The few Jurchen people who had just attacked Li Fei rushed forward and spoke hurriedly. Lei Xiuyuan remained noncommittal, silently standing opposite her with a cold, analytical gaze—even when they had fallen out at the academy, he had never looked at her like this. At this moment, he was completely regarding her as a stranger with hostility.
Li Fei carefully examined him for a long while, then smiled slightly. “This wealthy attire suits him quite well.”
Ri Yan couldn’t believe that after waiting so long, she would say something so trivial. He angrily said, “Can’t you read the situation? You haven’t improved at all! Who just threw you down here? Even if you want to be lovey-dovey with him, shouldn’t you see if he’s willing to acknowledge you first?”
“If he doesn’t acknowledge me, I’ll just wait for the day he does. Calm down, don’t get so angry all the time.”
Ri Yan was utterly exasperated. “He’s lost one of his horns! The curse is gone! Right now, you’re just an intruder who suddenly entered his territory! If you couldn’t remember everything and a man suddenly appeared, clinging to you, would you be happy? Do you have some way to make him suddenly remember everything and become affectionate with you again?”
Li Fei thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t have such a method.”
Hu Jiaping had once said that when he first saw her at the academy, he felt a sense of familiarity, and then slowly began to recall the past. As for whether Lei Xiuyuan would be the same, no one knew.
She noticed that the few Jurchen people kept talking to Lei Xiuyuan, but he remained silent. Many people from the surrounding villages were chattering in response, occasionally casting suspicious and wary glances in her direction. She whispered, “Ri Yan, can you hear what they’re saying?”
Ri Yan flicked his ears and said nonchalantly, “They’re just arguing about your identity. Spiritual energy is scarce overseas, and those who can use the Five Elements Immortal Arts are extremely rare. Those few people earlier insisted you were a mountain god, but others don’t believe it.”
“…What’s the deal with Xiuyuan?” Here, everyone’s attitude towards him was different, with particularly respectful and admiring looks that couldn’t be faked. Was he ruling over this mountain?
As soon as Ri Yan mentioned Lei Xiuyuan, he became scornful. “Hmph! This brat is quite formidable! If you had even a tenth of his skills and cunning, I’d be grinning in my sleep!”
He didn’t know how Lei Xiuyuan had arrived on this Jurchen island. When he found him, he was already living in luxury and comfort. It took him quite some effort to figure out that Lei Xiuyuan had suddenly emerged from that mountain which the Jurchen people revered as sacred, just like Li Fei. He too had been attacked by the Jurchen people, but when he revealed his Yaksha form, no one could match him.
Although the Thousand Isles were vast and endless, powerful tribes were as rare as cultivators in the Central Plains. Most were ordinary people, like mortals, who only knew a bit of beast-taming and magic, spending their entire lives unaware of the world beyond their native islands.
The Jurchen people probably had no idea what a Yaksha was. When they saw Lei Xiuyuan glowing with golden light, horns on his head, a beautiful appearance, and extraordinary demeanor, they asked if he was an incarnation of the mountain deity.
Unlike Li Fei, Lei Xiuyuan had lived overseas before and could understand their language. He immediately stated that he wasn’t the mountain deity, but an envoy sent by the deity to protect them. Who would have thought the Jurchen people were so foolish that they believed his nonsense? A potential conflict turned into peace, and they happily began treating him like a master.
As Ri Yan spoke, he kept shaking his head and sighing. Stupid, he had never seen such stupid people. For Lei Xiuyuan, with his belly full of schemes, subduing them was as effortless as taming sheep.
Li Fei, on the contrary, was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. Though she had forgotten everything, Lei Xiuyuan was still Lei Xiuyuan. His nature hadn’t changed a bit. He stood there, both arrogant and composed, still exuding that “fools keep away” aura.
He kept quietly watching her, his jet-black eyes inscrutable, impossible to guess what thoughts were running through his mind. Lei Xiuyuan was always like this—no matter what earth-shattering ideas he might be contemplating, his face would never betray even the slightest hint. Had he perhaps remembered some fragments of the past?
Li Fei gave him a faint smile, and the next moment, Lei Xiuyuan coldly and disdainfully averted his gaze. He spoke a few words she couldn’t understand in an indifferent tone, and immediately countless Jurchen people glared at her with hostile eyes. Many even gripped white iron hooks in their hands, itching to act.
“What happened? What did he say?” Li Fei was so anxious she almost jumped up. Not understanding the language was truly maddening.
Ri Yan sneered, “He said he’s never seen you before, that you couldn’t possibly be a deity from the mountain, but an intruder. See that? Venomous heart!”
As soon as he finished speaking, there were several whooshing sounds as many white iron hooks smashed against Li Fei’s Earth Master’s protection, then clinked and clattered to the ground. Ri Yan let out a great roar, suddenly leaping down from her shoulder and growing enormously in the wind. His ghastly green eyes glared fiercely at Lei Xiuyuan, baring his fangs at him.
When the surrounding Jurchen people saw this familiar nine-tailed fox, they let out cries of delight. Some boldly came forward to offer him Mandui tree leaves, which beasts love most, persistently trying to tame this beautiful and formidable creature.
