Zhongnan Mountain.
The wind and snow on Zhongnan Mountain was too cold. The thick snow that was covering the tombstone was blown away suddenly by the cold wind, scattering aimlessly in all directions.
Some snowflakes flew up the sleeves of his green Taoist robes.
Zhu Wuxin stopped before the gravestone.
He was here again, brimming with a thousand thoughts that he had just figured out. All the way here he was thinking about how to get Shixiong to forgive him, thinking about what he had done wrong. He wanted to beg Jiang Zheliu to come back to him.
Shixiong had never abandoned him before …… This enduring love that had long been hidden and something that he himself hadn’t been aware of, was beginning to sprout roots in the gloomy corners of his mind, ruthlessly rooting themselves into his blood.
Making his indebtedness and possessiveness flourish and increase.
He really did not believe that Shixiong would abandon him.
But when Zhu Wuxin arrived here, all he saw was an empty small pinehouse and bamboo garden. There was no one there, all that was left was the remnants in the medicine furnace that had cooled down but was still emitting a bitter fragrance.
He stayed in that small house for a long time, sitting across from the lounge chair where Jiang Zheliu had lain during his last visit. It is as glossy as ever, without even a trace of dirt or marks.
Zhu Wuxin felt an unspeakable sourness well up in his chest.
He was unfamiliar with this feeling and didn’t even understand what kind of emotion it was yet. He couldn’t help but feel like he was going to lose him …… Just like that day when Jiang Zheliu had left to mend the Realm Boundary —
Jiang Zheliu’s fine black hair turned into a snow white. Coming out his sleeves was a pair of pale and slender hand, fragile like they would break from a light touch. When Jiang Zheliu had gently brushed away his hand, he had vaguely felt a surge of this frightening feeling …… he was afraid that shixiong did not want him.
Zhu Wuxin blankly averted his eyes, fiddled with the remnants of the medicine stove, not understanding why back then …… for the sake of a Sect Leader’s position, he had let shixiong become this way.
Jiang Zheliu was so badly injured.
For the first time, he faced this fact clearly, and after coming out of the small pine house, he stopped once more before his father’s burial site.
The wind and snow were so strong that the snow had covered once more the engraving on the gravestone. Zhu Wuxin stretched out his hand, brushed away the thick snow to clear it.
The words on the gravestone had been carved by Jiang Zheliu’s own hands. Each word had been engraved deeply, as if he had carved into his own bones and blood. Zhu Wuxin was now meeting everything face on, finally he understood the hidden but not revealed meaning of shixiong …… Jiang Zheliu took his father’s dying wish as his last wish, and he, himself was also a part of this last wish.
Zhu Wuxin cleared away the scattered snow, knelt in front of the gravestone, he bent over and kowtowed.
“Father.”
His father had worked hard and exhausted himself for centuries to sustain the development of the Ling Xiao Sect. He was a gentleman who has been praised by the world for his consideration and loyalty.
He still remembered the moment when his father had brought Shixiong back. Jiang Zheliu was good-looking, but he was withdrawn and didn’t talk much. He was hard-working, seemingly very independent, but he was always being bullied and scolded by those jealous fellow disciples, but shixiong has always ignored these things. Zhu Wuxin almost never heard any retorts coming from Jiang Zheliu.
But he hated those people at that time, he wanted to protect shixiong, he argued with people everywhere, he fought with those children that were older than him. He also used to quietly run to Shixiong’s room at night to comfort him, tell him stories, say he would be good to him, even if everyone did not like him, Wuxin had always liked shixiong……
Later …… How exactly did it turn out like this.
The flying snow melted on his cheeks and was icy cold.
Zhu Wuxin raised his hand to wipe it away, when he saw that there seemed to be some fragments of written words amongst the ashes of the offerings placed in front of the gravestone.
He recognized it as Jiang Zheliu’s handwriting, he reached out and flipped it around, and found it was actually a burned letter.
…… Was it that shixiong had something to say to his father?
Zhu Wuxin pushed away the snow around him and found several unburnt, written letters slipped under the round stone.
It was freezing cold, but he felt his fingertips were almost burning up when he touched these letters.
