Chapter 222: A Mountain Suspended, A River Submerged (36)
Who would one end up with in this lifetime? Would they walk hand in hand until their hair turned white?
Yan Shixun had never thought about that question.
Until now, he hadn’t cared either.
Everyone he had been close to—whether it was Li Chengyun, Zhang Wubing, or other Taoists—all seemed to be alone. Or, if they had partners, they already had them when Yan Shixun met them.
He had never seen anyone transition from being single to being in love, and he had never thought there was anything wrong with being alone himself. He believed his current state was perfectly fine.
He didn’t like forming karmic bonds with others. Because of that, he had spent years wandering from town to town, catching ghosts and expelling evil. He had seen too many stories of love and loss, life and death, and so even his own heart had grown cold.
Why waste time searching for a lover? There were still so many souls and wronged spirits waiting for his help. And in his free time, simply returning to his small courtyard to read and sleep was already enjoyable. It seemed there was no extra space left in his life for someone called a “lover.”
Though he did occasionally feel a sense of loneliness, Yan Shixun never thought there was anything wrong with that.
People were always alone. From the moment they were born to the moment they died, even death itself was a solitary journey.
Yan Shixun had seen so many partings by death that he had long grown used to it. He firmly believed he would remain alone until the end of his life.
But Lan Ze and Cheng Jing had shaken that belief. The things Lan Ze had said to him made Yan Shixun look at Ye Li with a kind of complex emotion he hadn’t noticed before.
That ghost deity… love him?
Before arriving at Longevity Village, Yan Shixun had once sat alone in his small courtyard, dazed in thought, gradually falling into doubt as Jing Xiaobao recited his lessons in the background. He kept recalling the things Lan Ze had said to him, over and over again.
Lan Ze had said that no matter how well someone hid their feelings, if they truly loved another person, the warmth and joy would still shine through their eyes. Even their entire presence would change.
Although Yan Shixun’s cultivation was far beyond Lan Ze’s, he understood well that each person had their area of expertise. From the daily life he had observed between Lan Ze and Cheng Jing at Haiyun Temple, it was clear that Lan Ze was far more experienced in love—he was the professional.
—Though when Lan Ze had heard Yan Shixun earnestly ask about love as if it were some truth needing verification, he had been both amused and exasperated.
Lan Ze had bluntly said that Yan Shixun was perfect in every way—except that he completely lacked the “love nerve.”
Who would actually refer to love as a “specialty”?
Still, thanks to Lan Ze’s patient explanations, Yan Shixun slowly began to realize that perhaps… Ye Li really did treat him differently from everyone else.
If, up until today, Yan Shixun had still hesitated—still believed that even if Ye Li treated him specially, it wasn’t love, but rather something like the mutual trust and support shared among the Taoists at Haiyun Temple—
Then Ye Li’s direct confession at this moment had shattered all the other speculations in Yan Shixun’s mind to pieces.
Yan Shixun had no prior awareness of how to love someone or be loved in return. But he had always been skilled at tracing the truth from the tiniest of details.
And now, as he looked into Ye Li’s eyes, he took in the solemn sincerity shining within them.
Yan Shixun realized—Ye Li… loved him.
That realization widened Yan Shixun’s eyes. The long fingers hanging at his sides curled ever so slightly.
Even though Ye Li’s body felt cool to the touch, Yan Shixun could feel a warmth radiating from him, a heat that spread into his own body, raising his temperature. His throat burned as if scorched by fire, dry and hoarse.
Yan Shixun looked at Ye Li with complicated eyes. He knew Ye Li was waiting for his answer.
But his mind felt like a ball of yarn toyed with by a large cat—what had once been clear and organized now lay in a tangled mess, impossible to make sense of. Even his usual ability to speak smoothly had completely deserted him.
Yan Shixun’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Without realizing it, a faint smile crept onto his lips.
But just as he was about to speak, his slightly red lips opened and closed—only to produce no sound.
Ye Li gazed at him unblinkingly, but the answer never came.
So he tentatively opened his arms and, with a slow, gentle movement, pulled Yan Shixun into an embrace.
The warmth and firmness of Ye Li’s body pressed against his, as though this space had always been meant to be filled by Yan Shixun.
Yan Shixun didn’t refuse.
Ye Li’s arm slowly tightened around him, and then, with a soft sigh, he leaned in closer to Yan Shixun’s neck. His breath brushed against Yan Shixun’s ear and nape, warm and close.
