score, he is calm instead.

It was good that the stomach cramps had disappeared, otherwise I would have been unable to explain why I suddenly threw up in front of Jiangyi.

Jiang Yi wandered around the boundary stone quietly. I was also very quiet, but I kept thinking in my heart, what was I feeling? It couldn’t be Jiang Yi, could it?

How could it be Jiang Yi? Although I am wary of him and have a barrier between us, I have never had a falling out with him. We have no conflicts, and I have even done things for him that risked my life, like the little ghost’s little thing… And my master is also on good terms with him, and just now he also guided me in honing my spiritual awareness…

I have countless reasons to believe that the danger does not come from Jiang Yi, but these reasons are not enough to make me feel better. My feeling is still the numbness that has been pronounced…

“This tomb…” Jiang Yi pondered, looking at me.

It was the grave of the ferryman, buried at the boundary stone. He had said that he would forever guard the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts, but when we were discussing what to tell Jiang Yi, I subconsciously didn’t want to tell him about the ferryman. But if Jiang Yi came here, he would definitely see the ferryman’s grave. I believe that Lushan had already told Jiang Yi our story.

“This tomb is the tomb of that nameless hero. He stayed here for many years to break the Lake of a Thousand Demons, and he worked hard! Fortunately, he got what he wanted.” I said as calmly as I could, while also quietly and secretly observing Jiangyi’s expression.

This is our story. A nameless hero with supreme skills, a Buddhist! The success of this battle against the Lake of a Thousand Demons depends on him!

I withheld many details, after all, it was to conceal the existence of the soul of Kunlun, and I didn’t want to bring the ferryman’s sorrows and mistakes to the surface to say, that would be disrespectful to him.

Jiang Yi listened quietly, his expression unchanged, only nodding, then said, “I didn’t expect that under my nose, the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts was already so dangerous, and the crisis in the village prevented the news from being spread in time. I’m ashamed. There have been too many miscellaneous matters these years, and I think that the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts is guarded by the village, not to say that it is completely safe, but…”

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief in my heart, not paying attention to what Jiang Yi said. In my heart, he should be like this, and he should be extremely concerned about official business. This reaction is the best reaction.

While talking, Jiang Yi suddenly bowed three times to the ferryman’s grave, his expression somewhat complicated.

I looked at Jiangyi. He was indeed very right to pay homage to the ferryman, but was there something wrong with his expression? I frowned slightly, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Or was it that Jiangyi, who had long had no expression, suddenly had an expression, so it seemed strange?

After paying his respects to the ferryman, Jiangyi came to the boundary stone and beckoned me to come over, but he didn’t cross the boundary stone.

I stood a little behind him, not knowing what Jiangyi was going to do. After a moment of silence, Jiangyi suddenly said to me, “Give me a cigarette.”

“Ah?” Didn’t he just teach me that cultivators shouldn’t smoke? Why did he suddenly ask me for a cigarette? But I still subconsciously handed him a cigarette and lighter.

Jiang Yi lit the cigarette and said, “To listen to a heroic story, you need a cigarette to calm your mind. In fact, I’m not a non-smoker, nor am I a non-drinker. I just restrain myself. I don’t know if this is the kind of true self-discipline that your master talks about. Experience it, then throw it away! I’ve always been a self-disciplined person.”

I was silent again. Jiang Yi’s words were not wrong, but the problem was that I was a junior, and why did he suddenly say this to me?

“Actually, it’s not really self-discipline, is it?” Jiang Yi exhaled a puff of smoke and said, “In my heart, I still want to smoke occasionally, but I force myself not to. Your master’s true self-discipline should be that there are no more thoughts in your heart. For example, I want to do many things in my heart, but my identity, my goals, and many other things do not allow me to do as I please.

Is he a person with his hands tied? I suddenly thought of Jenny, who once hit Jiangyi on the head and scolded him, saying that he was a stubborn fool! Is that what she said?