“Dizi has not been worthy for a long time, I have not been able to teach Wuxin well. I am physically and mentally defeated, and completely useless …… My desire is to die alone and be eternally buried under the ice and snow, to cleanse my body and soul, sleep peacefully for eternity ……”
“I have nothing to hold on to, I can see a thousand years of my life as if it was yesterday. But with Wuxin, the years have dampened our relationship, becoming more and more estranged day by day, creating a regret in my heart. A friendship forged from youth, is also susceptible to the influence of the outside world, until friends become strangers ……”
The handwriting was very clearly written, it also looked like it had been written very slowly.
Zhu Wuxin also read slowly. He had a Dao body that was impervious to the heat and the cold, but at this moment he felt surprisingly ice cold.
Suddenly he remembered how it all changed.
All that time after his father’s passing, he’d grown up under the shelter of shixiong, but all of his achievements were meaningless, because in the eyes of others there was only one person, Jiang Zheliu. He had heard too much, far too much admiration and praise for shixiong…..
He was inferior to him, and he was also annoyed by this. He didn’t know when he started to look at shixiong, no longer thinking about protecting him, but instead feeling ……
Zhu Wuxin lowered his head, and swallowed, clutching the letter in his hand, clutching so tightly that his finger bones were pressing against his skin turning it white.
The rustling of the letter paper was mixed with the sound of the falling snow.
The beginning of the letter was a conversation with Zhu Wenyuan, but the more it went on, the more it looked like Jiang Zheliu’s will. Each word seemed to carry a sense of relief.
“In my dream last night, dizi saw myself and Wuxin as children. He ran to comfort me in the middle of the night, and helped me to wipe away my tears …… but dizi for so many years now, no longer has any tears to shed.”
“I am useless with a crippled body and often wake up in the middle of the night, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. When I sat alone until dawn, I found that the bright moon in Zhongnan mountain was very beautiful. I have never been able to watch it like this before.”
“Yesterday there was a shooting star …… unfortunately I do not remember how it looked, because I got drunk, I am embarrassed …… But sadly, in the past I never had such an opportunity, surprisingly to get absolutely drunk was actually a good thing.”
The paper was clutched more tightly, and the sweat in Zhu Wuxin’s hands began to smudge the handwriting.
He re-folded the semi-burnt letters, folded them again, and put them as if they were precious into his robes, right against his heart.
Zhu Wuxin raised his hand to wipe his cheek, he wanted to laugh, but could not, he felt like crying, but when he went to wipe his tears, he discovered that they were also cold.
He just didn’t know whether his tears had always been cold, or if they were cold from the wind here.
Zhu Wuxin stood up and murmured in a low voice: “…… shixiong ……”
It’s my fault, please don’t not want me.
As he thought about these words, he remembered that Jiang Zheliu told him when he left, “You don’t have to see me off, you should go back.”
Jiang Zheliu had always treated him with care. He had handed over the Ling Xiao sword, which he had always carried with great significance, directly into Zhu Wuxin’s hands. With his remaining wish having been fulfilled, he had nothing more to worry about. He decided to leave alone ……
Zhu Wuxin stood in the snow, the corners of his eyes were red, he raised a hand to cover his eyes, he did not want to cry again. After a long time, he breathed in slowly.
“…… Come back to me, okay?”
————
Dan Xin Monastery.
Wen Renye left in the middle of the night. When Jiang Zheliu woke up the next day and two hours had passed when he did not hear the other’s voice, he knew that Wen Renye must have gone back to the Devil Realm.
He naturally accepted it calmly. He did what he had to do, after taking the medicine, he slowly moved outside to sit in the recliner chair, cradling the hand warmer, wearing an outer cloak, he soaked up the sun outside, like a lazy cat.
Dan Xin Monastery was located in the centre of the lake, and the endless, mirror-like water could be seen right outside his room. But his eyes had been covered with long silk. At this moment, he still could not see anything, he was even deprived of such a simple basic pleasure of reading. Really all he could do was sleep and take his medicine to recuperate.
Yu Jinnian had come once before at noon, he had carefully explained to him that medicinal food had been mixed up, but the medicinal herbs used were very mild, so there were no permanent effects. And although temporary blindness was a side effect, it seemed that it would also alleviate the blurring of vision thereafter.
Jiang Zheliu was good at accepting his current situation and had nothing special to say about it.
He was sitting in the chair under the sun, and the temperature of his hand warmer was just right. This place was different from Zhongnan Mountain, it was warm everywhere which always made people feel drowsy.
Just when Jiang Zheliu was feeling a little sleepy, he felt a cold thing stick to him and rub his calf through his robe.
