FI CH77: He’s Had a Change of Heart

With a single command.

The surrounding members of the Celestial Master Association swarmed forward with a “whoosh,” subduing the clansmen in a few moves.

No one failed to recognize the insignia of the Celestial Master Association headquarters.

The clansmen’s faces changed drastically as they were held down.

“…The Celestial Master Association headquarters!?”

“Why are they here? Ah…!! Pain, pain, pain…”

“Then he is—”

The clansmen who had figured it out all looked towards Bai Jiang. Bai Jiang’s smile remained unchanged, his light and airy tone identical to that night. “Yes, so who am I?”

A resounding identity popped into their minds.

The clansmen being held down shuddered! It was unbelievable.

The ruler of the highest authority in the celestial master world, why would he appear in their remote mountain hollow during the New Year!?

A clansman braced himself and turned his head. “Don’t panic! He’s not necessarily…”

The next moment, his heart sank to the bottom.

A sudden commotion came from not far away.

Mixed with shouts and arguments, a group of Celestial Master Association subordinates came over, escorting the Yan clan leader, the elder, and Yan Lao’er.

A subordinate dragged the person forward and shoved them.

“President.”

Yan Shu was dragged along, stumbling, coughing violently with gasps of breath, staring in shock and horror at the pleasantly smiling Bai Jiang in front of him. Bai Jiang sized him up with a smile.

“They’re all old, weak, sick, and disabled. You don’t know how to be gentle… Why haven’t you let go?”

The subordinate understood and let go, tossing him aside.

Thump! Yan Shu lost his support and rolled to the ground. He stared with cloudy eyes, looking up with a gasp.

“You…! You are…”

Bai Jiang’s lips curved, his eyes cold as stars.

Elder Yan had been respected in the village for decades and had never been treated this way. Furious and afraid, he stuck his neck out and questioned, “On what grounds are you treating us like this! It was our clansman Yan Guanyue who colluded with a vengeful ghost to destroy the village. Celestial masters… aren’t you supposed to catch ghosts!”

Thinking of the secret art, he pushed the blame. “The ghostly energy from Jishan Mountain has broken through the barrier and has already brought great harm to our clansmen. We are the victims—”

He considered his argument to be reasonable and well-founded.

After speaking, however, he saw that Bai Jiang was unmoved. “Whether it was humans doing evil or ghosts causing trouble, we’ll sort it out, one… by… one, later.” Bai Jiang’s gaze shifted, his smile cold and sharp.

“But the matter of dunking me in water twice, you don’t really think I don’t care, do you~” ^^

His smile vanished. “…This is, attempted murder.”

The few clansmen present who had been involved trembled violently!

The snow-white creature quietly climbed onto Lin Su’s shoulder. [See, I told you he cared a lot.]

Lin Su subconsciously shifted his gaze, staring at He Zhenling.

In the silence, Yan Lao’er gritted his teeth and took a gamble. “What dunking in water? We didn’t do it! Aren’t you standing here perfectly fine? You need evidence for everything.”

Bai Jiang looked at him quietly, saying nothing.

Just as Yan Lao’er was secretly celebrating, a cold voice suddenly came:

“I’ll testify.”

All eyes turned towards the source of the voice, only then noticing the tall man they had ignored until now.

He Zhenling stood with his arms crossed, looking over calmly.

Yan Lao’er frowned. “And who are you?” He looked at Yan Tingyun standing beside him and understood at once. “Aha! You’re all in this together, what kind of testimony can you give!”

He Zhenling looked at him for two seconds and took out his ID. It read:

[President of the Celestial Master Supervision Association]

“—!”

Yan Lao’er’s voice and the surroundings fell silent at the same time.

Holding their breath, sweat began to pour down.

He Zhenling said, “My word is ironclad evidence. Take him away.”

The members of the Celestial Master Association didn’t hesitate, dragging Yan Lao’er away to be handcuffed.

Bai Jiang smiled, folding his hands in his sleeves, and nodded at He Zhenling.

Lin Su’s eyes filled with relief. Damn, they get along so well.

[…Box, maybe.]

A group of clansmen were taken into custody on the spot, a chorus of pained cries and wails filling the air.

