Chapter 2 Honesty and Integrity

On the old willow tree, the scholar ghost remained silent. Zhu Youcai was his name. He had hanged himself here, his tongue protruding a foot long, his face turning purple like pig liver, making it quite unappealing. 'Little Eleven is not being honest at all, using my name to say that this woman is ugly,' he thought. 'But to be fair, although this woman is not bad looking, her heart is wicked. I wonder if Little Ten can handle this?' He was in a soul state; these people could neither see him nor hear his voice. Although he had become a ghost after hanging himself, he could not leave this old tree and was unable to inform Chen Shi's grandfather. 'What the big sister mentioned about porcelain dolls should be a group of little ones that only appear in the evening, crawling out from the grass and mumbling,' Chen Shi recounted, 'They talk quickly and densely, making it hard to hear what they say. If a person gets close, they will burrow back into the grass, and no one can find them. Once the person leaves, they will come out again. By dawn, they will disappear. The ones the big sister is looking for are them, right?' He had indeed seen these porcelain dolls before and often mingled with these little guys, so he was quite familiar with them. The woman in purple and a group of men in flying fish suits nodded excitedly upon hearing this. 'Lord, this little thing… The little brother describes it so clearly, it shows that thing must be nearby!' The man named Fang He in a flying fish suit laughed, 'The rumors were indeed not wrong; there is a true king's tomb here! Those porcelain dolls are the spirit of the burial items in the tomb! If we can get these treasures…' The woman in purple was enraged, her apricot eyes bulging, glaring at him fiercely. Fang He felt a chill in his heart and quickly fell silent. The woman in purple glanced at Chen Shi and found him dim-witted, clearly a country child who did not know what a great tomb or a spirit was, so she sighed in relief. 'Little brother, can you take us to where those porcelain dolls disappeared?' the woman in purple asked gently. Chen Shi showed a difficult expression: 'My grandpa is still waiting for me at home to eat...' The woman in purple chuckled, 'Sister has some delicious food here, made from spirit beasts and exotic herbs, isn't it better than the meals at your home?' She clapped her hands, and soon someone presented some jerky. After eating a piece of jerky, which was indeed extraordinarily delicious, Chen Shi agreed. The group followed Chen Shi, and the woman in purple asked, 'Little brother, what is your name?' Chen Shi replied honestly, 'My name is Cheng Shi. The teacher who taught me to read said that Cheng means sincerity, and Shi means solid. Everyone in the village calls me Little Cheng Shi. I never lie!' The others couldn't help but laugh secretly: 'Where is there a surname Cheng? This rural teacher is indeed unlearned.' Fang He, with a serious expression, approached the woman in purple and whispered, 'My lord, this child seems a bit off...' The woman in purple's gaze had already fallen on Chen Shi's back, squinting her eyes and nodding slightly, 'I noticed it too.' She spoke with a hint of surprise, 'I didn't expect this little boy to actually be a cultivator.' Chen Shi, ahead, continued to eat jerky, and his aura fluctuated slightly, revealing true energy flow, which was quite impressive. A faint light appeared behind Chen Shi's head, hazy and indistinct; a shrine made of light flickered in and out of view! The jerky was made from various spirit beasts and exotic herbs, containing strong spiritual energy. After eating the jerky, the spiritual energy refined through him involuntarily revealed his cultivation level. 'Qi Refining Stage, Divine Fetus Realm!' the woman in purple whispered, 'He has already formed a shrine, it seems he has received the favor of a true deity, bringing down a divine fetus! In the provincial capital, he could already participate in the provincial examination! A ten-year-old scholar...' She couldn't help but be astonished. Cultivators' training is divided into five stages: Qi Refining, Spirit Transformation, Divine Refinement, Returning to Emptiness, and Merging with the Dao. Among them, Qi Refining is further divided into four realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Divine Shrine, and Divine Fetus. Reaching the Divine Fetus Realm is already remarkable, allowing one to participate in the provincial examination, become a scholar, and obtain fame. In today's world, studying and cultivation go hand in hand. Scholars can be cultivators, practicing cultivation, taking the imperial examination, and entering the court as officials. Chen Shi, at just over ten years old, has achieved the Divine Fetus; even looking across the world, it is rare! If he passes the examination, it would surely shock the world! The woman in purple and her companions came from a prominent family in the provincial capital, and they never expected to encounter such a genius in the countryside, so their shock was unimaginable. 