The leaves on the back mountain moved without wind. An endless oppressive force surged down like a tidal wave. Standing in the distance was a man in dark robes trimmed with gold. His handsome face, red eyes falling on the young man, the corner of his lips slightly hooked, clearly smiling, yet carrying danger. He said, “Zhuzhu, come here.”
Jian Zhen subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to go over.
Fu Changhuan, however, turned his head to look at him, brows and eyes cold, stopping him. “Don’t go over.”
Jian Zhen was unexpectedly unable to move.
Ye Jisheng’s gaze fell on Fu Changhuan. He said, “This Venerable hasn’t been up Spirit Mountain for a long time. Immortal Lord Wangyou delivering himself to the door, this really saves this Venerable quite a bit of trouble.”
Fu Changhuan drew his sword and protected Jian Zhen behind him. “He was only temporarily placed with you. This Venerable is taking him back.”
Ye Jisheng’s red eyes glimmered with danger. His thin lips parted as he smiled lightly. “Taking him back?”
No one knew who moved first.
The entire back mountain changed as wind and clouds surged. Jian Zhen only felt a gust of wind sweep over his robes, and a thunderous explosion sounded from a nearby mountain peak. In the sky, red light and snow-white light flickered faintly. The clash of two supreme beings of the three realms was already far beyond ordinary scale, let alone something ordinary people dared approach. Even the aftershocks of spiritual power could kill those of low cultivation on the spot.
The garden where Jian Zhen was located was protected and not affected.
But the little grass was anxious.
Just as the two in the air looked about to fight again, in the almost negligible little garden at the foot of the mountain, Jian Zhen bent over, clutching his stomach, and let out a soft cry of pain: “Mm…”
It wasn’t a big commotion.
But those who had reached the Soul Transformation stage had divine sense covering all around. Any change in every inch of land and grass within that divine sense could be keenly perceived.
So almost instantly.
The two people in the air both returned to the garden.
Ye Jisheng lifted Jian Zhen by the arm to support him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Fu Changhuan also returned to the ground and stepped forward. “Were you hurt?”
Jian Zhen kept his head half-lowered. Only after the two had stopped fighting did he slowly straighten up. His fair little face was full of innocence as he said, “I wasn’t hurt. I was pretending.”
The air fell silent for a moment.
If this were to spread, people would say that someone daring to trick both the Immortal Venerable and the Demon Lord simply didn’t exist.
Let alone deceiving two at once.
That would surely mean being dismembered on the spot, bones ground to dust!
Yet when it actually happened, Jian Zhen standing there was not only safe and sound, he even puffed out his cheeks and said angrily, “Who told you to fight!”
The little grass was very angry. First he looked at Ye Jisheng and said, “That mountain peak collects the sweetest jade dew water. Now that it’s destroyed, we’ll have to change to another mountain again in the future.”
Ye Jisheng: “……”
The Demon Lord was angered into laughter.
Jian Zhen then looked at Fu Changhuan and said, “I haven’t even said whether I’m going or not yet. How did the Immortal Venerable start fighting with him already?”
Fu Changhuan always had a different attitude toward Jian Zhen. He spoke, “You don’t understand the Demon Lord. If today I take you away, he will definitely not let it go.”
Ye Jisheng looked at him with cold eyes and said lightly, “You can’t take him away.”
A great battle was about to erupt again.
Jian Zhen waved his pale little hand and stuck it between the two, cutting off this clearly hostile atmosphere. He said gently to Fu Changhuan, “Immortal Venerable, wait for me here for a moment.”
Ye Jisheng’s hand was grabbed by him.
Jian Zhen said, “I’ll go over and say a few words to him.”
Fu Changhuan looked at the two hands clasped together, his gaze unreadable.
Ye Jisheng still wanted to move, but Jian Zhen tugged him forcefully and said, “Come here.”
In this world, no one commanded the Demon God to do anything.
Even shaking off the hand of a weak little grass was an easy matter for him.
