Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Chen Ji spent three days recuperating at home, finally restoring his invisible health bar to over seventy percent. At the very least, he no longer needed to rest after just a few steps.

Mountain Lord had also recovered significantly and was able to get out of bed and move around.

The cost of nursing two patients was the complete depletion of Chen Ji’s food reserves. Most of the food had gone into Mountain Lord’s stomach. Although Chen Ji was severely weakened, he was still human, and his appetite had its limits—at most, he ate more refined and selective meals.

Mountain Lord, on the other hand, was seriously injured. As a supernatural being, it recovered quickly by eating almost anything. If quality wasn't enough, quantity made up for it—it would devour anything offered. While Mountain Lord was asleep, Chen Ji even touched its belly, deeply suspecting it was a bottomless pit.

System Cat had already restocked groceries according to Chen Ji’s shopping habits. However, Chen Ji’s location was too remote. To meet Mountain Lord’s food demands, System Cat found a workaround by searching for nearby stores. As long as the quantity was large enough, the stores were willing to make a special delivery to Shangyang Village.

Chen Ji stood at the temple entrance and called out "Second Master Huang" three times. Second Master Huang didn’t appear, but two small weasels did. One was the one that had translated for Chen Ji before, and the other was a lighter-colored one Chen Ji hadn’t seen.

As soon as the two little weasels appeared, they whined and squeaked like little crybabies, circling around Chen Ji’s legs, acting all cute and sweet. Chen Ji couldn’t resist petting each of them and gave them some snacks. After they finished eating, he finally told them what he needed.

Upon hearing that Chen Ji needed help moving packages, the two little ones immediately nodded, raising their paws as if swearing an oath to complete the task. Then they transformed into their six-foot Dharma Forms—though not as imposing as Second Master Huang’s nine-foot form, six feet was still quite impressive.

System Cat watched them with jealousy: "Honestly, they’re really shameless. They must have cultivated for decades to grow that big, yet they still act cute around you!"

They could both move packages and carry people—almost more useful than it was!

Chen Ji just laughed it off and went inside to get a bamboo basket. As he passed by, he greeted Mountain Lord, who was soaking up the sun in the yard. The sunlight was particularly nice that day, and Mountain Lord was lazily basking, the tips of its fur shimmering with a silvery glow. It squinted its eyes as if about to fall asleep. Chen Ji said, "Mountain Lord, I’m heading down the mountain to buy some food."

Hearing this, Mountain Lord began to rise, but Chen Ji placed a hand on its back and said with a smile, "No need, no need…"

He pointed at the two little weasels waiting outside: "They’ll take me. I’ll be back soon."

Only then did Mountain Lord settle back down.

Chen Ji took the bamboo basket outside. One of the weasels transformed back to its original form and jumped into the basket to sit with System Cat, while the other carried Chen Ji down the mountain. It wasn’t as fast as a supercar, but it was at the level of a ghost fire—a two-hour downhill journey took the little ghost fire weasel only half an hour. When they reached the village entrance, the little ghost fire also jumped into the basket, peering over the edge and curiously looking around.

Yes, Chen Ji decided to call the one that carried him "Little Ghost Fire" from then on, and the one that could speak human language "Little Translator."

Chen Ji entered the village, which was unusually quiet that day. He didn’t see many people until he reached the package pickup spot, where he found the villagers gathered. When they saw him, the villagers called out greetings. Uncle Liu, who was inside, hurried out upon hearing: "Xiao Chen, you’re here! I was just about to call you! Xiao Wang and the others have been discharged from the hospital!"

Chen Ji smiled: "Congratulations."

The young man’s skin was pale, his eyes strikingly dark. Standing in the sunlight, he gave off a spooky vibe. Uncle Liu had initially intended to grab Chen Ji’s arm and invite him inside but found himself inexplicably reluctant to approach. He rubbed his hands together: "So, uh…"

"I’m here to pick up packages," Chen Ji said. "Uncle Liu, you don’t need to trouble yourself with me. I’ll just grab my packages and leave—I’ve got soup simmering at home… Don’t forget to set up a table at the mountain entrance later."

Uncle Liu had almost forgotten, but hearing Chen Ji mention it again gave him goosebumps. He nodded repeatedly: "Ah, yes, yes. I definitely won’t forget."

Chen Ji acknowledged him and went to look for his packages. He had a lot of them—to put it bluntly, in the room filled with packages, except for the first shelf on the side, all the other packages were his.

System Cat perched on his shoulder, acting as a package scanner. The steady stream of beeps echoed in Chen Ji’s mind but didn’t irritate him.

"Okay, chicken legs and whole chickens are all here. Start with shelves two and three—all frozen goods, priority for going up the mountain. Shelf one: drinks; shelf four: appliances; shelf five: snacks. These three can be moved slowly." System Cat’s powerful computing ability efficiently allocated tasks for Chen Ji: "The two little ones will handle the freezer. You just take some snacks. They can make another trip later."

Chen Ji scratched the cat’s head and decided to go with that plan. He explained it to Little Translator, who whispered, "Brother Chen, no need to trouble yourself with two trips! I’ll just call two more buddies to help!"

Chen Ji smiled and asked, "Won’t that be too much trouble for you?"

They packed without even using ropes, just wrapping everything with black mist, turning invisible, and running off.

Chen Ji silently gave Little Translator a thumbs-up, rubbed its head, and said, "When we get back, don’t leave in a hurry. Wait at the temple entrance—I’ll fix you all a good meal."

