Lin Jiu hurriedly stepped forward and supported Weng Ping Ran. “Teacher?”
Weng Ping Ran’s breath was unsteady, his eyes half-closed. “Chair…”
Lin Jiu helped Weng Ping Ran sit down and poured a cup of warm water.
Weng Ping Ran picked up the cup but then set it down again, sighing heavily. “What are we going to do…”
Earlier, he could still console himself, thinking it was just a bit too close but not yet at that level of relationship.
Although Nan Deng looked young, his status was more special than anyone else’s, making it hard for Weng Ping Ran to even ask.
Now, watching Lian Yi and Nan Deng kiss right in front of him, Weng Ping Ran almost passed out.
He had just been thinking that after Lian Yi’s death, the only one who could solve the issue might be Nan Deng. This made the situation even more complicated and difficult.
Subconsciously, Weng Ping Ran gripped the cup in his hand tightly, causing the water in the paper cup to spill over. But he didn’t react at all.
He took a few breaths and said through gritted teeth, “How audacious!”
He even thought, could it be that Nan Deng was being deceived by Lian Yi?
Weng Ping Ran raised his eyes and glanced at Lin Jiu standing to the side. “Did you know about this long ago?”
Lin Jiu didn’t make a sound, silently confirming it.
Weng Pingran sighed again and drank the water in the cup in one gulp.
“Tell me,” he asked Lin Jiu, “what should we do about this?”
Lin Jiu was his most outstanding student. Since he had known for a while, it was impossible that he hadn’t thought about the issues that would arise after Lian Yi’s death.
He was simply too powerful, and his soul would inevitably be a great menace, especially since he had such a close relationship with the Mountain God.
Not to mention what Nan Deng’s attitude would be; if Lian Yi refused to leave his side and his obsession after death was also Nan Deng…
The killing intent Lian Yi showed when he threatened him a while ago still left Weng Ping Ran with lingering fear.
It hadn’t been long, yet his strength seemed to have increased significantly.
If Nan Deng could harden his heart against Lian Yi, that would be ideal. However, Weng Ping Ran was worried that Lian Yi’s soul would be even stronger than the Mountain God.
With the addition of the Chaos God, perhaps there might be some chance of success…
Lin Jiu poured another cup of water. “Teacher.”
He said softly, “If we cannot intervene, then let things take their course.”
Moreover, in his view, Lian Yi liking Nan Deng might not necessarily be a bad thing.
At least for now, because of Nan Deng’s presence, Lian Yi was still a Celestial Master of the inner court.
—
Back in the room, Nan Deng picked up the rabbit head that came to greet him, his cheeks still slightly flushed.
He closely followed behind Lian Yi. “Just now…”
Lian Yi had never kissed him in front of others before, and it wasn’t just once.
Nan Deng didn’t think much about why he did it, he just felt happy.
Lian Yi stopped and turned around. Nan Deng almost bumped into him.
He bent down, his fingertips touching Nan Deng’s slightly red cheeks. “Not sleepy?”
Nan Deng put down the rabbit head in his arms, wrapped his hands around Lian Yi’s neck, and hummed coquettishly, “Kiss me again…”
Lian Yi’s Adam’s apple moved, but he didn’t respond immediately. The soft sensation was already close, brushing against the side of his face.
Behind them was a sofa. Lian Yi sat down with Nan Deng in his arms, pinched his chin, and kissed him.
His strength was a bit heavy, grazing a bit of moisture between their lips. But neither of them was very skilled, so it was just a simple touch.
Nan Deng loved being close to Lian Yi, holding his face and kissing him several times.
He had just woken up, wearing thin clothes. Lian Yi’s hand rested on his waist and slowly moved in.
Nan Deng was very thin, with white and delicate skin. The roughness of Lian Yi’s palm brought a slight tickling sensation. He burrowed into Lian Yi’s embrace, rubbing against his neck.
He never refused Lian Yi, as if whatever Lian Yi wanted to do was fine.
Lian Yi suddenly stopped, tidying Nan Deng’s clothes. “Hungry?”
Nan Deng shook his head. He had woken up halfway through his sleep and wasn’t fully rested, his eyes showing some drowsiness.
“I’m going to take a shower first,” Lian Yi still held Nan Deng, and couldn’t resist kissing his reddened ear tip, “I’ll be quick.”
Nan Deng obediently responded. He got up from Lian Yi and watched him open the wardrobe, take some clothes, and head to the bathroom.
He turned on the TV and watched for a while, intending to wait for Lian Yi to come out and sleep with him.
The sound of water continued from the bathroom. Nan Deng yawned several times and curled up on the sofa, nearly falling asleep before Lian Yi finally finished his shower.
Nan Deng forced himself to stay awake until Lian Yi dried his hair and lay down with him.
He habitually snuggled into Lian Yi’s embrace and mumbled, “Next time, let’s shower together. It won’t waste time…”
Lian Yi used a spiritual technique to turn off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.
He stroked Nan Deng’s hair and gently coaxed, “We’ll talk about it later.”
—
The night passed, and the plague in the area was successfully eradicated.
Considering that Nan Deng needed time to recover, Weng Ping Ran planned to stay a few more days before heading to the next location.
So, Nan Deng went to see the local spirit of the area, the statue Weng Ping Ran had mentioned.
The statue was simply called “the statue”, resembling an unfinished carving with a vague outline that didn’t reveal any specific shape.
It couldn’t move or speak. But every night, its body would automatically split into several stone fragments that floated around the area to patrol.
