GRMFBS CH275

FOR ADVANCED CHAPTERS, VISIT MY PATREON PAGE.
_

Chaofu Mountain.

On Chaofu Mountain, Zhan Jinli stared at Deep Shadow for a long time without saying a word.

Deep Shadow had done him an incredibly massive favor, and he was immensely grateful. However, gratitude shouldn’t just remain verbal. He knew what Deep Shadow wanted…

Zhan Jinli twitched the corner of his mouth with great difficulty, making a painful but serious promise: “Once my divine ability recovers, you can come find me at any time.”

If I have to be a grindset workaholic, so be it.

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

His future brother-in-law’s psychological trauma was truly deep…

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

Zhan Jinli scoffed internally. Wasn’t it you who sent me those frantic messages back then, forcefully stuffing motivational ‘grindset chicken soup’ down my throat?

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

It wasn’t impossible for him to force himself to grind.

Gu Jiancheng: “…”

“There’s really no need. Just smoothly recover your divine ability, and that will be enough,” he said with absolute sincerity, swiftly departing from Chaofu Mountain.

If he stayed any longer, he might accidentally trigger the Ghost King Lin Yuan’s divine ability…

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

…He ran remarkably fast.

However, his “Fortune and Misfortune Intertwined” ability had already been triggered. Deep Shadow’s final words were indeed as sincere as they could possibly be.

Did Deep Shadow truly not require any reward from him?

Zhan Jinli wasn’t quite used to this version of Deep Shadow. But that wasn’t important for now; the priority was to help Wan Yan recover first.

Zhan Jinli stared at the crystal-like, radiant single horn in his hand, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

Divine abilities originated from the soul. Di Ting’s divine ability had been lost, which was why his soul could not recover. This was common sense. Yet, over the past twenty-plus years, he, Ming He, and Tie Lao had almost never looked for Di Ting’s horn, as if they had all completely forgotten about the matter.

This was abnormal. It felt as though something had tampered with their cognition.

Deep Shadow, who could break through such a barrier to find Di Ting’s horn, very likely knew something. But before he could ask, Deep Shadow had already bolted.

Forget it, he would help Wan Yan recover first.

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

However, he could not afford to be disturbed during this process.

Zhan Jinli entrusted his affairs to Ming He and Tie Lao, left the bakery in the hands of the five little ghosts, and opened the family group chat. He sent a message saying he was attending a closed-off intensive training camp for cake-making and would be unreachable for a short while, preventing his family from worrying.

After completing all of this, Zhan Jinli powered off his phone and walked beneath the Wen Yu Tree with the horn.

The pristine white sacred tree lowered its branches and leaves, enveloping both him and Wan Yan beneath its protective canopy. The dark crimson river water swirled around them, carving out an absolutely secure domain.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After concluding their discussion regarding cooperation, Ning Xi fell silent for a few seconds before initiating another crucial topic.

“You guys already know who Zhan Yan is, right?”

Zhan Yunkai huffed.

Ji Yueming shot him a reproachful look.

Ning Xi’s steady voice drifted from the communicator: “Back then, he originally didn’t intend to live.”

Ning Xi could count as an information-type himself. He could perceive that back then, the information rules of this world had vibrated with a mournful wail of a funeral procession.

Bai Ze had intended to use himself as bait. When the Infinity swallowed his divine ability toward its core, he planned to expose the core of the Infinity by self-destructing his own ability.

However, Bai Ze didn’t die, and his divine ability remained—at least a portion of it. Furthermore, it wasn’t Bai Ze who had guided them to the Infinity’s core; it was Deep Shadow.

If a divine ability shattered completely, the soul would dissipate. Perhaps it was Deep Shadow’s sudden appearance at that time that allowed Bai Ze to preserve a part of his ability.

They couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of relief.

When we encounter Deep Shadow again, let’s treat him better.

