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Okay, here's a revised version of the chapter, addressing the inconsistencies and attempting to create a smoother, more logical flow while maintaining the mystery:
Wei Yuan stirred in bed, a prickle of unease drawing him awake. He rose and cautiously approached the door, peering through the narrow opening. A thick fog blanketed the outside world, but it wasn't the usual mist. This fog pulsed with an eerie, internal fluorescent light.
The source of the glow remained elusive, hidden within the swirling vapor. He instinctively reached for the door latch, both hands raised, but a sudden caution held him back. What am I dealing with out there? Rushing in blindly is foolish, he thought, a shiver tracing his spine despite the strange warmth emanating from the fog.
A swift idea sparked in his mind. As the local Earth Deity, he possessed a unique ability. Focusing his will, he activated the spiritual seal within him. In an instant, his soul detached from his physical form.
His body remained standing motionless by the door, while his spirit, now unbound, slipped effortlessly through the solid wood and floated out into the illuminated fog.
Orienting himself, Wei Yuan quickly located the source of the unsettling glow. It emanated from a small, winding river just beyond the edge of the village, no more than fifty meters away.
He paused, observing, then silently drifted over the fog-shrouded ground, hovering above the river's surface. Looking down, he could now discern a massive, glowing object submerged beneath the murky water. Details were still indistinct, but its elongated form was unmistakable.
It resembled a colossal, luminous snake, easily exceeding ten meters in length, its body rhythmically pulsing with an otherworldly light. Against the river's flow, the creature moved steadily upstream, its destination seemingly Caixu Town.
"What in the heavens is that thing?" Wei Yuan murmured, a knot of apprehension tightening in his spectral chest. He dared not plunge into the water for a closer look, so he maintained his aerial vantage point, his spiritual gaze fixed on the strange entity.
The time it would take for a stick of incense to burn had nearly passed when a figure materialized from the shadowy edges of the fog.
Someone's coming, Wei Yuan noted, his spiritual eyes narrowing in observation.
A person clad entirely in black, their face concealed by a featureless mask, approached the riverbank. A heavy sack was slung over their shoulder.
The masked figure cast a brief glance at the glowing creature in the water, then abruptly opened the sack. Inside, Wei Yuan saw a young girl, her small form limp and still, clearly unconscious.
Without hesitation, the masked individual upended the sack, and the girl tumbled into the dark, flowing water.
Splash!
The glowing creature reacted instantly. If it was indeed a giant snake, its massive head now swiftly turned towards the falling girl.
She sank beneath the surface, the disturbed water momentarily revealing her pale face.
The serpentine head opened its gaping jaws and lunged, its luminous fangs clamping down on the girl's body.
The water around them erupted in a swirl of crimson.
In that horrific instant, Wei Yuan clearly saw the girl's eyes snap open, her small body convulsing in a silent scream of terror – but it was tragically too late. The glowing creature devoured her in a matter of moments.
The masked person remained motionless on the riverbank, an impassive observer of the gruesome scene.
Once the creature had swallowed the girl, the river's surface stilled, the unnatural glow dimming slightly, and the blood seemed to vanish as if it had never been.
Time stretched, each silent second amplifying Wei Yuan's shock and confusion.
Splash!
Suddenly, the glowing creature moved again, its head breaking the surface of the water.
Wei Yuan held his breath, his spectral form rigid with anticipation and dread. What he witnessed next defied any logic he knew.
It wasn't the head of a snake that emerged. It was a human head – a grotesquely large one, its features twisted and inhuman, thick, iridescent scales covering its skin.
Then, impossibly, that monstrous head began to shrink. The distorted facial features softened and shifted… until they coalesced into the recognizable face of the young girl who had just been consumed.
Simultaneously, the rest of the glowing creature beneath the water began to contract and reshape itself, forming limbs – arms and legs – until it, too, had transformed into a human shape.
The girl, now naked and radiating a faint, eerie light from her skin, stepped out of the river.
The masked person immediately produced a bundle from their back, revealing a set of simple clothes. These they wordlessly handed to the girl.
As soon as the girl was dressed, the strange glow emanating from her body completely faded.
At first glance, she appeared to be the same innocent child Wei Yuan had seen fall into the river.
Then, she and the masked figure turned and walked away together, their footsteps silent on the damp earth, heading in the direction of Caixu Town.
As the local deity bound to this land, Wei Yuan could not stray far from his temple. With a heavy sense of bewilderment and unease, he willed his spirit back to his physical form.
The return was jarring. The subtle chill he hadn't noticed in his spectral state was gone, replaced by a sudden, stifling heat within the small temple. The frost that had clung to his mosquito net and the scattered ice shards on the floor had inexplicably vanished.
Wei Yuan's mind reeled. The events he had just witnessed were beyond comprehension, a bizarre nightmare played out in the fog. He couldn't even begin to categorize what he had seen.
A glowing creature devours a girl… only to become that girl? What purpose could such a thing serve?
And who was that masked figure, orchestrating this macabre ritual?
Despite the overwhelming confusion, one undeniable truth settled within him: being the Earth God, for all its mundane duties, offered a profound and sometimes terrifying perk – the ability to witness the hidden realities that lay unseen by mortal eyes.
The next day dawned bright and clear. The fog had completely dissipated, replaced by a warm, golden sunlight.
Wei Yuan rose early, dressed, and stepped out of the Earth Temple. His gaze drifted instinctively towards the river, the scene from the previous night replaying with unsettling clarity in his memory.
A persistent unease clung to him. He quickly washed up, the mundane act offering little comfort, then reached for his worn golden dice. Perhaps a bit of fortune could dispel the lingering shadows of the night.
Clack! Clack!
The dice tumbled and settled – God of Wealth!
[The God of Wealth has descended.]
"Looks like today should be a lucky day," Wei Yuan muttered with a sigh that held more weariness than anticipation. Having the God of Wealth grace your humble abode was usually a sign of good fortune, a blessing indeed.
Unfortunately, in his early days as the deity, driven by a misplaced sense of responsibility (or perhaps a touch of youthful greed), he had indeed "looted Caixu Town dry" of any readily available offerings or valuables. Summoning the God of Wealth now felt somewhat farcical – like brandishing a legendary weapon against an empty field.
He reluctantly put away the golden dice, the usual spark of hope it offered now dimmed by the night's strange events.
Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he hopped onto his patient mule and set off towards Caixu Town, the unsettling images fueling an urgent need to recount everything to the wise counsel of Old Man Li. Perhaps the elder would have some insight into the bizarre spectacle he had witnessed.
"....."