Actually, it wasn’t really too rough, just not gentle enough.
This side of Lian Yi was a bit unfamiliar to Nan Deng. He had acted this way once before but then returned to normal.
Over such a long period, Nan Deng had become accustomed to Lian Yi’s care and meticulous attention. Sometimes, when he didn’t feel like moving after waking up in the morning, he would have Lian Yi help him dress or even feed him.
Lian Yi was so good to him; there was no way he would intentionally hurt him.
Nan Deng looked at Lian Yi seriously, trying to discern his mood from his expressionless face.
Lian Yi didn’t explain, taking his hand and kissing his palm again. “Are you angry?”
“No,” Nan Deng answered honestly, “I’m not angry.”
Even when Lian Yi had hidden his identity from him initially, Nan Deng wasn’t very angry. If the kisses were too rough, they could just be gentler next time.
He then snuggled closer, nuzzling against Lian Yi’s neck. “I’m a bit sleepy.”
Lian Yi held him for a while, then turned off the TV and took him to bed.
The next day, the group got ready to leave the small town.
Before they left, Lin Jiu quietly approached Lian Yi and asked, “Chief Lian, about the message yesterday…”
The message had been read, but Lian Yi hadn’t replied. So Lin Jiu was concerned and wanted to ask.
Lian Yi looked down, his expression cold. “I saw it.”
There was no one else around; Nan Deng had just gone outside to say goodbye to the hotel keeper’s wife.
Lin Jiu lowered his voice, “So, what are you planning to do?”
Lian Yi was not only a celestial master whose soul couldn’t be bound after death but also the person closest to the mountain god. His life and death were beyond anyone’s control. But for Nan Deng, Lin Jiu was willing to help if needed.
“I have no plans,” Lian Yi raised his eyes, “Are you, like your teacher, suggesting I should leave?”
His gaze turned cold, sending a chill down Lin Jiu’s spine. He quickly denied it and explained, “I’m worried that if we keep hiding it, when the time comes, the mountain god will be heartbroken.”
Lian Yi and Nan Deng seemed incompatible from the start.
One was human, the other an immortal mountain god. Moreover, Lian Yi would eventually become a resentful spirit, and once he appeared, he would inevitably be hunted down.
“So?” Lian Yi retorted, “If I tell him now, he won’t be upset?”
He paused for a moment. “Or will he follow your teacher’s suggestion and diminish my soul?”
Even if Nan Deng didn’t say it, Lian Yi had already learned of Weng Ping Ran’s previous plan.
Lin Jiu was momentarily speechless. He suddenly realized that Lian Yi never considered separating from Nan Deng, even if he would die and become a ghost.
All things in the world were under the mountain god’s protection, except for the deceased.
Lian Yi’s unique constitution made him a potential threat. He was afraid that Nan Deng, thinking about the bigger picture, would leave him early if he knew.
Weng Ping Ran’s concerns were valid. Since Zhuo Qing’s death, Lian Yi had avenged himself, and the only thing he cared about now was Nan Deng. This would also become his obsession as a resentful spirit.
Ordinary resentful spirits aim to devour humans. But Lian Yi’s target would be the mountain god.
Lin Jiu began to waver. Siding with Weng Ping Ran meant diminishing Lian Yi’s soul to attempt to control his soul’s power after death, which seemed like the best approach.
However, Lian Yi, even with the restriction, remained at the peak of his strength. Weng Ping Ran had temporarily given up and was constantly worried. Lin Jiu was even less capable of intervening.
Lian Yi said nothing more and turned to leave the main hall to find Nan Deng outside.
Lin Jiu opened his mouth but remained silent, watching Lian Yi’s departing figure.
If this was a dead end, only Nan Deng could break it.
—
After leaving the small town, their destination was the inner court.
Upon learning that Xie Yun’s condition was stable. Apart from his continued silence, nothing had happened while he was confined. Nan Deng wasn’t in too much of a hurry.
The Inner Court was quite far, and simply traveling would be very dull. Along the way, the group often stopped to rest for one or two days.
Taking advantage of this time, Nan Deng would go out and play. During the day, he would stroll around, and sometimes he would go out at night, helping the celestial masters capture resentful spirits and feeding the rabbit head a little snack.
Without the plague, there was no need to expend a lot of divine power. Nan Deng no longer felt tired or overly hungry, and his energy levels improved.
One night, unable to sleep, he tossed and turned, eventually waking Lian Yi beside him.
Lian Yi, a light sleeper, opened his eyes in the dark.
Nan Deng leaned over him. “I want to watch TV.”
Lian Yi touched his face. “Okay.”