Ye Jisheng glanced at him.
Jian Zhen’s dark eyes met his, stubborn and clear, with a hint of obstinacy.
Ye Jisheng stepped forward. Jian Zhen pulled him to a corner and said, “I want to go to Spirit Mountain with the Immortal Venerable.”
As soon as the words fell, Ye Jisheng almost answered without thinking, “Dream on.”
Jian Zhen: “……”
Forget it. A good grass won’t argue with him.
Jian Zhen looked at Ye Jisheng’s face and said, “The medicine the High Priest prescribed actually wasn’t useful at all, right. What really made me better was that you used your divine soul to calm me.”
Ye Jisheng said lazily, “So what.”
Jian Zhen said, “The Immortal Venerable said that the divine soul isn’t something that can be used at will, because it will disrupt the cause and effect of the world and go against the Heavenly Dao.”
Ye Jisheng was in a very bad mood, since his possession wanted to leave him. “This Venerable does whatever this one wants. Going against the Heavenly Dao isn’t something I’ve only done once anyway. Cause and effect, Heavenly Dao, this Venerable doesn’t care at all!”
Jian Zhen said without hesitation, “You don’t care, but I do!”
Ye Jisheng’s focus was strange. “You’re afraid the Heavenly Dao’s karmic backlash will fall on you?”
Jian Zhen was about to be driven mad by him.
“What are you talking about?” Jian Zhen took a deep breath. Rare annoyance appeared on his little face. “If you give me the divine soul, the one who will suffer Heavenly punishment backlash is you. I care because I don’t want you to suffer those curses again. You’re already in so much pain, I don’t want you to be in even more pain. Why would you think that I’m doing this for myself!”
Ye Jisheng, why is it that when facing other people’s concern, your first reaction is suspicion, is denial?
The Demon God fell silent.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled down, and when it fell upon people, he was standing within the shadows of the trees.
Jian Zhen said, “I’m not afraid of the karmic backlash of the Heavenly Dao falling upon me, because I know that if that were the case, you wouldn’t do this.”
Ye Jisheng gave a cold laugh. “Do you understand this Venerable that well?”
Jian Zhen said softly and gently, “Compared to you, I still understand you a little more.”
It was the first time someone had said such words.
The usually lazy and perfunctory smile on Ye Jisheng’s handsome face was gone. He was expressionless, stripping away all pretense, and said coldly, “Wanting to return with him to Spirit Mountain is absolutely impossible.”
Jian Zhen said, “The Immortal Venerable said that today he must take me away.”
Ye Jisheng said, “Then this Venerable will kill him.”
Jian Zhen hurriedly said, “You can’t kill him.”
Ye Jisheng said indifferently, “This Venerable kills whoever he wishes.”
Jian Zhen said, “Fine, then I won’t talk to you anymore.”
Ye Jisheng’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re threatening me for his sake?”
Jian Zhen tried to reason with him. “My soul is unstable. The High Priest said that Wenjun Platform can cure my illness.”
Ye Jisheng said without hesitation, “Can’t this Venerable also cure you?”
Jian Zhen’s little face was full of seriousness. He said, “I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I don’t want to, the baby doesn’t want to either, and I’m going to Spirit Mountain to be treated. When I’m better, I’ll come back.”
Ye Jisheng seemed somewhat surprised.
Jian Zhen said, “Anyway, even if I don’t come back, you’ll still kill your way up to Spirit Mountain.”
Ye Jisheng sneered, just about to speak but Jian Zhen looked at him again, a bit of gentle smile appearing on his fair face. He said, “But I will come back. It’s not because I’m afraid you’ll go to Spirit Mountain, it’s because I want to come back myself.”
Ye Jisheng’s red eyes fell upon Jian Zhen. The Demon God had a divine body; a god’s thoughts were transparent, often able to see through the demons in others’ hearts at a glance, those twisted things, lies, jealousy, exploitation, all would surface.
But Jian Zhen was the only person in this world he could not see through.
