Chapter 80

Shen Mofeng suddenly stiffened, unable to move. After jumping down from the wall, a strange entity that had been stirring within him violently took control of his body. White mist resembling water vapor erupted from his collar, cuffs, and the pores all over his body, even rolling out from his seven orifices, coalescing into a mass that filled his pupils with a white haze.

Ye Chen exclaimed, “Shen Ge?!”

Shen Mofeng paid no attention to Ye Chen’s call, only hanging his head, his expression bizarre, shifting rapidly between shock, realization, sadness, and confusion—all sorts of emotions flickering across his face at a rate of less than one second each. It was as if he were receiving a massive influx of information in a short amount of time.

“What’s wrong with him?!” Ye Chen panicked, stepping forward to hug Shen Mofeng and looking for help from the divine beasts.

Bi An’an swallowed hard, half talking to herself, half addressing Ye Chen, “The spiritual energy of Di Ting… so he’s the child raised by Di Ting with Neidan… Right, isn’t his family extremely wealthy? How come I didn’t think of it earlier? The one borrowing strength from Di Ting is his dad…”

“Di Ting?” Ye Chen’s pupils constricted.

He remembered what he had heard during his first meeting with Zhou Buchu—back then, the child raised by Di Ting had only been two years old. Di Ting used his physical body as a vessel, but the two-year-old child couldn’t wield divine power, so Di Ting transferred the divine power to the child’s father. That man gained the ability to read people’s hearts, becoming incredibly successful in business and a well-known entrepreneur with a fortune beyond imagination…

Years later, Zhou Buchu couldn’t recall the wealthy man’s name, and Ye Chen felt it was unrelated to him, so he hadn’t pursued the matter.

Could it be Shen Ge’s dad?! Ye Chen was completely stunned.

Di Ting had been sleeping within Shen Mofeng for over twenty years, absorbing his Purple Qi to cultivate Neidan. During this time, Di Ting had vaguely awakened a few times but had never fully come to. Today, with Shen Mofeng’s emotions stirred, Di Ting was awakened by the surging Purple Qi, and coincidentally, Neidan had also completed its repair under intermittent spiritual nourishment over the past few months. Thus…

” Di Ting’s  Neidan has been repaired,” Bai Ze said, quickly stepping back towards the door. “He’s about to emerge from the host’s body, so don’t worry.”

The other divine beasts, like Bai Ze, instinctively distanced themselves from Shen Mofeng. Li Li, transformed into a breeding boar, led the charge, grunting as he rushed out. In the blink of an eye, the west wing of the house was left with only Ye Chen and Shen Mofeng.

Ye Chen’s face was ashen, filled with both heartache and fear. He held his boyfriend, whose seven orifices were emitting smoke, even tighter and cried out in despair, “What are you all hiding from?!”

Could it be that Shen Ge was going to explode?!

Bai Ze looked at him with pity and slowly said, “Di Ting enjoys peering into people’s hearts and eavesdropping on gossip. Five meters away, he can’t hear clearly; it’s a safe distance…”

Li Li wagged his screw-like tail and gruffly chimed in, “Staying near Di Ting feels like not wearing pants at all.”

Bi An’an, with her sharp logic, retorted, “But you’re not wearing pants either!”

“Then when Di Ting wakes up, Shen Ge won’t be able to read minds, right?” Ye Chen was drenched in cold sweat at this terrifying thought. He wanted to back away, but Shen Mofeng leaned against him like a limp rag doll. If he let go, Shen Mofeng would fall to the ground. In those brief seconds of hesitation, the white haze in Shen Mofeng’s eyes vanished, and the surging waves of spiritual energy around him abruptly ceased. The white mist-like energy gathered and took shape on his shoulders… After twenty-four years, Di Ting reappeared in the world.

Di Ting was a petite creature, just the right size to perch on Shen Mofeng’s shoulder, with a form that resembled a blend of weasel and badger. Its long tail was fluffy, and its fur gleamed white. Three elongated, willow leaf-shaped ears sprouted on either side of its head, with faintly shimmering dust floating around the ear edges, giving it a dreamy filter. Its eyes were a jade-like light blue, and when it glanced over, it imparted an overwhelming sense of being exposed, as if one were running naked down the street… There was no sense of privacy whatsoever!

