PNB Chapter 782: Red Moon Catastrophe
Chapter 782: Red Moon Catastrophe
The wooden windows of the boathouse creaked in the sea breeze, and Wu Hen tapped the bronze compass on the table with his fingers.
The pointer should have been vibrating with the flow of the red moon's energy, but at this moment it seemed as if the pause button had been pressed, and it was abnormally quiet.
When he looked up, Lin Qiye was wiping his Tang sword with his eyes lowered, and the blade reflected his tense jawline - the person they were waiting for had arrived.
"Here it comes." Lin Qiye suddenly spoke.
Before he finished speaking, a corner of the curtain at the stern was lifted by the wind, and a figure in a dark green robe walked in against the light.
Merlin's white hair was tied up with a vine ring, and his left eye was covered with a faded leather patch.
There was a gloomy light flickering in his right eye, like the ashes of a thousand-year-old volcano.
Wu Hen didn't stand up, but flicked his fingertips lightly on the edge of the compass: "What's going on with the red moon in Takama-ga-hara?"
Merlin dragged a wooden stool over and sat down, sweeping the corner of his robe across the seashells scattered on the ground: "Seventy years ago, when the red moon first shone into Takamagahara, the gods did not realize that it was pollution.
They were busy using the Tianyanhu barrier to block the moonlight, thinking that they could just hold out for three new and full moons.
He took out a black jade tablet from his sleeve and slapped it on the table.
"This is a fragment of the Moon-Suppressing Stone used by the association back then. It can absorb the energy of the red moon and transform it into divine power."
Wu Hen picked up the jade token and felt fine cracks on it with his fingertips.
He remembered seeing similar records in ancient books - the Takama-ga-hara pantheon was good at using "transformation" instead of "confrontation", but the cracks on this jade token seemed like a mockery.
"What happened next?" Lin Qiye put his knife back into the sheath, making a clear sound.
"Later?" Merlin tapped the jade token with his knuckles.
"The Red Moon's energy is accumulating more and more, and the Moon-Suppressing Stone can no longer hold on.
A rock exploded on the roof of the shrine, and the debris fell into the sea of gods, floating there..." He suddenly laughed,
"The first corpse beast was brought out."
Wu Hen's pupils contracted slightly.
He thought of the corpse beast he had seen in Wuyin Mountain, and the black tide surging under its skin.
There is also a sweet smell mixed in with the stench - it turns out the source is here.
"The gods panicked and began searching the world for a way to fix the problem."
Merlin's eye patch slid down half an inch, revealing a hideous old scar at the end of his eye. "Until three years ago, they discovered that the Red Moon pollution had suddenly stopped penetrating into the Moonstone."
He dipped his hand in the tea and drew a curved line on the table. "The energy flow has changed, as if it's being pulled by something..."
Wu Hen's thumb rubbed the edge of the compass.
He had picked up half a piece of oracle bone in the turbulent water three days ago. The symbols engraved on it were 70% similar to the direction of the water marks.
"Whale fall." he said suddenly.
Merlin's right eyelid twitched.
"When you discovered that the energy was being drawn, the enemy had already completed the first step." Wu Hen's voice was like ice.
"Use some kind of carrier as an 'anchor' to shift the Red Moon pollution from dispersed absorption to centralized delivery. The carrier must be large enough, durable enough, and qualified to enter the core area of Takamagahara."
Lin Qiye placed his hand on the hilt of the knife: "Transform into a whale."
"Yes, the whale." Merlin's Adam's apple moved.
"These old guys have lived for tens of thousands of years, their skin is tough and their flesh is thick. Their divine realm cultivation can withstand the direct rays of the red moon."
"They have been fed with pollution for three months. What flows in their veins is not blood, but liquid disaster." He suddenly grabbed Wu Hen's wrist and pressed it against his chest.
“Listen—”
The sound of waves outside the boathouse suddenly became amplified.
Wu Hen heard it. It was a dull vibration, similar to a heartbeat but a thousand times heavier.
Coming from the depths of the seabed, one, two, like a countdown.
"Three days ago, the first whale 'landed' in the center of the Divine Sea."
Merlin released his hand, “When it exploded, the Divine Palace’s protective barrier shattered seventeen layers, and a tide of corpse beasts poured out from the cracks.
Those things are not ordinary monsters, but "gods" reshaped by pollution - "He paused,
"The one you killed in Mist Hidden Mountain was the worst defective one."
Wu Hen's back rested against the back of the chair.
He thought of the scar on Wang Mian's neck and the message on Amamiya Haruki's phone that "the houseboat is safe".
At this moment, I suddenly realized how ironic those two words were.
He looked out the window at the surging sea, and a vision flashed before his eyes: a half-moth whale skeleton was floating in the red waves.
Corpses of beasts with divine patterns crawled out from the cracks in their bones. They raised their heads, revealing the faces of priests from a certain temple.
"So now?" Lin Qiye's voice interrupted his illusion.
"Now?" Merlin stood up, the corner of his robe sweeping the teacup off the table.
"The protective realm of Takama-ga-hara will not last more than seven days."
