# 1098
Chapter 1099: Heavenly Court
An Qingyu frowned and asked in return, "Who are you?"
"Tsk, I asked first. Can't you answer my question first?" The teenager shrugged. "Do you know Lin Qiye? Which one of you is Baili Pangpang?"
When the boy spoke Baili Pangpang's name, An Qingyu's confusion deepened.
"I-I'm Baili Pangpang."
Baili Pangpang raised his hand.
The teenager nodded slightly upon seeing this. "Alright, that confirms it. Let me introduce myself—I'm Li Nezha. You've probably heard my name."
Hearing these words, all four of them froze in place.
A moment later, their eyes widened slightly. "Nezha?"
Shen Qingzhu studied the punk teenager before them—wearing a fire-red hoodie, barely reaching his shoulder—with a serious expression, unable to reconcile this image with the Third Prince who, according to legend, made havoc in the East Sea.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not some ancient monster. After reincarnation, you naturally integrate into modern society." Nezha waved the latest smartphone in his hand. "Sorry, I had to confirm your identities before introducing myself. Otherwise, people might think I'm mentally unstable."
An Qingyu: ...
"You came to find us. What's the matter?" he asked.
Nezha was a famously renowned figure in Great Xia mythology. Why would he suddenly appear and say he was looking for them? And from the looks of it, he had been waiting at the airport entrance for quite some time.
They were just a group of mortals. What merit did they possess to warrant such attention from a Great Xia deity?
Nezha stuffed his phone back into his pocket and said seriously, "I've come to take you back to Heavenly Court."
"Heavenly Court?"
"Mm." Nezha nodded. "Someone there wants to see you."
...
"Driver, to Le Tan Mountain."
Nezha raised his hand to hail a taxi and directly sat in the passenger seat, naturally buckling his seatbelt.
An Qingyu and the others exchanged glances outside the taxi.
"What are you all standing there for? Get in!" Nezha poked his head out the window, his expression oddly amused. "Don't tell me you've never been in a taxi before? Are you that broke?"
A slight twitch appeared at the corner of Baili Pangpang's mouth. He glanced at An Qingyu beside him, who helplessly nodded at him. The three of them placed Jiang Er's coffin in the trunk and got into the back seat.
As the vehicle slowly started moving, An Qingyu finally couldn't resist asking:
"Li Ne—Li Nate, are you sure we can get there by taxi?"
An Qingyu had wanted to call him Nezha directly, but since the driver was sitting right next to them, he hesitated and changed the name after some consideration.
Nezha rolled his eyes at An Qingyu through the rearview mirror. "That place is a bit far from the city center. It's not convenient to go directly—too many eyes and ears, you know?"
"...Understood."
Nezha checked the time, yawned, and boredly pulled out his phone to scroll through short videos.
Watching Nezha skillfully swipe through the screen, Shen Qingzhu's expression grew increasingly odd. He gently nudged An Qingyu and Baili Pangpang, communicating through glances.
Shen Qingzhu: Is this guy really Nezha? What if he's a fake?
An Qingyu: He mentioned reincarnation. That doesn't sound like a fake.
Shen Qingzhu: But he looks completely like a modern person—phone, earbuds, hailing rides, watching short videos... He even follows "San Jiu Yin Yu," that account that only posts character illustrations and never gets anywhere. That's a flop account!
Baili Pangpang: After a century of reincarnation as a Great Xia deity, it's not strange to be influenced by modern technology. Maybe there are already Great Xia deities cruising around in stretched limousines. Who knows?
About an hour later, the taxi left the urban area and finally stopped near a desolate wilderness.
"How much?" Nezha closed the short video and opened his payment QR code.
"Two hundred and seventy-six."
"Huh? That's expensive?"
"Going from downtown to the suburbs, that's the rate. My meter is running!"
Nezha silently stared at the 215 yuan remaining in his digital wallet, then turned to look at the three people behind him with a complex expression.
"Which one of you... has money?"
An Qingyu and Shen Qingzhu simultaneously looked at Baili Pangpang.
Baili Pangpang pondered for a moment. "Driver, do you accept checks?"
"Checks? Are you kidding me? Do you guys even have any money?"
"You don't take checks... alright then. Driver, which corporation does your company belong to?"
Driver: ???
Two minutes later.
Watching the driver abandon the car and run joyfully toward the city on foot, An Qingyu asked in astonishment:
"You bought the car from him?"
"No, buying a car outright would be too much of a hassle." Baili Pangpang shrugged. "I bought their whole corporation, then had them assign the driver a new car. So now this car belongs to us."
Nezha stood beside the taxi, dumbstruck.
"Let's go, Nezha." Baili Pangpang patted his shoulder. "Which direction is Heavenly Court?"
Nezha stared at him oddly for a moment, then turned and walked into the mountains and fields. With a light leap, two wind-fire wheels condensed beneath his feet.
"Follow me."
His figure transformed into a streak of red light and swiftly soared into the sky. Baili Pangpang and the others followed closely behind.
As their forms broke through the clouds, beneath the azure blue sky, a magnificent stone gate standing hundreds of meters tall manifested from the void. Above the gate's entrance, two gilded characters were deeply branded:
—Southern Gate.
"Is this the legendary Gate of Heaven?" An Qingyu asked, somewhat surprised. "Then where is Heavenly Court?"
"You'll understand once you're inside." Nezha said.
The four of them landed before the Gate of Heaven. The moment their bodies passed through the grand stone gate, An Qingyu felt his vision blur, and his feet touched down on a white jade pathway.
An Qingyu looked around. Under the sunlight, the grand formation's barrier in the sky refracted faint seven-colored light. Ethereal spiritual energy filled every inch of the surrounding space. Flocks of celestial birds flew across the sky, their clear and melodious crane cries echoing in their ears.
In every direction, there were fairy palaces, ancient halls, spirit pools, and curved bridges stretching endlessly. Looking along the white jade pathway before them, at the distant edge of the clouds, several golden-lit grand palace halls stood majestically.
Seeing the scene before them, An Qingyu and the others were stunned.
These fairy palaces and divine halls that should only exist in mythological stories had appeared right before their eyes, as if they were in a dream. For them, setting foot on Heavenly Court for the first time, it was a dual impact on both vision and psychology.
"Where is the person who wants to see us?" An Qingyu withdrew his gaze and asked.
"There."
Nezha extended his hand and pointed toward the golden-lit grand palaces at the edge of the clouds.