Before coming to the hospital, Nan Deng had eaten quite a bit. Along the way, they had passed various food stalls, and Lian Yi even bought him a pancake.
It hadn’t been long, yet he was hungry again. And not just hungry, but also very tired.
Lian Yi carried him out. As they passed several patient rooms, Nan Deng opened his eyes and noticed that the dark blue aura on the patients’ foreheads seemed to have disappeared.
Crying babies had quieted down, falling asleep within seconds, and the oppressive atmosphere in the hallway had lifted.
Could he really not see it anymore?
Nan Deng wanted to take a closer look and struggled slightly in Lian Yi’s arms.
At that moment, a nurse passing by in the hallway noticed Nan Deng’s poor condition and approached to inquire, but Lian Yi’s cold gaze made her hesitate.
Both of them wore masks, and the nurse had never seen them before. Nan Deng took the initiative to respond, “I’m fine.”
His voice was muffled and weak, his beautiful eyes misty with tears.
Feeling inexplicably compassionate, the nurse pulled out a piece of cheese cracker meant for calming children and offered it to Nan Deng.
Nan Deng took it and softly said, “Thank you.”
After the nurse left, Nan Deng unwrapped and ate the cracker, then leaned back against Lian Yi’s neck. “Let’s go back.”
Lian Yi said nothing, carrying Nan Deng out of the quarantine area and the hospital. He hailed a taxi and got in with Nan Deng still in his arms.
In the car, he continued to hold Nan Deng, checking his condition. “Where does it hurt?”
“I’m just suddenly tired,” Nan Deng shook his head and hesitated. “I couldn’t see it, the dark aura on their faces…”
Since the driver was a stranger, he instinctively didn’t finish his sentence. Besides, he didn’t know what that dark blue aura was.
Lian Yi understood Nan Deng’s meaning and quickly guessed the cause.
During his communication with Lin Jiu, he had sensed a familiar yet unfamiliar aura, which vanished as quickly as it came, like a gentle breeze passing by.
Immediately after that, Nan Deng had felt unwell, nearly fainting in the hallway.
Lian Yi stroked Nan Deng’s smooth hair and remained silent for a moment. “Let’s go back and rest.”
If Nan Deng’s hair could quickly cure the plague, then his sudden exhaustion was likely due to the depletion of his divine power. They would probably know the condition of the hospital patients by tonight.
Nan Deng nodded and pulled down his mask, burying his face in Lian Yi’s clothes, inhaling the familiar scent which slightly eased his fatigue.
He clung tightly to Lian Yi’s waist and after a while, looked up. “I… I want to eat the pancake from this morning.”
Lian Yi immediately instructed the driver to turn around and head to the place where they bought the pancake in the morning.
However, upon arriving, the pancake stall was no longer there.
Nan Deng was visibly disappointed. Lian Yi then had the driver drive around the nearby streets and found a cake shop. He bought a small cake, about the size of a palm, for Nan Deng.
Seeing the delicate little cake, Nan Deng’s spirits lifted. He held it carefully and waited until they were back in their room at the motel to open it.
He dug a big spoonful with the spoon.
Fearing that Nan Deng might eat too quickly and without moderation, Lian Yi took the small cake and personally fed it to him.
After finishing the cake, Nan Deng held Lian Yi’s hand and licked the spoon, still craving more.
Lian Yi wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth and asked, “Still hungry?”
Nan Deng nodded honestly, “Hungry.”
Soon, a large table of dishes was brought in by the waitstaff, one after another.
Nan Deng buried his head in the food, while Lian Yi occasionally added more to his plate and even peeled a small bowl of shrimp for him.
It wasn’t until nearly all the dishes were empty that Nan Deng finally stopped.
He drank a cup of hot milk but still felt not entirely full.
Seeing this, Lian Yi frowned slightly. He pulled him closer and touched his flat stomach, “Still hungry?”
Nan Deng, looking frail and slender with delicate bones that seemed like they could break easily, always made Lian Yi worry he might overeat and hurt himself.
“I’m not hungry anymore,” he mumbled. “Hold me some more…”
“Are you sleepy?” Lian Yi asked softly, carrying Nan Deng to the bedroom.
Nan Deng didn’t want to sleep but insisted on Lian Yi lying with him.
He kept snuggling into Lian Yi’s embrace, his cheek pressed against the warm side of Lian Yi’s neck, finally settling down.
After a while, Nan Deng started feeling drowsy.
He slowly fell asleep, his breathing becoming steady and deep.
When he woke up in the afternoon, he was half-lying on Lian Yi’s chest. Lian Yi was holding a communicator, checking messages.
Nan Deng turned his head and saw that the sender was “Lin Jiu”. The message vaguely included words like “restriction” and “physical discomfort”.
He had only glanced at it when Lian Yi turned off the communicator.
Lian Yi set the communicator aside and gently brushed away Nan Deng’s slightly messy bangs. “Ready to get up?”
Nan Deng inquired, “What did Lin Jiu say just now?”
Lian Yi lowered his eyes. “Nothing important, just some trivial matters.”
Nan Deng didn’t quite believe it. Lin Jiu never engaged in idle chatter in his messages to Lian Yi.
His intuition was very sharp. The message content was either related to him or to Lian Yi, and it had to be something significant.
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t hide anything from me anymore?” Nan Deng pursed his lips, reaching to take the communicator.
Lian Yi grasped Nan Deng’s wrist to stop him, seeing his expression turn very aggrieved.
He silently relented, letting Nan Deng take the communicator.
The communicator hadn’t fully shut down. Opening it again revealed the ongoing conversation with Lin Jiu.
“I inquired with several celestial masters who used to work under Zhuo Qing. The restriction seems to only alleviate or delay its effects, not directly remove it. If you feel any physical discomfort in the near future, you can try using spiritual techniques or talisman arrays to suppress it, but you need to be very careful. Contact me immediately if anything happens.”
