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Yama's Wedding
Void looked at Yao Guang and said, "You all know what happened later. I was stripped of my celestial status by the Jade Emperor and banished to the mortal realm. That woman from back then has already been reincarnated."
After hearing Void's story, Yao Guang and Xue remained silent, but Xue seemed to struggle to remember. "I helped you once, but I can't recall much about it. Is that really me?" Yao Guang couldn't quite remember the incident either, which was understandable; back then, his mind had been solely focused on Xue. However, listening to Void's words, he felt a strange resemblance between himself and the person Void described. If such a thing had truly happened, he would have acted in the same way. Although enduring twenty bolts of lightning was painful, if it meant reclaiming that woman's countless lifetimes, he would consider it worth it. With this thought, Yao Guang felt a sense of happiness, though he couldn't help but feel a bit dissatisfied that Void had forgotten the name of the woman he loved for an entire lifetime. He wondered if Void had truly loved her.
Void heard Yao Guang's words and let out a bitter laugh. "Back then, Star Lord Yao Guang didn't really help me; you only helped that woman. But I am still immensely grateful for your kindness; it is something I will never forget. As long as I can assist you in any way, I will do so without hesitation."
Xue observed Void's demeanor; the words coming from someone who had once been a deity carried an air of a wandering hero. Such a person was better off away from the court.
"Void, since Yao Guang is your benefactor, I want you to tell us what this illusion is about and why you can't leave here," Xue asked.
"I was banished to the mortal realm," Void explained. "Although I lost my celestial status, I discovered that some magic still lingered within me. While I wouldn't achieve immortality, my aging process is much slower than that of ordinary mortals. However, despite this advantage, I still experience the same cycle of life and death as any human—eating, sleeping, everything remains unchanged. Once, when I fell ill, I was taken in by villagers. After recovering, I decided to stay in that village to practice medicine and help them heal their ailments. Initially, I thought it was just an ordinary village until I later discovered that they were researching a form of witchcraft. They used the lives of ordinary people to concoct elixirs in hopes of obtaining immortality; it was essentially a life for a life. Although I knew about this at the time, my heart was already deadened, and I had no standing to condemn their wrongdoings. They frequently ventured outside the village to capture people for experiments; as deaths increased, they grew more frantic until they turned their sights on me. Perhaps something gave me away or perhaps they had gone mad; regardless, the village chief demanded that I assist them in creating pills, firmly believing that I could succeed. At first, I was coerced into joining their plan, but as time went on, I began to realize that perhaps there was some merit to their beliefs."
Void's expression revealed a hint of excitement.
"Please continue; what happened next?" Yao Guang urged impatiently as Void seemed lost in thought.
"Oh! Right." Prompted by Yao Guang's urgency, Void continued quickly. "I utilized some of my remaining magic to participate in their actions and successfully revived several elderly villagers. They witnessed those who were aging transform into youthful forms after taking my pills. Consequently, the villagers treated me with even greater respect because my involvement brought progress to their plans. The men in this village age rapidly upon reaching adulthood and die soon after; thus each generation seeks ways to prolong their lives. The reasons behind this are unclear to me, but I've witnessed them age rapidly before my eyes and then perish—perhaps this is the curse upon this village. Generations of death have driven these villagers into madness; from disappointment to despair, they began to loathe this world and resorted to taking others' lives in order to survive."
Such a village was terrifying indeed; although Yao Guang had been reincarnated many times, she had never heard of such an eerie yet somewhat pitiable place before. "Why don't they leave the village? Perhaps they could break this curse," Yao Guang asked.
"It’s useless," Void explained. "There were men from the village who ventured outside and married women from distant lands in hopes that their blood would carry away the curse—but it served no purpose at all. Once they reached adulthood, no matter where they were, they could not escape their fate and would be regarded as monsters by outsiders. In the end, they could only return to the village and accept this curse generation after generation."
"There was once a man who deceived a god with his cleverness; as punishment for his trickery, his village has been cursed for generations—every adult male dies before reaching maturity. This curse is divine in origin and cannot be undone." Xue interjected suddenly.
"Xue, is this village you speak of the one Void mentioned?" Yao Guang asked.
"Yes."
"After all, it was just deceiving the gods. Why should the entire village be punished for the actions of one person?" Yao Guang asked.
"Because he deceived the gods, and when he died, it was as if the whole village had deceived them together," Xue replied. "So when the gods learned of this, they cursed the village, and naturally, the curse targeted what they valued most: life and death."
"I see. I always felt something was off about this village, but I never imagined the reason behind it was so profound," Xukong remarked with a hint of nostalgia. When he first entered the village, everyone—old and young—was warm and hospitable. The village seemed no different from others, with men farming and women weaving, living harmoniously until the men began to die one by one, thickening the atmosphere with despair until madness gradually took hold.
