Nanshan never expected that the matter of binding five segments of marriage contracts would be exposed under such circumstances, nor did she anticipate that what her parents did twenty years ago could still make her feel embarrassed two decades later.
Lingye stared at the blue stone for a while, then suddenly lifted his gaze to Nanshan.
“What are you looking at? Is it wrong for my father to wish for his daughter to live a long life? Doesn’t the immortal uncle also hope you can live long…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Nanshan suddenly realized that wishing for a long life is a beautiful sentiment for mortals, but for immortals, it might be akin to a curse.
She quickly changed her words, “Long, long life for a thousand years?”
Lingye calmly countered, “What did I say?”
Nanshan choked for a moment, finding herself at a loss for words.
The second temple was empty and simple; rather than a temple, it resembled a study.
Inside, the stone statue only showed its back, looking less like a deity and more like a gentle scholar.
Before Nanshan could feel curious, the scene shifted to the third temple.
The third temple was dilapidated, and Nanshan immediately recognized it as a place she often played in as a child.
The statue above was only half remaining. Sun Jin seemed hesitant in front of such a broken temple, but after glancing at the infant in his arms.
He gritted his teeth and climbed onto the altar, first tying one end of the rope to the statue, then turning to bind it to the infant.
Although the scene didn’t show much, it was clear that Sun Jin had walked a long way, to the point of exhaustion, completely unaware that the moment the rope was tied to the infant, the other end tied to the statue had loosened and dropped directly onto the altar.
When he straightened up, the rope had already vanished.
“…Wasn’t it not tied? Why did the contract still succeed?” Nanshan was a bit confused.
Her mortal eyes couldn’t see it, but Lingye could see clearly.
The moment the red rope disappeared, the little bit of yang energy she had flowed away along the rope, as if something had drained it, causing her already weak self to faint, appearing at first glance as if she had simply fallen asleep.
Lingye said, “You bound a dirty thing.”
Nanshan: “…”
She completely didn’t want to know what the “dirty thing” he referred to was.
Before she could worry further, her father had already taken her, just born, to the last two temples.
The last two were almost identical; the first one housed a gigantic stone sculpture of a wild beast that looked somewhat like a fox and somewhat like a lion, while the fifth one was… a worm?
Looking at the stone sculpture that was hardly thicker than her finger, Nanshan couldn’t help but doubt her own eyes.
Glancing at Lingye’s calm profile, she tentatively asked, “Out of so many earth immortal temples, I’ve only seen the third one.
The first two were renovated in the village a couple of years ago; the other four can’t all be conjured by immortals, right?”
Lingye remained silent, leaving Nanshan feeling bored, and she stopped talking.
After binding the five segments of red rope, Sun Jin seemed to have accomplished something significant and returned home with the swaddled infant.
The blue stone flickered, and the scene switched back to the bedroom at home, which appeared to be deep into the night.
Sun Jin and Liu Jinhua were asleep, and the infant was placed in a cradle by the bedside.
Nanshan remembered this cradle; it was made by her father himself, using the best wood.
They had kept it for over a decade at home before finally giving it to her uncle’s wife.
Watching the sleeping family of three on the blue stone, Nanshan leaned in closer, and then she saw the old Taoist disguised as Yan Yue appear, pressing his two fingers on the infant’s forehead.
“What is he doing?” Nanshan tugged at Lingye’s sleeve.
Lingye paused for a moment, realizing that she had unknowingly gotten close to him, and immediately pushed her away.
Nanshan pulled the corner of her mouth and sat up straight, just about to continue watching the blue stone when Lingye suddenly spoke, “He’s transferring spiritual energy to you.”
Nanshan leaned in again, “Why is he transferring spiritual energy?”
Lingye shot her a glance, and she immediately sat back down.
He then said lightly, “A mortal body cannot withstand the power of a spiritual bone, so you were destined to die young due to your five senses being blocked at birth.
Your father is transferring spiritual energy to protect your body, ensuring you can at least live until your spiritual bone matures.”
“Spiritual bones can be mature or immature? When is it considered mature? Will I mature when I’m twenty?” Nanshan fired off three questions in a row.
Lingye replied, “Not necessarily; it will at least start growing after twenty. As for when it fully matures, that depends on your aptitude.”
Nanshan paused, “If it only starts growing after twenty, then why did the immortal uncle say I could only live until twenty?”
“After twenty, the spiritual bone begins to grow. If no one intervenes, the moment it starts growing, you will undoubtedly die. He wasn’t lying about that.” Lingye’s answer was blunt and straightforward.
Nanshan said, “But I’m already twenty and still alive.”
“Because you bound five segments of marriage,” Lingye glanced at her, “If I’m not mistaken, besides your father, there are others transferring spiritual energy to you, which has delayed the growth of your spiritual bone.”
Nanshan coughed lightly, pretending to be nonchalant as she looked at the blue stone.
On the blue stone, Yan Yue had already left, and another figure appeared.
Because he was wearing a cloak, Nanshan couldn’t see his face clearly, but she vaguely saw him raise his long fingers and gently stroke the infant’s neck, his fingertips faintly shimmering with light, while the infant remained blissfully unaware.
