FCRCG Chapter 38

The parrot spoke clearly, and Nan Deng confirmed it was indeed calling him.

Puzzled, he asked, “Why do you call me that? Did you know me before?”

“Mountain God” sounded like a significant title. Could it be that he had an extraordinary identity when he was alive? Lian Yi had also mentioned that he wasn’t an ordinary ghost.

Nan Deng tried to search his mind but couldn’t recall any memories from before entering Yezhang Tower, nor did he recognize this parrot.

“This is my first time meeting you,” the parrot said, its beady black eyes fixed on Nan Deng, noticing the crucial issue. “You are the Mountain God. Don’t you know that?”

As an earth spirit, it could never mistake the aura emanating from Nan Deng.

“But I used to be a ghost,” Nan Deng said, bewildered. “Now I’ve temporarily turned into a human.”

Because of the previous transformations, he believed he was still a ghost, uncertain why he had become human and expecting to revert back.

The parrot shook its head. “No, you are neither a ghost nor a human. You are the Mountain God.”

The term was unfamiliar and mysterious to Nan Deng, and he instinctively turned to look at Lian Yi.

Lian Yi showed no sign of surprise, his gaze shifting from the parrot. “I had my suspicions but wasn’t sure.”

Given Nan Deng’s complete lack of awareness, Lian Yi hadn’t found the right moment to bring it up. The appearance of this new earth spirit happened to help clarify things.

Nan Deng still felt confused. However, his trust in Lian Yi and the protection he received made him more accepting of the situation.

“I really don’t know who I am. My name is Nan Deng; I chose it myself.”

He held the small parrot gently, stroking its smooth feathers. “This is your first time seeing me. How did you recognize me?”

“You are the Mountain God; of course, I can recognize you,” the parrot said, rubbing its head against Nan Deng’s fingers. “Your scent is different.”

Nan Deng, puzzled, sniffed himself but didn’t detect anything special.

The parrot seemed very fond of him, even lying down in his palm, curling its claws, and rolling around as if trying to soak up Nan Deng’s scent on its feathers.

“So, what else do you know?” Nan Deng asked with a hint of expectation. “I… can’t remember many things.”

The parrot flipped over, stood up, shook its feathers, and tilted its head thoughtfully. “I know you are the Mountain God.”

Nan Deng held his breath, patiently waiting for it to continue.

“The Mountain God can heal us and restore our strength,” the parrot chirped brightly. “Anyway, you are the Mountain God!”

Given the usual lifespan of earth spirits, it was still quite young and, as it mentioned earlier, had never met Nan Deng before. So it might not know much.

Nan Deng decided not to press further. He recalled the last time Ren Shi had come to the motel looking for him, it was because Hei Mao had been injured.

He hadn’t done anything specific; Hei Mao had simply slept in his arms. When it woke up, its wounds had healed.

So… was this his ability? Something he had been unaware of all along.

Finally, Nan Deng began to believe the parrot’s words. He might really be the “Mountain God” it spoke of.

The parrot continued to nuzzle Nan Deng’s palm, more affectionate than a kitten. It suddenly noticed the rabbit head sitting quietly at the edge of the bed, watching it.

Only now did the parrot have time to pay attention to the other creatures in the room. It didn’t recognize the rabbit head but could sense that its aura was also unusual.

The parrot fluttered its wings and stood up, cautiously greeting the rabbit head, “Hello?”

The rabbit head remained silent, its dark eyes fixed on the parrot’s green feathers.

Seeing that the strange rabbit wasn’t responding, the parrot turned to look at Lian Yi.

It asked Nan Deng, “Is this human your servant?”

Nan Deng was taken aback and quickly replied, “No, no… He’s my friend.”

The parrot made an “oh” sound, giving Lian Yi a reluctant second glance.

To be a friend of the Mountain God must mean he had some remarkable qualities.

The parrot then turned its attention to the flower pot on the cabinet and flew over, landing beside the rose. The rose lowered its branches, gently extending its leaves as if greeting the parrot.

Nan Deng stood up and approached. The parrot nuzzled the rose’s leaves and said to Nan Deng, “Mountain God, I sensed its signal, which is how I found you so quickly.”

It explained that the rose had sent out a signal that could be detected by any earth spirit within a certain range.

Nan Deng crouched by the cabinet, astonished. “So the little flower can talk too?”

“Can’t you hear it, Mountain God?” The parrot tilted its head and listened for a moment. “It says its name isn’t Little Flower, but Cao Mei.”

Cao Mei¹Strawberry. It’ll be weird if everyone gets a Chinese name but the rose doesn’t, so I use the pinyin. and rose were entirely different plants. Nan Deng was silent for a moment before correcting himself, “So Cao Mei can talk.”

A name was just a name. He called himself Nan Deng, which didn’t mean he was an actual lantern.

The parrot, not having met many other earth spirits, circled the rose for a bit before turning its attention back to Nan Deng. It was so fond of Nan Deng that it wanted to chat with him endlessly.

Lian Yi appeared behind them at some point and said, “It’s late.”

His voice sounded cold and somewhat displeased. “The Mountain God needs to rest.”

The parrot gave him a secretive glare, though it lacked much menace.

Realizing the time, the parrot knew it had to patrol that night and couldn’t stay with the Mountain God all the time.

It flew onto Nan Deng’s shoulder and nuzzled his cheek with its head. “Mountain God, rest early. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”

Nan Deng stroked its feathers gently. “Okay.”

