Chapter 2 Golden Mountain

Past midnight, a chilling breeze drifted in through the window, gradually approaching Zhou Yimin.

Zhou Yimin shivered in his sleep, his brows tightly furrowed. His entire body felt cold, his expression strained as if he were dreaming of something terrifying yet unable to wake up. Perhaps driven by survival instinct, his hand groped upward with difficulty until it firmly grasped the Five-colored Jade Stone hanging around his neck.

The icy chill lingered by the bedside, circling aimlessly a few times before changing direction and drifting back out through the window.

At the same moment, Zhou Yimin’s expression relaxed, though his fingers remained tightly clenched around the jade stone as he slowly settled into peaceful slumber.

In the adjacent guest room.

Yan Zhen stood by the window, bathed in the cold moonlight. Enveloped in a hazy glow, he seemed to radiate light himself. He glanced into the distance before drawing the curtains shut.

“Floats away quite fast,” he murmured softly.

However, something as ordinary as an unlucky ghost hardly concerned Yan Zhen. Paying it no mind, he turned to walk back. But the moment he took a step, spiderweb-like cracks suddenly spread beneath his feet, rapidly expanding outward.

His footsteps halted instantly.

In the next second, an invisible force emanated from his soles, sealing the cracks as the floor restored itself—so quickly it was as if nothing had happened.

Yan Zhen lifted his foot again, this time moving far more slowly, inching his way to the television. He extended a finger, intending to touch it, but at the last moment, his trembling hand paused and withdrew.

“How fascinating,” he mused languidly. “I’ve seen this before—people stored inside a box.”

·

The next morning, Zhou Yimin was awakened by sunlight streaming onto his face. He had slept deeply, stretching lazily with immense relief—a sensation he hadn’t experienced in half a month.

Overjoyed yet cautious, Zhou Yimin touched the Five-colored Jade Stone. It really worked—Master Yan was truly the real deal! For over ten days, he had endured relentless nightmares, progressing from mere shivering cold to feeling as though something was binding his entire body. Then, just two days before meeting Master Yan, he had nearly been strangled to death in his sleep! When he finally managed to wake, his body was drenched in cold sweat, the bedsheet soaked through.

Beyond that, misfortune plagued his every move. While brushing his teeth, the brush head would snap off, its bristles wedged stubbornly between his teeth. If he drove, his tires would burst; if he took the bus, it would break down mid-route, and the moment he sat down, the passenger beside him would vomit all over him. Crossing the street, his ankle would twist just as a car came speeding toward him, forcing him to tumble repeatedly to avoid it—only to scrape his knees and elbows raw. After a car accident left his shoulder in agony, a hospital visit revealed a dislocated joint, and the doctor botched the cast multiple times, requiring reapplication. Finally, with medication in hand, he returned home only for a flowerpot to plummet from above. Though he dodged with a quick roll, his ankle twisted again—this time dislocated—forcing him to hobble back to the hospital for another cast…

The streak of bad luck grew worse by the day. Even while recuperating at home, Zhou Yimin couldn’t escape constant mishaps. He hardly dared step outside until his foot injury healed completely. When his boss assigned him an important business negotiation, he had no choice but to venture out after such a long leave.  

The destination wasn’t nearby—walking would take over an hour, which would definitely make him late. Too afraid to drive, he opted for his bicycle. The trip there went smoothly enough with extreme caution, but on the way back, despite his nervous vigilance, he still ended up crashing spectacularly, just as expected.  

Perhaps because he had done many good deeds, his fortunes finally took a turn for the better. After nearly killing himself in the fall, he encountered Master Yan, who kindly gave him an Evil-warding Jade. Zhou Yimin even felt that without Master Yan’s intervention, he might have become completely disoriented within two or three days under the influence of nightmares and ended up getting run over by a car.  

Master Yan was his savior!  

Thinking of Yan Zhen, Zhou Yimin suddenly noticed it was already eight o’clock. He quickly got out of bed, opened the door, and stepped out—only to be met with the sight of a stunning beauty in the living room. Rubbing his slightly stinging eyes, he couldn’t help but wince.  

Oof—so dazzling!  

A pot of hydrangeas sat on the tall side table in the living room, their deep and delicate red hues exquisitely vibrant. The tall young man stood before the potted plant, slender fingers gently pressing against a tender petal. The crimson shade made his skin appear almost translucent. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he turned with a smile—wasn’t that enough to make one’s vision swim?  

“Good morning?”  

That pleasant voice was impossible to ignore, demanding all of one’s attention.  

·  

Yan Zhen was puzzled. Had he said it wrong? People on TV always said “Good morning” when they woke up—had he learned incorrectly? As a newcomer to the human world, this country bumpkin was feeling a little disheartened.  

Zhou Yimin took a deep breath to steady himself and approached with a warm smile. “Good morning, Master Yan. My apologies for waking up so late.”  

Yan Zhen studied his face. The ominous black aura of extreme misfortune was gone, so he stated confidently, “You slept well last night.”  

Zhou Yimin quickly nodded. “Very well, very well—all thanks to the Evil-warding Jade you gave me.” He hesitated before asking cautiously, “Last night… that unlucky ghost… Did it…?”  

Yan Zhen understood and answered directly, “It came.”  

Zhou Yimin’s heart tightened.  

Yan Zhen pointed in the direction the unlucky ghost had drifted. “It went that way.” After a moment’s thought, he decided he should reassure this uneasy human. “It went to find the right person.”  

Zhou Yimin looked in that direction, and his expression instantly darkened.  