Jian Zhen stepped past him and moved forward. “Alright, let’s go back.”
His wrist was grabbed. Jian Zhen halted his steps. He was quite a bit shorter than the tall Demon God. When he lifted his head, he met the Demon God’s crimson eyes, dark and deep.
Ye Jisheng’s eyes carried his habitual dominance as he said, “One month.”
Jian Zhen was puzzled. “What?”
“One month.” Ye Jisheng repeated himself. He said, “If you don’t return, this Venerable will personally go to Spirit Mountain.”
Calm words, yet laden with chilling menace.
If he were to go to Spirit Mountain himself, it would absolutely not be as a guest. If an ordinary person heard such words, they would likely be frightened into fainting.
Jian Zhen, however, nodded and said, “Okay.”
“Then remember to help me ask for leave from the academy when the time comes, otherwise the teacher will definitely scold me again.” Jian Zhen began to chatter on. “And also, the bolster on my bed needs to be taken out to sun regularly. Last time I promised Little Yellow I’d bring him xuan paper, that one’s a limited edition, you…”
The veins on Ye Jisheng’s forehead twitched.
The Demon Lord in the position of supreme authority had always been the one issuing orders, never imagining that one day someone would assign him tasks.
And they were such trivial, chicken-scratch matters.
Jian Zhen felt no pressure at all. After finishing, he even muttered with a bit of worry, “Did you remember everything?”
Ye Jisheng sneered. “Such trivial matters, how could this Venerable possibly…”
Jian Zhen said, “Alright then, I’ll go tell someone else.”
At these words, Ye Jisheng’s face darkened. He lifted his chin somewhat proudly. “Such trivial matters, this Venerable will naturally instruct someone to handle them properly.”
Only then did Jian Zhen reveal a smile. He said, “Then I’m relieved.”
When he ran back to the pavilion, Fu Changhuan was indeed still there, not having left his original spot. His figure was tall and straight, as though no matter how earth-shattering the matter, he would never bend even a fraction.
Jian Zhen said, “Immortal Venerable, we can go now.”
Fu Changhuan turned to look at him. In his usually calm, rippleless eyes, a trace of something different flashed.
He looked toward the distance.
Ye Jisheng was indeed standing there. Although his expression was dark, he truly did not stop them. This did not fit Fu Changhuan’s usual impression of the Demon God. All three realms knew that the Demon God’s temperament was unpredictable, always mad, someone who would never listen to anyone, much less make concessions. If not for knowing that Jian Zhen was not that kind of little grass, Fu Changhuan would have suspected this was a trap set by the Demon Realm.
But very quickly, he denied it again.
Ye Jisheng disdained using such methods, not because he lacked them, but because when one’s power was too great, one disdained to use them.
Fu Changhuan took Jian Zhen by the arm and said, “Then let us go.”
Jian Zhen nodded obediently.
As the two turned to leave, Fu Changhuan’s divine sense heard a forceful yet domineering transmitted voice. Ye Jisheng said, “If he suffers any mishap at Spirit Mountain, this Venerable will level the Immortal Clan and burn down your wretched mountain.”
Fu Changhuan’s steps paused for a moment. Without saying anything, he left.
He naturally believed that Ye Jisheng’s words were true.
After all, such a thing, hadn’t he already gone mad and carried it out once back then?
When leaving the Demon Realm, a crowd had already gathered below. The Demon Clan’s several great Protectors had long since surrounded the back mountain tightly; as long as the Demon God moved, they would surely mobilize in full force.
Looking down, Jian Zhen felt lingering fear, and also some relief.
Fu Changhuan took in his expression completely.
The distance from the Demon Clan to the Immortal Clan was extremely far, but Fu Changhuan’s mount, the white crane, could travel a thousand li in a day. Almost as soon as the afterglow of the setting sun had just fallen, they arrived at Spirit Mountain.
