Chapter 228: A Mountain Suspended, A River Submerged (42)
Ritual Master never imagined that Yan Shixun would take the opportunity to attack him from behind just when he had dropped his guard.
All of Ritual Master’s power had been concentrated in front of him, solely focused on defending against the ghost deity’s assault.
But he hadn’t expected Yan Shixun—who was behind him—to be working in coordination with the ghost deity in front. Even if he wanted to shift his power to defend against Yan Shixun, it was already too late.
He couldn’t advance, nor could he retreat.
Surrounded on both sides, Ritual Master could only watch helplessly, filled with rage and fear, as an overwhelming force, vast enough to blot out the sky, surged toward him.
Yan Shixun moved at a blistering speed, trailing a series of explosive booms behind him. In his grip was a long sword formed from golden runes that sliced through the air and reached Ritual Master’s back in an instant.
The razor-sharp sword aura reminded Ritual Master of the terror and pain he had experienced as a human—his soft human skin now unbearably fragile.
Ye Li raised his arm, the icy tips of his fingers pointing toward Ritual Master. With that motion, the ghost deity’s immense power surged like a roaring beast. Gales screamed like vengeful spirits, cutting off every escape route. The wind blades formed an invisible prison, sealing off all exits and trapping Ritual Master inside—nowhere to hide.
His eyes widened in terror as he felt the blade gradually pierce the back of his skull, slicing through the very core where his spirit was condensed.
The agony was unbearable, and Ritual Master let out a guttural, tortured scream.
His once-serene and dignified face twisted into a grotesque, hideous expression, no longer bearing even a trace of its former compassion and majesty.
It was as if a beautiful yet false exterior had been ruthlessly stripped away, revealing the ugly truth within.
Using lives as stepping stones, he’d tried to grasp the soul of the heavens, climbing toward the blue sky of ninety thousand miles—what kind of god was that?
He was clearly a wicked ghost.
In the face of searing, world-destroying pain, Ritual Master struggled violently, trying to break free from the rune-forged sword.
But overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, he failed to notice that his entire human skin had begun to burn under the combined forces of Ye Li and Yan Shixun.
Bright flames leapt up, enveloping every chrysanthemum that bloomed across his skin. The petals quickly curled and withered, turning to ashes in the blink of an eye.
The fire licked at his human skin, releasing a sickening stench of scorched flesh and blood. The charred blackness spread rapidly, carbonizing the skin, which then began to flake off in fragments.
Ritual Master’s blood-curdling screams were gut-wrenching, but they couldn’t shake Yan Shixun’s unwavering resolve.
Yan Shixun gripped the long sword tightly in one hand, and with clear, deep tones, began reciting an incantation for slaying ghosts. No matter how violently Ritual Master struggled, he couldn’t break free. With his other hand, Yan Shixun reached unhesitatingly into the flames, heading straight for the gaping hole burned into Ritual Master’s skin.
Yet the fire parted around Yan Shixun’s hand, as though it had consciousness, pulling back to either side and revealing a direct path to Ritual Master.
Beneath the human skin, the coffin that Ritual Master had devoured was clearly visible.
The vibrant chrysanthemum patterns and flowers that had once covered the entire coffin now seemed to recoil from the flames as if frightened. They receded like a tide but were still pursued by the fire’s relentless fury, their petals trembling until they, too, were consumed into ash.
Across the entirety of Nanming Mountain, all blooming chrysanthemums seemed to ignite in response to the flames on Ritual Master’s body, spreading rapidly throughout the mountain. Bright, scorching fire danced across every corner where chrysanthemums had bloomed.
Yet not a single flame touched any other plants or the ground. It was as if the fire had been summoned solely to burn chrysanthemums.
Even those blooming underwater in the clear rivers couldn’t escape being incinerated.
The rippling water reflected the leaping flames—fire in water, dazzling and eerie.