……Ehhh？
Jiang Zheliu did not react, and was again rubbed by this cold, long object, he pondered for a moment and said, “…… Chang Qian?”
The black snake, having been called by his Shenxian gege, woke up from his daze, and slid up around his calf, until he reached Jiang Zheliu’s hand.
The heavenly spirit body’s fragrance was just too inviting. Even when the ginseng children delivered the medicinal meals, they often couldn’t help but squirm and come over nervously, their eyes full of subtle longing.
He was obviously sick and wounded, but being this close to nature, it naturally brought out the most vibrant form of his spiritual body.
The little snake wrapped around Jiang Zheliu’s hand, slowly rubbing against the back of his hand, sliding his delicate, cold scales across the back of his hand, and then rubbing against the palm of his hand.
Jiang Zheliu reached out and gathered the small black snake, rubbed his fingers on the snake’s belly a few times, and whispered, “How come you’re here?”
Chang Qian had been in the kitchen for the first few days trying to get some cooking tips, and mingling with the ginseng children, he’d gained a lot of medicinal cuisine knowledge.
Chang Qian said, “Little uncle has finally left, otherwise there would be no such opportunity.”
The little black snake said whilst spitting out every letter, he continued to complain: “Little uncle’s eyes are too scary, he looks at gege as if he was looking at …… something very delicious. Every time I get close, I get pushed back by his devilish energy.”
This was probably due to the fact that devil energy seemed to repel each other. Jiang Zheliu pondered over it, he had heard that generally great devils were not particularly harmonious with each other. The devilish energy on their bodies repelled each other, sometimes there were even brutal battles that would arise from arguments over mating.
They submitted to Wen Renye, but that did not not prevent them from challenging Wen Renye. Every Devil Lord was the strongest person in the Devil Realm, without exception.
Chang Qian’s tail was ice cold, at that moment when he was touched by the other’s fingers, the snake body began to coil around more and more lovingly, burying himself into the other’s arms whilst taking in a deep mouthful of his scent.
The overflowing scent from Jiang Zheliu’s body was just too good, even for half-demons, they were no exception, let alone those pure demons. It was only the little deer that had his own ideas, that he was less compelled by his scent.
Jiang Zheliu didn’t really mind Chang Qian slithering around in his arms. Before he was injured, he also often took in a lot of demons. They often wanted to approach him but they’d stop, because they were afraid of his coldness. Even if they wanted to take in a mouthful of his scent, they still had to restrain themselves.
The daylight was getting warmer, he couldn’t see the lake around him, he could only feel the faint wind blowing over and ruffling his untied hair.
It was extremely quiet all around, he got even more sleepy.
When Jiang Zheliu was about to fall asleep, he heard the lake surface suddenly rippled and the sound of water gradually scattering and opening up with a splash sound. Something suddenly broke through the water and landed on the shore.
Jiang Zheliu again failed to sleep, but the little snake in his arms slept very peacefully.
He could feel a hint of demonic energy.
Dan Xin Monastery was located on the lake which should not have any evil demons, otherwise Yu Jinnian would not have allowed him to sit outside.
There was also a hint of familiarity to this demonic energy.
Jiang Zheliu did not speak first, but carefully listened trying to remember, and then he heard a timid voice with a frail whimper.
“…… Xian, Xianzun ……” it was a girl’s voice, “So you are here …… ooo ……”
Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment and asked in a low voice, “Ah-Li?”
Ah-Li was a koi carp that he had kept in the fish pond of his residence back in Ling Xiao Sect. A girl who only took human form at the age of three hundred. He remembered that the other’s tail was red and her face was often red when she saw him.
He had instructed Wuxin back then to send them all back to where they belonged. He didn’t expect that the place that Ah-Li returned to was this lake.
Jiang Zheliu only said these two words, but the girl was overcome with emotions. She got out of the water, still wet, and fiercely jumped into Jiang Zheliu’s arms, whilst crying, “Xianzun why did you want to drive Ah-Li away, even if Xianzun has no cultivation, Ah-Li has always, always accompanied Xianzun, Ah-Li will not leave Xianzun ……”
She was crying a lot, whilst Jiang Zheliu was pressed to her chest. It felt a little stuffy, but he still did not say anything, he just reached out and touched her head, said: “I did not drive you away, but if you continue to hold me so tightly, soon you will have to send me off.”
He said this gently, but Ah-Li still scrambled to get up, Chang Qian who had been squished into a snake cake was equally confused when he opened his eyes, not knowing what had happened.