'Not good!' The woman in purple saw that the shrine behind Chen Shi suddenly became unstable, as if it were smoke in the wind, likely to disperse at any moment. She hurriedly walked to Chen Shi's side and looked at the shrine behind his head. She saw that the shrine was empty, with no divine fetus! The woman in purple showed a puzzled expression. At that moment, the shrine behind Chen Shi dissipated, and the true energy collapsed, turning him back into an ordinary person. The other men in flying fish suits also saw this scene, all showing odd expressions. 'With his shrine mastery, he should have formed a divine fetus! Why is his shrine empty? How could his cultivation suddenly disappear?' the woman in purple murmured. Chen Shi's shrine was exceptionally stable; even some experts of Spirit Transformation were not as good as him, indicating he had long since entered the Divine Fetus Realm. Yet his shrine had no divine fetus, and it was on the verge of shattering, which was truly strange. Fang He had already realized, quietly laughing, 'My lord, coming from a prestigious family, you may not know the dangers of the world. The appearance of a cultivation genius in these rural areas may not necessarily be a good thing, but rather a root of disaster. If a child from a powerful family has poor talent and cannot form a divine fetus to become a scholar, they may hire experts from their family to find a talented genius without a background and take their divine fetus to implant it into their own child. This boy named Cheng Shi must have been discovered due to his exceptional talent, and his divine fetus harvested and implanted into the child of someone with power.' The woman in purple looked in surprise at Chen Shi's back and asked, 'Can one still live after being stripped of the divine fetus?' Fang He was also somewhat puzzled, saying, 'Logically, one can only take the divine fetus by prying open the skull; a cultivator whose divine fetus is taken will surely die. But why is this boy still alive after having his divine fetus taken?' Every year, many people die from having their divine fetus taken, which is quite common in the Ming Dynasty. Chen Shi surviving after losing his divine fetus is indeed a rare occurrence. Fang He stepped forward quickly, reaching behind Chen Shi's head to feel around, and indeed found a scar that had long since healed. This scar was three or four inches long, with a bump on the bone underneath. 'Cheng Shi, don't move,' Fang He said as he spoke, parting Chen Shi's hair, revealing a scar that was flesh-red, like a large red centipede the thickness of a thumb lying on the back of Chen Shi's head. Chen Shi was eating jerky and was unconcerned about it. The woman in purple also saw this scar, her heart jolting; this boy's skull had been opened! 'Such an injury could survive, it is indeed a miracle!' she exhaled a breath of turbid air. Without a divine fetus, any true energy is like a tree without roots, water without a source, dissipating at any moment. Chen Shi, having had his divine fetus taken, became a waste; thus, after consuming the spirit jerky, the medicinal power contained within transformed into true energy, allowing his shrine to reappear. But without a divine fetus, both the shrine and his cultivation were mere illusions. Fang He fell back a few steps, lowering his voice, 'My lord, last year, the son of County Magistrate Li from Water Buffalo County, Li Xiaoding, made a remarkable impression in the provincial examination, winning the top spot, but I heard this Young Master Li is unlearned and not very skilled, even rather foolish, and has not received the favor of a true deity. Some say that Young Master Li must have taken the divine fetus of a poor child...' The woman in purple coughed, meaningfully saying, 'Although County Magistrate Li's position is not high, the Li family is a great influential family. How Young Master Li became a scholar is none of our concern. This child is quite pitiful.' She looked at Chen Shi, quietly ordering, 'Later, give him a quick end; do not torment him.' She turned her head and looked towards Huangpo Village, her expression gentle, softly saying, 'And this village, eliminate it as well, bury the little fellow with them, to avoid leaks that would let people say our Zhao family is unscrupulous, discovering the true king's tomb without informing them, causing unnecessary trouble. After locating the true king's tomb, you come to arrange the silencing matters; it must be done cleanly.' Fang He bowed in agreement. Chen Shi's expression was normal, but his ears twitched. Although he had lost his divine fetus, his hearing was astonishing; their conversation, although slight, did not escape his ears. 