Chapter 70

#He Was Always There When the Flowers Bloomed

I continued following Xie Zhuo. The success with the little girl made me even more certain of what I had thought before.

Find someone who’s in a moment of crisis, help them through it, and I can temporarily use their body—just for a little while!

But that little while… was enough.

In the days that followed, I kept using this method to constantly “run into” Xie Zhuo on Que Mountain.

When he had gone days without food or water searching for signs of malevolent spirits, I entered the body of a street vendor and gave him a sugar figurine.

Xie Zhuo ate the candy and nodded at me, saying, “Thanks. It’s sweet.”

And just like that, I felt sweetness in my mouth too.

When he tracked down a clue and injured his arm while capturing a spirit, I entered the body of an old physician and helped him bandage his wound.

Afraid of hurting him, I didn’t dare tie the bandage too tightly. In the end, my trembling hands could only manage a loose knot.

Xie Zhuo didn’t actually need the bandage, nor did he need me to be so cautious. But he didn’t criticize me for anything—instead, he even helped “me” back home.

When he waited in the market, I brought him a folding stool.

When he rested by the roadside, I gave him a sun hat.

When there was nothing else, I would pick someone passing by and have them hand him a flower.

If even flowers weren’t around, I’d find someone to pass by and say to him, “You’ve worked hard.”

And so, day after day, Xie Zhuo went from his initial shock and confusion to gradually starting to respond—nodding in thanks.

I could see that his expression had become much gentler and calmer than when he left the Mirror Forest.

Eventually, nearly everyone on Que Mountain knew that this quiet and stoic man had been invited by the Lord God Ji to help them.

So, it wasn’t just me—more and more people began to offer their kindness to Xie Zhuo.

Children would chase after him at the market, begging him to teach them martial arts. The elderly would gift him handmade clothes and shoes. When he hunted evil spirits, the soldiers would do their best to assist him.

And I watched as Xie Zhuo grew more and more… human.

He began to respond to these gestures.

When he had a moment to spare, he would actually teach the children some techniques—even if they couldn’t really learn them.

When the elderly gave him clothes and shoes, he would politely refuse, express his thanks… even though he’d still end up with a pile of mismatched garments draped over him.

He even healed injured soldiers as he passed by… even if those soldiers hadn’t helped him in the past.

It seemed that during his time on Que Mountain, Xie Zhuo’s heart had finally thawed. Unlike his homeland, where it had always been buried under layers of ice and snow.

The frost within his heart melted into a gentle stream, nourishing a land of spring. The soil was sprouting; it brimmed with life.

Looking at this Xie Zhuo, I couldn’t help but feel an indescribable joy and warmth.

I thought—Xie Zhuo might not smile easily or express himself much, but deep down, he truly was a gentle person.

Even after going through so many sorrowful and dark times, when he faced warmth and kindness again, he still chose to accept it—to respond.

How much courage did it take for him to finally open the tightly closed flower bud of his heart and reveal its softest core?

But when I looked at myself now… I felt a bit anxious.

Back then, when Xiaxia liked Xie Zhuo, she took him on a shopping spree across eight streets, buying countless little trinkets.

Now, all this time has passed.

And I’m still me.

I didn’t take him shopping down eight streets. All I did was keep stuffing him with different things.

The way I express affection and love is just so… barren…

And so time passed, just like that.

So long that I started thinking maybe Xie Zhuo’s search for evil spirits on Que Mountain had become a part of daily life.

Until one day… I couldn’t find Xie Zhuo anymore.

Even my soul form needed rest. Usually, when Xie Zhuo rested, I did too. When he woke, so did I.

But that time, Xie Zhuo had gone several days without sleep while searching for spirits. I floated along with him for days.

Finally, he located one—though it still wasn’t Zhu Lian.

But at least he managed to eliminate a particularly deeply hidden malevolent spirit on Que Mountain.

When he finally rested, I let my spirit rest too.

Perhaps I slept too deeply, because when I awoke and opened my senses again—Xie Zhuo was gone!

It seemed he had left for quite a while. The surroundings held no trace of his aura or spirit energy.

Regretful over my slumber, I began searching for him.

I combed through the market he frequented, the city gates of Que Mountain, the places he liked to rest… but he was nowhere.

It was as if he had vanished from Que Mountain entirely.