Ning Xi continued, “Approaching Science is also very well-acquainted with Deep Shadow now…”

Ji Yueming noted, “Mhm, it’s quite good that he has a reliable friend.”

She had interacted with Deep Shadow a few times. During the process of treating Yang Ran, Deep Shadow had consistently conducted himself reliably.

Sigh, Deep Shadow not only helped Yanyan, but he also helped Sui_ru without asking for anything in return. What an incredibly upright and kind person. It’s a pity he was heavily plagued by the Infinity before.

Zhan Yunkai also recalled that Deep Shadow had previously helped Rong Sui save Yang Ran, and his opinion of him shot up significantly. Furthermore, Deep Shadow had previously secretly delivered a massive amount of Candle Dragon energy to the Wan Yao Alliance, performing good deeds without leaving his name. What a remarkably pure, righteous, and benevolent fellow. He must find an opportunity to properly thank him.

Ning Xi was still speaking: “Given your family’s situation, I don’t think it’s a coincidence. You had better investigate the other members of your household.”

He had studied the Great Dayan Numbers and deeply understood that there was a reason behind every coincidence.

For the Celestial Master, the Chongming Demon King, and Bai Ze to appear within the exact same household was far too extraordinary. While the marriage between the Celestial Master and the Chongming Demon King could be attributed to them falling in love freely, adopting Bai Ze… felt as though someone had intentionally shoved Bai Ze toward a pair of ultimate bodyguards.

Under these circumstances, the other two children they had adopted might not necessarily be ordinary either.

Ji Yueming and Zhan Yunkai fell into a bizarre silence.

Not hearing them speak for several seconds, Ning Xi inquired: “What’s wrong?”

Zhan Yunkai remarked, “As expected of you.”

The brain of a grand diviner who once dared to claim the mountains and rivers as his chessboard was truly exceptional.

Ji Yueming added, “You are entirely right.”

Ning Xi paused. “So you already know?”

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

Ning Xi: “…?”

This “not ordinary” was a bit too heavy-hitting.

“What kind of family do you even have…” Ning Xi murmured to himself, his eyes glazing over.

Both Ji Yueming and Zhan Yunkai secretly curled their lips into a proud smile.

A few seconds later, Ning Xi snapped out of it and offered a sincere recommendation: “Are there any other living creatures in your house? Go back and investigate all of them.”

When the couple stepped out of the room, they discovered that the two wolves outside were currently embroiled in a brawl, while Zhan Yan sat on the sofa casually playing with his phone.

Two shrunken wolves—one black and one white—were tumbling and fighting from his left side to his right side, and then back from the right side to the left side. They raised their paws to swat at each other, baring their fangs and growling in mutual intimidation.

Their precious Yanyan didn’t even lift his head, calmly continuing to scroll through his phone.

Seeing Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming emerge, Bai Po and the Black Wolf swiftly reverted to their human forms.

Bai Po sat decorously on the sofa, pretending as if absolutely nothing had happened. The Black Wolf cleared his throat, scratching his head.

“You guys finished talking?”

“Mhm, everything’s wrapped up.” Ji Yueming beckoned toward Zhan Yan. “Yanyan, come here.”

They had other matters they wanted to ask Zhan Yan.

Zhan Yan trotted over with shining eyes. Although he had already read about it through the gossip snippets, hearing his mother state that everything was fine with her own ears brought him immense peace of mind.

“What are you looking at?” Zhan Yunkai inquired. He felt a bit nervous right now, constantly fearing that his youngest son might drop another massive bombshell at any given moment.

“Um… just reassuring Matthias, letting him know I didn’t go missing,” Zhan Yan shared first.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s efficiency was truly remarkable; in this short span of time, they had already fabricated a highly plausible excuse. Zhan Yan cooperated with them to explain his “disappearance” to Matthias and the farmhouse owner’s family.

Old Mate Matthias was truly loyal. Seeing that the “official professionals” had fussed about for hours without any results, he had actually intended to seek out another professional to rescue Zhan Yan—specifically, the friend who had taught him how to curse at ghosts, the sole professional he knew and had verified to be genuinely effective.

