In Order To Ascend, I Became A Modern Wage Slave - Chapter 13: The Cherished Immortal Lord (12)

Chapter 13: The Cherished Immortal Lord (12)

 

When Luo Yang arrived, he saw a rather peculiar teaching scene through the glass window.

 

Xi Yu pursed his lips, full of displeasure, as if he was about to punch the other person at any moment. Lian Bei, on the other hand, was smiling brightly, operating Xi Yu’s phone, completely unaware—or perhaps unafraid—that the person next to him might be a ticking time bomb.

 

A tense yet strangely harmonious atmosphere lingered.

 

Knock, knock, knock—

 

Luo Yang judged the timing and knocked on the glass window. The two people inside simultaneously looked up.

 

A minute later, Luo Yang brought a chair over, and the three of them sat in a triangular formation.

 

Luo Yang handed a stack of flyers to Lian Bei. “I grabbed a random stack. You can start distributing these, and if the response is good, I’ll bring more.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Lian Bei glanced at the flyers, placed them on the table, rested his hand on top of them, and looked at Xi Yu.

 

Xi Yu was now struggling with his phone like an eighty-year-old grandmother. The only thing going for him was probably that his eyesight was still good, so he didn’t need to squint or lean in close to see.

 

In short, he was deeply engrossed, paying no attention to Lian Bei’s gaze.

 

Luo Yang, however, keenly noticed that Lian Bei seemed to want to say something to Xi Yu. Being considerate, he opened the conversation. “Do you have something to say?”

 

“Something to say…” Lian Bei pondered for a moment before speaking up. “When do you plan to go to Luonan Mountain?”

 

Hearing this, Xi Yu looked up. He truly felt that some things were unavoidable.

 

Since yesterday, the words “Luonan Mountain” had been ringing in his ears repeatedly, as if their sheer frequency could eventually break down his defenses and lure him over.

 

Xi Yu put down his phone and asked, with a hint of interrogation in his tone, “Why are you asking?”

 

Lian Bei smiled. “I want to ask for a favor. I also happen to be going to Luonan Mountain soon. I overheard bits and pieces of your conversation yesterday and figured you might be planning to go there. When are you leaving, and could you give me a ride?”

 

Xi Yu pressed further, “What are you going there for?”

 

Lian Bei replied, “Field research.”

 

Xi Yu was about to say they had no plans to go, but Luo Yang quickly stopped him. Luo Yang smiled and said, “The day after tomorrow. We’ll leave the day after tomorrow in the morning. I’ll send you a message to pick you up. How does that sound?”

 

Lian Bei nodded. “That would be great. Thank you.”

 

When it came time to exchange contact information, Luo Yang also wanted to add Lian Bei on WeChat, but Lian Bei waved it off. He smiled and said, “My WeChat friend list is full. I even had to delete someone just now to add him. If I were to add you, I wouldn’t know who else to delete. You can contact me through him if needed.”

 

He pointed to Xi Yu. “It’s fine whether you add me or not.”

 

Luo Yang was about to suggest exchanging phone numbers instead—just in case—but when he blinked, the young man had already disappeared.

 

Luo Yang looked around and asked Xi Yu, “Where did he go?”

 

Xi Yu helpfully pointed in a direction. “He went that way. If you want to chase him, you’d better hurry.”

 

Luo Yang followed the direction and indeed spotted Lian Bei’s figure. He asked Xi Yu, “Are you two close?”

 

“Close?” Xi Yu felt Luo Yang’s brain must have been kicked by a donkey. “When did I come from? And when is he from?”

 

Luo Yang recalled, “Then you two…”

 

“What about us?” Xi Yu was baffled. Then he spread his hands. “Maybe he just finds me interesting.”

 

Throughout history, many people had found Xi Yu interesting. Moreover, given his noble status, he was accustomed to people showing off and seeking his favor. He had long since learned to ignore it automatically. As for why this young man found him interesting, it wasn’t hard to figure out—someone claiming to come from the past, struck by lightning after failing to ascend…

 

Back then, when Xi Yu climbed the mountain to seek a mentor, he arrived at Huaxi Manor and encountered a master cultivating there. The master also had a similar fascination.

 

When the master turned his head while sweeping, he would always catch Xi Yu staring at him. Smiling, he’d say, “Daydreaming again?”

 

“No, I was just resting my eyes from reading,” Xi Yu would reply, lowering his head to continue reading. Not long after, he’d look up again, only to meet the master’s gaze directly this time.

 

The master, holding a broom with one hand, leaned on it and raised an eyebrow at Xi Yu. “Resting your eyes again?”

 

“…”

 

The master walked over, handed the broom to him, and said, “Perfect timing. You can sweep the floor.”

