Behind him, the three-meter-high statue of a god was absorbing the air currents.
Under the nourishment of the energy, the statue seemed to have grown slightly larger, though its golden body remained the same size, as though it were being squeezed into it.
“Ji… Ji Yue…” Nan Shan’s throat was dry, and it was very difficult for her to call his name.
“What happened? Why… Why are you…”
Ji Yue looked at her coldly, as if seeing a stranger.
Nan Shan remembered those red eyes.
Twenty years ago, when she had been on the companion stone of the seven-legged snake, she had stared into those red eyes across the years.
She had thought it was just a coincidence, but now it felt like some kind of fateful convergence.
Fate.
Looking into Ji Yue’s red eyes, Nan Shan suddenly felt a sense of panic.
It was as if she had an ominous premonition.
Without thinking, she suddenly darted to the side, and in the next moment, a black-red swirling air current struck the place where she had just been standing.
Looking back at Ji Yue, she saw that he had already taken out a bell, and his eerie red pupils were filled with an indescribable deathly aura.
Though she had been prepared mentally, she was still shocked when he attacked her. |
She even called his name, urging him to wake up.
“I’m Nan Shan, Nan Shan!”
Nan Shan urgently tried to prove herself.
But Ji Yue showed no mercy.
After missing with one strike, he came at her again, and Nan Shan had no choice but to use all her spiritual power to defend herself.
As she dodged and counterattacked, the stacked bodies of the dead were caught in the chaos, with warm severed limbs and pieces of flesh flying everywhere, many landing on Nan Shan’s clothes.
The clothes she was wearing today were the ones Ji Yue had helped her wash with soap a while ago.
Without the usual spiritual cleaning, they had a fresh, warm scent unique to mortals.
But now, with all the blood and flesh, there was nothing left of that scent.
Another wave of spiritual power hit her head-on, and Nan Shan was forced to retreat quickly, but a lock of her hair was still sliced off.
She wasn’t Ji Yue’s match.
Once she realized this, her heart sank. In order to survive, she had no choice but to retreat step by step, but Ji Yue was like a madman, chasing her relentlessly, attacking her again and again.
Eventually, Nan Shan was pushed toward the sea, with towering waves crashing around her.
She was getting weaker, and her injuries were multiplying.
When Ji Yue attacked again, she thought she was about to die, but by chance, she noticed that she had already arrived near the barrier.
The once impenetrable barrier was now broken by a small hole through Ji Yue’s spiritual power.
Ji Yue’s bell had turned into a sharp blade, heading straight for her.
She had no other choice but to give up on resisting and rushed through the small hole in desperation.
A massive surge of spiritual power exploded behind her, throwing her far away. In the blink of an eye, she lost consciousness.
When she woke up again, she didn’t know how much time had passed.
She was floating on the sea, with the barrier enclosing Eastern Yi behind her.
Shou Xin…
Shou Xin was still on the island.
She didn’t know what Ji Yue would do to him after becoming like this.
Nan Shan struggled to swim toward the barrier, her hands full of spiritual power, relentlessly striking the barrier.
But it remained as hard as ever, and no matter how much she battered it, there was no crack.
“Inside?”
Nan Shan was too anxious and fainted again.
When she woke up again, it was to the sound of a donkey cart moving along.
The movement was gentle, bringing a kind of mundane calm.
“Miss, you’re awake?”
The woman driving the cart asked with a smile.
Nan Shan sluggishly blinked, taking a long while to sit up.
“Where is this? How did I end up here?”
She was back home a month later.
Just as she arrived at the village entrance, her father and mother rushed toward her, holding her and crying loudly.
Nan Shan felt a pang in her heart and hurriedly comforted them.
When the villagers heard she had returned, they gathered around, some wiping their tears, others talking to her, acting as though she had never left.
This gave Nan Shan, who had felt empty for so long, a sense of belonging.
She had forgotten some things, probably some very important things.
So when the villagers asked about her recent experiences, she only remembered that she had been cultivating somewhere, and now she had made some progress and returned.
“So, you’re a cultivator now?”
Her third aunt asked cautiously.
Nan Shan smiled.
“I guess so.”
“Does that mean you can do anything now? You must be really powerful!” her third aunt eagerly asked.
“It’s not that powerful,” Nan Shan quickly denied, but when she saw the disappointment in her third aunt’s expression, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is there something you want me to do?”
“It’s like this,” her third aunt said, rubbing her hands, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“My son broke his leg a while ago. The doctor said… even if he gets better, he won’t be able to walk like normal people. I’m relying on him for the rest of my life, and if he’s crippled… what will I do…”
Saying this, she couldn’t help but start crying.
Liu Jinhua entered with a bowl of porridge and asked in a hurry, “What’s going on?”
Nan Shan briefly explained the situation and comforted her third aunt.
“I haven’t learned any medical skills, but I can use spiritual power to heal small injuries. If you don’t mind, I can go take a look at your son.”
“Now? I just made some blood porridge for you,” Liu Jinhua frowned.
Nan Shan glanced at her third aunt’s anxious expression and smiled.
“I’m not hungry, Aunt, you drink it yourself.”
After saying that, she exchanged a look with her third aunt, and the two hurried off.
When they entered her third aunt’s home, the strong smell of medicine hit Nan Shan’s nose.
Her brother, who was a good student, lay on the bed, sickly.
He greeted her weakly.
“Don’t move,” Nan Shan hurriedly approached and checked his leg before letting out a sigh of relief.
“It’s not a big deal.”
After saying that, she injected some spiritual power into his leg.
Slowly, his face became more vibrant, and the broken leg twitched.
