I will Bury the Gods

ing behind her like a gentle stream of flower petals, and closed the door shut.

Lin Shouxi looked at the few pieces of meat lying in his lunch box and fell into silence.

Wang Erguan and Ji Luoyang exchanged a glance, both seeming to understand something.

“I think I know who Xiao He saw,” Wang Erguan chuckled meaningfully.

“I don’t think that’s right,” Lin Shouxi said.

“What’s wrong? Why? Are you being coy and shy? Do you need to go hide in your room like a little girl?” Wang Erguan laughed heartily.

As he laughed, he noticed that Ji Luoyang’s face became somewhat dark.

Wang Erguan was taken aback for a moment, then incredulously asked, “Do you also have feelings for…?”

“How is that possible?”

“Then why is your face so dark…” Wang Erguan asked, growing more confused.

Ji Luoyang closed his lunchbox and said, “I’m going to practice.”

Wang Erguan was stunned for a moment, feeling that these people were somewhat insane and incomprehensible.

“Are you unable to eat as well?” Wang Erguan looked at the dazed Lin Shouxi and asked.

Lin Shouxi nodded, but he managed to finish the meat on his plate before leaving.

Wang Erguan felt a sense of sadness.
He might be the only sane person left here.

After the matter regarding the Foresight Spirit Root, nobody mentioned it again.
However, Lin Shouxi and Xiao He’s relationship naturally improved.

They would eat together, meditate together, and sometimes even go to the cliff to watch the clouds.

Whenever they watched the clouds, Wang Erguan would always point and jest at them from a distance.
In reality, they didn’t talk much when they were together, and the topics they discussed were mostly unimportant.

Xiao He often talked about the events she encountered while living with her aunt in the mountains.
The mountain, which was supposed to be some scary thing shrouded in demonic energy, transformed into a vibrant and beloved hometown.

As for Lin Shouxi, he too shared stories from his childhood, often adding his own local flair to the tales.
In some ways, it felt like he was recounting these memories to himself, a way to remind himself of who he was and what his purpose was.

During their occasional gatherings, Wang Erguan would often tease his fellow young men and women, playfully calling them shameless.
However, he always did so with careful restraint, never wanting to push too far and risk angering anyone who might then train even harder.
He hoped that these two would continue to be idle like this.

Lin Shouxi was used to his talkativeness and never took it to heart.
Similarly, he was aware that he didn’t actually have feelings for Xiao He.
But he didn’t dislike her either.

Xiao He was beautiful, and her voice still carried a hint of childishness, like the cry of a yellow oriole.
When he talked with her, his mood would relax, and more importantly, he was slowly learning about the world through their idle chatter.

He learned that people in this world gathered in the center of the earth, where there was a sacred mountain protecting them and holy fire surrounding them.
Even the fiercest evil spirits dared not approach.

However, Wuzhu Lake, where they currently were, was located outside the protection of any sacred mountain, in a desolate wasteland where the land was polluted and evil spirits roamed freely.
This land was filled with dangerous ancient sites, battlefields, and nests of evil creatures, and only a small number of people could survive here.

“What exactly pollutes the land?” Lin Shouxi asked.

“It’s filth,” Xiao He explained.
“Countless impurities have seeped into the earth.
There are various opinions about the origin of this filth, but there is still no clear conclusion.”

“Can’t the filth be eradicated?”

Xiao He sighed softly, “It’s very difficult,” she said.
“But we must remember that it’s not entirely bad.
After all, the true energy we breathe is emitted by it.”

True energy is emitted by filth? Lin Shouxi furrowed his brow.

It was ironic that the source of the energy which humans used to cultivate was also responsible for polluting the land.
It’s no wonder it was so dangerous.
Without care, one could easily fall into energy deviation.

“Huh? Hasn’t your sect told you about this before?” Xiao He looked at his eyes and asked.

“They didn’t need to, as my veins weren’t open, and I was merely a sweeper,” Lin Shouxi said, rubbing his temples.
“What’s more… because of the fall, I can’t seem to remember many things.”

“I see…” Xiao He looked at him and pursed her lips in thought.
“They truly wasted your potential, making you work as a sweeper.
With your looks, you could have descended the mountain just once and returned with a crowd of female recruits.”

“Had I done that, the sect would have become a nunnery,” Lin Shouxi joked.

“A nunnery? What’s that?”

“It’s a sect consisting only of women.
That’s what we call it in my hometown.”

“Oh…” Xiao He suddenly realized, “You’re being narcissistic.”

The two laughed together.

Xiao He’s smile quickly faded as she had the sensation of being watched from behind.
Lin Shouxi noticed and turned with her to see the old woman walking towards the courtyard with her cane to deliver food.

“Her footsteps make no sound,” Xiao He remarked.

“Neither do yours,” Lin Shouxi pointed out.

“It’s not the same.
That old lady might not even have feet,” Xiao He whispered cautiously, as if afraid the old lady might hear.

“No feet?” Lin Shouxi frowned.
“How can she walk without feet? Does she float like a ghost?”

“Maybe it’s not the old woman who’s walking,” Xiao He squinted her eyes.
“Perhaps it’s the cane that’s carrying her around.”

“The cane?” Lin Shouxi found the idea bizarre.

“Yes, maybe there was once an old woman who walked with a cane for many years, and when she died, the cane gained a spirit.
The cane doesn’t want to believe that the old woman is gone, so it carries her lifeless body around and continues to do what the old woman used to do,” Xiao He explained in a hushed tone.

“I see.” Lin Shouxi was faintly bewildered.

“It’s just a guess,” Xiao He smiled.

“Oh…”

“Aren’t you scared?” Xiao He fixed her bright eyes on him.

“I am,” Lin Shouxi admitted.

“Hmph, you’re lying.”