Wandering Gods of Day and Night

On the carriage, the Red Coffin Lady asked the Painter: "Old Hua, after eight sticks of incense, the Time Realm will summon us. If we cannot resist their will, we will inevitably enter the Time Realm. Have you thought about how to resist their will?"

"Do I even need to resist?"

The Painter pointed to the provincial government office behind the carriage and said, "This great disaster—it has that dog-born Heavenly Official to thank. The Bone Elder Association is Mingjiang Prefecture's sinner. I will guard Mingjiang Prefecture and atone for the sins of the Bone Elder Association. What about you, Matchmaker?"

"I haven't decided yet, but I probably won't go to the Time Realm... The Human World is so wonderful; I can't bear to leave it."

For a moment, Zhou Xuan was moved by the Guan Niang's optimism—sold by her parents as a child to trade her life for her younger brother's, yet she seemed to bear no resentment toward the world. She still had an ancient, kind-hearted soul that saved so many Mingjiang Prefecture civilians.

This world… if only there were more people like Guan Niang, these revered figures with abundant incense offerings, how wonderful it would be...

...

City God Main Hall, within the stone house.

Zhou Xuan rebuked Time.

"Who is this so-called lady behind you?"

Time shook his toad-like face and sneered, "Don't even think about getting anything about the lady from me. Not even you, Zhou Xuan. I know you have the dreamscape of the storyteller, but we Evil Gods do not fear your dreamscape."

"Liu God is your accomplice, isn't he? He grasped part of the Dream Law as an Evil God, and he also perished under the Dream Law."

At that time, Zhou Xuan used the "Earth Child" tattoo, combining his characteristics as both a storyteller and a tattoo master, to fabricate a false "Dream Realm Heavenly God" and kill Liu God.

"Heh, you may use the Dream Law to kill me, but you cannot enter my dreams or pry anything about the lady from me."

Time crossed his legs smugly and sneered, "Oh, but I'll give you a tidbit about the lady—consider it a gift from me, the Time God, to all of you."

Those interrogating Time included not just Zhou Xuan but also the Painter, Music Master, and Lady Hong Guan. They couldn't fathom what trick Time had up his sleeve, but since it involved the "lady," they pricked up their ears to listen.

"Mingjiang Prefecture's salvation from disaster relied on a dense fog. Let me tell you, that fog was orchestrated by our lady."

While being monitored by Zhao Wuya at the Zhou Family's Jingyi Shop, Time looked through the window and saw that impenetrable, hazy fog.

He naturally knew it was their lady's handiwork.

"That fog was laid down by the lady behind you?" Zhou Xuan asked.

Time laughed arrogantly, "You belittle us Evil Gods, always thinking we kill more people. Heh, the number of people we kill is far fewer than your Mingjiang True Gods. We are practically saints."

This sarcastic speech angered the Painter and Music Master greatly, but they found themselves unable to refute it.

Mingjiang Prefecture seemed submerged in immense, ironic black humor—the True Gods sought to destroy Mingjiang, while the Evil Gods ended up saving it.

Although the floodwaters receding in Mingjiang Prefecture wasn't entirely due to the Evil Gods, they undeniably played a part.

"Haha, speechless, aren't you? You still think you're in a position of moral superiority to judge me? Are you even qualified?"

"We are indeed unworthy. In moral quality, you Evil Gods surpass the Heavenly Official, Ghost Hand, and Peng Hou…"

Zhou Xuan flattered Time graciously, but then his tone shifted sharply. Smiling, he said, "But in your excitement, you've inadvertently betrayed your lady."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Time hadn't yet realized what mistake he had made.

He had always borne the infamous title of Evil God... though, honestly, that reputation was well-earned.

Still, man fights for dignity, and gods for incense offerings. Time, as an Evil God, also desired to earn a good name—if only to scorn the True Gods.

Just now, he had seized the opportunity, reveling smugly in his sarcasm. Yet before his joy lasted long, Zhou Xuan's words stung like a sharp thorn.

"You just said your lady saved Mingjiang Prefecture. This, it seems, is not a lie."

Zhou Xuan knew that fog was extraordinarily powerful, even severing Peng Hou's Divine Power. It had to be the work of an exceptional master.

Now that Time claimed it was their lady's doing, the pieces fell into place.

If an Evil God could be under her command, this "lady" couldn't be an ordinary figure.

"So, that was arranged by your lady. And what about it?"

"Don't be hasty. Listen to my analysis and see if it holds water," Zhou Xuan began breaking it down: "You Evil Gods act with moral standards slightly higher than Peng Hou's but far lower than most people. Would you really be so selfless to save Mingjiang Prefecture?"

At those words, Time finally understood where he had misspoken.

"Your lady saving Mingjiang must have had a reason. Either she stood to gain something, but from saving Mingjiang Prefecture… what benefit could she possibly derive? The Painter, Music Master—none of them gained anything, yet they contributed significant disaster relief funds."

"If there's no benefit, then her decision to act must be driven by another reason."

Zhou Xuan rose, walked behind Time, and said, "Perhaps if Mingjiang Prefecture were to collapse, it would have a terrible impact on her—a loss so great that she had no choice but to save Mingjiang."

Time had never imagined that someone could deduce so much with just a few words, rendering him drenched in cold sweat.

His forehead was slick with perspiration, and he bowed his head, not daring to speak...