Chapter 696: When You Grow as Tall as Lady Calico’s Little bamboo staff

“How impudent!” The deep, commanding voice resounded again from somewhere deep within the white clouds, from an unseen palace.

“A mere mortal body, trespassing into the Heavenly Palace in defiance of the heavenly laws! You slander the virtue of the gods and speak of rebuilding the path to the heavens, yet you have secretly tampered with the passage between the heavens and the mortal world and seized control of it. Such actions are intolerable under Heaven’s law, punishable beyond redemption! Is this the true nature of the Hidden Dragon Temple’s present owner, a hypocrite?”

“Everything I have done has already been made known to the Heavenly Dao and has won its recognition. It has the mandate of Heaven above, and the hearts of the people below, and only thus did I prevail. Any god with a clear conscience knows this, which is why they do not aid you.”

That short reply left the distant palace silent for a long time. Even the gods and generals in front of him seemed to waver.

After a long pause, another voice spoke...

“Y–you are being insolent...” It was a younger-sounding voice.

The Daoist didn’t even need to look to know it was likely one of the two attendants by the Celestial Emperor’s side, the scribe or the curtain-drawer.

At least those two were loyal.

Then the Celestial Emperor’s voice rang out again, “Nonsense!”

The Daoist only smiled and did not argue further.

There was no longer any meaning in quarreling with him now; the true struggle had already ended when the Four Saints of the Four Directions and the two Buddhas were defeated and fell.

“Your Majesty’s merit is lacking, and your virtue is wanting. You should have perished over two hundred years ago. Having clung to the throne of the Heavenly Palace’s ruler for an extra two centuries, should that not be enough? To say nothing of other matters, just look at the recent days: when the Celestial Emperor holds court in the Rising Clouds Palace, are there enough gods in attendance? Why cling to this post so stubbornly? Where are the celestial officials and divine generals?”

Only a voice came from the palaces within the white clouds.

Clang, clatter...

Celestial officials and divine generals gathered in close ranks, some armored in brilliance, others glowing with divine light, yet all of them wore expressions tight with unease. Before them was but one man, wearing a Daoist robe, who faced the host of gods with calm composure.

From the billowing clouds behind, more gods arrived one after another, but they merely hid behind the cloudbanks to watch.

“The Celestial Emperor has long strayed from the heavenly laws and the Divine Dao. Any god of true virtue has already made the right choice. Since you celestial officials and divine generals are still willing to heed the Celestial Emperor’s summons and bar my way, it is likely that your divine rank was not earned through virtue,” the Daoist said, standing unafraid atop the clouds, his voice ringing out clearly. “However, I have no wish to drive you all to ruin.”

At these words, many of the officials and generals froze in surprise.

Some among them grew more anxious, secretly stirring one another to surround him, but none dared strike first.

“Although you may not have attained godhood through virtue, that is not your fault. If after becoming gods you have done good works in the mortal realm, you may continue to serve. If you have not caused chaos among mortals, your fate shall be left to the people, whether they worship you or not will decide if you remain. But if you have aided the Celestial Emperor in bringing calamity to the human world, then you shall, of course, be punished.”

Song You’s expression sharpened. “If any of you feel guilty, act now, and I promise to make it quick. If your conscience is clear, put down your divine weapons and leave.”

An uproar broke out before him. The officials and generals looked at one another.

“Pay no heed to his nonsense!” The Celestial Emperor’s figure appeared atop the white-cloud palace in the distance. “Strike at once! Use the power of the great formation to seize this demonic Daoist, and I shall personally grant you divine authority and incense power to protect you!”

But the gods were not fools. The more urgently the Celestial Emperor pressed them, the quicker they came to their own conclusions.

At once, some lowered their divine weapons. Most of them were heavenly soldiers and generals. For emperors scheming in mortal affairs had never much to do with these soldiers.

Once one led the way, others followed.

“Who dares shirk from battle!” The Celestial Emperor panicked. He brought forth a great imperial seal before channeling divine incense power and gathering an unknown amount of godly force, and struck it down fiercely toward the Daoist.

A blinding radiance burst forth, the momentum overwhelming.

The crowd of gods was indeed momentarily awed, their movements to lay down arms halting as they waited to see what would happen.

But the Celestial Emperor was no warrior, nor trained in combat arts. This imperial seal, for all its power, was hollow and nothing more than the last unwilling struggle of a ruler at the end of his reign.

Bang!

