Chapter 81: The Dark Realm
The little girl who herded the sun disappeared together with her sun boat, and darkness quickly surged up, swallowing heaven and earth and all realms.
"What exactly did the patriarch of the Herding Sun Tribe want to say?"
Qin Mu fell into deep thought as darkness shrouded the land. The dragon pillar lit up again, the braziers in the city were ignited one by one, and the temples also emitted light in the night.
The jade pendant on his chest also gave off a faint glow. According to the Herding Sun Tribe, the jade pendant came from the Land of No Worries, and he himself might also come from there. However, in the geography map of the Great Ruins, there was no such name as the Land of No Worries. It seemed that this place did not exist within the Great Ruins.
"The Land of No Worries... where exactly is it? Why does it only appear when darkness descends?"
He stared blankly at the darkness outside the city, wanting very much to walk into that darkness and search for the Land of No Worries. But the darkness covered such a vast area, shrouding the entire boundless Great Ruins—who could possibly know where that ethereal, elusive Land of No Worries was?
Moreover, how could he safely traverse the mysterious darkness?
The darkness was so dangerous. A small jade pendant could not protect him, and treasures like the stone statue were too heavy—carrying the stone statue was like carrying a god on his back. He simply could not do it.
"Could my parents be in the Land of No Worries?"
His spirits sank. He stood on the dragon head of the dragon pillar, raising his palm as if wanting to touch the thick darkness outside.
The boundless darkness outside the city surged, separated from the bright scene within the city as if by a thin membrane. A giant palm appeared on the surface of that membrane, as if wanting to touch his palm.
Qin Mu looked up. The two palms drew closer and closer.
Whispers came from within the darkness, like many gentle voices speaking in hushed tones, urging him to walk into the darkness, to merge with it.
The whispers grew louder and louder, as if drilling into his mind, ceaselessly persuading him.
Qin Mu's gaze grew hazy. The two palms were almost touching.
Gradually, in his eyes, the darkness ahead was no longer darkness, but another grand world. He saw a world like smoke or a mirror of water—a woman was reaching out her palm from afar, as if wanting to make contact with his palm.
The woman's face was blurry and indistinct. He wanted to see her clearly, but no matter how he tried, he could not make out her features.
The jade pendant on his chest floated up gently, as if about to drift toward that world in the darkness.
"Mu'er, what are you doing?"
A startled and angry voice came from behind. Qin Mu withdrew his palm. Deaf appeared behind him, startling him awake. Qin Mu woke from his low spirits and hastily pulled back his hand, breaking into a cold sweat.
If he had truly touched that palm in the darkness, what would have happened? Everyone else who had fallen into the darkness had died horribly. Would he too have been devoured by the monsters in the dark?
The giant palm in the darkness also withdrew on its own and disappeared, and the strange vision in the darkness dissipated with it.
In his daze, Qin Mu felt as if he heard a sigh from within the darkness, though Deaf clearly noticed nothing.
Deaf was furious. He grabbed Qin Mu and pulled him along, saying angrily: "There are demons in the darkness skilled at bewitching people's hearts. Be careful they don't catch you!"
"Demons that bewitch people's hearts?"
Only now did Qin Mu feel the lingering fear. He raised his hand and hid the jade pendant on his chest beneath his clothes, as if hiding his own thoughts along with the pendant. He thought to himself: "One day, I will walk through all the darkness, search for the origin of the darkness, and find the Land of No Worries!"
"Grandpa Deaf, what exactly was that in the darkness just now? Why could I suddenly see things in the dark?" Qin Mu thought for a moment, then asked.
"What's in the darkness is the Dark Realm."
Deaf said: "The Village Chief knows about the Dark Realm. He has been there. Let's go to the City Lord's mansion—the Village Chief is there too. Let him tell you."
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. The Village Chief had been to the world in the darkness?
The Village Chief was actually that powerful? He had been to the darkness and still managed to come back alive?
"Mu'er, you actually saw that world in the darkness?"
In the City Lord's mansion, everyone from the Crippled Elderly Village was gathered together. Granny Si still wore Fu Yundi's skin. Pharmacist, Mute, Horse Uncle, Deaf, Blind, Lame, and Butcher were all present, listening to Qin Mu recount his encounter on the sun boat and with the dark palm.
The Village Chief was greatly surprised and said: "I have indeed been to that world in the darkness. Back then, when I came to the Great Ruins, I was utterly despairing. I thought all my life's ambitions had come to nothing, and I wished for death, but I simply could not die..."
He revealed a bitter smile, but the other villagers of the Crippled Elderly Village all understood this feeling—having the courage to face death but being unable to die, because responsibility still rested on one's shoulders, and one had not yet passed that responsibility to another.
"At that time, I walked on the edge between life and death, trying again and again to end my life. Once, I could not withstand the temptation of the demons and walked into the darkness."
