In the southern border of the minor kingdom of Nan Li, in the western frontier, there was a mountain known as the Mountain of Immortals. All year long, twilit clouds of soft red lingered around the mountain, shrouding it with an unearthly air not unlike a celestial dwelling. The stones and rocks of the mountain were broken and scattered erratically, as if fallen from the skies.
As the name suggested, it was said that immortals lived within the mountain, but of course, not the faintest trace of an immortal has ever been spotted. Thus, this mountain of crimson clouds became a common after meal topic among the people, and with the exception of occasional "immortal seekers" inquiring after the mountain's namesake, it was no different from any other mountain.
Midnight.
Slowly, a young man climbed up the mountain peak, and stood gazing out among scattered rocks.
He was not an "immortal seeker", but a villager from the foot of the mountain.
Strangely, ever since he turned 16 this year, he has had a strange impulse, a gnawing notion, that something in the mountain was waiting for him. Unable to hold back, he often ascended the mountaintop in daze but never found anything of note.
The cluttered rocks atop the mountain were rough and unshapely, their surfaces etched with ancient patterns that were messy and disorganized. The youth reached out and touched them, and mysteriously, he felt an intimate connection to them. He had not felt something like this before.
"This might have something to do with mother and father, but Uncle Bo and the others will just say it's just my imagination, if I ever ask them about it." He raised his head and cast his gaze upwards to the stars and the moon, which sat in the middle of sky. Through the crimson clouds and foggy mist, he could see red gashes suspended in the moonlight, like gaping wounds.
Suddenly, a voice could be heard from behind the rubble, "How upsetting, that we have to come all this way to this useless mountain, who knows whether little miss peach back home's been plucked clean by some bastard by now."
Another voice replied, "Shut it, the Imperial Teacher said…"
Following the voices, two men appeared from behind the broken debris. Noticing the youth, they froze, swallowing their words mid-sentence. Then, they sneered, and two gleaming swords violently pierced the young man's body.
He was a simple-minded youth who'd lived all his life in a little village. The few outsiders he had seen before, the "immortal seekers", were polite and well-behaved, especially to the local residents. He never thought that these two strangers would simply kill him without a word. Even as cold metal pierced his flesh, he couldn't understand why.
The men let out a laugh and went on their way. The youth's body lay broken among the rubble, blood pouring profusely from his chest. His gaze was locked in the direction of their departure, and even as he was dying, he wanted to ask them "Why?".
However, they had underestimated the youth's vitality, and thought that he would surely perish. In fact, the young man himself had practiced martial arts ever since he was a child. If he hadn't been caught off guard, he would've put up much more of a fight. Gradually, he noticed something was happening to the rocks soaked with his blood.
Under the moonlight, they flashed an eerie blue luster, mixed with the crimson tint of blood, that was odd and unnatural. The light spread and the surrounding rocks began to shine blue as well. Within a brief span, almost all the stones on the mountaintop had turned blue, and the youth suddenly vanished.
The world twisted in his eyes, and there appeared a vast all-encompassing red sky that dominated his view, like an endless blood-stained world. Bones and skeletal remains covered the entire ground, and the air was filled with the rancid odor of rotten flesh.
Aside from the bones, fragments of stone tablets, all manner of half-destroyed weaponry and shards of broken swords were scattered all over the place. Faces seemed to form in the bloody mist, twisting, growling and wailing.
"Is this… Hell?" The youth was barely holding on to consciousness by now, "My hatred…"
The youth did not realize that in this unusual place, a kind of special energy seemed to seep into his skin and repair his wounds, his dying body began to recover. However, his soul was far too weak, and had almost completely dissipated, he was unable to live on.
In the depths of his dying soul, an unclear voice spoke, "This blood… no wonder you could enter this place…"
"Blood?"
"You're almost dead?" The voice sounded ecstatic, "Such a pathetic soul as well, wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
Before he could react, a sudden harsh chill permeated his entire being and pierced the depths of his soul. The youth could feel a terrible monstrous presence smirking deep within his soul. It pounced on him like a boundless darkness and devoured him.
