Yes, I did all of this!

In her view, the starry sky was nothing more than candles hanging in the sky, and the moon was just a slightly larger candle.

"Yes, it's normal that the fishermen here prefer to use the surrounding islands to determine their location because of the geography, so they don't know much about the stars."

After all, Cangyuan was only six years old when she was sacrificed. After gaining the power of a magical girl, she just wandered around the fishing village. In other words, she lived alone for more than ten years and then sealed herself away for thousands of years.

"It's really hard to believe to me..." Cang Yuan closed his eyes, imagining the scene of those fishermen looking up at the sky to confirm their direction, but he just couldn't imagine it.

“The starry sky doesn’t lie.” Duanmu Mo pointed to the moon: “The sun and moon rise in the east and set in the west, and the stars also follow a pattern. No matter how time passes, they will not change.”

"..."

Upon hearing this, Cang Yuan also raised his hand and looked at the sea of ​​stars.

The starry sky, like a dazzling gem set against the night sky, illuminates the dark heavens and makes people intoxicated by its beauty.

The sea reflects the light of the stars, shimmering under the rippling waves.

—It was so beautiful, but under Duanmu Mo's words, Cang Yuan felt that this sky was unreal.

"...Does something fake mean it has no meaning?"

Cang Yuan spoke softly, turning his arm to reveal the sapphire hanging on his wrist.

She is not a god, but just an ordinary person who suddenly gained power. She was given the title of god only for the sake of her people.

"Do not."

The words that Shen Wuling hadn't finished saying were picked up here. Duanmu Mo suddenly grabbed her wrist, making her tremble.

"Look at the brightest star in the night sky—that's the moon. In the darkness, it illuminates the path for countless people."

"Hmm... I've heard my people say that if they accidentally fished late, they were able to get back to the village by the light of the moon."

Looking at the ball of light, Cang Yuan nodded quietly, the tension he felt when his wrist was being held easing.

"But did you know that the moon doesn't emit any light at all? The light it emits actually comes from the sun."

"...Huh?"

"Indeed, its brilliance is illusory, but it has also helped people, which is an undeniable truth. Do you think it's meaningless?"

"I......"

Cang Yuan opened his mouth, looked at the sky, and then his gaze fell on the hand that was holding his wrist.

Whoosh...

—The sound of seawater splashing on the beach rang out, and suddenly a footstep came.

A person... a humanoid creature with tentacles hanging from its neck walked onto the shore.

The humanoid creature was long and thin, about two or three meters tall, with an abnormal dark green skin, like seaweed swaying in the dark seabed, and sunken eye sockets that made it impossible to see its eyes.

It was all skin and bones, staggering as it walked on the ground. The other end of its tentacles led somewhere unknown, only that it was deep in the sea.

"That is... that sea monster?"

The somber atmosphere was broken as Duanmu Mo sat up, frowning as he looked at the hanged ghost.

“There’s no need to stop it,” Cang Yuan said, his gaze utterly calm.

"why?"

You can't change what has already happened.

Cang Yuan stood up, recalling the humanoid creature, closed his eyes, and sighed.

Then, looking at Duanmu Mo, he extended his hand to him:

"Let's go, let's see how this unfolds."

"Okay." Looking at her outstretched hand, Duanmu Mo nodded and took it.

Chapter 323: Lost

As they clasped hands, Duanmu Mo immediately felt himself enveloped by a layer of water, and then he saw his arms become transparent.

He unconsciously floated up and followed behind it along with Cangyuan.

call--

As it walked, it made strange noises and moved forward stiffly.

It crossed the beach and came to the houses in the fishing village, passing by the door of each house.

"Hmm?" Duanmu Mo suddenly felt a warmth in his eyes and couldn't help but squint.

Suddenly, he realized that his gaze could see through the house and into the view inside.

Inside the house, a fisherman heard the noise, opened his eyes impatiently, and sat up.

But when he listened carefully, his body jolted, and he showed a look of horror, as if he had remembered something.

"what happened?"

Beside the bed, his wife opened her eyes and asked indistinctly.

The next moment, the man suddenly covered her mouth, opened his eyes wide, and shook his head violently to stop her from making a sound.

