Almost the moment the giant wave came crashing down, Nan Shan realized something was wrong.
Unfortunately, though her cultivation level was high now, she still lacked real combat experience.
When the droplets of water shot toward her like blades, she couldn’t dodge in time and could only watch helplessly as the wave surged at her with deadly force.
…Was she really going to die here today?
Her eyes widened suddenly, and just as she was about to pour all her spiritual energy into resisting, a giant bell suddenly enveloped her, shielding her from all attacks.
Before she could react, the bell rapidly shrank, and a hand reached through, grabbing her tightly and diving into the sea with her.
The salty, bitter seawater blurred her vision in an instant.
Nan Shan let out a muffled groan of discomfort.
The man raised his hand to cover her eyes, and she closed them, trusting him to lead her away.
Although she could breathe freely in the water, the moment they landed on the beach, she still propped herself up and gave a symbolic couple of coughs.
She was just about to thank her rescuer when a shadow fell over her.
She instinctively looked up and met a pair of furious eyes.
Nan Shan coughed again, trying to make conversation:
“Why do you have a bell too? Did you borrow it from Shou Xin?”
“Why did you go alone?”
Ji Yue asked coldly, his right hand clasped behind his back.
Nan Shan sank backward until she looked like she was kneeling.
“I woke up this morning feeling a huge surge in my spiritual power, so I wanted to test it out.”
“Test it out?”
Ji Yue laughed, but his eyes were sharp.
“You nearly tested yourself to death.”
“I wasn’t being reckless. I dared to go because I realized my current cultivation had reached the limit of what the spiritual bone in my body could handle. I figured this was the peak of my power and wanted to give it a try,” Nan Shan said, trying to act cute.
“You said before that the one to break open that shell had to be me. If even my peak self can’t do it, when will I ever be able to?”
Ji Yue was visibly stunned for a moment when she mentioned she had reached her peak.
But seeing how casually she said it, his expression grew even colder.
“You don’t even know how to break it and still claim you’re not reckless?”
Nan Shan vaguely saw a flash of red in his eyes, but when she looked again, his irises were the same clear black as always, making her think it must’ve been her imagination.
After spending so much time with him, Nan Shan had seen him angry before—but never this furious.
She was a bit overwhelmed and instinctively retorted, “Didn’t you drag me to this stupid island just so I could pave the way? Now that I took the initiative—yeah, I failed—but at least it shows I’m trying. Why are you so mad?”
Ji Yue’s expression flickered at her question.
But after giving her a deep look, he turned and walked away.
Nan Shan watched him go, feeling suddenly deflated, and stomped back toward the house.
On the way, she ran into Auntie Li and the others, who stuffed her with a few sugar cakes.
She brought them home and gave them all to Shou Xin.
“You’re not eating them?”
Shou Xin asked curiously.
Nan Shan scowled.
“Don’t feel like it.”
“Why the long face? Who pissed you off?”
Shou Xin took a bite of a sugar cake.
Nan Shan snorted.
“Who else? Your precious immortal lord!”
“Oh.”
Shou Xin didn’t take it seriously.
“Well, did you apologize?”
Nan Shan froze, barely believing her ears.
“He pissed me off, and I should apologize?!”
“Immortal Ji Yue is gentle and kind—he never starts trouble. It must’ve been you who provoked him first. So isn’t it only natural for you to apologize?”
Shou Xin said with a tilt of his head.
Nan Shan burst out laughing in disbelief.
“Wow, your bias is showing. Gimme back those sugar cakes!”
She lunged for them, but Shou Xin quickly stuffed the rest into his mouth.
Enraged, Nan Shan grabbed his face.
“Let go! Let go!”
Shou Xin yelled in pain.
“No way!”
Nan Shan pulled at his cheeks.
“You’re so biased toward Ji Yue, you might as well be his son. Honestly, you even kind of look like him. It fits.”
Shou Xin suddenly stopped struggling.
“Really? It fits?”
Nan Shan: …
Faced with his hopeful face, Nan Shan was speechless and simply walked back to her room.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Does it really fit?”
Shou Xin chased after her.
BANG!
Nan Shan slammed the door.
Finally, some peace.
She flopped onto the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Realizing she was really angry, Shou Xin cautiously knocked on the door.
“So what did the Immortal Lord actually do to you?”
Nan Shan said nothing, but suddenly remembered the last look Ji Yue gave her before walking away. She turned over irritably.
“…Why won’t you say anything?”
Shou Xin raised his voice.
Nan Shan still didn’t respond.
