Before his eyes, everything was blurred. Through the black fabric covering him, Shen Tanqi could only vaguely discern Yu Ce sitting opposite him on a chair. Sunlight filtered through the thin window, casting a soft glow on Yu Ce’s face, allowing Shen Tanqi to make out his silhouette.
This brat… was leisurely drinking tea!
Here he was, tied up with a sword pointed at his throat, yet Yu Ce was happily sitting across from him, savoring his tea.
Shen Tanqi’s chest heaved as he took a deep breath, recalling what the system had said — nothing in this timeline would affect the future.
“I am your husband,” he finally spoke.
A snort —
Through the black cloth over his eyes, Shen Tanqi saw Yu Ce spit out the tea in his mouth. Even though he couldn’t see his expression clearly, he knew Yu Ce must be utterly shocked at this moment.
Feeling somewhat smug, Shen Tanqi chuckled softly. “Take the cloth off my eyes so that your husband can have a good look at you.”
Almost instantly, a chill swept over him as the sharp blade once again pressed against Shen Tanqi’s neck.
Instinctively swallowing hard, Shen Tanqi’s throat tightened, narrowly avoiding the blade. “W-Wait a moment.”
This kid is like a bomb, always ready to explode. Shen Tanqi decided it was wise not to provoke him any further.
“Tell me the truth.” Yu Ce squinted slightly, leaning closer to look at him. “Where did you learn my name from?”
Silence filled the room briefly. Shen Tanqi moved his lips and spoke softly, “Take off this cloth, let me see you, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Ce appeared to be contemplating something.
He was probably considering whether or not to follow Shen Tanqi’s instructions.
Covering Shen Tanqi’s eyes seemed pointless now, considering that moments ago, Shen Tanqi had recklessly lifted his veil and seen his face.
After a while, having figured out the key point, Yu Ce lightly lifted the tip of his sword upward, and the black cloth seemed to ripple softly like the surface of water being touched by a breeze, gently parting.
With the blindfold removed from Shen Tanqi’s eyes, Yu Ce returned to his mahogany chair. His gaze remained fixed on Shen Tanqi’s face as he slowly lifted the tea cup and took a sip.
Only ten years old, Shen Tanqi silently thought to himself, why is he pretending to be twenty?
Loosening his arms, he said, “Untie these ropes as well. Anyway, I can’t beat you, so why bind me?”
Yu Ce’s cultivation surpassed his own, and Shen Tanqi couldn’t see through Yu Ce’s realm. This indicated that Yu Ce was intentionally concealing his identity. Given the notices posted throughout the city about the daemon race, Yu Ce’s actions were understandable.
However, Shen Tanqi knew that since Taro Ball had reached the Nascent Soul stage at the age of three, Yu Ce, as the male lead of the entire story, couldn’t be far behind.
Sure enough, upon hearing Shen Tanqi’s words, Yu Ce frowned again.
He didn’t understand why the person in front of him had been speaking to him in a familiar tone as if they were close.
And Yu Ce was certain that they had never met before today.
“No,” Yu Ce replied flatly, choosing his words carefully.
Considering how this person had just boldly approached him and even pinched his face, Yu Ce wasn’t going to let him go.
Who knew what else this person was capable of?
He carefully scrutinized Shen Tanqi’s face, as if trying to discern any hidden motives beneath his seemingly gentle expression.
But after staring for a while, he saw nothing.
This person was like a blank sheet of paper, wide-eyed and looking at him with anticipation, as if gazing at a cherished little animal.
This kind of gaze.
Yu Ce had never encountered it before.
In Shuoxia City, daemons were already treated like rats scurrying in the streets, forced to cover their faces with veils to barely evade thorough inspections upon entering the city.
For humans to look at daemons with such eyes was abnormal in itself.
“Speak. How did you come to know my identity?” Yu Ce’s voice was cold and firm.
Shen Tanqi, unused to this side of him, blinked and said, “I told you not to get angry.”
Yu Ce’s mouth twitched slightly. “If you continue with nonsense like ‘husband’ again, I won’t let you off lightly.”
