These days, Wen Ping Ran’s endurance has increased significantly. But even so, his expression still changed slightly upon witnessing this scene.
Feeling a bit helpless, he picked up the documents on the table. “You should rest early.”
Nan Deng doing this in front of him was nothing more than a way of telling him how important Lian Yi was to him.
The bond between them was far deeper than he had imagined.
Wen Ping Ran knew that he couldn’t give out any more potions, so he bade farewell to Nan Deng and silently left the front hall.
Nan Deng gave one last look at his retreating figure, then returned to the room on the second floor with Lian Yi.
After closing the door, Lian Yi asked, “What did Elder Wen say?”
He had noticed Wen Ping Ran’s strange behavior and how Nan Deng had taken the initiative to kiss him just now, as if on purpose.
“He just looked at some organized documents…” Nan Deng answered vaguely. He had a feeling that telling the truth would upset Lian Yi.
But he couldn’t keep things to himself and was worried Wen Ping Ran might approach Lian Yi again, so he held Lian Yi’s hand with a serious expression. “You mustn’t drink any strange potions. They’re bad for your health.”
Even without Nan Deng saying it, Lian Yi could guess what Wen Ping Ran was planning.
His eyes turned cold, and his face darkened.
Nan Deng quickly hugged him. “Don’t be angry… I’ll protect you.”
Lian Yi lowered his eyes and composed himself. “I’m not angry.”
“Really?” Nan Deng looked up, resting his chin on Lian Yi’s chest. “It feels like… you haven’t been in a good mood lately.”
He knew that aside from Lin Jiu, the other Celestial Masters, including Wen Ping Ran, didn’t like Lian Yi much.
Not only did they dislike him, but they also greatly feared his power, afraid that he might lose control.
The restrictions on Lian Yi were still in place. Nan Deng was unaware of the true situation; he only heard Wen Ping Ran mention finding someone to create an antidote. He didn’t expect it to be a potion that reduced soul vitality.
Reducing soul vitality was akin to being gnawed by ghosts, and it might not even achieve the intended goal. Naturally, Nan Deng was not willing to let Lian Yi risk his life.
However, Lian Yi’s bad mood could also be due to other reasons.
Nan Deng vaguely sensed something but couldn’t clearly grasp it.
Could it be that a few days ago, he was too engrossed in that book about the mountain god and neglected Lian Yi?
Nan Deng thought seriously about it, then moved closer, brushing against the corner of Lian Yi’s lips as he spoke, “Don’t be unhappy… Even if they don’t treat you well, I do. I like you the most.”
Lian Yi hesitated for a moment before lowering his head to respond to Nan Deng.
His breathing grew heavy, and he suddenly leaned forward, pinning Nan Deng against the wall.
His tall body loomed over him, and Nan Deng’s wrists were tightly gripped, almost unable to move.
Lian Yi’s actions became fierce and aggressive, his force tinged with a loss of control. Nan Deng was kissed so hard it hurt, and he let out a muffled groan.
His hem was also lifted, rough calluses brushing against his skin, quickly turning it red.
Nan Deng’s mind went blank. Before he could react, Lian Yi had already let go of him.
With his back to the light, Lian Yi’s expression was somewhat obscure and unclear. “Scared?”
Perhaps this is how he would be after becoming a ghost, maybe even fiercer.
Nan Deng seemed genuinely frightened, staring at Lian Yi in a daze, his eyes moist.
He took small breaths, trying to calm his heartbeat, then shook his head.
Lian Yi quietly looked down, gently picked up Nan Deng, and carried him into the bedroom.
The light in the bedroom was brighter. Nan Deng sat on the edge of the bed, still not fully recovered.
Lian Yi took his hand. “Does it hurt?”
The hand that had been gripped left noticeable red marks and his lips were slightly chapped.
He still shook his head but then said with some grievance, “It hurts a little…”
Yet he still sought comfort from Lian Yi, leaning into his embrace.
Lian Yi felt a deep ache in his heart, holding Nan Deng on his lap and gently caressing the injury on his lips, feeling somewhat regretful.