Ri Yan blew away those Mandui tree leaves with one breath, angrily saying, “These fools are so annoying! Let’s kill them all! I’ll restrain his movements, you use the Senluo Great Magic to subdue him, and we’ll take him away directly!”
Li Fei hurriedly grabbed his tail. “Why kill these ordinary people for no reason? Leave this to me, you calm down first.”
She took out Lei Xiuyuan’s broken Yaksha horn from her bosom and walked forward a few steps. The Jurchen people immediately started shouting. Although she couldn’t understand what they were yelling, their tone was very alert, clearly telling her not to move. Li Fei opened her hands, making a harmless gesture, and smiled gently at them.
She was naturally beautiful, and when she smiled, she was particularly adorable and likable. Soon, the tense Jurchen people stopped shouting. Although their wariness hadn’t changed, their hostility decreased slightly.
Li Fei said, “I have no other intention, I’m just here to find someone and return something in passing.”
She waved the slender Yaksha horn in her hand, and Lei Xiuyuan’s expression changed instantly. He suddenly transformed into a beam of golden light. Li Fei only felt the Yaksha horn being forcibly snatched away, so fast she couldn’t even react. She anxiously said, “I can heal this wound for you! Don’t go! Wait a moment! I really can!”
He seemed not to hear, just pinching his broken horn, lowering his head to gaze at it thoughtfully. After a moment, he suddenly left with a sweep of his sleeve. The countless villagers surrounding them immediately respectfully made way. He said something in a low voice, and everyone erupted in an uproar.
Li Fei saw him walking away very quickly, not even glancing at her. She couldn’t help but call out, “Xiuyuan!”
Lei Xiuyuan didn’t even pause, showing no reaction to this name. Li Fei stared blankly as he turned a corner and entered a courtyard. The houses in this courtyard were actually in the Central Plains style, made entirely of wood, standing out starkly among the sea-shell-like houses all around.
Her heart suddenly quickened. She could tell at a glance that those Central Plains-style houses were newly built. Although he had forgotten many things, he still remembered the style of the house he was accustomed to living in.
Li Fei quickly pursued, but before she had taken more than a few steps, countless villagers blocked her way, shouting that she wasn’t allowed to come any closer. She turned back to Ri Yan with a pleading look. What were they saying? She couldn’t understand a word.
Ri Yan shrank back to the size of a thumb, hopping onto her shoulder, and said irritably, “I told you to kill them all, but you wouldn’t! That brat is now some kind of divine envoy, how could they possibly let a stranger like you get close to him? If you insist on going, they’ll fight to the death!”
Li Fei let out a long sigh, turned around, and summoned the Horn of Si, seeming to prepare to leave. Ri Yan asked curiously, “Are you leaving just like this? Are you giving up on him?”
“How could that be possible?” Li Fei slowly flew towards Jing Mountain. “We can only plan for the long term now. We’ll stay in the mountains, and I need to learn the local language first. Ri Yan, please teach me.”
Behind her, the roars of various beasts followed closely. Li Fei turned her head to see many Jurchen people riding all sorts of beasts, chasing her quickly, shouting something at her in exasperation as they pursued.
“Jing Mountain is their forbidden ground. They’re telling you to stop quickly and not to enter.”
Ri Yan opened his mouth, ready to blow these foolish people away with one breath when Li Fei suddenly waved her long sleeve. Countless wisps of misty, verdant Wood Element spiritual energy burst forth like fireworks, falling on flowers, making them bloom; falling on grass, making it grow; falling on trees, making every leaf look as if it had just been washed, clean, and fresh enough to intoxicate.
This move indeed stunned those Jurchen people. They all tumbled from their mounts, and no one dared to chase any further. Ri Yan laughed heartily, “Now they’re arguing again about whether you’re a mountain god or not! Haha! Interesting! Are there people in this world so amusingly stupid!”
Li Fei finally showed a long-absent playful smile, shrugging her shoulders. “Let them think I’m a mountain god then.”
That night, Lei Xiuyuan had countless dreams for the first time in two years. The scenes in the dreams were familiar, extremely familiar, yet he couldn’t truly recall them.
He didn’t know where he came from, what his name was, how old he was, or who he was, but some instincts remained. For instance, he would unconsciously reach for his waist, where it seemed a sword hilt had once hung. And he always felt those sea shell-like houses were unpleasant to the eye, just not wanting to live in them, feeling that houses should be square and proper.
Later, that woman still entered Jing Mountain. The villagers who had been chasing her came back in panic, mentioning the miracle of how she waved her hand and all the flowers, grass, and trees became different from usual. He wasn’t surprised at all; he just felt he should be able to do this too.
Drawing spiritual energy into the body from the top of the head, the Five Elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth are each different… Lei Xiuyuan sat up in bed, suddenly opening his palm, where a cluster of flickering flames danced.
So that’s how it was, he really could do it.
Suddenly, someone urgently knocked on the door. Those narrow-minded, easily startled Jurchen villagers were making a fuss again early in the morning.
“Divine Envoy, sir! Are you awake?! Wake up quickly! The Mountain Goddess has come again!”
Mountain Goddess? Lei Xiuyuan almost wanted to laugh. He put on his clothes and went to open the courtyard gate. Several villagers tumbled in, barely able to speak coherently. “The Mountain Goddess! She must be the Mountain Goddess! Divine Envoy, sir, please go and see!”