161: Then I ask you

“You, you, you… you are Lin Yang!!!”

Ji Kunchang's finger trembled wildly as he pointed at Lin Yang, backing away in disbelief.

“Yes, it's me.”

Lin Yang nodded truthfully.

“What!?”

Upon receiving confirmation from “Lin Ri” himself, Ji Kunchang's pupils instantly widened, feeling as if his world had collapsed and it was impossible to accept.

“So, you've been lying to me all along!!”

Coming back to his senses, Ji Kunchang looked at Lin Yang with a face full of grief and indignation, his eyes extremely complex.

He couldn't believe it.

This good brother, with whom he had called 'brother' for several days, was actually Lin Yang, the very person he had been searching for!

Thinking about how Lin Yang's cheerful and friendly demeanor during this time was all a pretense, Ji Kunchang felt a pang of heartache.

“Why did you lie to me?”

【Ding】

【Detected that the Upper Realm Luck Child's trust in the Host is about to collapse. If the Host cannot salvage the situation, the already issued rewards will be immediately revoked.】

“I didn't lie to you.”

Facing Ji Kunchang's accusation, Lin Yang spread his hands helplessly and said.

“You still say you didn't lie to me! You are clearly Lin Yang, yet you told me you were Lin Ri! Isn't that deception!?”

Ji Kunchang roared, his chest heaving violently, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Seeing Ji Kunchang so angry, Lin Yang also sighed deeply.

After a moment of thought, he pointed at the great sun hanging high in the sky and said:

“Then I ask you, are ‘Ri’ and ‘Yang’ the same thing?”

“What if they are!?”

“Are ‘Lin’ and ‘Lin’ the same character?”

“What if they are?”

“Then does Lin Ri mean Lin Yang?”

“Yes… huh?”

Ji Kunchang froze at these words, staring at Lin Yang dumbfounded.

“So, I never lied to you. On the contrary, I told you my identity from the very beginning; you just didn't comprehend it yourself.”

Hearing Lin Yang's words, Ji Kunchang couldn't help but fall into deep thought again.

Could it be that he had truly misunderstood Lin Yang?

Seeing Ji Kunchang waver, Lin Yang continued with a wistful expression: “Admittedly, my initial approach to you was indeed not pure.”

“But later on, I truly regarded you as a friend.”

“Otherwise, throughout this journey, I wouldn't have shared all my gains with you! I wouldn't have helped you obtain the lost ancient Immortal Artifact, the yin-yang sundial!! And I certainly wouldn't have sworn brotherhood with you!!!”

Hearing Lin Yang's incredibly sincere words, Ji Kunchang's heart wavered even more intensely.

But he still couldn't accept the fact that Lin Ri was Lin Yang!

He immediately shouted in a fit of frustration:

“But you still lied to me!”

Ji Kunchang felt incredibly wronged.

It was rare for him to meet such a compatible confidant, yet it turned out that the other party was the enemy he had been searching for all along.

How could he easily accept such a huge contrast?

Ji Kunchang sadly looked up, only to see Lin Yang staring directly at him with a pained expression.

“Brotherhood is in the heart!”

“If you don't feel it, a million words from me are useless.”

“Since that's the case, there's no point in saying more.”

“Didn't you come to the Lower Realm for only two things?”

“Now, you've already obtained the yin-yang sundial. All you need to do now is capture me and take me back, and you will have perfectly completed both tasks, allowing you to return gloriously and report back to your clan.”

“Come, make your move, my sworn brother!”

“But before you make your move, please remember this: I, Lin Yang, have never done anything to wrong you!”

Lin Yang extended his hands forward, closed his eyes, and adopted a posture of giving up resistance.

“I…”

Seeing Lin Yang's honest and open attitude, Ji Kunchang suddenly felt his conscience being strongly condemned.

From beginning to end, Lin Yang had never made any unfavorable moves against him.

On the contrary, he had repeatedly helped him resolve worries and doubts, and even fully assisted him in escaping danger when he accidentally fell into a lake's Restriction.

Finally, he even willingly gave him an Immortal Artifact of the yin-yang sundial's Rank.

“Yes, Big Brother has never done anything to wrong me…”

In an instant, Ji Kunchang felt his conscience aching.

Big Brother treated him with such loyalty and righteousness; now, just because the 'Ri' in Big Brother's name was changed to 'Yang', should he arrest Big Brother and take him back to report?

“Slap!”

Ji Kunchang slapped himself hard.

He felt like he was not even human!

No wonder he had an affair with a tigress earlier.

Perhaps even the heavens felt he was not a good person, which was why they deliberately sent down punishment upon him!

“Big Brother, it was Little Brother's mistake! I misunderstood Big Brother!”

