Nan Deng looked at Lian Yi, his heart inexplicably aching.
They had only been apart for a day, yet it felt like a long time had passed.
Lian Yi seemed just the same as before. He no longer hid his identity and still showed Nan Deng his gentlest side.
Ren Shi was very resistant to Lian Yi. Wielding a long sword, it stood protectively in front of Nan Deng, glaring at Lian Yi like a predator watching its prey.
Hei Mao also joined the alliance, feeling even more aggrieved. It was the first time it had been threatened in its life, meowing and urging Ren Shi to fly over and give Lian Yi a beating.
The rabbit head was temporarily forgotten. It had arrived early at the street corner, opening its mouth wide and gnawing on resentful spirits, quickly devouring three of them.
Lian Yi didn’t care at all about the two earth spirits’ obstruction. He raised his hand and used spiritual arts to wave them aside.
Nan Deng’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Having witnessed it twice with his own eyes, he had a deeper understanding of Lian Yi’s strength.
“Sorry, it’s my fault.”
Lian Yi took a step forward, saying, “Are you still angry?”
His tone was very gentle, his focused gaze always on Nan Deng. He reached out his hand towards him, “Come here.”
Nan Deng was already wavering. Seeing the familiar, warm palm right in front of him, he could no longer hold back.
He quickly ran towards Lian Yi, throwing himself into his arms.
“Why did you lie to me…” Nan Deng complained aggrievedly, looking up in a somewhat incoherent manner, “Where did you go? Were you hurt?”
He held Lian Yi tightly, his eyes full of worry.
Lian Yi bent down slightly, raising his hand to touch Nan Deng’s hair, “I’m fine.”
Unfortunately, Nan Deng was now in spiritual form and couldn’t physically embrace him.
“Really?” Nan Deng had so much more to say, “I, I tonight…”
“Really,” Lian Yi softly reassured him, “let’s leave here first.”
This place wasn’t safe; new resentful spirits might come after them.
Nan Deng nodded, voluntarily holding Lian Yi’s hand.
Not far away, Hei Mao and Ren Shi were both trapped in a small talisman array.
Ren Shi was muttering curses, breaking the array with its sword halfway through, only to see Nan Deng and Lian Yi leaning close together without a hint of resistance.
It was silent for several seconds before letting out a heavy “hmmph.”
Hei Mao beneath was furiously scraping at the invisible air wall, and when the array finally broke, Ren Shi flew over aggressively.
Seeing this, Nan Deng hurriedly stood in front of Lian Yi: “He’s the person I’ve been looking for… he’s my friend.”
He turned to Lian Yi and said, “This is the little spirit I told you about before, the one with the little black cat.”
Only then did Ren Shi sheathe its sword, scrutinizing Lian Yi from head to toe.
Lian Yi glanced at Ren Shi, “It’s an earth spirit.”
“Earth spirit?” Nan Deng looked puzzled.
But now was not the time to explain; they needed to leave quickly.
The rabbit head was still on the ground, eating voraciously. Nan Deng found it and forcibly pulled it away: “You can’t eat anymore!”
Ren Shi initially wanted to deal with the severely injured resentful spirits but then they heard hurried footsteps approaching from the neighboring street.
Since there were celestial masters around, Ren Shi couldn’t be bothered to intervene.
So, before the celestial masters arrived, Nan Deng, holding the rabbit head, took Ren Shi and Hei Mao, and followed Lian Yi away.
Not long after, two teams of celestial masters simultaneously arrived at the street corner. Although they had anticipated it, the scene before them still sent chills down their spines.
“He took care of all of them,” the captain said, his tone a mix of amazement and complexity, “round them all up.”
Apart from the remnants of resentful spirits scattered on the ground, there wasn’t a single soul in sight; Lian Yi had already left.
The teams began to clean up the aftermath. At this moment, a celestial master emerged from a distant alley.