"If it were me, perhaps I would have gone mad too. To be punished for something you didn't do is unbearable. Every moment feels like counting down to your own demise. It's like knowing there's a cliff ahead; you don't want to go that way, yet no matter how hard you try, you can only watch yourself walk toward it. That kind of torment is painful both physically and mentally," Yao Guang said.
"Exactly. That's why I watched them descend into madness. Eventually, I too felt a bit unhinged. The villagers were actually quite kind; they developed these pills not just for themselves but also for the children who hadn't grown up yet. I helped them improve these medicines continuously, and they took them outside for testing. Many effects of these pills were unknown to us. I used my magic to pull these people into my illusion, but at that time, my powers were quite weak. Although I created this illusion, I couldn't control it; it seemed to grow on its own as if it had its own consciousness," Xukong explained.
"What do you mean? Please elaborate," Xue asked with great interest.
"This illusion was initially meant to ease suffering at death. My intention was for those who passed away not to suffer too much pain but to die peacefully in their sleep. This way, we could obtain purer souls and abilities for our use. However, soon after, I realized that this illusion didn't develop as I had envisioned; it evolved into something else entirely. It could change its scenery based on who entered it, showing them their deepest fears and horrors before killing them. Moreover, after these people died, their fears were absorbed by this space, allowing it to grow stronger in creating illusions—a vicious cycle. Consequently, the souls I collected diminished significantly; we needed more souls to counteract aging. Eventually, too many people died, raising suspicions in the Underworld. They reported it to the court, leading to investigations into this matter. At times, I thought about stopping—helping just one more time before quitting—but you have no idea how adorable those children were calling me 'brother.' I thought about what my own child would have been like if he had lived; I would have done everything in my power to save him. So in the end, I never stopped," Xukong continued.
"How did you end up in this space?" Xue asked.
"The court sent someone down at that time when I had just entered this space. So I survived. After collecting all the souls here and trying to leave, everyone in the village was dead—men, women, children—everyone had been killed. I saw the court's soldiers clearing away their bodies and in a moment of desperation, I re-entered the space. But within this space, having just collected those souls, it mistook me for a new offering. It uncovered my inner secrets and we fought for a long time until we both suffered heavy losses. Eventually, it sealed off the space itself, leaving me trapped here," Xukong said with a sense of loneliness.
"Then how can you help us get out? We can't be stuck here forever!" Yao Guang exclaimed anxiously. This space was so uncontrollable that even Xukong—the master of this realm—was now trapped within it.
"Star Lord Yao Guang, you need not worry. I've battled this illusion for many years; although no one has entered in a long time, when you arrived from outside, you reopened the door to this illusion. So when it attacks me again, you can take that opportunity to escape; as long as it knows there are still people here for it to attack, it won't close off the space," Xukong reassured Yao Guang.
"Xue! Did you hear that? We can get out!" Yao Guang exclaimed excitedly while grabbing Xue's hand in joy but suddenly paused again. "But what about you? If we leave, won't you have to stay here?" Yao Guang looked at Xukong with concern; he had no idea how long Xukong had been trapped here alone in such a vast space without anyone to talk to or any living creature around him.
"Star Lord Yao Guang, please don't worry about me. I've been here so long that I've grown accustomed to it. At first, I wanted to leave too but then realized perhaps it's because I've done too many wrong things; those whom I killed keep haunting me in my mind. I'm sorry for them; we were once so innocent ourselves—ending others' fates so easily just to save our own lives. Everyone from that village is already dead; I'm still alive—this is my punishment!" Xukong concluded solemnly.
Yao Guang didn't know what to say at that moment. She disagreed with the Void's actions but felt she had no grounds to oppose them. The people they had killed were innocent, yet the villagers who bore the brunt of this inexplicable curse were also blameless. Everything stemmed from a desperate desire to survive.
"Star Lord Yao Guang, Wheel King, I'll send you out now!" The Void spoke as it sensed the stirrings of space, knowing that a new illusionary attack was imminent.
"Void..." Before they could properly say goodbye, Yao Guang and Xue felt a force from the Void push them away. They were quickly swept up in a whirlwind, and when they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in a room within Xiao Yao Villa.
"Xue, you, the Void..." Yao Guang trailed off, unsure of how to continue.
"Yao Guang, perhaps this is for the best for him. Let it be," Xue said, gently patting Yao Guang's head in comfort. Yet, his mind wandered to another matter; during his years in the Underworld, he realized he had never seen the woman the Void had mentioned. He only remembered that once, a girl who fell in love with a deity was publicly punished by having her bones ground to dust—nothing left of her.
Who could truly know what happened back then?
Xue had made up his mind not to dwell on it; the past was gone, and there was no need to add to his troubles.
"Xue, what are you thinking about?" Yao Guang asked, having missed the rest of Xue's thoughts.
Xue smiled at Yao Guang and replied, "Are you hungry? Let me take you out for a meal."
"Okay."
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