The next morning, the black spot on the Blood Sun seemed to have grown again.
Nan Shan stumbled out sleepily and immediately saw Ji Yue in the courtyard—his face pale as ever.
“…Are you sick?”
Nan Shan asked curiously.
Ji Yue smiled, dark circles clearly showing.
“No.”
“But you really don’t look well,” Nan Shan said bluntly.
Ji Yue still shook his head.
“I’m fine, really.”
Seeing that he wouldn’t admit it, Nan Shan didn’t push.
Their lesson that day was half-hearted.
Even Shou Xin couldn’t bear watching and finally said, “Why don’t you rest for two meals’ time?”
Nan Shan’s eyes lit up and she looked at Ji Yue hopefully.
He was about to refuse, but when he met her sparkling gaze, he had no choice but to agree.
Nan Shan let out a cheer, then immediately realized her reaction was too much and quickly stood properly:
“Thank you, Lord Ji Yue.”
“But next class, you’ll have to memorize two extra pages,” Ji Yue said gently.
Nan Shan nodded right away.
Once Ji Yue was gone, she immediately cupped Shou Xin’s face in her hands:
“Shou Xin, my precious darling, you’re amazing! I thank you on behalf of my ancestors eight generations back!”
“Cut it out,” Shou Xin struggled to escape her clutches.
“I only suggested a break because I saw the Lord seemed distracted. You just got lucky because of that.”
Nan Shan said, “Still, thank you. I was so tired.”
Other private schools even had breaks.
She dared say she hadn’t had any rest since classes began… okay, except for her period.
Now that she finally had a day off, even her footsteps felt happy.
After getting turned down once more when she invited Shou Xin out, she went to the kitchen, picked up a basket of eggs, and cheerfully went to find Auntie Li.
But as soon as she reached the market, she saw a huge crowd of people, and from the center of it came sharp, grief-stricken cries.
She slowed her pace. Spotting Auntie Li still running her stall, she quietly walked over.
“Auntie Li,” Nan Shan called softly.
Startled as she stretched her neck to see what was going on, Auntie Li clutched her chest once she saw who it was:
“Whoa, little ancestor, you walk without making a sound!”
Nan Shan smiled and handed her the basket:
“Auntie Li, I brought these eggs from home for you. Keep them to eat.”
Auntie Li’s eyes lit up as she cautiously asked,
“Is this a gift from Lord Ji Yue?”
“…No, I took them myself,” Nan Shan replied helplessly.
Auntie Li looked a little disappointed, but quickly accepted them with joy:
“No matter, no matter. You’re the lady personally chosen by the Lord. Your gift is as good as his. I’ll offer a big incense stick tomorrow to thank the Lord and you properly.”
Nan Shan had only brought the eggs as thanks for all the delicious food Auntie Li had made her.
But seeing her touch the eggs so tenderly, like they were babies, Nan Shan suddenly felt uncomfortable.
“Right,” she forced herself not to overthink.
“What’s all the commotion over there?”
“Oh, remember that guy who insisted on going drinking?”
Auntie Li asked.
Nan Shan: “I remember.”
“One of them drank himself to death,” Auntie Li said lightly.
“That Uncle Liu, you should know him.”
Nan Shan froze:
“W-What? He drank himself to death?”
“Drank too much, served him right,” Auntie Li clicked her tongue with disdain.
“Too bad for his poor wife, kids, and old mother. They’re bawling their eyes out.”
As if to prove her words, a disheveled woman suddenly broke through the crowd and threw herself at a large rock on the roadside.
The crowd screamed. If someone hadn’t been quick to stop her, she might’ve died too.
Nan Shan was startled.
Auntie Li snapped sternly,
“If you’re that desperate, go pray to the Lord to bring him back to life! What’s all this dying-for-love nonsense for? If you scare the Lord’s wife, not only the Lord, even I won’t spare you!”
“I’m fine…” Nan Shan quickly waved her hand.
But Auntie Li ignored her and continued yelling at the woman, who looked on the verge of fainting.
Nan Shan couldn’t calm her down at all. When she looked up, she saw Uncle Liu’s gray, lifeless body.
Just yesterday he’d said he wanted to cook a meal for her.
Now, he was a cold corpse. It felt like a stone had lodged in her stomach—heavy and painful.
She watched as a few young men carried Uncle Liu’s body toward the temple, full of hope.
Her stomach twisted even more painfully.
She didn’t have the strength to stop them or explain that not even immortals could bring back the dead.
A strange question came to her:
If they place all their hopes in Ji Yue and are ultimately disappointed, will they start to doubt the deity they’ve worshipped all along?
Doubt seemed inevitable.
Though Nan Shan hadn’t formally begun cultivation, her time in the Underworld gave her some understanding of life and death.
Even her immortal father, ruler of the Underworld, couldn’t stop death—how could Ji Yue?
She returned to the courtyard with a heavy heart.
Shou Xin, who had been waiting under the eaves, immediately came up to her. Noticing her empty hands, his disappointment was obvious:
“You didn’t…”
“I’m tired. I’m going to sleep for a bit,” Nan Shan cut him off.
Shou Xin had no choice but to stay quiet.
Back in her room, she lay down and instantly fell asleep.
When she woke up, the sky seemed even darker—or maybe it hadn’t changed at all. She sat in bed for a while, pressing on her aching temples, then walked outside.