“Alright, alright!”
Aunt San exclaimed in surprise.
Nan Shan, feeling happy for the first time in a while, exchanged a few more words with them before heading straight home.
As soon as she got home, she saw Liu Jinhua sitting in her bedroom, seemingly lost in thought.
“Mother,” Nan Shan called out.
Liu Jinhua looked up and smiled upon seeing her.
“You’re finally back. Come, drink some porridge.”
Nan Shan was stunned for a moment, then realized that her mother was still holding the bowl of pig’s blood porridge.
The porridge had been left for so long that the pig’s blood had solidified, mixing haphazardly with the rice paste, creating an unappetizing, unpleasant color.
It also gave off a strange, fishy smell.
Nan Shan frowned, unable to hold back her thoughts. “It looks awful, I don’t want to eat it.”
Liu Jinhua seemed surprised by her response.
After a brief moment of hesitation, she awkwardly hid the bowl behind her.
“Yes, yes, it’s my fault. You don’t like it, that’s normal. I… I’ll just take it out.”
“Bo…” Nan Shan started to speak, but Liu Jinhua quickly turned her back.
“It’s fine, you rest now. Don’t come over.”
Though her mother insisted she stay behind, Nan Shan couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
After a brief hesitation, she decided to follow her.
She soon found her mother hiding in the kitchen, wiping her tears, with her father quietly comforting her.
When Liu Jinhua noticed her presence, she quickly turned her back.
Sun Jin frowned.
“Nan Shan, go apologize to your mother.”
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Nan Shan quickly apologized, her voice soft and sincere.
Liu Jinhua let out a small laugh, continuing to wipe her tears, not facing her.
Nan Shan had always been open with her parents, speaking her mind.
The pig’s blood porridge really did look unpleasant, and it smelled terrible.
In the past, if she had said such a thing, her mother wouldn’t have forced her to drink it but would have instead given it to her father, hoping he would finish it.
She wouldn’t have been upset; instead, she would have appreciated that her daughter spoke honestly, thinking her to be a smart and thoughtful child.
But today, her mother seemed so hurt by her words, which was something Nan Shan had never seen before.
Seeing her mother in this state, Nan Shan felt at a loss.
“Your mother, in order to nourish your body, went out early to buy pig’s blood and painstakingly cooked this porridge. How can you refuse to drink it just because it doesn’t look good? Can you treat your mother this way?”
Sun Jin scolded, though his eyes were red.
Nan Shan immediately realized her mistake and felt deeply guilty.
She apologized again, “I’m sorry, Father, Mother. I won’t do this again.”
“Then be a good child and drink it,” Sun Jin said as he handed her the bowl.
The longer they delayed, the more unappetizing the pig’s blood porridge became.
Nan Shan didn’t dare say anything, taking the bowl and drinking it all in one go.
The first sip hit her with a strong fishy taste, making her head spin.
But with her parents’ red-rimmed eyes staring at her, she nearly gagged, yet she gritted her teeth and drank it all.
“How does it taste?”
Liu Jinhua, having wiped her tears, looked at her with anticipation.
Nan Shan nodded.
“It’s good.”
Liu Jinhua smiled.
“Then I’ll make it for you again next time.”
Nan Shan hesitated for a moment, but when she met her mother’s and father’s eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
The obedient acceptance she displayed only fueled Liu Jinhua’s enthusiasm for making her health tonics.
Even though each one tasted worse than the last, every time she saw the expectant look in her mother’s eyes, Nan Shan could never find the words to decline.
She would just grit her teeth and finish it.
Days passed by, one after another.
Nan Shan never could recall what she had forgotten.
The days didn’t seem much different from the past—she either consumed the strange tonics her father and mother had worked so hard to prepare or treated small ailments and fixed things for the villagers.
It felt like life was almost the same as it had been, but there was something strange, something subtly off, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Another fine day, she had just finished repairing the roof at her second uncle’s house when she turned around and saw Sun Jin and several other elders staring at her intently.
“What’s going on?”
She asked, hesitating.
Before Sun Jin could speak, her second uncle couldn’t wait to speak up.
“Nan Shan, you’re becoming more and more capable. Ever since you returned, the villagers have had a much better life. So, we thought we shouldn’t just ask you for help for free… we’re planning to build a temple for you. What do you think?”
Nan Shan was stunned.
“A temple?”
“Yes, a temple. We’ll offer incense in your honor as a way of thanking you for everything you’ve done,” her second uncle hurriedly explained.
Nan Shan laughed helplessly.
“Uncle, I’m just an ordinary cultivator. Incense doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“Nonsense, your third aunt says you’re an immortal!”
Someone chimed in.
Nan Shan sighed.
“That’s because I didn’t bother explaining…”
“If you don’t mind, let’s do it this way,” her second uncle said, cutting her off.
Sun Jin finally got the chance to speak and looked at her pleadingly.
“Everyone worked so hard to think of a way to thank you. Just agree to it, for your father’s sake.”
“But…” Nan Shan started to protest.
“Nan Shan.”
Sun Jin called her again.
Looking at the injuries her father had sustained while gathering medicine for her, she remembered how he had refused to let her use her spiritual power to heal him, claiming he didn’t want to waste even a bit of her cultivation.
At that moment, she suddenly found herself speechless.
Seizing the opportunity, Sun Jin and the others finalized the plans for the temple.
Even when the temple, which seemed overly luxurious compared to their poor village, was completed, Nan Shan still felt it was absurd.
On the day it was finished, she reluctantly agreed to go take a look.
But when she saw her stone statue placed on the altar, an odd feeling swept through her heart.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.