Chapter 97

Chapter 97

The incense You Nan lit burned quickly. Watching the ashes flutter down, his eyelid twitched.

He hurried to the doorway and looked outside. The ancestral hall was too far from the village's edge; he could only see that dark mass in the sky, as if it were descending and cascading toward a single point.

You Nan knew that was where the little child was.

They were all attacking each other.

As the first stick of incense in the burner finished burning, You Nan quickly lit a second one. But this time, the incense burned unusually slowly, showing almost no change.

You Nan didn’t understand why. He stood at the doorway, glancing anxiously between the distant scene and the incense burner. Finally, he anxiously grabbed the burner and the plaque that had completely changed form and ran toward the village’s edge.

"You Nan, brother!" A familiar voice made You Nan stop.

You Nan focused his gaze and saw Er Ya, who had just run back home.

Instead of going home to find the village chief, she stood alone by a haystack. When she saw You Nan coming this way, she immediately waved him over. "Quick, come here!"

You Nan rushed over with the items in his arms. Not seeing Er Ya’s family around, he asked anxiously, "Where are the Village Chief and the others?"

Er Ya shook her head. "When I got home, I didn't find anyone. The neighbors weren’t home either, so I came back."

Besides, she felt safer staying close to You Nan.

The little girl’s eyes fell on the items in You Nan’s hands, recognizing them. She asked in surprise, "Brother, why did you bring the deity figurine out?"

And the incense burner—these were things kept in the ancestral hall and were not to be touched lightly.

Only after speaking did Er Ya notice that the figurine in You Nan’s hands wasn’t the familiar one but an unfamiliar golden one.

"Whose is this?" she asked curiously.

You Nan looked into the distance. "It belongs to another Little Immortal."

Little Immortal?

The little girl followed the direction of You Nan’s gaze. "Brother, are you talking about that child over there?"

Seeing You Nan’s puzzled look, Er Ya pursed her lips. "I saw it when that little brother appeared earlier."

She had seen a golden light flash from the plaque in You Nan’s hands, and then the unfamiliar yet powerful little child had appeared.

That child was incredibly strong, purging all these evil beings.

Hearing Er Ya’s words, You Nan suddenly remembered what the little child had told him—that he could offer incense, and others could do the same.

You Nan maintained a calm expression and spoke gently to Er Ya.

"Er Ya, the Little Immortal has to fight many monsters. He’s not as strong as an adult and will get exhausted, making it hard to defeat them. But if we offer incense, he can gain some strength. Can you offer a stick of incense for him?"

Surprisingly, Er Ya agreed readily, happily saying, "Sure!"

The villagers were accustomed to offering incense at the ancestral hall every day.

Er Ya took the incense from You Nan and, with the same reverence she showed the deities, offered a stick to the little child’s plaque.

As she placed the incense into the burner, the same thing happened as with You Nan’s first stick.

Er Ya, with her eyes closed, didn’t see it. She clasped her hands together devoutly and made a wish: "I hope the Little Immortal can quickly get rid of these evil things and that no one gets hurt."

You Nan didn’t disturb her. He stood quietly nearby, watching the incense burn fiercely.

Unseen by the naked eye, the incense smoke, guided by an unseen force, streaked swiftly toward the child like a snake.

When it entered the child’s body, the little one, who had been exhausted and nearly collapsing, visibly regained his vitality.

"Child!"

"Run away! Don’t worry about us!"

The adults who were surrounded and captured by the evil beings shouted desperately.

They couldn’t bear to see such a lovely child, knocked down yet rising again and again, surrounded and tormented by these evil beings but never giving up.

They could all see that the child, fighting alone, was no match for the evil beings.

The pure-hearted villagers resented their helplessness as adults, unable to do anything in such a crisis, relying instead on a child to save them.

Could this be the Little Immortal?

Some vaguely guessed the child’s identity.

He could form hand seals, emit golden light, and possess divine abilities.

This was indeed a Little Immortal!

To think that, in their hour of need, a Little Immortal had come from far away to save them.

Even if they were to die now, they would have no regrets.

Yet, some still clung to hope, praying the child would survive and save them.

The child heard their pleas but remained silent.