“You’re not thinking of killing yourself, are you?!”
Shou Xin panicked at the thought and pounded the door.
“Nan Shan? Nan Shan! Are you still alive?! Say something or I’ll break down the door! I really will! I’m gonna do it right now—”
“The door isn’t locked. What are you crashing into it for?”
Nan Shan said irritably.
Shou Xin paused, then quietly pushed the door open.
“Uh… are you okay?”
He crept to her bedside.
Nan Shan’s face was blank.
“Not dead.”
Shou Xin chuckled awkwardly.
“Are you hungry? I can cook something for you.”
“Not hungry.”
“Thirsty? I can get you water.”
“Not thirsty.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
The seven-year-old had no idea how to comfort someone, so he just asked directly.
Nan Shan glanced at him sideways.
“I want you to leave and close the door behind you.”
Shou Xin’s mouth twitched. He walked out slowly, turning back every few steps.
“You really don’t want me to do anything? How about washing your clothes? Take off the ones you’re wearing—I’ll wash them with soapnuts.”
“I just changed this morning,” Nan Shan refused again.
Even though she’d gone into the sea, Ji Yue had protected her the moment they entered.
Not a drop of seawater had touched her—not even a hair, let alone her clothes.
Hmm… come to think of it, Ji Yue was actually quite considerate.
It was just that his cold attitude afterward was really annoying.
Seeing her expression shift, Shou Xin couldn’t help asking again, “You really don’t want me to wash them?”
“Why are you so naggy?”
Nan Shan frowned.
Shou Xin rolled his eyes.
“I’m the naggy one? You’re the clueless one—your clothes are stained with blood and you didn’t even notice. I’ve been hinting for ages!”
“Sorry, but ever since I started cultivating, my menstrual cycle has…”
Nan Shan trailed off, suddenly spotting the bloodstain on the corner of her robe. Her eyes widened.
Seeing she finally noticed, Shou Xin gave a smug hum.
“So you’re not blind after all. Hurry and change…”
Before he could finish, Nan Shan zoomed out of the room.
“You’re seriously running outside in dirty clothes?!”
Shou Xin yelled in frustration. Watching her vanish, he could only shout after her, “At least use a cleaning spell!”
@InfiniteGoodStories, exclusively at Jinjiang Literature City
Atop the divine altar, every devotee prayed devoutly. After the ritual of three kneels and nine kowtows, they pressed their palms together and silently made their wishes.
Ji Yue sat high upon the sacred platform, with a three-zhang-tall golden statue of himself behind him.
Amid the swirling incense, his face radiated compassion and tranquility, silently watching over his people.
Suddenly, a gust of wind lifted the curtain.
He paused, and his empty eyes regained focus.
“Ji Yue!”
Nan Shan barged into the temple recklessly, enthusiastically calling out to him.
Although they had parted on bad terms moments ago, Ji Yue still curved his lips into a smile when he saw the sparkle in her eyes.
Nan Shan caught the trace of a smile and her eyes crinkled in response—until she suddenly realized something was off.
She stiffly turned her head to look at the spacious hall.
Inside the great hall, the praying citizens had all stopped and were staring straight at her, seemingly puzzled by her sudden appearance.
Ji Yue also realized something was wrong and was about to lead Nan Shan away when she suddenly clasped her hands together with a solemn face and declared, “I came to pay respects to Immortal Lord Ji Yue.”
The crowd finally understood and praised her a few times before returning to their prayers.
Taking the opportunity, Nan Shan quickly signaled for Ji Yue to follow her. Ji Yue smiled silently and obediently left with her through the back door.
They walked one after the other along the corridor connecting the front hall and the backyard.
Each was caught up in their own thoughts.
Nan Shan opened her mouth several times but didn’t know how to begin.
As she struggled, Ji Yue’s voice suddenly came from behind:
“I’m sorry.”
Nan Shan immediately stopped and looked at him awkwardly.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I was too impatient earlier and lost my temper with you,” Ji Yue said calmly, apologizing again. “I’m sorry.”
Nan Shan scratched the back of her head.
“I know. You were just worried something might happen to me. I only got angry on purpose because I was being stubborn… How’s your injury?”
Ji Yue froze at her words.
“Don’t tell me you’re not hurt,” Nan Shan quickly added.
“There was blood on my clothes.”
Ji Yue followed her gaze and saw bloodstains on her sleeve.
Speaking of the blood, Nan Shan couldn’t help laughing.
“That kid actually thought it was menstrual blood. Whose period gets on their sleeve, seriously?”
