The huge weapons room quieted down, and one could vaguely hear the sound of the remnant lotuses gathering and regrowing outside the window, tiny and fragmented like raindrops.
Xue Huai said, “I didn’t——”
Yun Cuo interrupted and looked at him with a smile. “If not, then it’s good.”
Xue Huai looked at him, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Yun Cuo is born with an irresistible aura, attracting fanatical followers like a fish crossing the river. However, compared to Xue Huai’s criticism of the ‘eyes above the top of the head’ attitude, it is he who is proud and arrogant. He has many companions, but none of them really caught his eye.
That kind of isolation, fanaticism, and darkness can pull people into the abyss, and only after falling into the dark bottom of the water like a drowning man can one glimpse his shining illusion above the abyss.
Yun Cuo is an illusion that cannot be caught, grasped, or caught up. He will always be the perfect Young Immortal Lord in everyone’s eyes, the future emperor with iron fists. He has his own iron walls that he doesn’t allow anyone to step on. After all these years, the one who knows him best isn’t a human, but the silly cat he dotes on.
By the time Xue Huai realized this in his previous life, he had already turned his back on his original life for Yun Cuo. He had also realized that Yun Cuo had never truly matured during the time when their relationship was cold and they occasionally fought. He was still the half-demon child who grew up alone in the lonely and secluded mansion.
From a quiet little bean to a quiet young man.
He teased the cat over and over, looking at the dull and hazy world without a smile on his face. He watched coldly as the woman, who smoked flower cigarettes, withered and died in front of him with resentful curses and hatred. He also watched without any fluctuation as the door, which had been shut for the past ten years, suddenly opened. A large group of people with blurry smiles surrounded him, like the stars cheering on the moon1zhòng xīng pěng yuè is a Chinese idiom, lits. means many stars set off the moon. It is a metaphor for people supporting a person they respect and love..
Kids are like this, they oppose everything foreign, unsocial, unrestrained, and stubborn.
Perhaps he still has a little bit of unnoticed pity.
He smiled and said, “Young Master Yun is a well-known young talent. In the future, the entire Xianzhou will depend on you, so what’s the point of hiding? My father has been urging me to invite you to come to our house again, so that I can make up for my mistake, as an apology for not treating you well last time.”
It’s clearly impossible to hide. Yun Cuo is a thoughtful and sensitive person. If this continues, something might happen again.
Yun Cuo said nothing more, he just said, “Let’s wait for them to come back first.”
Xue Huai poured two cups of tea, one for Yun Cuo and one for himself. Yun Cuo didn’t stay inside, afraid that he might feel uncomfortable, he went to the lotus pond and sat on the veranda again.
All the remaining lotus plants in the courtyard were completely destroyed, and this terrifying destructive force even prevented the spiritual pool water from flowing back for a long time. Yun Cuo seemed to have nothing to do. He sprinkled some healing spells on one side while repairing on the other, slowly killing time.
Xue Huai and he were separated by half a door. He’s slowly polishing a short dagger with fine paper. Unfolding the atlas paper, he added a few strokes to the weapon’s recently incomplete volume.
After a moment, he suddenly heard the person outside the door ask, “Xue Huai, will you inherit the Shenhua Terrace in the future?”
Xue Huai encountered a small problem on the drawing, lost in thought, and casually replied, “I will, wait till my father wants to retire, I’ll help him with his business. In case he doesn’t want to retire, I’ll probably take the civil service exam or something like that. The Fuli Palace has been looking after us, and the Seven Killing Stars2Seven Killing Stars, also known as Polis, it is a term in numerology, referred to as “General Stars” in ancient books. They belong to fire and gold and are the sixth star in the Southern Dipper. They are General Stars, and when encountering an emperor, they become the ruler.position has been vacant for a long time. It’s not bad for me to become a general star. The pay and other benefits there are better than at Heavenly Court, and the vacation time is also very long.”
After a while, Yun Cuo’s voice came over: “This is great.”
He sounded a bit muffled as he added another sentence: “The nine continents are not peaceful. Don’t go out and fight with others.”
Xue Huai looked out in surprise and replied, “I won’t.”
Yun Cuo made a “Mmm” sound and then remained silent.
Xue Huai began to find it interesting—Yun Cuo himself didn’t even know what lay ahead and yet came to advise him. Back then, the old emperor hesitated whether to pass on the position of the Lord of the Nine Immortals Continent to Yun Cuo or not for a long time, but before he could figure it out, he had already passed away and gone out of the world. Yun Cuo has been constantly questioned due to his half-demon bloodline, and the road ahead is not smooth.