When Nan Deng appeared, several stone fragments floated over and lined up, waiting for his touch.
The main body of the statue remained quiet, standing on its iron base, emitting a soft glow.
Nan Deng stretched out his arm and patted its head. “Hello.”
Weng Ping Ran stood at the back, involuntarily revealing a smile, showing a bit of elder-like affection.
When his gaze touched upon Lian Yi on the other side, the curve of his lips quickly flattened.
It was just after nightfall, and the lurking resentful spirits were beginning to stir. Nan Deng didn’t want to disturb the statue at work, so he exchanged a few words with it before leaving.
The few days of rest quickly passed, and they were preparing to set off again.
At the same time, Weng Ping Ran received news.
Xie Yun had been captured.
Xie Yun had no students or family. The Inner Court personnel responsible for the pursuit searched several of his residences and even sought help from the police, eventually tracking down his whereabouts.
When found, he was living alone in a remote little hotel.
Faced with the Celestial Masters who came to take him away, he was neither flustered nor afraid, nor did he resist in the slightest, as if he had long anticipated his fate.
Weng Ping Ran, worried about any mishaps, instructed his subordinates to keep a close watch on him, making sure he wouldn’t escape.
Soon after, he learned that Xie Yun’s physical condition was not good, still the same as when he was injured years ago.
He didn’t resist because he couldn’t resist.
Looking at the information sent by his subordinates, Weng Ping Ran frowned deeply.
If Xie Yun’s body hadn’t recovered, how did he plan and spread the plague?
Since Xie Yun’s actions were exposed, Weng Ping Ran had already detained and interrogated everyone associated with him, finding that none of them were aware of his plans.
Xie Yun had been hiding for so many years, and for safety’s sake, he would most likely not easily trust the Celestial Masters of the Inner Court. But he certainly had help.
Remembering the fog-shrouded specter Lin Jiu had mentioned, Weng Ping Ran’s expression became serious. He instructed his subordinates to strengthen the guard further, ensuring that no person or ghost could approach.
Nan Deng also received the news immediately. He actually wanted to go see. But Xie Yun was imprisoned in the dungeon established by the Inner Court, far from his location.
“The Inner Court personnel are responsible for interrogating him,” Weng Ping Ran said. “I’ll go there in a few days too.”
He initially wanted to stay with Nan Deng but also wanted to handle Xie Yun’s matters personally.
After much deliberation, Weng Ping Ran chose the latter and asked Lin Jiu to stay by Nan Deng’s side and keep an eye on him.
“Oh, by the way,” he opened his communicator and showed Nan Deng a few pictures, “these were found among Xie Yun’s personal belongings.”
The pictures were of several pages from ancient books, quite a few in number, and appeared to be from the same source as the ones found last time.
The Celestial Masters who conducted the search didn’t dare to casually flip through or look at them. They carefully organized the pages and took some pictures.
Weng Ping Ran asked, “Should they be sent over?”
Nan Deng hesitated before nodding. “Yes.”
The next day, he arrived at a new area and, as usual, went to the hospital first.
After the patients were discharged, Weng Ping Ran returned to the Inner Court and reported the interrogation progress to Nan Deng regularly.
But Xie Yun’s mouth was as tight as a stone. No matter what methods were used, he refused to speak.
His health was poor, and he couldn’t be tortured arbitrarily. Once he turned into a resentful spirit, it would be even harder to interrogate him.
The only thing he said was that he wanted to see the Mountain God.
Weng Ping Ran naturally refused. As a serious criminal, Xie Yun had no right to make demands.
Xie Yun then fell silent again, sitting quietly in the dungeon every day with his eyes closed, resting.
A few days later, Nan Deng received the ancient book pages that were sent over.
There were more pages than appeared in the pictures, forming a thick stack when piled together.
As Nan Deng flipped through and organized them in the correct order, he found that, when combined with the few pages from before, they formed a complete book containing information about all 136 Mountain Gods.
Though some pages were missing or damaged, it didn’t significantly affect the reading.
The book detailed each Mountain God’s name, preferences, personality, time of existence, and some notable experiences.
If Nan Deng guessed correctly, this book should have belonged to him. However, due to the incident with the previous Mountain God, it ended up in Xie Yun’s possession.
He read it several times, trying hard to find useful information.
The handwriting documenting the different Mountain Gods varied, and the paper was different as well, likely written by the gods themselves and then compiled together.
Nan Deng also discovered that each Mountain God had their own unique magical artifact.
For example, the 107th Mountain God’s artifact was a spear. He was decisive and sometimes hot-tempered, often personally hunting resentful spirits at night, sometimes being mistaken for a Celestial Master.
The 68th Mountain God liked to stay in secluded forests and interact with various animals. She had tamed many local spirits, and her artifact was a fan that could foster the growth of mountains and forests when waved.
The previous Mountain God, Tai Xu, had an artifact in the form of a jade bracelet. It could store a large number of items and detect the lifespan of all things in the world.
Nan Deng carefully recalled that he had never had any magical artifact. The only companion by his side was the rabbit head.
But the rabbit head was certainly not a magical artifact. The book mentioned its identity; it was the guardian beast of the Mountain God, and protecting the Mountain God was its inherent duty.
He put down the book and picked up the rabbit head beside him, holding it in his hands.
“Xiao Tu,” Nan Deng asked, “do you know what my magical artifact is?”
The rabbit head stared blankly, as if it didn’t quite understand what Nan Deng meant.
