After finishing all this, the rabbit head returned to its normal state, with the same blank expression it usually had, looking up at Nan Deng.
Nan Deng was in a daze for a moment and hesitated, “Xiao Tu, you…”
He instinctively felt that the rabbit head wasn’t just playing around. These paper balls and its several actions had a purpose.
But the rabbit head couldn’t speak and only had a pair of ears. Unlike Ren Shi who could draw patterns with a sword, Nan Deng couldn’t figure out what it wanted to express with just some paper balls.
He looked at the final piece of paper that had been placed on top and picked it up for a closer look.
“This is…” Nan Deng pondered for a moment, a vague guess forming in his mind, “A cover? A house? A tower?”
When he said the last word, the rabbit head happily shook its ears, indicating that Nan Deng had guessed correctly.
Nan Deng looked at the remaining torn papers on the carpet, once again feeling perplexed.
At this moment, Lian Yi walked over, “What are you doing?”
Accompanying him was the earth spirit parrot, which had just arrived and was knocking on the window outside. Lian Yi let it in.
The parrot flew onto Nan Deng’s shoulder, reluctant to part, “Lord Mountain God, will I see you again?”
The rose could communicate remotely with other earth spirits, so it already knew they were leaving without Nan Deng having to say anything.
Nan Deng stroked its wings, “Yes, you will.”
The carpet was a mess. Lian Yi stood among the pile of torn paper, lowering his eyes to meet the rabbit head’s gaze.
“Xiao Tu didn’t do it on purpose,” Nan Deng quickly explained, “It seems like it wants to tell me something.”
He briefly described the rabbit head’s actions. Lian Yi squatted down, picking up an intact small paper ball from the pile of torn paper.
The rabbit head came to his hand, sniffed it, and then looked at Nan Deng.
Lian Yi, deep in thought, pocketed the small paper ball, “Let’s head out first. We’ll talk when we get there.”
The driver was already waiting downstairs, having urged them twice earlier. They needed to leave quickly.
The scattered paper would be cleaned up by the service staff. Nan Deng picked up the rabbit head, took the rose, and followed Lian Yi downstairs.
There were no other residents in the elevator. The parrot perched on Nan Deng’s shoulder, whispering, “Lord Mountain God, can you give me a few strands of your hair?”
“Sure. But why do you need my hair?” Nan Deng asked, lowering his voice to match the parrot’s.
“There are a few people in the hospital who are about to die from their illnesses,” the parrot explained. “When they die, they’ll turn into very powerful ghosts, which will be troublesome. I want to try something…”
This area was also affected by the plague, though the situation was relatively mild and hadn’t yet produced many resentful spirits.
The parrot wasn’t a natural earth spirit but inherited its abilities from its mother.
It had been too excited when it first met Nan Deng last night. After leaving, it remembered that the aura of the Mountain God could suppress anything evil.
The hospital still hadn’t found a way to treat the patients. The parrot had checked on them during its patrol last night, thinking Nan Deng might be able to help.
It wasn’t entirely confident but wanted to try. Even if it didn’t work, having the Mountain God’s hair would be an honor.
“Healing the sick? Will that work?” Nan Deng’s expression showed hesitation and confusion. He knew he could heal earth spirits, but he had never considered treating plague patients.
However, he didn’t refuse. The parrot was overjoyed and carefully cut three strands of Nan Deng’s hair with its sharp claw.
It rolled the hair into a small ring and hid it among its feathers.
“Thank you, Lord Mountain God,” the parrot said gratefully, rubbing its head against Nan Deng. “You’re so kind…”
The elevator arrived at the basement level, and someone entered just then. The parrot fell silent, tilting its head like an ordinary bird.
Before leaving, the parrot quietly said goodbye to Nan Deng and then flew into the sky.
It avoided crowded areas and returned to its home, a wooden cabin built in a large tree.
The cabin had three rooms: a bedroom, a living room, and a storage room.
The parrot flew into the storage room and rummaged through various items, finding an empty spray bottle.
It took the bottle outside, found a water source, cleaned it thoroughly, and filled it with water.
The parrot also put Nan Deng’s hair into the bottle, using its nimble claws to tighten the cap and give it a shake.
Pressing the nozzle, it caught the fine mist on its wing, confirming the aura was correct.
Then, the parrot quietly flew to the hospital.
It easily found the patients in the most critical condition and sprayed their faces with the bottle.