No matter if it was the Longevity Village downstream, the barren Nan Village on the shaded side of Nanming Mountain, the underground river hidden within a karst cave, or the borderlands surrounding Nanming Mountain—
Wherever chrysanthemums had bloomed, blazing flames now roared, piercing the darkness and turning the night a brilliant red, like the glow of the setting sun falling to earth.
In the Longevity Village downstream, Lu Xingxing suddenly caught a glimmer of light from the corner of his eye.
He panted heavily and looked up, only to find that not far away, the chrysanthemums blooming in the village had caught fire—without any flame to ignite them.
Lu Xingxing froze for a moment, thinking he was hallucinating.
He quickly raised his hand to rub the eyelids caked with the foul, bloody flesh of rotting corpses, trying to get a clearer view of the scene before him—only to forget that his hands were also smeared with filth and blood. All he did was rub more gore into his eyes.
He cried out in pain, tearing up from the stinging, while frantically blinking to clear his vision.
And then he saw it—it wasn’t an illusion at all.
Not only was the center of the village filled with enormous clusters of chrysanthemums, but even beside every cottage, and in the dim corners that could easily be overlooked, fierce flames were roaring to life.
Lu Xingxing was utterly stunned.
“Oh my dear heavens…”
He murmured in a daze, “Just who is Master Aunt? Is Master Uncle seriously that incredible? This is insane…”
At the same time, a chill ran down Lu Xingxing’s spine. He now had one more person to fear in his heart.
He made a firm decision: from now on, if Master Aunt said “east,” he wouldn’t go west; if he said “shut up,” he wouldn’t say a word. He would absolutely be a well-behaved, obedient, and adorably soft little junior nephew.
Lu Xingxing: small, pitiful, and soft (QAQ).
However, the viewers watching the livestream’s main screen didn’t get to see this scene.
Back when Lu Xingxing had been happily humming a tune and skipping around the paused battlefield, he had already startled the video platform team into spitting out their drinks. They quickly instructed the tech crew to downgrade the resolution of the main screen feed—dragging the high-definition display back by about forty years in quality, now complete with static and flickering snow.
The viewers in front of their screens stared in confusion at a pixelated mess, completely unable to figure out what was going on.
But Yan Shixun’s attention wasn’t on the chrysanthemums.
His eyes were locked onto the large tear in the human-skin covering that Ritual Master had ripped open. He reached into it, firmly grasping the corner of the coffin with precision and strength.
Just as Yan Shixun’s palm touched the coffin, sudden bang bang! pounding sounds came from inside.
The intense noise gave a huge fright to the viewers, who had been closely following the split-screen feed.
Some people even screamed and flung their phones away.
But Yan Shixun had anticipated it all and wasn’t startled in the slightest.
In fact, the sound meant that Nan Tian was still alive and kicking inside, which gave him a bit of relief.
Yan Shixun had rushed toward Ritual Master because of Nan Tian in the coffin.
Not only would Nan Tian’s death boost Ritual Master’s power—giving him a chance to escape from Ye Li’s clutches again—but Nan Tian himself was significant.
Yan Shixun had seen Grandma Nan in a dream. It was fair to say that she had not only rescued Nan Tian from a nightmare but had also given Yan Shixun a crucial warning.
Grandma Nan had once unknowingly aided evil by hosting a ritual that empowered Ritual Master. That was the cause of her sins.
However, after regaining her memories through the judgment of Fengdu, she grew to hate Ritual Master’s actions and began atoning for her mistakes.
When she sacrificed her life to stop Ritual Master, her sins had been fully paid. What remained was only merit.
Yan Shixun was grateful for her warning.
He didn’t want Grandma Nan’s life-sacrificing efforts to go to waste, nor did he want Nan Tian to get hurt.
That was why he gave up on a more careful but time-consuming method and chose a faster, though riskier, approach.
Fortunately, even though Yan Shixun hadn’t explained his plan out loud to avoid alerting Ritual Master, Ye Li still managed to understand his intentions from his gaze and expression.