Little Translator: "Great, great! Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!"

Chen Ji chuckled, picked up two light packages, and went outside. Some of the villagers had already dispersed. Suddenly remembering he hadn’t discussed the work matter with Uncle Liu, he said to him, "Uncle Liu, don’t worry about the mountain job anymore. I’ll still pay you the wages. Just focus on taking care of Xiao Wang’s family."

"Ah?" Uncle Liu said in surprise. "No, no, how can I accept that? Xiao Chen, you’ve helped our family so much. How can I take your money again?! These past few days have been busy with family matters, and it’s been hard to manage. Just give me a few more days, and I’ll definitely get everything sorted for you."

"It’s not about that…" Chen Ji’s eyes were calm. "This matter hasn’t gone smoothly from the start. I won’t hide it from you—Xiao Wang probably offended something he shouldn't have. From now on, it’s best if he doesn’t go up the mountain if possible. He should go work in the city and not come back."

Uncle Liu was stunned: "What exactly happened to Xiao Wang?"

Truth be told, he found it strange too. How did a perfectly normal family suddenly get haunted? Their Shangyang Village was right next to Little Green Mountain. Everyone had grown up playing in the mountains since childhood—how could they so easily offend taboos?

Chen Ji shook his head: "You’ll have to ask Xiao Wang about that."

Xiao Wang was still lying in bed. Uncle Liu immediately said he’d go ask him, but Chen Ji didn’t feel like waiting and left first. Halfway back, riding on Little Ghost Fire, Chen Ji received a call from Uncle Liu saying that Xiao Wang said nothing happened—just shooting the breeze, and he hadn’t messed with any animals or picked any plants on the way.

Chen Ji instinctively felt that Xiao Wang wasn’t telling the truth.

There was no particular reason. Even before, when he hadn’t offended Second Master Huang, Second Master Huang had been ready to tear him apart. But this time, he was sure Xiao Wang was lying.

Half an hour later, Chen Ji returned home. Little Ghost Fire had run steadily, not requiring much effort from Chen Ji. Chen Ji invited them to stay for a meal, cut up the slightly thawed cake, prepared pearl milk tea for each of them, and added a large piece of braised meat. The five little weasels ate to their heart’s content, leaving with full bellies.

After making the usual offerings to Mountain Lord, Chen Ji joined it in sunbathing. Holding a large plate of cherry cheesecake, he somehow found himself saying to Mountain Lord, "Mountain Lord, this cake has thawed. It can’t be kept until tomorrow, and I can’t finish it alone. Would you like to try some?"

The bald patches on Mountain Lord’s body had already grown a layer of short fur. Seeing Chen Ji bring the cake plate before it, it lowered its head. However, as soon as it did, its whiskers got smeared with cream cheese. It visibly frowned and lifted its head—refusing to eat!

"Let me wipe it for you." Chen Ji was both amused and exasperated. He took two napkins and wiped Mountain Lord’s whiskers. The long, flexible whiskers slid through Chen Ji’s palm. Chen Ji playfully flicked them a couple of times, and Mountain Lord turned its head away, refusing to let him continue.

"My fault, my fault. I didn’t mean to." Chen Ji coaxed it gently while chasing after it to wipe its whiskers. Somehow, it ended with Mountain Lord’s large head resting on Chen Ji’s arm, looking utterly resigned.

Chen Ji would have loved to kiss Mountain Lord. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to pet a big tiger? At the zoo, a photo with one cost 200 yuan!

He used a cake knife to cut a slice, removed the cherry pit, and placed the bright red cherry on top of the soft white cream. Below was a mango-infused cheesecake base. He stroked Mountain Lord’s cheek: "Come on, Mountain Lord, let me feed you."

Mountain Lord turned its face away again, shifting direction within Chen Ji’s arm. Chen Ji gently brushed its whiskers, his tone incredibly tender: "Mountain Lord, you’re injured—there’s no shame in that. Come on, open up. Eating more will help you recover faster."

He held a large triangular slice near Mountain Lord’s mouth. Mountain Lord’s blue-green eyes looked at Chen Ji, clearly expressing helplessness, and it slightly opened its mouth. Chen Ji seized the moment to tip the cake into its mouth—after all, its mouth was large enough to avoid spills. "How is it? Tasty?"

Mountain Lord squinted its eyes and licked its lips.

Chen Ji watched expectantly. Over the past three days, he’d noticed that if Mountain Lord liked the food, it would squint its eyes. If it didn’t, it would turn away when offered more—after all, it wasn’t an ordinary animal.

As for why it didn’t speak… Chen Ji figured Mountain Lord simply couldn’t be bothered to talk to him.

Mountain Lord licked its lips again.

Chen Ji frowned: "Not good?"

Mountain Lord licked again with a deeply troubled expression, its pink tongue stretching out quite far. Only then did Chen Ji see the problem and burst out laughing—the cheesecake was probably too dense and had stuck to the roof of Mountain Lord’s mouth.

"Open up, I’ll get it down for you…" Chen Ji laughed while trying to pry Mountain Lord’s mouth open. Mountain Lord, usually aloof, actually glared at Chen Ji. Chen Ji couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Seeing Mountain Lord cooperatively open its mouth, he scraped off the cake stuck to its palate and used the cake knife to break the cake into smaller pieces.

This time, Mountain Lord truly tasted it and squinted its eyes in satisfaction.

Chen Ji cut another slice: "Open up, ah—"

Mountain Lord sharply turned its head away, using action to firmly declare it absolutely would not eat anymore!