The Daoist merely lifted a hand, and some invisible force in the air caught the great seal firmly.

Swish!

The seal returned as swiftly as it had come.

Seeing this, the rest moved faster still.

As more and more lowered their weapons and rode off on clouds, the few who were guilty and fearful grew increasingly flustered. They realized that no matter how hard they fought, they could not turn the tide, even with the Celestial Emperor’s divine incense power and the protection of the Heaven-Guarding Formation. Hesitation overcame them, and even they put down their arms and left in part.

In an instant, those before him were reduced by more than half. Those who remained were loyal, but their anxiety only grew, glancing back from time to time at the Celestial Emperor’s phantom image behind them.

“Those who resist will have their souls scattered. Those who leave may still go to the underworld as ghosts,” the Daoist said calmly. “The tide has turned. Celestial Emperor, do not cling to this in vain. Abdicate.”

“...”

The phantom on the cloud-palace was silent again.

After a moment, the image vanished, and the Celestial Emperor’s voice came, “If I were to abdicate, what would you do with my celestial officials, divine generals, and trusted ministers?”

“Your Majesty is mistaken,” Song You replied. “I am neither one who seizes the throne nor one who delights in slaughter. I am but a Daoist from the mortal realm, and naturally, I have no reason to wipe out all the gods. I simply propose that the Thunder Division gods conduct individual trials, judging according to the heavenly laws and the law. Some may remain as gods, some must be demoted, some will have their divine titles revoked, some will be sent to the underworld, and those deserving the Immortal-Slaying Platform[1] shall, of course, be sent there.”

“I am the ruler, they are my ministers. If there are faults, I should bear the primary blame. If I lower the great formation and hand over the imperial seal, you should show them leniency.”

The Daoist thought for a moment, then replied, “But...”

“The affairs of Heaven are too vast to be without a ruler even for a single day. If I abdicate, who will take my place as Celestial Emperor?”

“The mortal world will decide,” Song You said lightly. “If the gods are all virtuous, each fulfilling their duties without meddling too much in the grand affairs of the human realm, then even if Heaven has no ruler for a time, it will be no great matter.”

“Sigh...”

With a rumble, the Heaven-Guarding Formation slowly lowered. From the white clouds, the palace gates opened, and countless gods laid down their weapons.

With a long, lingering sigh, the Celestial Emperor stepped out, his robes sweeping as he turned away.

Ever since the Great Yan dynasty was founded in the mortal realm, Immortal Elder Lin had replaced Immortal Elder Yang, ruling the Heavenly Palace for over two centuries. Now, the era of Immortal Elder Lin had come to an end.

A few centuries from now, who could say which figure the mortal world would know as Celestial Emperor, or how many lifetimes and calamities he had endured in cultivation.

The Daoist strode forward, entering the highest heaven. The Rising Clouds Palace lay just ahead.

***

With the Celestial Emperor’s abdication, many matters fell into Song You’s hands.

The first was to identify the gods without virtue. The second was to weaken divine authority and curb the gods’ interference in mortal affairs. The former was simple, as Heaven already had the mechanisms and officials to carry it out, without the need for a mortal like him to intervene.

But the latter required amending the heavenly laws and restructuring the Heavenly Palace, and even though Song You now commanded overwhelming momentum and was feared by gods and ghosts alike, he still faced heavy resistance from Heaven. For some gods, though virtuous, were stubborn and unafraid of death.

Yet the Daoist’s resolve was firm. It was only a matter of time, and he would not allow any bargaining.

***

At Yuanlai Inn[2] of Fuguang County in Angzhou...

Without realizing it, the New Year had come again. The upstairs window was wide open, the room carrying the faint milky scent unique to children, mingled with the aroma of old wooden beams aged over many years.

Though spring had only just begun, a swallow had already returned here. It now stood on the window frame, tilting its head one way to look into the room, and the other to glance at the street below and the distant view.

Behind it, a baby girl in tri-colored clothes crawled up, propping herself against the wall to stand, stretching her tiny hands high toward it.

The baby’s eyes sparkled as she murmured softly, “Swallow!”

The swallow did not leave immediately. Instead, it turned its head to stare at her, watching her little hand slowly reach forward. Only when she was just about to grab it did the swallow spread its wings and push off to the side with its feet.

Flap flap flap...

The swallow decisively left.

A moment later, the sound of the door opening came from outside. A little girl in tri-colored clothes, her hair tied into two pigtails, walked in holding two steaming hot meat buns in her hands.