The two worked together seamlessly, almost as if they were one mind, coordinating an attack from both the front and rear against Ritual Master.
This allowed Yan Shixun to reach the coffin and make contact just in time, before Ritual Master could inflict real harm on Nan Tian’s soul—and pull him out to safety.
Nan Tian was awakened by the heat in front of his chest.
Earlier, he had seemed to glimpse a deity—kind and compassionate, just as he had imagined a god would be. So when the deity said they wanted to grant him happiness, he had agreed without hesitation.
In a blink, he found himself standing in a garden filled with blooming chrysanthemums.
By the window of a small wooden cottage, a wicker chair gently rocked, as if its owner had just gotten up and walked away.
Nan Tian thought it was strange. He carefully walked through the flowers, wanting to see if anyone from the production team was inside the cottage.
He had a nagging feeling that the garden looked familiar, like something he had seen near the show’s filming location.
But before he could approach the cottage, he saw a hunched, aged figure appear behind the window, staring at him sternly.
Nan Tian was stunned.
If… his Grandma were still alive, still growing older, she might look just like that.
“Grandma…” Nan Tian murmured in disbelief as he walked toward the figure.
He had forgotten Grandma’s warning from the nightmare—his memory retained only happiness and joy, and all worries had been erased at the root.
Nan Tian only remembered that the deity had promised him a happy life.
He suddenly wondered—was he truly living in a Peach Blossom Spring now? Even Grandma, whom his parents had said was long dead, had reappeared before his eyes.
The garden, the sunlight, the small wooden cottage, and the Grandma he loved.
They would live on in peace and happiness.
Yan Shixun hadn’t come to save him, hadn’t given him happiness, but the deity had.
In a daze, Nan Tian wondered: had he believed in the wrong god all along?
“Wake up!”
An aged woman suddenly shouted, slapping the wall beside her with a thud. She looked at Nan Tian with deep disappointment, as if angry he couldn’t be taught. “Stupid child, you’ve been fooled and you don’t even know it!”
It really was Grandma!
Nan Tian stared at her in confusion, not understanding why there was no joy in their reunion.
But Grandma Nan pushed him toward the edge of the garden. “Go, leave immediately! Leave Nanming Mountain—”
Before she could finish her sentence, and before Nan Tian could ask her why, or how she had been all these years, a fierce blaze suddenly erupted from the chrysanthemum patch in the garden.
Grandma Nan froze, and so did Nan Tian. Both of them stared blankly at the flames.
Nan Tian had no idea what was happening. He had been well protected by Grandma since childhood and was sent away from the village early. Though he carried the blood of a spirit medium, he had never inherited any useful knowledge.
All he could do was gape at the fire, full of question marks, and even panicked, he wanted to find water to put it out.
But Grandma Nan stared at the chrysanthemums that were rapidly turning to ash in the fire, and a slow realization crept over her.
The flickering flames were reflected in her aged, cloudy eyes, and the faint red hue beneath her pupils quickly faded, returning to the normal color of an ordinary person.
In disbelief, Grandma Nan murmured under her breath, “He did it… that exorcist boy who entered the dream… he actually did it…”
Nan Tian looked at her in surprise. “Grandma, do you know Brother Yan?”
She frowned at his choice of name. Nan Tian nodded without hesitation and said, “Yeah, Yan Shixun—Brother Yan is a really powerful exorcist.”
The moment Nan Tian spoke Yan Shixun’s name, a wild gust of wind surged through the entire garden. The flames danced madly, and ashes scattered into the air.
Nan Tian instinctively turned his head and closed his eyes against the wind.
But when he felt the wind finally die down and opened his eyes again, he found that the once-sunny and peaceful scene had completely vanished.
Even Grandma was gone.
He stood there alone, surrounded by nothing but darkness.
It was as if the projector had been switched off, and all the beautiful, yet fake, illusions had vanished—leaving only the cold, harsh reality behind.
Anxious, Nan Tian cried out for his Grandma and tried to run forward to find her.