After that, every step they took, they took together through gritted teeth.
“What about you?” Xue Huai thought for a moment, “You’re only sixteen or seventeen years old. What do you want to do in the future?”
“I want to learn healing techniques and practice medicine.” Yun Cuo said. “In the future, maybe I will be able to take the exam as a Shennong3Shennong, or the Holy Farmer, is a legendary ruler and is well known as the first Emperor of Ancient China, who not only invented the farming tools for his people but also herbs for treating his people’s illnesses.representative, and then we can meet in the Heavenly Court.”
Xue Huai was stunned for a moment and didn’t continue to ask.
Yun Cuo’s dream is certainly not to help people all over the world. The silver-gray cat he had brought during the day had gone somewhere, and Xue Huai remembered that the silly cat had a limp later on. It seems as if it’s due to a lack of spiritual roots. It was both stupid and in bad health.
In the previous life, Yun Cuo sought medicine from everywhere to fix this cat, but the cat injured its congenital bone, and even if Shennong himself reincarnated, he still could not do anything about it.
Both of them stop talking.
The winter lotuses in the entire courtyard were fixed by Yun Cuo. Later on, the sound of the tiny branches and leaves growing was indeed mixed with some small raindrops. It looked like snow from a distance, but when it fell to the ground, it turned out to be rain.
In the distance came the noisy voices of the teenage boys. It’s full of vitality. The Shenmu bridge made a squeaky sound as they stepped on it, while the old man propped up an umbrella beside him with a smile on his face and said, “Time to go home, all young masters.”
They said goodbye to each other and went home.
Yun Cuo, with an umbrella, came to Xue Huai and asked, “Can I come to your house to look for you in the future?”
Xue Huai “……what for?”
Yun Cuo said, “I have the classic example questions for the Heavenly Court Public Exam given to me by Taishang Laojun4Taishang Laojun is a high Taoist god. He is the Taiqing, which is one of the Three Pure Ones, the highest divinities of Taoism.in his last visit, as well as the way of doing business summarized by The Three Stars5the Three Stars, or The Sanxing, are the gods of the three celestial bodies considered essential in Chinese astrology and mythology: Fu, Shou, Lu., Fu, Shou, Lu, and the exclusive secrets of Emperor Fuli’s Divine Soldiers at home…”
Xue Huai looked at him with suspicion and asked, “Is there such a thing?”
Yun Cuo nodded and said, “Yes, there is also a map of ten thousand soldiers, which records all the magical and divine weapons in the divine realm. The weapon you used today may have a great origin and can be found on it.”
Xue Huai said, “Alright then.”
Yun Cuo, however, seemed to still feel uneasy and asked him again, “What’s about the time? Should I come to find you, or will you come to find me?”
Xue Huai suddenly had an additional guest to entertain. He lowered his eyes and thought carefully for a moment: “My father will come back in three days. I originally owe you a favor. I will have the green bird send you a message when the time comes, and I will be waiting for Young Master Yun’s arrival. Is that okay?”
Yun Cuo nodded and turned around to leave with his companions.
That silly cat came out of nowhere and rubbed against Xue Huai’s leg. Then, in a flash, it ran to Yun Cuo’s body and was picked up and stroked on the head by him.
The old man held an umbrella for Xue Huai and said, “Young Master, it seems that Young Master Yun is very willing to get to know you.”
Xue Huai said, “Really? Do you think this person is worth having a deep friendship with?”
The old man said, “Whether it’s worth it or not, just do as young master’s wishes.”
*
Xue He heard someone say that Yun Cuo and his group blocked Xue Huai at the Shenhua Terrace. It seems like there was no fight, and they even had a great conversation together in the end.
A servant brought food from the Shenhua Terrace and said with a smile, “All are youngsters. If they don’t fight, they won’t know each other. This time, the old master can feel at ease. The young master has never made anyone disappointed in his work.”
Mrs. Liu was full of sullen anger. She was wrapped in a cloak, and it made her look like a long and slender weasel.
She looked like she was going out.
Xue He noticed something was wrong and chased after her, but his mother scolded him, “Look at you. You’ve stuck up to them repeatedly, but you’re not as likeable as your brother, who’s an arm-flinging shopkeeper!6Shuai shou zhang gui lits. arm-flinging shopkeeper refers to somebody who asks others to work but does nothing himself.”
Xue He does not dare to utter a sound.
Upon seeing his appearance, Mrs. Liu sighed and said, “Mother is going out for a while, your brother…he tried out a random weapon and killed all the bats. You can’t tell anyone about this, I’ll go buy some more.”
Xue He obediently agreed.
