Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 557: Fireflies in the Night (part 1)

Duanmu Zang hovered in the darkness of the cave temple and looked at Xu Qing, his words still echoing back and forth.

Xu Qing stood, clasped hands and bowed. “Thank you.”

Earlier, Duanmu Zang had thanked Xu Qing for making the outside world seem beautiful, and in turn, giving hope to the people here. Now, Xu Qing thanked Duanmu Zang for trusting him.

Duanmu Zang waved his hand, and a vortex appeared in front of him. He stepped inside.

Xu Qing followed. Since he had come here nearly a month ago, he had never gone below the first level of the tomb. After stepping through the vortex, he found himself in a world of mortals. He was still underground. But the open area was massive, enough that it created an entire subterranean city. It was a bustling place. Chatting and laughter drifted through the air to Xu Qing’s ears. Ling’er stuck her head out and looked at the city.

All residents of the city were human, and the population was well over 100,000. This was the first human city Xu Qing had seen in Moonrite Region, and also the most humans he had seen gathered in one place. Though he had been prepared to see something like this, it was still an astonishing sight. What was even more surprising was that the ceiling overhead was covered with a blue canopy.

That canopy was massive, and it almost looked like a blue sky. There were even beautiful white clouds. As for the ground, though there was a city, there were also trees, vegetation, and even fields of crops off in the distance. A glowing ball of light hung above everything. It was actually a bottle in which some heavenfire had been sealed using a special magic, making it like a sun. As that glowing light filled the cave, it was possible to hear children reading out loud in their classes.

In Xu Qing’s travels in the Moonrite region, all the humans he’d seen had looked numb and lowly. Like food waiting to be eaten. Because of that, Xu Qing knew that only a very courageous and broad-minded person could create a city like this, and offer safety and refuge to so many other humans. Not all powerful experts cared about taking care of mortals. To many such people, survival was more important than anything else.

“This is my home,” Duanmu Zang said softly.

Heart swelling with respect, Xu Qing once again bowed.

As time passed, his opinion of Duanmu Zang had been slowly changing. That was especially true right now. In fact, because of what he was seeing, his impression had completely changed.

When Duanmu Zang looked at the city, his gaze was gentle and kind. The light of the heavenfire ‘sun’ glittered in his eyes. He smiled. He looked like an elderly person gazing at all of his descendants.

“History hasn’t treated humans well in the Moonrite Region. Life is hard and full of bitterness. It was like that even when I was a child. Most of the people you see here once lived terrible lives in the territory of the Twofold Alliance.”

Right now, Duanmu Zang seemed like a completely different person than the one who had been fighting with the nonhumans outside. When he returned here, his devious, treacherous, and ruthless nature vanished. And the only thing left behind was warmth and kindness.

“There’s only so much I can do. I can’t save all of them. But I can help some. I can save a few. Over time, that number adds up to what you see here.”

Xu Qing felt deeply moved by Duanmu Zang’s words. What was more, it was obvious that it must have been hard to carve out a safe refuge for humans here. To many top experts, something like this would be a hindrance.

Emotions swirled in Xu Qing as he followed Duanmu Zang into the city. The buildings were simple, and the people wore plain clothing. Xu Qing saw no signs of luxury. There were no businesses on the street. Instead, everyone helped each other. He saw smiles everywhere. As he walked along, he realized that there were middle-aged people present, as well as youngsters and children. But there were no old people.

“The elderly prefer death,” Duanmu Zang explained simply. “They don’t want to waste food.”

There was grief in his eyes, but that grief disappeared when excited voices reached his ears.

“It’s the chancellor.”

“Greetings, Chancellor!”

“It’s Grandpa Chancellor! Hi, Grandpa!”

“Grandpa Chancellor, I’ve been looking at those clouds in the sky for so long now. How come they don’t move?”[1]

A crowd was building. The middle-aged people had respectful looks on their faces. The youths seemed excited. And the children treated Duanmu Zang like he was family as they raced over and started running playful circles around him.

Kneeling down, Duanmu Zang smiled and took a small boy into his arms. “The clouds in the sky can definitely move. But they’re sleeping right now! Once they wake up, then they’ll start moving.”

Laughter and chatting ensued. Some people looked at Xu Qing leerily, but most seemed friendly. Apparently, anyone that was with Duanmu Zang was a person they trusted. Like family.

Xu Qing followed as Duanmu Zang led the way through the city. He saw many scenes play out just like before. At one point, they passed a school.

Looking at the school, Duanmu Zang sighed and said, “History is about legacy. Civilization has to continue! We humans live bitter lives here in the Moonrite Region, but I really hope that more people can understand how glorious humankind was in the past. We must never forget that!”

Xu Qing looked at the school, and listened to the sound of the children reading out loud from their textbooks. They were studying about human history. There were many inaccurate parts that actually sounded wonderful. There were some places in the city that taught about cultivation, or plants and vegetation. By studying there, the mortals would have a chance to rise to a higher level of existence.

There were a lot of children around. At one point they stopped at an alchemy school, where Xu Qing heard the voice of a young girl.

“Teacher, I know about that seven-leaf clover you just mentioned! A while back I searched everywhere for it but couldn’t find any! I couldn’t find any of that soaring ox sapling either![2]

Hearing that, Duanmu Zang quietly said, “The cultivation methods taught here, and the information about plants and vegetation, are partly from me. But I’ve also compiled a lot of information that I either won in fights or traded for. Most are from ancient records, so they’re not exactly very meaningful. The majority of the plants and vegetation they learn about don’t even grow in Moonrite Region. But knowledge is knowledge. Who knows... maybe it’ll be useful in the future.”