But the moment he took a step, it felt as if the ground beneath him disappeared, and he plunged downward.
The sudden sensation of falling made him scream in terror.
“Aaaaahhh!!”
He screamed and abruptly opened his eyes.
Only then did he realize he was in complete darkness, surrounded by countless golden threads glowing faintly. Like the roots of mushrooms, they were all embedded in his body.
The bizarre sight made Nan Tian’s scalp tingle, and goosebumps rose all over him.
But the overwhelming stimulus also brought back all of his memories in a sudden rush.
He was… inside a coffin.
The burning-hot cloth on his chest jolted his foggy mind into clarity, and then he watched in horror as the golden root-like threads embedded in his body began to ignite spontaneously—flames sprang up inside the narrow coffin space.
Terrified, Nan Tian screamed “Brother Yan, save me!” and pounded on the coffin lid, desperately trying to escape, afraid the fire would consume him alive.
Outside the coffin, hearing his faint cries from within, Yan Shixun’s cold, grim expression softened slightly, and the tightness in his chest eased.
Through the struggling and screaming Ritual Master, Yan Shixun lifted his eyes and exchanged a look with Ye Li.
Without needing to speak, Ye Li immediately understood what he meant.
The cold-eyed ghost deity let a rare smile touch his lips and gave a slight nod to the exorcist he cherished, answering his call.
Then, Ye Li stretched out his arm, and in the terrified gaze of Ritual Master, he gripped Ritual Master’s crown tightly.
His long, slender fingers, with clearly defined joints, firmly held Ritual Master’s crown, gradually tightening, exerting immense pressure. The strength was so overwhelming that it could instantly crush an ordinary person into a heap of flesh and bones.
“Ah! Ah! Ahhh—!!!”
Ritual Master screamed in agony, his voice filled with heart-wrenching terror.
It seemed like he wanted to beg Ye Li for mercy.
Those who sought to steal the great path only truly felt regret when confronted with the genuine fear of death.
However, no soul, whether good or evil, could escape the gaze of Ye Li.
Ye Li had already seen through the soul named Nan Heye twenty years ago, knowing what kind of malevolent ghost disguised in the skin of compassion he truly was.
At that time, Ritual Master had abandoned everything in a desperate attempt to escape, narrowly evading Ye Li’s grasp.
But now, with Yan Shixun present, the final opportunity for the sinful soul would not be spared. It was once again returned to the great path.
Ritual Master was one step away from truly becoming a god.
But he would always be just one step short.
As long as the life force from the great Dao was not severed, the evil spirits walking the human world would continue to manifest, and the miracles of the universe would unfold.
When Yan Shixun and Ye Li fused into one…
Nothing could stand in their way.
—Humans have countless fates, but the world, only one calculation.
Ye Li was not prepared to let Ritual Master escape, so he didn’t even give him a chance to beg.
In the grip of Ye Li’s tightening hand, Ritual Master’s skull made a sickening crunch, as if the entire skull had been forcibly crushed.
Ritual Master’s face twisted in agony, barely resembling a human anymore.
He looked more like a crumpled, worn-out rag, gripped tightly in Ye Li’s hand.
Under the powerful, unconstrained force of the ghost deity, the intense pain nearly caused Ritual Master to lose consciousness. This pain surpassed the burning agony of his human skin, so much so that he didn’t even realize what had happened to him yet.
BehindRitual Master, where his gaze couldn’t reach, Yan Shixun’s talisman turned into a sharp blade, cutting a massive slit from the back of his human skin, from top to bottom.
It was like a cloth being forcibly spread out.
The coffin, originally wrapped in human skin, “Bang!” fell out with a crash.
Yan Shixun’s swift movements kicked the coffin away at the moment it separated from the skin, sending it flying far away from the human skin.
He breathed a small sigh of relief and then immediately became serious again, nodding slightly to Ye Li, signaling that Nan Tian was safe.