That was the direction of his current workplace. He had always thought he got along well with his colleagues. Though there was competition in the office, he had never schemed against anyone. Yet, while he harbored no ill intentions, someone had clearly set their sights on him.  

After some consideration, Zhou Yimin had a few suspects in mind. But he didn’t want to trouble this pristine Master Yan with workplace politics, so he continued the earlier topic. “So, you mean that unlucky ghost has already opened its eyes? But didn’t you say yesterday it would take a few more times before…?”  

Yan Zhen pursed his lips. “That unlucky ghost was too weak.”

He hadn’t anticipated this point. The spiritual energy in the human world had always been scarce, and now it was even less. He hadn’t paid it much mind, thinking his mountain had plenty to spare, but his calculations had been off.

It was a bit embarrassing.

Zhou Yimin swallowed hard, instantly understanding.

So, the unlucky ghost that nearly killed him was considered too weak by Master Yan, leading to a slight miscalculation?

Zhou Yimin wouldn’t dare question Master Yan. He cautiously asked instead, “Then… what should I do next?”

Yan Zhen looked puzzled. “Why are you asking me about what you should do next?”

Were humans these days so clueless? The hunters who used to come to his mountain always had their prey planned out beforehand—they were quite clever.

The corner of Zhou Yimin’s eye twitched. Realizing Master Yan’s thought process might not align with ordinary mortals, he rephrased his question bluntly: “What I mean is, am I completely safe now?”

This human was so dense. Yan Zhen frowned slightly, his delicate brows knitting together with impatience. “Yes.”

Wasn’t that obvious? Why keep asking? So annoying.

Even when annoyed, beautiful people remained beautiful, especially a master like him. Zhou Yimin didn’t dare press further and quickly tried to make amends. “Ah, Master Yan, if you don’t mind… would you like to stay here with me from now on?”

Yan Zhen gave Zhou Yimin a strange look. “No.”

This place was too small and fragile—uncomfortable to live in. He’d rather find a cozy mountain nook for himself than stay here.

Zhou Yimin was left speechless again.

Finally free from the human’s pestering, Yan Zhen inwardly sighed in relief when Zhou Yimin fell silent. He lowered his head quietly, counting petals—one, two, three… Why wasn’t this human going hunting yet? Wait, humans didn’t hunt these days, did they? To eat, they had to work, right? He wondered what this human did for a living, but why was he still here? Wasn’t he worried about going hungry? He had many questions, but he wouldn’t ask—that’d be too embarrassing.

An awkward silence settled between them.

Zhou Yimin could tell the master wasn’t keen on engaging with him anymore, but he couldn’t let that slide. He had to build a connection. Hurriedly, he said, “You’ve done me such a great favor, saving my life. No repayment would be too much. I thought if you stayed here, I could take good care of you, but since you prefer peace and quiet… Well, I figured we must have some fate bringing us together, right? If there’s anything I can do for you, just say the word. Really, I owe you my life—I’m endlessly grateful.”

He spoke a bit too fast. Yan Zhen, still unfamiliar with human speech, struggled to follow. After some effort, he grasped the meaning and blinked. “We do have some fate. You’re the unluckiest one I’ve met since coming out.” He pondered for a moment before adding, “Of course you’ll run errands for me. Getting me an ID card is part of your payment.”

Zhou Yimin winced but had already adapted to the master’s bluntness. He quickly replied, “The ID card is a given, but that’s such a small thing—it can’t possibly count as full repayment. What I mean is, if there’s anything else you need, just tell me. If you’re unfamiliar with City B, I can be your driver or tour guide. Or if you need tea served, water fetched, meals cooked—well, I can’t cook, but I know all the best restaurants in City B. How about…”

As he spoke, his words became a bit incoherent, and he unconsciously paused, looking at Yan Zhen with a hint of expectation.

Yan Zhen suddenly realized—so many years had passed, and he truly wasn’t familiar with anything. Was this human offering to serve him in exchange for his protection? Well, that could work. This human wasn’t unpleasant to look at. Thinking this, he reached into his sleeve, rummaged around, and then opened his palm.

Zhou Yimin’s eyes widened.

A gleaming… gold brick? How had such a large gold brick been pulled out from such a narrow sleeve?!

Resting on Yan Zhen’s pale palm was a gold brick weighing at least two kilograms, its color pure and radiant, shimmering with a dazzling brilliance—the glow of wealth! It was blindingly magnificent.

Seeing Zhou Yimin remain silent, Yan Zhen grew puzzled. “Not enough?”

This human must think the gold is insufficient. Well, that made sense. Human settlements were so bustling now, with so many things—perhaps gold wasn’t valuable anymore.

Yan Zhen felt slightly awkward, but it didn’t matter. He had plenty of gold here—if quality wasn’t enough, quantity would make up for it. So he reached into his sleeve again, pulling out one brick, then another, and another. Though his movements weren’t fast, within seconds, dozens of bricks had been stacked beside the flowerpot, piling higher and higher…

*Clatter! Clatter!*

The narrow side table finally gave way, and the gold bricks tumbled to the floor, forming another pile. Yet Yan Zhen continued pulling out more, growing impatient until he simply stood there and shook his sleeve. Gold bricks rained down one after another, crashing together into a towering mound.

A mountain of gold!

Zhou Yimin gasped sharply, stumbling back three steps and shielding his eyes with the back of his hand.

He—he really was about to be blinded!

At this moment, even the divine beauty of Master Yan couldn’t overshadow the radiance of the golden mountain!