Zhuo Qing had long been dead, and now Gu Xu was also dead.
These two had been the closest, with Gu Xu dedicated to avenging Zhuo Qing. Lin Jiu thought that with Gu Xu’s death, someone might be willing to reveal the method to lift the restriction on Lian Yi.
He had subtly inquired and indeed got some information, which he hurried to share with Lian Yi.
Nan Deng read the message over and over again, then asked blankly, “What is a restriction?”
Out of curiosity, he had previously asked about the names of several elders from the inner court and knew that Zhuo Qing was Lian Yi’s teacher.
Since Lin Jiu mentioned it in the message, could it be that Zhuo Qing did something bad to Lian Yi?
Nan Deng tried hard to recall and soon remembered that Lian Yi had inexplicably fainted twice before.
With a worried expression, he tightly grasped Lian Yi’s sleeve, insisting that he explain what the restriction was.
“I’m fine,” Lian Yi held Nan Deng’s hand, gently pulling him into his embrace, “It doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”
Each time he felt the sharp pain in his heart, he had endured it. The restriction had not truly manifested yet.
The time limit Zhuo Qing had set had long passed, and Lian Yi was still unharmed, indicating that the restriction might have been suppressed or delayed somehow.
Lian Yi hadn’t actively asked Lin Jiu to look into this matter. He wasn’t afraid of death; to him, dying was merely transitioning from a human to a ghost.
“Does it really not hurt anymore?”
Nan Deng was glum. “If I hadn’t asked, you wouldn’t have told me.”
Lian Yi stayed silent. Nan Deng quickly thought of something else, his eyes showing a glimmer of hope. “Then… can I cure you?”
He didn’t fully understand what a restriction was and thought it might be similar to the plague. Since he could cure plague patients, maybe he could also cure Lian Yi.
Lian Yi answered softly, “I don’t know.”
Nan Deng became even more anxious and worried, not knowing what to do.
He cupped Lian Yi’s face with both hands, scrutinizing him closely to see if there was any sign of the blue-black aura he had seen on the patients in the hospital.
Unfortunately, Nan Deng couldn’t see anything. He refused to give up, leaning instinctively closer and kissing Lian Yi’s forehead. “Get better soon,” he urged.
A faint smile curved Lian Yi’s lips. Nan Deng didn’t know if it would work, but he sensed that Lian Yi’s mood had improved significantly.
It felt like encouragement for Nan Deng, who proceeded to plant several more kisses on Lian Yi’s face.
Finally, after hesitating for two seconds, Nan Deng leaned in and kissed Lian Yi squarely on the lips.
Lian Yi didn’t expect this and abruptly turned his head away. His earlobes turned red as he spoke, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “We can’t do this.”
“Why can’t we?” Nan Deng gauged Lian Yi’s reaction and approached again, mumbling as he embraced Lian Yi’s neck. “I won’t kiss anyone else…”
He had been a person for quite some time now. Even when he was still a ghost, he wasn’t completely ignorant of these matters, though his thinking had been slow when he had just come out of the tower.
At this moment, the neglected rabbit head approached, hoping Nan Deng would kiss it too.
Nan Deng didn’t understand its intention, so he rubbed its head and let it play by itself.
The rabbit head gritted its teeth in frustration and hopped away.
The blush on Lian Yi’s earlobe hadn’t faded. He looked down at Nan Deng for a while, then tightened his arms around him. “Okay.”
The communicator by the bedside rang again. Lian Yi picked it up and checked—it was from Lin Jiu.
“Chief Lian, Elder Xie Yun is likely mobilizing forces to apprehend you. Why not come to Changyang instead?”
Xie Yun had completely neglected to inform Weng Ping Ran of his actions. Lin Jiu had learned a bit of information from other celestial masters.
Now he was even more certain that Xie Yun was suspicious. But he didn’t know where to find evidence.
The records in the files had been mostly wiped clean. Aside from a few suspicious points, Xie Yun hadn’t left any evidence. Too much time had passed, and there were no witnesses to be found.
Lin Jiu now only hoped that his teacher, Weng Ping Ran, hadn’t been involved. Otherwise…
He thought he could have Lian Yi and Nan Deng hide in the Changyang area for now without letting Weng Ping Ran know.
Although risky, sometimes, the most dangerous place could also be the safest, and Xie Yun probably wouldn’t guess that there were people in the inner courtyard helping Lian Yi.
Since Lian Yi hadn’t replied yet, Lin Jiu temporarily turned off the communicator and walked out of the lounge.
Weng Ping Ran was still talking with a few doctors. Now, he could be sure that the patient who had been sprayed with the water by the parrot had been completely cured, with no signs of a second infection.
Lin Jiu also quietly contacted a few familiar celestial masters to have them check if there were any abnormalities in the inventory of symbols.
After the doctors left, Lin Jiu approached: “Teacher.”
He hesitated, and Weng Ping Ran could tell he had something to say: “What’s the matter?”
“Elder Xie Yun… Teacher, aren’t you going to intervene?” Lin Jiu asked, “Especially now when so many people are being transferred…”
Weng Ping Ran took a sip of water, holding the cup: “He said it’s to cleanse the grudges caused by the plague, which makes sense. I have no reason to stop him.”
Lin Jiu tentatively continued, “But I believe his intentions go beyond that.”
He could find out things, and Weng Ping Ran naturally knew that Lian Yi was likely in several nearby areas.
“Alright, I know what you want to say,” Weng Ping Ran glanced at Lin Jiu, coldly snorting, “Trying to intercede for Lian Yi? Unless the mountain god appears in person, there’s no need to come to Changyang!”
