CH 117.2

Chapter 117.2 – In the Deep Forest

They continued walking, and the xuejian flowers became less abundant, replaced by wildflowers. After being infected, they exhibited various colors, growing beneath the blue trees.

Shi Yuan couldn’t resist and started picking flowers again.

When his hands were full, he used his tail to pick more. With his tail curling and swaying, he gathered autumn-yellow and pale-blue small flowers.

He occasionally became conflicted and asked, “Lu Tinghan, which of these two flowers do you think is prettier?”

Lu Tinghan replied, “They’re both beautiful.”

Shi Yuan said, “Every time I ask you, you always tell me they’re both beautiful.”

“That’s the truth. They look the same,” Lu Tinghan said.

Shi Yuan vigorously wagged the tip of his tail and expressed his dissatisfaction, “How is that possible? You’re just humoring me.”

Lu Tinghan: “…”

Although Lu Tinghan had been bent, his sense of aesthetics was still stuck in the stage of a straight man, and he couldn’t distinguish any difference between the two flowers.

After several rounds of questioning, Shi Yuan realized that Lu Tinghan couldn’t be trusted and that he had to rely on himself. So he became even more focused on picking flowers. Lu Tinghan wasn’t in a hurry either; he watched as Shi Yuan collected one indistinguishable flower after another, holding them in his arms and curling them up in his tail.

They walked along the mountain path, stopping from time to time.

The terrain became steep halfway up the mountain, with narrow winding paths. They were already halfway up the mountain, and Lu Tinghan occasionally reminded Shi Yuan to watch his step.

The large bunch of flowers obstructed Shi Yuan’s view, and he said, “I’m not afraid of falling. I can turn into black mist, you know.”

Lu Tinghan thought about it and realized it made sense, but when they walked along the narrow path, he still held Shi Yuan. The mountain road was rugged, and they followed the green stone bricks of the past, taking in the faint light of the xuejian flowers.

Suddenly, Shi Yuan stopped and stared ahead.

In the dark green forest, there was a deep brown deer.

At first glance, it appeared no different from a normal deer. The sunlight bathed its fur, its eyes were pitch black, and it had a pair of beautiful antlers. It was engrossed in eating tender tree buds.

Shi Yuan gazed at it.

It was a young and beautiful deer. He wanted to approach it slowly, but accidentally stepped on a dry branch—

“Tack!”

A faint sound. The deer abruptly raised its head, and its other cheek was already a white bone, with empty eye sockets. It caught sight of Shi Yuan and quickly turned and ran away.

“Hey, wait!” Shi Yuan called.

He chased after it, but at that moment, a gust of wind blew, chilling enough to make one’s figure sway. Shi Yuan didn’t hold the bouquet firmly, and the cluster of flowers was blown and scattered, filling the entire mountainside with swirling petals in an instant.

“Ah!” Shi Yuan exclaimed.

He stopped and looked at the flowers dancing among the mountains.

Some flowers drifted back along the path they had come, while others soared towards the mountaintops.

Lu Tinghan quickly rubbed Shi Yuan’s head and comforted, “There are so many flowers. We can pick more later.”

Shi Yuan said, “Forget it, forget it, no need, purr.” He picked up the small bundle of flowers wrapped in his tail. “I have these; they’re enough. But what about that deer? Where did it go?”

Lu Tinghan told him, “It went up the mountain.”

They continued walking and searching.

The brown deer hadn’t run far; its figure soon reappeared in the forest, peering at the two of them.

Shi Yuan approached cautiously.

Lu Tinghan stood in place, watching as Shi Yuan approached the male deer. He couldn’t see Shi Yuan’s expression clearly, but he could see the gentle profile of the young man.

In the face of a monster, Shi Yuan had always been soft and calm.

And he was the same now.

However, in that moment, Lu Tinghan had an indescribable feeling. Shi Yuan was still Shi Yuan, but there was something different about him.

The stag was slightly nervous but no longer ran away. It stood in place, pawing at the ground.

Shi Yuan said, “Don’t be afraid, I just came to play with you.” He stared intently and slowly reached out his hand towards the stag—the half of its cheek was cold, lifeless bone, but he didn’t mind. His slender fingers gently touched it.

He said, “If you feel lonely, you can tell me your story.”

The stag paused for a few seconds.

