Chapter 16

"Still, you didn't need to take it too seriously." After thinking for a moment, the River God still offered some comfort. "Put in terms you can understand, whether gods, devils, demons, or evil spirits, they are merely powerful forms of energy that current technology cannot fully explore."

"Doesn't that make it scientific?"

Qi Xiaoyuan: "..."

Qi Xiaoyuan nodded with difficulty.

When He Qinglan reached the door, he suddenly asked, "There's one thing I haven't figured out. Why did you go sell pancakes outside Bicheng College of Arts?"

If this kid had not been pleasing to the eye and covered in filthy, gloomy energy, he probably would not have chosen him.

And if not for that, Qi Xiaoyuan likely would not have lived until he appeared.

Qi Xiaoyuan's expression became a little strange upon hearing that.

He Qinglan raised an eyebrow slightly. Could there be something else strange about it?

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." It was no big deal.

Qi Xiaoyuan scratched his head instead. "You might not believe this, but before my grandfather fell unconscious, he grabbed my hand and told me to stay at school and not go anywhere."

"I didn't pay much attention at first, but whenever I got too far from the school, my heart started to panic. I always felt unsettled. I'd originally planned to live on campus, but too many people bothered me there. I'm already a senior, about to graduate, and I don't have classes, so I simply came out to set up a stall."

"Once I set up the stall, I stopped panicking."

As Qi Xiaoyuan said this, he suddenly blinked again. It occurred to him that perhaps he did not panic when he left the school, but rather... whenever he went far from the river called Clear Ripple River, he panicked.

As though that river were his umbrella of protection, even though it was already riddled with holes and no longer what it had once been.

He Qinglan looked at the suddenly silent Qi Xiaoyuan and smiled softly again.

Then he walked forward without a sound. Faint, cool water vapor that put people at ease seemed to drift through the air. At the same time, a fine, dense rain fell from the sky, as though washing away the filthy murk of this land.

Watching the backs of the two walking side by side, fragments of Qi Xiaoyuan's childhood memories surfaced—

Back then, he had been very small. He sat on his father's shoulders while his mother smiled beside him and fed him candy. His grandfather stood by the river, stuffing a bright red apple into his hand as he said:

"Xiaoyuan, offer the apple to the River God, and let the River God bless Xiaoyuan with peace and safety."

He still remembered his father's helpless tone. "Dad, what age is this? Where are there any gods?"

His grandfather stroked his head, smiling. "How could there be no gods? Mountains, rivers, earth... wind, rain, thunder, lightning, grass, trees, flowers, fish—everything has a spirit. Where there is a spirit, there is a god."

"The world is watching us."

With a plop.

Little Qi Xiaoyuan threw the red apple in his hand into the river. In the little river, which had still been fairly clear back then, he saw several small fish swim around the apple. One of them was even black.

Then he said, "River God, bless Xiaoyuan with peace and safety!"

The black little fish flicked its tail, splashing him all over with droplets.

Tomorrow's offering should include a red apple.

By the time Shui Wuyuan and He Qinglan returned from Qi Xiaoyuan's home to the stretch of river where the flow had been cut off most severely, they had spent just over ten minutes. It had taken them more than half an hour to get there.

Even though He Qinglan had expended most of his Spiritual Power due to awakening, the severed flow, and the pollution, he could still squeeze out enough power to speed up his walking.

The only problem was having to endure someone's endless chatter all the way.

"You don't even have the power to teleport now?"

"That's why you shouldn't have slept with those guys back then. What's so fun about sleeping? It's much more entertaining to watch humans torment themselves and work themselves to death."

"Whenever I have nothing to do, I watch human affairs like TV dramas and cartoons. Sometimes these humans are terrifyingly clever, and sometimes they're stupid as rocks. It's so hilarious."

"So you shouldn't have slept. Look at you now—slept yourself right back to before liberation, didn't you?"

"You're way too weak. When will you fully recover? How about you beg me? Hehehe... If you beg me, I'll help restore your water source!"

As Shui Wuyuan said this, an expression of barely restrained anticipation suddenly appeared on his face. Rain God thought that if the once proud and irritable River God lowered his head before him, speaking in a soft voice with a hint of pleading...

A wicked gleam nearly shone from his gray eyes.

But when he turned his head, he saw the imagined obedient and gentle River God looking at him with those deep-blue eyes. And the longer he looked, the more those eyes gradually took on a brilliant azure hue.

As though they could suck a person in, soul and all, and then... drown them.

Without another word, Shui Wuyuan leaped backward.

He Qinglan lightly raised his right hand and looked at his fingers before giving a soft laugh. "Why are you backing away?"

"I wasn't going to hit you."

"Besides, I'm so weak right now. What are you afraid of?"

Shui Wuyuan: "..."

If you weren't going to hit me, why did you raise your hand?! Weak my ass! Wasn't it you who slapped someone so hard just now that they spun through the air three times before crashing into the ground?!

I'm at least in the mortal body of someone whose power has been suppressed. A punch wouldn't kill me, sure, but my face would still swell up, okay?!

Only then did Boss Water snap out of his thoughts. He must have had a hole in his brain to expect the River God to be soft and gentle. Back then, so many gods had been fooled by this guy's appearance and beaten until they cried for their fathers and mothers.

...He seemed to have been one of them.

Shui Wuyuan twitched the corner of his mouth. Forget it. A true big shot like him would not lower himself to argue with a down-and-out River God!

Right now, he was strong while the River God was weak. What if he accidentally made the River God cry? How would he use his personal charm to win him over later, make him leave the little wind-fire-thunder clique, and follow him instead?

Rain God gave himself a thorough pep talk and put himself back in a good mood.

In truth, he had been in a good mood since today. It was probably the joy of being about to gain a little brother.