Mrs. Liu is watching them, he has always known. Not only Xue Huai but also Xue Zong and Xue He himself, Mrs. Liu, must have their whereabouts in her hands. She went to the black market to buy magic bats and raised them with blood. Gods don’t know and ghosts don’t detect7Shen bu zhi, gui bu jue lits. Gods don’t know, ghosts don’t detect, it refers to doing things in secret., and has never had any problems to this day.
Today is the first exception.
Xue He always feels that Xue Huai has changed a lot recently. Although there hasn’t been a significant change in temperament, but the way he does things and his attitude towards them have changed dramatically. Come to think of it, it seemed as if he had restrained himself a bit when he was outside, but at home he was more self-willed and arbitrary——in the past, he was the opposite. Xue Huai is fearless outside, and everyone knows that he has the ability to conceal one’s flaws at home.
He suddenly thought of the letters he hadn’t delivered——he took advantage of Xue Huai’s lack of attention and fed them directly to the gluttonous ghost. He’s preparing for when Xue Huai asks, he will just say that he lost them and they were eaten by the gluttonous ghost that follows behind him.
He deliberately wanted Yun Cuo’s group to dislike Xue Huai so that his brother wouldn’t steal his connection.
Now it seems that this method is not safe. The snow-wave paper cannot be burned, and he was unable to come up with a better solution at that time. He needs to quickly get those letters out before Xue Huai comes back——
He lightly approached Xue Huai’s room, and before he could even turn around, he heard Xue Huai’s voice: “What are you doing?”
He was startled and immediately turned around to face Xue Huai. This was the moment he didn’t want to see Xue Huai, his soul was about to be scared out.
Xue Huai stood in the courtyard, holding a silver bow in his hand, with the bow string stretched to the extreme and the arrow pointed straight at his forehead. Today, he is dressed in white, and his hair is black. The maid shaped him using a golden pendant. Originally, he already had a cold and calm appearance. However, at this moment, he was stained with the fierce aura of swordsmanship and surprisingly gave off a first-class killing aura!
Xue He was so frightened that he couldn’t even express himself. He clearly saw the cold, deep, and merciless look in Xue Huai’s eyes.
He really wants to kill him!
Xue He made a sound, realizing that even his voice was trembling. “Brother, I came to help you open the window to keep it ventilated. My mother said…said that the mansion is being tidied up these days.”
Xue Huai remained motionless and said, “From now on, except myself, no one is allowed to step into my room. Besides, don’t you have anything else to say to me?”
Xue He was about to burst into tears, and he said with difficulty, “Brother, your letters. The moment I stepped out of the door, the gluttonous ghost in your room that followed me had already eaten it. I don’t know. Today, I heard from the old man that you were blocked at the Shenhua Terrace, and that’s when I remembered about this matter. Brother, I didn’t mean it. I really didn’t mean it…”
Xue Huai tilted his head and spat out two words: “Xue He.”
Xue He saw his fingertips twitch slightly, as if about to let go, and was startled.
The sound of the wind rising and the sharp sound of arrows pierced through his eardrums. Xue He’s screams echoed throughout the courtyard along with it—he was dizzy, his eyes darkened, and he felt hopeless.
But the wind remained still.
His eyes were closed, but he felt a sharp tingling sensation between his eyebrows, hovering here with a strong murderous aura, as if it would pierce through his head the next moment.
“Three strikes and you’re out8Shi bu guo san is an idiom meaning that it’s not advisable to do the same bad thing three times in a row.. Xue He, you still have two more chances.” Xue Huai gave him a gentle smile.
Xue He opened his eyes and found the arrow resting half an inch in front of his forehead. As Xue Huai withdrew his magic, the glowing arrow also fell with a snap—pressing against his forehead, scraping past his neck, and leaving a thin bloodstain on his throat.
His legs suddenly softened, and he couldn’t stand up for half a day, as if he had already died once, his whole person was falling apart.
Xue Huai said lightly, “Go back and tidy up. Father is coming back. You look really ugly.” As he passed by, Xue Huai patted his head and said, “Be good.”
The author has something to say: Xue Huai: Actually, I have always advocated the method of gentle education. I am a gentle brother.
(Also, explain the setting. I’ve been using my worldview and personal settings from books all along. The regular immortal realm is an inherent system composed of traditional gods, such as the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother, the Sanxing, and the Four Imperial Gods. These gods have no right to order anything in the cultivation realm except for dispatching heavenly soldiers and celestial officials).
And who holds the power to control the cultivation world? It is the Immortal Lord of the Nine Continents, Yun Cuo’s father.
The two sides are evenly matched, competing against each other ~