Bai Jiang paid them no mind, strolling over to Lin Su with a sunny expression. “Teacher, I did a pretty good job, didn’t I~”

Lin Su praised him, “You did very well.”

Bai Jiang: 0▽0

Yan Tingyun was already stunned, her eyes wide as she stammered, “Brother Kangzi! You, you’re…”

The surrounding association members turned their heads. ……

Bai Jiang’s smile faltered, then he naturally replied, “I met Guanyue once at a previous event. This time, he sent a letter asking for my help, so I came.”

Yan Tingyun suddenly became a little reserved. “Th-thank you, sir.”

Bai Jiang chuckled. “Why so formal?”

Beside them, He Zhenling glanced over coolly. “No need to be so formal. Just treat him as ‘Kangzi’.”

The surrounding association members turned again.

Bai Jiang: .

He stared at He Zhenling for two seconds. “I can proudly claim the name my brother-teacher gave me~ President He, can you?”

He Zhenling met his gaze and curled his lips. “I can call him ‘Kunkun’, can you?”

Bai Jiang, “…….” ▼皿▼＃

Sparks seemed to fly again in the air.

Yan Tingyun was inexplicably impressed. She was turning her head to find the person at the center of the topic when she saw that Lin Su had wandered off to the other side at some point.

Over there, an association member was handcuffing Yan Shu.

Yan Shu was disheveled, completely devoid of the dignity of a clan leader. He propped himself up, trembling, his violent coughs filled with confusion and unwillingness, as if he couldn’t understand:

The great luck was clearly calculated, why…

Just as he was about to be taken away, he suddenly heard a voice: “Wait a moment.”

Looking up, he saw a youth with dark hair and bright eyes standing before him. The snow-white under-robe made him look a little frail. Just now, the President of the Celestial Master Association and the President of the Supervision Association had revealed their identities one after another, but he had stood by without saying a word.

As he was speculating, he saw the person next to him respectfully respond, “Mr. Lin.”

Lin Su nodded and looked at Yan Shu.

“Where’s the booklet?”

Yan Shu’s heart suddenly jolted. He stared at Lin Su for two seconds and stubbornly denied it. “…What booklet?”

Lin Su turned his head directly. “Search him.”

The association subordinate immediately said, “Yes,” and began to search Yan Shu. Yan Shu coughed and struggled but couldn’t break free. Soon, the small booklet from before was found on him.

“Mr. Lin, is this it?”

Lin Su took it and flipped through it with a rustle. “It really is…”

He finished flipping and closed it, looking at Yan Shu. “This so-called ‘secret art’ has a precedent of backfiring. You couldn’t have been unaware of that, right?”

A flash of alarm crossed Yan Shu’s eyes.

The surrounding clansmen, all detained together, instantly turned to look at Yan Shu upon hearing this.

“A precedent of backfiring?”

“You knew all along? Why didn’t you say so!”

“Didn’t you say it was just the great ghost causing trouble, not a backlash!?”

…

Resentful voices surged from all directions.

Yan Shu couldn’t be bothered with them now. He just stared fixedly at Lin Su. “How do you know that?”

Lin Su gave him a slight, meaningful smile. “Guess how it backfired before?”

His eyes were as deep as a cold pool, reflecting Yan Shu’s stunned expression. A chill suddenly ran down Yan Shu’s back, and an incredible guess emerged: Impossible, that was over a decade ago…

Besides, that was on a scale of tens of thousands—

Yan Shu’s withered hands began to tremble again.

Having sufficiently scared the man, Lin Su retreated with his mission accomplished, tucking the booklet away.

…

When he returned, he saw that both of them were silent.

Yan Tingyun stood hesitantly between them, holding Auntie Juan’s hand, looking left and right, not saying a word.

Lin Su paused, concerned. “Is something on your minds?”

Several gazes fell on him at once.

He Zhenling looked at the booklet in his hand and spoke first. “Confiscated?”

Lin Su handed it to him. “Mhm, you can handle it.” He turned to see Bai Jiang looking devastated and quietly leaned closer to He Zhenling. “Did you bully the cub again?”

He Zhenling laughed. “Heh… His whole gang is here. How could I bully him?”