 

Xi Yu pretended not to hear, burying his head in the book and feigning intense concentration, even muttering its contents softly.

 

Xi Yu took a big step forward, and Luo Yang jogged to catch up.

 

Xi Yu asked, “Are you really going to take him there the day after tomorrow?”

 

Luo Yang replied, “He helped us, after all. I hate owing people favors. Since he asked, I figured I’d help if I could. By the way, are you going with us?”

 

Xi Yu said, “No.”

 

After walking for a while, Xi Yu suddenly changed his mind. If that thing luring him over turned out to be trouble and it kidnapped Luo Yang and Lian Bei to coerce him into going, he’d be lost in this unfamiliar world. He might wander for days and still not find Luonan Mountain, which would be a huge problem. Thinking it over, he decided to go with them.

 

Time flew by, and Luo Yang drove Xi Yu to the school to pick up Lian Bei.

 

Luo Yang rarely drove out. For one, parking spaces here were hard to come by. Once he managed to snag a good spot near home, he didn’t want to move for fear of losing it. Second, he was lazy.

 

Luo Yang wanted Xi Yu to sit in the front passenger seat, but before he could say anything, Xi Yu opened the back door and lay down. He tended to get carsick, and through experience, he found that lying down and sleeping was the best solution.

 

Since the school didn’t allow outside vehicles, Luo Yang parked by the roadside and asked Xi Yu to send a message. Half-asleep, Xi Yu lazily hit the voice function and had Luo Yang do it himself.

 

Shortly after the message was sent, someone knocked on the car window. Luo Yang rolled it down, about to invite Lian Bei to sit in the front passenger seat, but Lian Bei had already opened the back door.

 

What was it? Did the front seat have thorns?

 

Xi Yu unceremoniously occupied most of the space. Lian Bei lifted his head and adjusted his position before sitting down in the remaining empty space. Luo Yang glanced through the rearview mirror and felt that Lian Bei handling Xi Yu was as natural as playing with a doll.

 

Forced to sit upright, Xi Yu was somewhat annoyed and glared at Lian Bei for a while. Lian Bei looked at him innocently, which only made Xi Yu angrier. “Why didn’t you sit in the front?”

 

Lian Bei replied, “I don’t particularly like sitting in the front. Please understand. But I can also accommodate you—if you want to sleep, you can rest your head on my lap.”

 

After speaking, he raised his hands in front of him to make space for Xi Yu to lie down if he wished.

 

Luo Yang still hadn’t started the car. Though the quarrel was between the two of them, Luo Yang was the most nervous. He was genuinely worried that if Xi Yu got angry, he might take it out on the car.

 

Luo Yang’s concerns weren’t unfounded. Just the night before, while taking Xi Yu for a walk, some troublemakers had approached and started making lewd comments about Xi Yu’s appearance.

 

Luo Yang had watched in stunned silence as Xi Yu silently nodded, lured the troublemakers into an empty alley, and then started punching them. As he fought, he even pinched their mouths, preventing them from making any noise.

 

Luo Yang turned away.

 

He was too scared to watch.

 

By the end of the night, those troublemakers probably no longer considered themselves “brothers” but rather “sisters”…

 

Swallowing nervously, Luo Yang was about to say something to ease the tension when he noticed in the rearview mirror that Xi Yu had already laid down, his head resting on Lian Bei’s lap. After shifting a bit to get comfortable, he closed his eyes and said, “Well played.”

 

Lian Bei chuckled softly. “Thank you for the compliment.”

 

Harmony at last, harmony at last.

 

Luo Yang quickly collected himself, put his foot on the accelerator, and began driving toward Luonan Mountain.

 

Meanwhile, Xi Yu seemed completely at ease, treating Lian Bei’s lap as if it were his own personal pillow.

 

The journey to Luonan Mountain spanned several dozen kilometers, requiring about three to four hours of driving.

 

Halfway there, they passed by a service area just around noon. Luo Yang figured they had plenty of time, and stopping for lunch wouldn’t delay them much—at most an hour. He turned into the service area and suggested, “Why don’t we grab something to eat before continuing?”

 

It wasn’t entirely necessary to get out of the car; they had bought plenty of snacks the previous night while shopping. Still, when it came to proper meals, Luo Yang preferred actual food over snacks.

 

Xi Yu was already drifting in and out of sleep, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. While he could vaguely hear their conversation, he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

 

Luo Yang turned halfway in his seat and tried calling out to him, “Comrade?”

 

“Comrade?” came Lian Bei’s questioning tone in response.

 

Luo Yang explained, “He likes being called that. Uh, I don’t think he’s waking up anytime soon. He gets carsick, and it really hits him hard. How about I get off and pack some food for us to eat in the car?”

