The Soul-Calling Festival originated a thousand years ago, when the Snow Dragon Emperor was still a young prince.
In those days, the humans of the Great Snow Valley and the Snow Dragon Clan lived in peace. The humans within the valley never ventured out, and the Snow Dragon Clan had no interest in mortals; both sides minded their own business.
However, the young Snow Dragon Emperor was not satisfied with a life of domestic tranquility. A born ruler, he was more interested in expanding his territory. Thus, he traveled to the Great North’s Great Snow Valley—a region the Snow Dragon Kingdom had never explored—to conduct a survey.
At that time, there were still members of the Snow Dragon Clan living along the borders. When the Emperor arrived at these remote villages, he was greeted with warm hospitality.
Yet, only a few days after he settled into a border village, strange things began to happen.
It started with a rabbit that ran too fast and struck its head against a tree stump, dying instantly. The Snow Dragon Emperor happened to be tethering his horse by that very stump and found it quite amusing that such a foolish rabbit existed.
However, on the second and third days, the Emperor saw three rabbits die in the exact same manner at the same spot. He began to feel that something was amiss.
By the time he came to his senses, he suddenly realized that he had no idea how many times he had tethered his horse in that same spot. He also realized that it wasn't several rabbits dying—it was the same rabbit, over and over again.
In other words, time within the village was looping incessantly.
Realizing this, the Snow Dragon Emperor hurriedly tried to withdraw, but he was already exhausted. By the time he finally escaped that bizarre village, his inner core had mostly shattered. It was only later, after his father spent a lifetime’s worth of cultivation, that his inner core was restored.
From then on, using the month of wailing from the Great Snow Valley as a signal, the Snow Dragon Emperor issued an order that no one was to approach the valley. Over time, this evolved into an ominous festival.
What was truly terrifying was that this temporal loop, starting from the Great Snow Valley, was continuously expanding outward. Over the past thousand years, it had spread for a thousand miles.
Now, the wind and snow arrived on schedule, just as they had a millennium ago. The Snow Dragon Emperor gazed down at his lands. Sometimes he wondered: was the Snow Dragon Kingdom before his eyes the real one? Or was it merely a fleeting moment within an infinite loop of time? Had he truly escaped the curse of the Great Snow Valley?
Perhaps "that lord" would give him an answer. The Snow Dragon Emperor took a sharp bite of a cucumber, his gaze troubled as he looked toward the Thousand-Year Snow Capital.
***
Leng Jing and his companions finally returned to the intricate world of the sewers. After all that running, Leng Qingqing had actually forgotten the way they came. To them, the sewers had become a veritable labyrinth.
Leng Qingqing remembered the little snake he had met in the hotel restroom telling him that the sewers connected to the sea. Thus, he believed that as long as they followed the underground river, they would eventually reach an exit.
It was a long journey. Leng Jing and Leng Qingqing had no idea how long they had been walking; all they saw were infinitely extending tunnels and rivers of waste.
When Leng Qingqing grew tired, Leng Jing carried him on his back. They continued until Leng Qingqing’s stomach began to growl.
"I want to eat noodles... Xiao Jing... I want to go out..." Leng Qingqing murmured weakly, slumped over Leng Jing’s shoulder.
"Young Master, people say snake meat is delicious..." The white mink swallowed hard. "And mink meat is sour; it tastes the worst."
Just then, a splash rose from the wastewater river. The three of them turned their heads instantly to see a mermaid, bare-chested, flick her tail before diving back into the water and vanishing.
"Can you eat a sewer mermaid?" The white mink looked at Leng Jing with starry, jelly-like eyes. It was also starving.
"Of course not," Leng Jing said.
"I'm dying of hunger..." The mink sprawled on the ground, listlessly hugging Leng Jing’s ankle.
In the deathly silence of the sewers, the sound of oars cutting through the water suddenly echoed.
Appearing from the direction they had come was a small boat drifting down the underground river. Three people sat upon it: one was a beautiful man with a head of white hair; another was a man of peerless beauty dressed in white; and the third was a man of wicked charm wearing opulent robes. What Leng Qingqing and Leng Jing found comforting was that they all wore the wide-sleeved robes of the outside world, clearly not locals of this industrial city.
"Pardon the intrusion, friends. Is this the way to the exit?" The boat stopped beside them, and the man in opulent robes cupped his hands in greeting toward Leng Jing.
"We are also from the outside, searching for the way out," Leng Jing replied.
"May I ask your honorable name?" the charming man continued.
"I am Leng Jing." Leng Jing returned the gesture.
"What a coincidence, my Feng-er is also surnamed Leng," the man laughed. "Ah, I am Xuan Yuan Yue. These two are my father-in-law, Leng Wuchen, and my spouse, Leng Yueshi."
Leng Jing pointed to Leng Qingqing on his back and introduced him: "This is my father, Leng Qingqing."