Lin Su thought about it. “True.”

He strolled over and called out, “Little Bai.”

Bai Jiang perked up. “…Teacher!”

Lin Su looked around. “You arrived right on time. When did you make contact?”

Bai Jiang immediately became animated, stroking the white jade thumb ring on his finger. “Ah, didn’t I say I had other ways to make contact? With just one command, I can pull in the… net.” ^▽^

The snow-white creature squinted. [Is it my imagination, or did I just catch a glimpse of the word “corpse” being retracted from his tongue?].

Lin Su grabbed it. You’re exhausted too, must be your imagination.

Eighty to ninety percent of the villagers were arrested.

Only about ten people remained.

The ghostly energy in the Jishan area was too heavy, making it unsuitable for living anyway. This was a good opportunity to move.

The Yan clan in the “Blind Mountain” was completely disbanded.

Bai Jiang led the association members to wrap things up, and Auntie Juan also went home. In the clearing, only Lin Su, He Zhenling, and Yan Tingyun remained. Yan Tingyun was a little lost.

“What about my brother and me?”

Lin Su glanced into the distance. By now, the ghostly energy outside Jishan Mountain had mostly been suppressed. “I’ll ask.”

Yan Tingyun, “Huh??”

After speaking, Lin Su sent a WeiXin message to the Ghost King: Are you done?

[SoSleepyICan’tWakeUp]: I’m bringing Tingyun over.

▼_▼: ! Wait, I was about to continue discussing

▼_▼: Forget it… come on over.

Lin Su put his phone away and turned his head. “Tingyun, your brother happens to be free. Let’s go.”

He Zhenling glanced at him sideways. ……

Yan Tingyun, “Oh… 0.0”

They arrived at the boundary of Jishan Mountain.

As far as the eye could see, there were layers of forests. A gravelly slope stretched all the way to the mountaintop. The next moment, Lin Su waved his hand, and the surrounding scenery abruptly changed—

It was like being inside a vast mansion.

There were quaint corridors and courtyards, and a stone table shaded by branches. The red silks and lanterns in the mansion had not yet been taken down, giving it a festive and cheerful appearance, not at all gloomy.

Yan Tingyun’s expression relaxed a little.

Lin Su was already leading the way towards the main hall in front. She quickly followed.

Stepping into the hall, they saw the Ghost King and Yan Guanyue sitting in front. Yan Guanyue turned his head, paused for a moment, then quickly stood up and walked over. “Tingyun!”

He pressed his lips together and examined her closely. “Are you okay?”

Yan Tingyun shook her head. “I’m fine. Kang… President Bai and the others saved me and Auntie Juan in time.”

Yan Guanyue let out a breath of relief and then thanked Lin Su and He Zhenling. He Zhenling grunted in acknowledgment. Lin Su turned his head to see the Ghost King sitting alone with a plate of pastries, staring at them mournfully.

“…”

He greeted him amicably, “Let’s sit down and talk.”

Yan Guanyue glanced at the Ghost King and led Yan Tingyun over, looking down. “Okay.”

…

They all sat down around the stone table outside.

Lin Su and the snow-white creature each took a pastry and crunched on them. He Zhenling’s eyelid twitched, and he said in a low voice, “Don’t let it eat on your head… You look like it’s snowing.”

Lin Su paused and quietly scooped the snow-white creature down.

Fortunately, no person or ghost in front of them noticed.

Yan Guanyue was quiet for a few seconds before asking, “Tingyun, what are your plans? The clan has dispersed, so you…”

Yan Tingyun said happily, “Doesn’t that mean this land is all ours now!”

Everyone looked at her at the same time. “…”

Yan Tingyun calculated, “They’ve all moved away, saying the ghostly energy is too strong. But you’re married to Big Brother Ghost now, so our family doesn’t mind. I’ll live in the village, and you’ll live in the mountains.”

Her voice trembled with excitement. “Brother! We’ve become landlords!”

Yan Guanyue, “…….”

The snow-white creature held its pastry, amazed. [Could she be a genius too?]

A hand flicked it.

Lin Su said coolly, Unfortunately, you can’t have “landlords” now.

Yan Guanyue adjusted his glasses, about to speak.

