In the clinic under the Rongyun Sect, Taro Ball lay on a small bed, slowly opening his eyes. His entire body ached as if it might fall apart. During the fight with Xie Chi, he’d felt like his arm was about to smoke from wielding the sword for the first time.
He only remembered falling from the sky, then being picked up by the strange uncle who carried him on his back. He could still hear Jing Wei crying softly in his ear.
Taro Ball was surprised to think that Jing Wei could cry too. Exhausted, his eyelids drooped, and he fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, Xie Chi was nowhere to be seen. Confused, he climbed out of bed, and in his clumsy state, he accidentally bumped into someone lying nearby. The person let out a soft groan of pain.
Only then did Taro Ball realize there was someone else lying beside him. Glancing over, he saw Jing Wei wrapped in colorful strips of cloth, looking like a zongzi1Zongzi is a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves.
. Blood was seeping through the strips, probably from when Taro Ball had accidentally pressed on him earlier.
Feeling embarrassed, Taro Ball reached out and tried to stop the bleeding with the cloth, mumbling, “Sorry about that.”
Jing Wei was still unconscious and couldn’t hear him.
Taro Ball carefully stepped over Jing Wei and jumped down from the bed. Before he could take in his surroundings, he heard a soft ‘tsk’ from behind him.
“The wound isn’t healed yet. Why are you moving around?” The doctor came over and gently pushed Taro Ball back onto the bed. He advised, “You’ve got internal injuries from the sword energy. It’ll take some time and my medicine to help you recover. If you keep moving, you might end up making things worse and turning your insides into a mess.”
Taro Ball immediately covered his stomach with his hands and sat obediently on the bed, though his eyes couldn’t help but wander around. He asked softly, “Doctor, could you tell me who brought me here?”
The doctor took a bite of a steamed bun and replied, “A man.”
“…” Taro Ball fell silent for a moment before asking again, “Where did he go?”
The doctor turned and pointed to a burnt-out incense stick, saying, “He left to rescue your two fathers.”
Hearing this, Taro Ball immediately tried to get out of bed, anxiously unwrapping the bandages on him. “My fathers are there! I need to help them. That bad guy is really strong now. My fathers won’t be able to win against him!”
The doctor took another bite of his steamed bun and said, “It’s too late.”
“Too late?” Taro Ball felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Could it be that his fathers had already been defeated by Xie Chi?
“The fight’s already over. Xie Chi is dead.”
Taro Ball’s heart sank from his throat back into his stomach. He exhaled deeply, murmuring to himself, “They really managed to beat Xie Chi. My fathers are incredible.”
“But your dragon father might be dying.”
Taro Ball’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? What happened to my father?”
The doctor placed his hand on his forehead and looked out at the stormy clouds through the window. “He’s in the middle of tribulation. It’s a life-or-death trial, with slim chances of survival.”
As soon as the doctor finished speaking, Taro Ball couldn’t stay put any longer. He flung off the bandages and rushed to the door, but just as he was about to open it, the doctor added, “But I’ve already sent your brother. He should be able to stir up your father’s will to survive.”
Taro Ball’s hand froze on the door handle. He turned back with a pained expression, “Doctor, could you please finish your sentences in one go next time?”
In just a few moments, his heart was racing up and down, as if it might give out from the shock.
The doctor chuckled, rubbing his bald head. “I only just calculated it out. You should learn to be patient like your brother.”
Taro Ball knew his brother’s laid-back nature well. Even when they were in Shuoxia City and encountered a Chen Gui, his brother could fall asleep soundly in his arms.
Curious, Taro Ball asked, “Do you know my brother?”
The doctor smiled mysteriously. “Not just him. I also know your human father. But back then, you weren’t with your father, so you didn’t get to meet me.”
Taro Ball was momentarily stunned, then recalled that back in Shuoxia City, his brother had indeed stayed with their daddy, while he had accidentally taken the wrong carriage and ended up protecting Xiao Qingyu all the way.
So, the doctor was familiar with his brother and daddy, which explained why he knew so much about their family.
“Well, there’s nothing you can do about that situation right now. If you’re truly restless, you can come help me tend to this little demon. He’s in pretty bad shape.”
Taro Ball’s gaze shifted to Jing Wei on the small bed. The boy’s eyes were tightly shut as if enduring excruciating pain, his breathing erratic, and blood continuously seeping from his wounds.
Taro Ball slowly moved back to Jing Wei’s side and asked softly, “What should I do?”