He felt again the energy of the incense.

The power of faith quickly repaired his injuries and steadily increased his power, restoring him to his previous peak condition.

The child clenched his fists, even feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the energy.

It was only because he was still too weak—even his peak was feeble.

How infuriating!

The child inwardly cursed his own insignificance, then rushed forward with a roar.

His recovery from weakness to peak condition was so rapid that the nearby evil beings, closing in to devour him, were caught off guard. With a single strike from his golden-glowing hand, they were shattered to nothing.

But the surge of strength came and went quickly, and the golden light on his hand dimmed a little.

The child knew he had to conserve this energy, to save his strength.

He immediately used himself as bait, luring the evil beings around the area, leading them around like herding cats, gradually leading them out of the village.

Meanwhile, after realizing that Er Ya’s second stick of incense was ineffective, You Nan made a quick decision. Together with Er Ya, he carried the incense burner and other items to search for more villagers.

But they didn't see any surviving villagers; instead, they came across familiar aunties and uncles they had seen in the village, now lying scattered by the roadside, their baskets and belongings strewn all over the ground.

Their faces were pale and lifeless; clearly, all their vital energy had been sucked away by those evil spirits.

You Nan and Er Ya were facing death so directly for the first time.

It came without any warning.

"Aunty, aunty..."

Er Ya burst into tears, sobbing as she wiped her eyes. But her footsteps didn't stop; she kept close to You Nan’s side.

She knew that You Nan was heading to the end of the village to find other survivors who hadn’t had their energy drained by the evil spirits, so they could offer incense to the Little Immortal.

Right now, time was life itself, and You Nan didn’t have time to wait for her. She could only stick close to him.

If she fell behind, she would have to make her way alone.

The thought scared Er Ya.

You Nan sensed her unease and tightly pulled Er Ya's hand, to prevent her from falling behind or being snatched away by any suddenly appearing evil spirits.

As You Nan hurried along, he caught a glimpse of a black shadow out of the corner of his eye, mixed with human cries.

He didn't think twice; he instinctively raised the small plaque in his hand and threw it at the evil spirit.

The golden plaque landed on the black mist, and the evil spirit immediately sensed something was wrong.

The small golden plaque was actually absorbing its power.

The evil spirit quickly released the old man in its grasp. Er Ya cried out, "Grandpa!" and rushed over.

You Nan also hurried over, carefully and quickly helping the village chief find a place to hide.

The village chief still had some strength left. He was both relieved and worried to see Er Ya and You Nan.

He frantically pushed the two children beside him, afraid they would die with him. "Hurry, go! Don’t worry about me."

Of course, Er Ya wouldn't run. She hugged her grandpa tightly and told her grandpa how they had escaped danger just now.

You Nan raised his head nervously, watching the evil spirit trapped by the plaque.

He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the mist around the evil spirit seemed to grow thinner and smaller, until it finally vanished completely, absorbed by the plaque.

You Nan was shocked.

He ran to pick up the golden plaque, and by his ear, he seemed to hear the little immortal’s childish burp.

As if it had eaten its fill.

You Nan's lips immediately curved up.

They were saved!

They were saved!

You Nan returned to Er Ya and the village chief with the plaque. An incense burner was already set up in front of them, waiting for him.

You Nan knew that Er Ya had already explained everything to her grandfather.

Er Ya smiled happily at You Nan. She and her grandfather had witnessed the dangerous scene just now.

Now her grandfather also believed that there was a Little Immortal in their village!

Meanwhile, far at the end of the village, the Little Immortal, having absorbed the third stick of incense and devoured another evil spirit, successfully defeated the last of the evil spirits and saved the remaining villagers.

The villagers supported each other, looking around with tears streaming down their faces.

They gathered around the Little Immortal, lifting him up and praising his bravery.

The Little Immortal smiled bashfully. Catching sight of his father in the distance, he wanted to wave, but exhaustion overcame him. His eyes closed, and he collapsed.

By the time You Nan, Er Ya, and the village chief arrived, they saw the villagers gathered around the Little Immortal, calling out 'Little Immortal' repeatedly with piety, respect, panic, and nervousness.