 

Lian Bei replied, “It’s fine, let’s all go together.”

 

Luo Yang recalled a previous instance when forcibly waking Xi Yu had resulted in a punch that could have been fatal.

 

This time, Lian Bei first secured both of Xi Yu’s hands and then lifted his head to adjust his posture so he was sitting upright. Waving his hands in front of Xi Yu’s eyes, he asked, “Hungry?”

 

Luo Yang watched as Xi Yu’s arms twitched violently for a moment. But with Lian Bei firmly holding him in place, he soon sat in a daze, seemingly pondering Lian Bei’s words. After a moment, he nodded.

 

Lian Bei released his hands, opened the car door, and said, “Alright, he’s awake. Let’s go.”

 

The service area had only a few restaurants, with limited space and a surprisingly large crowd. They didn’t have the luxury of choosing where to eat, so they simply grabbed the first available table. The menu was equally sparse.

 

Luo Yang read off the few options from the signboard and asked what they’d like to eat. Lian Bei made a decision for both himself and Xi Yu, who gave no reaction, before heading off to pay. While scanning the QR code to pay, someone jostled him from behind, nearly causing him to fall. Muttering, he said, “Why are there so many people all of a sudden?”

 

Typically, the scale of a service area corresponds to the flow of traffic. This situation was clearly exceeding capacity.

 

His rhetorical question received an unexpected answer from a nearby person: “Isn’t Qixi Festival coming up? Everyone’s headed to the temple to pray!”

 

Balancing the trays of food, Luo Yang responded with an “Oh” as he returned to the table, almost spilling everything along the way.

 

Once seated, he overheard Lian Bei remark, “There are quite a lot of people today.”

 

Luo Yang replied, “It’s almost Qixi Festival.”

 

Perfectly normal. Things people can do any day become particularly significant on specific holidays. Lian Bei handed out the noodles, setting each bowl before its respective owner. Seeing that Xi Yu had no objections, he nodded and went to pay.

 

As he paid, he was jostled by someone else, nearly losing his balance. Muttering, he said, “Why are there suddenly so many people here?”

 

Luo Yang, overhearing him, remarked, “The Qixi Festival is approaching.”

 

Xi Yu, now fully awake, added, “People tend to desire things more strongly during festivals.”

 

Holidays amplify desires, tilting the balance of people’s aspirations. On ordinary days, people might want both money and love, but during festivals, one often outweighs the other. With desires heightened, faith becomes stronger. It’s at these moments that people visit temples, unafraid of sorting out their relationships, even embracing the notion of correcting what’s wrong.

 

“That makes sense,” Luo Yang nodded, lowering his head to eat.

 

Lian Bei noted, “But it’s strange to see this many people. I heard the Luonan Temple is scheduled for demolition soon.”

 

Xi Yu asked, “Demolition?”

 

Lian Bei explained, “It’s a minor shrine, and with so few visitors, there’s no reason to keep it.”

 

Soon, they finished their meal and resumed their journey without further delay.

 

After another two hours, they finally arrived at the ticket office at the base of Luonan Mountain. Luo Yang insisted on buying Lian Bei’s ticket, and the two of them bickered back and forth from the car to the ticket booth, with Lian Bei ultimately yielding out of courtesy. “Well, thank you then,” he said.

 

Outside, the sun blazed fiercely. Just stepping out of the car felt like walking into an oven. Luo Yang had prepared a sun-protective jacket for Xi Yu but hesitated as soon as he stuck half his body out of the car and realized it wouldn’t help much. He was about to retreat when Lian Bei opened an umbrella, casting a wide shadow that shielded them from the sun.

 

Xi Yu, wearing a hat and holding the umbrella Lian Bei had handed him, walked unhurriedly behind them, exuding the air of an emperor inspecting his subjects.

 

The ticket booth was situated at the foot of Luonan Mountain, to Xi Yu’s right. He looked up.

 

The mountain wasn’t very tall. Unlike Huaxi Mountain, which was enshrouded in clouds and mist, giving it an air of mystery, Luonan Mountain was covered in lush green pine trees. Despite its dense foliage, it appeared ordinary—hardly like a place where one could achieve immortality.

 

Looking closely, one could vaguely see a dilapidated black hut halfway up the mountain that resembled a temple.

 

But wasn’t the Luonan Temple supposed to be at the summit?

 

Holding a ticket, Lian Bei finally noticed something was amiss: Xi Yu and Luo Yang hadn’t purchased any tickets.

 

“Aren’t you going?” he asked.

 

Xi Yu tilted his head and replied cryptically, “I’ve already seen everything.”