The closer they drew to Spirit Mountain, the more Jian Zhen saw a vast expanse of white snow. Even the wind in the air changed into a cold wind carrying a chill.
A cloak was placed over his shoulders.
Fu Changhuan said, “Be careful. Don’t catch a chill.”
Jian Zhen pulled the cloak tighter around himself and said, “Got it.”
The entirety of Spirit Mountain was extremely vast, and was divided into peaks of varying sizes. In the past, Jian Zhen had been just a pot of little grass, able only to perch before Fu Changhuan’s windowsill, so he could not see the full panorama of Spirit Mountain at all. Now, sitting atop the immortal crane, he was finally able to see its layout.
Fu Changhuan’s Wuyou Hall is located at the very summit of Spirit Mountain.
And on the lower slopes of Spirit Mountain, on peaks large and small, countless halls and pavilions are also situated. Among them, innumerable descendants of the ancestors move back and forth, like a fairyland removed from the world.
Fu Changhuan’s voice sounded by Jian Zhen’s ear as he said, “If you’re interested, you may also go and wander among those peaks. Although it’s not as lively as the Demon Clan, it has its own scenery.”
Jian Zhen said, “The two clans are different; each has its own merits.”
Fu Changhuan nodded, taking this as agreement.
The immortal crane skimmed over the mountain range and finally reached the highest peak of Spirit Mountain. Jian Zhen descended together with Fu Changhuan. It was still very quiet here. Apart from the little attendant at the entrance, there was hardly anyone else in Wuyou Hall, like a solemn, cold divine temple that had stood in silence for thousands of years, unstained by dust.
The little attendant was somewhat surprised upon seeing him.
Jian Zhen pursed his lips and revealed a bit of a smile to him. He was draped in Fu Changhuan’s great cloak; from the fluffy fur collar emerged his fair, round little face. Standing in the snow, he looked lively and adorable.
The little attendant was shocked to the core, as if he had seen a ghost.
Fu Changhuan said, “He will live here from now on.”
The little attendant hurriedly said, “Greetings, Immortal Lord; greetings, honored guest.”
Jian Zhen hurriedly comforted him and said, “No need for that. I’m that little grass, you took care of me many times before. Just call me Jian Zhen!”
The little attendant was even more shocked and looked toward Fu Changhuan.
Fu Changhuan merely nodded and said, “Everything shall be as he wishes.”
The little attendant suppressed the shock in his heart and hurriedly responded, “Yes.”
It could not be blamed that he looked so unsophisticated. After all, for tens of thousands of years, the Immortal Venerable had never been close to outsiders; even that princess had not been able to live in Wuyou Hall. Yet the little grass had not only moved in, but was even wearing the Immortal Venerable’s outer cloak. One must know that the Immortal Venerable was the person who loved cleanliness the most and was best at drawing clear boundaries with others.
Jian Zhen naturally did not know of the little attendant’s shock.
The little grass followed Fu Changhuan across the courtyard. Snowflakes fell upon his shoulders. He looked at that familiar windowsill and fell into a daze, only to discover that the flowerpot was still properly placed there.
Seeing him looking at it, Fu Changhuan said, “After you left, I had people clean it and place it there.”
Jian Zhen asked somewhat puzzled, “Why didn’t you put it away?”
Fu Changhuan’s brows and eyes gained a bit more warmth as he said, “Not knowing that something had happened to you, one must always keep it for you.”
Jian Zhen did not understand. “But later the Immortal Venerable had already seen me in human form among the demon clan. Why would you still keep the flowerpot there?”
Hearing this, Fu Changhuan paused.
Snowflakes fell soundlessly to the ground, quiet and mute, and then quietly vanished.
Fu Changhuan’s voice fell softly in the wind as he said, “Perhaps I had grown accustomed to your presence. If it were suddenly taken away, I would not be accustomed to it.”
Jian Zhen froze.
During those hundred years in the past, even when it was sleeping, whenever the Immortal Venerable raised his head, the little grass in the pot had always been there. Such is human habit, accumulated day by day, always difficult to change.
