Nan Deng was taken away right under everyone’s noses. Wen Ping Ran’s heart almost stopped.
He quickly stepped forward, using a compass to search for the direction the evil energy had gone. But the needle did not react at all.
“The Mountain God has disappeared!” He was breathing rapidly, his voice trembling uncontrollably. “Quick! Search more carefully!”
Lian Yi must have deliberately concealed his presence. He had intruded without any warning. Aside from the faint residual evil energy where he had briefly stayed, there was no trace of his actions.
Furthermore, Nan Deng was supposed to be safely in the residential area. His room was surrounded by arrays and spiritual mechanisms, with sufficient personnel assigned, and Lin Jiu was also nearby.
Any anomaly would have triggered an immediate alarm.
But Nan Deng had sneaked out by himself. Living on the top floor, it was unclear how he had managed to climb out of the window and jump down…
If he had stayed put, Lian Yi wouldn’t have taken him away so easily.
Moreover, Nan Deng seemed to have offered no resistance.
Wen Ping Ran was filled with regret. He knew Nan Deng was feeling down and should have given him more guidance and companionship.
Apart from being the Mountain God, he was not yet twenty years old. Expecting him to quickly recover after such upheavals was indeed too harsh.
Now that Nan Deng had been abducted by Lian Yi, and Hui Shou was not by his side, his divine power had not yet fully recovered. All he had left was a bamboo umbrella that could summon rain.
Lian Yi’s strength was unfathomable. Xie Yun, also a Ghost King, could not last two minutes under his hand.
Wen Ping Ran couldn’t even begin to imagine what Lian Yi would do to Nan Deng.
He had a gut feeling that Lian Yi’s soul level was far beyond that of a Ghost King. But the highest limit for a soul level was Ghost King.
Wen Ping Ran’s face grew increasingly grim, filled with worry.
Now, all they could do was hope that Nan Deng would find an opportunity to escape, or that Lian Yi’s feelings for him still lingered, not completely overshadowed by resentment and evil energy, and that he wouldn’t harm him.
The search in the surrounding area still yielded no results. They couldn’t determine which direction Lian Yi had taken Nan Deng.
Wen Ping Ran turned around and saw the rabbit head with its nose pressed to the ground, sniffing as it hopped forward.
His eyes lit up. He approached the rabbit head carefully and asked, “Lord Chaos God, do you have any clues?”
The rabbit head had caught a faint scent. But it was so weak that if it grew larger, it wouldn’t be able to detect it. In its current form, it was inconvenient to follow.
Feeling irritated, it shot a disdainful glance at Wen Ping Ran, reluctantly agreeing to let him and his team follow.
—
On the other side, Nan Deng opened his eyes in the darkness.
He was tightly held by cold arms, with countless wisps of black smoke formed by evil energy constantly drifting before his eyes.
There was the sound of wind rushing past as if Lian Yi was carrying him through a deep, narrow tunnel.
Nan Deng’s heart was pounding as he quietly reached for the bamboo umbrella in his arms.
The moment he saw Lian Yi, he had forgotten everything Lin Jiu had told him a few days ago.
All the warnings about not softening his heart and about dealing with the dead.
But he had to remind himself that this soulless being before him was no longer the Lian Yi of the past.
After a brief moment of joy, Nan Deng still felt deeply saddened.
Beside the bamboo umbrella, he had the Bagua ring. He had been carrying it for the past few days, trying to use his divine power to activate it.
Perhaps because the Bagua ring had been with him for so long, it was familiar with him and didn’t resist its new owner.
Nan Deng pulled himself together, forcing himself to stay alert.
No one knew how long it had been before Lian Yi finally stopped.
He released Nan Deng and placed him on a stone.
Nan Deng subtly moved back a bit, pressing his back against the cold stone wall.
He quietly surveyed his surroundings and discovered that they were in a large stone cave.
The cave floor and walls were very smooth as if they had been deliberately treated. There were a few lamps of unknown material at the edges, rows of stone steps at either end and seven or eight small, human-sized stone caves, their destinations unknown.
In the center at the front of the cave, a chair made of various-sized stones stood, and Nan Deng was sitting on it.
The surroundings were very quiet. Besides Nan Deng and Lian Yi, there was no third figure in sight.
Nan Deng steadied his mind and tentatively spoke, “You…”
Lian Yi fixed his gaze on Nan Deng and suddenly leaned in close.
His entire body was enveloped in evil energy, resembling continuously burning black flames. His originally injured left eye was missing in his soul form, with more evil energy seeping from the hollow eye socket.
His movements were unpredictable. Panicking, Nan Deng quickly summoned the Bagua ring with a wave of his hand.
In a flash of silver light, the Bagua ring was aimed at Lian Yi’s forehead.
However, Lian Yi merely glanced at it, and the Bagua ring fell, unable to harm him in the slightest.
At that moment, several resentful spirits emerged from the ground holes on either side.
They must have heard the commotion and came to check the situation. But they didn’t dare to approach, observing from a distance at the foot of the stone steps.
Seeing this, Nan Deng became even more nervous. He once again channeled his divine power, and the Bagua ring rose into the air, only to fall again with a crisp sound after less than half a second.
Lian Yi seemed to notice his defensiveness. With a slight movement of his right hand, the resentful spirits near the stone steps vanished.
He continued to approach, his tall figure looming over, and grabbed Nan Deng’s wrist, forcibly pulling him closer.
Nan Deng couldn’t break free and suddenly felt a cold sensation on his hand.
Lian Yi lowered his head and slowly kissed his pale fingertips.
Nan Deng was stunned and stopped struggling and resisting.
This intimate gesture was all too familiar to him.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
The defenses Nan Deng had painstakingly built up crumbled completely in an instant.
Lian Yi not only hadn’t forgotten him, but even as a ghost, he wouldn’t hurt him.
Ignoring everything, Nan Deng threw himself into the cold embrace of the soul, holding Lian Yi tightly.
For the past few days, he had been trying to stay calm, not wanting others to see his sadness.
He couldn’t show the slightest attachment to Lian Yi. As the Mountain God, he had to consider the bigger picture and couldn’t let personal feelings lead to irreparable consequences.
Finally seeing him now, his pent-up emotions burst forth. Nan Deng couldn’t hold back any longer, and tears started to fall in large drops.
“I thought,” he said intermittently, “I’d never see you again…”
Lian Yi stroked Nan Deng’s hair, sitting on the stone chair, holding Nan Deng on his lap.
He wiped away the tears on Nan Deng’s face as if comforting him.
Nan Deng continued to cry, clutching his sleeve in grievance.
Although Lian Yi’s body was still heavy with evil energy, there was also a familiar scent mixed in.
Confirming that Lian Yi wouldn’t harm him, Nan Deng buried his head in the crook of his neck.
He was exhausted and hadn’t rested well in days.
The cold embrace seemed to warm up with his body heat. Nan Deng closed his eyes, drifting into sleep.
He didn’t sleep for long and soon woke up, finding Lian Yi still sitting on the stone chair, holding him.
Nan Deng lifted his head, meeting Lian Yi’s gaze.
Lian Yi’s expression was as cold as ever, quietly watching him.
At this moment, Nan Deng finally sensed something was wrong.
He touched Lian Yi’s fingertips and softly asked, “Why aren’t you talking to me?”
