Ian Liu did not answer Little Chenxiang’s question. He didn’t even know if, after bringing the hairpin to Simon Sun, he would still be alive. It felt just like two elephants fighting before him, while he was nothing but an ant.
He could no longer see whether fate ahead meant blessing or calamity; it was no longer up to him.
Still, at least the medicine worked—his mother’s health gradually improved. It was a small return in the midst of all this anxiety.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed, and his mother could get out of bed and walk. On the morning of the sixth day, Ian Liu hurried out the door.
Walking a long road to seek a master would show sincerity and test his resolve. Yet the Third Saintess seemed to care little for that; she had given Ian Liu a much simpler method.
After leaving home, Ian Liu went to the carpenter in town and spent a couple of silver coins to commission a one‑foot‑tall wooden idol. Three days later, he received the finished statue.
Though the craftsmanship was extremely rough, all the essentials were present: the Universe Ring, Firetip Spear, Wind‑Fire Wheels, and Red Silk. Anyone with a bit of knowledge could tell at a glance that this was a statue of Nezha.
Taking the Nezha statue home, Ian Liu borrowed some cinnabar and, following the Third Saintess’s instructions, painted the totem on its base. Then he enshrined it together with the hairpin the Third Saintess had given him.
Every morning and evening, Ian Liu would burn incense and worship, repeatedly chanting his wish to meet Nezha.
In Daoist terms, this was called 'Wish‑Petitioning.' It produced something called 'Wish‑Power,' which could be sensed by a sacred tree on the Eighth Heaven known as the Wishpower Tree.
Unlike the enormous Moon Tree, the Wishpower Tree was large but only about a hundred zhang tall. Its branches were covered with golden buds, which bloomed into tiny crystals at intervals, then quickly withered and were replaced by new buds—again and again, in endless cycles.
Those glittering motes released into the air were the Wish‑Power of the mortal world.
The Wishpower Tree’s sole purpose was to let Heaven know what wishes the mortals made—not to fulfill them, but to monitor the mortal world.
Without a doubt, mortals’ wishes were closely tied to their daily lives. Through their prayers, Heaven could learn countless specific details about the mortal realm.
Because of faith, few dared to lie to the gods—so this information was rarely wrong.
Imagine: if a million people prayed to the gods every day, that meant a million thoughts sent up to Heaven. By filtering these, Heaven could glean a wealth of useful intelligence and correct many anomalies—such as discovering a demon somewhere.
In this way, every mortal who worshipped the gods became an undercover agent for Heaven, and every idol and temple in the mortal world became a post in Heaven’s intelligence network.
From a certain perspective, this method was highly effective. In Heaven’s strong days, demons dared not disturb the mortal world for this reason: as soon as a demon appeared and someone prayed, Heaven would know instantly, and the army would arrive soon after.
Of course, things are different now. Heaven’s weakness means that even if they know of a problem, they may not be able to solve it.
Still, what must be known must be known.