Chapter 1516: The Changing Situation

Chapter 1516: The Changing Situation

"Something… is calling you?"

"Yes." Tusheng nodded.

"What… is it?" Mo Hua asked in a low voice.

Tusheng frowned deeply and said, "I can't explain it clearly either… My mind often feels muddled, mostly late at night, occasionally during the day. In that half-asleep, half-awake state, I vaguely hear some sound…"

"It's very deep and hoarse, like a rotten throat trembling constantly. It clearly doesn't sound like human speech, but I seem to understand its meaning. It's calling my name, telling me to go somewhere…"

"I'm a bit scared, but I can't resist it. It's better during the day, but at night, I can't control myself. I lie in bed before sleeping, but once I fall asleep and open my eyes again, I'm no longer in bed, it's like sleepwalking…"

"This has happened several times. The other Executive Officers look at me strangely, as if I'm a monster…"

"I have no choice. Every night before sleeping, I use the Dao Court Division's leather restraints to tie myself to the bed…"

Tusheng pulled up his sleeve, revealing deep rope marks on his arm. To prevent himself from wandering off in his sleep, Tusheng had clearly gone to great lengths and endured much hardship.

Seeing this, Mo Hua felt pity and asked, "Have you told anyone about these things?"

Tusheng shook his head. "No, I didn't dare."

Mo Hua asked again, "You didn't tell Magistrate Gu either?"

Tusheng hesitated for a moment before saying, "Magistrate Gu is very busy and often goes out, sometimes for three to five days, other times for half a month. And… I think Magistrate Gu looks cold and sinister, not like a good person…"

Gu Changhuai was from the Dao Court Division.

In Tusheng's understanding, the Dao Court Division were all hounds and lackeys.

Gu Changhuai was an Archive Officer, a high-ranking official—a big hound, a major lackey. His problem was too strange, so naturally, he couldn't tell Magistrate Gu.

Mo Hua didn't have much to say about this.

Tusheng came from a poor background and naturally felt fear and aversion toward someone like Magistrate Gu, who represented the authority of the Dao Court.

This wasn't something that could be explained in just a few words.

After pondering for a moment, Mo Hua asked again, "Then do you know where that voice in your dream is trying to lead you?"

Tusheng was quite honest. "I tied myself up, so I never went. I don't know."

Mo Hua asked, "Then in the dream… were there any images?"

Whenever one dreams, hears voices, or feels a calling, what is perceived is illusory.

Yet all illusions in the world must be mediated by reality.

Even evil gods require a real, consecrated idol as a parasitic vessel.

"Have you… ever sensed or seen any strange scenes in your dreams?" Mo Hua whispered. "Think carefully?"

"I…" Tusheng frowned.

He didn't want to think about it.

The call in his dreams terrified him, so he avoided it as much as possible.

He dared not listen or look. But now that Mo Hua had asked, Tusheng couldn't refuse.

"I'll try…" Tusheng began to force himself to recall the things in his dreams that he had previously been too afraid to confront…

As his memories resurfaced, the various eerie mists cleared slightly.

Tusheng's frown deepened, and his voice grew hoarse: "Earth?"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened.

"Hmm, there's earth… a lot, a lot of earth… above and below, it's all earth…"

Tusheng's pupils began to tremble.

"And many shadows… shadows of something unknown, some big, some small.

The big ones are very tall, like small hills; the small ones are tiny, like infants…"

"Then… there's…"

"There's…"

Tusheng's voice abruptly stopped, quickly turning into an inexplicable whimper.

Mo Hua's expression shifted slightly.

Fear suddenly surfaced on Tusheng's face, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have, cold sweat pouring down his body like pillars.

Tusheng could no longer speak.

The pupils in his eyes suddenly vanished, leaving only the whites, and his entire body thrashed wildly as if drowning. It seemed as though some presence was dragging him into an unknowable deep abyss.

Tusheng was left with nothing but terror, yet no matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free from that horrifying presence.

Tusheng's flesh and blood also began to turn ashen.

Just as Tusheng was plunged into immense fear, his body trembling on the verge of a strange transformation...

Mo Hua pressed a finger between his eyebrows.

A golden, pure, gentle, yet domineering Divine Sense Thought Power surged into Tusheng's Sea of Consciousness, dispelling some illusions and confusion.

It also solidified Tusheng's nearly scattered and fading Mind-Consciousness, gradually calming it down.

At this time, Mo Hua had not yet learned any advanced Heterodox Path Esoteric Arts and could only rely on the strength of his own Divine-Sense Thought to suppress evil and dispel malevolence.

With Mo Hua's suppression, Tusheng's abnormalities slowly receded.