Ye Chen locked eyes with Di Ting for a second, alarm bells ringing in his mind. He let go of Shen Mofeng and turned to run!

But as soon as he took a step, a strong arm snatched him back and pulled him into an embrace.

“Come back,” Shen Mofeng said coolly.

Then, Shen Mofeng turned Ye Chen’s body to face him, wrapping one arm around his waist and gripping his chin with the other, pressing their foreheads together.

“What are you doing…?” Ye Chen asked, confused.

Before he could finish, the space where their foreheads touched suddenly grew warm, as if some invisible thing was seeping through that small patch of skin.

At the same time, a cacophony of sounds began echoing in Ye Chen’s mind. At first, it was just a jumble of noise, but within seconds, he realized it was rapid-fire speech, like an audio file fast-forwarded several times. Ye Chen strained to decipher the voices and managed to distinguish a few familiar phrases from the chaos—

“I will do everything I can to repair the spiritual veins of the Mountain and Sea Realm…”

“Can this muddy water nurture spirit beasts?”

“I can only materialize things belonging to the Mountain and Sea Realm…”

—Those were memories related to the restoration of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Shen Mofeng had his eyes tightly closed, his brows deeply furrowed, and fine sweat beaded at his temples, as if he were receiving that information. He held onto Ye Chen with a death grip, while Di Ting leisurely crouched on his shoulder, licking its paws.

Bai Ze explained from a distance, “He is reading your memories.”

“What?!” Ye Chen was instantly frightened and urgently pushed Shen Mofeng, “Shen Ge! Wait! Stop reading!”

“Di Ting’s divine power can act on a being’s brain. He listens to the heartbeats of all beings in the six realms; essentially, he extracts and deciphers the brainwaves of living creatures.” Bai Ze spoke as if he were teaching a biology class. “Di Ting can roughly decode immediate thoughts within five meters. The closer the distance, the higher the accuracy of the immediate thought decoding. Touching the spiritual platform—meaning the forehead—allows for selective reading of various information stored in brain cells… If I’m not mistaken, he must have found a loophole in the rules of spoken words.” Bai Ze smiled, “Mr. Shen should be reading your secrets related to the Mountain and Sea Realm. The heavenly secrets are those he is peeking at with his divine power; no one ‘leaked’ them to him.”

Upon hearing that Shen Mofeng was only reading information related to the Mountain and Sea Realm, Ye Chen’s struggles weakened immediately.

But then Bai Ze leisurely threw in, “However, if he doesn’t master the divine power precisely, he might accidentally read other memories…”

“What the f*ck?” Ye Chen was taken aback and desperately broke free from Shen Mofeng’s embrace, jumping and bouncing out the door.

At the moment Ye Chen fled, Shen Mofeng suddenly opened his eyes, which were so dark they were frightening, and he stared intently at Ye Chen. He didn’t mention the Mountain and Sea Realm but pronounced three words with slow, deliberate precision through clenched teeth: “Three hundred yuan?”

Ye Chen inhaled sharply, his knees going weak as he nearly knelt before Shen Mofeng!

“…What three hundred yuan?” Bi An’an asked Ye Chen softly.

Shen Mofeng’s jawline tightened, his fists clenched, and the veins in his forearms bulged: “You come here.”

“Brother, Shen Ge, I know I was wrong. You, you don’t read it first, okay…” Ye Chen’s face flushed red and then pale, secretly inching away from Shen Mofeng, his voice tinged with a sob.

Di Ting tilted its head, eyes squinted with amusement, looking like it was enjoying the drama… it was just like a field rat!

Ye Chen: “…”

What does it mean that appearance comes from the heart? This is it!

Shen Mofeng strode toward Ye Chen, his demeanor dark and ominous. With his movement, the other spirit beasts retreated further, keeping a safe distance from him.

“Hey, just say what you want to say properly.” Only Bi An’an stubbornly stepped in front of Ye Chen, delivering a rapid-fire speech. “If a domestic violence perpetrator intentionally inflicts harm on another’s health, it constitutes intentional injury. According to Article 234 of the Criminal Law, they should be sentenced to less than three years in prison, detention, or control…”

Ye Chen stood at a distance, seizing the chance to worship, “Aren’t you unable to carry it anymore?”