“He’s never interacted with any women besides you. It’s normal that he doesn’t understand such things,” Ji Yue said in defense of Shou Xin.
Nan Shan rubbed her nose.
“I know. I wasn’t making fun of him. I just thought it was kind of funny.”
Ji Yue chuckled, looking at her tenderly.
Nan Shan grew flustered under his gaze but insisted, “Let me see your wound.”
Seeing that he couldn’t change the subject, Ji Yue had no choice but to extend his right hand, which he had been hiding behind his back.
When she saw the deep, bone-exposing wound on his hand, Nan Shan gasped and was struck speechless. Her mind went blank for a moment.
“Did I scare you?”
Ji Yue asked as he moved to hide his hand again.
Nan Shan quickly grabbed his wrist, then realized she was using too much force and eased her grip.
“How… how could it be this serious? Aren’t you skilled in healing arts? Why didn’t you treat it?”
“This wound was caused by a barrier—healing techniques are useless. It can only recover slowly,” Ji Yue explained. Seeing that she was still worried, he tried to reassure her.
“It won’t take too long—half a day at most and it will be fully healed.”
But on Dongyi Island, “half a day” wasn’t something that passed easily.
Growing more anxious, Nan Shan pressed spiritual energy into his palm.
It was useless.
No matter how hard she tried, the wound, pale and soaked from seawater, showed no signs of healing.
Instead, it oozed fresh blood from absorbing too much spiritual energy.
Nan Shan didn’t dare move again.
Her expression as she stared at the wound was as if the sky had fallen.
Ji Yue was once again amused by her expression.
“You’re still laughing?!”
Nan Shan scolded.
Ji Yue immediately stopped smiling.
They stared at each other for a while until Nan Shan finally turned away in guilt.
“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I acted on my own and got you hurt.”
“You went alone because you wanted to surprise me, right?”
Ji Yue asked gently.
“How did you know…” Nan Shan looked up in surprise.
Their eyes met again, and her cheeks suddenly turned red. “I—I—I didn’t think that much. I just thought… you’d be really happy to wake up and see the barrier broken.”
She forced a bitter smile.
“But I messed everything up and even got you hurt.”
“It’s my fault for not telling you how to break the barrier,” Ji Yue responded.
Nan Shan looked a bit embarrassed.
“Let’s stop apologizing out here. Let’s go back to the backyard. I’ll help you bandage it. Even if it won’t heal right away, we can’t just leave it exposed.”
Ji Yue agreed and followed her back.
Shou Xin had assumed that Nan Shan, after storming off, would at least throw a tantrum for seven or eight meals before returning.
But just as he sat down in the courtyard, he saw her returning with Ji Yue.
As they passed him, she even waved cheerfully.
“Basking in the sun with nothing better to do? You’re a kid—why are you acting like an old man?” she teased, then took Ji Yue back into the room.
Shou Xin: ‘…fickle as ever.’
Since Ji Yue usually handled minor injuries and illnesses, Nan Shan didn’t have much medicine in her room.
After rummaging through her things for a while, all she found was a clean piece of white cloth and a grass-woven locust toy
“This Shou Xin, when did he hide a grasshopper here?”
Nan Shan placed the grasshopper on the dressing table and walked over to Ji Yue with the white cloth.
“Um, I don’t have any medicine. Should we just make do with a simple bandage?”
Ji Yue gave a quiet “Mm,” and with a swipe of his fingers, neatly cut the cloth. Nan Shan, seeing that, couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“You know, having cultivation really makes everything easier. I was just thinking I’d have to go find scissors.”
“You’ve cultivated now too. A lot of things can be handled more easily,” Ji Yue reminded her.
Nan Shan nodded and began bandaging him.
She was very close; the strands of her loosely tied hair occasionally brushed against Ji Yue’s chin.
He lowered his gaze and didn’t flinch, as if nothing had happened.
She quickly finished bandaging his hand, then stepped back a bit to admire her work with satisfaction.
Ji Yue quietly watched her, and when his gaze accidentally fell on the bloodstains at the hem of her clothes, his left hand moved slightly but ultimately didn’t help wipe it off.
Nan Shan noticed his hand and finally remembered the important matter.
“Oh right, you haven’t told me yet—how can we break that barrier?”
Hearing her, Ji Yue’s gaze finally left the bloodstain and returned to her face.
“How do we do it?”
Nan Shan tilted her head and looked at him curiously.
Ji Yue smiled silently and said, “You can’t break it by force. To destroy it completely, you must first eliminate the source that created it.”