The Restrained Tassel People who had attacked Li Fei moments ago hurried forward and spoke a string of words. Lei Xiuyuan neither agreed nor disagreed, merely standing silently opposite her with a cold, scrutinizing gaze—even when he had turned against her at the Academy, he had never looked at her like this. Now, he was regarding her with the hostility one would show a complete stranger.
Li Fei studied him carefully for a long while before smiling slightly. "This kind of luxurious attire actually suits him quite well."
Ri Yan hadn’t expected her to spout such nonsense after waiting so long and immediately fumed, "Can’t you read the situation?! Not a shred of improvement! Who was it that just threw you down?! Even if you want to get all lovey-dovey with him, you should see if he’s willing to play along first!"
"If he won’t acknowledge me now, I’ll just wait until the day he does. Calm down, don’t get so worked up all the time."
Ri Yan was practically exasperated. "He’s lost one of his horns! The curse is gone too! Right now, you’re just a sudden intruder in his territory! If you forgot everything and some random man started clinging to you out of nowhere, would you be happy?! Or do you have some magic trick to make him suddenly remember everything and go back to being all sweet and affectionate with you?"
Li Fei thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don’t have any such trick."
Hu Jiaping had once said that the moment he saw her at the Academy, he felt a sense of familiarity, which slowly led to him recalling the past. As for whether Lei Xiuyuan would experience the same, no one could say.
She noticed the Restrained Tassel People speaking incessantly to Lei Xiuyuan, yet he remained silent the entire time. Meanwhile, the villagers around them chattered in agreement, occasionally casting suspicious and wary glances her way. She whispered, "Ri Yan, can you hear what they’re saying?"
Ri Yan flicked his ears dismissively. "Just arguing about your identity. Spiritual energy is scarce overseas, so those who can wield the Five Elements Immortal Method are exceedingly rare. Those few earlier insisted you were a mountain deity, but the others don’t believe it."
"...Then what about Xiu Yuan?" The way everyone here treated him was clearly different—their gazes filled with reverence and admiration, something impossible to fake. Had he set himself up as a ruler here?
Ri Yan’s tone turned mocking the moment Lei Xiuyuan was mentioned. "Hmph! That brat’s got some serious skills! If you had even a tenth of his cunning and resourcefulness, I’d wake up laughing from dreams!"
He didn’t know how Lei Xiuyuan had ended up on this island of the Restrained Tassel People. By the time he found him, he was already living in luxury, dressed in fine silks. It had taken considerable effort to piece together that Lei Xiuyuan had suddenly emerged from Still Mountain—a place the Restrained Tassel People worshipped as sacred. Like Li Fei, he had been attacked by them, but once he revealed his true Yaksa form, no one stood a chance against him.
Though the Thousands of Islands were vast and boundless, powerful clans overseas were as rare as cultivators in the Central Land. Most were ordinary people no different from mortals, only knowing a bit of Demon Manipulation and Arcane arts. They spent their entire lives unaware of the world beyond the islands they were born on.
Clearly, the Restrained Tassel People likely had no idea what a Yaksa was. Seeing Lei Xiuyuan bathed in golden light, with horns on his head, an exquisite appearance, and an extraordinary bearing, they asked if he was an incarnation of the mountain deity.Unlike Li Fei, Lei Xiuyuan had lived overseas and could understand their language. He immediately declared that he wasn't a mountain deity but an envoy sent by the gods to watch over them. One had to admit how foolish the Restrained Tassel People were—they actually believed his nonsense. What could have been a violent confrontation turned into peaceful relations, and they joyfully began treating him like their master.
Ri Yan shook his head as he spoke, sighing at their stupidity. "Fools. I've never seen people this gullible. That scheming brat Lei Xiuyuan tamed them as easily as herding sheep."
Li Fei, on the other hand, was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. Though he had lost his memories, Lei Xiuyuan was still Lei Xiuyuan—his nature hadn't changed one bit. Standing there, he was as aloof and composed as ever, exuding that unmistakable aura of "keep away, idiots."
He had been watching her quietly, his inscrutable dark eyes giving no hint of what thoughts swirled in his mind. Lei Xiuyuan was always like this—no matter what outrageous schemes he might be plotting, his face never betrayed even a trace. Had he remembered something from the past?
Li Fei offered him a faint smile, only for Lei Xiuyuan to avert his gaze with cold disdain. He spoke a few words she couldn't understand, his tone indifferent, and immediately, countless Restrained Tassel People glared at her with hostility. Many even gripped their white iron hooks, itching to attack.
"What happened? What did he say?" Li Fei was practically jumping with frustration—the language barrier was maddening.
Ri Yan sneered. "He said he's never seen you before, so you couldn't possibly be a mountain deity—just an intruder. See? Vicious as a snake!"
No sooner had he spoken than several whooshing sounds filled the air as white iron hooks struck Li Fei's Earthen Guardian, clattering uselessly to the ground. Ri Yan roared and leaped from her shoulder, landing and swelling to immense size in the wind. His ghastly green eyes glared furiously at Lei Xiuyuan as he bared his fangs.
The surrounding Restrained Tassel People, recognizing the familiar Nine-tailed Fox, erupted in delighted cries. Some even boldly stepped forward to toss mandui leaves—a favorite of monstrous creatures—persistently trying to tame this beautiful and formidable monster.
