Where Immortals Once Walked

Dong Rui cut him off, “I’ll use this to notify you.”

So this is the miniature version of that bat monster puppet from earlier? Once it shrank, it no longer looked quite so unnatural. Its eyes seemed larger and brighter too.

“You made this recently?” Dong Rui had denied over and over that he had a new monster puppet, so He Lingchuan had known he should take those words in reverse.

“Obviously.” Dong Rui stroked the little bat and warned him, “The original ones were all ruined by you. This is the only successful one I’ve made in the past few months, a one-of-a-kind piece. Don’t mess with it again!”

Mess with it? Question marks filled He Lingchuan’s eyes. “Only one? In other words—”

“Yes. Your Mount Xu Plan is also going to depend on it.” Dong Rui said, “This is a completely new breed, capable of two-stage transformation! What you saw at the carriage station was only the first stage, and that was only it at medium size. It can grow even bigger.” With that, he snapped his fingers.

The bat hopped onto the ground, and its body swelled rapidly.

An aberrant creature several times larger than before appeared, thick-bodied and ferocious in figure. He Lingchuan made a rough estimate: if its wings were fully spread, the span would exceed ten meters, about the same as the strange bird monster puppet Dong Rui had used before.

It landed, puffed out its chest, and was about to roar in an impressive fashion, only for Dong Rui to hush it back down.

There were many people in Fleeting Thoughts Manor, and this place was not that far from the shore.

“It also has a wind talent, so carrying one person won’t be a problem.” Dong Rui then said solemnly, “If you want to go up into the sky, you’ll be relying entirely on it.”

“Mm.” He Lingchuan leaned closer and gently stroked the bat’s head.

It’s got a big furry head, so why does it feel so wrong to touch?

The bat, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it. Under Dong Rui’s control, it would not randomly attack He Lingchuan.

“We have another big problem.” Dong Rui squeezed the storage ring on his finger. “My stock of self-heal herb is low. It won’t be enough to feed the snail toad twice more.”

He Lingchuan’s heart tightened. “How many more days can it last?”

Since it was all inside the ring, Dong Rui estimated briefly. “Ten days at most. Because we also need to leave some time to search for more self-heal herbs.”

Originally, while he was sitting comfortably in Lingxu City, the matter of feeding the snail toad had been handled by Xi Yunhe.

Now that Dong Rui had fled, he had to find a way to gather self-heal herbs himself. Otherwise, without the effect of this herb suppressing it, the snail toad would quickly develop into a complete ghost toad, at which point it would no longer be able to carry the snail shell.

The treasure known as “Snail Dwelling,” with its ability to burrow through earth and come and go unseen, was truly not something any monster could use. Otherwise, it would not have been left unused for so many years in the Spring Palace’s storage.

“Then we move the Mount Xu Plan forward.” He Lingchuan knew that plans could never keep up with changes. “We act in five days!”

Dong Rui had no objection.

A thought stirred in He Lingchuan, and he remembered something else. “Right, what payment did Xi Yunhe give you earlier?”

“Oh, this.” Dong Rui took out the box and opened it.

He Lingchuan lowered his head to look and, unexpectedly, saw a soft leather mask. “Who made it?”

“State Preceptor Shuang Ye made it himself.” Dong Rui walked back into the house. The dust on the table had already been brushed away, and he set the box down. “It’s payment for treating the snail toad.”

“You can wear it?” He Lingchuan knew Dong Rui’s face was not only ruined, but that even his jawbone had been corroded away. Without bone to hold up the flesh, he looked like a melted wax monster. What use would a mask be?

Dong Rui pointed at his own face. “Look closely now. See whether there’s bone or not!”

Looking straight at his face required tremendous courage. He Lingchuan was too embarrassed to admit that he had not dared examine it carefully, so he said vaguely, “Looks like there is? State Preceptor Shuang Ye can make you grow a chin?”

“Isn’t that something?” Dong Rui turned his head to show him. “Even the cheek muscles grew back. Only then can I wear the mask.”

With that, he pressed the mask onto his face and slowly adjusted it.

He Lingchuan took out a mirror and let Dong Rui look at himself.

This was probably Dong Rui’s first time putting it on, so he was not very skilled. It took a full fifteen minutes before he finally managed to get it on properly. In the middle, he even used several soft rods to support the back of his jaw so his cheeks would not collapse inward.

This face looked to be around thirty, gentle, and scholarly. Dong Rui probably requested the face to be this way.

Aside from his somewhat stiff smile, all other expressions moved smoothly.

He Lingchuan could not resist reaching out and poking it twice. It really did feel like human skin and even had warmth.

If he had not watched Dong Rui put it on with his own eyes, He Lingchuan would have thought it was a real face.

Dong Rui was clearly very satisfied too. He made faces at the mirror, tilting and turning his head for longer than even a young girl might. Finally, He Lingchuan grew impatient and said, “Alright, that’s enough.”

There were still some leftover soft rods in the box. He picked one up and squeezed it twice. It was soft, bouncy, and very much like the silicone material he had seen in another world.

Hm, actually, it’s more like...

As he was trying to recall the texture, Dong Rui said, “State Preceptor Shuang Ye said that once the mask is put on, I shouldn’t take it off. In the future, it will fully grow together with my face. These soft rods can be thrown away once the muscles and tendons have fully grown.”

“What kind of mask is so miraculous it can grow straight into a new face?” He Lingchuan asked suspiciously. “Is it a magical artifact?” But it didn’t feel like one.

State Preceptor Shuang Ye can actually make things like this? If he ever stops being a state preceptor, he’d definitely be able to make a fortune specializing in cosmetic reconstruction.