He returned to his usual demeanor. If not for the faint tingling of Nan Deng’s injured lips, what had happened earlier might have seemed like a hallucination.
Lian Yi kissed Nan Deng again and whispered, “Sorry.”
But because Nan Deng was hurt, they finally found some ways to explore, kissing clumsily and tentatively.
Lian Yi, mindful of Nan Deng’s injury, restrained himself from kissing for too long.
When they separated, Nan Deng was somewhat reluctant, naively leaning in for more.
Lian Yi turned his head to avoid it, touching his reddened cheek. “That’s enough.”
Nan Deng obediently stopped and instinctively licked the wound on his lips.
The marks on his wrist had disappeared, and he had lifted his clothes to check, with only the wound remaining.
But Nan Deng no longer felt pain. He touched it with his own hand like it was some novel experience.
Lian Yi didn’t continue holding him and stood up to get the warmed milk.
Nan Deng sat on the bed and turned to see the rabbit head squatting nearby, staring at him intently.
Being stared at like this made Nan Deng inexplicably nervous. He cleared his throat. “Hungry?”
The rabbit head turned around and met Lian Yi, who was returning with the cup.
It jumped up and bumped into Lian Yi a few times, its ears hitting hard.
But that was all it dared to do. Finding it had no effect, it quietly nibbled a hole in Lian Yi’s pant leg.
Lian Yi ignored it and handed the cup to Nan Deng.
As Nan Deng drank halfway, the rabbit head jumped into his arms, still glaring at Lian Yi.
Lian Yi met its gaze with a cold expression.
Finally, Nan Deng fed the remaining milk in the cup to the rabbit head, which made it a bit happier and it went off to play in the living room.
—
The night grew deeper, and the lights on the second floor of the hotel had long been extinguished.
Wen Ping Ran sat alone on the open-air balcony. Lin Jiu walked in and draped a coat over his shoulders.
“Go get some rest,” Wen Ping Ran said without turning his head, sighing. “Don’t worry about me.”
He was truly troubled, unable to think of any viable solutions.
There had never been a precedent of a mountain god and a Celestial Master falling in love, and the situation between Nan Deng and Lian Yi was particularly unique.
With anyone else, this matter would have been simple.
Lin Jiu knew that advising him was futile, so he quietly left.
The next day, when Nan Deng came downstairs for breakfast, Wen Ping Ran immediately noticed the small wound on his lip and called Lin Jiu over.
“What happened?” he asked nervously. “Why don’t you go ask?”
A mountain god getting injured and bleeding was no small matter, even if the wound was already healing and would disappear in a couple of days.
Lin Jiu followed his gaze and roughly guessed the cause of the wound from its location.
He quickly pulled Wen Ping Ran further away and lowered his voice. “I think… it’s nothing serious. With Chief Lian around, don’t worry, teacher.”
It was precisely because Lian Yi was there that Wen Ping Ran was worried.
Due to the rejection of the potion last night, he didn’t dare disturb Nan Deng and Lian Yi’s interaction again. Under Lin Jiu’s persuasion, he let it go.
Today, Nan Deng was going to inspect the surrounding mountains and forests. The paths on the mountain were not easy to navigate, and it was easy to get lost if not careful. The hotel keeper volunteered to be their guide.
The hotel keeper also called a few young people to bring the necessary supplies for the journey.
Nan Deng first circled halfway around the foot of the mountain and then, following his intuition, chose a direction and proceeded along the mountain path.
After walking for about an hour, the group passed by a simple low grave, and the hotel keeper stopped. “Huh?”
He approached the grave mound, bent down, and examined it carefully. “It looks like someone dug it up.”
The soil in front of the grave mound had sunk in, looking quite unusual.
In the past, when someone in the small town died, their graves were mostly built on this mountain. The residents were used to it. Since it was just bones being buried, there were no valuable burial items to steal.
Nan Deng also took a closer look. The hotel keeper quickly returned. “Let’s ignore it for now. Maybe it was dug up by wild dogs…”
However, as they continued forward, they encountered three or four more grave mounds along the way, all showing similar signs of being dug up.