"Since we all share the surname Leng, let us travel together. There are two spots left on the boat," Leng Yueshi suggested. Thus, the trio of "steamed buns" and the trio of "country bumpkin" demons sat together on one boat. Though they had never met before, they felt an inexplicable sense of kinship, as if they were born relatives. Perhaps it was because they were all named Leng!
The two Leng families sat together and began explaining why they had come to this isolated industrial city.
It turned out that Xuan Yuan Yue was a Prince of the Xuan Yuan Dynasty, Leng Yueshi was his lover and a top-tier martial arts expert, and Leng Wuchen was Leng Yueshi’s father and a mysterious elder of the martial world. The three of them had recently been embroiled in matters concerning the Wanxiang Pavilion and had arrived in this strange metropolis by a twist of fate, subsequently drifting down the sewers.
"We have been drifting in these sewers for three days," Leng Yueshi said, taking out some sweet and sour spare ribs to eat. Despite being in the dark underground river, Leng Qingqing couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
"You look very hungry, don't you? We have plenty of dry rations." Leng Yueshi generously brought out the food box from behind him.
Leng Qingqing swallowed again.
Leng Jing thanked him and took the food box, first giving a large bun to Leng Qingqing. Leng Qingqing and the white mink held their buns, their eyes brimming with tears of emotion. Leng Qingqing took a large bite—it was a sweet and sour bun!
It turned out Leng Yueshi was addicted to sweet and sour flavors, so most of the rations in the box were prepared that way.
Even a sweet and sour bun was a blessing! The starving Leng Qingqing and the mink began to devour the food.
***
As Leng Qingqing ate happily, Xuan Yuan Yue couldn't help but give a wicked smile. "This Prince also likes the 'cute and idiotic' type. Feng-er, you wouldn't mind if I took a concubine, would you?"
The "high-level" members on the boat—Leng Yueshi, Leng Jing, and Leng Wuchen—ignored them entirely and began discussing serious matters.
Leng Wuchen spoke first. "Young Master Leng Jing, it seems you are no ordinary person either. I believe we have all been caught in the schemes of the Wanxiang Pavilion, which is why we have gathered here. I wonder, how much do you know about the Wanxiang Pavilion?"
Leng Jing replied, "From what I know, the Wanxiang Pavilion was founded a thousand years ago during the so-called Industrial Age by a youth named Qingyue. This youth obtained a peculiar energy called 'Chaos,' which allowed him to manipulate divine power and perform many astonishing feats, eventually creating the strange organization known as Wanxiang."
Leng Wuchen nodded. "What you say is essentially correct, but the information I’ve gathered through certain channels is a bit more detailed. It is said that the youth named Qingyue was adopted by a medical clinic as a child. However, their purpose was not pure; he was used for experiments. That clinic was wealthy enough to rival nations and was a hidden power. The head of the clinic was commissioned by the imperial court of that time to research the secret of immortality. For nearly a hundred years, the head’s family poured the efforts of several generations into this research.
"Gradually, due to their obsession, their research transcended the boundaries of medicine and reached a state of blurred madness. In the end, they even deployed the most powerful weapon of that era. The weapon’s power was too immense, causing half the world’s land to be destroyed and a billion lives to be lost, triggering a global catastrophe. But at the same time, that massive energy shattered the taboo seals of outer space, drawing in an endless flow of 'Chaos Power.'
"However, the fragile bodies of mortals could not withstand such divine power. The clinic head then meticulously selected a child from among tens of thousands—one who was naturally capable of enduring a minute amount of divine power. That was the boy you know as Qingyue.
"They performed all sorts of experiments on Qingyue to channel the divine power. These experiments were incredibly cruel. Qingyue escaped several times, but he was always brought back. In his sixteenth year, due to an accident, the clinic head—who had gone completely mad—pushed Qingyue into the vessel used to channel the Chaos Power. Thus, the monster known as Wanxiang was born."
"Father, what harm does such a monster pose?" Leng Yueshi asked.
Leng Wuchen sighed. "The monster Wanxiang, as its name 'Myriad Phenomena' suggests, is ever-changing and all-encompassing. It can cross a thousand miles in an instant, decide life and death, and move mountains or part seas at will, much like a creator god. It can even..."
"Can do what?"
"Manipulate time at will. That is why this Snow Capital has remained unchanged for a thousand, even ten thousand years; it is all the work of the Wanxiang monster’s power. I fear we are already within the belly of the Wanxiang monster," Leng Wuchen said, shaking his head.
Leng Jing asked, "Chaos Power has been leaking from outer space into the Three Realms for a long time, and its poison is severe. Is there no way to eradicate it?"
"You are mistaken there. Our world was originally born from Chaos!" Leng Wuchen said helplessly.
"How so?" Leng Jing was puzzled.
