Above the Great Dao

Chen Shi repeated the story of searching for his mother's soul, saying: "I'm planning to rescue my mother, but the guards outside Yuan Chen Palace are too many, and there's a massive creature akin to the Black Pot guarding outside."

Du Yiran said: "Quickly eat the hibiscus chicken before it gets cold."

Chen Shi gulped down the food, finishing a bowl of hibiscus chicken soup quickly. Besides chicken meat, the soup had rice soaked in it with pepper, spicy and smooth, quite tasty, warming up his stomach thoroughly.

Du Yiran pushed a bowl of clear lamb soup with tofu in front of him, signaling him to eat it. Watching Chen Shi devour the food, he seemed quite satisfied.

"Four years ago, your grandfather went to the underworld to find you, alone, without telling anyone."

Du Yiran looked at the Black Pot devouring the food and said in a low voice, "He returned with a palm-sized little black dog."

The Black Pot, at another table, was drinking a pot of red and white duck soup. Startled by the words, its ears perked up.

"I came to find him and saw this dog from the underworld."

Du Yiran lowered his voice, intending to hide from the Black Pot yet kept his eyes fixed on it, whispering, "I wanted to ask about his discoveries in the underworld, but seeing the little black dog, I froze. This little thing came with the Ghost God Domain and even attempted to alter my perception, giving me quite a scare. I asked where it came from, and your grandfather said he picked it up. I didn't believe him, asked again, and he said it was given by someone."

Black Pot's ears gradually stood up, getting closer to the two.

Du Yiran stared at its ears, lowering his voice further: "I asked who gave it, and he said he made a deal with a very powerful ghost god, and the Ghost God gave it. He bargained with that ghost god."

Black Pot's back head almost reached their table.

Chen Shi coughed, and Black Pot quickly sat upright.

Chen Shi asked: "What deal did my grandfather make with that Ghost God?"

Du Yiran replied: "The deal was that as long as the dog is safe, your mother will be safe."

Chen Shi was stunned, turning to look at the Black Pot.

Du Yiran finished drinking the porridge and sighed: "I ate my fill."

Chen Shi stood up to pay the bill, but Du Yiran held his hand down, saying: "I'll do it."

Chen Shi laughed: "Du Grandpa clearly didn't eat much, it was just me and the Black Pot."

Du Yiran shook his head, saying: "You're my grandson, it's not right for you to pay when you're with me. I'm getting old, my stomach and intestines aren't good, can't eat recklessly. Just seeing you eat satisfies me."

He paid the bill and led Chen Shi back, continuing the previous topic, saying: "Back when I went to the underworld alone, I encountered many dangers, always escaping by the skin of my teeth. But walking in the night constantly finally led me into peril. I got into a great battle, where Yan Family's ghost god impersonated a Demon God, ambushing a ghost god. That ghost god had a strange crescent moon on his forehead, a dark complexion, extremely powerful. But even he struggled against multiple enemies, getting captured. Amidst the chaos, an unusual book flew into my body, merging with me. Ever since, odd things kept happening around me."

Chen Shi listened quietly.

"I was originally a stonemason, carving tombstones for people. In the countryside around Yellow Stone Mountain, many elders sensing their life nearing its end would pre-select burial plots and order tombstones, so many came to me."

Du Yiran, in the Mahayana Realm, easily had a source of wealth, yet he preferred earning with his own hands.

Tombstone carving was his craft, with rural folks lacking literacy, he needed to inscribe names and titles on the tombstone, though it didn't pay much, it was enough for a living.

Elders would come to have their tombstones carved intending to use them after some time, but often, just as Du Yiran finished inscribing their names, they passed away.

Gradually, people noticed this pattern.

Whenever Stonemason Du carved names on a tombstone, the person would immediately die.

Privately, people called him Du Yama, considering him an Evil Spirit. Yet, openly, they respected him, fearing he might engrave their names on tombstones.

"Later, I realized many outsiders came seeking tombstone carvings not for their elders, but to eliminate rivals."

Du Yiran coughed severely after saying this, looking weary, and after a pause, said, "These vile people ruined my reputation, though I didn't have much of a good name to start with. From then on, I only carved tombstones for the dead. As long as there's a breath left, I won't engrave a name."

The two returned to the stone cottage, Du Yiran said: "Chen Shi, the Thirteen Families have grown formidable, I can't stop them, nor can Chen Yindou, neither can you. I intervened to save those three Judges simply because since I acquired that book, I must do something for King Yan. That's all. Chen Shi, I'm old. I can't contend with the Yan Family, nor the Thirteen Families."

He stopped speaking after this.

Chen Shi nodded gently, saying: "Du Grandpa, I understand."

Du Yiran said: "It's good that you understand. My Qi-Blood is insufficient, stomach and intestines worn out, my physical body old. Even eating becomes an act of watching you eat. From the years spent investigating in the underworld, it took a toll on my health; I haven't many years left. Even if your grandfather came here, asking for my help, I wouldn't oblige. I wish to enjoy my twilight years, can't afford to keep struggling."

Chen Shi laughed: "Rest assured, Du Grandpa, I'm not one to stir trouble either. The Thirteen Families are mighty, let them be, we'll live our own lives."