The hotel keeper couldn’t help but feel scared. “Could someone be coming here specifically to dig up graves?”
Resentful spirits never linger around their former bodies; this could only be the work of humans.
Wen Ping Ran immediately thought of Xie Yun and asked Nan Deng if they should search the area for clues.
Nan Deng shook his head. The grave mounds did look like they had been dug up, but he didn’t sense anything unusual.
He looked around, and his gaze finally settled in one direction. “Let’s check over there.”
Their pace was not fast, and they were now halfway up the mountain. Following Nan Deng’s direction, they walked for another half hour and came upon a large area with sparse vegetation.
As they approached the clearing, Wen Ping Ran sensed a powerful talisman array and lingering hints of evil energy.
He was about to have his subordinates break the array when Nan Deng stepped forward on his own and the array shattered in response.
He reached the center of the clearing and looked at the ground. “There is something underneath.”
After digging through a thin layer of soil, they revealed what was buried below.
There were several human skeletons haphazardly piled together, with each bone covered by a talisman.
The talismans, having absorbed the evil energy, had turned an unnatural black color.
The bones were likely from the missing graves on the mountain. The talismans were removed and put into a clay pot, to be destroyed together after descending the mountain.
“Is this what Xie Yun used to refine the plague?” Wen Ping Ran frowned. “He even found such a hidden place. No wonder no one discovered it.”
Though the array was shattered and the bones and talismans unearthed, a faint evil energy still lingered in the surroundings.
Nan Deng squatted down, looking at a few wilting weeds. “This place is very special.”
In the information Wen Ping Ran found, the small town had suffered many disasters, both natural and man-made, which caused the evil energy to gradually gather in this area.
Moreover, the town’s residential area wasn’t large, and there weren’t many resentful spirits. Occasionally, an earth spirit would pass by.
This wasn’t originally a big deal, as the natural energy in the forest balanced out the evil energy. But Xie Yun had found this place.
With the natural concentration of evil energy, long-buried bones, and the effects of the array and talismans, an invisible toxin was created.
Now, with those items removed, the evil energy still remained. The surrounding forest was large. Who knew how many more graves there were or how much more could be utilized?
Nan Deng touched a few weeds, placed his palm flat on the ground, and quietly closed his eyes.
The surroundings grew silent, and no one dared to disturb him.
In an instant, the evil energy vanished, and the mountain air seemed noticeably fresher.
Nan Deng stood up, suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness.
Lian Yi was right behind him and caught him just in time.
Nan Deng had just used his divine power yesterday to treat the town’s plague and hadn’t fully recovered by this morning. Now, he had dispersed all the accumulated evil energy in the area.
He leaned into Lian Yi’s arms, too exhausted to speak.
Lian Yi asked softly, “Shall we go back?”
Nan Deng closed his eyes and softly replied, “Mm.”
The hotel keeper and a few residents, who had been kept at a distance, didn’t know what had happened. They only received a bag of bones from the returning Celestial Masters.
The group retraced their steps, with Lian Yi carrying Nan Deng at the back of the line.
Nan Deng ate a few pieces of chocolate and fed the last piece to Lian Yi, then leaned his head against Lian Yi’s shoulder.
When they returned to the hotel, lunch was already prepared.
Wen Ping Ran, extremely anxious, personally went into the kitchen to help bring the food out, fearing that even a second’s delay would affect Nan Deng’s recovery.
Fortunately, Nan Deng was just tired. He still had a good appetite and ate a lot before returning to the room to rest with Lian Yi.
—
At three in the afternoon, Nan Deng woke up from a nap but lingered in bed, not wanting to move.
He cuddled the rabbit head under the blanket while watching TV when there was a sudden knock on the door.
Lian Yi got up to open it and saw Wen Ping Ran with an incredibly serious expression.
The plague, which had been cleared from various places, had reappeared.
Everyone was caught off guard by this news. Wen Ping Ran almost thought he had misheard.
However, several patients showing symptoms were sent to the hospital for examination and were confirmed to be infected with the plague.
