**Chapter 87: The Trap**
"Moon Ship... why is it here..."
This vessel must be the Moon Ship — one of the two mysterious ships from the Great Ruins geography, counterpart to the Sun Ship. The Moon Ship was surrounded by deathly silence, with no sign of anyone alive. It lay toppled among the mountains, a huge crescent moon hanging motionless in the sky above, over a hundred li from the nearest city. And the jade pendant on Qin Mu's chest was pointing toward it.
Qin Mu and the Village Chief had seen the Sun Ship during their journey through the Great Ruins, but the Moon Ship had always remained hidden — until now.
The Moon Ship was no smaller than the Sun Ship, though vastly different in form. While the Sun Ship resembled a volcanic mountain with legs, its peaks erupting with fire and flowing lava, the Moon Ship was entirely silvery-gray. It crouched among the mountains like a three-legged silver toad — or rather, a toad carrying a ship upon its back, its mountain-body rising and falling slowly, as if breathing. But its hull was far more dilapidated than the Sun Ship's, cracked and worn by time.
The Sun Ship roamed the Great Ruins and returned to the Sun Well. Why would the Moon Ship appear in the Realm of the Dead instead of returning to the Moon Well?
"Carefree Village — does that refer to Fengdu, or the Moon Ship?" Qin Mu murmured.
"The Carefree Village — what is carefree? After death one is naturally free from worry. Could the Carefree Village refer to Fengdu, the Realm of the Dead?"
The Village Chief suppressed his shock, his expression thoughtful. "But the Carefree Village could also refer to the Moon Ship. The Moon Ship parts the darkness, and those living upon it are safe and content, free from care... Didn't the Sun Guardian tell you the Carefree Village appears in the night, but its location is unknown? That suggests the Village moves. If that's the case, it should be within the Moon Ship's domain."
He paused, then continued. "The moon appears at night, so the Moon Ship moves at night. The Moon Ship carries the Carefree Village and appears after dark. The ship keeps moving, and so does the Carefree Village — it has no fixed location. Mu'er..."
He paused again, his eyes sharpening. "This is only my conjecture. If correct, you might be a Moon Herder."
"A Moon Herder?" Qin Mu was confused.
"If you were born in the Carefree Village, then you could be a descendant of the Moon Herders." The Village Chief smiled gently. "Didn't you tell me that on the dragon pillar in Xianglong City, you saw a woman reaching toward you, trying to touch palms with you? I believe that woman could be your relative — possibly even your..."
He didn't finish. Qin Mu understood — possibly even his mother!
At that time, the Moon Ship must have carried the Carefree Village near Xianglong City. The Sun Ship came during the day, and the Moon Ship appeared at night. The woman must have spotted Qin Mu and the jade pendant around his neck, and tried to reach him!
But this place was so desolate and ruined. Were Moon Herders still living here? And why was the Moon Ship in the Realm of the Dead?
Suddenly, a haunting melody drifted from the Moon Ship — mournful and tender, like a mother longing for her departed child.
"Once I left, the willows swayed with grace. Now I return, through snow and bitter cold. My road is long, with thirst and hunger gnawing. My heart is heavy, none can know my sorrow..."
The song from the colossal Moon Ship drifted ethereally through the gray fog, carrying loneliness and grief — a mother's yearning transformed into low, haunting notes that seemed to pierce the very soul. Qin Mu listened and felt tears welling, though in his skeletal form there was nothing to shed.
He looked toward the Moon Ship. Through the gray mist, a woman stood at its prow, graceful and poised, gazing toward them from afar. Her robes fluttered in an unfelt wind, and her posture spoke of years of patient waiting.
Their gazes seemed to meet across the distance, filled with endless longing.
Qin Mu wanted to close his eyes but couldn't. After a long silence, he said: "Village Chief, let's go back."
The Village Chief was startled. "Won't you go up and meet her?"
Qin Mu shook his head, his voice flat and empty. "She is not my relative. And this is not the Carefree Village."
The Village Chief's heart lurched. "The Blind One gave you the Nine-Layer Divine Eye. What did you see?"
Though powerful, the Village Chief could not match the Blind One's visual arts. The Blind One had given Qin Mu the Nine-Layer Divine Eye — Qin Mu could see things the Village Chief could not.
"What I see is not a woman. It's a demon god."
Qin Mu's gaze rested on the woman aboard the Moon Ship. What he saw was not a mother longing for her child, but a terrifying, hideous demon god wreathed in black mist, covered in dark radiance, with disc-shaped bone spurs growing from its back!
The demon god was singing softly, luring him closer with false tenderness.
This was no family reunion — it was a trap. From the moment the jade pendant had lit up at the dragon pillar in Xianglong City, it had all been a deception, designed to lure Qin Mu here!
"Good lord — even an old hand like me nearly fell for it!"
The Village Chief drew a deep breath, his divine light blazing, and shot backward with Qin Mu. But the woman on the Moon Ship suddenly let her hair fly wild, rising from the prow and hurtling toward them with terrifying speed!
In mid-air, she spun like a top, growing larger, her features more grotesque, until she broke free of her skin to reveal her true form: a demon god with eight long limbs, two heads, and five tails!
Her limbs resembled human arms with palm-like feet, and she hurtled through the air with terrifying speed, her multiple limbs churning like a nightmare engine.
"Padme!" she cried.
Before the Village Chief, lotus blossoms burst open, filling sky and earth. Phantom demon-Buddhas sat within each flower, raising their palms to strike at the Village Chief!
These phantom demon-Buddhas seemed to solidify, each striking with different techniques from all directions — fist techniques, palm strikes, claw attacks, and other esoteric killing arts.
