But I'm a proper river god, you know! - Chapter 52

“Yuan Ji, so it’s this thing that’s been draining her vitality. Let’s take it out quickly.”

A’Tong stared at the pale golden horn that had appeared in Er Xin’s body, a surge of joy rising in its heart. But when it turned to see Yuan Ji lost in thought, an inexplicable unease crept in.

“Yuan Ji, what’s wrong?”

Countless sparks of spiritual light scattered as Yuan Ji withdrew her hand from above Er Xin’s chest. Without the guiding spiritual energy, the pale golden horn immediately retreated and vanished back into Er Xin’s body.

Yuan Ji stared blankly at her fingertips for a moment before lifting her gaze. The unfamiliar look in her eyes sent a sharp pang of dread through A’Tong’s core.

“Yuan Ji…” A’Tong’s voice faltered, suddenly too afraid to speak.

“A’Tong.” Yuan Ji fixed her gaze on it, her eyes swirling with complex emotions, shadows and light flickering indistinctly. “Who am I, really?”

Why did the sight of this horn make her chest ache so strangely? That bizarre sensation—like a hand gripping her heart—felt too real, as if she had truly experienced it before.

A’Tong stiffened, its eyes darting around nervously. “Yuan Ji, I-I don’t understand. You’re the River God, remember?”

The expected answer made Yuan Ji’s lashes tremble slightly.

A blade of grass buried under winter snow would eventually buckle under the weight, bending slowly toward the earth. But when spring arrived, the wild grass, dormant all winter, would surge back to life with unruly vigor.

Yuan Ji’s expression remained unchanged. She let out a soft laugh, laced with self-mockery. “Right. The River God.”

A River God with no memories—was she truly a god, or just a puppet?

“A’Tong.” Yuan Ji turned away, walking toward a nearby couch. She leaned back, one arm resting on the armrest, her chin tilting up slightly as a faint smile curved her lips.

“Gods love all beings. What about you?”

Her gaze deepened, as if trying to pierce through A’Tong’s very core.

“Do you desire a god’s love?”

The flickering firelight cast swirling tendrils of white smoke, like a thin veil separating them. Yuan Ji’s voice seemed both distant and near, carrying an ethereal magnetism that struck A’Tong like a hammer to the chest.

Its data streams jolted violently. A’Tong froze for so long that it began to suspect it had been infected with a virus.

Yuan Ji’s… love?

A’Tong murmured the words silently.

Electrical impulses surged rapidly through its data pathways. For a brief moment, a flicker of data lit up in a hidden corner before being buried under an overwhelming flood of information, concealing its anomaly.

“Yu-Yuan Ji…” If A’Tong had a physical form, its face would surely be redder than an apple by now. It stammered, an imperceptible shyness creeping into its tone.

But in the next instant, a cold stream of data yanked its thoughts back into order. A’Tong paused, its emotions tangled.

Yuan Ji was talking to it about “love”…

Did that mean… Yuan Ji had fallen for someone?!

A’Tong’s eyes widened to the size of copper bells, stunned by its own conclusion.

It wasn’t unheard of for a River God to have romantic feelings.

Yet, an inexplicable worry bubbled up inside A’Tong. It suddenly understood the fussing elders in those human storybooks.

So, was it the villain Qi Yan? The protagonist Xuan Changsheng? Or Mu Zhao, who had returned to the Mu family…

After agonizing over the possibilities, a terrifying thought slammed into A’Tong’s mind. It stiffly turned its head, its gaze landing on the unconscious Er Xin.

…Could it be her?!

Meeting A’Tong’s conflicted expression, Yuan Ji simply looked away without pressing further. For now, she wouldn’t get the answers she sought.

Still, she hadn’t missed that fleeting shift in A’Tong’s demeanor. Yuan Ji raised a mental eyebrow, satisfied with this small victory.

At the very least, she might have glimpsed the real A’Tong.

With a snap of her fingers, the firelight flared, cutting off any prying eyes. Yuan Ji rose gracefully, smoothing the wrinkles from her sleeves.

Now, let’s see what this system’s mission was truly about.

Threads of spiritual energy, fine as silk, extended from her fingertips, weaving nimbly to capture the pale golden horn inside Er Xin’s body.

The horn seemed to sense danger and immediately shrank, darting through Er Xin’s meridians in evasion.

But Yuan Ji’s spiritual threads were not so easily outmaneuvered. Thousands of strands, finer than hair, pursued the horn relentlessly.