A smile bloomed on Jian Zhen’s face as he said, “Now I’m here in person, Immortal Venerable can take the pot away!”
There was also a bit more smile in Fu Changhuan’s eyes. “Naturally.”
The little attendant behind them hurried over and took the pot away. Others might not understand, but he truly let out a deep sigh of relief. When there had been grass in the pot, it was fine, the Immortal Venerable would occasionally speak to the little grass, and at least he was not so completely unapproachable.
But the pot had been empty.
After the Immortal Venerable returned, he would often stand by the bedside, saying nothing, with no expression on his face, merely letting his gaze rest on the window ledge, watching the heavy snow outside that would never stop, standing for long periods, allowing no one to disturb him. It was as though there were a small world there, a space belonging solely to the Immortal Venerable and that windowsill. When that little grass had still been there, although he was cold, he would occasionally smile.
But that grass was gone.
It took his smile with it.
The little attendant had stayed here for over a hundred years and had never felt these past few months to be so hard to endure.
Now Jian Zhen had returned.
He secretly stood beneath the eaves and happened to see Jian Zhen smiling as he spoke about something, while across from him, Fu Changhuan’s brows and eyes were gentle, his eyes also holding a shallow smile as he listened attentively.
That little grass had returned, bringing back spring to Spirit Mountain.
At this moment, Jian Zhen was inside the room planning things. He said, “Then I also want a woolen blanket spread on the couch.”
Fu Changhuan said, “This Venerable will immediately have them prepare it.”
“It’s not necessary to rush so much!” Jian Zhen looked outside; the sky had already grown dark. It was a considerate little grass. “It’s too late, waiting until tomorrow is fine too!”
Fu Changhuan, however, slightly furrowed his brows. “Spirit Mountain is cold. It is my lack of consideration.”
Seeing that the Immortal Venerable seemed to be blaming himself, Jian Zhen hurriedly waved his hands and said, “It’s alright. Actually, you already set up cold-repelling formations in this room. It’s just that I’m not used to sleeping on a hard bed. It has nothing to do with you, Immortal Venerable.”
Fu Changhuan asked him, “In the Demon Realm, did that person prepare it for you?”
Jian Zhen said somewhat embarrassed, “Originally there wasn’t any. It was a request I made myself.”
Fu Changhuan did not speak.
Given the Demon God’s temperament, agreeing to such requests was already something unexpected.
Jian Zhen sat on the couch for only a short while. He had originally planned to continue looking around, but before he could do much, his stomach let out a rumbling sound. His ears turned red. Ever since having the little one in his belly, he had become especially prone to hunger.
Fu Changhuan was exceedingly attentive and immediately said to the little attendant beneath the eaves, “Bring the jade dew.”
The little attendant bent and saluted. “Yes.”
Jian Zhen had not expected that Spirit Mountain also prepared jade dew. He smiled and said, “Thank you!”
It was said almost subconsciously.
But the smile in Fu Changhuan’s eyes faded slightly. He looked at Jian Zhen sitting obediently yet well-behaved on the couch and spoke. “Caring for you is only what should be done. Why speak of thanks?”
Jian Zhen was taken aback.
In truth, if the Immortal Venerable had not said this, he would not have realized it at all. By rights, he was a little grass cared for by both the Immortal Venerable and the Demon Clan. Both the Immortal Clan and the Demon Clan were his home, so wherever he was, he should have felt entirely at ease. Yet he had never once spoken words of thanks to Ye Jisheng.
The little grass was stunned.
The little grass was also puzzled; the little grass was at a loss.
Fu Changhuan, however, immediately said gently, “Have you been away from the Immortal Mountain for too long?”
Jian Zhen suddenly found a reason. As if letting out a sigh of relief, a smile appeared on his face as he said, “It should be. Since I transformed into human form, I haven’t come back.”
Fu Changhuan said, “Mm. In the future, you won’t leave for so long anymore.”
