Chapter 229: A Mountain Suspended, A River Submerged (43)
Yan Shixun hadn’t expected Ye Li to answer with words like that and was momentarily stunned.
During the earlier battle, Yan Shixun had pretended to be busy dealing with Ritual Master to brush the matter aside. He had thought Ye Li would let it go, but he hadn’t anticipated that Ye Li would never miss a chance to express his feelings.
Even when all he wanted was to simply confirm Ye Li’s identity, Ye Li still took the opportunity to ask him again.
What Ye Li had just said was essentially asking—”Would you be willing to let me be your lover?”
Of course, Yan Shixun didn’t reply.
It hadn’t even been a full night since he had come to understand Ye Li’s true intent. He hadn’t sorted out his own thoughts yet, couldn’t see clearly how he truly felt—how could he recklessly make such a decision?
Yan Shixun hadn’t forgotten that Ye Li had another identity—he was not only a ghost deity, but now the Lord of Fengdu as well.
That meant every word he spoke to Ye Li would be witnessed by heaven and earth.
Once he gave a clear answer, it would be recorded by the cosmos itself—there would be no room for regret or escape.
Under Ye Li’s hopeful gaze, Yan Shixun shifted from initial shock to silence, then turned his head to avoid meeting Ye Li’s eyes.
He pressed his lips together. Even the resolute look he once had when slaying evil spirits and going against false gods was now wavering. His eyes rippled like shattered water, layers of waves overlapping in mesmerizing beauty.
But in the end, Yan Shixun said nothing.
All he said was, “I’m going up to check the coffins on the mountain path.”
“We arrived in time. Ritual Master hasn’t yet begun his final Winter Solstice ritual. Those coffins haven’t been turned into hanging coffins yet.”
Steadying his emotions and forcing himself to stay calm, Yan Shixun continued, “The corpses in those coffins—their souls might still be saved.”
Ye Li had already guessed that Yan Shixun would say something like this.
After all, this was the exorcist he loved. After watching him for so long, he had come to understand Yan Shixun’s character well enough to predict how he would respond.
Yet Ye Li wasn’t disappointed. He merely smiled gently and asked, “Shall I summon the Yin officials of Fengdu? If any souls can be saved, they’ll be responsible for guiding them to Fengdu for judgment.”
—He wasn’t in a hurry.
After all… he had all the time in the world to wait. No matter when Yan Shixun made up his mind, as long as he turned around, Ye Li would be there.
He wouldn’t miss a single glance or word from Shixun.
With the conversation turning to serious matters, Yan Shixun’s expression grew solemn as well. He shook his head. “I didn’t know you were the Lord of Fengdu at the start. I didn’t know Fengdu would get involved and help. So in my original plan, I intended for Jing Xiaobao to do it.”
After entering the upstream section of Longevity Village, Yan Shixun had realized that the rotting corpses in the river still showed signs of lingering consciousness. That suggested that their souls might still be present.
At that time, he hadn’t yet discovered the matter of the hanging coffins. He didn’t know those corpses were nothing more than sugarcane pulp with their essence squeezed out, and that the real skeletons in the hanging coffins had already lost most of their souls—making reincarnation impossible.
So, when Yan Shixun was pulled into the dreamscape, he took advantage of the brief moment when Grandma Nan still existed to quickly use a talisman to call for Jing Xiaobao.
Over the decades, Ritual Master had gained complete control over Mount Nanming, even managing to sever the connection to heaven and earth—making him untouchable.
Only when Grandma Nan, who had once used death to suppress Ritual Master’s power, reappeared did a brief lapse in his control occur. It was during that window that Yan Shixun was able to connect with the spiritual world and send a message beyond the mountain.
But this method could only be used by Yan Shixun.
—After all, of all the ghost exorcists in the world, only Yan Shixun could use a talisman to summon the newly appointed King of Hell.
If any other Taoist or master found out how Yan Shixun had summoned Jing Xiaobao, they’d likely be so horrified they’d wish to faint on the spot.
Because time was so short, Yan Shixun had to maximize the brief moment of connection with the heavens. After forming the invocation hand seal, he coldly called out, “Jing Xiaobao, get over here. Time to test your memory.”