Shen Tanqi sighed, “Well, then I have nothing more to say.”
Leaning back in his chair, he spoke leisurely, “Anyway, no matter what I say, you won’t believe it. Just go ahead and kill me.”
“You think I won’t dare?” Yu Ce looked at him indifferently.
Upon hearing his words, Shen Tanqi lifted his head and glanced at him. “You dare. Why wouldn’t you? What else can I say? I’ve told you, you don’t believe me, yet you insist I speak. Yu Ce, don’t you think this is unreasonable?”
For a while, Yu Ce seemed to choke on his words, and the tension hung thick in the air.
After a moment, the young man cautiously sheathed his sword and turned his gaze away as he spoke softly, “Evidence.”
Shen Tanqi hesitated for a moment, then noticed a faint blush on Yu Ce’s fair earlobes. The young man turned his face away and repeated quietly, “Evidence. You say you’re my husband, show me the evidence.”
He’s really…
He’s really adorable, ahhh!
If Shen Tanqi’s hands weren’t tied, he really wanted to pinch Yu Ce’s cheeks and ears again. He wondered if falling for someone made one involuntarily see them through rose-tinted glasses; he couldn’t help but adore Yu Ce whenever he saw him.
Whether he was pretending to enjoy his tea, being serious with a straight face, or blushing and avoiding eye contact in shyness, Shen Tanqi liked it all.
Clearing his throat, Shen Tanqi suppressed the surge of emotions in his heart and murmured softly, “I’ve come from the future. In the Rongyun Sect where you will later join, I’m your second senior brother. We have a senior-junior relationship, but in reality, we first met when you were eighteen…”
He had recounted these experiences to his elder brother and younger sister many times before, and Shen Tanqi was familiar with them, never tiring of telling the story.
Yu Ce looked at him with a mixture of belief and doubt, interrupting, “You are my senior brother, so why did we meet when I was eighteen? Did I join the sect so late?”
Typically, talented disciples joined sects around the age of fourteen or fifteen, and it was impossible for someone to climb the mountain and become a disciple at eighteen.
Shen Tanqi was momentarily stumped.
How could he explain to Yu Ce that he wasn’t the original ‘Shen Tanqi’?
Damn it, he should have simplified it earlier.
Seeing him unable to answer, Yu Ce let out a cold laugh, as if he had anticipated this outcome.
Shen Tanqi couldn’t stay composed any longer. “What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing at you. Even when you’re trying to get close to me, you can’t come up with a decent excuse.” The young man’s eyes shimmered with a mocking tone, tinged with a hint of self-satisfaction.
Shen Tanqi knew exactly what that expression meant; they were too familiar with each other. Even though Yu Ce could conceal his emotions at the age of ten, Shen Tanqi could still read him.
This little rascal was mocking him.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and replied, “Oh? So you think my excuse isn’t good enough.”
“Hmm… what are you up to?”
Young Yu Ce looked at him warily, sensing that Shen Tanqi was about to say something. And in the next moment, Shen Tanqi indeed spoke up, “You have a younger brother named Xie Chi, whose personality is even more of a troublemaker than yours. When you were ten, you sealed Xie Chi’s cultivation and drove him out of Hidden Dragon Valley. That should be the most recent event. In Hidden Dragon Valley, you also had a nanny who raised you since childhood. Your weak periods occur every early summer, and you like to hide in caves because you are a dragon. When you sleep, you like to snuggle up to the person next to you.”
Shen Tanqi was satisfied to see Yu Ce’s stunned expression, completely caught off guard.
“H-How did you…”
He had never told anyone about these things!
Moreover, Hidden Dragon Valley was impenetrable, not even a fly could get in. Xie Chi wouldn’t be in Shuoxia City right now, so how did this person in front of him, claiming to be his future husband, know so much?
He even knew about his sleeping habits. Yu Ce couldn’t help but lean back in his chair, feeling shocked.
Shen Tanqi chuckled, “That’s just the beginning. I haven’t finished yet.”
Yu Ce’s quirks were far more than those mentioned—like his habit of getting handsy in his sleep, or tricking him into illusions, or using a belt to cover his eyes and silence him. Despite his outward seriousness, he enjoyed stirring up trouble behind the scenes.