Although Zhan Yan had told him never to use that method again in the future, their car had genuinely been driven out. Matthias believed that perhaps because the incantation’s power was too immense, ordinary people might face danger if they used it.

Zhan Yan had browsed the gossip log:

[ Peng Yi, under the guise of being a master altering people’s fortunes, instructed a stingy client unwilling to spend money to consume two pounds of spicy duck necks and three packets of burning hot fire noodles within three hours, claiming this would alter their fortune. He has currently been placed in a detention center on charges of fraud. ]

What kind of people does Old Mate even know…

He had just finished explaining to Matthias why that supposedly highly effective method could not be used, ensuring that this silly foreigner wouldn’t disregard the advice and decide to try it again out of nowhere someday.

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

Then, he sneaked a peek at them. “Um… I also told Sis that your covers have been blown.”

The couple keenly picked up on the underlying implication within his words.

Ji Yueming asked, “So… Sui_ru already knew about our identities beforehand?”

Zhan Yan replied, “Mhm…”

After he informed his sister, she had immediately spammed him with a long string of exclamation marks and began cross-examining the situation. Upon learning that no conflict had erupted between their parents, she started probing into how their covers had been blown. Once she discovered the details of the scene, she unleashed a continuous stream of “Hahahahaha.”

Zhan Suiru: “You actually shouted that?”

Zhan Yan: “What else could I do? They were going to start a deathmatch a second later.”

Zhan Suiru: “Hahahahaha. Did you really hug Dad’s leg and couldn’t get down?”

Zhan Yan: “…” Humph. Just keep laughing.

Zhan Yan added, “Mom and Dad are asking me about the situation. I’ve already blown your cover too.”

Zhan Suiru: “…”

His parents had come out right at that moment, so Zhan Yan hadn’t had the chance to look at his sister’s reply yet.

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

Zhan Yan replied, “Um… Brother doesn’t know for the time being.” He had intended to tell his brother, but hadn’t found the opportunity yet.

Zhan Yunkai exhaled a slow breath. Thank goodness. If all three children knew while the two of them were kept in the dark, it would have been far too awkward…

Ji Yueming questioned, “Yanyan, what exactly is going on with his divine ability?”

Zhan Yan truthfully recounted the history of grievances and entanglements between the Ghost King Lin Yuan and the Ghost King Wan Yan. He peeked at his gossip system; Xiao Gu had just arrived at Chaofu Mountain.

Zhan Yan stated, “So as long as they find Di Ting’s single horn and the Ghost King Wan Yan recovers, Brother will be able to retrieve his own demon core and be completely restored. Ah, Deep Shadow just found Di Ting’s single horn and is currently delivering it to Chaofu Mountain.”

Gotta farm favorability for Xiao Gu! One share of effort for three shares of favorability! One for Brother, and one for each of my parents!

Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming exchanged a glance. They both felt that Deep Shadow shared an incredible destiny with their household; all three of their children had received his assistance.

Deep Shadow truly is a good person.

His favorability rating quietly shot up once again.

Zhan Yunkai decided, “Once we return home, let’s call your brother over and have a proper talk together.”

Zhan Yan cheered, “Great, sounds good—uh.”

A message simultaneously flashed across the three-person family group chat.

Zhan Jinli: [ I need to attend a closed-off intensive training camp for master cake-makers, so I won’t be contactable for the next few days. ]

Zhan Yan noted internally: Uh, Brother obtained Di Ting’s horn and needs to enter closed-door cultivation to help Di Ting recover.

Zhan Yunkai: “…”

Ji Yueming: “…”

Ah… it looks like we won’t be able to tell Jinli for the time being.

Zhan Yan thought: Well, you can’t blame me for not telling you then, Brother. Besides, that excuse you found is absolutely terrible. What kind of cake-making training requires a complete communication blackout anyway?