The little carp demon looked at the long silk wrapped around his eyes, her heart was thumping, she was almost to the point of crying again, but she held it back and didn’t speak for a long while, before saying: “Xianzun, I’ve missed you so much …… Junior Sect Leader Zhu told us that you were injured and cannot take care of us anymore, but Ah-Li does not need you to take care of me. Xianzun, I can take care of you. ”
This group of little demons used to call Zhu Wuxin, Junior Sect Leader, and they were still calling him Junior Sect Leader even now. During Jiang Zheliu’s time in power, almost everyone knew that Zhu Wuxin was his successor. It was only Zhu Wuxin who would be suspicious and jealous, having wild thoughts.
Jiang Zheliu did not expect to meet any of the little demons he had previously taken in, especially not here. He thought for a moment, then he remembered that previously the little Devil Lord had made him agree to three rules of which ……that Devil seemed to have said that he could not take in any more little demons.
He didn’t know why he remembered Wen Renye’s words all of a sudden.
“There’s no need for that.” Jiang Zheliu said, “I’m fine now, you don’t have to worry.”
Ah-Li wiped her tears, looked at him, then looked at the little snake in his arms, too sour to speak1, and asked softly, “It’s me who came too late. It must have been hard for
Xianzun ……”
Everyone seemed to think he’s having a hard time.
Jiang Zheliu wanted to touch the little girl’s head again, but because he couldn’t see her, he just reached out his hand and then retracted it and simply added, “Do you live here?”
Ah-Li nodded, her tears not yet dry, she said: “Yes, before I went to Ling Xiao sect, I lived here. Monastery Master Yu doesn’t care about these things, there are many small koi carps in this lake that are about to become enlightened…… Xianzun’s scent smells too good, you must be careful!”
…… Beware of a school of carp.
Jiang Zheliu couldn’t help but laugh a little and said: “Ok. I understand. Why don’t you go back now.”
Ah-Li of course didn’t want to leave but she still agreed. However her heart was so worried that she had to lie on the shore and stare at him for a while. Her bright red koi tail slowly floated under the lake water.
She looked at him for a long time, the more she looked, the more she blushed. She shyly withdrew her gaze, her inner concerns slowly changed, and even secretly thought: Xianzun’s cultivation is all lost, his eyes can not see, is it not my opportunity now, to be like the snake lying in the arms of Xianzun?
She did not know that many other people had also had similar thoughts, but she continued down this train of thought and looked at the black snake again. She watched for a moment before she suddenly realised that that snake did not seem to be a pure demon.
This snake carried a devilish energy on its body.
Ah-Li’s heart skipped a beat, she suddenly remembered that recently there had been some rumours coming out of the Demon Realm’s Wan Ling Palace, saying that Xianzun had been coerced by a big demon …… Now that she had seen Jiang Zheliu, originally she had not believed the rumours, but then she remembered that Xianzun did not like the devil race.
Why would Jiang Xianzun let a half-demon, half-devil hang around him ……
The little carp demon continued to worry for a long while. Her mind was wandering all over the place, she was afraid that this snake was the big devil that had been left to spy on Xianzun. She did not dare to ask, and could only think of chaotic nonsense in her head. The more she thought about it, the more wild and more terrible her thoughts became, as she slowly sank back into the water.
There couldn’t really be a great devil bullying Xianzun, right …… Ah-Li’s mind automatically began to fill up with ideas like Xianzun being forcefully taken, being abused and other thoughts along this vein, coupled with all this kind of erotic stuff that Monastery Master Yu was well-known for. After remembering this fact, the young girl’s mind was filled with even more unspeakable things.
No.
The little carp demon solemnly thought, I have to rescue Xianzun!
It’s just that she had no way to do it…… Who could she get help from ……? The two Zhenjuns of Wan Ling Palace were close friends of Xianzun, and the Junior Sect Leader Zhu was the closest person to Xianzun…… and the Junior Pavilion Lord Jin of the Wushuang Jian Pavilion was also very ……
Ah-Li spat out a water bubble. Separated by a clear layer of lake water, she secretly peeked at Jiang Zheliu, thinking more and more that he was stuck in “an abyss of suffering”.
But at this time, Jiang Xianzun who was supposedly stuck in “an abyss of suffering”2 was stroking the small limp snake in his arms whilst his mind began to drift further and further away.
What was the little devil lord doing now?
…… Kind of miss him.