He saw with his own eyes a faint pink flush spreading behind Yan Shixun’s ear and across his neck, and amusement gleamed in his eyes.
Look—his beloved exorcist wasn’t completely indifferent to him after all.
Ye Li had originally wanted to say something first, but just then, the soft ripples in Yan Shixun’s gaze suddenly sharpened again.
From his vantage point, facing the Nan Village, Yan Shixun caught sight of something unusual.
The peaceful, tranquil village suddenly shifted—next door to Grandma Nan’s house, an old woman pushed open a door and stepped out.
Her movements were furtive, her eyes darting nervously around as if worried the neighbors might see what she was up to.
In her arms, she held what looked like a bundle of bedding. She tiptoed cautiously toward a three-way intersection.
Peering over Ye Li’s shoulder, Yan Shixun frowned as he watched the old woman approaching from a distance.
Her behavior, combined with the bundle in her arms, struck him as odd.
Then suddenly, like a lightning bolt cutting through tangled yarn, clarity struck him. Yan Shixun’s eyes widened in shock as he realized what the old woman was actually carrying.
A baby.
That wasn’t just bedding—it was a makeshift swaddling cloth.
The old woman was rushing toward the intersection, muttering to herself in a low voice: “I didn’t want to do this either, but you were born a girl. Remember the suffering of this life, and don’t come back to our home in the next. If you do, I’ll throw you to your death again. And you’d better tell the others too—if you’re a girl, don’t choose our family. Do you hear me…”
As she spoke, the old woman suddenly flung the swaddled baby toward the intersection, her expression tense and panicked.
Yan Shixun reacted instantly. He recognized this as an old, slowly disappearing custom in the southern regions—yet here, in this time, the practice still lingered in this village.
According to this archaic, cruel tradition, if a family gave birth to a baby girl they didn’t want, they would throw her onto a busy road. Passing carts and horses would run her over, crushing her to death and turning her into a mess of flesh.
The pain and terror would instill fear in her soul, and when it came time for her reincarnation, she would warn other souls never to be born into that household.
This way, the family could avoid future daughters and, so they believed, eventually have a son.
Clearly, judging by what the old woman had muttered, she intended to treat this baby girl the same way.
Without a word to Ye Li, Yan Shixun shoved him aside and sprinted toward the old woman. His long legs carried him swiftly, and he instinctively stretched out his arms, aiming to catch the swaddled baby before she hit the ground.
Ye Li saw Yan Shixun’s movement and released him without resistance.
He understood—Yan Shixun was so desperate that he had forgotten they were still in a dream.
Both the old woman and the baby girl were events from twenty years ago. What was happening now was merely being replayed before Yan Shixun’s eyes, like a slideshow projection coming back to life.
No matter how anxious he felt, how could he possibly step into the past and change what had already occurred?
Yan Shixun’s hand reached out toward the falling swaddled baby. He held his breath, terrified of misjudging the distance and missing the catch, allowing the baby girl to crash to the ground.
But just as the bundle neared his hand and he instinctively reached up to catch it, it passed straight through his palm—and with a loud “smack!” hit the ground hard.
Yan Shixun froze in place.
It was like a bundle of air that wasn’t even real—just a projection made to look like a swaddled infant. But how could a person possibly catch something that didn’t actually exist?
When Yan Shixun looked down, he realized the infant in the swaddle had a pale, bluish face completely devoid of blood. She was clearly already dead.
From the very beginning, the old woman had brought out a corpse.
Of course.
It was a tradition in the Nan Village—sacrifices of the dead.
Villagers would offer the corpses of their deceased family members to the “deity” of the Nanming Mountain in hopes of gaining something else they desired in return.
And this old woman clearly wanted to use the infant’s body in exchange for the hope that her next child would be a boy.
Before Yan Shixun could gather his thoughts, he suddenly heard a deep, angry shout.
“What are you doing!”
That familiar voice made Yan Shixun instinctively turn to look at Ye Li, but Ye Li only gave a slight shake of his head, then pointed behind him, signaling for him to look back.
Yan Shixun’s thoughts, which had just been thrown into chaos by Ye Li’s directness, quickly returned to order. His mind returned to its usual calm and rational state.
—This was the Nan Village from twenty years ago. Everything he was seeing was a projection of things that had already happened.
And that year, twenty years ago, was referred to by many Taoists and exorcists as the “Ghost Year.”