There, she saw Shou Xin squatting outside.
“You okay?”
He asked, concerned.
She shook her head and kept walking.
“Where are you going?”
He called after her.
“Out to have a look,” she said without turning back.
She really wanted to know—how would those people react once they found out Ji Yue couldn’t save Uncle Liu?
Carrying a stomach full of emotions, Nan Shan soon arrived back at the market.
The place was lively and cheerful, just like always.
Uncle Liu’s death was like a stone dropped into the sea—plop—and then completely covered by the waves.
“Lady Immortal!”
Auntie Li greeted her with a smile.
Nan Shan smiled back and walked over: “Auntie Li.”
“Want a shrimp cake? I’ll make one for you,” she offered.
Nan Shan shook her head.
Noticing that the stall next to Auntie Li was back to normal, she paused and asked:
“Auntie Li, who’s running that stall now? Uncle Liu’s mother or his wife?”
“Oh, come now. His mother’s over eighty, and his wife’s useless. None of them could manage the stall like he did,” Auntie Li said dismissively.
Nan Shan blinked slowly, her mind struggling to process:
“But Uncle Liu, he…”
Before she could finish, a surprised voice called out behind her:
“Lady Immortal! You’re here!”
Nan Shan froze, suddenly chilled to the bone.
Auntie Li looked behind her and smiled:
“Old Liu! She was just asking about you! Hurry and come over.”
“She was asking about me?”
Uncle Liu came around to stand in front of Nan Shan, visibly moved.
His once pale, lifeless face was now healthy and glowing. Smiling cheerfully, he looked like any normal living person.
“Really, Lady Immortal? Thank you for thinking of me. I’m doing great!”
Nan Shan’s lips trembled before she managed to speak:
“You—you’re not…”
“Not what?”
Uncle Liu asked curiously, while Auntie Li also looked at her in confusion.
Nan Shan couldn’t hold it in anymore:
“Weren’t you dead?!”
Her outburst was so loud that everyone within ten meters stopped and turned to look at her.
The blood-red sun was now mostly covered by dark spots.
The remaining light was not enough to brighten Dongyi as it had when she first arrived.
Despite the glaring sun, the surroundings felt cold and eerie, everyone’s faces coated in a dark hue, like silent ghosts watching from the shadows.
After a long, tense silence, Uncle Liu suddenly burst into laughter.
Auntie Li laughed too.
Everyone around her laughed, as if they’d heard the most hilarious joke.
Auntie Li wiped her tears from laughing:
“Looks like our Lady Immortal still doesn’t understand Lord Ji Yue’s powers. Don’t worry, our Lord is second to none, capable of anything—whether above or below. As long as you pray with sincerity, even the dead can be brought back to life.”
The surrounding people all chimed in in agreement.
Nan Shan’s expression changed again and again, and in the end, she hastily found an excuse and fled in a panic, rushing straight to the temple’s backyard.
Shou Xin, who was watering the vegetable garden, saw her pale face and quickly came forward:
“What’s wrong?”
Nan Shan ignored him, rushed straight into the kitchen, grabbed a tablecloth and wrapped up the cooked chicken, duck, and fish, then filled several kettles to the brim.
Seeing her with the posture of someone preparing to flee, Shou Xin’s eyelid twitched:
“What are you doing?”
Nan Shan shot him a cold look and walked out with her things on her back.
Shou Xin quickly grabbed her:
“What are you making a fuss about now?!”
“I’ve had enough!”
Nan Shan suddenly broke down, but she didn’t cry — she just panted heavily while staring at him fiercely.
“You’re all not normal. None of you are normal!”
Shou Xin let go of her in a daze, and Nan Shan walked away without looking back.
He hurriedly took out a bell from his robe, trying to use a barrier to stop her, but it was already too late — by the time he got the bell out, she was already gone.
Gritting his teeth, he still chased after her in the end.
Having escaped once before, Nan Shan was even quicker and more nimble this time.
She skillfully stole a boat and deliberately rowed in the opposite direction of her previous attempt.
She didn’t believe that invisible wall could really block every single path.
Nan Shan rowed with all her strength, letting the waves toss her around without a hint of retreat in her heart.
It wasn’t until she heard Shou Xin’s anxious voice behind her that she hesitated and slowed down.
“Nan Shan! Nan Shan, where are you going?!”
Shou Xin was rowing a small, shaky boat, ringing the bell in an attempt to trap her, calling out anxiously, “Come back! It’s too dangerous!”
The sea wind was fierce, making it hard to even stand steadily.
He looked like a frail leaf, almost falling into the water several times.
Nan Shan’s heart swayed with him, and every time she almost rushed to save him, she silently warned herself:
Don’t soften.
Don’t turn back.
Don’t let yourself compromise with this abnormal place.
After repeating that a few times, her resolve hardened again.
Ignoring the desperate pleas of a seven-year-old child, she continued rowing toward the opposite shore.
No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly the sea wind stopped, and the sea surface calmed like the pond behind Sun Family Village.
Nan Shan, having spent her last ounce of strength, finally saw the blurry outline of the opposite shore — and a familiar figure standing there.
She shot up instantly, jumping in excitement:
“Ling Ye! Ling Ye! I’m here!”
Across the water, the tall and slender figure suddenly looked up.
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