From the moment Lian Yi took him away until now, he hadn’t uttered a single word.
Although he used to be reticent, he had never remained this silent, without any response.
Feeling anxious, Nan Deng carefully examined Lian Yi.
There were some differences; his expression was colder and his intact right eye was pitch black, devoid of any emotion.
But he did remember Nan Deng, bringing him from the inner court to this place without any intent to harm him.
As the warm, soft fingertips touched him, Lian Yi held Nan Deng’s hand in return, gently stroking his palm.
His body was very cold, emanating a chilling aura. Nan Deng didn’t resist and continued to ask, “Where is this place?”
Lian Yi raised his hand to touch Nan Deng’s lips as if feeling the warmth of his breath as he spoke.
He still didn’t speak, causing Nan Deng to become even more worried. He lowered his head, searching for his communicator and phone, only to find that there was no signal in this place.
Before being taken away, Lian Yi had triggered the alarm when he broke into the inner court. He vaguely remembered seeing Wen Ping Ran rushing over with others.
The rabbit head was also not by his side. They must be very worried now.
Thinking about this, Nan Deng decided to reassure them first and then bring Lian Yi back.
As long as Lian Yi didn’t actively harm anyone, Nan Deng felt they could manage by restricting his movements.
He even considered finding suitable food for Lian Yi.
When Nan Deng was still in his soul form, Lian Yi had fed him his own life essence.
However, before understanding Lian Yi’s condition, feeding him life essence carried significant risks and was something Wen Ping Ran must never find out.
Nan Deng looked around, trying to find the exit of the cave.
As soon as he moved, Lian Yi immediately grabbed him tightly, the evil energy around him boiling like flames.
Nan Deng’s hand started to hurt from the grip, so he quickly said, “I won’t leave.”
He moved closer to Lian Yi, attempting to calm him down.
Sure enough, Lian Yi’s grip loosened, and the malevolent energy subsided.
Nan Deng slowly withdrew his hand and held Lian Yi’s palm. “I want to look around. Will you take me?”
Seeing no sign of resistance from Lian Yi, Nan Deng guided him to stand up from the stone chair.
The Bagua ring was still lying on the ground. Nan Deng picked it up, dusted it off, and tucked it away like a treasured possession.
Though he said he wanted Lian Yi to take him, it was actually Nan Deng leading Lian Yi as they circled the cave.
The cave was empty except for some scattered rocks at the edges.
The small stone caves on either side were pitch black, their depths unfathomable.
Nan Deng also caught a faint scent of evil energy from other resentful spirits. But they seemed to quickly distance themselves from this place.
Such a dark environment was indeed an ideal hiding spot for resentful spirits.
The communicator still had no signal. Nan Deng looked around and chose one of the stone caves, intending to see where it led.
However, Lian Yi stood motionless at the entrance, tightly holding Nan Deng’s hand and preventing him from entering.
“Let’s take a look inside,” Nan Deng tried to communicate. “We’ll come back soon.”
Even if he couldn’t take Lian Yi back, he needed to find a place with a signal to contact Wen Ping Ran and Lin Jiu.
Lian Yi, with a cold expression, ignored him, his soul form like an iron statue, impossible to move.
With no other options, Nan Deng tried to break free from his grasp.
Seeing his struggle, Lian Yi’s expression grew colder. He suddenly pressed Nan Deng against the stone wall.
The evil energy surged. Even through his clothes, Nan Deng could feel the coldness of the soul. He was trapped in a narrow space, barely able to breathe.
He pushed Lian Yi with all his might, but Lian Yi didn’t budge.
Nan Deng even used his divine power. At first, he was cautious not to hurt Lian Yi, but realizing that he couldn’t make Lian Yi move even an inch despite using all his strength, he grew more desperate.
Only then did he realize that even as a ghost, Lian Yi’s power remained formidable, enough to easily trap him.
No wonder Xie Yun could barely hold on against him…
A belated sense of fear crept into Nan Deng. If Lian Yi wanted to harm him or devour his life essence, it would be all too easy.
His heart raced, and his breathing quickened. Lian Yi’s hand on his waist slowly stroked, the evil energy receding somewhat.
Nan Deng looked at him and reached out to touch his face and chin.
The momentary fear quickly disappeared. Nan Deng hugged Lian Yi’s neck and buried his face in his chest, mumbling, “Alright, I won’t go.”
It seemed that the current Lian Yi had lost part of his mind, retaining only some vague memories.
He still remembered Nan Deng and insisted on keeping him close, as if the cave was his “nest” and he didn’t want Nan Deng to leave.
If all else failed, he could only wait. Perhaps, if he stayed with Lian Yi a bit longer, he would stop being so obstructive.
Or, he could hope that the rabbit head and Wen Ping Ran would find a way to track them down.
Lian Yi hugged Nan Deng, inhaling the scent of his hair, and carried him back to the stone chair.
Nan Deng leaned obediently in his arms, talking to him: “I wanted to find you that day, but I didn’t know where to look.”
Lian Yi’s clothing seemed almost real. Nan Deng closed his eyes and nuzzled against him, ignoring his overly cold body temperature. “I was so worried about you…”
There was also the Bagua ring, which was essentially his magical tool now, though he wasn’t very proficient with it yet.
“Will you ever go back to how you were?” Nan Deng said, feeling a bit sad again. “You don’t even talk to me.”