Compared to other Taoists, who had to recite long-winded incantations filled with ancient references, even dragging in the reputations of their sects’ ancestors just to beg the gods for a sliver of divine power—Yan Shixun’s method was chillingly direct.
The summoning talisman that Yan Shixun used to call upon a deity—
He didn’t even say the word “please.”
Which made the whole thing all the more outrageous.
Even more outrageous was the fact that while others risked their lives just to borrow a sliver of divine power.
When it came to Yan Shixun—
He directly summoned the King of Hell himself.
When the newly appointed King of Hell climbed up from the underworld just minutes after taking office, there were even tears welling up in his eyes.
They teetered on the edge of falling, making him look pitifully like he’d just been bullied by Yan Shixun.
Jing Xiaobao: “Whimper QAQ.”
Jing Xiaobao: Yan Yan, if you want me to do something, can’t you just ask nicely? It’s not like I don’t know how to do it. But we get along so well—why suddenly make me memorize things like we’re in an exam?
As long as we don’t talk about memorizing, we’re practically like father and son, QAQ.
But all of this, Jing Xiaobao only dared to think in his head.
He would never actually say it out loud for Yan Shixun to hear.
—The study in Yan Shixun’s small courtyard was packed with books, a sea of knowledge that spanned the ages, covering every form of obscure and formal study. It was terrifying.
Just clutching the Three Character Classic, Jing Xiaobao could already foresee a bleak, lightless future for himself.
With things like this, how could he possibly hand Yan Shixun a reason to give him more to memorize?
When Yan Shixun’s voice rang out, Jing Xiaobao had been clutching his beloved little ball, giggling sweetly as he ran through Hell chasing after evil spirits. Amid the chaos and screams, he grew more and more thrilled, playing with unrestrained joy.
But he hadn’t expected that too much happiness would bring tragedy.
The moment he heard Yan Shixun call for him, he was so frightened he loosened his grip, and the ball bounced out of his hands with a “thump thump thump!”
An evil ghost trembled as it stretched a bony claw out of the blood pool, retrieved the ball that had fallen in, wiped it clean using its own body like a rag, and respectfully returned it.
But by then, Jing Xiaobao no longer cared about the ball.
His beautiful big eyes quickly welled up with tears, and his tender red lips quivered—he almost burst into tears right then and there.
Jing Xiaobao had considered pretending that he was out of service range and hadn’t heard Yan Shixun’s call.
But then he thought about what would happen if Yan Shixun found out he was lying…
The thought alone made him tremble. He drooped like a wilted plant and reluctantly ran from Hell to the human world.
Left behind, the evil ghosts stared at each other in disbelief, exchanging wary glances.
A living person who could casually order the King of Hell around and even scare him to tears—
Just how terrifying must they be?
And this new King of Hell was already tens of thousands of times scarier than the previous one.
Many old ghosts who had once cursed the previous King of Hell with all their might now started to miss him after Jing Xiaobao’s arrival. They praised him constantly every day.
There wasn’t a ghost who didn’t long for the past.
—After all, the former King of Hell had been sane. His manner was stern and intimidating, making all ghosts tremble, but at least he followed logic and acted within reason.
But, but!!!
The new King of Hell was still a child. He had died too young and had devoured too many infant souls, so he retained a childlike innocence—playful, cheerful, never stern or cold.
But the thing was, a child never played by the rules!!!
A child’s logic was the most unpredictable thing in the world.
Especially when that child also possessed immense, absolute power.
The evil spirits who had once terrorized the underworld were now forced to play games in Hell with Jing Xiaobao. In just a short time, many ferocious ghosts had been tormented to the point of exhaustion—some were even on the verge of disappearing into dust.
Ghosts: We’re tired. Just destroy us already. As long as we can escape this King of Hell’s torment, we don’t care anymore.
But then—just as the ghosts were drowning in despair—the terrifying King of Hell was suddenly called away by a mortal?
Called away???
And that mortal had casually called the King of Hell by name without even using the word “please,” and the infamous King of Hell had obediently followed him.
The ghosts: Huh???