“What does he want?” Nanshan felt a chill watching this scene.
Lingye frowned, just as he was about to take a closer look, the image on the blue stone suddenly changed, revealing a pair of eerie red eyes.
From Nanshan’s perspective, it seemed as if those eyes were piercing through the blue stone, locking onto her.
Nanshan jumped in surprise, and Lingye’s frown deepened.
The image on the blue stone quickly transformed into a scene from when Nanshan was one year old.
“It seems they are unaware of each other’s existence,” Lingye raised an eyebrow, showing a rare interest, “Otherwise, they wouldn’t waste spiritual energy on you.”
“…What do you mean by wasting spiritual energy? Isn’t more of it better?
At least I’m still alive now because the abundance of spiritual energy has delayed the growth of my spiritual bone,” Nanshan retorted weakly, then a new question arose, “I don’t understand.
Since a natural spiritual bone is so precious, why didn’t they take me away at the very beginning?
Why wait until after I turn twenty?”
The immortal uncle didn’t want them to be separated, but what about the others?
“Perhaps it’s because mortals are too fragile, especially those with spiritual bones.
They’re afraid of accidentally causing your death,” Lingye glanced at her, “After all, an undeveloped spiritual bone is no different from waste.”
Of course, it might not be the only reason, but it was none of his business.
Nanshan: “…”
The blue stone began to show Nanshan at the age of five, chubby like a little meatball, getting patted by people wherever she went.
However, Nanshan’s attention was not on herself but rather on searching for Sun Jin and Liu Jinhua in the scene.
In her memories, her father always wore shabby clothes, with patches piled upon patches, and his shoes were always muddy.
Her mother’s hands were cracked year-round, and in winter, they were full of frostbite, itching so much that she couldn’t sleep.
This was the first time she saw them as young people; although they still looked poor, their youthful features radiated a liveliness she had never seen before, and their backs were straight.
Nanshan watched and watched, finally unable to resist reaching out to touch her mother’s face, but only felt coldness.
She suddenly came to her senses and instinctively glanced at Lingye, expecting him to mock her, but to her surprise, he was also focused on the blue stone.
Nanshan relaxed her back, hugging her knees and watching her past with him.
When she saw her eight-year-old self lying on the altar of the village ancestral hall, gnawing on a roasted chicken, she chuckled.
“Uncle San was furious, grabbing a broom to chase me away, and Aunt San argued with him,” the memories were vivid.
Since arriving in the underworld, it was the first time Nanshan relaxed her brows, “My father usually couldn’t bear to hit me, but this was the village’s ancestral worship held once every ten years.
I caused too much trouble, and he had no choice but to give me a beating.
In the end, Uncle San felt sorry for me and scolded him for not protecting the child.”
“This is me roasting sweet potatoes. Whenever it gets cold, I would sneak into the cellar with Ahua and Erpang to steal sweet potatoes, then run to the field ridge to roast them.
We always thought we were being clever, but the adults at home knew all along; they just couldn’t be bothered to argue with us.”
“Hmm… This is my best friend Qiuxiu. She got married at sixteen, but her husband treated her poorly and even hit her.
When her father found out, he gathered all the men from our village and directly tore down that family’s house.
She brought her child back to Sunjia Village, and now the child is already a year old.”
The scenes on the blue stone continued one after another.
Nanshan had forgotten many things, but some were still clear in her memory.
Although Lingye didn’t respond much, her enthusiasm remained undiminished.
“It’s so beautiful.” As she looked at her younger self in new clothes, she couldn’t help but exclaim, and just then, the blue stone displayed a scene of her alone in the room, drying herself off.
Nanshan froze, and Lingye was also taken aback.
On the blue stone, Nanshan was eighteen or nineteen years old, her body not too thin but vibrant and cute.
As the wrung cloth passed over her shoulder, her youthful skin instantly flushed a light red.
Nanshan finally came to her senses and directly tackled Lingye into the snow.
“You’re not allowed to look!” she exclaimed in exasperation.
Lingye’s face darkened: “I didn’t want to look!”
“What’s with that expression? What, do you feel like you’ve been wronged?”
After being cautious in the underworld for so long, Nanshan almost forgot that she could also be reckless and carefree, “Then let me see it again!”
As she spoke, she reached to tug at Lingye’s clothes.
Lingye didn’t expect this mortal to be so bold, and for a moment, his neck flushed red with anger:
“Impudent! Do you believe I’ll kill you?”
Nanshan sneered, “Come on, if you have the ability, just kill me.”
The two wrestled for a while, ultimately ending the farce with neither of them acknowledging the other.
The endless snowfield seemed to have lost track of time.
Nanshan felt as if she had been there for a month, and the bright sky remained unchanged.
“When will the immortal uncle come?” In her extreme boredom, she finally couldn’t help but ask aloud.
Lingye, with a blood mark on his face from her scratching, looked indifferent and showed no intention of responding.
Nanshan waved her hand at him: “Still angry? You’re a grown man; don’t be so petty, okay?”
Lingye remained expressionless, the wound on his lip from her bite still faintly stinging.