"Possession…" These were the youth's final words.
He was unlucky through and through, first he was murdered, now he was being possessed… No matter, since he was dead anyways, his soul let out one final roar of fury, "Once you've taken my body, find the Imperial Teacher and ask him, WHY!"
At this time, another soul from another unknown place barged into this world.
Feeling the pull of a body that lacked a soul, it entered the youth's body.
The ghastly presence was caught by surprise mid-possession but upon realizing that the newcomer was another weak soul, it immediately continued on as before and swallowed this new soul as well.
"BOOM!" An unexpectedly massive influx of information from this newcomer crashed into it. Overwhelmed, it repelled the new soul with a stiff groan.
The intense flood of information and the subsequent rejection of souls seemed to cause an almost fatal wound to the ghostly presence, and it was weakened greatly. Unable to even maintain a substantial form, it was ejected from the body.
Leaving only the newcomer left in the youth's shell.
He opened his eyes dazedly.
"Is this Hell? So, this is what it looks like?"
Silence.
A while passed before the voice spoke once again, "What are these computers, phones, webnovels and AVs things, that occupy some much space in your soul?"
"How do you not know, if you've spent so much time in Hell?"
"..." The voice paused, then asked helplessly, "And who're you?"
"My name is Qin Yi."
"What a coincidence," It said with a hint of ridicule. "This boy you possessed, is also named Qin Yi."
At these words, the youth immediately become perked up, "Wait, no, this isn't Hell… who're you?"
"You can call me Liu Shu." The voice said slowly. "In some ways, this is both Hell and not, would you… like to leave?"
"How?"
"Pick me up and you can get out of here."
"Pick you up?"
"There's a spiked cudgel stabbed into the ground, that's me."
"..."
The moment Qin Yi pulled out the cudgel, space and time twisted, and the scarlet world disappeared. In the blink of an eye, he was back on the mountaintop, under the moon and stars, shrouded in twilit mist.
At the same time, in the village at the mountain's foot.
An old farmer stood up from beside fireplace.
He opened his door to look at the night sky.
The village mutt turned its head towards the mountain.
"Is the Gate open?"
"No, it's not."
"That's because I guard the Gate, while you just guard the Tomb."
"Truthfully, I don't want to guard the Tomb."
"Why not leave then?"
"If *It* leaves, then this won't be a Tomb anymore."
"That's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say."
...
Imperial Palace of Nan Li.
"Long live the Imperial Father."
"Qing Lin, Qing Jun, you have come at the right time. I have taken the Imperial Teacher's pill last night and felt several years younger. Do you think my hair's become darker?"
The young prince hesitated, then spoke quietly, "Imperial Father, there is no such as…"
Seeing his father's face turn sour, the prince did not continue, bringing up another topic instead. "Last night, there has been unusual movement in the troops of the Western Barrens."
The king waved his hand impatiently, "You deal with it."
"As you wish." Quietly, the prince departed.
Leaving the palace, he looked back for a while. Eventually, he turned his gaze to the magnificent Daoist temple in the west of the city, filled with countless pilgrims with their heads bowed piously. Seeing all of it, the smoke wreathed temple seemed almost like a celestial palace.
The prince's eyes gradually turned cold.
"Big brother also hates Dong Huazi?" A melodious voice entered his ear.
"Also?" The prince looked at his little sister. "Do you not admire these so-called immortals of yours?"
"I do admire them, but aren't immortals free and unfettered, going wherever they please? Why would one settle down here to become some kind of Imperial Teacher?"
The prince laughed despite himself, "Indeed."
"Oh, in fact, there are many places with legends about immortals. Let's go find a true immortal! If we do, I'll definitely become their disciple and learn how to cultivate…"
The prince watched the temple for a while, then smiled, "Very well, when I have the time, I will help you look for one."
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Note:
Liu Shu means Tassel.