I, too, bear the surname Chen!

A dream is still only a dream.

No matter how beautiful it may be, there will always come a moment of waking.

Chen Huangpi opened his eyes.

He saw the bronze oil lamp, the Soul-Claiming Ghost, Jin Jiao, and the concern and excitement of the Fox Mountain Deity.

He also saw the Daoist standing in the great hall, with a third head almost grown from his body.

"Master..."

Chen Huangpi murmured softly, his expression complicated.

The Fox Mountain Deity hurriedly said, "When I woke up, the temple master was already like this. It has nothing to do with me."

"I do not blame you."

Chen Huangpi shook his head. "I only had a dream, and in that dream I saw something about my master. It stirred something in me for a moment, that is all."

"What did you dream?" the bronze oil lamp asked curiously.

"My master and I both bear the surname Chen."

"Nonsense!"

Jin Jiao said with contempt. "You are the temple master's disciple, so of course you take his surname. Would you rather take the surname of Yellow Two?"

"That would make it a vulgar surname!"

"A vulgar surname? Are you calling me vulgar?"

The bronze oil lamp shot flames from its eyes, wishing it could kill Jin Jiao on the spot.

Jin Jiao said matter-of-factly, "You are mistaken. Not only are you vulgar, but that skull, and that fox, are all vulgar too. As for me, I am different. I am the son of the Nether Listener, so my surname is naturally an exalted one."

What a sweeping insult.

Besides Chen Huangpi, both the Soul-Claiming Ghost and the Fox Mountain Deity darkened at once.

"Jin Jiao, you must not be so rude," Chen Huangpi said, frowning.

Earlier, in the old temple, Jin Jiao had seemed utterly loyal to him.

Now that they had left the old temple, its true nature was exposed at once.

It was not yet time when he needed it. If it remained like this when the time came, the disadvantages might well outweigh the benefits.

At that thought, Chen Huangpi's mind stirred, and the Soul-Calling Ledger automatically slipped out from within his robes.

Inside the ledger lay the Yellow Springs domain.

It could hold many things.

Jin Jiao sensed Chen Huangpi's displeasure, but before it could argue, it was instantly taken into the Soul-Calling Ledger.

"Ah Gui!"

Chen Huangpi turned to the Soul-Claiming Ghost and said seriously, "You know what to do, yes?"

"One day. I only need one day to cure its mouth."

With that, the Soul-Claiming Ghost grinned viciously and plunged into the ledger.

"Make it hurt a little more!"

the bronze oil lamp said resentfully. "We should have brought Silver Jiao instead."

"Silver Jiao..."

Chen Huangpi hesitated, then shook his head. "Silver Jiao has an empty head. Easy to fool, yes, but Jin Jiao is far more effective. Once Ah Gui fixes its mouth, it will be fine."

After saying that, Chen Huangpi hesitated again before asking, "Fox Mountain Deity, Yellow Two, there is something I want to ask you both."

"What is it?"

"Ask away."

The bronze oil lamp and the Fox Mountain Deity were ready to answer anything.

Chen Huangpi said, "Can the things in a dream be taken as real?"

The bronze oil lamp said, "Dreams are absurd, untethered things. Naturally, they cannot be trusted."

The Fox Mountain Deity said, "Even if a dream is absurd, it does not transcend reality to invent things from nothing."

"I understand."

Chen Huangpi asked again, "Then if, in my dream, someone called me trash, but he is my master's brother, should I be angry?"

"Of course you should be angry!"

"I think you should not be."

The bronze oil lamp looked at the Fox Mountain Deity and said unhappily, "The temple master is the temple master. The temple master's brother is not the temple master. What right does he have to insult Chen Huangpi?"

The Fox Mountain Deity did not answer.

Instead, it asked Chen Huangpi, "Was the temple master close to that brother?"

Chen Huangpi said, "I should think they were extremely close."

