The ethereal voice rang out again.
This time, Song Siping heard it loud and clear; it indeed came from within the decrepit earth temple in front of him.
"Are you speaking? Who are you?"
"I am a mountain god; I have obtained cultivation and received incense, here to transform those who are fated."
Before his words even faded, seven inches above the earth temple, a figure suddenly materialized.
It was a child, with limbs as delicate as snapped lotus roots, adorned with dragon and phoenix gold bracelets, donning a red flame-patterned bellyband, with a topknot soaring to the sky, sitting immovably cross-legged within the elusive incense as if hidden and yet also visible.
"A mountain god?"
"You do not believe?"
Song Siping hesitated, then somewhat skeptically said, "Aren't immortals supposed to grant any request?"
"Can you fulfill a wish for me?"
"Please speak freely."
Above the earth temple, amidst the winding incense, the child with a dignified aura did not refuse.