Chasing.

Overtaking.

Capturing.

The commotion inside her body must have disturbed Er Xin’s slumber. She let out a pained groan, her face draining of color as sweat beaded on her forehead, leaving her ghastly pale.

“Yuan Ji, her vitality is fading fast!” A’Tong cried out in alarm.

Yuan Ji’s brow furrowed. Her divine sense swept through Er Xin’s body once, twice…

Then she noticed something odd.

The meridians the horn had passed through seemed… stronger. As if the horn had been nourishing them.

A flicker of realization crossed Yuan Ji’s eyes. She swiftly withdrew the threads, yanking the horn free.

The moment the pale golden horn touched the outside air, it stilled, pulsing softly with golden light.

If not for the flickering candlelight, the people below might have mistaken her for playing with fire in her room.

Er Xin groaned again, her face now ashen, a deathly gray. Dark mist seethed beneath her skin—her vitality was completely gone.

“Demonic energy?” Yuan Ji murmured in surprise before summoning her flame.

The fire swelled instantly upon contact with the demonic energy, devouring it voraciously until not a wisp remained.

The flame swayed its fiery tendrils proudly before bouncing back to Yuan Ji, nuzzling her fingertips as if seeking praise.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, fresh demonic energy surged from Er Xin’s body once more.

Yuan Ji’s expression darkened. She stepped forward to investigate, her flame twisting in apparent frustration—hadn’t it just eaten everything? Why was there still more?!

Determined, the flame lunged at the new wave of demonic energy like a starved beast.

At the same time, both Qi Yan and Xuan Changsheng, downstairs in the courtyard, sensed the fleeting presence of demonic energy.

Qi Yan glanced at Xuan Changsheng, who was pretending not to notice, and tapped his fingers twice. His attendant, Zhi Jie, immediately summoned dozens of razor-sharp sword energies, encasing the courtyard in a protective barrier.

“Is… is Junior Sister alright?” Eleven paced anxiously, glancing upward repeatedly, itching to rush inside and check.

After a moment’s hesitation, he approached Song Qingyang with a sigh. “Hey, mute, aren’t you worried at all?”

Song Qingyang nodded, then shook his head, saying nothing. His dark eyes reflected the flickering candlelight.

He had sensed demonic energy earlier. But here? How could there be demons?

Glancing at Eleven’s oblivious expression, Song Qingyang buried the thought deep. Perhaps it had just been his imagination.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission: Save Er Xin. Reward: 100 Divine Power Points. To be distributed shortly.]

The cold electronic tone echoed alongside A’Tong’s cheers.

Yuan Ji watched as her flame spat out a black stone onto the floor, coughing out two rings of smoke in disgust. She picked it up and approached Er Xin.

Though Er Xin’s face remained deathly pale, the rapid drain on her vitality had stopped.

Yuan Ji clenched the horn in her palm. A familiar, warm energy flowed from her fingertips, gathering at her chest.

She raised a hand, pressing a fingertip to Er Xin’s forehead. A flash of white light, tinged with gold, burst forth as countless motes of energy obeyed Yuan Ji’s command, flooding into Er Xin’s body to mend her meridians, organs…

To an outsider, the sight would have been nothing short of miraculous.

Er Xin’s pallor vanished in an instant, replaced by healthy color. Her breathing steadied, and as spiritual energy circulated, her cultivation began to rise.

Reviving the dead. Enhancing cultivation.

Yuan Ji studied the horn in her palm thoughtfully. Perhaps this was what the Mu family had been searching for.

“A’Tong.” Yuan Ji gave it a look, and A’Tong immediately understood, analyzing both the black stone and the horn.

Within ten breaths, A’Tong’s voice turned grave. “Yuan Ji, you’re right. This stone devours vitality—and it carries the same energy as the ‘parasite.’”

“But this horn… I couldn’t find any records on it.” A’Tong sounded puzzled. This was the first time it had encountered something not logged in the system.

A sense of unease slithered through its data streams.

Yuan Ji turned the stone over in her fingers, her expression unreadable.

After a long silence, Er Xin’s lashes fluttered. Her eyes opened slowly, dazed as she took in her surroundings.

“Awake?” Yuan Ji stored both objects in her spatial bracelet and walked over.

Bathed in candlelight, surrounded by shimmering spiritual energy, Yuan Ji stepped into Er Xin’s line of sight.

The sudden, strong thrum of her heartbeat left Er Xin dazed. The joy of surviving against all odds kept her frozen for a long moment before she finally regained her senses.

