GRMFBS CH275

Mount Chaofu.

Zhan Jinli stared at Deep Shadow for a long while without uttering a word.

Deep Shadow had done him an enormous favor; he was profoundly grateful, but gratitude shouldn’t just remain on the lips. He knew what Deep Shadow wanted…

The corners of Zhan Jinli’s mouth twitched with difficulty as he gave a painful yet earnest promise: “Once my divine ability recovers, you can come find me anytime.”

If I have to grind, so be it.

Gu Jiancheng: … There’s really no need for that.

His future brother-in-law had quite a heavy psychological shadow…

Gu Jiancheng: “No need. I didn’t do this for a reward.”

Zhan Jinli scoffed inwardly. Wasn’t it you who sent messages desperately force-feeding me chicken soup about hard work earlier?

After a few seconds of silence, he forced out with even greater difficulty: “I think… what you said before made a lot of sense.”

Pushing himself to grind wasn’t entirely out of the question either.

Gu Jiancheng: …

“Truly, there’s no need. Just focus on recovering your divine ability smoothly,” he stated with utmost sincerity, and swiftly departed from Mount Chaofu.

If I linger any longer, what if I accidentally trigger Lin Yuan Ghost King’s divine ability again…

Zhan Jinli watched helplessly as Deep Shadow took a step back into the darkness, vanishing into thin air the very next second.

… He ran away so fast.

Yet his blessing-and-calamity ability had already been triggered. Deep Shadow’s final words had been sincere to the core.

Did Deep Shadow truly not need anything in return?

Zhan Jinli wasn’t quite used to this side of Deep Shadow. Still, that wasn’t important for now; the priority was helping Wan Yan recover first.

Looking down at the radiant, crystal-like single horn in his hand, Zhan Jinli furrowed his brows unconsciously.

Divine abilities originated from the soul; since Di Ting’s divine ability had been lost, his soul couldn’t recover. That was common sense. Yet over the past twenty-odd years, he, Minghe, and Tie Lao had practically never searched for Di Ting’s horn, as if all of them had simply forgotten about the matter.

This wasn’t normal. It felt as though something had tampered with their cognition.

Deep Shadow, who had managed to pierce through this veil and retrieve Di Ting’s single horn, likely knew something, but before Zhan Jinli could ask, the man had already bolted.

Whatever, help Wan Yan recover first.

With the divine ability Deep Shadow had accidentally triggered, the process of healing Wan Yan’s soul and restoring his own power would undoubtedly proceed smoothly. As for the accompanying “calamity,” he could handle it once his divine ability was restored.

However, he could not afford any disruptions during this process.

Zhan Jinli entrusted affairs to Minghe and Tie Lao, left The Bakery in the care of the five little ghosts, and opened the family group chat to state that he was attending an intensive, closed-door cake-baking boot camp and would be out of reach for a short while, sparing his family any worry.

After wrapping all this up, Zhan Jinli switched off his phone and carried the single horn beneath the Wenyu Tree.

The pristine divine tree lowered its branches and leaves, enveloping both him and Wan Yan beneath its shelter.

Murky crimson waters wound around them, carving out an absolutely secure domain.

On the other side.

Having concluded their discussion regarding cooperation, Ning Xi fell silent for several seconds before broaching another critical topic.

“You already know who Zhan Yan is, don’t you?”

Zhan Yunkai gave a low snort.

Ji Yueming shot him an exasperated look.

Ning Xi’s steady voice drifted over the communicator: “Back then, he never intended to survive.”

Ning Xi was an information-type in his own right. He could feel the information rules of this world trembling with the sorrowful wail of a funeral dirge.

Bai Ze had intended to use himself as bait back then. When Infinite pulled his divine ability toward its core, he planned to expose Infinite’s core by shattering his own divine ability.

Yet Bai Ze hadn’t died, and his divine ability remained—at least partially preserved. Furthermore, the one who had pointed out the location of Infinite’s core wasn’t Bai Ze, but Deep Shadow.

If a divine ability shattered completely, the soul would disperse.