But now, Yu Ce was only ten years old, and it wasn’t appropriate to discuss such adult matters.
“…,” Yu Ce placed his hand over his heart, his eyelashes lowering to cast a small shadow. “If you truly came from the future, do you know what I’m about to do now?”
Shen Tanqi quickly sorted through the timeline in his mind and guessed, “You’ve just come out of Hidden Dragon Valley and plan to join Rongyun Sect as a disciple, right?”
However, Yu Ce had mentioned to him before that he joined the sect at fifteen, so Shen Tanqi wasn’t entirely sure about the details from age ten to fifteen.
Upon hearing Shen Tanqi’s response, Yu Ce seemed to catch onto something, lightly chuckling as he said, “Wrong. I’m not old enough to join the Rongyun Sect and become a disciple.”
Shen Tanqi rolled his eyes internally at him and retorted, “What were you thinking? Even if I’m your husband, I can’t possibly remember every moment of your life.”
Yu Ce couldn’t argue with that. His lips moved slightly as he whispered, “Then tell me, why would I become Dao companions with you?”
Actually, he wanted to ask why Shen Tanqi would become Dao companions with him.
Judging by Shen Tanqi’s Daoist robe, he was indeed a disciple of the Rongyun Sect. The fabric was exquisite and the embroidery noble, suggesting Shen Tanqi held a respectable position within the sect, likely an inner disciple at least.
Those who become inner disciples are either exceptionally talented and entered the sect at a very young age, or they come from influential families with strong backgrounds.
The person in front of him was only at the Nascent Soul level, so he couldn’t have entered the sect at a young age. His noble appearance indicated a wealthy background was the only possibility.
Yu Ce found it hard to imagine why an inner disciple with such status and background would become Dao companions with… someone like him, a daemon.
Upon hearing his words, Shen Tanqi took a gentle breath and spoke slowly under Yu Ce’s slightly probing and perplexed gaze, “Because…”
“I was poisoned, and your weak period came. To cure the poison and alleviate your weakness, you slept with me in the cave.”
Yu Ce: ?
Incredulously, he jerked back, almost falling off the chair.
Would he really do such a thing?
To cure poison and alleviate his weakness in a cave, with his senior brother…
This couldn’t be true, absolutely not!
Yu Ce bit his lip and asked, “Just for that reason?”
Shen Tanqi nodded, “Just for that reason.”
Yu Ce gripped the armrests of the chair tightly and pressed further, “Then why didn’t you just leave after that? Why did you become Dao companions with me?”
In response, Shen Tanqi lazily lifted his eyelids, “You think I didn’t want to? Yu Ce, you’ve got some nerve.”
That familiar sense of unease washed over Yu Ce again as he stuttered, “W-What do you mean?”
Suddenly finding Yu Ce’s reaction amusing, Shen Tanqi leaned closer, staring directly into his eyes, and slowly said, “After sleeping together once, I got pregnant with your child.”
In that instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Yu Ce’s head under a clear sky. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he instinctively tried to pull away.
But Shen Tanqi seemed not done yet, continuing with a grin, “And not only that, although it was just one egg, someone brought back two kids for me three years later, twin eggs! Double yolks, yay!”
Yu Ce covered his ears, his cheeks flushing a deep red as he gritted his teeth, “You can’t fool me, disrupt my path, I won’t believe a word you say…”
He hadn’t finished when Shen Tanqi, with growing excitement, interrupted, “I haven’t finished yet. The night you brought the kids back, I accidentally got drugged again. That kind of drug, you know what I mean. What happened that day? No need for me to say, right?”
“Another one!”
He laughed, moving closer, “So, what do you think? Aren’t you something? Hmm?”
Shen Tanqi watched with satisfaction as young Yu Ce’s expression shifted to visible terror. Yu Ce stepped back, seeming to not want to believe but unable to disbelieve. After a moment, he suddenly grabbed the window frame and, without looking back, jumped out.
Shen Tanqi: ???
No way!!
He didn’t even jump after having three kids!
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