He remembered he had to leave early the next morning but hesitated to say it out loud.

The rose could communicate with earth spirits far away, and the parrot should know where they were.

As an earth spirit, the parrot had its own responsibilities, needing to patrol just like the celestial master.

After bidding farewell to Nan Deng, the parrot flew to the window, slipped out through the crack, and departed.

Lian Yi closed the window again, dimming the bedroom lights. He sat on the bed with a comb, gently combing Nan Deng’s hair.

His hair was already dry. Nan Deng yawned, but his eyes were still bright.

As if suddenly realizing, he nervously tugged at Lian Yi’s sleeve. “Am I really the Mountain God?”

It still felt unreal… just like the sudden transformation into a human. He had been a ghost for so long, never considering that he wasn’t actually a ghost.

Lian Yi set down the comb and paused for two seconds. “Yes.”

Then he reached out and pulled Nan Deng close, his palm slowly smoothing over his back, both soothing and comforting. “It’s just an identity. No one can bind you.”

Nan Deng seemed to understand vaguely and nodded with a quiet “Mm.”

If he wasn’t a ghost, why had he been locked in the tower with a group of ghosts?

After escaping with the rabbit head, Nan Deng had also evaded pursuit by the celestial master.

He felt puzzled and finally voiced his question.

Lian Yi couldn’t answer his question. According to rumors, the Mountain God had disappeared for nearly twenty years. Those who claimed to have seen the Mountain God before described it differently.

Celestial masters were merely humans fortunate enough to practice spiritual arts. How could they fathom the origins and past of gods?

The only thing known now was what had happened before Nan Deng was imprisoned in Yezhang Tower, and those in the inner courtyard should not be trusted lightly.

In the tower, day and night did not alternate. Nan Deng wasn’t sure how long he had been inside.

The rabbit head squatted quietly on the side, listening to their conversation. Nan Deng pulled it over and tried to inquire, “Xiao Tu, do you remember anything from before?”

Since Nan Deng could remember, the rabbit head had been by his side, perhaps older than him.

The rabbit head perked up its ears but showed no response, looking rather vacant.

Nan Deng didn’t expect much and let it go.

“Don’t worry,” Lian Yi said, promising Nan Deng again, “I will protect you.”

Nan Deng nodded, instinctively reaching out to hug his neck, “You’re so good to me…”

He impulsively leaned in and kissed Lian Yi’s cheek.

Nan Deng quickly stepped back, quietly observing Lian Yi’s reaction.

The last time, Lian Yi had kissed him like this.

Since Nan Deng learned to use his phone and encountered information different from TV dramas, when the parrot asked Lian Yi tonight if he was his “servant”, he explained in one sentence.

He felt his relationship with Lian Yi was more intimate than friends. But he didn’t immediately find the right word.

Under Nan Deng’s gaze, Lian Yi remained silent, his ears gradually turning red.

His expression unchanged, he whispered softly, “Go to sleep.”

Nan Deng glanced at Lian Yi for a moment, vaguely sensing his current complex emotions, though not negative. His somber mood visibly lightened.

Feeling somewhat happier himself, he nestled into Lian Yi’s embrace. “Mm.”

—

Just as dawn broke, Nan Deng was awakened by the alarm clock at the head of the bed.

With half-closed eyes, he got up and washed up. With Lian Yi’s help, he changed clothes, had some food and a glass of milk, and finally felt fully awake.

Things were already tidied up. Nan Deng picked up the flowerpot and looked around, not seeing the rabbit head anywhere.

“Xiao Tu?” he called out, then heard faint noises coming from the direction of the living room.

Walking over to take a look, the rabbit head was crouched in the middle of the empty carpet, surrounded by scattered tissues and a pile of empty tissue wrappers.

“Xiao Tu!” he said sternly, “These cost money!”

The rabbit head hopped over, uncharacteristically biting Nan Deng’s pants leg and pulling him toward the tissues.

Puzzled, Nan Deng followed a few steps and crouched down. “What’s wrong?”

Then he noticed the tissues on the ground weren’t randomly torn—they were folded into several different shapes.

The rabbit head first went behind a stool, carefully pushing out a small, round paper ball.

It hid the paper ball under a tissue, and then its eyes suddenly turned red, showing teeth in a fierce expression. It leaped into the middle of a pile of shredded paper, wildly attacking with its ears.

Behind the shredded paper, there were a few sheets of paper torn into strips, barely forming a larger humanoid shape.

The rabbit head continued charging forward, using its teeth to shred the humanoid paper strips into pieces. During the process, it voluntarily lay down twice, as if representing itself being injured.

After all the paper balls were destroyed, the rabbit head’s red eyes faded away, and its ears drooped.

There were still some paper scraps around in a circle, but it paid them no further attention. Instead, it retrieved the small, carefully hidden paper ball from under the stool, gently holding it in its mouth.

At this point, Nan Deng noticed that compared to the other shredded paper, this small paper ball was clearly crafted with more delicacy and care.

With the small paper ball in its mouth, the rabbit head returned to the center of the previous pile of shredded paper, lying down and rolling around twice, getting paper bits stuck to its body.

Finally, it set down the small paper ball, shook off the paper bits from its body, and fetched a complete tissue from under another side of the stool.

The rabbit head bit the tissue in the middle, laying it over the pile of shredded paper. The bitten part was missing a small piece, giving it a shape resembling a sharp angle, like a tower.

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  Strawberry. It’ll be weird if everyone gets a Chinese name but the rose doesn’t, so I use the pinyin.