Shi Wawa has been waiting for Li Qiyeâs return. He propped his chin with both hands while staring at the fog with a grimace.
Li Qiye has been gone for so long now. What if he had died?
The long wait made him drowsy. His head shook a bit, causing him to wake up again. He looked outside and coincidentally enough, a figure appeared in the fog.
âYouâre back!â The drowsiness dissipated right away as he stood up and rushed towards the entrance.
Li Qiye sauntered out of the fog; the petrification force still couldnât touch him.
âThank god youâre back, Young Master.â Wawa placed his palms together and celebrated.
âAre you okay?â He looked at Li Qiye from top to bottom. No petrification anywhere. He then started touching Li Qiyeâs arms. Still fine. Every inch was still made of flesh and blood, no sign of stones.
âYouâre really something else, Young Master. Only an immortal or a god can walk in the fog like that.â Wawa was lost in admiration.
Li Qiye chuckled and returned to Wawaâs house then sat down. Wawa followed and sat down next to him, overwhelmed with curiosity: âYoung Master, whatâs actually in the fog? A devil like people say? What does it look like?â
Wawa has heard of many legends about the canyon and the fog. No one knew what was inside so he was very curious about Li Qiyeâs findings.
âIf thereâs actually a devil in there, there wouldnât be peace in the canyon. It would already be reduced to ashes without a single grass around. These pillars canât guarantee peace in that case.â Li Qiye smiled at the youth.
âMakes sense.â Wawa scratched his head and agreed.
The petrification power didnât target anyone inside a village nor tried to invade one. The thing was bizarre.
âSo what is it?â Wawa remained curious.
âYou canât understand it right now. Youâll figure it out when the time is right.â Li Qiye shook his head then stared out the window.
Wawa stared at Li Qiye instead. The guyâs eyes pierced through the fog and reached the deepest part of the sky. They were unfathomable, a thousand times deeper than the sky.
Li Qiye didnât move an inch, seemingly becoming a statue. Wawa didnât know what he was doing. However, he felt that Li Qiye was looking at a peerless mystery.
In reality, Li Qiye was actually lost in his thoughts, contemplating recent events. After a while, he withdrew his gaze and sighed. âThis makes no sense. What is the villainous heaven thinking?â
He had a slight frown. In the modern-day, no one understood the villainous heaven more than him. However, the current events made it quite confusing.
The heaven didnât cause all of this. This wasnât its style; it had a penchant for total destruction. [1]
As for the fiends, they couldnât do something to this level, especially not so silently. The heavenly execution was still looming and waiting.
Thatâs why it was so strange for the villainous heaven to not react to these events.
Li Qiye had read the records of Eight Desolaces with a focus on the big disasters. He found very little, only a few lines here and there. Future descendants didnât know about it.
The geezer left behind the most accurate thing in the form of various images, solely meant for Li Qiye.
Unfortunately, everything suddenly stopped after the entrance of light emerged. The geezer didnât leave behind any clues about this.
The geezer was the wiliest of them all. Something unexpected must have happened for the message to stop.
Li Qiye had to think of all the possibilities; millions of potential paths flashed in his head.
His session was interrupted by sun rays. He looked out and saw that the fog was gone. The pillar was no longer bright either. Everything resumed to normal just as before.
One could hear the dogs and chickens from some of the villages now. The villagers began working once more.
Shi Wawa was also busy preparing food for Li Qiye. Unfortunately, he was the only one here and had no good food.
âAre you going to Ancestral City now?â Li Qiye asked after finishing his humble breakfast.
âIâ¦â Wawa hesitated, having never left home before to such a distant place.
âIâll be staying there for a bit so if you want to go, we can go together.â Li Qiye said, contributing their meeting to fate.
âReally?â Wawa was ecstatic, having full trust in this man despite having only met.
âYes, so get ready right now. It wonât be as easy going alone later.â Li Qiye nodded.
âWell...â Wawa scratched his head and agreed again. He was still young without any traveling experience. He was indeed nervous thinking about going alone later: âOkay then, Iâll go with you to Ancestral City, Young Master.â
This rare opportunity took off a lot of stress for him. He went to prepare for the journey and this didnât take long since he only had a few things.
Before leaving, he went to the central area with the statue. He placed his palms together and said: âUncles, Mother⦠Iâll be going with Young Master to Ancestral City and will return soon. Wait until Iâm back, Iâll learn how to reach atavism and join everyoneâ¦â He quietly prayed.
This was indeed sad because he was the only one left in the village. He knew no one else in the world. Of course, the golems were used to this type of life.
âWawa is going now, please watch over the village, Forefather.â He then turned towards the statue and bowed.
The statue didnât react. In reality, he was still alive because he was only at the pseudo stage. Who knows when heâll reawaken again?
Li Qiye quietly watched to the side and didnât comment on this raceâs choice for survival. It was indeed worth pondering.
The two left the entrance and heard a crack. The frog from yesterday crumbled and turned to powder. They scattered to the ground and became mixed with the mud and soil.
This was a common sight along the way. The animals that were too late to return to a safe haven were shattering today.
1. Have to use it since we still donât know if itâs a person or entity