Just as I was falling into despair, I overheard a soldier passing by say: “Seems the Lord God allowed that mysterious man to enter the Forbidden Land.”

I immediately perked up and turned to look toward the peak of Que Mountain.

Having stayed here so long, I knew some of the local legends. The so-called “Forbidden Land” was the giant boulder at the mountaintop.

Unlike the towering Kunlun, the northern wastes were mostly flat—Que Mountain was the tallest peak around.

That enormous rock atop it was the highest point in the northern region. Shaped like a Que bird, the mountain itself got its name from it.

Within that boulder was Que Mountain’s Forbidden Land. It was said that only Lord God Ji had ever been allowed entry.

No one knew what lay inside.

“Lord God said a few days after that man arrived, he could go anywhere on Que Mountain, just like the Lord God himself. He just hadn’t gone to the Forbidden Land—until now.”

“You think he’s really who he says he is? Could Lord God have trusted the wrong person? Can he really save the Northern Wastes from this disaster?”

“If he can’t, Lord God can. Anyone Lord God trusts—I trust too. Our job is to guard the gates. I heard things outside are getting worse…”

I didn’t listen further. I turned and flew toward the mountaintop and the Que-shaped rock.

The “eye” of the Que stone had a cave—deep, dark, and wide. From afar, it looked just like a dot painted to bring the stone bird to life. As I got closer, I saw the cave was about three meters high, enough for four or five people to stand in comfortably.

I was just about to fly in through the Que’s “eye,” when I saw someone approaching from within.

He stopped right at the entrance, gazing far into the distance—it was Xie Zhuo.

I floated to his side, circling him twice. Seeing that he was unharmed, looking calm and composed, I finally relaxed and quietly perched on his shoulder, my spirit form gently leaning against him, though he had no idea I was there.

“I heard the Northern Wastes are getting worse,” I said, looking out with him.

From this high vantage point, we could see the mountains, forests, and markets below—and even farther, beyond Que Mountain, the lands of the Northern Wastes.

What I saw… was a faint but vast black miasma spreading over the land.

It was the aura of malevolent spirits. For it to be so pervasive… it could only mean that everything outside Que Mountain was nearly lost.

I had heard from the people of Que Mountain that before long, Lord God Ji might seal the gates. When that happened, no one from outside would be allowed in.

Main God Ji—perhaps he thought that if he couldn’t protect the Northern Wastes with his strength, he could at least protect Que Mountain.

But tragically, I know… Que Mountain wasn’t protected in the end either.

This place…

became the Undying City.

Only, I still don’t know now why it ended up that way.

“Thank you, Young Master Xie.”

Behind me came the voice of Main God Ji.

Xie Zhuo and I both turned around, only to see him in a white robe, walking over from behind Xie Zhuo.

He walked slowly to Xie Zhuo’s side. Xie Zhuo gave him a slight nod, which counted as a greeting.

“There were no traces of the Evil God found here, correct?”

“None. The aura here is even purer than outside.”

Main God Ji frowned slightly. “This place is the spiritual vein of Que Mountain, and yet he never came here… Acting this way makes it difficult for me to discern what he’s after this time.”

Thousands of years ago, the gods of all directions joined forces to seal the Evil God deep in the Abyssal Sea. After that battle, nearly all the gods perished—only ten remained.

Main God Ji and the Queen Mother of the West were among the survivors of that battle.

They had fought the Evil God themselves and knew his ways.

“How did he operate before?” Xie Zhuo asked.

“He killed main gods and severed spiritual veins.” As if recalling the past, Main God Ji fell silent for a moment. “Once a place’s spiritual vein was destroyed, its people lost their source of soul power—there was no one left to fight him…”

“But this time, he doesn’t seem to have that intention.” Main God Ji continued, “I used to come here every day to investigate. I thought he was simply good at hiding, that I just couldn’t detect him, so I called you—someone so sensitive to demonic energy—but even you sensed nothing. So he truly has never come. This time… what is it that he wants?”

Xie Zhuo lowered his eyes, contemplating for a moment. “Earlier, his soul tried to use me as a vessel. We fought within this body… and he lost.”

Main God Ji was stunned. “He lost?”

Xie Zhuo nodded. “When he fled from the Mirror Forest, he was already very weak.”

