Chapter 65: What Kind of Friend
Meng Xueli and Ji Xiao soared above the clouds, a river of stars glittering overhead while the sea of clouds surged beneath their feet.
Because of the difference in their heights, Meng Xueli had to hold the Hundred Generations of Time high above his head. The posture looked childish and even a little comical, yet he felt it was the coolest thing he had ever done. In the past, Ji Xiao carried him when they flew—no tools, only the wind beneath their feet and the clouds supporting them. Now it was his turn to control the magic artifact Ji Xiao had left behind, and to take care of Ji Xiao’s son. Gratitude repaid, a circle closed—everything felt like a perfect cycle. This moment, he thought, had to be the brightest highlight of both his human and demon life.
Ji Xiao stood behind him, both hands holding his waist. Their bodies pressed close together, like two halves forming one umbrella.
Meng Xueli’s waist looked supple and slim, as if it could be encircled in one hand. It was like the tender lotus stalks in the pond at Changchun Peak, swaying lightly when struck by the tail of a koi. Yet once it was actually held, one could feel the taut lines of muscle beneath the clothes—strength full and steady.
Ji Xiao encircled this slender waist without his heart stirring, without any lustful thoughts arising. That alone was already proof of his upright will.
Unfortunately, Meng Xueli did not let him off. Completely unaware, he turned his head slightly and asked, “Just now you said, if we break through the barrier of this world, we could touch the stars? You really believe ascension in broad daylight exists, that it isn’t just a legend?”
The waist in his hands swayed lightly, warm breath brushed his ear, heat flowing inward like spring wind forcing stubborn wood to blossom. Ji Xiao’s ears flushed red. He closed his eyes.
“It isn’t a legend,” Ji Xiao opened his eyes again, his voice steady though lower than usual. “One day, I’ll take you to ascend.”
“It’ll be me taking you. I’m about to break through—you didn’t expect that, did you?” Under the boundless stars, Meng Xueli dreamed aloud about the future. After finding out the truth behind Ji Xiao’s death, after raising Ji Xiao’s child, after completing Ji Xiao’s wishes, he would keep going. To live like Ji Xiao meant reaching the highest heavens, diving into the deepest seas, shattering barriers, and uncovering the endless unknown beyond this world.
Ji Xiao’s hands on his waist tightened slightly. He said in a deep voice, “Don’t move. Don’t speak.”
He thought helplessly—last time he held Meng Xueli like this, riding the Hundred Generations of Time through the sky, their bodies pressed together as well, but he hadn’t felt anything strange. Now it was different.
Meng Xueli finally noticed something was wrong. “Your heart’s beating so fast. Are you afraid? Afraid I’ll throw you down?”
Ji Xiao: “…”
Meng Xueli thought he had discovered his disciple’s weakness. “From now on, if you ever disrespect Ji Xiao, I’ll read your own essays out loud right into your ear. If you dare talk nonsense again, I’ll take you flying like this. That’s the rule of Changchun Peak.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” Ji Xiao couldn’t help laughing and crying at once. He looked down and said, “…We’re here.”
Meng Xueli looked down. Through drifting mist, the vast central city with its giant open courtyard faintly appeared. He slowed the artifact, descending gradually. “I won’t scare you anymore. Actually, you’ll get used to it. I had an old friend who flew even faster than this. When he first carried me to the skies, I suffered quite a lot.”
Ji Xiao: “Oh?”
“He was reckless, turning and stopping abruptly. Several times he threw me off and had to dive down to catch me again. I opened my mouth to say it was fine, that I couldn’t die from the fall—but instead I ended up vomiting all over his face, hahahaha.”
Ji Xiao, “And what kind of friend was that?” He thought to himself, it must have been that temperamental, flamboyantly beautiful peacock demon. Not long after his own faked death, that creature had already dared to sneak onto Changchun Peak, drink his tea, eat his snacks, tease his koi, and even lure away his Dao companion.
But Meng Xueli assumed he didn’t know. “A bad friend, really. His good point was loyalty. His bad point was that he loved to play tricks—especially on clueless kids. He’s much better now though. As for his looks, well, he looks like…”
Before he could finish, a streak of blue-green light flashed through the heavy night sky, with a trace of peach-orange woven in, dazzling and splendid like a comet trailing its tail.