“Who… exactly is that person?”
In the dead silence of Hell, one ghost hesitated before asking, “If I ever escape to the mortal world, I’m definitely staying far away from him.”
“Right, right. Even the King of Hell fears him—he must be absolutely terrifying.”
There were also vengeful spirits who had witnessed Yan Shixun holding Jing Xiaobao’s hand, and who had suffered beatings from him before. At this moment, they were so moved they were practically in tears.
“Master Yan, you’re such a good man!”
One ghost cried out emotionally, “Back in my day, we would’ve built a shrine for someone like him!”
“Master Yan?”
A malevolent ghost blinked, and its expression gradually shifted to one of terror. “You mean that Evil Spirit Bone Transformation?!”
“Evil Spirit Bone Transformation!”
The crowd of ghosts wailed in unison, “No wonder!”
“If we ever go to the human world again, we must avoid everyone surnamed Yan!”
“Yes, yes, people with the surname Yan are terrifying!”
“Is ‘Evil Spirit Bone Transformation’ something that specifically counteracts evil ghosts? Terrifying in death, even more terrifying while alive!”
…
A child’s small hand clung to the edge of the narrow mountain path, slowly and reluctantly poking its head out from beside the cliff.
“Yan Yan~”
The moment they met, Jing Xiaobao acted affectionately and tried to charm Yan Shixun with a cute pout.
Jing Xiaobao thought: I heard from Lu Xingxing that you don’t hit smiling faces. If I act like this, Yan Yan won’t spank me, right? Sweet little Xiao Bao always gets off easy~
However, Yan Shixun merely gave him a cold glance, his gaze brushing over the big-eyed, cutesy expression Jing Xiaobao was putting on. Then he looked away and turned his attention back to the coffin before him.
Jing Xiaobao: “QAQ Yan Yan, do you not like Xiao Bao anymore? Why won’t you talk to me?”
Yan Shixun frowned slightly. “You should be the King of Hell by now, right? Why didn’t you bring any Yin officials with you?”
“???”
Jing Xiaobao tilted his head, completely confused.
Yan Shixun sighed. “…Then you’ll have to handle the underworld duties yourself.”
Jing Xiaobao: “!! But I’m not a mature adult yet! How would I know I was supposed to bring Yin officials?!”
The villagers who had carried the coffins had long ago been turned into undead creatures during past rituals by Ritual Master. Because of that, the underworld soldiers from Fengdu had already taken away those whose souls still lingered for judgment.
But most of the lantern-bearing villagers only had faint remnants of their souls left. Those fragments were just enough to keep them mechanically following the shaman’s commands.
They couldn’t reincarnate. Only under Yan Shixun’s power could they be reduced to ashes and truly die, finally smiling in peace as they drifted off to eternal rest.
The remaining coffins were simply discarded along the narrow mountain path.
Yan Shixun opened them one by one and found that, just as he had suspected, all the corpses lying inside were people who had recently gone missing while traveling from the lower Longevity Village to the upper one. They had only experienced the first death and hadn’t yet gone through the second death inside the hanging coffins.
Their souls were still salvageable. The innocent among them could follow Jing Xiaobao to the underworld and be reincarnated.
Aside from the ones he’d already seen in the village chief’s house, Yan Shixun even recognized a few travelers he’d encountered by chance at a guesthouse outside the village. Now they lay silently in the coffins, their faces pale, bodies rigid—dead.
It seemed Ritual Master had thrown all caution to the wind for this Winter Solstice ritual, completely disregarding even the ceremonial traditions he had followed for years.
Newcomers to the mountain had died just like that.
The corpses that had been temporarily stored in the village chief’s home, the villagers of the upper Longevity Village who had just been summoned away by Liu Ming, the backpackers from outside the mountain who had come with hope in their hearts…
All their bodies now lay inside the coffins, arranged one after another along the winding mountain path, stretching so far ahead they couldn’t see the end.
Yan Shixun lowered his gaze to the corpses in the coffins. With a sigh, he reached out and gently closed their wide-open eyes.
But when he opened another coffin and saw who lay inside, his eyes suddenly widened in shock.
“Official in charge?”
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