His skin tone shifted from ashen back to a flush of color, and black pupils regenerated in his empty eye sockets. Tusheng also regained his Divine-Sense from the nightmare's illusions.

Drenched in cold sweat, he looked at Mo Hua with astonished eyes, his voice hoarse as a corpse's: "Sir…"

Mo Hua shook his head gently and said, "Don't speak for now. Steady your Divine-Sense and forget everything in your mind."

Tusheng slowly nodded, then followed Mo Hua's command, remaining silent and stabilizing his Divine-Sense. Mo Hua exuded an aura that brought calm.

Staying close to Mo Hua, with Mo Hua's finger pressed against his forehead, Tusheng indeed felt much more at ease.

Before long, he had cast everything aside.

After the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, Tusheng slowly opened his eyes again.

Mo Hua asked, "How are you now?"

Tusheng nodded and said, "Much better."

Though his voice still carried a hint of hoarseness, it was now human again.

Mo Hua glanced at Tusheng's eyes and gave a slight nod.

Still immersed in the earlier fear, Tusheng's voice trembled slightly as he said, "Am I… not…"

He swallowed, his expression pained and strained, "not human anymore…"

Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat, but his tone remained calm: "Who told you that? Why wouldn't you be human?"

Tusheng was taken aback and whispered, "But… I…"

Mo Hua said, "Your condition is normal."

Tusheng froze. "I… am normal?"

Mo Hua nodded firmly. "In this world, there are all kinds of strange and wondrous things, and all sorts of people. Different births, different birth characters, different cultivation traditions, and different experiences in the Dao all shape different Fate Patterns and forge different temperaments…"

"Your condition is simply due to sudden misfortune, excessive grief, worry-induced illness, coupled with being affected by a Demonic Cultivator's sinister technique, temporarily impacting your Sea of Consciousness, causing frequent nightmares. It's a very normal Divine-Sense ailment, nothing to worry about…"

Tusheng listened as Mo Hua spoke with such authority, and his heart began to believe it somewhat, yet he still felt that Mr. Mo might be deceiving him.

"Sir, but I feel… I really have a problem…" Tusheng said.

Mo Hua asked, "Do you know the saying 'poverty breeds superstition'?"

Tusheng shook his head.

Mo Hua explained, "Poverty breeds superstition means that when you have little knowledge, limited experience, and narrow understanding, you tend to make a fuss over trivial matters."

"I see…" Tusheng nodded.

Although Mr. Mo's words weren't very pleasant, they seemed reasonable.

In terms of knowledge, experience, and understanding of cultivation, he naturally couldn't compare to Mr. Mo.

Since Mr. Mo now said he was normal, it meant he must have considerable experience with such matters. With his own meager knowledge and narrow perspective, how could he dare to question Mr. Mo's words?

After some self-reflection, Tusheng inexplicably felt much more at ease, no longer as tense or fearful.

When his parents were alive, they often warned him that if one was foolish, one should listen to the words of knowledgeable and wise individuals.

He was clearly foolish, and most of what he believed was likely false.

Mr. Mo, on the other hand, was clearly one of those knowledgeable and wise individuals, so his words must be true.

Tusheng's expression turned solemn as he said, "Sir, I understand. Thank you for your guidance."

Mo Hua nodded calmly, then took out an ordinary-looking yellow cloth, within which faintly shimmered intricate Divine Dao Rune Patterns.

"Keep this with you. When you sleep at night or feel your Divine-Sense clouded during the day, place it on your forehead. It will protect your Sea of Consciousness, calm your Divine Soul, and prevent nightmares."

Tusheng's expression changed, and he respectfully took the yellow cloth from Mo Hua's hands, his heart filled with astonishment.

He asked, "Sir, what is this..."

Mo Hua replied, "This is a treasure. Inside is a Divine Inscription written by a master, blessed by a grandmaster. It can ward off evil, calm the spirit, and has boundless miraculous effects…"

Tusheng was even more astonished upon hearing this.

After solemnly accepting it, he was momentarily too grateful to find the right words. "Sir, your great kindness and virtue, Tusheng will never forget."

Tusheng wanted to kneel and kowtow to Mo Hua but was stopped by Mo Hua's hand.

Mo Hua said, "Don't overthink it. Just focus on your cultivation."

"Treat the voices in your dreams as nothing but nonsense. Whatever you see, act as if you saw nothing."

"In this Dao Court Division, don't feel guilty, don't be timid, don't hesitate. Just act as if you are a normal Executive Officer, work diligently, abide by the rules, and no one will dare to trouble you."

"If anything unusual happens, don't pay it any mind. It's all perfectly normal. Just eat when you should eat, sleep when you should sleep."

