Chapter 180

Chapter 180

The rain stopped.

The setting sun finally squeezed out from the thick clouds, its blood-red light enveloping the earth. Though it appeared warm, the sunlight gave one chills on the skin.

Chen Ji hung Fifth Grandpa, now full, on a tree branch. That stunning, eerie figure from earlier had now transformed into a plump Five-Step Snake. He gripped Fifth Grandpa's body, feeling it was noticeably thicker than when they had arrived.

*Tsk, tsk.* It felt like if he squeezed hard enough, milk tea and boba would shoot out from its mouth.

Chen Ji withdrew his guilty hand. Fifth Grandpa, completely unaware of his close call, lay lazily on the damp tree trunk, its tail wrapped around Chen Ji's wrist. The tip of its tail tapped idly. Chen Ji sneezed, instinctively covering his mouth and nose, then looked at Fifth Grandpa. "Fifth Grandpa, I'll go look around back."

"Don't go," came Fifth Grandpa's lazy voice. "It's getting dark. Head on back."

Chen Ji was smart; he knew that listening to good advice led to a full belly. He nodded obediently, gathered the things on the ground, and prepared to head back. Unexpectedly, as he took a step, he almost stepped on a flashy green snake. Luckily, he retracted his leg quickly.

The snake's body was a bright, vibrant green with reddish-brown circular spots, so dazzling it made one's heart tremble. Chen Ji recognized this creature. It was a Jerdon's pit viper, following the general rule of most snakes—the more flamboyant, the more venomous.

And its venom was just as deadly as the Five-Step Snake's, each exceptionally deadly.

Chen Ji's heart was still pounding. At that moment, a hoarse hiss came from behind him. In the next instant, the snakes slithered to both sides, parting to make way for him. Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and waved at Fifth Grandpa hanging on the tree branch. "Thanks, Fifth Grandpa. I'm off!"

Fifth Grandpa's tail patted the tree branch a couple of times, and he actually settled into a head-down position on the branch, slowly falling asleep.

Chen Ji quickly left the snake-infested area. He knew there were many snakes in this forest, but he hadn't expected it to be to this extent. At a glance, it looked like a veritable snake pit... Even though Chen Ji wasn't particularly afraid of snakes, he couldn't help but shudder.

The Red Bride silently reappeared behind Chen Ji as he exited the woods. Her beautiful eyes, slightly upturned, carried a sly, fox-like cunning. "What did Fifth Grandpa tell you?"

Chen Ji was struggling up a steep slope and didn't even turn his head upon hearing her, too lazy to respond. The Red Bride suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of Chen Ji's neck. He felt as if an ice cube had touched his neck. In the next instant, he exclaimed, "Huh?!" and quickly pinched the talisman that had automatically floated out of his pocket. Although he stopped the talisman, he went tumbling down the slope.

With a thud, Chen Ji's back hit a tree trunk, covering him in mud and broken leaves. He lay there like a salted fish, looking up at the sky. It didn't hurt much, but he felt worn out—the slope was difficult to climb after the rain. He had almost reached the top, only to fail at the last moment and get covered in mud. Exhausting.

The Red Bride appeared before him, leaning down to look at him.

Chen Ji snapped, "What are you looking at? Can't you give me a hand, Sister Yunxiang? If I hadn't stopped that talisman quickly, guess how many lightning bolts would be chasing you?"

The Red Bride chuckled softly, intrigued. "I'm certain you know me."

Setting aside the idea that Chen Ji was a pushover, one could even speculate that they had a good relationship. Otherwise, why would Chen Ji risk tumbling down to stop that Five Thunder Talisman first thing? After all, that fall could have been fatal.

He sighed, covering his eyes with his arm. The Red Bride remarked pointedly, "If you don't get up soon, the Green Bamboo Viper next to you is going to bite you."

"If it really bites me, I'll go find Fifth Grandpa to have him deal with it. Fifth Grandpa can definitely cure the venom," Chen Ji said lazily.

"Why aren't you getting up? Did you really get hurt from the fall?"

"No, I just don't feel like it. I'll wait for Second Grandpa to come get me."

"You need someone to pick you up for such a short distance?"

"After all, I'm a frail and delicate living person. I can't just float up the slope," Chen Ji said. "Speaking of which, Sister Yunxiang, why don't you all move on to reincarnation?"

The corners of the Red Bride's mouth twitched slightly upward. "You know us?"

"Sort of," Chen Ji said. "How about I send you off for reincarnation? Or to some other place... I can actually do that. It's really fun down the mountain now. I know a ghost immortal who travels everywhere, eating good food and seeing beautiful scenery..."

"I am a *ghost servant*," the Red Bride interrupted roughly. "Do you understand what a ghost servant is?"

"I know," Chen Ji scratched his skin where mud was stuck. "You can leave now. He can't control you anymore."

As the saying goes, "to serve as the tiger's lackey." Legend has it that people killed by tigers become ghost servants, driven by the tiger to lure travelers and woodcutters into the mountains to be eaten.

