“His Highness the Fifth Prince was whipped 500 times. When he was whipped for the last 50 times, the executioner saw his dragon soul leaving his body and reported it to the Heavenly Emperor. The Heavenly Emperor only ordered the execution to continue.” Yu Cang slowly said, “His Highness the Third Prince was tied with the God-Imprisoning Rope and knelt on the side, watching the Fifth Prince being punished with his own eyes.”
“His Eldest Highness returned to the Heavenly Realm and faced off against the Heavenly Emperor with swords drawn. The Heavenly Emperor was furious and wanted to remove the Eldest Highness from the God List. All the Heavenly Officials kneeled down and begged the Heavenly Emperor to reconsider. Only then did the matter come to an end.”
Chu Yanchuan stood under the sacred tree, his robe almost blending in with the snow on Suliang Mountain. He was silent for a moment and said, “I understand.”
Yu Cang hesitated for a moment and said, “Shizun, why do you have to propose a divorce at this time? The Fifth Prince is young and will inevitably not be able to accept it.”
Chu Yanchuan shook his head. “The totem was originally for each god to use, but I suppressed it on the Demon Seal. This is against Daoism, and since it goes against Daoism, it will suffer backlash. I have passed 90% of the totem to His Highness, and the remaining 10% is in my hands. The backlash will all be cast on me. If we divorce now, His Highness will be safe.”
Yu Cang was about to say something, but Chu Yanchuan interrupted him softly, “In two months, Mars will be in the heart. The Mortal Realm will see the fall of dynasties, and evil spirits will take advantage of this celestial phenomenon to make some changes. I have talked to the Heavenly Emperor, and he has decided to seal the Demon Seal at that time to completely suppress the evil spirits in the seal.”
He looked up at Yu Cang and said, “You know what we are going to do.”
“I know.” Yu Cang said calmly, “Open the seal and release the evil spirit.”
Chu Yanchuan smiled, looked back at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, and said nothing more.
Jing Feirong lay on the bed, his back covered in blood. The pain was so severe that dragon scales kept appearing under his skin and would not dissipate. His pupils were glowing golden, and his dragon soul was restlessly hovering over his body.
Even so, Jing Feirong did not want anyone to enter the hall. Whether it was his eldest brother or his third brother, they were all blocked outside the hall by his barrier. The barrier was connected to his soul. If anyone dared to collide with it, Jing Feirong’s soul would be scattered according to his current state. Jing Feize and Jing Feiyun did not dare to move rashly and could only guard outside the hall.
Jing Feize was still holding the sword, the tip of the sword touching the ground. His robe and hair were a little messy, and his expression was cold. Jing Feiyun was even more embarrassed, tied up by the God-Imprisoning Rope, and left in the rain for a long time. His body was soaked and his face was pale.
“You go back first.” Jing Feize said, “I’ll stay here and look after Feirong.”
“It’s fine.” Jing Feiyun replied.
They said nothing more to each other and waited until dawn. The branches and leaves of the pear tree in the yard moved slightly. They turned their heads and saw Chu Yanchuan stepping into the yard.
The two were startled at the same time and then immediately bowed: “Greetings, Dijun.”
Chu Yanchuan nodded at them and walked towards the palace gate. Jing Feiyun said, “Feirong has set up a barrier. He is weak. If we forcefully open the barrier, I’m afraid…”
“His Highness and I haven’t signed the divorce agreement yet.” Chu Yanchuan turned around and said, “I’ll open the barrier, there won’t be a big deal.”
He raised his hand and touched forward, and the barrier appeared. Chu Yanchuan’s fingertips hooked on a blue light and lightly touched the barrier. Then he stepped forward, passed through the barrier, and opened the door of the palace.
The smell of blood filled the hall. Chu Yanchuan walked towards the inner hall. There was no candle in the room, only the blue light of dawn. The bed curtain moved slightly, and a person was lying on the couch, half asleep.
Chu Yanchuan walked to the bedside, looked at Jing Feirong’s profile in the dim light, then pressed two fingers on the back of his neck and transferred spiritual power into his body.
The cool spiritual energy flowed through his blood like a spring in a raging fire. The burning pain in his back gradually eased, and the dragon soul slowly returned to his body. The dragon scales also faded away bit by bit. Jing Feirong frowned and groaned. He was in a trance. The spiritual energy was so familiar, so cool, and crisp. For a moment, he thought that, just like many years ago, when he was injured, he would go to the sacred tree and lie on the grass to let the sacred tree give him spiritual energy.