The Village Chief recalled the past, his expression calm: "I thought that once I walked in, I would surely die. But I was too powerful—so powerful that the darkness could not kill me in a short while."
This statement might make people think he was boasting, but the villagers of the Crippled Elderly Village had no such thought at all. If the Village Chief said he was too powerful, then he was too powerful.
How terrifying was the darkness? Every person in the Crippled Elderly Village was a top-tier expert, but aside from the Village Chief, none dared claim they could enter the darkness and survive.
The Village Chief continued: "I walked through the darkness. I was mad, shouting and howling at the demons in the dark, seeking death. But then, the darkness before my eyes gradually faded, and I saw the world within the darkness—a world that overlapped with the Great Ruins, yet was different. It was a strange world, suddenly peeling away from the darkness..."
Everyone's hearts were shaken. Such a world actually existed?
What did the world in the darkness look like?
"Although the darkness faded, my vision was still like being shrouded in mist. I could not see far. Those twisted shadows made me sober up. I could see them, but I could not see them clearly. They were all very powerful—some even more powerful than me. They beckoned to me, as if inviting me. I thought of the responsibility I still bore, that I could not die there, so I withdrew from the darkness."
The Village Chief said in a deep voice: "Later, I tried to enter the darkness again, to search for that hidden world, but I could not find it. The world Mu'er saw should be the same world I saw. That world in the darkness—I call it the Dark Realm. And the world we live in, I call it the Bright Realm. Bright and dark correspond, alternating. During the day, the Bright Realm dominates; at night, the Dark Realm dominates. Mu'er, the Sun Keeper of the Herding Sun Tribe told you that you might come from the Land of No Worries, and that the Land of No Worries sometimes appears in the darkness?"
Qin Mu nodded.
Everyone exchanged glances. Pharmacist smiled and said: "Mu'er, go back and rest first. The Yan Kang army has just retreated, and this city is a mix of fish and dragons. We all need to keep watch through the night."
Qin Mu acknowledged and left the City Lord's mansion, returning to the inn to rest.
In the City Lord's mansion, the Village Chief, Pharmacist, Lame, Mute, Granny Si, and the others wore grave expressions. After a long while, Lame chuckled darkly and said: "The child we raised might be born from the Dark Realm—a demon lord from the world of darkness..."
Deaf's iron ears twitched, and he sighed: "Back then, when he suddenly appeared in the darkness, we should have suspected. An ordinary child in that situation would have died long ago, yet he survived in the darkness. Mute, what do you think?"
Mute made some sounds with his throat. Deaf sneered: "Those not of our kind must have different hearts! Don't speak up for him!"
"Deaf, you are too extreme."
Pharmacist said in a deep voice: "Mu'er's jade pendant might come from the Land of No Worries—it doesn't mean Mu'er comes from the Land of No Worries. Moreover, even if he does come from there, so what? No one has ever been to the Land of No Worries. It doesn't necessarily belong to the Dark Realm or to evil. And even the Dark Realm doesn't necessarily contain only demon lords. There are other possibilities for Mu'er's origins."
Granny Si sneered: "Even if Mu'er is a little demon lord from the Dark Realm, so what? We raised him with our own hands, changing his diapers and feeding him. He is our child, our own flesh and blood!"
Lame said angrily: "Granny, you're being unreasonable..."
"Unreasonable? You damned lame man, do you want to kill Mu'er?"
...
The few of them argued back and forth. Horse Uncle had not spoken the whole time, but suddenly said: "Mu'er grew up under our watch. We raised him and taught him. If we were demons, then what we taught would be demons. Whatever kind of people we are is what we will shape him into."
Everyone fell silent. Horse Uncle rarely spoke, but every time he did, his words carried great weight.
"Horse Uncle is right."
Lame respected him the most and nodded: "I was overthinking. Deaf, what do you think?"
Deaf looked at Mute. He and Mute were the closest. Mute's face, reddened from being roasted by the furnace, broke into a smile, and he made two sounds. Deaf said: "I know you're not a bad person, and I don't think I'm bad either. If Mu'er turns into a demon lord, then we can blame them. In our village, aside from you and me, none of the others are good people!"
Granny Si was exasperated: "You bookworm! Are you discriminating against those who cultivate the demonic path?"
Deaf sneered and pulled out his two iron ears, indicating he didn't want to listen to any of you.
The Village Chief's head ached. He said: "We're all from the same village. Everyone say less. Deaf, put your ears back in. It's quite frightening."
Deaf made two popping sounds as he inserted his ears back. The Village Chief said: "I want to take Mu'er on a trip to the Dark Realm, to explore whether the Land of No Worries exists there."
Everyone was startled.
The Village Chief smiled and said: "Don't worry. The first time I entered the Dark Realm was four hundred years ago. In these four hundred years, I have still made some progress. I'll prepare for a while, then take Mu'er on a journey through the darkness."