Leng Wuchen explained, "Eons ago, our world was merely a tiny floating island drifting in the vast Sea of Chaos. On this island lived some primitive, unevolved beasts. As time passed, the floating island began to crumble, on the verge of turning into void like the billions of other dust motes in the Sea of Chaos. Later, a Giant Spirit God from the Sea of Chaos happened to rest upon the island. On a whim, he granted the request of one of those primitive beasts to protect their home. Thereafter, this free-spirited Giant Spirit God even took an interest in gathering nearby floating islands, eventually assembling the prototype of the Three Realms.
"The Giant Spirit God even channeled his own spiritual power to provide for the creatures on the island, encouraging all things to multiply. He wove a dense barrier and created the sun, moon, and stars to prevent the Sea of Chaos from washing the island away. It is thanks to the various efforts of this being—who is effectively our Creator God—that the current world exists."
Leng Jing questioned, "If that is the case, why does the Giant Spirit God remain indifferent now that the barrier is repeatedly loosening?"
Leng Wuchen replied, "That... that would have to be asked of the Giant Spirit God himself. In truth, Giant Spirit Gods are the most omnipotent existences known in the Sea of Chaos, and creatures like us are equivalent to dust to them. Can you imagine being responsible for a sand house you built on a beach on a whim? Even if our world lasts for thousands or millions of years, to a nearly eternal Giant Spirit God, it is merely a sand house built during play..."
Leng Yueshi added, "Perhaps the Giant Spirit God who created the world suddenly lost interest and stopped concerning himself with it."
"No." Leng Wuchen hesitated.
"What is it?" Leng Jing and the others looked at him.
"The Giant Spirit God did not leave. He just found a place to fall asleep." Leng Wuchen’s expression grew increasingly strange. "Don't ask me how I got this information, but supposedly, when the creation was halfway through, a friend of the Giant Spirit God invited him to be a guest. The Giant Spirit God took this very seriously and decided to take a nap first, intending to dress up properly afterward before heading to the appointment. Therefore, he took a nap in the 'sand house' he had temporarily created."
Everyone: "= ="
"When exactly is that appointment, and when will he wake up?"
"Probably some day five hundred million years from now. In short, the Giant Spirit God fell asleep in this 'sand house' that isn't actually very sturdy. He figured that the sand house would eventually be washed away by the Sea of Chaos anyway, and it wouldn't be too late to wake up and find a new place then. To enjoy a moment of peace, he even sealed his own power to avoid destroying the 'sand house' himself," Leng Wuchen said.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent. They all looked at Leng Jing.
Only Leng Jing spoke: "These matters are too far-fetched. The urgent task is to find an exit as quickly as possible and stop Qingyue from continuing his rampage. After that, we can slowly find a way to repair the barrier."
Leng Wuchen continued, "I might as well tell you the method of repair. To mend the thinning barrier, one needs the dust from the Sea of Chaos fused with the power of a Giant Spirit God. When the Wanxiang monster is eliminated, a brief void will appear. By flying out through that void and collecting enough stars, one can begin to repair the barrier. However, once you go to the Sea of Chaos, even time is a chaotic turbulence. There’s no telling what time it will be when you return. Ten thousand years? A hundred million years? What will have happened to the world? Your friends and family will likely have long since passed away."
Leng Qingqing suddenly bit through a sweet and sour rib, crushing it.
He looked at Leng Jing.
Leng Wuchen’s words sounded heartless to him: "If it is not repaired, the world will gradually mutate. Monsters like Wanxiang will continue to emerge. How many years do we have? Ten? Twenty? When the barrier is finally washed away by the Sea of Chaos, in a single instant, all fragile living things will vanish. We are currently merely enjoying a brief moment of peace."
Leng Jing fell silent. He stood silently at the bow of the boat, beginning to contemplate the meaning of his existence.
"Xiao Jing..." Leng Qingqing’s tears began to flicker and fall. "Are we going to be separated?"
"No." Leng Jing sat down. Everyone stopped talking.
Even the most joyful banquet must end one day, and the closest lovers must eventually part. All things have their time, but no one expected this day to come so suddenly. Even if he were to seal Leng Qingqing in ice again to endure hundreds of millions of years, who could guarantee how the world would change? That was no longer a problem that a mere five thousand years could solve.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
呼魂节 | Soul-Calling Festival | An annual month-long period of mourning in the Snow Dragon Kingdom.
内丹 | Inner Core | Also known as Neidan; the source of a cultivator's or demon's power.
轩辕玥 | Xuan Yuan Yue | A Prince of the Xuan Yuan Dynasty; a character from the author's other works.
冷月蚀 | Leng Yueshi | Xuan Yuan Yue's lover; a powerful martial artist.
冷无尘 | Leng Wuchen | Leng Yueshi's father; a mysterious elder.
万象楼 | Wanxiang Pavilion | The organization/structure central to the current arc; "Myriad Phenomena."
混沌 | Chaos | A primordial, destructive energy from beyond the world's barrier.
巨灵神 | Giant Spirit God | A class of creator deities; "Colossus God."
沙屋 | Sand house | A metaphor for the fragile world created by the Giant Spirit God.