Nanshan stared at him for a while, then suddenly curiously asked, “What did you see on the stone before I woke up?”
Lingye suddenly raised his gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Nanshan rubbed her nose, “When I first woke up, weren’t you staring at the stone?”
Lingye paused, looking down at the stone in the snow for a long time before he finally said lightly, “Like you, all are fragments of life.”
That was his way of saying he didn’t want to talk more. Nanshan pouted and asked another question, “By the way, why did you deceive the immortal uncle into thinking you were weak?”
Lingye casually replied, “I am weak.”
“…Don’t give me that. I’m not an idiot. Although I don’t know how you immortals judge strength and weakness, you were able to kill such a big snake in just a few moves, so you’re definitely not weak,” Nanshan said curiously, cupping her face with her hands, “So, since you’re so powerful, why deceive the immortal uncle?”
Lingye looked at her as she leaned in closer, suddenly recalling the delicate skin he had seen on the blue stone earlier, and frowned as he pushed her away.
“Hey—” Nanshan was pushed to the ground, looking at him as if she had seen a ghost.
Lingye: “No comment.”
“What do you mean no comment?” Nanshan didn’t hear clearly.
Lingye looked displeased: “Where do you get so many questions from?”
“…Do you think I want to know?” Nanshan shot him a glare, “Once I get out, I’ll tell the immortal uncle.”
“You dare!”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Nanshan provoked.
Lingye took a deep breath, his face turning cold: “If you dare to say it, I’ll kill you.”
Nanshan rolled up her sleeve, revealing a bright red coral bracelet: “Say it again?”
Lingye: “…”
Since falling into this cursed place, Nanshan had lost count of how many times she had seen him at a disadvantage.
She happily lowered her sleeve: “Why not tell him? The reason the immortal uncle is forcing you to marry me is that he thinks you’re too weak and need my protection as a natural spiritual bone.
If he knew you could protect yourself, wouldn’t he stop forcing you to marry me?”
After she finished speaking, she paused for a moment, “Could it be that you and the immortal uncle are at odds, and you’re afraid he’ll see you as a threat, so you pretend to be weak?”
As soon as she said this, Lingye looked at her as if she were a fool: “You think too much.”
“Isn’t that how it’s often portrayed on stage? Competing for power and plotting against each other; I’ve learned it all,” Nanshan shrugged. Lingye’s expression remained indifferent:
“Think what you want. In any case, you’re not allowed to tell your father. Otherwise…”
He shot her a look, the threat evident.
Nanshan: “…” What a bothersome stubborn person.
The two fell silent again, sitting eight meters apart, neither wanting to acknowledge the other.
The vast snowfield remained unchanged, the sky blue as before, but the surrounding temperature gradually dropped, and the snow, like sand, finally felt cold.
Although Nanshan’s clothes had plenty of cotton, she still felt cold.
After shivering alone for a while, she finally couldn’t help but look at Lingye not far away and asked for the eight hundredth time, “When will the immortal uncle come to get us?”
She thought Lingye would continue to ignore her as usual, but unexpectedly, he stared at the shifting clouds in the sky for a long time before finally frowning and saying, “I don’t know.”
“Don’t know? How could you not know?” Nanshan sat up straight.
Lingye glanced at her and explained that the barrier of Muyi Lake was special; it could only be broken to enter, but after the seal was restored, it suddenly began to wander.
The people outside had to find the location of the seal first to rescue them, and so on.
In short, when they would get out depended on when the immortal uncle found the seal, but Lingye couldn’t determine when that would be.
The temperature continued to drop, and the wind grew stronger.
The endless snowfield howled with the wind, and the snowflakes rolled along, appearing like thousands of thin veils dancing in the air.
“Are you cold?”
The concerned words came through, stirring something in Lingye’s heart. He raised his gaze to look at her, only to see her glaring at his outer garment.
Lingye: “…”
After a brief silence, Lingye said indifferently, “You can try.”
Remembering how little advantage she had gained in their snowball fight, Nanshan immediately dismissed the idea of snatching his clothes.
It was getting colder, colder than any winter she had ever experienced.
Nanshan hugged her knees tightly, and the sleeves that fit her just right rolled up a bit due to her movements, revealing the bright red coral beads on her wrist.
She stared blankly at the beads, thinking that she had avoided the prophecy of turning twenty, evaded Lingye and Zhi Shen’s hidden harm, and even dodged the attack of the seven-legged snake.
Yet, she never expected to freeze to death in this strange place.
All she wanted was to live a long life; why was it so difficult?
Nanshan sighed softly, the white mist of her breath dissipating in the air. Just as she was about to pull herself tighter, a piece of outer garment suddenly fell over her head.
The garment still held warmth and faintly exuded a floral and fruity fragrance.
Nanshan stared blankly as she looked up, meeting Lingye’s calm gaze.
“What are you looking at?” He said coldly, maintaining a distance, “Since you’re wearing the Shenyue beads, I won’t let you freeze to death here.”
Nanshan remained silent for a long time before asking, “If I said that the immortal uncle also gave me other bead strings, would you give me another piece of clothing?”
Lingye: “…”