But the one who judged the sins wasn’t the King of Hell who had long since vanished.
It was Ye Li.
The voice he had just heard came from Ye Li—twenty years ago.
In a flash of understanding, Yan Shixun connected all the pieces. He quickly turned around, his eyes sharp.
Not far in front of him, Ye Li, dressed in black, stood with a grim expression, staring at the old woman.
Under the black-clad Ye Li’s gaze, all the sins clinging to her soul had nowhere to hide.
The old woman’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground, trembling. She didn’t know who this man who had suddenly appeared was, but the overwhelming fear rising from the depths of her soul nearly crushed her. She instinctively wanted to beg for mercy.
But before she could stammer out a word in her own defense, Ye Li in black had already lifted his eyes and looked toward the Nan Village.
In the eyes of a ghost deity, the entire village was shrouded in a heavy black aura. Clusters of sin wrapped tightly around many courtyards—resentment from the dead aimed at the living, and at the same time, a clear indication of the sins committed by the living.
The Lord of Fengdu was enraged.
The once-clear skies darkened rapidly, and cold wind howled in fury.
Gales rushed between the mountains, their wails echoing like the cries and laments of countless ghosts.
From the depths of darkness came the steady, dragging sound of chains scraping along the ground.
Yin officials arrived from Fengdu, carrying out the will of the Lord of Fengdu—to collect the souls of everyone in the Nan Village and take them to Fengdu to face judgment.
The innocent would be allowed to return to life, but those burdened with sin…
Would remain imprisoned in the bitter dungeons of Fengdu.
In an instant, the entire Nan Village erupted into panicked cries.
“What’s wrong? Say something, don’t scare me!”
“Wake up, wake up!”
Every household lit their lamps, but none could stop the spreading darkness under the oppressive sky.
Yet slowly, the noise in the village faded away, until eventually, it became a silence as still as death.
The wind swept along the village roads, and a woven straw basket rolled noisily across the ground, kicking up dust.
But not a single person was in sight.
Every villager had collapsed in their own home. Their souls had been taken away by Yin officials, one after another, to face judgment for the sins of their lives.
But the ones who returned were few.
Yan Shixun saw Grandma Nan. She was the first to push open the gate of her courtyard.
Looking at the state of the village, and recalling the experience she’d just had—like walking through the underworld in a dream—Grandma Nan understood everything.
Her aged face darkened, turning terrifyingly stern.
Due to her journey through Fengdu and the immense, pure power of the ghost deity pressing down upon her, the false “god” power in Nanming Mountain had been completely dispelled. The memories that had once been tampered with were fully restored.
She remembered Ritual Master she had encountered years ago on Nanming Mountain, the corpses sunk at the bottom of the river, and the death corpse sacrifices that the Nan Village had never once ceased.
Grandma Nan looked out from her doorstep toward the end of the village road. There, she saw the tall figure standing silently at the crossroads.
The man was dressed entirely in black, and his face was hidden beneath a low-hanging bamboo hat.
Grandma Nan knew—this was the true god.
She trembled and bowed deeply at the three-way crossroads, guilt welling up inside her. For so many years, she had been the shaman of the Nan Village, blindly serving the wrong cause without knowing the truth. She had hosted countless rituals, unwittingly aiding evil.
Grandma Nan made a solemn vow—since the sins belonged to the Nan Village, then it should be the Nan Village that put an end to it.
As a villager herself, she bore an inescapable responsibility.
By the time she straightened up, the crossroads was empty.
The ghost deity had forgiven her and had given her the chance to resolve her own karma.
Little Nan Tian had also woken up by then. He rubbed his eyes, walked over to Grandma Nan, tugged on her clothes, and said he was hungry.
Grandma Nan quickly contacted Nan Tian’s parents, who had already left the village, and concisely explained everything that had happened in the past and what was happening now. Then she handed over little Nan Tian to his parents and sent them away from the village.
Before they left, she warned Nan Tian to never go near Nanming Mountain again, never to return to the Nan Village.
She knew all too well how formidable Ritual Master was. She was about to lead the remaining villagers into the mountain, with no intention or hope of making it back alive.
Nan Tian, having witnessed it all, was now the last of the Nan Village. Even if she failed to kill Ritual Master on Nanming Mountain, she would at least severely weaken his power. If Ritual Master wanted to recover, he would need Nan Tian, who carried the village traditions and Grandma Nan’s flesh, soul, and spirit, to complete another sacrificial ritual.
