It was like a big dream. Jing Feirong didn’t want to open his eyes, he seemed to fall into a body of water, surging, drifting, wrapping him up, and making him sleepy. Jing Feirong felt as if something was overflowing from his body—maybe it was his cultivation or spiritual power, or something more important like his soul or spiritual essence—but he just felt tired, too exhausted to respond.
“Feirong.”
Jing Feirong suddenly came back to his senses.
“Feirong.”
It was Yu Linyun’s voice, cold and crisp. Jing Feirong felt a chill in his mind, and then he suddenly opened his eyes. The surroundings were still pitch black, but he clearly saw a hand reaching through the darkness and holding his wrist.
Jing Feirong had seen that hand before. It was the hand that pierced through the chest of the Heavenly Emperor more than seven thousand years ago and almost crushed his soul. Later, it wiped his tears and healed his wounds.
His vision suddenly became clear, and Jing Feirong was dragged through the chaos and returned to reality. A ball of black demonic energy was lingering in his chest, absorbing the dragon spirit. Jing Feirong pinched his fingers with one hand and struck the center of the seal, the demonic energy dissipated, the seal vibrated, and even the Withered Swamp was shaken slightly.
Turning around, Jing Feirong saw Chu Yanchuan behind him.
Chu Yanchuan grabbed Jing Feirong’s wrist and pulled him into his arms, holding him and moving back out of the seal. He waved his hand to close the barrier, then pressed the back of Jing Feirong’s neck to send spiritual power into his body. Fearing that Jing Feirong was still trapped in the illusion, he called him in a deep voice, “Your Highness the Fifth Prince.”
Jing Feirong turned to look at him, and after a moment, he put his chin on Chu Yanchuan’s shoulder and said, “I feel a little dizzy.”
In fact, he was already awake, but after seeing Chu Yanchuan, he couldn’t help but want to rub against him for a while. He didn’t know whether Dijun would dislike it.
His father died for him, and Dijun married him for the Demon Seal. Jing Feirong knew that Chu Yanchuan would never forgive the Heavenly Emperor, but he could not guess what Chu Yanchuan thought of him.
He should be concerned; after all, he was the youngest son that his old friend sacrificed his life for, and he would be the next guardian of the Withered Swamp. But as for love—Jing Feirong sniffed the cold fragrance on Chu Yanchuan’s neck and smiled self-deprecatingly—how could Dijun like him?
He was too stupid and gullible before, so he ended up in an undignified way. He can’t do this again in the future.
Chu Yanchuan stroked the back of Jing Feirong’s neck and said softly, “The illusion is dangerous. Your Highness’s injuries have not healed yet, so you shouldn’t have come.”
“Who told you all to… not say anything?” Jing Feirong smiled awkwardly, “I can only take a risk.”
He slowly stood up, got out of Chu Yanchuan’s arms, took a step back, and when he looked up again, his eyes were clear and calm, making people find it a little strange. Chu Yanchuan looked at him for a long while before saying, “I’m glad Your Highness is fine.”
“But I want to know something else.” Jing Feirong turned his head slightly, avoiding looking at each other, and said, “I want to know, did Dijun give me the totem just to let me take care of the Withered Swamp, or does Dijun want to do something with the Demon Seal?”
Chu Yanchuan replied: “The Heavenly Emperor has decided that in two months, when the celestial phenomena are unusual, the Demon Sealing Seal will be reinforced again to completely block Chi Tuo’s connection with the Demon Realm.”
Jing Feirong didn’t say anything, he had a feeling that this matter would not be that simple.
As expected, Chu Yanchuan continued, “However, the Lord of the Underworld, His Eldest Highness, and I are ready to open the seal and release Chi Tuo.”
Yu Cang and Jing Feize were eyewitnesses who witnessed the death of Yu Linyun when he was conferred the title—they probably wanted to completely eliminate Chi Tuo more than anyone else, rather than suppress him year after year.
Jing Feirong’s face showed no surprise at all, and he only said, “Chi Tuo has taken shape, and its magic is unpredictable. If it is released, it will affect the six realms if we are not careful. The chances of winning are too small.”