Ri Yan blew the leaves away with a single breath and growled, "These fools are in the way! Just kill them all! I'll pin him down—you use the Netherworld Great Magic to restrain him, and we'll take him away directly!"
Li Fei hastily grabbed his tail. "Why kill innocent people? Let me handle this. Calm down first."
She pulled out one of Lei Xiuyuan's severed Yaksha Horns from her sleeve and took a few steps forward. The Restrained Tassel People immediately shouted warnings—though she couldn't understand their words, their tone was unmistakably wary, ordering her to stop. Li Fei spread her hands in a harmless gesture and smiled gently at them.
Her delicate features and warm, charming smile soon eased the tension. Though the people remained cautious, their hostility lessened slightly.
"I mean no harm," Li Fei said. "I'm just here to find someone—and return something."
She waved the slender Yaksha Horn in her hand, and Lei Xiuyuan's expression instantly changed. In a flash of golden light, the horn was ripped from her grasp before she could react. Desperate, she called out, "I can heal this injury for you! Wait—don't go! I really can!"He seemed not to hear, merely twisting his broken horn between his fingers as he stared down at it in deep thought. After a moment, he suddenly swept his sleeves and left. The countless villagers surrounding him immediately parted respectfully to make way. He muttered something under his breath, causing an uproar among the crowd.
Li Fei watched him walk away swiftly without even glancing her way and couldn't help calling out, "Xiu Yuan!"
Lei Xiuyuan didn't pause in the slightest, showing no reaction to the name. Li Fei stared blankly as he turned a corner and entered a courtyard. The buildings within were distinctly Central Land in style, all constructed of wood, standing out starkly among the seashell-like houses everywhere.
Her heartbeat quickened instantly. It was obvious at a glance that these Central Land-style buildings were newly constructed. Though he'd forgotten many things, he still remembered the architectural style he'd been accustomed to living in.
Li Fei hurried after him, but before she could take more than a few steps, countless villagers blocked her path, shouting and forbidding her from taking another step forward. She turned to give Ri Yan a pleading look—what were they saying? She couldn't understand a word.
Ri Yan, having deflated like a punctured ball, shrank back to thumb-size and hopped onto her shoulder, grumbling angrily, "I said we should just kill them all, but you refused! That brat is now some kind of divine messenger—how could they possibly let a stranger like you approach him? If you insist on going over there, they'll fight you to the death!"
Li Fei heaved a long sigh and turned to summon the Horn of the Rhinoceros, seemingly preparing to leave. Ri Yan asked in surprise, "Leaving already? Have you given up on him?"
"Of course not." Li Fei flew slowly toward Still Mountain. "This situation calls for careful planning. We'll stay in the mountains for now—I need to learn their language first. Ri Yan, I'll need your help teaching me."
Behind her, the roars of various monstrous creatures followed closely. Li Fei turned her head to see many Restrained Tassel People riding all sorts of demonic beasts chasing after her at full speed, shouting furiously at her as they pursued.
"Still Mountain is their restricted area. They're telling you to stop immediately and not enter."
Ri Yan opened his mouth, ready to blast these foolish creatures away in one breath, when Li Fei suddenly waved her sleeve. Countless wisps of lush, verdant Wood Elemental Spiritual Energy burst forth like fireworks, scattering everywhere—blossoms bloomed where they landed on flowers; grass grew tall where they touched blades; every leaf on the trees looked freshly washed, so clean and refreshing it was intoxicating.
This display thoroughly stunned the Restrained Tassel People. They all tumbled from their mounts, not daring to pursue further. Ri Yan laughed uproariously: "Now they're arguing again about whether you're the mountain god! Hah! How amusing! Truly, there are people stupid enough to be this entertaining!"
Li Fei finally showed a long-missing mischievous smile and shrugged. "Let them think I'm the mountain god then."
That night, Lei Xiuyuan dreamed countless dreams for the first time in years—the first dreams he'd had in two years. The scenes in his dreams felt familiar yet indistinct, impossible to recall clearly.
He didn't know where he came from, what his name was, how old he was, or who he was. But some instincts remained—like how his hand always moved unconsciously to his waist, where a sword hilt might have once hung. Or how those seashell-like houses felt wrong to him, how he simply didn't want to live in them. Houses should be square and symmetrical.Later, the woman still entered Still Mountain. The villagers who had been chasing her returned in a panic, mentioning the miracle of how with a wave of her hand, the flowers, grass, and trees had transformed into something unlike before. Strangely, he wasn’t the least bit surprised—somehow, he felt he should be able to do the same.
Drawing spiritual energy into his body from the crown of his head, the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—each behaved differently… Lei Xiuyuan sat on the bed, draped in his outer robe, then suddenly opened his palm. A cluster of flickering flames danced in his grasp.
So that’s how it was. He really could do it.
Suddenly, someone knocked urgently on his door. The narrow-minded, easily startled villagers of Juying were already making a fuss early in the morning.
"Divine Envoy! Are you awake?! Wake up quickly! The Mountain God Goddess has come again!"
The Mountain God Goddess? Lei Xiuyuan almost laughed. He threw on his robe and strode out, yanking open the courtyard gate. Several villagers stumbled in, tripping over themselves, their words barely coherent: "The Mountain God Goddess! She must be the Mountain God Goddess! Divine Envoy, you must come see!"
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