Zhongnan Mountain.
The wind and snow on Zhongnan Mountain was too cold. The thick snow that was covering the tombstone was blown away suddenly by the cold wind, scattering aimlessly in all directions.
Some snowflakes flew up the sleeves of his green Taoist robes.
Zhu Wuxin stopped before the gravestone.
He was here again, brimming with a thousand thoughts that he had just figured out. All the way here he was thinking about how to get Shixiong to forgive him, thinking about what he had done wrong. He wanted to beg Jiang Zheliu to come back to him.
Shixiong had never abandoned him before …… This enduring love that had long been hidden and something that he himself hadn’t been aware of, was beginning to sprout roots in the gloomy corners of his mind, ruthlessly rooting themselves into his blood.
Making his indebtedness and possessiveness flourish and increase.
He really did not believe that Shixiong would abandon him.
But when Zhu Wuxin arrived here, all he saw was an empty small pinehouse and bamboo garden. There was no one there, all that was left was the remnants in the medicine furnace that had cooled down but was still emitting a bitter fragrance.
He stayed in that small house for a long time, sitting across from the lounge chair where Jiang Zheliu had lain during his last visit. It is as glossy as ever, without even a trace of dirt or marks.
Zhu Wuxin felt an unspeakable sourness well up in his chest.
He was unfamiliar with this feeling and didn’t even understand what kind of emotion it was yet. He couldn’t help but feel like he was going to lose him …… Just like that day when Jiang Zheliu had left to mend the Realm Boundary —
Jiang Zheliu’s fine black hair turned into a snow white. Coming out his sleeves was a pair of pale and slender hand, fragile like they would break from a light touch. When Jiang Zheliu had gently brushed away his hand, he had vaguely felt a surge of this frightening feeling …… he was afraid that shixiong did not want him.
Zhu Wuxin blankly averted his eyes, fiddled with the remnants of the medicine stove, not understanding why back then …… for the sake of a Sect Leader’s position, he had let shixiong become this way.
Jiang Zheliu was so badly injured.
For the first time, he faced this fact clearly, and after coming out of the small pine house, he stopped once more before his father’s burial site.
The wind and snow were so strong that the snow had covered once more the engraving on the gravestone. Zhu Wuxin stretched out his hand, brushed away the thick snow to clear it.
The words on the gravestone had been carved by Jiang Zheliu’s own hands. Each word had been engraved deeply, as if he had carved into his own bones and blood. Zhu Wuxin was now meeting everything face on, finally he understood the hidden but not revealed meaning of shixiong …… Jiang Zheliu took his father’s dying wish as his last wish, and he, himself was also a part of this last wish.
Zhu Wuxin cleared away the scattered snow, knelt in front of the gravestone, he bent over and kowtowed.
“Father.”
His father had worked hard and exhausted himself for centuries to sustain the development of the Ling Xiao Sect. He was a gentleman who has been praised by the world for his consideration and loyalty.
He still remembered the moment when his father had brought Shixiong back. Jiang Zheliu was good-looking, but he was withdrawn and didn’t talk much. He was hard-working, seemingly very independent, but he was always being bullied and scolded by those jealous fellow disciples, but shixiong has always ignored these things. Zhu Wuxin almost never heard any retorts coming from Jiang Zheliu.
But he hated those people at that time, he wanted to protect shixiong, he argued with people everywhere, he fought with those children that were older than him. He also used to quietly run to Shixiong’s room at night to comfort him, tell him stories, say he would be good to him, even if everyone did not like him, Wuxin had always liked shixiong……
Later …… How exactly did it turn out like this.
The flying snow melted on his cheeks and was icy cold.
Zhu Wuxin raised his hand to wipe it away, when he saw that there seemed to be some fragments of written words amongst the ashes of the offerings placed in front of the gravestone.
He recognized it as Jiang Zheliu’s handwriting, he reached out and flipped it around, and found it was actually a burned letter.
…… Was it that shixiong had something to say to his father?
Zhu Wuxin pushed away the snow around him and found several unburnt, written letters slipped under the round stone.
It was freezing cold, but he felt his fingertips were almost burning up when he touched these letters.