Perhaps Deep Shadow’s abrupt appearance at that time had allowed Bai Ze to retain a fraction of his power.

Neither parent could help but feel deeply grateful.

When we encounter Deep Shadow again, we should treat him better.

Ning Xi: “Approaching Science is quite close with Deep Shadow right now as well…”

Ji Yueming: “Mmh, having a dependable friend is quite nice for him.”

She had interacted with Deep Shadow a few times; throughout the process of saving Yang Ran, Deep Shadow had consistently proven reliable.

Ah, Deep Shadow not only helped Yan Yan, but also helped Suiru, all without asking for anything in return. What an upright and kind individual; what a pity he was so terribly tormented by Infinite in the past.

Zhan Yunkai also thought of how Deep Shadow had previously helped Rong Sui rescue Yang Ran, his favorability ticking up and up.

Deep Shadow had even secretly delivered a massive amount of Candle Dragon power to the Wan Yao Alliance, doing good deeds without leaving his name. What a pure, noble, and righteous person; when the chance arises, we must thank him properly.

Ning Xi continued: “Your family’s circumstances—I don’t believe it’s a coincidence. You’d better look into the other members of your household as well.”

Having cultivated the Great Divination, he understood full well that every coincidence concealed a root cause.

Tianshi, the Chongming Demon King, and Bai Ze coexisting under the same roof was simply too extraordinary.

Tianshi and the Chongming Demon King marrying could be chalked up to love at first sight and free romance, but picking up Bai Ze… it almost felt as if someone had deliberately delivered Bai Ze into the care of a pair of supreme bodyguards.

Under such circumstances, the other two children they had adopted were unlikely to be ordinary either.

Ji Yueming and Zhan Yunkai sank into a bizarre silence.

Not hearing them speak for several seconds, Ning Xi asked: “What is it?”

Zhan Yunkai: “Truly worthy of you.”

The mind of the former Great Diviner, who once claimed the rivers and mountains as his chessboard, was truly extraordinary.

Ji Yueming: “You’re completely right.”

Ning Xi: “So you already know?”

Ji Yueming: “Jinli is the reincarnation of Lin Yuan Ghost King, and Suiru is Rong Sui.”

Ning Xi: …?

This “not ordinary” packed a bit too much punch.

“Just what kind of family do you have…” Ning Xi muttered to himself, his eyes glazing over.

Both Ji Yueming and Zhan Yunkai curled their lips in subtle smiles.

A few seconds later, Ning Xi composed himself and offered a sincere suggestion: “Do you have any other living creatures at home? Check them all when you get back.”

When the couple stepped out of the room, they found the two wolves brawling outside, while Zhan Yan sat on the sofa scrolling through his phone.

A black wolf and a white wolf, both shrunken in size, tumbled from his left to his right, and back from his right to his left, batting at each other with their paws, baring fangs, and growling threats.

Their Yan Yan didn’t even look up, calmly tapping through his phone screen.

Seeing Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming emerge, Bai Po and Black Wolf swiftly transformed back into their human forms.

Bai Po sat poised on the sofa, feigning as though nothing had happened.

Black Wolf gave a dry cough, scratching his head.

“Finished talking?”

“Mmh, nothing left to discuss.” Ji Yueming waved at Zhan Yan, “Yan Yan, come here.”

They had other matters to ask Zhan Yan.

Zhan Yan scurried over with bright eyes.

Although he had already seen it in the gossip strips, hearing his mother say it was fine with her own lips brought immense relief.

“What were you looking at?” Zhan Yunkai asked. He felt a bit nervous now, constantly dreading that his youngest son might drop another massive bombshell at any moment.

“Um… comforting Matthias and letting him know I didn’t go missing,” Zhan Yan addressed first.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s efficiency was truly staggering; in just this short while, they had already fabricated a plausible excuse. Zhan Yan cooperated with them to explain his “disappearance” to Matthias and the family running the farmhouse inn.