If they had not been, the emperor of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty would not have borne such reluctance to let his master leave for the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The Fox Mountain Deity nodded. "If they were that close, then you ought even less to be angry."

"If someone insults you and you insult him back, that merely makes a back-and-forth. It does not truly relieve your anger."

"Then how does one feel relieved?"

"Simple. Wait until he dies, then seize his estate and inherit his fortune."

"That is good, very good!"

Chen Huangpi was overjoyed, clapping his hands in praise, almost beside himself with delight.

The bronze oil lamp, however, was unimpressed.

This coquettish fox only knew how to please Chen Huangpi.

It could even spin some twisted logic out of a dream that had never existed.

And it did not even stop to think.

What sort of cultivation did the temple master possess? Where could he possibly have a brother?

Even if he had one, he was probably long dead by now.

The Fox Mountain Deity was quite pleased with itself.

It could not help thinking inwardly, This Yellow Two may be as close to Chen Huangpi as brothers, but he does not know how to curry favor. What matters is not what one says, but what Chen Huangpi wants to hear. It seems it will not be long before I can blend into Chen Huangpi's inner circle.

At that very moment, Chen Huangpi suddenly said without warning, "I wonder where my Great Qian Immortal Dynasty is, and that seal as well. When I rescue my master, I will ask him how to open the seal..."

As soon as those words were spoken, the bronze oil lamp and the Fox Mountain Deity fell silent.

What did he mean, my Great Qian Immortal Dynasty?

So the temple master's brother was the emperor of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty?

"No..."

The Fox Mountain Deity spoke up. "Chen Huangpi, I do not know where the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty is, but I do know that to the east of the Hundred Thousand Mountains lies the Kingdom of Great Kang, where the throne passes only in two ways: from father to son, or from elder brother to younger brother. Someone like you could not inherit the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty."

"Is that so..."

Chen Huangpi glanced thoughtfully toward his master.

The bronze oil lamp saw the expression and immediately understood what Chen Huangpi was thinking.

It was all that Fox Mountain Deity's fault, insisting on explaining everything so plainly.

What father to son, what elder brother to younger brother.

Did it not know that the temple master had raised Chen Huangpi as though he were his own son?

If a son is an heir, then is a disciple not also a child?

The bronze oil lamp hastily said, "Chen Huangpi, you are still young. There is plenty of time. There is no need to rush this, truly no need."

The Great Qian Immortal Dynasty had merely been sealed by that Emperor Chen; it had not truly vanished.

If Chen Huangpi went there and kept calling himself emperor every chance he got, who knew whether the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty might not take him for a rebel and execute him outright?

One must remember, the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty was not like Great Kang.

An immortal dynasty—

To dare call itself that meant it truly had immortals.

The next morning.

The foot of Jade Spring Mountain was in an uproar.

Granny Tang and the surviving villagers had settled at the mountain's base and rebuilt a village there. Only now it was called Yellow Fox Village, not Fox Yellow Village.

The yellow was the yellow of Chen Huangpi's name.

They called it this because the surviving villagers were grateful for Chen Huangpi's lifesaving grace.

Unable to repay him for the time being, this was the only way they could show their thanks.

"Granny Tang! Granny Tang!"

Chen Huangpi shouted the moment he entered the village.

"Coming, coming."

Granny Tang emerged from the shrine with a cane in hand, coughing a few times.

"Granny Tang, your cough sounds terrible. Are you ill?"

"Yes..."

Granny Tang smiled kindly. "When one grows old, one falls ill easily. Look, even my hair has turned so much whiter."

Only then did Chen Huangpi notice that the iron-gray hair she had worn before was now mostly white.

It was as though she had aged more than ten years in an instant.

"Granny Tang."

Chen Huangpi thought for a moment and said, "If you're ill, you should take medicine. Once I am done with my work, I will brew you a few doses. After you take them, you will get better."

"..."

Granny Tang gave a wry smile. "No need, young sir. Your medicine is more than this old body can bear. In a few days, I will recover on my own."

