48. The Ghost Village Worships Gods (14)

How about becoming an immortal on a different mountain?

"Give me...give me the body...the auspicious time..."

As the village chief drew closer, his bulging, dark blue eyes darted around more and more violently. As he got closer, Qin Fu'an could even smell the stench of death emanating from him.

Qin Fu'an stood still.

The village chief's gaze toward the plant in Qin Fu'an's hand grew increasingly greedy and frenzied. He lunged forward, but just as he was about to touch Qin Fu'an, he was violently thrown back by an invisible wall.

Then came a series of thuds as villagers bounced and fell, all of whom were blocked by an invisible wall as they rushed to bite Qin Fu'an and seize the plants, unable to move an inch.

"You can't break this barrier. Now can you calm down and communicate with me properly?" After Qin Fu'an finished speaking, he casually took out a mineral water bottle from his backpack, cut it in half with a dagger, and then found some soil and water. He carefully planted the withered plants temporarily in the small mineral water bottle.

After planting, he touched the familiar plant he had seen at the end of the last instance and said helplessly, "With limited resources, let's make do for now."

Little did he know that from the moment he arrived at the dilapidated house, the viewers in the live stream were already completely bewildered.

[Can someone tell me why the NPCs can't touch the streamer?]

[I'm curious too, but I'm even more curious about the purpose of this mountain god's remains. Isn't it just a broken blade of grass?]

[Wait! It...it really does look familiar. I'm sure it's not just me who recognizes it, is it?]

[Damn, someone upstairs is a swindler, I've reported them!]

[I recognize him too. Didn't Xiao Xie leave the streamer a plant sprout after the last dungeon run? It looks pretty much like it.]

[I know why the NPCs couldn't get close to the shabby house!! Does anyone remember that the streamer took some stones, walked around the shabby house, and then casually placed them somewhere?]

[...A formation?!]

[I guess so, but isn't this a weird game stream? Why does the streamer seem to have switched to a cultivation channel? These days, besides Taoist priests, are there really people who know real formations?]

[But streamers aren't human anymore, so it's normal for them to know a little magic... right?]

[...]

As expected of a self-service live streaming room, viewers can deduce any questions they have from past clues without the host needing to explain.

At the same time, Qin Fu'an placed the mineral water bottles with the planted plants on the small table, and under the crazy and resentful gaze of the group of living dead outside, he got up and walked into the small dilapidated house.

The moment Qin Fu'an stepped inside, he stopped abruptly.

He wasn't surprised that the boy, who should have been fast asleep, was awake. What surprised him was that the boy remained quietly sitting with his knees drawn up, surrounded by a dense array of tentacles, some of which were particularly brightly colored.

These are the tentacles that were previously trapped inside the statue in the mountain god temple.

They re-merged with Xie Yunhuai's soul.

This also means...

"Does it still hurt?" Qin Fu'an lowered his gaze, walked up to Xie Yunhuai, squatted down, and reached out to touch the boy's cold forehead.

Xie Yunhuai gently shook his head, his dark, unfathomable eyes fixed on Qin Fu'an. After a long while, he opened his mouth and silently called out:

[Qin Fu'an...]

"Qin Fu'an..."

Kill me.

Kill me!

He reached out and grabbed Qin Fu'an's sleeve, his pale fingertips trembling slightly, yet he held on tightly, pleading earnestly, word by word:

[Qin Fu'an, kill me.]

Qin Fu'an, kill Xie Yunhuai!

The two were too close, close enough that Qin Fu'an could see the intense hatred and pleading surging in the boy's eyes, and could see the silent tear tracks down his cheeks and his tear-dampened eyelashes.

As Xie Yunhuai gripped his sleeve again, demanding more, Qin Fu'an reached out and pulled the trembling boy into his arms.

"Don't be afraid." He cupped the boy's head with his warm hands, pulled him into his arms, and comforted him gently, "Xie Yunhuai, I will protect you."

Xie Yunhuai, I will never let you be tortured to death in front of me again.

"I'll avenge you."

I'll help you kill all those beasts.

"I'll take you away from here."

I will completely destroy this instance, and wipe out all these cowardly rats, so that they will never be reincarnated again.

In the noisy night, some tasted the salty, cold tears, some clutched the thin, wrinkled corners of their clothes, and some embraced each other, whispering promises that dawn would surely break.

Do not be afraid, for I will destroy all that you fear.

Do not harbor resentment, for I will surely destroy the soul of the one you resent.

You should sleep peacefully and meekly, and I will spread my wings to shield you from all the wind, frost, and swords when you are broken and battered.

I have wings to protect you, and fangs to slay enemies. I can see through people's hearts, and I can also vanquish all evil.

"Xie Yunhuai, I will always protect you."

Little mountain god, I wish to be your only believer.

Qin Fu'an gently touched the boy's slightly cool earlobe, lowered his head to wipe away the mottled tear stains, and coaxed him gently with a smile, "Little mountain god, after we deal with them, let's go to another mountain and become gods, how about it?"

Xie Yunhuai: "..."