But he thought of Chu Yanchuan again. Every time Dijun healed him, he seemed to have the same feeling. It was as if Dijun and the sacred tree were…
So, where am I now?
Jing Feirong was so exhausted that he couldn’t open his eyes. He opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice, “Hurts…”
Chu Yanchuan leaned over to his ear and whispered, “Your Highness.”
Jing Feirong vaguely heard Chu Yanchuan’s voice, and he guessed that he was probably in a dream. In just twelve hours, he seemed to have experienced a lot of things. The person who was still embracing him intimately during the day suddenly proposed a divorce. He mentioned his father to the Heavenly Emperor, and he finally received the heaviest punishment since he was born.
At this point, the conflict was not just because of the scam but also because of the long-standing scar that had existed between Jing Feirong and the Heavenly Emperor. Jing Feirong asked himself. He had never disobeyed the Heavenly Emperor for more than 7,000 years. He might be naughty, but he always listened to his father. But he just wanted to know about his father, but the Heavenly Emperor kept hiding it from him and got angry every time. Jing Feirong no longer had the patience to waste time.
If the Heavenly Emperor thought that he could consume Jing Feirong’s thirst for knowledge by simply avoiding him, then he was wrong.
“Dijun…” Since it was just a dream, Jing Feirong relaxed. He choked for a while and said aggrievedly, “I’m in so much pain.”
Chu Yanchuan wiped the tears from his eyes and said, “Your Highness, just blame me.”
“You all are like this…” Jing Feirong cried, “You think I’m young and that what I think is unimportant. You even refuse to tell me about my biological father…”
“Dijun, you clearly said that I’ve grown up. Why… why do you still treat me like a child…”
“No.” Chu Yanchuan’s palms were already soaked with Jing Feirong’s tears. He whispered, “I never treated you as a child.”
Jing Feirong burst into tears: “You lied to me… you all lied to me…”
His voice was very hoarse. Chu Yanchuan touched his hair and asked, “Your Highness, are you thirsty?”
Jing Feirong sobbed and refused to speak. Chu Yanchuan went to pour some water and brought it back to the bed, coaxing him softly, “Your Highness, drink some water and have a good sleep.”
Jing Feirong pursed his lips in resistance, sniffing and whimpering. Chu Yanchuan looked at him for a while, raised his head, took a sip of tea, leaned over, and pinched his chin, kissing him lip to lip. Jing Feirong was a little caught off guard, and he subconsciously opened his mouth slightly. His head was still tilted, and the remaining tea flowed from the corners of their mouths onto the pillow.
Chu Yanchuan passed him four cups of water. After feeding him the last cup, Chu Yanchuan threw the cup under the bed, held Jing Feirong’s face, and kissed him, licking his lips little by little and hooking his slightly warmer tongue tip to lick it.
Jing Feirong was sure that he was dreaming; otherwise, why would Dijun kiss him like this? Dijun married him for the sake of the Withered Swamp. Now that the totem is in his hands, their relationship is over. There was no need for him to do this.
With enough spiritual power, the wound on Jing Feirong’s back began to heal. Chu Yanchuan raised his head, wiped the water marks on the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and covered him with a quilt. It was already dawn, and the morning light shone on Jing Feirong’s face. There were still traces of tears, but his face looked much better. He closed his eyes but still did not wake up, occasionally humming in confusion. Chu Yanchuan took the pacifier and put it in his mouth. Jing Feirong instinctively opened his mouth and sucked it twice, and then he slept more peacefully.
Chu Yanchuan placed a bag of white peach preserves on Jing Feirong’s pillow and then left the hall. The moment he stepped out of the barrier, he knelt on the ground, holding his chest, frowning, and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“Dijun?!”
Jing Feize and Jing Feiyun immediately stepped forward to support him. Chu Yanchuan opened his palm, and the totem with a very light color had changed from blue to a dazzling scarlet, burning hot. The blood that he spat out of his mouth dripped into his palm and was quickly absorbed by the totem, and a faint black gas rose from it.
Chu Yanchuan took a breath, looked at Jing Feize, and said in a hoarse voice, “Your Eldest Highness, there are still two months left.”
There was no need for them to say more. Jing Feize whispered, “I understand.”
The author has something to say: What’s going on? Jing Feirong didn’t cry yesterday, but everyone in the comments was sobbing. How shameful!