Main God Ji looked at Xie Zhuo with disbelief.

And I understood why he was so shocked.

In the legends of Kunlun, in the mouths of the people, the Evil God’s power was considered unbeatable.

Even when all the gods fought him, they could only seal him. And now that his soul has been summoned back—just a soul—he should still surpass every other soul in this world.

Yet Xie Zhuo said that the Evil God lost.

Within a body the Evil God himself had crafted, in a struggle of souls with Xie Zhuo—he lost.

He became weak, and fled in disgrace…

“Just now I probed the spiritual vein and knew at once—Que Mountain’s spiritual vein is too strong. In his current state, he likely cannot sever it. Moreover…”

Xie Zhuo looked into the distance. In his pitch-black eyes, the sky outside was reflected.

“After he escaped, he scattered demonic energy along his path, continuously creating evil spirits and lost ghosts. And through them, he kept spreading chaos and expanding the reach of that energy. I believe… after you sealed him in the Abyss and he returned, his goal changed.”

“The old path no longer works. Now, he likely wants people, not spiritual veins.”

People, not veins…

Main God Ji looked down the mountain. “You’re saying… he wants to infect all people with that demonic aura. That way, even if the spiritual veins remain intact, no one will be left who can oppose him…”

Xie Zhuo nodded.

Main God Ji’s face turned visibly paler.

The scene they described was exactly like what happened in Kunlun before.

The world was steeped in demonic energy. Everyone—Mengmeng, Wu Cheng, the defensive army of Kunlun—had all been infected.

The remaining gods, atop Kunlun, had tried to absorb the world’s demonic aura… but failed.

The timeline I came from before arriving here had essentially already been taken over by the Evil God. All the gods and people had lost to him.

“I must inform the other gods at once,” Main God Ji said. “Young Master Xie, to find and balance the Evil God—this task may fall to you alone. I can only, on behalf of the other gods, offer my thanks in advance.”

“No need to thank me. This is what I was meant to do.”

As he spoke, Xie Zhuo turned and walked away. But Main God Ji called out behind him again.

“Young Master…”

Xie Zhuo paused slightly and looked back at him.

At the mouth of the cave, backlit by the light, Main God Ji stood there, seeming to glow with divine radiance. “I heard that after you arrived at Que Mountain, you helped the people here often. But when I first met you, I didn’t take you for someone who would do such things. Why… did you change after coming to Que Mountain?”

When I heard this, I found it odd.

What, helping the people of Que Mountain is a crime now? Worthy of interrogation from a god?

What’s next? Are you going to say it was actually the Evil God inside Xie Zhuo’s body, controlling him to help you all?

I stared at Main God Ji, a little disgruntled.

I realized I was being overprotective to the point of irrationality—unable to stand even the slightest misunderstanding about Xie Zhuo.

But Xie Zhuo was much calmer than me. Upon hearing the question, he didn’t even hesitate. He said plainly, “The people of Que Mountain have treated me well.”

“That’s all?”

Xie Zhuo was quiet for a moment, then spoke. “When I was young, I always felt I was more fortunate than others.”

I looked at Xie Zhuo. Main God Ji didn’t know about his childhood—but I did. And yet, he said that even that kind of childhood made him feel fortunate.

“There might have been snow, candlelight, warm wind, summer flowers that favored me.”

I froze.

Snow… candlelight… warm wind… summer flowers…

“So, I felt grateful for the breeze, the sun, the moon… all the beauty that met my eyes.”

“Later, the little wolf came, and I felt grateful for all living things.”

“And then, I arrived at Que Mountain.” He looked at Main God Ji again and repeated, “The people of Que Mountain have treated me well. So I wanted… to repay them.”

So few words, yet they told the story of his past, without mentioning a single hardship.

If I had eyes now, I’m sure they’d be filled with tears.

Suddenly, I felt that my spirit coming to this time wasn’t a mistake on the gods’ part, but heaven’s will.

There must have been a special bond that brought me to his childhood—To be the snow, the warm sun, the summer flowers, the breeze.

And suddenly, I understood—

Why, many years later in that snowy bamboo grove, Xie Zhuo would save the “stranger” that was me.

It’s because he still believes in repaying the kindness of this world.

Maybe I was wrong—his heart was never like his homeland, buried in snow.

He has always…been in bloom.