It was getting late, and the parrot needed to rest and recover its strength during the day. It returned to the small cabin, put the bottle away, and went to sleep.
—
Around noon, Nan Deng and Lian Yi arrived at their destination.
This area had no earth spirits, and the plague and ghost troubles were severe. The driver refused to go any further once they reached the city outskirts.
He parked by the roadside and turned to them, “Sorry, this is as far as I go.”
Nan Deng put on his mask and hat and then opened the car door.
As soon as they got out, the driver sped away quickly.
There were few people around at this time, and the roadside was deserted. Lian Yi took out his phone to check the address of the hotel arranged by Lin Jiu.
After confirming the direction and name, Lian Yi put away his phone and led Nan Deng forward.
On the way, Nan Deng observed the unfamiliar scenery before him, holding the flowerpot tightly.
The oppressive aura here was overwhelming, giving him an indescribable sense of unease.
In the distance, a few dark clouds pressed down on the tall buildings, making the midday feel even more stifling.
The area they came from also lacked earth spirits and was plagued by severe ghost troubles. It wasn’t until the earth spirit black cat was born and more manpower was deployed that the situation improved significantly.
Now, with the added threat of the plague, this city had possibly become the most dangerous place at the moment.
The rose in Nan Deng’s arms seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere as well, its branches slightly rising and falling like breaths.
They walked a considerable distance before finally flagging down a car.
“Are you from out of town?” The driver glanced at them and quoted a price, “Get in if you don’t mind the cost.”
Many people stayed at home for safety, afraid to venture out, and work had also come to a halt.
Few were willing to go out and earn money during this time.
Lian Yi immediately opened the car door, letting Nan Deng get in first.
Just then, a few patrolling celestial masters walked by, looking over from a distance.
Lian Yi was dressed in ordinary clothes and wore a mask, making it hard to recognize him from afar.
Before the celestial masters could get closer, he sat in the back seat and closed the car door. The driver received the address of the hotel and drove away.
On the way, Nan Deng took Lian Yi’s communicator and informed Lin Jiu that they had arrived safely.
As for what to do next, he was still a bit unsure. They had reached their destination, but where should they place the rose?
Moreover, the situation here was dire. The rose had only recently become an earth spirit; could it handle the fierce resentful spirits?
The rose had been raised by Nan Deng, growing from a small bud to its current state. Now that it was time to part, he couldn’t help but feel worried and concerned.
After sending the message, Nan Deng clutched the communicator in a daze, gently stroking the leaves of the rose.
Lian Yi, sitting beside him, seemed to guess Nan Deng’s thoughts and held his other hand, “Let’s stay here for a few days first.”
Returning too quickly would draw attention, and they needed to investigate the situation here thoroughly.
Lian Yi took the communicator from Nan Deng’s hand just as Lin Jiu sent a message.
“Alright, the journey must have been tiring. Please make sure to rest. Also, is Chief Lian doing well?”
Lin Jiu noticed that the message was sent by Nan Deng and took the opportunity to inquire about Lian Yi’s well-being.
Besides the rose, Nan Deng only had Lian Yi by his side, and the place they were in was unsafe. If anything happened to Lian Yi due to the restrictions, someone needed to protect Nan Deng immediately.
Having managed affairs for a long time, Lin Jiu habitually considered many factors and even wished he could come along himself.
Lian Yi saw the message but didn’t reply. He turned off the communicator.
When they arrived at the hotel, they checked in using the information Lin Jiu had registered.
Nan Deng hadn’t slept enough the previous night and couldn’t sleep on the way. After lunch, he took another nap.
When he woke up, he found Lian Yi and the rabbit head together.
Lian Yi was sitting on the carpet with his legs folded, surrounded by several packs of tissues.
He casually pulled out a tissue and crumpled it into a ball, and the rabbit head picked up the ball, placing it in its chosen spot.
Nan Deng realized he had never seen them get along so harmoniously; usually, they ignored each other.
He curiously approached and sat down next to Lian Yi, “What’s this?”
“Let it do it again,” Lian Yi said, crumpling the last paper ball and handing it to the rabbit head, “It did this in the morning.”
Then he took out the small paper ball he had taken earlier that morning.
The arrangement on the carpet was restored, and with more time now, the rabbit head could perform the demonstration more completely.
It took the small paper ball from Lian Yi’s hand and first hid it in a cabinet.