He was trembling, seemingly having just experienced a significant scare. Judging by his attire, he was an apprentice.
“I… I saw everything,” the apprentice celestial master still spoke with lingering fear, “I saw Chief Lian… no, Lian Yi.”
He was passing by to deliver supplies and happened to witness the large group of resentful spirits attacking Lian Yi.
The scene frightened him so much that he hastily hid in a garbage bin in the alley. Fortunately, the resentful spirits’ only target was Lian Yi, making the garbage bin a safe hiding spot for the apprentice.
When it finally quieted down outside, he cautiously lifted the garbage bin lid to peek out.
He was at a distance and didn’t dare expose himself. Through a narrow gap, he didn’t see the two earth spirits but did catch sight of Lian Yi and Nan Deng.
“He was with a resentful spirit,” the apprentice said firmly, “and left with that resentful spirit in the end!”
He didn’t get a clear look at the spirit’s appearance or hear their conversation, but he definitely saw Lian Yi talking to the spirit.
The apprentice even thought that Lian Yi and the spirit seemed somewhat close, though saying such a thing sounded even more unbelievable.
The captains of the two teams exchanged glances after hearing this: “Are you absolutely certain?”
“Absolutely!” the apprentice emphasized repeatedly, insisting he was not hallucinating. “I was very clear-headed; it was definitely a resentful spirit!”
Regardless of its appearance, a resentful spirit would always be a semi-transparent soul, fundamentally different from a living person.
Both captains wore grave expressions. One of them said, “This is a serious matter; we must report it to the inner court immediately.”
Resentful spirits are always synonymous with evil. Regardless of their lives, they lose all humanity after death.
Ordinary people might not understand, but for celestial masters, contact with ghosts is a major taboo.
There had already been numerous rumors claiming that Lian Yi killed Elder Zhuo Qing and might even be raising ghosts in his residence.
While the ghost-raising rumors lacked any evidence, they aligned with tonight’s events.
Given Lian Yi’s current situation, there was no need to seek verification from him first; reporting directly was sufficient.
“Hurry up and clean this up,” the other captain said in a low voice, “it’s almost dawn.”
—
At this moment, Nan Deng was already on another street some distance away, hiding in a shop for rent.
Ren Shi seemed reluctant to take Lian Yi to its small courtyard. At this hour, celestial masters would be making their final patrol of the streets, making it easy to be seen.
So Nan Deng temporarily found a place to hide, planning to decide where to go after the patrol ended.
Hei Mao was also with them. Since it was nearly dawn, it decided to return tonight.
Nan Deng approached the gap near the door and looked outside, confirming it was safe.
Seeing no one following them, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Lian Yi.
Lian Yi sat with his legs bent in the corner, his eyes slightly raised.
“Did you come to find me?” Nan Deng sat on the ground. “I originally…”
Suddenly, a strong force pulled Nan Deng closer.
Nan Deng was forced to fall into Lian Yi’s arms, his nose almost hitting Lian Yi’s collarbone.
Lian Yi looked down at him. “Yes.”
Nan Deng was still in his soul form and could only be held this way through spiritual arts.
At first, Nan Deng was confused, but he quickly realized it was Lian Yi who did it.
Lian Yi had never behaved like this before. Nan Deng felt a bit timid but couldn’t suppress his desire to be close to Lian Yi.
“Then how did you know I was here?” Nan Deng asked softly, his thick eyelashes fluttering gently. “Actually… I wanted to find you too.”
Lian Yi avoided the question. “Are you still angry?”
Nan Deng shook his head, then felt maybe he forgave too quickly, and awkwardly said, “A little bit angry.”
In reality, he wasn’t angry anymore. Although Lian Yi had kept things from him for a long time, he had never harmed him.
Lian Yi adjusted his position, using spiritual arts to lift Nan Deng onto his lap.
Nan Deng’s semi-transparent fingertips rested on Lian Yi’s sleeve, slender and white, like delicate shards of glass.