The Ghost King then spoke in a hoarse voice, tinged with regret. “Unfortunately, I can’t visit the village often. I can travel freely in the underworld, but my range of activity in the mortal world is limited to this Jishan Mountain.”

Yan Guanyue was slightly taken aback. “Then you before…”

The Ghost King looked down. “I paid a small price.” He then added in a magnanimous tone, “It’s fine, it was worth it.”

Yan Guanyue’s breath caught. “You… what did you pay?”

The Ghost King’s tall figure was as silent as a mountain, his long hair falling to cover the side of his face. After a long moment, he revealed a cold, ashen face. “I have no more annual leave this year.”

“…”

“…”

The snow-white creature couldn’t help but whisper, [How tragic, truly a heavy price.]

Lin Su comforted him gently, “But you have marriage leave.”

The Ghost King thought for a moment and recovered. “True.”

Yan Tingyun was shocked. “Big-Big Brother Ghost, you have annual leave? Aren’t you the boss of this mountain, having fought your way through blood and gore? Shouldn’t you be able to take a vacation whenever you want?”

Yan Guanyue didn’t speak, but he had the same expression.

The Ghost King frowned. “What are you thinking? I am a public servant ghost. I passed the single-plank bridge exam against thousands of spirits and myriads of ghosts to get here.”

The siblings: ………!

Lin Su turned his head quietly to He Zhenling. “I did hear from Black and White Impermanence a while ago that there was a change of officials.”

He Zhenling’s brow moved. “…When did they come again?”

“When they were setting up the nursery, of course.”

“…”

The table fell into their respective silences.

After a moment, Yan Guanyue spoke. “Tingyun, the village has dispersed. You should go out and see the world. I’ve always wanted to take you out.”

Yan Tingyun asked cautiously, “What about you, brother?”

“I…”

The Ghost King suddenly said, “If you want to go to the capital, you can. Although I can’t go up there often, you can travel through the underworld, so it’s very convenient to come back.”

Yan Guanyue paused for two seconds, noncommittal.

Lin Su glanced at him.

His phone suddenly vibrated. He took it out and saw that Bai Jiang had already switched to a new phone and sent him a WeChat message.

Bai Jiang: Teacher, I’ve finished cleaning up~ But when I came back, you were all gone. You wouldn’t have left already, leaving me here alone, would you? haha ^▽^

Bai Jiang: You wouldn’t, right? QAQ

Lin Su, “…”

He replied: We’re visiting a neighbor.

Lin Su put his phone away without replying further and stood up. “They’ve finished tidying up over there. We should get going too.”

Yan Guanyue stood up. “I’ll see you off.”

Lin Su looked at him. “Okay.”

The group headed back to the village.

The Ghost King’s annual leave was exhausted, so he couldn’t leave and could only watch them from afar. ▼_▼

Back in the village, the waiting Bai Jiang was overjoyed. “Teacher~”

Lin Su strolled over. “You’ve been waiting long.”

Bai Jiang saw Yan Guanyue again. “Guanyue, you’re here too. I have something to tell you.” He took out an invitation from his sleeve. “Do you want to come to the capital? Tingyun can come too~”

Yan Guanyue was slightly surprised and took it. “Thank you, President. I… will seriously consider it.”

Yan Tingyun was pleasantly surprised. “The capital!? Can I go too?”

Bai Jiang smiled. “Of course.”

Yan Tingyun was immediately overjoyed, let out a cheer, and went back to the house to pack. Bai Jiang also tucked his hands in his sleeves and followed, ready to take the little chick he had hatched with him.

“I’ve raised it for a few days, I’ve gotten quite attached~ haha. ^▽^”

The two figures left, leaving only three people at the village entrance.

Just as Lin Su retracted his gaze, he heard someone call from beside him, “…Mr. Lin.”

He turned his head to see Yan Guanyue with his long, thin eyelashes lowered, concealing the cold light in his eyes. The buttons of his shirt were done up to the very top, looking as calm as usual, yet something had quietly changed.

“I said before that it would be best to dissolve the contract. But if anyone would be hurt because of it, then it’s okay not to dissolve it.”

“This ‘anyone’… includes him.”