After hearing this, Jian Zhen actually felt a bit inexplicably guilty.
But fortunately, the little attendant moved quickly as well. Before long, he brought the jade dew water. The jade bottle was placed on the table, and Fu Changhuan naturally did it himself, pouring the water into a small bowl and handing it to him.
Jian Zhen was very hungry. He took it and brought it straight to his mouth.
The icy jade dew hit his throat without warning. The little grass, accustomed to drinking warm jade dew water in the Demon Clan, jerked his hand, and the remaining half bowl spilled entirely onto the clothes of the person opposite him.
Fu Changhuan was somewhat surprised.
Jian Zhen choked, hurriedly set the bowl down, and before he could speak, Fu Changhuan asked first, “Is there a problem with the water?”
The little grass shook his head. Under the Immortal Venerable’s worried gaze, he said weakly, “No problem… it’s just a bit cold.”
Fu Changhuan was first slightly taken aback, then said, “It is this Venerable’s lack of consideration.”
The little attendant hurried over from the side and said, “This disciple will go heat the jade dew and bring it again!”
Fu Changhuan nodded.
Jian Zhen, however, said, “It’s my fault for not saying it in advance. It’s not your fault.”
It was just that he truly had grown accustomed to it.
“Immortal Venerable, your clothes are dirty,” Jian Zhen said. “Would you like to change into another set?”
Fu Changhuan seemed only now to have the energy to attend to the matter of his clothes. The man, who himself had a cleanliness obsession, nodded and said, “Mm. No rush. You drink the jade dew first.”
Jian Zhen nodded.
The little attendant quickly brought warmed jade dew and then went to fetch clean clothes.
Behind the screen not far away, Fu Changhuan was removing the soiled outer robe. Jian Zhen felt a bit embarrassed, when he saw him smile and say, “When you were in the pot before, you weren’t this reserved.”
Jian Zhen said softly, “At that time I couldn’t see clearly either!”
Fu Changhuan’s voice was pure and elegant. “So back then, my guess was not wrong?”
A certain little grass suddenly wished he could bite off his own tongue.
Ah ah ah!
Forget it! Whatever grass did has nothing to do with him, Jian Zhen!
Just as he was thinking this, Fu Changhuan came out from inside. He had removed the outer robe, but the inner garments were still on. His ink-black hair fell behind him, carrying a kind of handsome beauty after shedding the sacred divine robes. But Jian Zhen had no mood to pay attention to any of that. The little grass holding the bowl to drink water froze in place, staring at his inner shirt as if he had seen a ghost.
Fu Changhuan noticed his expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jian Zhen hesitated and said, “Immortal Venerable, the style of your inner shirt… who designed it?”
That familiar pattern and style were exactly the same as the one he had worn outside Tianshui City!
At that time, he couldn’t tell whose it was, so he also couldn’t understand who the child’s father in his belly was.
Later, in the Demon Clan’s sleeping hall, he saw Ye Jisheng’s bedchamber and saw the familiar patterns and style, and asked where it came from. Ye Jisheng told him it was personally drawn by him and made by Demon Clan embroiderers, with no duplicates across the Three Realms.
So he learned who the father of the child in his belly was.
But…
But now…
Jian Zhen’s mind completely crashed. What on earth was going on? Why were the inner shirt styles of the two people the same? Could it be… could it be…
Just as he was thinking this.
Fu Changhuan said in a low voice, “The style of the inner garments was designed by this Venerable’s junior brother.”
Jian Zhen couldn’t help but say, “Why have I never heard the Immortal Venerable mention it?”
When this term was brought up, Fu Changhuan’s expression changed slightly. It was as if a layer of shadow covered his features, but in the end he still returned to calm. He looked at Jian Zhen, his gaze clear and distant. “My junior brother passed away ten million years ago.”
“Pa da.”
A spoon struck the bowl, making a crisp sound.
Jian Zhen’s heart trembled, and his hand shook along with it.