Buddha should be divine, yet this demon had refined demonic powers into demon-Buddhas — the ultimate heresy against the natural order.
The Village Chief's expression remained composed. Sword-light flashed between his fingers, flickering through the lotus flowers. The blade was so fast that even Qin Mu's enhanced eyes could only see brilliant streaks of light wrapping around every flower and phantom.
The next instant, the lotuses shattered, the demon-Buddhas were beheaded, and then they exploded into surging demonic qi that blasted in all directions!
"Sviptra!" the demon god shrieked.
The demon god pounced. Behind the Village Chief, a massive vortex appeared, spinning rapidly — like the gaping maw of some fanged beast, countless sharp blades whirling within. Through the vortex stretched a long rainbow bridge, flowing inward like a river of light.
The Village Chief and Qin Mu were pulled toward the vortex. The bridge dragged them inward while blades slashed from every direction, seeking to carve them to pieces.
The vortex's end looked like a paradise — birds singing, flowers blooming, serene and peaceful. But clearly, that was the demon god's killing zone — a beautiful illusion masking certain death!
"Mu'er, stand on my hair!"
The Village Chief roared. His hair exploded outward, each strand becoming a massive pillar, shooting through the rainbow bridge and out of the vortex. Qin Mu landed on one strand, feeling it swell beneath him, growing thicker and longer as it pierced through the vortex like a living spear.
The other strands writhed like wild serpents, shattering every blade that slashed inward. Countless fragments rained down, ground to dust by the vortex's rushing current!
Qin Mu looked up to see the demon god's enormous, hideous face at the vortex entrance, eyes gleaming with cunning, mouth agape, waiting for the Village Chief to deliver him like a morsel.
Then the Village Chief's other hair strands shot into the demon god's mouth, seized it, and yanked the creature bodily into the vortex!
"Mu'er, go to the dock! Board the boat and leave! Now!"
The hair strand flicked, launching Qin Mu out of the vortex. Then the vortex slammed shut with a thunderous boom, and the Village Chief and the hideous demon god vanished within its swirling depths.
Qin Mu plummeted from the sky — too high to survive a fall!
He opened his mouth and blew. A fierce wind erupted before him. His feet danced, stepping on wind-points to slow his descent — techniques the Cripple had taught him, now applied with desperate precision.
Several gusts later, he landed. This was still the Carefree Village — gray fog everywhere, but the darkness had not invaded. For him, this was safe.
Suddenly, a massive vortex opened in the sky above him. Four thick, enormous arms reached out, clawing at the sky. The demon god's head emerged, trying to drag itself out of the closing dimensional rift.
But something seized its legs, and it was yanked back into the vortex with a whoosh!
"The Tianmo!" the demon god screamed.
A furious roar came from the vortex. As the demon god was pulled back, Qin Mu saw black dots spray from the vortex like meteors — hundreds of them, thousands, raining down upon the land.
"Run, Mu'er!"
The Village Chief's voice echoed from within the vortex. "Go first, I'll catch up! Hurry — if you awaken the demon gods in those cities, you won't be able to—"
The vortex vanished, cutting off his voice mid-sentence.
The black dots fell like meteors, shaking the earth. Gray fog surged, growing thicker. The dots landed and were swallowed by the mist, their contents invisible.
The fog quickly spread to where Qin Mu stood, engulfing him. Heavy footsteps sounded within — thud, thud — like stones crushing his heart. Something was moving in the mist. Something terrible.
Qin Mu tightened his grip on the Shao Bao Sword and prepared to fight. The Moon Ship loomed behind him, its silver hull now silent and still. The beautiful woman — the demon god — was gone, dragged into the vortex with the Village Chief.
But he was not alone. The Tianmo were coming.
He could hear them now — footsteps, whispers, the scrape of claws on stone. They were all around him, closing in from every direction.
Qin Mu steadied his breathing and focused his Nine-Layer Divine Eye. Through the gray fog, he could see shapes moving — twisted forms, grotesque and inhuman. The Tianmo were real, and they were many.
He raised the Shao Bao Sword and prepared to meet them. The Village Chief's words echoed in his mind: *Go first, I'll catch up.* He had to believe the Village Chief would survive. He had to believe he would see his mentor again.
But first, he had to survive the night.
The fog pressed in around him, thick and suffocating. The footsteps grew louder, closer. Qin Mu could feel the Tianmo's presence — a malevolent aura that chilled the blood and soured the qi.
He took a step back, then another. His foot touched something solid — a stone pillar, remnants of some ancient structure. He pressed his back against it, using the pillar to guard his rear.
The Tianmo were close now. He could see them through the fog — dark shapes, moving with predatory grace. Some crawled on all fours, others walked upright, and some defied description entirely.
Qin Mu tightened his grip on the sword. The Mute's Great Furnace hummed in his chest, lending him strength. The Deaf's flood-dragon blood painting warmed his skin, warding against poison.
He was ready.
The first Tianmo lunged from the fog. Qin Mu met it with the Shao Bao Sword, the blade singing as it cut through the air. The creature screamed, and dark blood sprayed across the mist.
More followed. Qin Mu fought with desperate fury, his sword flashing in the gray light. Each strike was precise, each movement calculated. The Tianmo were powerful, but they were not invincible.
He could do this. He had to do this.
The battle raged through the night, the gray fog swallowing all sound save for the clash of steel and the screams of the dying. Qin Mu fought on, alone against the darkness, the Moon Ship watching silently from above like a silver sentinel.
And somewhere, trapped in a vortex between worlds, the Village Chief fought his own battle — against a demon god and the darkness beyond.