Without the power previously supplied by Nan Tian, Ritual Master, whose life force had already been cut off, now appeared even more lifeless. If not for Ye Li’s grip, he would have collapsed to the ground.
Ye Li lowered his thick, crow-like lashes and looked at Ritual Master with a gaze that was cold, devoid of any warmth.
“Nan Heye.”
Ye Li’s deep, magnetic voice resonated.
“All the pain you inflicted upon others will now return to you. This is the principle of karmic retribution.”
“All souls and lives that bear suffering will turn that suffering into your own.”
“You will endure the torment of flames in Fengdu until you repay the time of suffering for every life lost.”
“Only when that time has passed, the flames will extinguish, and only then will your soul be reduced to ashes, scattered in the heavens and earth.”
“Until you completely perish, there will never be a moment of peace for you.”
“This is the judgment of Fengdu.”
As the final syllable of Ye Li’s words fell, the heavens seemed to close their eyes, and the great path responded.
Ritual Master’s judgment was now in effect.
The burnt human skin that had already been charred black instantly ignited, bursting into flames.
The fire engulfed him entirely, turning him into a fireball.
His soul would be trapped within these flames until every ounce of his sin was burned away, repaying the lives of thousands who had died.
After a thousand years, he would finally be freed.
—The so-called “unable to live, unable to die.”
Ritual Master’s past suffering inflicted upon the lost souls would now become his own.
Even if he regretted in the endless flow of time, he could only wail in pain, shedding tears of remorse, hating his own past delusions and sins.
For the next thousand years, anyone who entered Fengdu would see, in the eternal flames that illuminated the ghost city, the souls of the dead constantly writhing and crying out in agony.
Those were the souls of Nan Heye, enduring the same pain once felt by over a thousand people.
Ye Li looked with disgust at Ritual Master burning in his palm, then casually tossed the fireball off the cliff, sending it plummeting into the dark abyss below.
Immediately, underworld soldiers caught the fireball, carrying it toward Fengdu to face its punishment.
Yan Shixun looked indifferently at all of this, listening to Ritual Master’s screams without flinching, not a shred of emotion showing.
The souls of those who died in Longevity Village, and the souls sacrificed in Nan Village… Their resentments and obsessions could finally be put to rest with the complete collapse of Ritual Master.
Even though many of those souls had been so broken that they could never reincarnate, this outcome would bring comfort to their souls, allowing them to finally close their eyes and find peace.
Only one step away from godhood, only one last winter sacrifice.
But that, that sacrifice would never be held.
At the same time, changes were occurring throughout Nanming Mountain.
The cold, deathly atmosphere dissipated, and the abundant vitality that should not have existed gradually returned to the soil, nourishing the earth once again, giving life to the mountains and waters. The ashes left behind by the burnt chrysanthemums were scattered by the mountain’s chilling winds.
In the upper stream Longevity Village, the hundreds or even thousands of small wooden cottages, each bearing the final and most painful memories of every life, collapsed with a loud crash, sending dust flying everywhere.
Many withered bones and items once left behind rolled out, quickly turning to ash as they were exposed to the elements.
The souls’ final attachments faded away, and the remnants left behind in the world were no longer necessary.
The foul, decaying smell was carried away by the wind, replaced by the fresh scent of plants from the forest. It gently soothed the pain that had lingered in Longevity Village for decades.
It felt as though a mother was tenderly patting her baby, humming a lullaby, and gently rocking them to sleep.
Hundreds and thousands of lingering souls took one last look at the world and then, with a smile, closed their eyes, dissipating into the heavens before dawn.
In the midst of the deafening roar, Liu Ming screamed in terror, trying to escape. However, as he ran, he was horrified to discover that his legs were rotting from the bottom up, turning to withered bones, and the rot quickly spread upward.
He transformed into a pile of dry bones, falling into the dust and quickly being turned to ash, just like those other corpses.
A similar fate befell all the villagers of Longevity Village.
All those who had died and then been revived inside the hanging coffins, becoming the eerie, neither alive nor dead, creatures that Ritual Master had referred to as receiving happiness and new life, now returned the vitality they had stolen.
