Given his overflowing anger at this moment, telling him to get out was the greatest mercy.
Xin Wu left without another word, turning and running while looking back to shout: “Thank you for your help, High God! If I succeed in forming an immortal bond, I shall certainly repay you!”
Li Ye didn’t respond, nor was there any further commotion afterward.
After sprinting about half a mile, Xin Wu stood at the foot of the immortal mountain and looked back up. He felt somewhat guilty. Li Ye had helped him so much, perhaps his joke had gone too far? Here he was with good fortune approaching, while Li Ye remained all alone—quite pitiful.
However, this feeling of remorse didn’t last even a moment before it was shattered by the explosive sound that came from afar.
BOOM—
Mountain spirits and creatures around fled from their caves in panic. Xin Wu was knocked off-balance by a fleeing spirit deer and couldn’t help but grab its antlers, asking coldly: “What’s happening?”
The spirit deer initially wanted to struggle, but seeing the thick immortal aura surrounding him, it spoke honestly in human language: “The Matchmaker’s Island nearby suddenly collapsed, affecting this area. This humble immortal needs to temporarily evacuate. Please, High God, show mercy.”
Oh, just the Matchmaker’s Island collapsing. Xin Wu released his grip.
…
…
As the spirit deer fled, he stood in place, silent for a long while, before suddenly realizing something.
The Matchmaker’s Island collapsed?!
Drawing in a sharp breath, Xin Wu turned back to look at the layers of barriers on the immortal mountain, utterly torn between laughter and tears.
Long Xu hadn’t yet recovered her memories, but was merely curious about him. Xin Wu had originally planned to take advantage of her confusion to bring her to the Matchmaker’s Island to form an immortal bond, cutting off Zhong Su’s hopes, and then explain everything to her properly. Who would have thought that Li Ye, when angered, could be so unreasonable as to directly destroy the Matchmaker’s Island?
It was his fault for having a loose tongue. Why did he have to provoke that old bastard?
***
By the time the dust from the Matchmaker’s Island had settled, Li Ye had regained his composure.
He sat in his study, wrapped in crimson robes, his black hair lightly tied back, his expression serene. When he heard heavy footsteps outside, he didn’t even raise his eyelids.
“This is harming the innocent,” Xin Wu’s voice sounded from outside the window. “The Matchmaker’s Island was such a scenic place, and now it’s gone. If that person of yours finds out, she’ll surely be unhappy.”
Still daring to mention her?
Li Ye pressed his lips together.
The crashing sounds outside suddenly grew louder.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong,” Xin Wu hurriedly said. “This harms others without benefiting yourself, please reconsider, High God!”
As long as it harms others, who cares about benefiting himself? Li Ye smiled coldly, turning a page of the document in his hand.
“That was an immortal island. With its collapse, the immortals in the Ninth Heaven won’t be able to form immortal bonds for nearly a hundred years,” Xin Wu continued muttering softly.
Turning a deaf ear, Li Ye carefully read the words written in the document.
The assembly of gods intended to promote Kan Ze as the new leader, but concerned about him, they sent documents to persuade him. Thousands of well-intentioned words, each character earnestly persuasive.
Once he focused on reading, Xin Wu’s noisy voice outside seemed more distant. The scent of ink filled his nostrils, while the wind carried the fragrance of green grass. Light and shadow dappled on the latticed window.
“…Hey, why are you ignoring me?” Someone stood before his desk, opening their mouth pitifully.
Er’er’s voice again.
This time Li Ye was no longer so agitated. He simply raised his hand calmly and flung a divine flame toward the source of the voice.
“Waah—” The person cried out in surprise, forming a seal with their hands and conjuring a water screen that barely blocked the divine flame. Their eyes instantly reddened. “You, you hit me!”
Still her voice, authentic and grieved.
Li Ye froze, his mind processing this, and suddenly all the blood in his body congealed again.
He stiffly raised his head inch by inch, hearing only the creaking of his bones rubbing together. White light appeared before his eyes, blurring his vision for a while before outlines began to form.
A small child stood before his desk, wearing a little cyan-green dress with a plain silk waistband and long sleeves that brushed the ground. Elegant pearl flowers were pinned in her hair, and delicate rouge dotted her face.
She stared at him steadily and said in a childish voice: “I knew Senior Sister was lying. How could a dignified High God like you still be thinking of me after hundreds of years? But we did have some old feelings between us, couldn’t you have been gentler?”
It was her.
Er’er’s childish face reflected clearly in his pupils. Li Ye abruptly stood up, leaped over the long desk, and went directly before her.
Familiar features, familiar Five Elements immortal aura—she was just as before, raising her head to look at him. Her eyes were as bright as glazed beads in the morning sun, except her entire person seemed to have reverted to the appearance of a five or six-year-old child, very small in stature.
Li Ye held his breath. He hastily gathered the scattered divine flames around them and looked down to examine her.
Her perfectly fine sleeve had its edge singed by the divine flame.
Somewhat at a loss, his eyes wavered. Li Ye pressed his lips together, crouched down, and held her sleeve, gradually restoring it.
Er’er had been aggrieved, but seeing his expression, her heart couldn’t help but soften. He was too anxious—anxious in a way that didn’t resemble a world-destroying High God, but rather like a young man from the mortal realm who had made a mistake and didn’t know how to coax someone into happiness.
Suppressing her amusement, Er’er still wanted to tease him: “You can burn a person but not a sleeve?”
“No,” Li Ye lowered his eyes, his hand holding her sleeve trembling slightly. “I didn’t mean to burn you.”
“Then just now—”
“It wasn’t directed at you.”
“Who are you trying to fool?” Er’er pouted. “You only acted after I spoke.”
“…” Li Ye closed his eyes, inwardly cursing Xin Wu hundreds of times.
Opening his eyes again, he reached out and forcefully pulled this little one into his embrace.
Caught off guard, Er’er stumbled as he hugged her. She initially wanted to struggle a bit, but once in his arms, she felt his body trembling slightly, and her movements instinctively gentled.
“You’re a High God,” she lightly grasped his clothes, smiling as she said, “This makes you seem less formidable.”
He didn’t answer, only hugging her so tightly that her bones ached.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat hoarse. “Are you real?”
With her chin resting on his lowered shoulder, Er’er pursed her lips: “Senior Sister sent you messages every day about my soul’s progress. How can you say no one told you? You didn’t pay attention.”
Li Ye: “…”
It had only been a few days? The soul he had nurtured for hundreds of years without success, Yan Cha, had somehow managed to nurture at a rate of one soul per day. In just half a month, she had brought her entire person back. Who could have anticipated this?
Loosening his hold on her somewhat, Li Ye also felt somewhat disgruntled: “What did she use to nurture you, to be so quick?”
“Food and drink,” Er’er spread her hands. “I have the three Hun and seven Po souls of a mortal, unlike you immortals of the Ninth Heaven, who can go without food or drink while waiting for souls to enter the physical body. My physical body also needs to grow on its own, which certainly requires eating, but you didn’t feed me, leaving me so hungry I had no strength even to speak.”
“I did feed you,” he frowned. “Following Yan Cha’s instructions, I made things with my own hands to feed you.”
“…”
With a complex expression, Er’er scratched her face, mumbling ambiguously, “I did want to eat, but… next time, could you make something that humans can eat?”