The woman seemed to remember something, and a look of unease appeared in her eyes.

"call......"

Another voice rang out, and when both of them heard it, their unease turned into fear. They curled up on the bed, trembling as they looked at their shadows outside the window.

Rustling...

In Duanmu Mo's view, the hanged ghost only paused briefly before continuing its journey, and the sounds it made were merely the tentacles on its neck.

Even so, it's enough to instill a strong sense of fear in people.

"ah......"

In every household it passed through, someone uttered this terrified and uneasy sound.

Even if someone mustered the courage to quietly push open the door after it left, they would be so frightened by the tentacle on the ground that they would scramble back to bed, trembling uncontrollably under the covers.

As a member of the village, Duanmu Mo "should" know what they were afraid of—ten years ago, when people were still offering sacrifices to that sea monster, they often heard such sounds.

This sound comes from the deep sea, like bubbles rising from the ocean floor, as if the ocean itself were enveloping it.

"......I see."

Duanmu Mo took a deep breath and turned to look at Cang Yuan, whose expression was complicated: "What were you doing back then?"

“I fought the sea monster, but it just ran away, and I didn’t find any of its tentacles here.”

"So that's why Leviathan had the opportunity to sow the seeds of fear in people?"

"Hmm—you can make some minor changes here, but when it comes to important developments, no matter how you try to stop it, it won't work. Rather than that, let me guide you forward."

"..."

Facing Duanmu Mo's clasped hands, he said, "I can sense that your spirit is about to break. It's time to leave..."

"--No."

Duanmu Mo calmly shook his head: "Let me stay a little longer. I want to see what this guy is up to."

"......All right."

Cang Yuan nodded, no longer trying to stop Duanmu Mo from persisting.

She carried Duanmu Mo as the humanoid creature walked from house to house, finally stopping at the village chief's door.

"call--"

Finally, the hanged ghost collapsed weakly at the doorway, its head pressed against the door, and the tentacles on its neck tightened instantly.

rustling --

The tentacles straightened, and the humanoid creature was dragged up, as if being pulled back by its neck.

All that could be seen were drag marks left at the door and a patch of residual slime.

Finally, the hanged ghost was pulled back into the sea and disappeared.

"You don't seem afraid at all."

The two stood on the sea again, but Cang Yuan did not let go of Duanmu Mo's hand, still holding it with him.

“Because I know none of this is real.” Looking in the direction it disappeared, Duanmu Mo turned to gaze at Cang Yuan’s face: “—And more importantly, I know that you, Sea God, will always protect me, and that’s enough.”

"Having been protecting you all along...?"

Upon hearing this, Cang Yuan's smile turned bitter: "You... know that all of this is a dream, so why do you say such things?"

"The words to entice you to go out—or perhaps this is my answer from the perspective of someone putting themselves in your shoes." Duanmu Mo paused, then said earnestly, "Truth and lies are not important; what matters is your own feeling, Cangyuan. What are you thinking deep down?"

"My feelings..." Cang Yuan slowly raised his head and looked up at the sky.

She opened her mouth, looked at Duanmu Mo with a wry smile, and said, "Even if what you said is false, it's enough for me. After all, I'm just a false god in a false world."

"But as I just said, the moonlight is illusory, yet it also brings real help to people, Cangyuan—"

Duanmu Mo solemnly said, "There must be something very real hidden in this falsehood."

As he spoke, Duanmu Mo gradually felt a vague sense of dizziness, which became more and more obvious and intense as time went by.

"The most authentic things..."

Upon hearing this, Cang Yuan raised his hand, looked at his palm, and lowered his eyes.

After a long silence, she finally spoke, "That kind of thing, even I..."

She turned her head to look at Duanmu Mo, only to find that he had already disappeared.

The words he was about to say were left unsaid. Cang Yuan sighed and stared at the gem on his wrist.

"That kind of thing... even I've lost my way with it." A lonely sigh escaped in the dream, but no one knew.

. . . . . .

"Well--"

Duanmu Mo opened his eyes, clutching his head with difficulty, and rubbed his temples.

"Ouch... That hurts. Is this what Cangyi warned me about? I guess I shouldn't enter so often after all."