Life and death were separated once more, and the order between the realms of Yin and Yang was restored.
Ye Li also lifted the force that had altered Nanming Mountain, returning everyone to their rightful state of life and death.
The sound of chains dragging along the ground faintly echoed through the misty, dark mountain forest, dead silent and ethereal.
It was the sound of the Yin officials coming to guide the souls to the afterlife.
The innocent souls ascended, while the guilty were cast into hell.
Liu Ming and the other villagers would be there, paying for their sins.
The gently flowing river carried the dust from upstream, turning the once clear water into a murky stream.
But this was a true flaw.
Fake flowers never experienced pain, aging, or death, but they were also devoid of life. They were only a hollow, artificial vibrancy.
Only real plants, which could suffer from pests, withered branches, and leaves, could stretch in the sunlight and sway in the rain. That was life.
In the down stream Longevity Village, the members of the program group felt a headache and dizziness, their limbs cold.
They groggily climbed up from the ground and looked around in confusion.
Zhang Wubing, staring at the village that still carried the smell of burnt charred remains, was terrified by the gruesome scene of blood and flesh splattering around.
—Especially when he saw, not far from him, Lu Xingxing holding a bloody knife in one hand, and with the other hand, he was wiping the blood-soaked face with his own bloody hand.
It looked almost like a scene from a hellish nightmare.
Zhang Wubing, who had no idea what had happened before, stood there stunned, then suddenly, a ridiculous yet plausible thought, due to his unique physical state, crossed his mind.
Could it be… that I am dead?
Is this hell?
Zhang Wubing cried out loudly, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed.
“Brother Yan, woo woo woo, your cutest Xiao Bing died, woo woo woo, what should I do?”
Lu Xingxing, who had turned around upon hearing the voice: “???”
What’s going on? Did Director Zhang get scared silly?
—Lu Xingxing, unaware of how terrifying his current appearance was, looked like a murderous psychopath.
In this scene, he seemed like a bloodthirsty ghost.
As Lu Xingxing stood there bewildered, the other members of the program group and the rescue team slowly regained their consciousness.
However, before they were fully awake, the first thing they saw was Lu Xingxing’s appearance, which nearly scared their hearts out of their chests.
“Shit!!!”
Lu Xingxing tilted his head, a huge question mark slowly rising above his head.
“…Hm?”
It was only after the fireball disappeared into the black fog, along with Ritual Master’s scream vanishing into the mountains, that Yan Shixun coldly withdrew his gaze. He took a long stride and walked over to the coffin he had kicked aside earlier.
Because he had only focused on getting Nan Tian away from Ritual Master to prevent him from finding another chance to harm Nan Tian, Yan Shixun had not considered Nan Tian’s comfort at the time.
The coffin first hit the mountain wall, then crashed heavily onto the ground, rolling over several times before finally flipping upside down.
Inside, Nan Tian naturally experienced the full, raw rollercoaster ride as the coffin tumbled.
Nan Tian was thrown all over the place, almost vomiting inside the coffin.
Once the chrysanthemums had turned to ash, the patterns on the coffin faded, leaving behind a simple, ordinary coffin. This little weight was nothing for Yan Shixun, and flipping it over was a piece of cake.
Yan Shixun casually opened the coffin. Nan Tian immediately covered his mouth with one hand while using the other to cling to the edge of the coffin, struggling to get out. Before he could say a word, he staggered out and rushed to the side, holding the mountain wall as he vomited.
Yan Shixun raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.
Not bad, looks lively and energetic. Seems like there’s nothing serious after all.
If Nan Tian knew what Yan Shixun was thinking, he’d definitely cry in front of him.
Is this what you call lively and energetic? QAQ
But compared to the fate of having all vitality and life taken away by Ritual Master, this outcome was simply too good to imagine.
Nan Tian felt both uncomfortable and touched, his emotions twisted into something almost unrecognizable.