The boy's tear-filled eyes blinked silently as he met Qin Fu'an's intensely aggressive yet gentle gaze, and he slightly curved his eyebrows.

[good. ]

You lied to me.

[You are clearly not a god.]

Hearing his inner accusations, Qin Fu'an chuckled, raised his hand to rub Xie Yunhuai's head, and said casually, "I'm not lying to you. You be your little mountain god, and I'll be the god who can hear your thoughts. Wouldn't you call that a divine couple?"

Xie Yunhuai: "..."

Silently raising his hand to remove the hand that was messing around on his head, the boy glared at him with reddened ears:

Don't talk nonsense.

Seeing that the little boy who had just finished crying was about to be teased again, Qin Fu'an suppressed his laughter and stopped, sighing as if helplessly: "Alright, alright, it seems that blasphemy is only fun when the little mountain god is willing. It's a pity that the auspicious time is coming soon. No matter how much thought we have, we have to deal with those noisy flies outside for our little mountain god first."

The words "auspicious time" that he uttered carried an unmistakable malevolence.

Xie Yunhuai got up with him. His left hand, which was originally behind him and hanging at his side, was covered and clenched by a warm palm the next moment, and then he was led out.

As he reached the door, Qin Fu'an stopped and turned to look at the calm-looking boy.

"If you're scared, just wait for me here?" He hesitated for a moment.

Xie Yunhuai looked up at him, his eyes as black as ink and as bright as stars, curving slightly. He tightened his grip on his hand before firmly shaking his head at him.

I'm not afraid.

I want to hear it with my own ears and see it with my own eyes.

He was not afraid; he wanted to hear with his own ears the betrayals born of greed and to see with his own eyes the deserved fate of these traitors.

Xie Yunhuai was never a timid, mute girl who would be bullied by others.

That wasn't true before, and it's even less true now.

"Okay, let's go then." Qin Fu'an grasped Xie Yunhuai's hand and led him out of the dilapidated little house.

Upon emerging, Xie Yunhuai's first sight wasn't of the ferocious and terrifying villagers who were blocked by the barrier and launched a frenzied attack, but rather of the mineral water bottle with the "mountain god's remains" planted on a small table by Qin Fu'an.

He looked at the small, withered plant, ignoring the villagers who fell silent the moment they saw him, and walked straight past them.

[It's going to die.] Xie Yunhuai turned to look at Qin Fu'an.

Qin Fu'an stood beside him, looked down and observed him for a moment. He first nodded in agreement, and then smiled and coaxed the boy when his eyes dimmed: "It can still live. I'm best at raising these dying little things. I'll keep it alive."

Xie Yunhuai understood the implied meaning.

He pursed his lips, his bloodless fingertips lightly touching the withered stems and leaves of the plant, then turned to Qin Fu'an and said:

[Then I'll give it to you.]

[It's okay if they can't be raised.]

It won't blame you.

It will only feel that it met you too late, that it wasn't lucky enough, and that it didn't try harder to grow.

In any case, it won't blame you.

Qin Fu'an didn't stop talking. Instead, he reached out and gently poked Xie Yunhuai's pale cheek, just like Xie Yunhuai poked at the stems and leaves of a plant.

"Don't say discouraging things. I said I can raise it, and I mean it. Not even the King of Hell can take it away from me!"

The person who said this had an arrogant and unrestrained demeanor, and his words were filled with an unbridled arrogance. Yet, he also had an air of utter self-righteousness, as if everything in this world was truly as he said, and that no one could stop or hinder him from doing what he wanted.

Xie Yunhuai was momentarily stunned.

This person was the most vibrant and dazzling person he had ever met.

He looked down and saw their hands clasped together. Finally, he was willing to look up at the villagers of the strange village who were retreating, yet unable to hide their resentment and greed.

They originally intended to seize the "mountain god's remains," but upon seeing him, they all retreated.

Just like every time I used to drive myself away from the haunted village with stones, hoes, and sticks in my past memories, I felt both fear and hatred.

If Qin Fu'an hadn't been there to stop them, and if they had obtained the "mountain god's remains," they would soon no longer be so wary and fearful of him.

They would tie up the mute boy who couldn't speak, hang him upside down under the eaves of the mountain god's temple, then slit his throat and let his blood drip onto the mountain god's statue. Finally, they would bury their own dead bodies under the altar, offering sacrifices day and night, cursing day and night, attempting to kill themselves while giving birth to a new mountain god.

A mountain god who can bring them back to life and transform the haunted village back into your noble village.

Xie Yunhuai looked at the paper money flying everywhere outside, his expression indifferent, his eyes no longer showing any humility or timidity, but also no compassion that a deity should have.

[Author's Note]

Anzai: My wife looks so cute when she cries. I'm wiping away my tears on purpose, but I'm actually sneaking a kiss~

Yunzai: ...I know.

Villagers: So all that shouting was just your background music?

Audience: No, no, no, we're also there as the background.

.

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution:

Two bottles of "Clear Rain and Lonely Boat";

1 bottle of Leran;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!