Lian Yi loosely embraced Nan Deng, his Adam’s apple moving as he spoke. “If I tell you the truth, you’ll be afraid of me.”
He lowered his eyes, looking somewhat gloomy. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
Recalling what Lin Jiu had said, that Lian Yi had no friends or family and that his only teacher treated him poorly, Nan Deng felt a deep pang of sorrow. He hugged Lian Yi tightly. “I’m not angry anymore.”
Lian Yi responded with a soft “Okay”, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Nan Deng didn’t resist him and was still willing to stay by his side.
Even if Nan Deng were still very angry or resistant to his celestial master identity, Lian Yi would have forcibly kept him around. Given enough time, Nan Deng might eventually accept it. Lian Yi had considered this possibility.
With the cool, mist-like soul body in his arms, Lian Yi’s whole day’s anxiety finally began to ease.
However, his breathing remained heavy, and the pain in his heart was unbearable.
When Nan Deng noticed, Lian Yi’s body temperature was very high, his face looked awful, and his brows were tightly knitted.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Nan Deng frantically checked Lian Yi’s body. “Are you injured?”
“It’s not an injury.”
Lian Yi struggled to endure, but soon his breathing became labored.
Then, just like last time, he suddenly passed out.
Nan Deng, at a loss, turned to the two earth spirits.
Receiving Nan Deng’s signal for help, Ren Shi flew over to examine the unconscious Lian Yi.
It murmured something, then produced a piece of cloth from who knows where and covered Lian Yi’s eyes with it.
—
After an unknown period, Lian Yi awoke from his faint.
He moved slightly and immediately heard Nan Deng’s joyful voice, “You’re awake!”
Nan Deng was right beside him, his cool hands cupping Lian Yi’s face, “Are you still feeling unwell?”
Lian Yi’s eyes were covered, and he reached up to touch what felt like a strip of cloth.
Nan Deng stopped him from removing the cloth, quickly explaining, “This is the little spirit’s home. It helped bring you back here.”
Ren Shi was willing to take Lian Yi back to the courtyard, but on the condition that his eyes be covered so he couldn’t see anything.
In the end, Ren Shi bound Lian Yi with vines, put him inside a large cabinet, and diligently carried the cabinet all the way back.
Once back at the small house, Ren Shi refused to let Lian Yi sleep on the low bed, so he was placed on the floor instead.
However, the floor was covered with clean vines and leaves, making it no different from a bed.
“I wanted to find some medicine for you,” Nan Deng said, “but luckily, your fever went down quickly.” This time, Lian Yi’s fainting spell didn’t last long. About half an hour after his fever subsided, he woke up.
Having long heard about Ren Shi’s somewhat eccentric temperament, Lian Yi, now enveloped in darkness, quickly accepted the situation, “Alright.”
At this moment, Ren Shi flew over, holding two cups of sweet juice.
Since they had brought him back, and for Nan Deng’s sake, some hospitality was in order.
Nan Deng took one cup for himself and handed the other to Lian Yi.
But the cup was too small, and with his eyes covered, Lian Yi’s movements were a bit slow.
Worried that Lian Yi might crush the cup, Nan Deng decided to feed him directly.
Lian Yi cooperated, taking a small sip of the sweet juice, and turning his head to follow the direction of every sound Nan Deng made.
With his eyes covered, Lian Yi looked different from usual. His demeanor also changed. Having just woken up, he appeared somewhat frail.
Nan Deng watched him for a while, then hugged him, “Let’s stay here for a few days, alright?”
He wasn’t sure about Lian Yi’s situation and was worried about his health.
Nan Deng talked to Lian Yi, letting him know he was there, “I’ll take good care of you.”
Shortly before Lian Yi woke up, Nan Deng discovered that behind this courtyard was an even larger one.
There, a few fruit trees were planted, and there was a large pond stocked with fish.