Nan Deng hugged him. “You watch with me.”
Lian Yi also said, “Okay.”
The TV was in the bedroom, and they could watch it on mute. The rabbit head was also asleep and wouldn’t wake no matter how much they moved. Nan Deng didn’t want to watch alone.
Lian Yi, now fully awake, kept Nan Deng company for half the night and still got up at his usual time the next day.
After traveling for more than half a month, they finally arrived at the Inner Court.
The celestial masters of the Inner Court had already received news of Nan Deng’s arrival. They had been waiting at the gate since early morning, and several chief celestial masters had rushed back overnight from other places.
From a distance, Nan Deng saw a large crowd and asked Lin Jiu to stop the car.
He hesitated and said, “Why are there so many people… I don’t want to go this way.”
Nan Deng knew these people were here for him, but he didn’t like such scenes.
Whenever he thought about people kneeling and excitedly calling him “Lord Mountain God”, Nan Deng felt extremely uncomfortable.
He had never considered his own identity as particularly noble. Weng Ping Ran’s extremely respectful attitude towards him was something he had never been accustomed to.
Lin Jiu understood his feelings and drove the car towards another side road, planning to enter the Inner Court through a side gate.
Weng Ping Ran, in another car behind, could only enter the main gate alone upon seeing this, dispersing the waiting crowd.
That night, Nan Deng rested in a carefully prepared room with a single bed.
Although it was a single bed, two people could sleep in it, and the wardrobe was also divided into two parts.
Apart from Weng Ping Ran and the celestial masters who had been accompanying Nan Deng, most people only knew that the Mountain God had appeared and were unaware that Nan Deng was with Lian Yi.
Discussing this matter casually was not appropriate, so the room arrangement was also kept as if for a single occupant.
Lin Jiu quickly arranged for someone to bring more toiletries and such. Several celestial masters who were stationed downstairs and ready to receive orders found this peculiar.
It wasn’t until Nan Deng came downstairs and familiarized himself with the surroundings that they saw Lian Yi by his side.
But the Mountain God was so dignified that no one dared to speculate rashly. At most, they wondered if Lian Yi had accomplished something during this period to be able to stay by the Mountain God’s side and serve him.
However… just serving him, did it require sharing a room? There was no additional bed added upstairs either.
Weng Ping Ran had anticipated these thoughts long ago and sternly warned everyone not to show any disrespect towards the Mountain God.
On the second day after arriving at the Inner Court, Nan Deng finally went to the dungeon.
The dungeon in the Inner Court was rarely used, currently only holding one person, Xie Yun.
The corridor was damp and dimly lit, with a few dim yellow lights glowing.
Nan Deng, led by Weng Ping Ran, walked slowly forward until they reached the innermost cell.
Through the iron bars, Nan Deng saw a figure sitting quietly in the corner.
This was his first time seeing Xie Yun. He looked somewhat different from what he had imagined.
Xie Yun was thin and frail, dressed in thin clothes in the cold dungeon. His grayish-white hair was somewhat disheveled.
If not for the celestial master uniform he wore, he would have looked more like a middle-aged man weakened by illness.
Upon hearing movement, Xie Yun looked up.
Seeing Nan Deng’s unfamiliar face, he was momentarily puzzled. Then he noticed Lian Yi and Weng Ping Ran standing beside Nan Deng.
“It’s you,” he spoke slowly, “the 137th Mountain God.”
He knew the book recording the Mountain God had been confiscated and would surely return to Nan Deng’s hands.
Nan Deng remembered Weng Ping Ran’s warning that Xie Yun was cunning and likely not truthful.
With the bamboo umbrella in hand, he didn’t need to say a word to Xie Yun.
Several layers of formations surrounded the cell. Nan Deng raised his hand, and the minimized bamboo umbrella smoothly entered the cell, hanging above Xie Yun.
The umbrella opened, casting a faint light that enveloped his entire body, immediately integrating large segments of memories into Nan Deng’s mind.
Subconsciously, he sought out anything related to the Mountain God. The first thing he saw was Xie Yun in his thirties.
In the scene, Xie Yun appeared to be in a cell similar to this one.
Tied to a wooden post in front of him was a person whose bloodied face lifted to reveal a familiar visage.
Nan Deng recognized that face from the illustrated pages—a previous Mountain God, Tai Xu.
Tai Xu was severely injured, his voice weak as a thread, “Why are you so persistent…”
Xie Yun gripped a dagger in his hand, his expression nearing madness: “Gods are born as gods, while humans can only be humans. Even with great effort in cultivation, we must endure the pain of refining. Why should this be?”