Ji Kunchang, having suddenly come to his senses, knelt before Lin Yang with a thud, begging for forgiveness with tears in his eyes.

“Don't be like that, my sworn brother! Big Brother is unworthy!”

Lin Yang quickly stepped forward to help Ji Kunchang up, saying with great concern:

“If you don't capture me today, how will you return to the Upper Realm later? And how will you report back to Emperor Anlan?”

Seeing Lin Yang still caring about him at this moment, Ji Kunchang's resolve grew even stronger.

He recognized this Big Brother!

He immediately responded to Lin Yang:

“Report back? I'll report his mother's head!”

“How can a true man, born between heaven and earth, long remain suppressed under others?”

“If that Ji clan Old Ancestor, Emperor Anlan, can do it, why can't I, Ji Kunchang, do it?”

“Once I repair the yin-yang sundial, I'll let that Ji Imperial Clan know who the true king of the Ji Imperial Clan is!”

Hearing Ji Kunchang's ambitious words, Lin Yang said with a face full of satisfaction:

“My brother, you possess the demeanor of an Immortal!”

“Big Brother!”

“My sworn brother!”

With the misunderstanding resolved, the two brothers embraced with tears in their eyes.

【Ding】

【Congratulations to the Host for successfully mending the relationship with the Luck Child】

【Achieved the accomplishment: Sworn Brotherhood!】

【Bonus reward: Luck Points +500!】

“Wuwuwu~ Such touching brotherhood.”

Beside them, Hua Lei was already in tears.

Subsequently, at Hua Lei's warm invitation,

Lin Yang and Ji Kunchang went to the City Lord's Mansion as guests and were warmly entertained by Hua Lei's father, who was the City Lord of this city… Thus, a few more days passed.

Ji Kunchang bid farewell to Lin Yang, intending to return to the Upper Realm.

“My sworn brother, are you returning to the Upper Realm already?”

Although their acquaintance was not simple, after this period of interaction, Lin Yang had genuinely grown fond of this honest and unpretentious Upper Realm brother, treating him as a true friend.

Now, hearing that he was leaving, he couldn't help but show a hint of reluctance.

“Big Brother, I cannot stay in the Lower Realm for too long, otherwise, the clan will surely grow suspicious. At that time, they might dispatch new experts to the Lower Realm to find me.”

Ji Kunchang sighed softly; how he wished he could stay in the Lower Realm a bit longer.

However, he was not in control of his own destiny.

If he didn't return to the Upper Realm soon, the Ji Imperial Clan would likely send more experts to the Lower Realm to investigate the situation.

That would undoubtedly bring more trouble to Lin Yang.

“Very well, take this Qiankun Teleportation Talisman. Consider it a parting gift from your Big Brother. When you return to the Upper Realm, you must be extra careful.”

Hearing that Ji Kunchang's mind was made up, Lin Yang pondered for a moment and no longer tried to persuade him to stay.

Immediately, he took out a Talisman, a treasure he had obtained from a previous lottery.

The Qiankun Teleportation Talisman could instantly move one to a place beyond ten states.

It was an excellent life-saving item when encountering irresistible danger.

“Thank you, Big Brother!”

Ji Kunchang was deeply moved upon receiving it.

He wanted to invite Lin Yang to the Upper Realm with him, but Lin Yang politely declined.

“The Upper Realm, I will go, but not now.”

Although Lin Yang also longed for the Upper Realm, he still had too many ties in the Lower Realm and couldn't just leave like that.

“Very well, Big Brother, I'll wait for you in the Upper Realm! Take care!”

“Take care!”

After a solemn farewell, Ji Kunchang, holding the yin-yang sundial, tore open a passage back to the Upper Realm.

Under Lin Yang's gaze, Ji Kunchang reluctantly departed… Upper Realm.

Not long after Ji Kunchang returned to the Upper Realm, he suddenly noticed someone following him like a shadow.

“Who!?”

Immediately, Ji Kunchang turned his head and shouted.

Then, under Ji Kunchang's wary gaze,

a familiar white tiger figure slowly emerged from the Void Realm.

“It's you! Why are you following me?”

Ji Kunchang was startled, because this white tiger was the same one from the Yin-Yang Divine Hall Divine Temple Ruins earlier.

“You must take responsibility for me!”

The white tiger opened its mouth, speaking in a woman's voice.

“Regarding what happened before, I'm very sorry, but I can't afford to raise a Sacred Beast.”

Ji Kunchang shook his head with a hint of apology.

“I'm very easy to raise. You can just raise me like a sheep?” The white tiger was unwilling to leave.

“What do you mean? How can a Sacred Beast be raised like a sheep?” Ji Kunchang asked strangely.

At these words, the white tiger rarely showed a shy expression.

“You can just grass-feed me…”