Thinking of Jenny, I felt a little more at ease. If Jiangyi really wanted to do something bad to me, wouldn’t she have noticed? But the peace of mind couldn’t dispel the feeling in my heart. I was convinced.

“Just stand here and tell me again about the battle at the Lake of a Thousand Demons.” Jiang Yi suddenly changed the subject with a cigarette in his mouth.

“Oh.” I quickly agreed. I was tired of this atmosphere. Even though Jiang Yi was more human at this time, and it didn’t feel like the aloof Jiang Yi, I would rather face the news announcer Jiang Yi.

According to the good words, I told Jiang Yi everything about the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts again. I spoke slowly because I wanted to make sure that we were on the same page about every detail. My subconscious mind never let down its guard. After all, the sense of crisis was so real before, and I was afraid that if one detail was wrong, I might be doomed.

Jiang Yi listened to me expressionlessly, without interrupting or asking questions, just quietly listening to me. I didn’t know whether this state was good or bad. In the end, I saw Jiang Yi’s expression seem to be a little absent-minded, as if he was in a trance.

Is it my illusion? Finally, after half an hour, I finished talking about the situation here, and after going over it in my head, I realized that there should be no loopholes. I then softly called out to Jiangyi, who had been silent all along: “Boss?”

Jiang Yi slowly turned his head, not the kind of sudden turn. It turned out that he was actually listening all along, even though he seemed to be in a trance. If he really was in a trance, his movements would have been very violent.

“Are you done?” Jiang Yi asked.

“Yes.” I was nervous, but my expression was more and more calm. As if to consolidate this calm, I deliberately made myself look confused and asked Jiang Yi, “What else?”

Under the moonlight, the bright red flowers of the Manjushage were even more beautiful, and the wind blowing through them was like flowing blood.

Jiang Yi didn’t care about my question, but said, “I didn’t expect to find a sea of red spider lilies in this natural formation. It’s quite beautiful, but the color is too glaring and it’s a bit scary. It looks better at night.”

According to what I told Jiang Yi, the red spider lilies were there all along. In fact, these flowers were also a mystery to me. How did they suddenly appear? It’s too fucking contrary to the common sense of the plant world. Unfortunately, many things in this world cannot be traced to their roots. Whether it is ordinary people or Taoists, once you trace them to their roots, you will be plunged into the pain of never getting an answer, unless you have a way to take your own vision and realm a big step forward. But this is often difficult, just like the gap between ancient and modern people. You can’t explain to him why people thousands of miles apart can talk to each other by a thing called a telephone.

“Where did the ghost king die in the end?” Jiang Yi suddenly spoke again. He was just talking about the scenery, but now he was talking about the place where the lord of Xincheng died. This jump in thinking made me, who was already thinking about things, unable to react for a while.

The new city lord, in my description, became the ghost king. I myself still needed to make a transition and adapt to my own lies.

So, after thinking about it for a moment, I pointed to the place where the Lord of the New City died and said to Jiang Yi, “There.”

I was pointing vaguely, and Jiang Yi frowned slightly and asked, “Where? In the sky?”

I wanted to slap myself in the face. Wasn’t that confusing? How could I explain that I died in the sky? My story was that I assisted the nameless hero and used magic to finally destroy the ghost king. How could I have the ability to jump into the sky?

Jiang Yi looked at me, and I was helpless. I had to take a step forward and point to the long reef leading to the island in the moonlight and say, “I’m talking about that. Can you see it clearly?” I took another step forward while I was talking, and then said in an increasingly certain tone, “It’s there!”

This is the harm of lying. The more you lie, the more you need to use a lot of body language to confirm your words. That’s why people who dance and gesticulate often seem exaggerated. This is the human subconscious. Without special training, it is difficult to get rid of it. I am the same.

I don’t know if I exaggerated the way I walked forward two steps, was it too exaggerated?

Thinking of this, a wry smile appeared on my face, but there was no sound behind me…