The white-robed Heavenly God departed on a cloud. A flash of radiance at the edge of the sky carried him out of their sight.
While the Heavenly God had been present, Old Vine had held back. Now that he was gone, Yi Shuyuan was still looking up at the sky when Old Vine dropped to his knees before him.
"This humble god, Teng Fu, has no way to repay you. From now on, sir, I shall follow wherever you lead!"
Yi Shuyuan turned toward Old Vine and accepted his bow, then bent down and reached out to help him up.
"The white-robed Heavenly God who came to confer your Divine Investiture is a celestial official in close attendance upon the Heavenly Emperor. Sending him here shows ample regard for you. You must not disrespect the Celestial Court!"
Old Vine rose with a smile.
"How would an old fellow like me dare disrespect the Celestial Court? But I also know that without your intervention, sir, I would never have lived to receive that investiture decree."
Yi Shuyuan smiled and said no more. It was enough that Old Vine understood, and he had no intention of slighting the Celestial Court's dignity.
Of course, if Hui Mian had been there, it would surely have been unable to resist spelling things out. Yi Shuyuan could already imagine what it would say, as though a Hui Mian inside his head were shouting, Nine-tenths of the credit for you becoming the Mountain God of Heavenly Battle Mountain belongs to the master! Surely you don't think that original Divine Investiture from the Celestial Court would actually have worked?
Shaking off those thoughts, Yi Shuyuan grew somewhat more serious. There were certain warnings he had to give.
"Teng Fu, Mountain God of Heavenly Battle Mountain!"
The smile vanished