Meng Xueli stared dumbly at it. “…Like that.”
“Que Xianming! The peacock!” Meng Xueli snapped back to himself, urging the giant “bamboo dragonfly” to chase after it.
Ji Xiao placed his hands over Meng Xueli’s on the Hundred Generations of Time, helping him steer. “Be careful.”
Meng Xueli thought it impossible. Was the secret realm so uncanny that the moment you mentioned someone, they appeared?
At the heart of the realm, shielded by mountains and rivers, stretched a vast plain. Upon it lay the abandoned palace complex known as the Central City.
The surroundings were desolate. Meng Xueli and Ji Xiao landed outside the city. This time, being more practiced, they didn’t crash down with a thunderous boom or leave a crater in the ground.
Meng Xueli, “Did you see that? I wasn’t hallucinating, right?”
Ji Xiao pulled him along, weaving through trees and rocks. “This way.”
By the bank of a small river, where the water murmured, a figure suddenly leapt out. “Xueli, were you looking for me?”
Moonlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating his face. Meng Xueli frowned. “Why is it you? Where are your teammates?”
Jing Di came forward smiling. “They left first. I stayed behind to find you. Life is full of chance encounters—seems we’re fated to meet again.”
Ji Xiao saw through everything, but simply watched quietly without interfering.
Meng Xueli smiled faintly. “Fated? Not even in the next life.”
“Ji Xiao has fate with you, why don’t I? How am I any worse than Ji Xiao?”
Meng Xueli rolled his eyes, then said with mock affection, “He’s the ‘Invincible in the World’ Ji Xiao. I liked him when I was sixteen. How could I possibly like anyone else?”
Ji Xiao couldn’t help it—he laughed. Even knowing his little Dao companion was lying, saying it just to trick someone, he still found it funny.
Jing Di pressed on. “So what do you like—Ji Xiao himself, or the title ‘Invincible in the World’? If I one day transcend and become the first under heaven, will you come like me too?”
Meng Xueli gave a cold chuckle, then smacked him on the head. “Like you, my ass. Damn peacock!”
“Jing Di” froze for a beat, then burst out laughing. “Hahahaha, how did you see through me? No fun!”
His features shifted rapidly, becoming frivolous and flamboyantly beautiful, revealing his true face—Que Xianming.
Meng Xueli turned to Xiao Tingyun, introducing nervously, “This is my friend. A…uh, peacock.”
Ji Xiao only nodded. His senior brother Hu Si’s prejudice against demons had never influenced him.
“This is my eldest disciple, Xiao Tingyun.” Meng Xueli then asked Que Xianming, “So why are you here?”
Que Xianming didn’t answer. He was still staring at Ji Xiao. No one could ignore a person like that—not because of looks, but because of the contradiction in his presence. Just standing there, it was impossible to say whether he was lofty as mountains and seas, or quietly blending into the dust of the world.
The saying went: “Those involved are confused, while bystanders see clearly.” These past few days, Meng Xueli and Ji Xiao had been together day and night, and without realizing it, their relationship had grown closer and closer. But when Que Xianming saw Xiao Tingyun pulling on Meng Xueli’s hand earlier, he couldn’t help but feel that there was something indescribably strange, even ambiguous, between the two of them. Or… were human masters and disciples always like this?
Que Xianming said, “You—”
But Ji Xiao suddenly interrupted: “It’s been a long time since you two last met. Talk first.” With that, he walked alone into the deeper forest, leaving the space for the two demons.
Meng Xueli, “Don’t go too far! The Central City is dangerous—if anything happens, just shout for me!”
Que Xianming looked at him with disdain. “Are you being his master, or a mother hen fussing over her chick?”
Meng Xueli lifted Hundred Generations of Time and gazed at the rushing river, as if searching or picking something.
Que Xianming said, “On my way here, I heard that if nothing unexpected happened, your current points already made you the champion of the grand competition. ‘Endless Sky Sword’ should belong to you.”