So Grandma Nan sent Nan Tian far, far away—both to protect him and to prevent Ritual Master from rising again.
Meanwhile, the judgment of souls had not ceased.
After seeing that most of the Nan Village was burdened with unforgivable sins, Ye Li, from twenty years ago, grew completely disillusioned with humanity. In his rage, he expanded the scope of judgment to include the entire region around Nanming Mountain.
Though the surrounding villages were in slightly better shape than the Nan Village, still, nearly half the souls were condemned for their crimes and left behind in Fengdu.
In a short time, coffins were in short supply throughout the Nanming Mountain area. In the end, there weren’t even enough grass mats to wrap the dead.
Corpses littered the land, and the deceased rotted in their homes.
When Ritual Master saw Grandma Nan regain her memories and saw the chaos around Nanming Mountain, a faint suspicion arose in his heart.
What he had always feared… had finally happened.
The ghost deity had taken notice of Nanming Mountain.
If the deity were to keep investigating, everything he had built over the years would be destroyed.
Ritual Master panicked, but barely managed to keep his composure.
After all, he had worked tirelessly for many years. Even if he wasn’t a god acknowledged by heaven and earth, he had already brushed against the boundaries of that realm. If the god he discovered in Nanming Mountain was weak, there was still a strong chance he could defeat them.
After all, the cosmic order had already collapsed. Surely the gods were weakened as well.
Ritual Master believed that when the time came, he could trample the corpse of the god beneath his feet and force heaven and earth to recognize him as divine.
He was full of pride and ambition.
He killed Grandma Nan and the others, who stood no chance against him, within Nanming Mountain and absorbed their power into his own. Then, he saw a black figure approaching.
Twenty years ago, Ye Li had given Grandma Nan a chance to redeem herself. Her death was the result of the sins she had committed, so Ye Li did not intervene.
But once she died, Ye Li would not let Ritual Master, who pretended to be a god, go unpunished.
Thus, after Grandma Nan’s death, Ye Li appeared before Ritual Master.
Ritual Master was still eagerly waiting to witness the god’s death, hoping everything would go as planned.
However, as a false god not recognized by the heavens, he had no idea that even a century ago, when the cosmic order was intact, Ye Li had always been the most exceptional of all deities.
Now, with the collapse of that order, Ye Li, due to his uniqueness, had become the last remaining ghost deity.
Not even the cosmic laws could do anything to Ye Li—or to the hundred thousand ghost soldiers under his command in Fengdu.
Let alone a Ritual Master who gained his power through dark, corrupt methods.
Ritual Master was thoroughly and utterly defeated. He fled in panic, begging for mercy, shaking like a leaf under the overwhelming pressure of Ye Li’s terrifying presence.
But just as Ye Li was about to kill him, Ritual Master’s form suddenly scattered into a flurry of chrysanthemum petals and vanished without a trace.
Ye Li extended his senses across the realms, only to be shocked—there was no trace of Ritual Master, neither among the living nor the dead.
Ritual Master had seemingly vanished into thin air.
Ye Li searched all over Nanming Mountain but found nothing. So, he sealed off the entire mountain. Even if Ritual Master used some special method to flee, he would never be able to escape Nanming Mountain, nor would he pose any threat to the outside world.
Then, disheartened by the countless sins committed by the villagers near Nanming Mountain and having lost his final shred of hope for the human world, Ye Li turned his back and left the mountain.
He wandered silently through the mortal realm, eventually settling in a small town. There, he sat at the edge of a marketplace, watching the bustle and noise of human life with cold, detached eyes.
Ye Li had only wanted to take one last look at the human world before returning to Fengdu, never to step foot in it again.
But he hadn’t expected that, in that very marketplace, he would meet a young boy named Yan Shixun…
Yan Shixun watched as everything replayed before his eyes like a slideshow—scene after scene, until finally, it all faded away. Darkness enveloped the dream, leaving only him and Ye Li standing there.
He stood frozen, unable to snap out of it.
Ye Li said nothing. He gazed steadily at Yan Shixun, patiently waiting.
Yan Shixun pressed his lips together, slowly raised his eyes, and looked at Ye Li.
Ye Li had already prepared himself for any questions or objections Yan Shixun might have—for example, why he didn’t save Grandma Nan, or why he took the souls of the guilty villagers…
Ye Li understood that, although the decisions he made as a ghost deity were correct and rational, they might not align with the emotions of ordinary people.