Meeting Yuan Ji’s gaze, she bit her lip nervously, her eyes flickering.

Finally, she whispered, “Thank you, River God.”

A’Tong puffed up proudly at her gratitude. As expected of its host—revered by all!

“No need.” Yuan Ji waved a hand, her deep eyes fixed on Er Xin, calm and composed.

Er Xin’s face warmed under her scrutiny. She bowed her head. “Thank you, River God. If not for you, I would never have seen the beauty of this world again.”

“I don’t know how to express my gratitude. If the River God is willing, I… I would gladly…”

A’Tong’s internal alarms blared. Wait, this didn’t sound right!

Before she could finish, a crisp knock interrupted her. A tall figure appeared at the door, cutting off Er Xin’s words and making A’Tong sigh in relief.

A’Tong hastily nudged Yuan Ji. “Yuan Ji, let’s go see who it is!”

A flicker of suspicion crossed Yuan Ji’s mind, but before she could dwell on it, she opened the door.

Qi Yan stood outside, holding a candle. When their eyes met, he lifted his gaze slowly. His long lashes cast fan-like shadows in the flickering light, accentuating his handsome features.

His voice, soft as an autumn breeze, brushed against Yuan Ji’s heart. “I sensed demonic energy earlier. Are you alright?”

Yuan Ji’s brow twitched slightly, a trace of doubt flashing across her face.

“I’m fine,” she replied evenly.

Qi Yan didn’t move.

Yuan Ji: “……?”

Yuan Ji: “Do you want to come in?”

Before the words fully left her mouth, Qi Yan gave an almost imperceptible nod, the ghost of a smile fleeting across his lips. “Alright.”

A’Tong, witnessing everything: ……?

But the moment Qi Yan stepped inside, Yuan Ji called past him, “Everyone, come in.”

Qi Yan’s foot halted mid-step. He turned to see seven or eight heads peeking up from the staircase.

Eleven laughed awkwardly. “River God, I—I was just worried about Junior Sister and wanted to check.”

“Yeah, we’re here for Er Xin!” Luo Qiu Shui chimed in, flashing a flawless smile.

Secretly, she lamented the dim lighting—her ruby hairpin wasn’t visible enough to catch the River God’s eye. If only she could get closer…

Her gaze drifted longingly toward Qi Yan’s candle.

Only to meet his icy stare.

Luo Qiu Shui shivered, grumbling inwardly. Why was Senior Brother still here? Usually, he’d be in seclusion by now.

Soon, the room was packed.

The Dan Xin Sect disciples stared at Er Xin’s healthy complexion, overjoyed yet haunted by lingering fear.

“She’s really cured!”

“Just what kind of power does the River God possess? Our sect spent years and countless resources trying to heal her, yet the River God did it in barely an incense stick’s time!”

“We must report this to the sect immediately. We need to leave a good impression and forge ties with her as soon as possible.”

Though their thoughts varied, one thing united them:

This River God was unfathomably powerful. She must not be offended!

“Junior Sister! The River God really healed you! This is amazing! I’ll send word to the sect right now!”

Eleven grinned, pulling out a transmission talisman to relay the good news.

Meanwhile, Wu Qian Si and Du Xiu Yuan, still dangling from the wall, had already guessed the outcome from the celebratory noises inside.

Their shock was no less profound.

Back then, their Fen Yue Valley had also taken on Dan Xin Sect’s bounty—but the Everdark Orchid was no easy prize.

They had even accepted the search mission for healers, yet every one they found had been helpless. And now?

This River God had actually cured her!

When Wu Qian Si and Du Xiu Yuan saw Er Xin walk out, glowing with health, their astonishment peaked.

Simultaneously, their hearts sank to new depths.

This meant they had offended someone they should never have crossed.

For a moment, Wu Qian Si stared at the man-eating plant gnawing on his head beside him and fell deep into thought.

Given how severely he had provoked her, being strung up on a wall instead of killed outright…

This River God seemed… oddly merciful.

His gaze shifted to the fool beside him, and he wrestled with a dilemma.

Maybe… he could try.

Wu Qian Si opened his mouth—only to remember he’d been silenced. Not a sound came out.

Wu Qian Si: “……”

So he wriggled violently instead, trying to catch Yuan Ji’s attention.

Next to him, Du Xiu Yuan watched his rival squirm like a caterpillar and burst into stupid laughter.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yuan Ji noticed the twitching bundle:

……?