“Of course. If it belonged to my Dao companion, then I can’t let even one thing slip away.” Meng Xueli stabbed his spear into the river, skewering a fat fish that splashed water everywhere.
Que Xianming got soaked and jumped up cursing: “You really reek of poverty—you look like you’ve been poor your whole life!”
Seeing his old friend again, Meng Xueli’s old temper rose as well. From that perspective, when Hu Si accused him of faking harmlessness and innocence, it wasn’t completely wrong.
Meng Xueli, “Poor? Have you ever been to ‘Hengtong Juyuan’? You have no idea how rich my Dao companion was! Piles of gold and silver, mountains and rivers as far as the eye could see—enough to last lifetimes without ever running out!”
Que Xianming: “Bah! Bah! Shameless!”
He glanced at Xiao Tingyun’s back. “That eldest disciple of yours is weird. Completely different from your second disciple.”
Meng Xueli blinked in surprise. “You’ve met Xiao Yu already?”
“I forgot you were in the secret realm. I went to Changchun Peak on Han Shan looking for you. Last time I disguised myself as your young disciple and nearly messed things up, so this time I wanted to try a different disguise. Just happened to run into your second disciple coming down the mountain, so I took his form. Those junior disciples at Han Shan’s debate hall were really cute. I used Yu Qishu’s face to tease them—and when the real Yu Qishu returned and they saw him… hahaha!”
Meng Xueli shook his head in disapproval. “Bullying the weak will bring you karmic retribution. Be careful, or you’ll get struck by lightning when you face your tribulation.”
Que Xianming waved impatiently. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve said that a hundred times. I’ve already changed, alright?”
He did like to tease people, but only once had his mischief almost cost someone’s life. After that, under Meng Xueli’s lectures about karma and cause-and-effect, he restrained himself a lot.
Over two hundred years had passed. By now, Que Xianming had long forgotten the details of that old incident, remembering only vaguely that the boy’s surname had been Hu.
Meng Xueli retracted his long spear. The gleaming spearhead now skewered two plump mandarin fish. He handed them forward. “Here, enough nonsense.”
Que Xianming looked at him warily. “What are you doing? I haven’t eaten raw meat in ages.”
“I don’t eat it either. That’s why I need your demon fire to roast them.”
Que Xianming was shocked by his matter-of-fact tone. “My demon fire can burn mountains and rivers, and you want me to grill fish with it?!”
“Not for me.” Meng Xueli lifted his chin toward the figure standing in the woods gazing at the moon. “Look over there—that’s my eldest disciple. Handsome, isn’t he?”
Que Xianming mocked him with disdain: “You’re like a hen showing off its golden egg! Too bad that golden egg isn’t even yours.”
“I’m his master. One day as a teacher means a lifetime as a father. If I were his father, then you’d be his uncle! The kid’s worked hard all day—he’s waiting to eat. Don’t you think you should step up as his Uncle? Hurry up, hurry up.”
Que Xianming snapped, “Impossible! That would be an insult to demon fire—an insult to me, and to the entire peacock clan!”
“Stop stalling. Tingyun, come eat fish!” Meng Xueli shouted.
Half a cup of tea later.
“Smells amazing,” Que Xianming admitted. “You really aren’t eating any?”
The three of them sat together by the river. The fat fish were skewered on branches, roasted with demon fire until they carried a faint fragrance of fresh wood. One bite was crisp on the outside, tender inside, with a hint of rich juices.
Meng Xueli shook his head and, like presenting a treasure, handed one to Ji Xiao. “Tingyun, you eat.”
Ji Xiao reached out to take the branch, intending to feed him a bite, but Meng Xueli turned his head to dodge.
Cracking pine nuts between his teeth, Meng Xueli asked Que Xianming, “By the way, why were you disguised as Jing Di? You’ve met him?”
Que Xianming gnawed the grilled fish, bone and all, and said carelessly, “Yeah, I ran into him on the way here, not far from this place. Don’t know what kind of evil he had done, but someone strung him up and beat him. If he hadn’t been saved, he probably would’ve died.”
Author’s Note: Meng Xueli: The starry sky, the future, ascension…
Ji Xiao: Sun ferret, sun ferret, sun ferret…
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