After hiding it, the rabbit head stayed in the corner, pretending to sleep with its eyes closed, and opened its eyes when it heard Lian Yi’s voice.
It sniffed around, walking and stopping until it reached the cabinet, where it retrieved the small paper ball and hid it behind a stool.
Then, just as Nan Deng had seen before, the rabbit head, with red eyes, tore the paper ball and the humanoid paper strips into pieces, collapsed twice, mixed the small paper ball into the pile of torn paper, and finally covered it with a paper towel tower.
The only difference this time was that the paper towel tower was placed by Lian Yi, and the rabbit head stayed inside without moving.
Two minutes passed, and it still hadn’t moved.
Nan Deng couldn’t resist reaching out and touching it through the paper towel, “Xiao Tu?”
Could it have fallen asleep…
At that moment, the rabbit head jumped up with the paper towel covering it. It reverted to its previous fierceness, tore a big hole in the paper towel, and carried the small paper ball out of the pile of torn paper.
Nan Deng was momentarily stunned, “The tower… you broke it?”
The rabbit head shook its ears and spun in a circle.
Lian Yi took the small paper ball from its mouth and held it in his hand, asking, “Is this Nan Deng?”
The rabbit head continued to shake its ears, indicating he was right.
Lian Yi then pointed to the pile of torn paper balls, “Are these resentful spirits?”
The rabbit head hesitated for a moment and moved only one ear.
Resentful spirits, but not entirely?
Lian Yi’s expression darkened. He asked again, “Are these resentful spirits and celestial masters?”
The only ones related to Yezhang Tower, besides celestial masters, were no other possibilities.
As soon as he finished speaking, the rabbit head moved both ears together, confirming this guess was correct.
Lian Yi continued to ask and learned that the undamaged paper balls on the outer edges and the larger humanoid paper strips were all celestial masters.
Unfortunately, the rabbit head could only identify resentful spirits and celestial masters. Even if given names, it couldn’t confirm who they were.
“Alright.”
For the first time, Lian Yi patted the rabbit head’s furry head. However, the rabbit head didn’t appreciate the gesture, turning away and moving towards Nan Deng.
Nan Deng sluggishly picked it up and examined it in his hands, “How did you break the tower?”
Did it use its teeth?
Nan Deng opened the rabbit head’s mouth and felt its two buckteeth. Looking at its small, translucent body, he couldn’t imagine that scene.
The rabbit head looked away nonchalantly, seemingly unwilling to explain this detail.
Its pupils alternated between black and red as it jumped back into the pile of torn paper, wildly flinging its ears and playfully wreaking havoc.
Compared to its previous actions, it was now purely playing.
Once it was done playing, Nan Deng cleaned up the scattered paper.
—
In the evening, Nan Deng fed the rose some rice and softly asked where it would like to be planted.
Lian Yi sat on one side of the sofa, communicating with Lin Jiu.
The demonstration by the rabbit head had made everything clear. Now they just needed to identify who the humanoid paper strip represented.
“So, how did that little pet cause the Yezhang Tower to collapse?”
Only now did Lin Jiu learn that they had actually imprisoned the Mountain God in the Yezhang Tower.
His back was nearly drenched in cold sweat, and his hands trembled as he held the communicator.
No wonder… The Mountain God they had been desperately searching for was locked away in a dark, sunless tower, unable to respond to any summons.
“Beep—”
A message notification sounded, and Lin Jiu looked down to check.
“It is a Chaos God, Hui Shou.”
With a clatter, the communicator slipped from Lin Jiu’s hand and fell to the ground.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, steadied himself, and replied, “I understand. I will investigate this matter immediately.”
Given the rabbit head’s identity and the presence of so many resentful spirits and celestial masters, there must have been significant commotion, leaving traces behind.
Lin Jiu immediately contacted the inner court, requesting access to all records.
Meanwhile, Nan Deng glanced at the time, planning to take a shower and go to bed.
He set down the rose and stood up, suddenly freezing in place.
Outside, a cold aura was approaching.
Nan Deng’s senses had become increasingly sharp, and he detected it almost instantly.
He looked at Lian Yi, and a beam of light flashed before his eyes.
The Bagua ring floated in front of Nan Deng, suspended in mid-air. Lian Yi spoke in a low voice, “A resentful spirit is coming.”
The rose also sensed the aura, its branches slowly twisting.