Bi An’an replied, “I’m just joking.”

Shen Mofeng paused for a moment and then scoffed, “I would hit my boyfriend?”

The implication was that, of course, he wouldn’t.

“Oh, if you’re not going to commit domestic violence, then it’s none of my business.” Bi An’an decisively stepped aside.

“Don’t come over here!” Ye Chen, feeling disoriented, covered his head full of secrets and took off running!

“Still daring to run?!” Shen Mofeng quickly caught up, grabbing Ye Chen by the collar of his outerwear like a kitten. Then he slipped his right arm under Ye Chen’s back and his left arm under his knees, lifting him up.

Ye Chen struggled in vain, panting as he slumped against Shen Mofeng.

Shen Mofeng’s ears twitched slightly, wanting to hear what Ye Chen was thinking.

Ye Chen, unfazed, focused on reciting mathematical formulas: Odd changes, even remain unchanged; look at the quadrant: odd changes, even remain unchanged…

“…” Shen Mofeng almost laughed in exasperation. “Which is your bedroom? Let’s have a good talk.”

Ye Chen pressed his lips into a thin line, resolutely controlling his thoughts, refusing to deviate: Odd changes! Even remain unchanged!

“…” Shen Mofeng tapped his forehead, rifling through his memories. “It’s in the main house.”

Ye Chen cursed furiously: This f*cker can still forcefully read?! What’s the point of reciting math formulas?!

Shen Mofeng said coolly, “It really has no meaning.”

After a pause, he added, “No swearing.”

Ye Chen: “What the fuck? Am I going to have any privacy left?!”  

Shen Mofeng lowered his gaze at him: “……”  

Ye Chen: “I’m sorry! No ‘what the fuck’!”  

Shen Mofeng carried him into the main room, tossed him onto the bed, closed the door, and locked it, then placed the waiting Di Ting outside.  

Di Ting: “Gu^[1]Crying sound of a child?”  

Destroy the bridge after crossing the river^[2]Abandoning one’s benefactor after reaching one’s goal. Burning bridges?  

Ye Chen’s face turned beet red.  

In broad daylight…  

Shen Mofeng raised an eyebrow: “What are you thinking?”  

“… Can you turn off this function first?” Ye Chen scrambled up, kneeling on the bed, wishing he could bow to him.  

“Can’t turn it off,” Shen Mofeng stared at him steadily, “The aftereffects of being possessed will take seven days to dissipate.”  

Ye Chen got off the bed, his voice trembling: “Then… can we meet again next week? I’m scared like this.”  

“Cannot.” Shen Mofeng strode over to the bed and sat down, pulling Ye Chen back who was trying to escape, forcing him to straddle his thigh and securing his slim waist. Although Shen Mofeng’s expression was slightly dark, he seemed relatively calm overall, and his tone was much gentler than before Di Ting appeared. Yet, for some reason, there was a subtle hint of… madness on his handsome face.  

“Let’s settle this score.” Shen Mofeng slowly articulated each word, “You chased my car… to earn three hundred yuan. You’re a professional fake fan.”  

Ye Chen’s face burned so hot it felt like he could hang it in the sky as the sun, vehemently denying it.  

Shen Mofeng understood: “You’ve already admitted it in your heart.”  

Ye Chen was mortified with anger: “Ge—!”  

Shen Mofeng’s pupils trembled slightly as he said slowly, “When you came to find me during the filming of ‘Asking for the Top,’ it wasn’t to ask about the script, nor to get close to me. It was for…”  

As soon as he mentioned this, Ye Chen couldn’t help but think of those four braised prawns!  

“Got it,” Shen Mofeng’s gaze turned cold, “A person isn’t as good as a prawn, and I wasted an entire afternoon feeling enamored.”  

Ye Chen’s mind snapped. He cupped Shen Mofeng’s face, tilted his head, and blocked his mouth. 

The author has something to say:
Shen Mofeng: Stinky man, not a single true word coming out of your mouth. 🙂

Chen Chen: ???

Di Ting is entirely a personal setup, looks like a weasel, and its call is “gua gua”… (Gua gua)
Its ability to hear heartbeats is really perfect for gossiping ╰(°▽°)╯

Still in the middle of a mess, it looks like this can drag on for three days and three nights, hhhhh
Poor guys…