Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 393 Can’t
Upon arriving in town, Yu Tian's first task was to exchange the baby feathers and deer hides for salt, and even for money!
Without salt, there is no strength.

How much money could a boy get for his beautiful baby feathers and deer hide? How much salt could he get for them?

After much suffering, he was finally given a small jar of coarse salt.

Salt is very expensive because everyone needs to eat it.

Yu Tian picked up a few grains with his fingertips and sprinkled them on the cooled roasted rabbit meat. Little Bell couldn't wait to take a bite, and the moment the saltiness exploded on her tongue, tears streamed down her face.

Yu Tian had originally planned to settle down in this small town. But when he saw the familiar River God Temple on the street corner, his heart sank.

The temple was bustling with incense smoke, and on the offering table was a statue of a golden carp, which was none other than "Li Xianfeng" from the water that day.

The River God is more powerful than I imagined! He has traveled a long way, but he didn't expect that he hasn't even left the River God's territory yet.

Little did he know that traveling along the river meant hundreds of miles of the River God's territory. If he traveled along the mountains, he might be out of the River God's control in just a few dozen miles.

“We have to keep going.” Yu Tian packed his bags overnight: “We can’t stay anywhere along the river.”

So the two small, thin figures embarked on their journey once again.

He offended the River God and could no longer stay anywhere along the river. He needed to go to a larger place, a place without a great river.

So he continued his journey, carrying salt and a small bell, through the place where mountains meet rivers. He couldn't venture too deep into the mountains, nor could he approach the riverbank.

Suddenly, he felt as if the world was vast and there was nowhere to go.

Before, he might have given up on himself. But the experience of planting trees in the desert in his dream, and the suffering he endured while imitating others, instilled a stubbornness in him.

He wants to survive and cultivate diligently.

Yu Tian carried a small bell on his back and walked briskly along the rugged mountain path.

How difficult it must be for two boys to live amidst mountains and rivers with only a jar of salt? But even though he only grasped the basics of "Wind God Leg," it made him walk lightly and could cover in a day what an ordinary person could do in three days.

He figured he had escaped the mountain lord's territory, so he took Little Bell and plunged into the mountains. This time he was more experienced; he only caught pheasants, rabbits, and roe deer, daring not to hunt wild beasts like tigers, leopards, deer, or bears.

That night, he found a dilapidated temple.

Beneath the dilapidated eaves, only a weathered base remained, making it impossible to discern which deity was enshrined there. Yu Tian carefully inspected every corner, confirming there were no traces of wild animals before letting Xiao Lingdang go inside to rest.

After the campfire was lit, the dilapidated temple suddenly came alive. Yu Tian roasted the wild rabbit he had just hunted, while Xiao Lingdang held a stick and practiced calligraphy stroke by stroke on the dusty ground. The firelight illuminated her earnest little face, sometimes frowning and sometimes smiling.

"Did I write this 'sky' character correctly?" she asked, looking up with a thirst for knowledge in her eyes.

Yu Tian came over to take a look, wiped the dust off with his foot, and rewrote it: "The last stroke should be longer."

He taught with utmost seriousness, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Little Bell, however, knew that in River God City, the literate gentlemen valued knowledge more than life itself. Once, she had only glanced at the schoolteacher writing, and was beaten so badly she couldn't get out of bed for three days.

"Why are you willing to teach me?" Little Bell couldn't help but ask.

She thought she would have to ask Yu Tian several times before he would teach her, but to her surprise, he agreed as soon as she asked. It seemed that in Yu Tian's eyes, teaching people to read was a very ordinary thing. "Because..." Yu Tian thought for a moment and said, "When he taught me, he didn't ask me many questions."

"Who is he? Is he the Cat God?" Little Bell suddenly leaned closer, her dirty little face full of curiosity. Ever since Yu Tian used the identity of "Cat God's messenger" to fool the River God's subordinates, she had been filled with fantasies about this fabricated deity.

What kind of deity is the Cat God? Is he benevolent or cruel?
Does the cat god really like to eat fish?
“He…” Yu Tian opened his mouth. He wanted to explain that Shi Fei was just a person or god he met in his dream, but seeing the girl’s expectant eyes and remembering the lie he had made up, he could only vaguely say, “…Yes.”

"What does the Cat God look like?" Little Bell asked, her hands supporting her chin, her eyes shining like stars. "Does it have pointed ears and a tail like a real cat?"

Yu Tian's gaze softened, as if he could see the golden desert through the campfire: "He is very gentle and seems never to get angry. He is also very patient. Even if I make a mistake, he will not get angry at me, but will encourage me instead."

"He has a magic bag that can turn into all sorts of delicious food. The best thing is fish!"

"So the Cat God really does like to eat fish!" Little Bell exclaimed in sudden realization. "Then what about him and the River God?"

"It's different," Yu Tian interrupted decisively. "The River God wants boys and girls, but he only wants..." He couldn't help but laugh, recalling Shi Fei planting trees in his dream: "He only needs to plant trees to make people happy."

"Plant trees?" Little Bell asked, puzzled. "Why would the Cat God plant trees?"

Yu Tian said, "I don't know either. That's probably one of the strange things about the Cat God."

Little Bell suddenly knelt up, clasped her hands together, and asked, "Can I also worship the Cat God? Will the Cat God accept me?"

Her voice trembled slightly with excitement. After the terror of the River God Temple, a gentle deity was a godsend for her.

For a beggar like her, the gods were her greatest support.

“He won’t refuse.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Yu Tian regretted them. Shi Fei was just a figure in a dream, but now he was to be molded into a cat god. However, looking at Xiao Lingdang’s hopeful eyes, he couldn’t bear to expose him.

"What should I do?" Little Bell was already impatiently searching the dilapidated temple for a place to offer sacrifices. "Should I put out offerings? Or..."

A hoarse laugh drifted from outside the temple, like fallen leaves scattered by the wind, gently landing beside the two. The laughter carried a hint of mockery: "Cat God? Cats can become gods?"

Yu Tian suddenly stood up and shielded the little bell behind him.

"Who?"

A gust of wind blew a person over; it was an old beggar with white hair and beard, his coarse cloth clothes were patched all over, but they were washed clean.

He strolled slowly into the temple, leaning on a crooked jujube wood cane, the gourds hanging from his waist jingling with each step.

He looked at Yu Tian and Xiao Lingdang and said, "So you're just two kids. No wonder you dare to call yourselves Cat Gods."

Yu Tian cautiously sized up the old beggar and said, "You've never seen the Cat God, so how can you say the Cat God doesn't exist?"

The old beggar shook his head and said, "In this world, there are ox gods, horse gods, and fish gods, but no cat gods. Even maggots in cesspools can become spirits, except for..."

"Cats! Can never! Become gods!"

(End of this chapter)