The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 548
Chapter 548: The Punishment of the Gods
On the day of the full moon banquet, the village was bustling with celebration.
Lu Chao Chao swiftly wrote out two promissory notes, then dabbed her mother’s lip rouge onto her baby brother’s thumb and pressed it onto the paper to seal the deal.
“This is your full moon banquet, and I spent a lot of spirit stones to host this grand feast for three days and three nights.”
“Everything here is your favorite food, but since you don’t have teeth yet, your big sister will eat it for you.”
“But you must repay this debt, understand? This is for your dignity, to give you face.”
“I wouldn’t lend money to just anyone, but since you are my little brother, I am covering for you.”
Lu Chao Chao carefully pressed his tiny handprint onto the note before folding it and tucking it into her space.
Then, she spun on her short legs and ran outside.
“Mother, brother won’t stop crying. He must be craving sugar-coated hawthorn from Changning City…” the little girl called out crisply.
Shi Yun laughed so hard she could hardly stand straight. “Alright, buy it for your brother.”
Lu Chao Chao nodded seriously, “Brother is so greedy. He doesn’t even have all his teeth yet, and he already wants sweets.”
Thinking of the sweet sugar-coated hawthorn she would have tomorrow, she even dreamed of its taste in her sleep that night.
But as she slept, she entered a dream.
Her peaceful little face suddenly twisted, and she bolted upright from bed with a start.
Her face turned pale, eyes filled with fear.
Why would she have such a dream?
In the dream, there was a sea of blood. Everything she knew collapsed—her Without Folly Mountain, her disciples…
A sense of unease spread through Lu Chao Chao again.
Outside, the rain had started falling at some unknown time.
She sniffed lightly; the air was thick with the stench of blood. As the rain fell harder, the scent became more pungent.
She stepped onto a stool, pushed open the window, and reached out.
The clear raindrops were stained a deep red.
She jerked her hand back. It was real blood.
Lu Chao Chao hurriedly jumped down and opened the door, only to see Zhu Mo and Windchaser standing at the courtyard gate.
In the distance, lightning and thunder clashed, and streaks of heavenly fire rained down from the sky. The moment they touched the ground, flames roared to life, sending thick smoke spiraling into the air.
“Something has happened to the Hall of the Gods.”
In the Spirit Realm stood the Hall of the Gods, where many deities of the Celestial Realm were enshrined.
These statues contained slivers of divine will, watching over the Three Realms.
It was a true shrine imbued with divine intent.
By heavenly law, such a place was protected by the very forces of the world. Yet now, it was wrapped in heavenly punishment, consumed by divine fire.
A-Man, who had been standing by the door, suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed, her once-rosy face twisting in agony, turning deathly pale. “It hurts! My body… it hurts so much!”
It felt as if something was being ripped out of her.
She curled into a ball, her breathing labored and burning hot.
“A-Man, A-Man!” Feng Wu rushed forward to support her, but the moment she touched her, it was as if she had grabbed onto a blazing inferno. She sucked in a sharp breath of pain.
“Her body is burning up, as if she’s on fire.” Feng Wu, a member of the Phoenix Clan, had a body that was nearly impervious to flames, yet A-Man’s heat managed to scorch her?
Lu Chao Chao quickly stepped forward and managed to seal A-Man’s pain, but it was only a temporary solution.
She turned to her mother.
Under the night sky, Shi Yun leaned weakly against Rong Che, as if wanting to stop her daughter…
But after a long silence, she forced a smile and said, “Chao Chao, go quickly and return soon. Daddy Rong will buy you sugar-coated hawthorn tomorrow. Just come home early…”
Lu Chao Chao gazed deeply at her mother.
She suddenly wanted to embrace her mother.
But if she did, perhaps certain decisions would waver.
“Mother, if I do not return in three days, go back to Northern Zhao and wait for me. I miss home.”
With those words, Zhu Mo transformed into a dragon and soared into the sky. She stood upon his back, flying alongside Windchaser and the others, leaving without hesitation.
“Chao Chao, I will wait for you to come home. Come back soon,” Shi Yun called after her, but the black dragon was too fast and soon vanished into the night.
Rong Che held Shi Yun, pulling her back under the eaves.
“Honestly, when she came home this time, I knew something was wrong,” Shi Yun murmured softly.
“She sleeps poorly and often dreams.”
“She keeps calling out the names of her disciples.”
“She always smiles, but I know… she is not happy.”
When she was truly happy, her heart would sing, her joy spilling out so that everyone could feel it.
But now, there was no such voice at all.
She was smiling, yet something about her felt unbearably heavy.
Shi Yun did not know what had happened, but whatever it was, it must be significant. Significant enough that she could no longer avoid it.
“Chao Chao is not an ordinary child. Do not be afraid. We will go back to Northern Zhao early and wait for her.”
“She is out there doing something great. We must not hold her back or make her worry.”
“Let’s take good care of her little brother…”
“And his name… We said we would let her name him, but she hasn’t had the chance yet.”
Shi Yun wiped away her tears. “Yes, we will wait for her to name him. But for now, let’s call him Hu Lu. Chao Chao loves sugar-coated hawthorn, and she would like that.”
Rong Che glanced at their son. Well, fine. The child couldn’t protest yet.
By the time he could, the name would already be set in stone.
At that moment, Lu Chao Chao stood atop the black dragon’s head. The entire village knelt on the ground, sending her off with reverence.
The Hall of the Gods was ablaze with light. Cultivators, who were tasked with guarding the hall, desperately tried to put out the fire, but the more they tried, the higher the flames roared.
“Stop! It’s useless.”
“It’s useless…” A cultivator whose hair had been singed black slumped to the ground in despair.
“This is heavenly fire. It cannot be extinguished. It is divine punishment. It will only stop when everything is burned to ash.”
His face was filled with dread as he gazed at the sky.
“Why? Why would the heavens punish the gods?”
“Has something happened in the Celestial Realm?”
A major catastrophe must have occurred.
“Quickly, tally the damage. How many statues have been affected?” The old cultivator’s heart pounded with dread, his eyelid twitching furiously.
Lu Chao Chao stood silently in the Hall of the Gods, listening as reports echoed from all sides.
“The God of Life, High God Xian Ting, is being punished by heavenly fire.”
“The God of Darkness, Xuan Yu…”
“The God of Luck, Sheng He.”
“The God of Time and Space, Chong Yue.”
“The Judiciary High God, Zong Bai.”
“The War God… Xing Hui.” The reporting cultivator’s voice trembled, fear evident as he stammered.
“And the God of the Four Seasons, Gan Tang.”
The old cultivator staggered to his feet, his face bleak. “They… They are all disciples of that one person, aren’t they?”
“Yes, all seven divine statues are burning.”
Only the crackling flames and howling wind filled the hall now.
Everyone knew it—something monumental had happened in the Celestial Realm.
“Strictly speaking, divine statues contain traces of their divine wills. If the statues burn, the gods feel pain. The punishment isn’t meant for the statues… but the gods themselves.”
At that thought, the young cultivator shuddered violently.
Gods being punished?
Unless… the Celestial Realm no longer recognized them.
They were being stripped of their godhood.
Everyone knew it now.
The Three Realms were about to be overturned.
The Celestial Realm… was slaughtering its own gods.
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