Tusheng's expression indeed calmed down, and he nodded earnestly.

"Alright, you may go about your duties now," Mo Hua said. "I have matters to discuss with Magistrate Gu later."

Tusheng bowed respectfully to Mo Hua and said in a reverent tone, "Thank you, sir, for dispelling my confusion. I won't disturb you any further."

"Go ahead," Mo Hua nodded slightly.

"Yes."

Tusheng turned around, let out a deep sigh as if a great burden had been lifted, and his steps became noticeably lighter.

After Tusheng left with a relaxed expression, only Mo Hua remained in the secret chamber.

Mo Hua's expression gradually grew thoughtful, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a still pond.

The Living Dead Corpse Embryo… what kind of existence was calling out to Tusheng?

To this… Living Dead Corpse Embryo? What would happen if Tusheng answered that call?

Mo Hua tapped his fingers on the table, his mood heavy.

In Kun Province, there must exist some indescribable, terrifying presence.

He increasingly felt that he was drawing closer and closer to this entity, even encountering seemingly ordinary yet profoundly mysterious and unfathomable signs from time to time.

This indicated that cause and effect were guiding him. Yet, between himself and this entity, as well as the truth of Kun Province, there seemed to always be a thin veil, shrouded in a faint mist.

It appeared within reach, yet remained impossible to pierce through or fully comprehend.

Those involved are often blinded, while outsiders see clearly. But in this world, there are no true outsiders.

As long as anyone is alive, they are part of the game. Being in the game is like being lost in a fog, unaware of the dangers lurking around.

At the same time, Mo Hua suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.

He couldn't shake the feeling that the current situation resembled the trajectory of events back in the Great Wilderness. If he couldn't see through the fog in advance and lay plans early, once the mist cleared and the truth was revealed, it would likely be the moment disaster erupted.

Just like the situation in the Great Wilderness back then—when the fog lifted, it was the moment Martial Uncle's true form manifested and the Strange Dao descended… and by then, nothing could be done to reverse it.

Mo Hua took a deep breath, his heart feeling as if weighed down by a massive stone, burdened with an indescribable heaviness.

Mo Hua remained alone in the secret chamber, lost in thought for a long while, before finally rising, pushing open the door, and stepping out.

After leaving the secret chamber, Mo Hua went to the main hall, found an Executive Officer of the Gu Clan, and inquired about Uncle Gù's schedule.

Learning that Uncle Gù would arrive for duty in about half an hour, he found a table and waited patiently.

An Executive Officer served him tea—already the finest tea available in the Dao Court Division. However, having grown accustomed to Xiao Ju's clear, home-brewed tea, Mo Hua found it rather bland.

Still, he sipped it slowly, lost in thought as he drank.

Before finishing a pot of tea, Mo Hua's Divine-Sense Thought stirred slightly, sensing a familiar presence.

He looked up and indeed saw Uncle Gù, clad in the Dao Court Division's black standard Dao robe, walking toward him with a dignified and imposing air. However, his steps were hurried, his brow slightly furrowed, and he carried an aura of cold, sharp intensity.

Mo Hua's heart stirred. He tapped his fingers inside his sleeve, letting cause and effect turn in his mind, and his expression gradually darkened once more.

Upon seeing Mo Hua, Gu Changhuai was momentarily taken aback, his expression complex, as if he had something to say but hesitated.

Mo Hua spoke first, "Let's find a place to talk."

Gu Changhuai nodded.

He led Mo Hua to an even more confidential study, filled with numerous files and Jade Slips—apparently his usual office. Once they were seated, before Gu Changhuai could speak, Mo Hua asked: "Has something happened?"

Gu Changhuai was momentarily stunned, but as an experienced man, he wasn't surprised by Mo Hua's almost prophetic demeanor.

"Yes…" Gu Changhuai fell silent for a moment, not hiding the truth but sighing heavily, "There's been an uprising in the Great Spirit Field Realm."

Upon hearing this, Mo Hua's pupils contracted, "A riot?"

Gu Changhuai nodded, his expression indescribably complex and serious, "A riot."

Mo Hua asked, "Specifically where?"

Gu Changhuai shook his head, "Currently known, only in Qingchou, Guitian, Huangrang, Nansui… these four small Prefecture Realms, each in a small part, spirit farmers have gathered, and riots have broken out."

"Other large areas are still stable for now, with no abnormalities, but..."

Gu Changhuai's pupils trembled slightly, showing an indescribable tension.

Mo Hua understood in his heart.

Currently stable… is only "for now."

Riots are like sparks, seemingly weak, but once they ignite, they can spread like wildfire in the blink of an eye, sweeping across the land of Kun Province, plunging it into immense turmoil.

(End of Chapter)