“Dizi has not been worthy for a long time, I have not been able to teach Wuxin well. I am physically and mentally defeated, and completely useless …… My desire is to die alone and be eternally buried under the ice and snow, to cleanse my body and soul, sleep peacefully for eternity ……”
“I have nothing to hold on to, I can see a thousand years of my life as if it was yesterday. But with Wuxin, the years have dampened our relationship, becoming more and more estranged day by day, creating a regret in my heart. A friendship forged from youth, is also susceptible to the influence of the outside world, until friends become strangers ……”
The handwriting was very clearly written, it also looked like it had been written very slowly.
Zhu Wuxin also read slowly. He had a Dao body that was impervious to the heat and the cold, but at this moment he felt surprisingly ice cold.
Suddenly he remembered how it all changed.
All that time after his father’s passing, he’d grown up under the shelter of shixiong, but all of his achievements were meaningless, because in the eyes of others there was only one person, Jiang Zheliu. He had heard too much, far too much admiration and praise for shixiong…..
He was inferior to him, and he was also annoyed by this. He didn’t know when he started to look at shixiong, no longer thinking about protecting him, but instead feeling ……
Zhu Wuxin lowered his head, and swallowed, clutching the letter in his hand, clutching so tightly that his finger bones were pressing against his skin turning it white.
The rustling of the letter paper was mixed with the sound of the falling snow.
The beginning of the letter was a conversation with Zhu Wenyuan, but the more it went on, the more it looked like Jiang Zheliu’s will. Each word seemed to carry a sense of relief.
“In my dream last night, dizi saw myself and Wuxin as children. He ran to comfort me in the middle of the night, and helped me to wipe away my tears …… but dizi for so many years now, no longer has any tears to shed.”
“I am useless with a crippled body and often wake up in the middle of the night, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. When I sat alone until dawn, I found that the bright moon in Zhongnan mountain was very beautiful. I have never been able to watch it like this before.”
“Yesterday there was a shooting star …… unfortunately I do not remember how it looked, because I got drunk, I am embarrassed …… But sadly, in the past I never had such an opportunity, surprisingly to get absolutely drunk was actually a good thing.”
The paper was clutched more tightly, and the sweat in Zhu Wuxin’s hands began to smudge the handwriting.
He re-folded the semi-burnt letters, folded them again, and put them as if they were precious into his robes, right against his heart.
Zhu Wuxin raised his hand to wipe his cheek, he wanted to laugh, but could not, he felt like crying, but when he went to wipe his tears, he discovered that they were also cold.
He just didn’t know whether his tears had always been cold, or if they were cold from the wind here.
Zhu Wuxin stood up and murmured in a low voice: “…… shixiong ……”
It’s my fault, please don’t not want me.
As he thought about these words, he remembered that Jiang Zheliu told him when he left, “You don’t have to see me off, you should go back.”
Jiang Zheliu had always treated him with care. He had handed over the Ling Xiao sword, which he had always carried with great significance, directly into Zhu Wuxin’s hands. With his remaining wish having been fulfilled, he had nothing more to worry about. He decided to leave alone ……
Zhu Wuxin stood in the snow, the corners of his eyes were red, he raised a hand to cover his eyes, he did not want to cry again. After a long time, he breathed in slowly.
“…… Come back to me, okay?”
————
Dan Xin Monastery.
Wen Renye left in the middle of the night. When Jiang Zheliu woke up the next day and two hours had passed when he did not hear the other’s voice, he knew that Wen Renye must have gone back to the Devil Realm.
He naturally accepted it calmly. He did what he had to do, after taking the medicine, he slowly moved outside to sit in the recliner chair, cradling the hand warmer, wearing an outer cloak, he soaked up the sun outside, like a lazy cat.
Dan Xin Monastery was located in the centre of the lake, and the endless, mirror-like water could be seen right outside his room. But his eyes had been covered with long silk. At this moment, he still could not see anything, he was even deprived of such a simple basic pleasure of reading. Really all he could do was sleep and take his medicine to recuperate.
Yu Jinnian had come once before at noon, he had carefully explained to him that medicinal food had been mixed up, but the medicinal herbs used were very mild, so there were no permanent effects. And although temporary blindness was a side effect, it seemed that it would also alleviate the blurring of vision thereafter.
Jiang Zheliu was good at accepting his current situation and had nothing special to say about it.
He was sitting in the chair under the sun, and the temperature of his hand warmer was just right. This place was different from Zhongnan Mountain, it was warm everywhere which always made people feel drowsy.
Just when Jiang Zheliu was feeling a little sleepy, he felt a cold thing stick to him and rub his calf through his robe.