Chu Yanchuan nodded. “We are just gambling.”
Jing Feirong turned his head and stared at himm “When did a god like Dijun use the lives of ordinary people as a gamble?”
“Your Highness should have seen it in the illusion. At that time, half of your dragon vein had fallen into the seal, and then it was cut off, and you were saved.” Chu Yanchuan said slowly, “Later, Linyun died in the seal, but Yu Cang extinguished the Burning God Flame before the Divine Phoenix’s soul was burned out, and I once again sacrificed my cultivation to enter the seal, so——”
Chu Yanchuan paused and said, “So, on that half of the dragon vein, there is a soul and a spirit attached to it. They belong to Linyun.”
Jing Feirong suddenly opened his eyes wide in disbelief—he remembered the blue light he saw through his tearful eyes after entering the sealing barrier, and he remembered hearing Yu Linyun calling his name when he was in chaos.
He felt his chest stagnate for a moment, and then his heart began to beat wildly. When he opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse: “Father he…”
Chu Yanchuan nodded gently. “Your Highness is the only child of the Black Dragon, with half a dragon vein and unlimited power, and can survive in the seal for tens of millions of years. Linyun’s soul and spirit are attached to it, and it has been safe until now.”
His fingertips were trembling uncontrollably, and Jing Feirong asked after a long while, “Does father know?”
Chu Yanchuan shook his head.
“When did Dijun discover it?”
“Six thousand years ago, I discovered it by accident when I entered the sealed barrier to check.”
Six thousand years… Jing Feirong didn’t know what Chu Yanchuan was thinking as he spent his energy year after year guarding the seal, which imprisoned his friend’s soul. Just like Jing Feirong didn’t know what Chu Yanchuan was thinking when he stood outside the Withered Swamp and looked at the seal during those lonely days and nights.
How did Chu Yanchuan swallow so much suffering, so much pain, and so much guilt and helplessness?
Jing Feirong raised his hands to cover his eyes, his palms were hot and wet. He heard Chu Yanchuan ask him what was wrong and if he felt unwell somewhere—he just shook his head and was unable to speak.
After a long time, Jing Feirong suddenly said, “I will not divorce you.”
Chu Yanchuan was stunned. Jing Feirong put down his hand. Tears soaked his eyelashes. He repeated in a trembling voice, “I don’t agree to divorce.”
The tears could not be stopped from flowing. Jing Feirong would never ask Chu Yanchuan who would be the victim of the backlash brought by the totem, because he already had the answer—after Chu Yanchuan had taken action to bring him out of the sealed barrier, he pinched his fingers to close the barrier. Jing Feirong clearly saw that there was still a circle of totem left on the palm of Chu Yanchuan’s hand, and the color was not dark blue but a terrifying scarlet.
In fact, Chu Yanchuan had never lied to him—I don’t want Your Highness to get hurt. If there is a way to protect you, I will spare no effort.
It was like this more than seven thousand years ago, and it is still like this today.
Even if their marriage was a scam, even if Chu Yanchuan didn’t like him, Jing Feirong was extremely sure that he was destined to fall in love with Chu Yanchuan. Chu Yanchuan was his Dao, and no matter how he tried to hide or resist, he had to suffer this deception and commit this stupid act, and he had to do it willingly and without regrets.
“I don’t want to divorce you.” Jing Feirong said this for the third time. He wiped his eyes, but it was useless. Tears kept rolling down. Jing Feirong cried and said, “Let’s rescue father’s soul together and completely eliminate Chi Tuo. When everything is settled, whether you like me or not, you must stay by my side. We got married in a grand ceremony. As long as I don’t agree to divorce, you will always be my divine partner.”
They did get married in a grand ceremony, but on the wedding day, Jing Feirong was sulky and didn’t want to come out to welcome the bride, so they didn’t even get to drink a cup of wedding wine.
Chu Yanchuan looked at Jing Feirong, reached out his hand, and wiped the tears from his face with his fingertips. Then he raised his head slightly and kissed Jing Feirong on the lips.
Jing Feirong’s tears flowed even harder. He hugged Chu Yanchuan and sobbed on Dijun’s shoulder.