“I’ve returned from the hunt!” Her voice was soft and clear, but her tone was deadly serious.

When she saw the baby had run to the window, she didn’t scold her. She simply shut the door, walked over to the window, grabbed the baby by the scruff of her clothes, and lifted her back. Then she handed her a bun.

The baby took it in her hands, looking blankly at Lady Calico.

Lady Calico sat down and stared back at her.

“Eat...” She couldn’t help but urge her.

The baby still just stared back.

After a moment’s staring contest, Lady Calico suddenly remembered that perhaps this little human cub was simply too stupid to know how to eat. So she took back the bun, tore it into little shreds, and fed it to the baby. The filling inside was minced pork mixed with chopped scallions, steamed into juicy meat paste. She scooped some out with a spoon and fed it to the baby as well.

Lady Calico wasn’t lazy, nor was she impatient; she just sometimes forgot how clueless little human cubs could be, and how much they needed things done for them.

Fortunately, there was also a swallow nearby to help keep an eye on things.

“Lady Calico... eat...”

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“I don’t eat this. I have something even better.”

“Eat...”

“You eat!”

With a stern expression, Lady Calico finished feeding her, clapped her hands, and sat down at the table. From her pouch, she pulled out a dried field rat and began her own breakfast.

The baby crawled around on the floor.

Lady Calico, chewing, glanced at her casually from time to time. She couldn’t be sure if she was imagining it, but it seemed like this little human cub had grown quite a bit recently.

“...”

She must be imagining it.

Her own true form hadn’t changed at all since leaving the little temple, and in her human form, she’d only grown a tiny bit in all these years. How could a mere human grow so fast?

Shaking her head, she continued enjoying her meal.

On the floor, the baby spotted her eating and crawled over, looking up at her curiously. Then, to her surprise, she stood up and reached her little hands high.

“Oh! You can stand now!” Only then did Lady Calico realize.

“Ahhhhh!” The baby stretched up her arms.

When it came to sharing rats, Lady Calico had never been stingy. She immediately tore off a small strip of meat from the rat and fed it to the baby.

“Tasty, isn’t it? This is a field rat, and it’s edible. People outside like it too, though the Daoist fusses too much and refuses to eat it. If you like it, I will give you more. I have more than enough! You have to eat more meat! Eat lots of meat so you can grow faster! That way, when you grow up, you can be as tall as me. Go on, eat, eat...”

As she watched the baby chew on the strip of meat, Lady Calico was inwardly overjoyed, chattering away non-stop.

“Oh right, now that you can stand, later Lady Calico will measure how tall you are. Back then, the Daoist used to measure me and the swallow like this. Using, using... ah yes, we can use my little bamboo staff as your marker! You don’t need to grow very tall. There’s no need to be as tall as those big people outside, just grow to be as tall as my little bamboo staff and that’s enough.”

The baby smacked her lips, completely unable to understand.

Outside, on the roof eaves, the swallow was preening its feathers, its expression hidden from anyone’s sight.

Suddenly, sensing something, it pulled its head out from under its wing and looked down toward the street below.

It was early morning, the busiest hour of the city. The streets bustled with people coming and going, some gathered in small groups to discuss the sudden storms and upheavals of recent days, while others, fond of the Daoist arts, lingered before teahouses, sipping tea as they chatted about news heard from temples and monasteries. Amid this lively crowd, a lone Daoist appeared, walking slowly with the aid of a bamboo staff.

The swallow’s eyes gleamed as it stared at him. Then it drew back its gaze, spread its wings, and flew from the eaves back to the window sill, silent, watching the scene inside the room.

Lady Calico had sensed something too and turned her head to look outside.

What a pity...

the swallow thought to itself.

Moments later, Lady Calico opened the door and dashed off happily, going to bring the Daoist back. Meanwhile, the swallow remained still on the window sill.

The Daoist didn’t hear her words; fortunately, the baby was still too young to finish chewing the strip of meat Lady Calico had given her and was still munching on it.

1. The Immortal-Slaying Platform, as its name suggests, is a terrifying place capable of severing immortals and erasing their cultivation. It was not formed naturally, but was forged through supreme divine arts by ancient powers, intended to suppress and obliterate immortals who violated heavenly law or committed grave crimes. According to legend, the Immortal-Slaying Platform was once part of the primordial Celestial Court, serving as an essential instrument for upholding order and punishing wayward immortals. ☜

2. 缘来

Yuanlai

literally translates to “fate comes.” ☜