Never mind Mr. and Mrs. Evans's furrowed brows and inability to find a better solution.
Not long after Damian left the Evans house, he was stopped by someone.
"Damian, quick! Go back! Finn and Maeve said your husband headed up Blackstone Ridge again!" The man was panting, clearly having run all the way.
"Ethan went up the mountain?" Damian frowned, a hint of worry in his voice. "Why isn't he resting at home?" he muttered.
After thanking the messenger, Damian turned and hurried towards Blackstone Ridge.
"What bad luck! Marrying a spouse like that."
"That Evans boy really is troublesome. Just woke up after cracking his head open, and now he's run off to the mountain again?"
"Ai~ Marrying him... feels like bringing home a high-maintenance handful, doesn't it?"
Hearing this, the surrounding villagers shook their heads and sighed, their gazes following Damian's retreating figure filled with sympathy...
"Dad, Mom! Ethan went up Blackstone Ridge again!" Caleb, notified by a villager, quickly knocked on his parents' door.
"..."
Silence filled the room for a moment, followed by Mr. Evans's exasperated sigh, "That damned boy! Why did he run up the mountain again?"
"Ethan's body... hasn't recovered yet..."
Besides helplessness, the couple's eyes were filled with worry.
After a pause, Mrs. Evans wiped the tears from her eyes and opened the door. Mr. Evans stepped out first, patted Caleb on the shoulder, and instructed, "Caleb, as his older brother, take a few young lads with you now and help find your brother up the mountain."
"Yes, Father! I'll go right away!" Caleb nodded firmly and ran off.
After Caleb left, the old couple stood side by side, both looking towards the highest peak opposite them, their eyes filled with helplessness.
"Ai~ Poor Damian, such a good kid."
As much as they doted on their son, they had to admit that with this marriage exchange, while it looked like their family lost out by trading away a son, the truth was they had wronged Damian's family, wronged Damian himself...
"After I die, I'll personally go apologize to Damian's late father."
....
Blackstone Ridge...
At this moment, Ethan was staring in bewildered surprise at the surrounding cave walls. He had just been at the foot of Blackstone Ridge; how had he suddenly ended up in this strange cave?
"I say, boy, why are you here again?"
An authoritative voice suddenly echoed in the cave, startling Ethan badly.
"Who... who are you?" Ethan looked around nervously, trying to locate the source of the voice.
"..." The cave fell silent for a moment, then the authoritative voice spoke again. "You... forgot me?"
As the words faded, Ethan felt a gaze fall upon him, scanning him from head to toe. The sensation was incredibly eerie, making goosebumps rise on his skin. He clenched his fists tightly, watching his surroundings warily.
Just as Ethan's heart leaped into his throat, the gaze suddenly vanished. The authoritative voice returned, this time tinged with amusement, "Well, well~ No wonder you didn't recognize me this time. Turns out you scrambled your brains when you fell?"
Damn it!
"You're the one with scrambled brains!" The retort slipped out before Ethan could think. He immediately clamped his hand over his mouth, looking around nervously.
"Is that how you speak to your elders? No matter what, this old god has lived tens of thousands of years longer than you, more than enough to be your ancestor."
Although the mysterious voice was stern, Ethan could sense it wasn't truly angry. The familiar tone eased his nerves slightly. "Who are you, really?" he asked.
"Me? The Mountain God of Blackstone Ridge."
"Mountain God?" Ethan, a 21st-century atheist, never thought he'd have the privilege of meeting a mountain god! Though, considering he'd apparently transmigrated, the existence of gods wasn't entirely surprising.
"Did you bring me here? Am I dead back... there? Can I go back to where I came from?" Ethan fired off several questions at once.
The familiar gaze returned. After it vanished again, a sigh echoed in the cave, followed by an evasive answer. "Ai~ It seems you truly have forgotten."
"What do you mean?" Ethan blinked, confused.
"I can only tell you this: your transmigration was entirely your own doing. I had no hand in it."
"What does that mean?" Ethan was completely lost. What did 'his own doing' mean? He was just a mortal; how could he be powerful enough to arrange his own transmigration? If he could, why wouldn't he send himself to the future, into the family of the world's richest person? Why cross over to this impoverished backwater to be someone's male wife? Surely it couldn't mean he subconsciously liked men?
Pfft! Impossible! He was asexual. Of all things, he only loved computers. As the saying goes: Overtime brings me joy!
"I am the Mountain God of Blackstone Ridge. My divine power can only be used within Blackstone Ridge. Matters of reincarnation in the outside world are not under my jurisdiction." The Mountain God's words were clear: Your transmigration has absolutely nothing to do with me!
"..." Not the Mountain God? Had he offended some other deity then? Ethan racked his brains but couldn't figure out how he had transmigrated. But since he was already here, how he got here wasn't important. What was important was how to get back!
"Mountain God, please tell me, how can I return to where I came from?"
"Where you came from? This is your birthplace. Where do you want to return to?" the Mountain God's voice sounded slightly puzzled.
"No, no, no, I don't mean this body. I mean where my soul came from. The world I lived in... my previous life," Ethan waved his hands quickly, explaining earnestly.
"This is your body. Inside and out, you have always belonged here. As for that world in your mind, you were merely a passerby there."
The Mountain God uttered another statement Ethan couldn't comprehend. He asked tentatively, "Are you saying this body... is my own? Not that I transmigrated into someone else?"
"Precisely. The child is teachable."
Receiving the Mountain God's confirmation only confused Ethan further. "That can't be right. My hair wasn't this long, and... this body is shorter than my original one." Back in the 21st century, thanks to his love of milk, he was a solid 5'11"! This current small frame was maybe 5'9" at most.
The Mountain God's sigh echoed in the cave again. "Little one, sometimes memories can deceive, especially when you've just injured your brain."
What did that mean? Were his current memories false? Or had he lost some memories?
"Please..." Ethan wanted to ask the Mountain God for clarification, but just as he opened his mouth, the God's voice cut in simultaneously, "Someone is coming for you. You should go back."
With that, Ethan's vision blurred, and the surrounding scenery instantly transformed back into the lush, green forest...