After the last whale has fallen... "He walked towards the curtain at the stern, "It's time for you to go to the Divine Sea."
"Wait." Wu Hen called him.
"Is the time scar on Wangmian related to the red moon?"
Merlin paused.
He turned his head to the side, and a dark red light flashed in the eye beneath the eye patch: "Time is the most cruel. Even gods cannot evade the debts it wants to collect."
Suddenly, a sharp scream came from outside the boat.
Lin Qiye's sword was already unsheathed, and the cold light made Merlin's white hair appear green.
Wu Hen reached for the talisman paper at his waist, but his fingertips didn't touch the familiar yellow silk.
It was a warm shell - that was what Yurina forced upon him this morning, saying it would "bring good luck".
"Corpse." Merlin's voice came in with the sea breeze.
"Two hours earlier than expected."
Wu Hen grasped the shell in his palm.
He heard the sound of nails scraping against wood from the bottom of the boat, mixed with the sound of some sticky liquid dripping.
Lin Qiye pointed his knife at the curtain, and the tip of the knife trembled slightly - not because of fear, but because of anger.
"Protect Wang Mian well." Wu Hen said to Lin Qiye, his voice as light as a sigh.
Lin Qiye nodded. His Tang sword drew a silver arc under the candlelight, lifting the curtain.
The moonlight outside is very red.
The moment Lin Qiye's Tang sword lifted the curtain, a wind filled with the stench of rot and rust blew in.
The moonlight, red as if soaked in blood, illuminated seven staggering figures on the stern deck—they were wearing the white linen robes of priests.
His neck was bent back at a strange angle of ninety degrees, his eyeballs were filled with cloudy gray, and the corners of his mouth were pulled to his ears, revealing his jagged fangs.
"Go back." Wu Hen grabbed Wang Mian's wrist with his backhand.
Wang Mian was wearing a navy blue short coat today, and his wrist bones were so thin that they hurt his hands.
The dark red time scar on the back of his neck bulged slightly with the movement, like a curled up poisonous snake.
Wu Hen saw from the corner of his eye that Merlin had retreated to the side of the ship, his white hair fluttering in the wind as the blood moon blew.
But he did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stared at the corpses.
Lin Qiye's knife moved first.
When the first corpse's head was cut off,
Wu Hen heard a whimpering sound coming from its throat - it was not the roar of a wild beast, but more like a person struggling with his throat strangled.
He clenched the shell in his sleeve. Yurina's body temperature still remained in the shell's lines, but cold sweat broke out on his palms.
The movements of these corpse beasts are very regular, with three steps to the left and four steps to the right.
The angle of the elbow when attacking seems to be replicating some fighting habit engraved in the bones and blood.
"It's the Palace Guards." Merlin suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"I know the one on the far left. He served me tea in the castle tower last year."
Wu Hen's pupils suddenly shrank.
He thought of the corpse beast he killed in Wuyin Mountain. At that time, he thought it was just an ordinary monster.
Only now do we realize that those twisted joints and dislocated bones are the traces of forcibly transforming living people into weapons.
The Red Moon pollution is not simply corrosion, but reshaping - turning familiar faces into enemies in the most cruel way.
"After killing this group, there are still three waves." Merlin took out a piccolo and put it in his mouth.
"But I guess you'd rather hear the story of the God of Time."
Lin Qiye raised his knife again, but this time he didn't chop directly at the corpse, but slashed across the side of the ship.
Amidst the flying sawdust, he said in a deep voice, "Speak."
Merlin's piccolo vibrated sharply, and the corpse beasts suddenly paused.
He took advantage of this opportunity to jump onto the railing of the houseboat, tapping the swaying wooden planks with one foot. “Fifty years ago, I met him in a fishing village west of the Divine Sea.”
"He wore a blue shirt, held a broken folding fan, and said he was a traveler from Daxia."
The wind blew up a corner of his eye patch, revealing the old scar at the end of his eye.
"Later, the red moon began to leak into the fishing village. The wrinkles on the old people's faces deepened overnight, and the children's baby teeth became loose as soon as they broke through.
The wanderer stood under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, raised his hand and drew a Taoist talisman - "He opened his arms,
"The time of the entire fishing village has been nailed down like this."
Wu Hen's breathing stagnated.
Wang Mian's wrist moved slightly in his palm, as if he wanted to pull it away, but he didn't really use any force.
He remembered the "Odd Stories from Overseas" he had found in the reference room.
It was recorded that there was a hermit "Time Keeper" in Daxia who could reverse the course of time by using fate as a guide, but even official history regarded that as a legend.
"He lasted fifty-three years and seven months." Merlin's voice suddenly fell silent.
"On the last day, I saw him sitting under a bamboo rack where fish were drying. His hair had turned completely white and there was blood under his fingernails – he was wrestling with fate."
Piccolo twirled it in his fingers, "But what's coming is coming.
On the day when the time lock of the fishing village was broken, I counted that seventeen old men died on the spot, their life spans being drained away in advance.
Wu Hen's throat tightened.
He recalled the satellite image he had seen at the headquarters three days ago. The red moon's shadow was centered on Takama-ga-hara.