She was a Golden Core cultivator. How could she possibly be sick?

It was only that her end was near.

Still, that was not a bad thing for Granny Tang.

Her only granddaughter had been eaten by the Yellow Calamity.

The only things she still had reason to care about were these surviving villagers.

Now even Yellow Fox Village had been rebuilt. If she died, then so be it.

Chen Huangpi knew that people are born, grow old, fall ill, and die.

He also knew that his master would one day return to heaven.

But he had never experienced such a thing himself.

Thus, when Granny Tang said this, he believed her.

Still, in his heart he thought, Granny Tang does not understand medicine. If one is ill, one must take medicine. If one does not take medicine, one will not recover. She must not want to owe me money again; she must think I am a miser who sees only silver. She underestimates me.

Once I return from the Yellow Springs and Dark Earth, I will bring the medicine back up to her and make her look at me in a new light.

Chen Huangpi had two hearts.

One was good; the other was bad.

The good could be seen by the good.

The bad could be seen by the bad.

At that moment, Granny Tang said again, "Young sir, what brings you to call on me so early this morning? Is there something you need?"

Chen Huangpi said, "I'm here to borrow something. I need nails and a hammer."

"That I do have."

As she spoke, Granny Tang led Chen Huangpi into the temple.

"Wait here a moment. I'll fetch them for you."

"Thank you, Granny Tang."

Chen Huangpi stood in the temple and looked around. The place was extremely plain.

The altar was bare.

There was not even a single statue of a deity.

Instead, there were two plates of offerings.

Before long, Granny Tang came out carrying the things.

There were nails, a hammer, and a Daoist robe.

Chen Huangpi stared at the robe and froze. "Granny Tang, this is..."

Granny Tang smiled. "The Daoist robe you're wearing has long been torn to rags and no longer fits you. And the temple master has gone mad, so this old woman took the liberty of making one for you. I had wanted to make it a little bigger so you could wear it for a few more years, but you have grown too quickly. In a little while it may no longer fit again."

"My sewing skills are poor, so do not despise it."

"I won't."

Chen Huangpi accepted the robe joyfully.

It was coarse to the touch, no fine fabric at all, nowhere near the quality of the one he wore now.

But it fit him perfectly.

Most of all, the color and style were the same as the robe he wore.

Blue-black, embroidered with red plum blossoms, with black trim as the foundation.

After changing into it, Chen Huangpi tied up his hair and threaded it through with a branch from the demon tree.

At once he seemed like a different person.

Before, he had been a little Daoist boy.

Now he truly looked like a graceful young man.

It would have been even better if he were not holding a hammer.

Granny Tang asked, "By the way, young sir, what do you need the nails and hammer for?"

Chen Huangpi said, "The Fox Mountain Deity says that Master keeps moving around at night, and it scares it. So I plan to nail him to the wall. Then he won't be able to move. Tomorrow I am going to the God-Burial Grave, and if I don't finish this today, I will have no time."

With that, Chen Huangpi ran off in a puff of wind.

He left Granny Tang standing in the shrine in utter confusion.

Every word Chen Huangpi had said, she understood.

But put together, it seemed to change its meaning entirely.

Nail the temple master to the wall?

"Lord Mountain Deity!"

Granny Tang could not help calling out to the Fox Mountain Deity in her heart.

The next second, the Fox Mountain Deity's faint voice sounded: "This deity only mentioned it in passing. It was he who wanted to do it."

Granny Tang said, "That is the temple master. How can he be nailed to a wall?"

"Nailed to the wall would be the merciful option..."

The Fox Mountain Deity said in pain, "If Yellow Two and I had not stopped him, he even wanted to use sharpened peach wood to make a hole straight through the temple master, saying that since he would be revived with the Soul-Returning Treasure Jade anyway, Master would not be angry."

"Yes, the temple master would not be angry with him."

"That is his master, not mine."

The daily plot ends here. Tomorrow's plot: the God-Burial Grave.