As Yan Guanyue spoke, he fell silent again. “So I…”

Lin Su finished his sentence, “You’ve decided not to dissolve the marriage contract.”

There was a long silence.

Yan Guanyue turned his back, a stray lock of hair sweeping across his brow, his expression unreadable. Even his extreme rationality had loosened. After a long while, he clenched his hands and said slowly:

“Yes, I was moved… by compassion.”

Lin Su looked at him for a few seconds and smiled. “Good.”

…

Bai Jiang and his group finished packing quickly.

They were just in time to hit the road. Yan Guanyue went back to inform the Ghost King and then set off with Yan Tingyun to settle in the capital first.

Leaving the village, they finally bid farewell to the great mountain behind them.

The group stood at the crossroads, preparing to part ways.

A flock of fluffy yellow chicks hopped around in Bai Jiang’s arms and on his head. He was reluctant to part. “Teacher, are you sure you’re not coming back to the capital with us?”

Lin Su said, “Next time.”

Bai Jiang pointed to the car behind him. “Then we can go to the airport together.”

Lin Su shook his head. “No need, we’ll… take the subway back.”

The people in front of him: “?”

After a two-second pause, Bai Jiang said with regret, “Alright then.” He held out two paws. “Bye-bye, Teacher~” Then he retracted his paws and looked at He Zhenling. “Farewell.”

He Zhenling nodded. “Noted.”

“…”

They then got into the car that had come to pick them up.

The Yan siblings waved from the car window. “Mr. Lin, President He, see you in the capital.”

He Zhenling glanced at Yan Guanyue.

The car window closed, and the private car drove off into the distance.

A little yellow dust rose from the side of the road, the bright sunlight falling on the ground.

Lin Su was looking ahead when he suddenly heard a voice beside him. “What about you?”

He turned his head. “What?”

He Zhenling’s profile was distinct. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he said calmly, “He was moved by compassion.” He turned, his gaze falling on Lin Su’s face, and said softly, “What about you?”

Lin Su’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he held his breath.

The gaze seemed to scorch his face, barely there.

He froze for two seconds, then said as if it were natural, “I also…” The eyelashes in front of him trembled, and he continued smoothly, “For a ghost who has lost his annual leave, of course I feel a lot of sympathy too.”

“…”

He Zhenling let out a scoff, a half-smile on his face. “I was wondering why my heart felt so empty. Turns out someone has gone visiting another door.”

Lin Su said softly, “But we can go visit my door together.”

He Zhenling’s eyebrow rose slightly. “Back to your place?”

“We can open a ghost gate and go straight back.” As Lin Su spoke, a bamboo brush appeared in his hand. “I think your coat is still in my living room.”

With a flick of the brush, a ghost gate opened!

He withdrew his hand and was about to step in when he suddenly remembered, “Oh, right—”

He Zhenling glanced sideways. “?”

“I gave the butler a three-day New Year’s holiday and told him to start cooking at my place from the third day of the New Year. I got busy with things here and forgot to tell him not to come.”

Lin Su pondered. “He couldn’t still be at my mansion, could he?”

He Zhenling, “…Let’s go back and see.”

“Right.” The two said as they stepped through the gate.

A ghostly wind blew past, and the gate closed behind them.

After passing through the underworld and coming out again, bright, warm light filled the surroundings once more. The gate had opened just outside the entrance hall.

Lin Su exclaimed, “It’s still warmer at home.”

He Zhenling paused. “…Isn’t it a bit too warm?”

The snow-white creature scurried to the switch. [Who turned on both the air conditioning and the floor heating?]

They both fell silent for a moment.

Lin Su turned his head and saw that the back door was still blocked by a horizontally placed mop.

“…”

His gaze lingered for two seconds.

Then the two of them walked towards the living room together.

Turning into the living room, they saw his mahogany rocking chair had been moved in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, with a small coffee table beside it. The butler, dressed in a tailcoat, was lounging elegantly on it.

He swirled a glass of red wine in one hand, gazing at the scenery outside the window.

A satisfied sigh floated over. “Neither master is here. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such unrestrained days…”

—

Author’s Note:
Kùn: A dove has occupied the kùn’s nest (stares).

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