Xu Qing nodded quietly. Strolling through the city, he saw a lot of low-level cultivators similar to Shi Pangui. They were members of the city militia who, during times when the Heavenfire Skycrossing wasn’t an issue, would go out and trade with other cities for living essentials.

Time slipped by slowly but surely.

Eventually, the heavenfire ‘sun’ in the sky dimmed, bringing night. At that point, glittering lights like stars appeared overhead. They were actually the refined remains of Mirrorlings. By this point, Xu Qing had been through the entire city.

Beneath the darkness of the night, Duanmu Zang stopped outside of an abandoned house. He looked at Xu Qing for a long moment.

“What do you think of my home?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

“You are the pinnacle of virtue, Senior!” Xu Qing said solemnly.

“I can’t claim that,” Duanmu Zang said, shaking his head. “What you see is me protecting them. But the reality is... that they’re here to keep me company. That’s why I call this place my home.” Duanmu Zang turned to leave, and Xu Qing made to follow. But then Duanmu Zang said, “Heavenfire Skycrossing will last two more months. You can stay here for now.”

Xu Qing stopped in place. He knew the significance of those words. Duanmu Zang was inviting him to stay in his own home.

Looking very solemn, Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed.

After Duanmu Zang left for his own residence in the city, Xu Qing turned and looked at the house. It was a simple structure, but to Xu Qing, it was full of the warmth and comfort that had been lacking during his travels in the Moonrite Region. And so, he moved in.

Ling’er chose to temporarily take human form. Smiling broadly, she started organizing things and working hard to prove to Xu Qing that she knew how to do housework. Seeing Ling’er scurrying around busily brought a smile to Xu Qing’s face. Gradually, he relaxed and settled into life in the city. It actually wasn’t very hard. The people here were friendly and approachable. Xu Qing’s mood became increasingly stable.

The ‘sky’ overhead alternated between black and blue, and as the Heavenfire Skycrossing continued outside, half a month passed.

During that time, Shi Pangui came to visit at least seven or eight times. He always brought delicious food with him. His wife clearly had culinary talent, and the food she made delighted Ling’er.

At first, Ling’er didn’t reveal her human form to anyone. But after she got used to Shi Pangui, she eventually stopped hiding when he came around.

When Shi Pangui saw her for the first time, his jaw nearly dropped. However, the next time he came to visit, he brought a young woman who looked to be around the same age as Ling’er, as well as a young girl.

“Senior,” Shi Pangui said respectfully, “allow me to introduce my wife and my younger sister.”

The woman and girl seemed very nervous as they offered curtsying bows to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing smiled warmly. He had previously asked Shi Pangui about how he ended up unconscious in the mine during Heavenfire Skycrossing. Shi Pangui had explained that he’d been out trying to get medicine for his wife. She was very weak, and got sick a lot. Two months ago, her illness had become more serious. Although Shi Pangui knew the Heavenfire Skycrossing was coming, he’d been too anxious, and had thus taken the risk to visit one of the allied species’ cities to buy medicine. It had been a dangerous risk, but he felt he had no choice.

“The chancellor is responsible for a hundred thousand people. It’s not as if every person can go asking him for help with every single thing.”

That was how Shi Pangui had explained it when Xu Qing asked. Everyone in the city felt gratitude and deep respect for Duanmu Zang, and thus didn’t want to burden him with too many things. They tended to care for their own situations.

Xu Qing had not encountered many places in his life where people behaved with such virtue. After a quick visual examination of Shi Pangui’s wife, Xu Qing took some medicinal pills out of his bag of holding.

“Your daoist partner is suffering from yin poisoning from living in this cave environment, plus an overabundance of yang pathogens from the heavenfire. They don’t mix together any more than water and fire. These medicinal pills should neutralize those things to an extent. They can’t completely extrude them, but they’ll help a lot.”

Shi Pangui gratefully accepted the medicinal pills. His wife was equally grateful, and the two of them even tried to get on their knees to kowtow. Xu Qing reached out to prevent them from doing so.

“There’s no need for you to kowtow. Think of the pills as a thank you for all the wonderful pastries.”

Shi Pangui and his wife seemed even more grateful. Meanwhile, the little girl was surreptitiously eyeing the medicinal pill bottle with great curiosity. Eventually, they had to leave to take the girl to class.

After they were gone, Ling’er started eating the pastries they’d brought. Looking at Xu Qing, she smiled, her eyes turning into crescent moons. She was really proud.

My Big Bro Xu Qing is such a good guy. Even if the person he’s dealing with has a low cultivation base, he won’t be all high and mighty. He’s so kind and gentle.

Xu Qing was surprised to see Ling’er staring at him. “What’s wrong, Ling’er?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing!” Flushing a bit, she hurried over and grabbed his forearm. “Why don’t we go for a walk, Big Bro Xu Qing?”

1. In the case of this dialogue, the use of ‘grandpa’ is not familial. They’re using it as a respectful form of address for an elderly person. ?

2. Seven-leaf clover is one of the key ingredients in the white bolus. It was mentioned a lot in the early chapters. The first time it came up was in chapter 5, and the last time it was mentioned was chapter 58. ?