……Ehhh？
Jiang Zheliu did not react, and was again rubbed by this cold, long object, he pondered for a moment and said, “…… Chang Qian?”
The black snake, having been called by his Shenxian gege, woke up from his daze, and slid up around his calf, until he reached Jiang Zheliu’s hand.
The heavenly spirit body’s fragrance was just too inviting. Even when the ginseng children delivered the medicinal meals, they often couldn’t help but squirm and come over nervously, their eyes full of subtle longing.
He was obviously sick and wounded, but being this close to nature, it naturally brought out the most vibrant form of his spiritual body.
The little snake wrapped around Jiang Zheliu’s hand, slowly rubbing against the back of his hand, sliding his delicate, cold scales across the back of his hand, and then rubbing against the palm of his hand.
Jiang Zheliu reached out and gathered the small black snake, rubbed his fingers on the snake’s belly a few times, and whispered, “How come you’re here?”
Chang Qian had been in the kitchen for the first few days trying to get some cooking tips, and mingling with the ginseng children, he’d gained a lot of medicinal cuisine knowledge.
Chang Qian said, “Little uncle has finally left, otherwise there would be no such opportunity.”
The little black snake said whilst spitting out every letter, he continued to complain: “Little uncle’s eyes are too scary, he looks at gege as if he was looking at …… something very delicious. Every time I get close, I get pushed back by his devilish energy.”
This was probably due to the fact that devil energy seemed to repel each other. Jiang Zheliu pondered over it, he had heard that generally great devils were not particularly harmonious with each other. The devilish energy on their bodies repelled each other, sometimes there were even brutal battles that would arise from arguments over mating.
They submitted to Wen Renye, but that did not not prevent them from challenging Wen Renye. Every Devil Lord was the strongest person in the Devil Realm, without exception.
Chang Qian’s tail was ice cold, at that moment when he was touched by the other’s fingers, the snake body began to coil around more and more lovingly, burying himself into the other’s arms whilst taking in a deep mouthful of his scent.
The overflowing scent from Jiang Zheliu’s body was just too good, even for half-demons, they were no exception, let alone those pure demons. It was only the little deer that had his own ideas, that he was less compelled by his scent.
Jiang Zheliu didn’t really mind Chang Qian slithering around in his arms. Before he was injured, he also often took in a lot of demons. They often wanted to approach him but they’d stop, because they were afraid of his coldness. Even if they wanted to take in a mouthful of his scent, they still had to restrain themselves.
The daylight was getting warmer, he couldn’t see the lake around him, he could only feel the faint wind blowing over and ruffling his untied hair.
It was extremely quiet all around, he got even more sleepy.
When Jiang Zheliu was about to fall asleep, he heard the lake surface suddenly rippled and the sound of water gradually scattering and opening up with a splash sound. Something suddenly broke through the water and landed on the shore.
Jiang Zheliu again failed to sleep, but the little snake in his arms slept very peacefully.
He could feel a hint of demonic energy.
Dan Xin Monastery was located on the lake which should not have any evil demons, otherwise Yu Jinnian would not have allowed him to sit outside.
There was also a hint of familiarity to this demonic energy.
Jiang Zheliu did not speak first, but carefully listened trying to remember, and then he heard a timid voice with a frail whimper.
“…… Xian, Xianzun ……” it was a girl’s voice, “So you are here …… ooo ……”
Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment and asked in a low voice, “Ah-Li?”
Ah-Li was a koi carp that he had kept in the fish pond of his residence back in Ling Xiao Sect. A girl who only took human form at the age of three hundred. He remembered that the other’s tail was red and her face was often red when she saw him.
He had instructed Wuxin back then to send them all back to where they belonged. He didn’t expect that the place that Ah-Li returned to was this lake.
Jiang Zheliu only said these two words, but the girl was overcome with emotions. She got out of the water, still wet, and fiercely jumped into Jiang Zheliu’s arms, whilst crying, “Xianzun why did you want to drive Ah-Li away, even if Xianzun has no cultivation, Ah-Li has always, always accompanied Xianzun, Ah-Li will not leave Xianzun ……”
She was crying a lot, whilst Jiang Zheliu was pressed to her chest. It felt a little stuffy, but he still did not say anything, he just reached out and touched her head, said: “I did not drive you away, but if you continue to hold me so tightly, soon you will have to send me off.”
He said this gently, but Ah-Li still scrambled to get up, Chang Qian who had been squished into a snake cake was equally confused when he opened his eyes, not knowing what had happened.