Moreover, these patients appeared almost simultaneously in several different areas, without any prior warning.
Wen Ping Ran speculated that Xie Yun had left a backup plan. The destruction of the mountain’s talisman array triggered a second wave of the plague, and only the town, having been covered twice by divine power, had its residents spared from a relapse.
Anxiously, he immediately went to inform Nan Deng.
Standing at the door, Nan Deng’s pale lips revealed his weakened state. “…What?”
His first reaction was to immediately go out and investigate. If it was indeed the plague, he could cleanse it once more.
However, Wen Ping Ran was worried about Nan Deng’s condition and whether Xie Yun had more schemes in motion.
In any case, he suggested that Nan Deng rest well and wait until at least tomorrow before leaving the town.
Initially, Nan Deng was unwilling. But this time, Lian Yi sided with Wen Ping Ran, forbidding him from leaving the room.
Lian Yi half-forcibly embraced Nan Deng, soothing him, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
Nan Deng buried his head, inhaling the familiar scent of Lian Yi, gradually calming down.
However, it was impossible for him not to worry at all. He had visited every area where the plague was spreading and had seen countless patients recover and be discharged.
Especially since he thought everything had been resolved, this setback hit even harder.
Nan Deng remained emotionally low all afternoon.
The rabbit head brought him a small toy from Lin Jiu and even stole a box of ice cream for him. Lian Yi coaxed him into eating it, which made Nan Deng feel a bit better.
At dinner, Nan Deng ate even more than at lunch, wanting his divine power to recover quickly.
Before it got dark, he went to the open-air garden on the top floor of the inn and sat in a corner, letting the breeze cool him.
Downstairs on the balcony, Wen Ping Ran and several Celestial Masters gathered to discuss their next plans. Their voices intermittently reached him.
Lian Yi sat beside him, and Nan Deng clung to his arm, muttering, “If only I were a bit stronger.”
He had never felt much pressure as a mountain god, as those around him protected him well and never forced him to do anything.
It seemed he never had a choice; from a time unknown to him, he had already been a mountain god. However, what he did was precisely what he wanted to do.
Lian Yi held his hand in silent comfort.
As dusk settled, the distant forest became shrouded in a hazy mist, and a crescent moon hung overhead.
Nan Deng spaced out for a while, then suddenly noticed many tiny light points drifting into his view.
The light points came from all directions, drifting toward Nan Deng and gathering around him.
Nan Deng was bewildered, “What is this?”
Lian Yi sensed no evil or danger and stood up, frowning.
More and more light points appeared, gradually converging in Nan Deng’s palm, solidifying into form.
—
Before night fully descended, a light, drizzling rain began to fall from the sky.
Wen Ping Ran was still on the first-floor balcony, momentarily dazed as raindrops landed on him.
This rain… felt different.
The hotel keeper also came to the balcony, intending to take down the clothes hanging to dry.
He had gone up the mountain that morning and accidentally got a long cut on the back of his hand from a tree branch. He had just applied some ointment, and it was still hurting.
The rainwater wetted his wound, and the hotel keeper froze for a moment, exclaiming in surprise, “How did it heal on its own?”
Hearing his words, Wen Ping Ran stepped forward to inspect the wound on the hotel keeper’s hand, which had indeed mostly healed.
While the hotel keeper was still in shock, Wen Ping Ran, sensing something, hurried to the rooftop terrace.
When he reached the terrace’s small garden, he saw Nan Deng standing in the rain, holding a green bamboo umbrella.
Lian Yi’s clothes were soaked by the rain, and Nan Deng approached him, sharing half of the umbrella.
The bamboo umbrella was small, barely enough for two people. Nan Deng didn’t mind using his sleeve to wipe the rain off Lian Yi’s face.
Lin Jiu followed closely behind Wen Ping Ran to the terrace. His expression was faintly excited, “Teacher, did you feel it?”
Wen Ping Ran looked up at the sky, murmuring, “It’s the mountain god…”
The mountain god’s rain would surely cleanse all impurities.
