Chapter 96: Penglai Has an Immortal Island (6)
Yi Zhou had thought Bai Chunsheng was still asleep and was about to wake him gently. She had just walked to his side when Bai Chunsheng’s eyes suddenly snapped open. His gaze was dull, his expression desolate and sorrowful.
“We’ve arrived at Penglai Immortal Island,” Yi Zhou said.
Bai Chunsheng nodded. He lifted the soft fur blanket from his body and followed Yi Zhou outside. The flying dragon carriage had come to rest on the rear cliff of Penglai Island. The island was ringed with steep terrain, but within lay a fertile basin. To the southeast, a valley split open, allowing passage and connecting to the sea. The location was easy to defend and hard to attack, sheltered from typhoons yet close to the ocean—a rare treasure of land.
Penglai Immortal Sect had sent dozens of Foundation Establishment children to guide them and offer explanations along the way. Bai Chunsheng let everything go in one ear and out the other. He neither listened nor wished to. From a distance, he saw Bo Yan stepping down from another flying dragon carriage and turned his head away in disgust.
Dark thoughts crossed Bai Chunsheng’s mind. Yan Jianhang, the Yan family’s old ancestor, was friends with Penglai Island’s Xuanling Zhenren. With Penglai hosting guests from all directions this time, Yan Jianhang might attend. Bai Chunsheng would have to find an opportunity to seek him out and tell him that Bo Yan had killed Yan Jingqiu.
Now that the Yan family had no successor and Yan Jingqiu was dead, Yan Jianhang would surely hold a grudge against Bo Yan.
But there was a major problem. The Yan family believed Yan Jingqiu had died trapped within his life-and-death realm. Bo Yan had only said that Yan Yi was dead. Bai Chunsheng had no evidence, and Yan Jianhang would not believe him.
Moreover, Bai Jianghan had an old feud with Yan Jianhang. There was every chance Yan Jianhang would not only refuse to believe him but also assume he had come deliberately to stir up trouble.
It was truly difficult.
Still pondering how to make Yan Jianhang believe him, Bai Chunsheng followed Yi Zhou to the residence Penglai had prepared for them.
Wooden corridors connected the buildings in a ring around a courtyard, subdivided into several sections—a vast complex of wooden palaces. The timber used was of the finest quality, and the eaves and carved lattice windows displayed exquisite craftsmanship.
A Penglai attendant explained that three days earlier, Fairy Muxin had cast a spell to construct the compound to house the guests. For now, the people of the Water Abyss Realm were staying in the southwest wing. The cultivators of Giant Spirit Mountain had taken the southeast. The fairies of Cuiwei Palace had arrived earlier and were lodged in the northwest.
The Yan family was expected to arrive with the Taixu Sect, but they had not yet come.
The southwest residence was built of purple bamboo. Though scentless, the air carried a faint, naturally sweet fragrance.
Each courtyard was planted with radiant peach trees in full bloom.
Having been to Penglai once before, Bai Chunsheng had no desire to indulge in nostalgia. Thinking of the past only made him sadder.
He had no luggage. Yi Zhou directed the servants to thoroughly clean the room where he would stay. They laid down Nine-Tailed Spirit Flame Fox fur across the floor and placed treasure vases capable of gathering spiritual energy. Fearing it might not suit Bai Chunsheng’s tastes, Yi Zhou even insisted on bringing in two crystal lamps that, once lit, filled the entire room with golden light, like an underwater palace.
It displayed the Dragon Clan’s usual extravagant and indulgent lifestyle in full.
In the afternoon, at the hour of Shen, Bo Yan came by.
This golden dragon truly had too much time on his hands, as though he had nothing better to do each day.
Bah. Sooner or later, some demon in the Water Abyss Realm would rise in rebellion and slaughter this vicious dragon.
Bo Yan strolled around Bai Chunsheng’s courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back, as if inspecting his own territory.
When he arrived, Bai Chunsheng had been cultivating on the bamboo couch by the window.
Yi Zhou had brought treasure vases, and Penglai Immortal Island was an excellent place for cultivation.
Believing that Yan Yi had died because of him, Bai Chunsheng’s heart was knotted with unwillingness and regret. He had cultivated diligently these past few days. He knew that if this continued, he would inevitably give rise to an inner demon he could not suppress—but he no longer cared.
He had already spotted Bo Yan entering through the outer gate, but he did not want to speak to him. Swiftly, he climbed into bed, pulled the covers over his head, and pretended he was still drowsy.
In truth, he wished he could snatch the broom from the dragon servant sweeping outside and chase Bo Yan out the door, never to see that wretch again.
After completing his inspection, Bo Yan looked for a while at Bai Chunsheng curled on the bed, secretly cursing him in his heart. He was not a fool. He could obviously tell Bai Chunsheng was not asleep.