'These people have ill intentions towards me and the village; it seems they are the instigators. As the teacher said, they aim to eradicate the roots, leaving no descendants,' Chen Shi thought, 'I definitely cannot defeat them. The teacher said, a child should not speak of strange strength and chaotic gods. My current strength is not enough to be considered strange strength; I cannot make ghosts and gods submit, so it is better to borrow a knife to kill. The teacher's words are indeed full of worldly philosophy!' His admiration for the teacher surged. Chen Shi quietly slowed his pace, signaling the others to follow. The woman in purple and the others followed him forward but saw ahead by the forest's edge, more than ten little figures about a foot tall were playing by the stream. These little figures had distinct features, complete limbs, green clothing, and white skin, resembling living humans. As they touched each other, they made sounds like porcelain clashing, indicating they were not human. The porcelain dolls were frolicking by the mountain stream, splashing water and catching fish, enjoying themselves. Their words were also quite strange, not human language, just chirping and chattering, yet the porcelain dolls understood each other perfectly, communicating and occasionally bursting into joyful laughter. The woman in purple and the others arrived behind Chen Shi, witnessing this scene, their excitement was indescribable, whispering, 'These must be the porcelain dolls that became spirits, buried with the true king; if we just follow them, we can find the location of the true king's tomb!' Chen Shi stepped forward, stepping on a dry branch, and one of the porcelain dolls sensed it, craned its neck and looked around, spotting Chen Shi and letting out a sharp cry, like a yellow oriole singing. The other porcelain dolls, seeing Chen Shi, all changed to faces of deep grievance, rolled up their sleeves, aggressively coming towards him, not knowing what grievance they bore. At this moment, the porcelain dolls finally noticed the strangers in purple, letting out exclamations of surprise, swiftly burrowing into the grass by the stream. From the grass came chattering and scolding sounds, presumably the porcelain dolls angrily cursing Chen Shi for not being able to deal with them and even calling for help. Fang He and the others hurriedly moved forward, parting the grass and quickly pursuing the traces, but they found the mountains lush, the trees tall, and the forest dark and desolate, with no discernible direction. Those porcelain dolls moved swiftly, weaving through the forest and grass, making it difficult for the pursuers, and soon they lost their tracks. Suddenly, the woman in purple's eyes lit up, whispering, 'Follow Cheng Shi!' The others then noticed that Chen Shi was actually moving swiftly through this forest, chasing those porcelain dolls with ease. It was hard for them to catch up to the porcelain dolls, but Chen Shi's target was larger and easier to track, so they all followed Chen Shi, gradually delving deeper into the forest. They saw the trees becoming denser, with only scattered patches of sunlight on the ground. They chased for an unknown distance when Chen Shi ahead suddenly disappeared without a trace. The group rushed forward, only to see the surrounding trees growing rapidly, becoming increasingly tall, like giant trees supporting the sky, lush and verdant, reaching for the heavens! Even the wild grass grew stout like trees, and the boulders resembled hills, while the stream transformed into a mighty river, grand and overwhelming! Just as they were astonished, someone exclaimed, 'It is not the grass and trees that have grown larger; it is we who have become smaller!' The woman in purple and the others were horrified, inspecting each other, only to find they had shrunk from adult size to less than a foot tall! The woman in purple looked at her skin, trembling slightly. After a moment, she gathered her courage, gently tapped her arm, producing a crisp sound like porcelain clashing. She nearly fainted. She had actually turned into a porcelain doll! She looked at the others following her, and to her shock, the imperial guards also turned into porcelain dolls one by one! 'Ghost and god domain! We have intruded into a ghost and god domain! Right! Cheng Shi!' The woman in purple grasped at a lifeline, 'Cheng Shi has been here; he must know what’s going on… wait a moment!' Her face turned pale, 'If Little Cheng Shi has been here and knows that entering this place will turn into a porcelain doll, why would he still bring us here? Is Cheng Shi… really as honest as he seems?'