It looked at Shi Yuan with clear eyes, then finally leaned its head forward and lightly nudged him, making him laugh. “Your fur is tickling me, hahaha, stop licking me.”

Lu Tinghan quietly watched this scene.

By the time Shi Yuan returned to the path, he had made a new friend:

The stag followed them from a distance, half agile body and half skeletal, with a bright yellow bird perched on its antlers.

As they climbed towards the mountaintop, the number of monsters in the forest increased. Shi Yuan’s friends also grew in number—ferrets with many legs, pure white hedgehogs, translucent dragonflies, and creatures resembling a mix between squirrels and foxes…

The monsters formed a small team and followed closely behind them.

They journeyed together towards the mountaintop.

The vegetation was dense, and the path through the mountains was completely obscured. Luckily, they were only a few dozen meters away from the mountaintop.

There was another steep slope, Lu Tinghan walked in front, pulling Shi Yuan.

They climbed over rocks and soil, scaling the final obstacle until everything suddenly opened up before their eyes—

The mountain wind whistled.

Peaks, valleys, flower fields, and streams lay beneath their feet. There was no village, and at the end of the road, there stood a half-collapsed pavilion covered in wildflowers and grass.

Shi Yuan asked, “What is this thing used for?”

“It’s probably for hikers to rest and enjoy the scenery,” Lu Tinghan assessed the pavilion. “In the past, some people enjoyed ‘mountaineering’ as a hobby.”

“I see.” Shi Yuan approached, trying to imagine the original appearance of the pavilion from the remnants. “Hmm, what’s that?”

In the southwest corner of the pavilion, there was a towering stone wall. The part of the wall that connected to the pavilion was enclosed by a fence.

Now, the fence had collapsed, leaving only rubble, but the small structure in the middle remained.

It was nestled in a recess in the stone wall—or rather, it was carved out from the wall itself. It had the appearance of a small shrine, with heavily worn relief patterns, a base, and an upright niche.

After contemplating for a few seconds, Lu Tinghan answered, “It’s a shrine.”

“A shrine?” This was an unfamiliar term, and Shi Yuan pronounced it a few times before asking, “What is a shrine used for?”

“It’s used for worshipping deities. I’ve told you before that some people have faith,” Lu Tinghan replied.

“Ah, I remember,” Shi Yuan carefully examined the shrine. “So, which deity is this shrine dedicated to?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Lu Tinghan said. “Typically, there would be a statue of a deity placed in the niche. But now the statue is missing, and no one knows who was worshipped here.” He paused for a moment and added, “Perhaps it was the mountain god of this place.”

Shi Yuan asked again, “Is there really a mountain god?”

Lu Tinghan smiled and said, “Shi Yuan, I don’t know.”

“Well then,” Shi Yuan stared at the shrine for a while, “If there really is a mountain god, it’s been a long time since anyone came to visit.”

He pondered for a moment, then placed all the flowers he held into the shrine.

The dilapidated shrine, on the verge of collapse, no longer housed any divine spirits. But as the fresh flowers filled it, it was as if a withered tree bloomed in an instant, brimming with vitality.

A gust of wind blew from afar, as if the mountain was whispering.

The sitting area of the pavilion had collapsed, so the two of them sat on the ground in front of the shrine, gazing at the mountains and rivers in the distance.

The accompanying monsters gathered around as well, birds and beasts quietly huddling close to Shi Yuan.

A fluffy red fox cautiously approached and gently nuzzled Shi Yuan’s hand. He picked it up, feeling its thick and warm fur, and smiled with narrowed eyes.

Lu Tinghan happened to glance over and saw the multitude of monsters surrounding Shi Yuan.

—Just like that day in the sea, in the heavens and on the earth, Shi Yuan was the only being they needed to look up to.

Shi Yuan held the red fox while the stag and the wolf lay by his side, and dragonflies and birds flew together. Behind him, the mountains stretched like ink paintings, and the dilapidated shrine bloomed with beautiful flowers, swaying in the crisp breeze.

Lu Tinghan silently watched.

He recalled Shi Yuan telling him that he wanted to reach the depths of the abyss not for humans but for monsters.

Lu Tinghan was not a believer in gods, so he naturally didn’t understand mountain gods. But seeing this scene before him, he thought that if there were truly divine spirits in this harsh and strange world…

This would be how it should be.