Spreading northwest like ink—Daxia’s coastline has already touched the edge of the shadow.
If a catastrophe really breaks out, how long can those hidden old monsters last?
Will those young demon slayers wielding swords on the training ground become the second Shrine Guards?
"The time scar on the king's face." He suddenly spoke.
“Is it related to the God of Time?”
Lin Qiye's knife cut off the spine of the last corpse.
When the corpse fell, Wu Hen saw a half-worn silver bell hanging around its waist - exactly the same as the one under Wang Mian's pillow.
Merlin didn't answer, but pointed at the back of Wang's neck and said, "Why do you think he insisted on sending you to Japan?" He jumped back to the boathouse, the corner of his robe stained with blood.
"Three days ago in Tokyo Bay, he used time travel to rescue you from the tsunami, and he got a scar on the back of his neck.
I touched the scar this morning, and it was three degrees colder than his body temperature—" He poked his heart with his fingertips.
“The debt that time demands must be paid with life.”
Wu Hen's hands tightened unconsciously.
Wang Mian groaned in pain, and only then did he realize that he had pinched too hard.
The skin on the back of the boy's neck was very thin, and the dark red scar was like a living thing, beating slightly with his heartbeat.
Wu Hen suddenly remembered the appearance of elderly Wang Mian at the airport: his back was hunched, and he had to use a cane to touch the ground when he walked, but his hand was as steady as a rock when he handed over the plane ticket.
It turns out that it's not aging, it's...
"Why did Takama-ga-hara become like this?" Lin Qiye sheathed his sword, and the sound of the sword interrupted Wu Hen's thoughts.
"The God of Time delayed for fifty years, giving the gods enough time to prepare their defenses."
Merlin pulled out a ceramic bottle from his bosom and took a sip of wine. "Fate has the ability to correct itself."
He wiped his mouth.
“It’s like if you want to stop a flood and build a dam downstream, the water will rush upstream;”
“If you add a sluice gate midstream, the water will be diverted and flood the village.”
"The God of Time locked the fishing village's time, so the Red Moon pollution changed its method—"
He pointed to the seabed and said, "Dive into the whale's body."
Wu Hen remembered what Merlin had said about the "anchor" and suddenly understood.
Destiny is not a straight line, but a tangled mess. If you break one thread, the other threads will become tighter.
The God of Time exchanged his life for fifty years, but the gods used these fifty years to fight among themselves.
Building the Tianyanhu barrier and creating the Moon-Suppressing Stone are all acts of refusing to face up to the nature of the Red Moon's pollution.
"What's even more ironic is..." Merlin took another sip of wine.
"There is a traitor among the gods."
His eye patch completely slipped off, revealing his left eye—it wasn't empty, but had a dark red tumor.
"Three months ago, the priest of Tsukuyomi sold the diagram of the center of the Jingu's protective formation to an outsider."
"They need a war between gods, they need the fall of gods, they need..." He suddenly stopped and looked at the horizon outside the ship.
Wu Hen followed his gaze.
Under the blood moon, the originally azure sea turned into a turbid purple. In the distance, a huge black shadow was rising.
The shadow was so big that its edges were coated with a red edge by the moonlight, like a moving mountain.
"That is..." Lin Qiye's hand pressed on the hilt of the knife again.
"The fallen gods in the war of gods." Merlin's voice was like a rag.
"The Red Moon pollution will fuel their obsession, transforming the corpses into even more ferocious beasts."
"I saw Izanami at the Jingu ruins last month,"
"Her intestines were dragging on the ground, and every step she took was picking up gravel, but she kept saying, 'I want to see my child.'"
Wu Hen's temples were throbbing.
He suddenly realized that his understanding of Takama-ga-hara was not even the tip of the iceberg.
Those gods who were described as "kind-hearted" in history books would actually become like this after death?
Those priests who were worshipped were mortals when they were alive, but became monsters after they died?
"How long can Wangmian's time scar last?" he asked, his voice colder than the sea breeze.
Merlin's piccolo suddenly fell to the ground.
He bent down to pick it up, his white hair falling down to cover his face. "He used time travel last time and overdrew ten years of his lifespan."
When he straightened up, the tumor under his eye patch oozed dark red blood. "Use it again..."
The huge shadow outside the boat suddenly made a muffled sound.
Wu Hen felt the wooden boards under his feet were shaking, and Wang Mian's wrist was shaking even more violently in his palm.
The boy looked up at him, his eyes abnormally bright, as if he wanted to carve something into his bones.
Lin Qiye's sword was unsheathed again.
This time it was not aimed at the corpse beast, but at the huge shadow on the horizon.
The knife light reflected the blood moon, stretching the shadows of the three people very long, like three needles stuck in the ground.
Wu Hen let go of Wang Mian's hand and took out the talisman paper from his waist.
The yellow silk rustled in the wind, and he looked at the huge figure in the distance.
Suddenly I remembered the sentence in the reference room: "Wherever the red moon passes, all living beings are calamity."
It turns out that the most terrifying thing is not the disaster itself, but that when the disaster comes, you can't even see who the enemy is.
The dark red time scar on the back of Wang Mian’s neck was oozing with fine beads of blood.