Pretending to address Yi Zhou, though clearly speaking for Bai Chunsheng’s benefit, Bo Yan said, “Only two from the Yan family came. Yan Jianhang’s health is failing.”
At those words, Bai Chunsheng’s heart sank. He had yet to form a complete plan to deal with Bo Yan. The only vague idea he had was to report Bo Yan’s killing of Yan Yi to Yan Jianhang.
But for Immortal Miaoyan’s birthday banquet, Yan Jianhang was not coming!
Before Bai Chunsheng could fully despair, Bo Yan added, “In seven months, the Yan family will hold a funeral.”
Bai Chunsheng could no longer pretend to sleep. He threw off the blanket. “For whom?”
Bo Yan looked at him calmly, as though he had expected this reaction. “Most likely Yan Jingqiu.”
With faint puzzlement, Bo Yan continued, “Yan Jingqiu secluded himself in the Yan family’s immortal-grade secret realm, the Drunk Death Sea. He lost himself in his life-and-death realm. The Drunk Death Sea is already strange and unpredictable—only those at Dao stage or above dare enter. With a tribulation-transcending great cultivator buried there, the secret realm has become even more treacherous.”
“And yet, to this day, the people of Taixu Sect still haven’t found Yan Jingqiu’s body. That’s rather hard to justify.”
—Of course they hadn’t. Yan Jingqiu had never died in the Drunk Death Sea.
He had died at the hands of this damned Bo Yan, in the Water Abyss Realm.
If Bo Yan had not been standing there, Bai Chunsheng would have wailed and thrown himself face-down on the bed in grief.
Even though he had prepared himself mentally, sorrow still slipped through. Humbly, he asked, “Can I go?”
No matter what, he wanted to tell Yan Jianhang that Yan Jingqiu and Yan Yi were the same person. Even among Mahayana cultivators, Bo Yan was formidable. If Bai Chunsheng relied on himself, it might take thousands of years.
He could not wait that long. He wanted Bo Yan dead now.
“Go to what? It’s not a joyous occasion…” Yan Jingqiu’s funeral—inauspicious, truly inauspicious.
Bo Yan was about to refuse, but when he saw Bai Chunsheng’s desolate expression and remembered that Yan Jingqiu still occupied his heart, his anger flared again.
Maliciously, he said, “If you think it’s a joyous occasion, I’ll let you go.”
“A joyous occasion?” Bai Chunsheng was bewildered.
Bo Yan smiled. “Naturally, the joyous occasion of Yan Jingqiu’s death.”
A year ago, Bai Chunsheng would have eagerly agreed, perhaps even regarded Bo Yan as a rare confidant who saw through Yan Jingqiu’s false mask. But now, he could not bring himself to say such words.
Bo Yan watched him in silence. Seeing the conflict and sorrow still written across his face, he ultimately could not bear to press further.
Bo Yan, “Forget it,”
“If you want to go, then go. I’ll indulge you.”
Finding no satisfaction and once again angered by Bai Chunsheng’s obtuseness, Bo Yan left.
The birthday banquet began at dusk. Penglai Island enjoyed eternal spring, so night fell later. At the hour of You (5-7pm), the sky was still tinged pink with sunset.
After changing clothes, Bai Chunsheng heard rumbling in the distant sky. Fireworks burst overhead. He knew Immortal Miaoyan’s celebration had begun.
Such banquets had never meant much to him—mere formalities.
At this dinner, Bo Yan sat beside Bai Chunsheng, wearing a rare half-mask.
Bai Chunsheng wore a mask as well, at his own request. He did not want others to know he was being kept under house arrest by the evil dragon of the Water Abyss Realm, even if everyone could guess.
In the past, Bai Chunsheng had always liked to maintain a dignified posture in public. He enjoyed hearing people praise him as worthy of the White Phoenix bloodline.
Unfortunately, his bearing was dejected at the moment. Although he had intended to maintain a proper sitting posture, something like one’s demeanor could not truly be sustained by sheer effort. Even though Bai Chunsheng tried his best to hold himself together, it was useless. In the end, he simply gave up a little. Fortunately, no one outside could recognize him. Bai Chunsheng lounged lazily in his seat, even slumping forward onto the table.
Bo Yan did not comment on his behavior, though his gaze occasionally drifted toward Bai Chunsheng.
Bai Chunsheng found Bo Yan to be truly strange. The man sat with a straight back; his lips were thin and very pale. One did not even need to see his entire face to know that he must be cold and indifferent by nature. Bai Chunsheng had always felt that Bo Yan seemed familiar.
Only now did he finally realize where that sense of familiarity came from.