But Lian Yi wasn’t like other resentful spirits, at least not like Xie Yun. He didn’t exhibit the drastic changes in temperament that Lin Jiu had described.
This outcome seemed to be the best they could hope for.
If he remained like this forever, it would still be better than never seeing him again.
After saying a few more words, Nan Deng looked up and gently touched the brow bone on Lian Yi’s left side. “Your eye…”
Lian Yi’s original left eye had been specially crafted. His clothes remained intact in his soul form, while his eye did not.
Tiny black blood vessels spread around the skin of his eye socket. Nan Deng remembered that day when Lian Yi’s body disintegrated upon contact, leaving no trace behind.
His emotions grew more complex, filled with both heartache and relief.
Nan Deng leaned back into Lian Yi’s arms and closed his eyes again.
After an indeterminate amount of time, faint sounds came from the small stone caves on either side.
Nan Deng, with his keen senses, quickly noticed the noises and looked towards their source.
It seemed to be night now, the time when resentful spirits came out to hunt, though they typically wouldn’t come to such a place.
Soon enough, a dozen or so resentful spirits emerged from both sides, climbing up the stone steps and gathering in the open space below.
They all stared towards the stone chair with caution and wariness in their movements and expressions.
“Ghost King…”
“…by his side…”
“Food supply?”
These resentful spirits, mostly at the second or third level, appeared harmonious, not fighting but rather talking among themselves.
From a distance, Nan Deng couldn’t hear their conversation clearly but caught the words “Ghost King”.
His brows furrowed slightly as the Bagua ring subtly emerged, ready to deal with these resentful spirits.
Lian Yi, watching Nan Deng’s every move, acted faster. With a mere lift of his hand, the resentful spirits below suddenly disintegrated into clouds of smoke, dispersing into the air.
The unfamiliar evil energy dissipated as if they had been directly refined and completely erased.
Nan Deng’s eyes widened slightly as he turned to Lian Yi. “Did you do that?”
Lian Yi gently stroked Nan Deng’s back, as if to reassure him.
Nan Deng thought for a moment, put away the Bagua ring, and cautiously approached Lian Yi. “Are you hungry?”
Lian Yi showed no reaction to this question, remaining silent.
He seemed different from ordinary resentful spirits. His soul was not semi-transparent and could be directly touched by Nan Deng, with the only difference being his body temperature compared to before.
Could it be because he was a Ghost King that made him different?
When Xie Yun died, his soul swelled and grew, like a massive dark cloud. It was raining at night, so Nan Deng couldn’t see clearly.
“Shouldn’t be this easy to get hungry, right?” Nan Deng muttered to himself, then said to Lian Yi, “But if you are hungry, you can’t just bite people… and you can’t bite me either.”
Whether Lian Yi understood these words or not, he appeared attentive.
Nan Deng cupped his face, warming it a bit with his palms, and then kissed him lightly as a reward.
The kiss was brief, and Lian Yi’s eyes flickered slightly.
Just as Nan Deng pulled back a little, his lips were captured again. “Mmm…”
It was as if part of Lian Yi’s memories were triggered. He grasped Nan Deng’s chin and kissed him with an aggression never seen before.
Nan Deng struggled to respond, his breathing gradually becoming labored.
His clothing was lifted high, and cold hands roamed over his skin.
The kisses trailed down, the now-warm lips moving from his neck to his collarbone.
Lian Yi’s intentions were unmistakable. Sitting on his lap, Nan Deng could clearly feel the changes in his body.
Nan Deng moved uneasily and pushed back, “Wait… hold on.”
He knew what this meant. But the previous Lian Yi had always restrained himself in front of him. At most, their intimacy was intense, but never this unrestrained.
Lian Yi kissed his collarbone, unbuttoning his shirt from the inside.
As buttons fell to the ground, Nan Deng shrunk into Lian Yi’s embrace, cheeks flushing red.
But the place was too open, amplifying any sound, and resentful spirits could arrive at any moment.
Nan Deng was nervous, looking timid, refusing further kisses from Lian Yi, and turning his head away.
Lian Yi seemed to think he was afraid of his missing left eye. His soul flickered, and the empty eye socket returned to normal.
Nan Deng froze, “You… you’ve changed back?”
His face showed surprise and joy, no longer fearful.
Lian Yi kissed him again, more boldly than before.
Nan Deng struggled to fix his clothes, pleading, “Let’s leave here first…”
He needed to take Lian Yi back to the inner court to confirm his condition.
As Lian Yi kissed Nan Deng’s shoulder, he pulled down one of his hands.
Nan Deng’s face turned even redder, avoiding eye contact.
—
On the other side, Weng Ping Ran led a large group. They followed the rabbit head southward.
They had been walking for an entire day, with only a brief ten-minute rest along the way.
The rabbit head was still spirited, sniffing vigorously close to the ground and scanning the surroundings.
It locked onto a direction, its eyes gleaming.
That’s the spot!
The rabbit head’s pupils flickered between black and red, grinding its teeth.
Once it found Nan Deng, it was going to give that ghost a good beating!
The rabbit head leaped up, jumping onto a three-story low-rise directly ahead, preparing to vault over to the other side.
It could make the leap, but the celestial masters below couldn’t. Weng Ping Ran quickly led them to take a detour: “Hurry, hurry, hurry!”