Even if Yan Shixun blamed or hated him, he would accept it.
But despite being ready for all of that, he hadn’t expected Yan Shixun’s first words to be: “So Ritual Master was supposed to have died twenty years ago, but he just showed up again… and turned into a chrysanthemum once more?”
For once, Ye Li was genuinely stunned.
His long, crow-feather-like lashes trembled slightly, but when he lifted his gaze, all he saw was the serious, solemn expression on Yan Shixun’s face.
From Yan Shixun’s eyes, Ye Li understood what he was thinking.
—Yan Shixun had come to the same conclusion as he had.
Since evil deeds had already been planted from the start—seeking to exploit others’ corpses to gain what one did not deserve, even going as far as to harm innocent children—then those villagers ought to suffer the consequences themselves.
This was karmic retribution.
Their sins might not have been visible to outsiders. Surrounded by an environment where such actions were normalized, they might have thought their crimes were just a part of life.
But heaven and earth were always watching. Silently, but justly, they recorded every sin.
And those deeds left unjudged by the mortal realm…
Would be judged by the underworld.
Yan Shixun didn’t believe Ye Li had done anything wrong twenty years ago. Although the verdict lacked warmth or mercy, it was nonetheless the correct one.
Otherwise, how would justice ever be served for those innocent lives lost at the villagers’ hands, or for those restless souls who could never reincarnate?
So, Yan Shixun didn’t ask any questions.
Let alone voice the accusations Ye Li had braced himself for.
Yan Shixun’s expression remained calm, but Ye Li’s eyes widened gradually, his long, narrow pupils flickering with light, as if holding both the sun and moon within.
He looked at the exorcist he loved, and an overwhelming joy bloomed in his heart.
This kind of mutual understanding and shared path made Ye Li want to throw caution to the wind and embrace Yan Shixun tightly, never letting go.
But Ye Li knew Yan Shixun too well.
He knew that since Yan Shixun had asked that question, he must have realized Ritual Master wasn’t dead and still existed outside the dream. That meant Yan Shixun would leave the dream world to pursue him and protect the lives within Nanming Mountain.
If he were to hug Yan Shixun now, the exorcist he loved might grow annoyed, thinking he was getting in the way of saving others.
So Ye Li quickly restrained his impulse, calmly nodded, and said, “Yes. Twenty years ago, Nan Heye used the same kind of special method to evade judgment. Just now, he did it again—he escaped the dream world.”
Yan Shixun frowned at the mention of “special method.”
But suddenly, he recalled the first time he had seen Ritual Master.
Back then, Ritual Master hadn’t existed independently—he had torn through the village chief’s skin and walked out from within the body of the village itself.
Maybe… Ritual Master’s so-called “special method” was using someone else’s existence to mask his own presence.
That would explain why Ritual Master only ever appeared during the Longevity Village’s annual festival.
Because at all other times, he was hiding beneath someone else’s skin!
That was why Ye Li couldn’t sense his presence—because Ritual Master had abandoned everything, just to cling to life!
Having pieced it all together, Yan Shixun suddenly grabbed Ye Li’s arm.
“Let’s leave the dream world immediately.”
His gaze sharpened as he looked at Ye Li. “Even if Ritual Master ran, the Winter Solstice ritual isn’t complete. He’d never give up right when success is within reach. Greed is his greatest weakness—he must still be hiding somewhere in Nanming Mountain!”
Ye Li lowered his eyes, smiling in agreement. “Alright, just as you said.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a fierce wind erupted around him, tearing through the fabric of the dream world.
Ye Li took a long stride forward and pulled Yan Shixun into his arms, shielding him from the razor-sharp gusts of wind.
With a loud boom!, the dream collapsed.
Everything was consumed by darkness.
Yan Shixun’s vision went black, and his entire body felt like it was plunging into the depths of his own consciousness, falling straight down.
But throughout it all, he could still feel Ye Li by his side, holding him tightly.
The corners of Yan Shixun’s lips curled faintly. For the first time, the always-alert, crisis-ready exorcist chose to let go—and to trust Ye Li.
For someone who had always stood at the forefront of danger, protecting others, Yan Shixun suddenly felt that with Ye Li by his side—
He could finally feel at ease.
His nerves relaxed, and he allowed himself to completely sink into the darkness.
Yan Shixun knew—
Ye Li would catch him.
No matter where they were.
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