Old Comrade Ma was genuinely loyal; seeing the “official professionals” struggle for hours without results, he had actually planned to summon other professionals to rescue Zhan Yan—specifically, that friend who taught him to swear at ghosts. The only professional he knew whose methods had been verified as effective.

Even though Zhan Yan had forbidden him from using that method in the future, their car had genuinely driven out. Matthias believed it was likely because the incantation’s power was too immense, making it perilous for ordinary mortals to use.

Zhan Yan checked the gossip strip:

[Peng Yi posed as a master to alter people’s fortunes, forcing a stingy client who refused to pay to consume two pounds of spicy duck necks and three packs of fiery Samyang noodles in three hours, claiming this would alter their luck; he has currently entered the detention center on fraud charges.]

Just what kind of people did Old Ma associate with…

He had just explained to Matthias why that supposedly miraculous method couldn’t be used, lest this naive foreigner ignore warnings and try it again whenever the mood struck.

Zhan Yan recounted the tale vividly, successfully making both parents laugh.

Then, he stole a glance at them: “Um… I also told Jie that your secret identities dropped.”

The couple astutely picked up on the underlying meaning beneath his words.

Ji Yueming: “So… Suiru knew about our identities before this?”

Zhan Yan: “Mmh…”

After he told his sister, she had bombarded him with a string of exclamation marks on the spot and started grilling him on the situation.

Upon learning that no conflict had broken out between Mom and Dad, she had pressed him on how their secret identities dropped; once she learned what transpired on the scene, she let out a cascade of “Hahahahaha.”

Zhan Suiru: [Did you really scream that out loud?]

Zhan Yan: [What else could I do? One more second and they would have started brawling.]

Zhan Suiru: [Hahahahaha.]

Zhan Suiru: [Did you really hug Dad’s leg and refuse to let go?]

Zhan Yan: […]

Heh. Laugh all you want.

Zhan Yan: [Mom and Dad are asking me about you.]

Zhan Yan: [I already stripped your secret identity.]

Zhan Suiru: […]

Mom and Dad had emerged right at that moment. Zhan Yan hadn’t even had the chance to see his sister’s reply yet.

Zhan Yunkai fell silent for a moment before asking, “What about Jinli? Does he know?”

Zhan Yan: “Um… Ge doesn’t know for now.”

He had planned to tell his brother, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

Zhan Yunkai exhaled a long breath. Thank goodness. If all three kids knew and only the two of them were kept in the dark, that would have been far too awkward…

Ji Yueming asked, “Yan Yan, what is the situation with his divine ability?”

Zhan Yan truthfully recounted the love-hate grievances between Lin Yuan Ghost King and Ghost King Wan Yan.

He stole a glance at the gossip strips; Xiao Gu had just arrived at Mount Chaofu.

Zhan Yan: “So as long as Di Ting’s single horn is found and Ghost King Wan Yan recovers, Brother can take back his demon core, and he will be cured.

“Ah, Deep Shadow just found Di Ting’s single horn and is delivering it to Mount Chaofu right now.”

Farm favorability for Xiao Gu, farm favorability! One good deed, three shares of favorability!

One share for Brother, and one share for each parent!

Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming exchanged a glance. Both felt Deep Shadow shared quite a deep karmic tie with their family, having helped all three of their children.

Deep Shadow truly is a good person.

Favorability quietly went up, up once more.

Zhan Yunkai: “When we get home, call your brother over so we can talk together.”

Zhan Yan: “Sure, su—uh.”

A message popped up simultaneously in the family group chat of the three of them:

Zhan Jinli: [I need to attend an intensive, closed-door master baker training boot camp; I’ll be out of touch for a bit.]

Zhan Yan: “Uh, Ge got Di Ting’s horn, and needs to enter secluded cultivation to help Di Ting recover.”

Zhan Yunkai: …

Ji Yueming: …

Ah… looks like we won’t be able to tell Jinli for now.

Zhan Yan: … Then you can’t blame me for not telling you, Ge.

And Ge, that excuse of yours was terrible—what kind of cake-making training requires a closed-door boot camp anyway?