The little carp demon looked at the long silk wrapped around his eyes, her heart was thumping, she was almost to the point of crying again, but she held it back and didn’t speak for a long while, before saying: “Xianzun, I’ve missed you so much …… Junior Sect Leader Zhu told us that you were injured and cannot take care of us anymore, but Ah-Li does not need you to take care of me. Xianzun, I can take care of you. ”
This group of little demons used to call Zhu Wuxin, Junior Sect Leader, and they were still calling him Junior Sect Leader even now. During Jiang Zheliu’s time in power, almost everyone knew that Zhu Wuxin was his successor. It was only Zhu Wuxin who would be suspicious and jealous, having wild thoughts.
Jiang Zheliu did not expect to meet any of the little demons he had previously taken in, especially not here. He thought for a moment, then he remembered that previously the little Devil Lord had made him agree to three rules of which ……that Devil seemed to have said that he could not take in any more little demons.
He didn’t know why he remembered Wen Renye’s words all of a sudden.
“There’s no need for that.” Jiang Zheliu said, “I’m fine now, you don’t have to worry.”
Ah-Li wiped her tears, looked at him, then looked at the little snake in his arms, too sour to speak1, and asked softly, “It’s me who came too late. It must have been hard for
Xianzun ……”
Everyone seemed to think he’s having a hard time.
Jiang Zheliu wanted to touch the little girl’s head again, but because he couldn’t see her, he just reached out his hand and then retracted it and simply added, “Do you live here?”
Ah-Li nodded, her tears not yet dry, she said: “Yes, before I went to Ling Xiao sect, I lived here. Monastery Master Yu doesn’t care about these things, there are many small koi carps in this lake that are about to become enlightened…… Xianzun’s scent smells too good, you must be careful!”
…… Beware of a school of carp.
Jiang Zheliu couldn’t help but laugh a little and said: “Ok. I understand. Why don’t you go back now.”
Ah-Li of course didn’t want to leave but she still agreed. However her heart was so worried that she had to lie on the shore and stare at him for a while. Her bright red koi tail slowly floated under the lake water.
She looked at him for a long time, the more she looked, the more she blushed. She shyly withdrew her gaze, her inner concerns slowly changed, and even secretly thought: Xianzun’s cultivation is all lost, his eyes can not see, is it not my opportunity now, to be like the snake lying in the arms of Xianzun?
She did not know that many other people had also had similar thoughts, but she continued down this train of thought and looked at the black snake again. She watched for a moment before she suddenly realised that that snake did not seem to be a pure demon.
This snake carried a devilish energy on its body.
Ah-Li’s heart skipped a beat, she suddenly remembered that recently there had been some rumours coming out of the Demon Realm’s Wan Ling Palace, saying that Xianzun had been coerced by a big demon …… Now that she had seen Jiang Zheliu, originally she had not believed the rumours, but then she remembered that Xianzun did not like the devil race.
Why would Jiang Xianzun let a half-demon, half-devil hang around him ……
The little carp demon continued to worry for a long while. Her mind was wandering all over the place, she was afraid that this snake was the big devil that had been left to spy on Xianzun. She did not dare to ask, and could only think of chaotic nonsense in her head. The more she thought about it, the more wild and more terrible her thoughts became, as she slowly sank back into the water.
There couldn’t really be a great devil bullying Xianzun, right …… Ah-Li’s mind automatically began to fill up with ideas like Xianzun being forcefully taken, being abused and other thoughts along this vein, coupled with all this kind of erotic stuff that Monastery Master Yu was well-known for. After remembering this fact, the young girl’s mind was filled with even more unspeakable things.
No.
The little carp demon solemnly thought, I have to rescue Xianzun!
It’s just that she had no way to do it…… Who could she get help from ……? The two Zhenjuns of Wan Ling Palace were close friends of Xianzun, and the Junior Sect Leader Zhu was the closest person to Xianzun…… and the Junior Pavilion Lord Jin of the Wushuang Jian Pavilion was also very ……
Ah-Li spat out a water bubble. Separated by a clear layer of lake water, she secretly peeked at Jiang Zheliu, thinking more and more that he was stuck in “an abyss of suffering”.
But at this time, Jiang Xianzun who was supposedly stuck in “an abyss of suffering”2 was stroking the small limp snake in his arms whilst his mind began to drift further and further away.
What was the little devil lord doing now?
…… Kind of miss him.