“I won’t need to wear a veiled hat anymore.” Dong Rui touched his own face. Now, no matter how happy he was, his mouth would no longer split all the way back to his ears. “No one will recognize me.”

One of the defining features of the monster puppet master had been his ruined face.

He Lingchuan finally understood why this fellow had agreed to stay so readily earlier. So this is what he was relying on.

Even if he came face-to-face with Lingxu City’s pursuers, as long as the other side did not use any specialized tracking divine technique, they probably would not recognize him.

He Lingchuan hesitated, then picked up one of the soft rods and asked, “Hey, don’t you think this material feels familiar?”

Both of them had come into contact with it before, and for quite a while too.

Dong Rui glanced at him. “It seems to be that thing. But as long as it lets me go out and meet people, I’d dare wear anything!”

“As expected of you.” He Lingchuan gave him a thumbs-up. “Want me to find you another place to stay?”

The former Dong Rui could not meet people, which was why He Lingchuan had arranged for him to stay on the lake island.

“No need.” Dong Rui shook his head. “This place is quiet, and I can still research a few things. Besides, it isn’t good for outsiders to see these monster puppets all the time. The snail toad also likes damp, muddy ground, so this place suits it perfectly.”

“I’ll head off first. I’ll bring you bedding later.”

Because of what State Preceptor Qing Yang had done, He Lingchuan’s plan had been forced forward.

Time was too tight, and he still had a mountain of things to handle.

* * *

That afternoon, Old Shan came by and delivered many things to He Lingchuan.

The magical artifacts and supplies he had commissioned from Li Qingge were all complete!

He Lingchuan could hardly contain his delight. “The Marquis really ought to change her nickname to Timely Rain!”

Old Shan smiled and said, “I’ll be sure to pass that along.”

After that, He Lingchuan sent Fang Canran a short letter, asking him for a favor.

In the middle of the night, Fang Canran sent back a reply. It contained only a few simple words: “Possible, but at most, only 600 kg!”

He Lingchuan let out a long breath. Thankfully, I’ve managed to get myself some helpers in Lingxu City.

Although operating alone was flexible and harder to detect, having more people had its advantages too. They could watch one another’s backs and respond to sudden changes with more confidence.

After that, he spent half the day tinkering in his room, then took out paper and brush and calculated for a long time before finally pulling out the mirror and saying to Juju’s avatar inside, “I’m going up the mountain now.”

“What?” The rockfire aberrant creature immediately grew alert. “What happened?”

“Judging from the sky, it’ll likely rain heavily over the next several days. Test flights won’t be convenient.” He Lingchuan’s voice was calm. “I might as well seize the time and confirm the position of the array eye today. Something this important can’t be delayed too long.”

Juju thought of the sudden heavy rain at dusk. Indeed, that had only been the vanguard of a larger storm of wind and rain.

“Come over, then.”

Under the cover of night, He Lingchuan quietly slipped onto the lake island inside Fleeting Thoughts Manor and said to Dong Rui, “Let’s go. To Mount Xu.”

With the snail toad, he could also appear and vanish like a ghost, even skipping the step of shaking off the Tongxin Guard.

The moment He Lingchuan drew near, the snail toad reacted. Its body suddenly swelled, and its mouth smacked a few times, as if it wanted to shoot out its tongue and swallow him.

That attitude was not especially friendly. He Lingchuan cautiously backed away two steps.

Dong Rui was not afraid of getting sticky slime all over his hand. He stroked its head and murmured a few things to it. Even with He Lingchuan’s hearing, he could not make out what Dong Rui said. He was not even sure whether human beings could understand it.

But after this short spell of whispering, the snail toad’s attitude clearly eased. Not only did it lie back down on the ground, but its two raised feelers also withdrew at the same time.

Whatever else could be said of Dong Rui, his ability to tame monsters was first-rate.

“Alright, let’s go.” Dong Rui patted the snail toad’s big head, then whistled.

The bat monster puppet flew over from some unknown place and landed on his shoulder. After that, Dong Rui stepped onto the snail toad’s body and crawled into the shell. He Lingchuan followed close behind and nearly slipped off. Fortunately, his cultivation was strong, and he stabilized himself after only one stagger.

Then he felt waves of wriggling beneath his feet. He did not move at all, yet his body shifted forward as though he were standing on a conveyor belt.

This was the snail toad using muscular force to transport him into the depths of the shell.

A combination of mollusk and amphibian really was unbelievable.

Strangely, the lake island was clearly very dark, but inside the snail shell, it was bright. He Lingchuan could even see a small door ahead.

Dong Rui pushed the door open and entered. He Lingchuan jumped in after him.

After that, the scene before his eyes completely changed.

They seemed to be inside a small room. The walls and ceiling were made of some special material, neither wood nor metal, but like gray-white stone. He Lingchuan tapped it lightly twice, and the sound was dull.

It felt like a snail shell.

So this is what it looks like inside Snail Dwelling? So the magical artifact actually birthed a small space of its own...

Three sides of the room had a window each, while the remaining wall had two doors.

Although the windows were open, people could not get out through them. An invisible barrier blocked the way.

He Lingchuan looked out the window and saw the lake island directly.

The newly cleared open ground, the damp, dark soil, the dense giant banyan trees, the wooden table that had been moved outside, and half a meat bun sitting on it—Dong Rui’s leftover food.

The three windows faced three directions, giving those standing inside the room a 270-degree field of vision.

The door they had entered through remained open. Dong Rui had not shut it.

Standing inside the room, He Lingchuan discovered that outside both doors was the scenery in front of the snail toad, except the details differed slightly, as though the angle also changed from time to time.

After thinking it over, He Lingchuan understood what was happening. “Are these the views from the snail toad’s two eyes?”