Wandering Gods of Day and Night

Nanny Yuan stroked the cat in her arms, squinting her eyes, gazing at the tender sunlight in the sky.

At that moment, something unusual appeared in the heavens. Initially, it was only a red dot, but gradually, the red dot grew larger and rapidly transformed into a blazing flame. As it drew closer, it took the shape of a "Token."

"It's the Fire Sect's Token."

After discerning the object, an inexplicable anger flared within Nanny Yuan. She abruptly exerted strength and tore off a patch of fur from the cat in her arms.

"Meow!"

The cat struggled violently, and only then did Nanny Yuan loosen her grip. The cat instantly jumped off her lap, crying out in pain.

"Clang!"

After a heavy and resounding thud, a monumental Token was planted firmly in the courtyard of Nine Li Mansion, its bulk deeply embedded in the soil.

"Fire Sect, you have come to collect your debt after all."

Nanny Yuan's face grew cold and rigid. She approached the Token and extended her hand toward it.

The Token blazed intensely, its surface resembling a sheet of red-hot iron, searing blisters on Nanny Yuan's hand.

Her face showed little sign of pain.

Compared to the burning fire, the commands delivered through her connection with the Token inflicted far deeper agony.

"The Kongming Mirror has resurfaced? Haven't the Tree Clan all been confined in the Forbidden Land?"

After receiving all the commands, Nanny Yuan withdrew her hand and rushed toward the villa within the mansion complex.

Inside a small room in the villa's pavilion lay two coffins.

She bowed toward the coffins and said, "Miss, Second Master, the Fire Sect's Token has arrived."

"The Fire Sect? So it hasn't forgotten about us."

From one of the coffins, Star Covering exhaled heavily and spoke.

"After all, it was the Zoroastrianism Fire Sect that helped us escape back then, deceiving the Incense Taoists. It's only fair they've come to collect their debt. But debts to the Fire Sect... they're not easily repaid."

From the other coffin, the "Second Master" replied in a somber tone.

Star Covering questioned Nanny Yuan, "What does the Fire Sect want us to do?"

"The Kongming Mirror has resurfaced in Mingjiang Prefecture. The Zoroastrian Fire Sect wants us to take action..."

"To kill everyone who knows about the Kongming Mirror?"

"To destroy the monitoring artifact in Mingjiang Prefecture. The Fire Sect plans to infiltrate Mingjiang Prefecture."

Mingjiang Prefecture possesses a monitoring artifact. With this artifact in place, the God Traveling Department can detect any presence exceeding six Incenses of power.

The Fire Sect wishes to infiltrate Mingjiang Prefecture en masse, yet few among its members possess less than six Incenses of power. Naturally, the artifact must be destroyed.

"It's harder than killing people."

Star Covering spoke resentfully.

If the artifact could be so easily shattered, she would have destroyed it long ago.

Why else would she have required "Jing Deng" to act as her proxy, walking the paths of Mingjiang Prefecture?

"Ask the Fire Sect if there's room for negotiation. Killing the painter or music master of Mingjiang Prefecture would be easier than shattering the artifact."

Star Covering said.

"Understood, Miss." Nanny Yuan left the room to connect with the Token again, praying for a response from the Fire Sect.

"Second Brother, is the mark the Fire Sect left on you still strong?"

"Do you want to erase the remaining traces and ignore the Fire Sect? Don't do that. The Fire Sect managed to hide us, evade the Incense Taoists, which indicates their sect has masters beyond our reach.

We cannot afford to offend the Fire Sect."

"But if we destroy the Mingjiang Prefecture artifact, we'll have no place to hide."

Star Covering fell silent, then sighed. In the time-space realm, there are Incense Taoists; in the human world, Nuo Gods. There is nowhere left for her to go.

"Let's wait for Nanny Yuan to communicate with the Fire Sect and see if there's a way out..."

...

"I saw it. From the Kongming Mirror, I saw the waters of Jing Country—floating corpses everywhere—they are all our disciples, the boatmen."

"I saw the countless sufferings, some disciples killed by water bandits, others swallowed by gigantic fish in the waters."

"Their fates were dictated by the rivers and waters that sustained their lives. Now, in death, they have returned to the embrace of the River God."

Lady Hong Guan was contemplating the Dao. She witnessed suffering and revisited her own past sufferings.

She saw her childhood self, with red cloth blindfolding her eyes, her body tightly bound by her parents and placed inside a red coffin, drifting along the river currents.

Inside that coffin, Guan Niang wailed endlessly, pleading with her parents to save her. Yet her fragile life could only bob up and down with the merciless tides of the river.

"My younger brother fell terminally ill. Father and Mother believed in some folk evil craft, thinking that if they sacrificed me to the River God, the god would save my brother, trading my life for his."

"Pah! Leaving aside whether the River God even resides in that damned river, why is my brother's life a life, while mine isn't?"

Lady Hong Guan was consumed by madness, screaming her tragic tale inside the sedan.

Only then did Zhou Xuan understand why she was called "Lady Hong Guan."

"My master claimed my fate was bitter. That only those with bitter lives can truly achieve enlightenment and transform into the most potent Bitter Ghosts. Bitter Ghosts never choose their destinies; they are forced upon them by fathers and mothers."

Lady Hong Guan grew increasingly agitated. Her frenzied roars caused the leather seats inside the car to age and warp rapidly. A finely crafted Mei Ken Sedan now resembled a garbage bin ravaged by years of decay.

"Painter, is Guan Niang alright? Shouldn't you step in?"

Zhou Xuan worried that Guan Niang might lose her sanity entirely.

The Painter, who often mingled with Bitter Ghosts, shook his head and said, "No worries, Young Master. This is the precursor to a Bitter Ghost disciple's ascension. Bitter Ghost disciples—are all bitter fated souls.

Before breaking through, they cannot help but recall their pitiful past, using their tragic memories to comprehend the truth of 'all life is suffering.' Only then can they overcome their barriers and ascend to Incense Fire."