—That's what they say, but now this tiger can hardly protect itself. How would it have the energy to manage one ghost servant? It's not like it only has one.

The Red Bride lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. "It seems you're not doing a very good job as the temple keeper either..."

"Likewise," Chen Ji said. Originally, he wouldn't have dared to speak recklessly on the mountain. The jade ornament wasn't on him to block the perception of the Yellow Hair. But he was gambling—betting that the Yellow Hair currently had no mind to watch him every moment.

After all, for Him, finding Chang Xu was the most important thing.

With these two rounds of rain, the Yellow Hair was probably running low on energy.

This pair was truly interesting. Usually, they steered clear of each other like rival kings, and nine times out of ten, they would fight if they met. Now that one had gone down the mountain, the other was so anxious it couldn't care about anything else.

By saying this, he was also trying to win over the Red Brides—who would genuinely enjoy being a slave to the tiger that killed them? Who would genuinely enjoy being a fierce ghost? Could the pain, hatred, and resentment of being torn apart and devoured alive so easily be forgotten?

No. During those years in the dreams, Chen Ji saw very clearly. They hated the villagers who sent them into the mountains and also hated the Yellow Hair that ate them. It was just that when they first became vengeful spirits and turned into Red Brides, they couldn't resist the Yellow Hair, hence 'serving as the tiger's lackey'... But to put it bluntly, they were merely using the Yellow Hair's hand to kill the people in the village.

Once they gained enough strength, turning against the Yellow Hair was only a matter of time—so why couldn't it be now?

Hundreds of years had passed. Their strength should have built up more than enough by now.

Yunxiang tilted her head slightly. Her old, cheap hair ornaments tinkled. "Aren't you afraid He will eat you?"

"I am the temple keeper," Chen Ji moved his arm, revealing a narrow gap. In this dim slit, his eyes were glinting sharply. "Back then, to save my life, my grandfather promised that I would serve by the Mountain Lord's side forever."

What does 'serve by the Mountain Lord's side forever' mean?

During his life, Chen Ji must return to Little Green Mountain, live in the Mountain Lord Temple, offer incense day and night, keep it clean, and serve. But this isn't forever. The idea that 'death is the end'... holds no weight with the Yellow Hair.

The best outcome for Chen Ji is to grow old in the Mountain Lord Temple while alive. After death, he might become a ghost servant or just a ghost, detained in the Mountain Lord Temple, kept on Little Green Mountain—not reincarnating, not entering the cycle, 'forever' serving by the Mountain Lord's side.

But his history was spotty—you see, he didn't know about this when he was young. Besides returning to Little Green Mountain with his parents during summer and winter vacations, once he grew older and his grandfather passed away, he stopped coming back.

In the eyes of the Yellow Hair, this meant he broke his promise. So, He plagued him with nightmares every night, driving him to the brink of suicide several times in ignorance... perhaps forcing him to remember that his grandfather was once a temple keeper, forcing him to return to Little Green Mountain to seek a solution.

Later, he became close with Xiangxiang and was almost killed by the Yellow Hair several times. He didn't understand back then, but now he'd figured it out. The first time he was almost killed was right after Xiangxiang saved him. He had contact with Xiangxiang, so the Yellow Hair wasn't happy and wanted to kill him.

The second time was simply because He discovered he was helping Xiangxiang, so He resolved to kill them both.

...No, it should be put this way: from the moment he returned, the Yellow Hair's intention was to kill him, to kill him as soon as possible. Otherwise, how could Second Master Huang enter the Mountain Lord Temple? Why would that King Cobra keep trying to kill him?

He was still alive because he attracted believers for Him, secured incense offerings for Him, and still needed to appear in public to do certain things. So, He wasn't in a hurry to kill him. Once He no longer needed the incense offerings, or one day when they were sufficient, then he should die.

After all, once he dies, he will remain in the Mountain Lord Temple to serve Him anyway. So, what's the difference between dying early or late? Dying early means his soul will remain in a youthful state, making him even more pliable than when he was alive.

So, being eaten by the Mountain Lord is only a matter of time.

Chen Ji doesn't want to die, and he doesn't want to be trapped on Little Green Mountain.

His arm slid down, his palm resting on his chest. The heartbeat transmitted rhythmically through flesh and blood to his palm—this was the real pulse of life.

To be trapped here on this land, regardless of life or death?

He doesn't want that.

This is his home, he is willing to stay here, he should be free. He wants to take Xiangxiang, Second Grandpa, Fifth Grandpa, and the rest of them to any place they wish to go, to see any scenery they desire. Whenever they get tired of it, they can come back to rest up and just do nothing for a while.

But the foundation of all this is that he absolutely cannot be forced to remain here by anyone, any god, or any ghost.

...Having a master?

Screw that! A child of socialism has no master!

He extended a hand, his lips moving silently: "Work together?"

Sister Yunxiang blinked but did not take his hand.

Chen Ji's expression shifted slightly. Sister Yunxiang sighed, pulled up her sleeve a bit, and grasped his mud-covered hand through the fabric of her sleeve.