Bo Yan sat upright like a sword drawn from its sheath, his sharpness so exposed that others would instinctively keep their distance.
Bai Chunsheng had never interacted much with sword cultivators. The only one he could barely claim to know was Yan Jingqiu. In the past, when he saw Yan Jingqiu sitting so straight and walking with such rigid propriety, he had thought him pretentious.
Now that he thought about it, perhaps that was simply the temperament of sword cultivators. Still, he had never heard that Bo Yan, a dragon, was particularly skilled with the sword.
Bai Chunsheng asked Bo Yan, “Are you skilled with a sword?”
Bo Yan replied modestly, “A little.”
Bai Chunsheng nodded in understanding. “I thought so. You must not be as good as Yan Jingqiu.”
Bo Yan: “……”
The sect they were visiting this time, when counted carefully, turned out to host nearly twice as many people as the banquet three hundred years ago. Aside from several figures in power who were arranged to sit in the inner hall, the rest—outstanding young talents from the major sects and prominent families—were mostly seated in the outer hall.
With Bai Chunsheng’s hearing, he could clearly catch their conversations.
The cultivation world was actually rather dull; when they had nothing to do, they began gossiping about Yan Jingqiu’s affairs before his death. For example, they spoke of how many people in Cuiwei Palace had admired him. From there, they moved on to Fairy Hongtao of Cuiwei Palace and brought up the messy scandals of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, and eventually mentioned Bai Chunsheng himself—the good-for-nothing beauty with exceptional innate talent.
In the past, Bai Chunsheng would have already rushed over to beat someone up. But now he was living under someone else’s roof and had neither the will nor the strength to cause trouble. He could only pretend to be deaf, focusing intently on the soup that had been served before him.
Unfortunately, even if one pretended to be deaf, certain words would still slip uninvited into one’s ears.
The topic of conversation shifted, circling around to the master of Peach Blossom Spring, the Holy Son of the Divine Light Hall… and finally to Yan Yi.
It seemed that no one yet knew that Yan Yi looked exactly the same as Yan Jingqiu.
Several months had already passed since Yan Yi’s incident in the Ancient Forest Spirit Realm. Countless powerful figures had tried to divine his origins, and countless people had hunted him down, yet Yan Yi remained shrouded in mystery.
After all, Yan Yi’s former self had been Yan Jingqiu. How could these mediocre individuals possibly calculate the true roots of someone who had once been a tribulation-transcending great power?
Moreover, after the encounter at Zhanbi River, Yan Yi had completely abandoned his former domineering style, instead protecting Bai Chunsheng and fleeing with him from place to place. When these people had failed to deduce Yan Yi’s background before, it became even more impossible once Yan Yi intentionally concealed it.
Following these recollections, Bai Chunsheng remembered the battle in the Ancient Forest Spirit Realm. Alongside Yan Yi’s astonishing genius and unrivaled brilliance, the word “slaughter” had clung to his name like a shadow.
In truth, it was not only Yan Yi—Yan Jingqiu himself had never been any kindhearted soul.
A madman who used the forbidden technique of sealing off the five senses as his path to enlightenment could hardly be considered normal by any measure.
He did not even know how the conversation had wandered so far, but in the end everyone sighed in unison. “Yan Jingqiu was like the blazing sun in the sky—no one could rival his radiance. Only after he died did these heroes dare to reveal a faint glimmer of starlight. But unfortunately, none of them still matched Yan Jingqiu.”
Seeing Bai Chunsheng lost in thought again, Bo Yan asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Bai Chunsheng answered honestly, “Yan Jingqiu.”
Bo Yan laughed for a while, as if he had long since been rendered helpless by Bai Chunsheng’s unwavering devotion.
Bo Yan said, “I am no worse than him, you might as well think about me instead.”
Author’s Note:
Bai Chunsheng: “Pah, how shameless.”
Question: Who in the world most wished for Yan Jingqiu to die completely and cleanly?
Answer: Yan Jingqiu himself.
When Bo Yan casually said that Yan Yi had died, he had not expected Yan Yi to be so important to Bai Chunsheng. After all, he had thought he himself was merely Yan Jingqiu’s substitute. He had feared that Bai Chunsheng would take Yan Yi as another substitute and continue loving Yan Jingqiu through him, so in a fit of anger he claimed that Yan Yi was dead.
These past few days, Bai Chunsheng had been upset. Bo Yan had assumed it was because Bai Chunsheng did not want to marry him, which only made him even angrier. [Bo Yan—insisting on twisting that unripe melon—stubborn.]
Meanwhile, Bai Chunsheng clasped his hands together, pondering how he might kill Bo Yan to avenge Yan Jingqiu. But clearly, for a beautiful and somewhat foolish darling, it was probably better not to dwell on such complicated matters…
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