Meanwhile, the viewers watching through the split screen, after worrying for so long, finally realized that things seemed to be calming down after a few moments of intense watching. It no longer seemed as dangerous as before.
They began to realize… could it be… that it’s safe now?
Many were moved to tears, while some still worried, afraid that there might be another twist.
[I couldn’t even sleep last night, afraid something would really happen.]
[I’m dying of tension! Finally, I can get out of bed and use the bathroom, phew, I was about to explode.]
[Is Nan Tian okay? He looks so pale and is still vomiting?]
[Oh my god, I used to argue about whether this was a prop or a real ghost, but now I’m too scared to ask, in case someone says it’s real. I’ll just pretend it’s a prop!]
[I think I’ll have a trauma with chrysanthemums forever…]
[Thanks for the invite, just got back from the bathroom after puking. So disgusting, flowers growing from skin—ugh!]
[I couldn’t move all night, my hands are numb.]
[I could only watch with my cat in my arms, and now the cat is looking at me like I’m a freak QvQ.]
[Great! Brother Yan is fine, everyone is fine, woo woo woo, I cried so hard that my pillow is soaked.]
[Please don’t let anything happen again! Ahh, so scared.]
“Brother Yan.” After glancing at Yan Shixun a few times, Nan Tian hesitated and weakly asked, “Is that on your shoulder… a split screen?”
Nan Tian, confused, touched his own shoulder, wondering, “Where’s mine?”
Yan Shixun, reminded by his words, reached up to touch his own shoulder and felt a small bump.
He hadn’t expected that the split-screen lens, which had come down the river with him from the downstream, would still be there.
Yan Shixun didn’t mind. He casually removed the lens and tossed it to Nan Tian. “Here, take it.”
Nan Tian hurriedly caught it. “Huh? Brother Yan, I didn’t want it…”
With the lens removed, the split screen was turned off.
The viewers, who were eager to see if Yan Shixun had been hurt, were instead greeted with a sudden black screen.
[……….]
[Brother Yan!!! QAQ]
Seeing that Nan Tian was fine, Yan Shixun shifted his attention back to Ye Li, who had been quietly standing in place, his gaze never leaving Yan Shixun.
When Yan Shixun looked at him, Ye Li returned a smile. “Shixun.”
Yan Shixun raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to say, but before he could decide, the sharpness on his handsome face softened, and a smile bloomed in his eyes.
He walked towards Ye Li.
As Ye Li looked at him with unspoken anticipation, Yan Shixun chuckled lightly, his voice deliberately soft. “You said before… that you are the Lord of Fengdu? The situation was urgent, and I didn’t get a chance to ask you about it.”
Ye Li suddenly felt that Yan Shixun’s smile seemed a little cold.
His tall figure stiffened for a moment, and he instinctively glanced back.
In the abyss, the black mist cleared, revealing the soldiers who had been cleaning up the battlefield below.
When Ye Li looked at the soldiers, their powerful forms also stiffened.
So, is the exorcist angry? Angry because the general didn’t say everything?
Good question, they didn’t know either.
The soldiers’ movements suddenly accelerated, quickly cleaning up the battlefield and disappearing, their once imposing demeanor now seeming to retreat in a somewhat messy manner.
After thinking for a few seconds, Ye Li found an excuse for himself.
The main reason was that Shixun hadn’t asked, so he hadn’t had the chance to say anything. But now, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?
Ye Li turned around, his calm, stoic face betraying no hint of panic.
However, when his eyes met Yan Shixun’s gaze, Ye Li couldn’t help but smile first.
“Yes.”
Ye Li’s face melted into a gentle smile. “I am the Lord of Fengdu, the ruler of life and death.”
“However, I would prefer to be your companion — even your lover.”
If you love what Ciacia is doing, then consider showing your support by supporting a cup of tea for her at Kofi. If you can’t wait for the next release chapter, subscribe to advanced chapters membership on her Kofi to get access to up to 10 chapters!