The doctor smiled as if he had anticipated Taro Ball’s willingness and said, “You need to channel your spiritual energy into him. Though I have some medical knowledge, I’m not a cultivator. With your pure spiritual energy as the main treatment and my medicine as a supplement, it should help stop the bleeding and stabilize his condition for now.”
Taro Ball nodded and placed his hand over Jing Wei’s dantian, beginning to infuse his spiritual energy slowly.
Before long, Jing Wei suddenly grasped Taro Ball’s wrist, murmuring in a faint, dreamlike voice, “Huo Yening, don’t go. I have something to tell you…”
Taro Ball’s face darkened. He wanted to pry Jing Wei’s fingers off but was afraid of causing further harm to his already injured body.
Gritting his teeth, Taro Ball chose to ignore it and continued channeling his energy.
Jing Wei, however, tightened his grip even more, pulling Taro Ball closer. “Don’t go, Huo Yening…”
Taro Ball was tempted to kick him away in frustration and growled, “Don’t push it.”
He was only three years old this year! Stop touching his hand!
Despite his irritation, Taro Ball persisted in channeling his spiritual energy. The medicinal herbs applied to the wounds released a fragrant aroma, and Jing Wei’s wounds began to visibly heal, the injuries around his heart gradually mending like silk threads wrapping around a cocoon.
As soon as the blood wounds completely healed, Jing Wei slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Taro Ball—and on the small wrist of Taro Ball’s hand that he was still holding.
In a sudden, almost frantic movement, both of them let go of each other as if they had touched something dirty.
Jing Wei even wiped his hand on his clothes.
Taro Ball: …
He shouldn’t have saved him. This bad brother, Taro Ball decided to ignore Jing Wei!
Jing Wei reacted just as Taro Ball had. He looked around and asked hoarsely, “Where is this?”
The doctor, seeing that Jing Wei was awake, cheerfully explained, “This is a clinic. I and this child just saved your life.”
Jing Wei glanced at Taro Ball without a word of thanks. Since he was injured because of Taro Ball, why should he thank him? Ignoring Taro Ball’s angry glare, Jing Wei turned back to the doctor and asked, “Who brought me here?”
He vaguely remembered hearing Huo Yening’s voice, which even made him think he was already dead and meeting Huo Yening in the underworld. Was it just his illusion?
The doctor replied, “A man.”
A man?
Jing Wei’s pupils dilated. He grabbed the doctor’s sleeve abruptly, asking urgently, “What kind of man? What did he look like?”
The doctor’s smile faded as he calmly looked at Jing Wei, gently pulling Jing Wei’s hand away from his sleeve. He said softly, “Don’t you know?”
“You were calling his name in your dream just now.”
The words hit Jing Wei like a thunderbolt. He stared at the doctor, his expression turning dazed and distraught. “It’s impossible. He’s dead. I saw him die with my own eyes.”
How could this be?
The doctor took a bite of his steamed bun, then pulled out a divination tool and muttered, “Let me check for you. You two have a fated connection. He’s come in this life to save you, just like in his previous one.”
Previous life? This life?
Jing Wei looked at him, confused. “But he’s dead.”
“Yes, he died,” the doctor said calmly, “but he’s come back to life. Dead or alive, it’s the same person—same soul, same character, same body. Besides not recognizing you, he’s no different from before. Why dwell on it?”
Jing Wei listened in a daze, his body swaying as he collapsed back onto the bed.
He could hear the doctor and Taro Ball exclaiming in alarm, but it felt as if he were deaf to their voices.
Huo Yening is alive, but Huo Yening doesn’t recognize him.
He had seemingly gained freedom, yet his heart ached unbearably. Was it because his wounds still hadn’t healed?
It hurt so much.
A single hot tear fell from his eye. He reached out to touch it, feeling a profound sense of loss.
It seemed Huo Yening was right after all—
Even demons have feelings.
He suddenly tore off the bandages, pushing aside the attempts of Taro Ball and the doctor to stop him, and leaped towards the window.
“Where are you going?” Taro Ball asked anxiously. “You’re not fully healed yet!”
Was this bad brother going to find that strange uncle? But he was still too injured to move recklessly.
Jing Wei glanced back at him, then turned his gaze away, saying quietly, “Back to the demon clan.”
Taro Ball was taken aback, not expecting that Jing Wei wasn’t going to find Huo Yening. He asked instinctively, “Aren’t you going to see Huo Yening?”
At the mention of the name, Jing Wei’s eyes dimmed. He turned his face away and said softly, “No.”
He wouldn’t see Huo Yening again. Was Huo Yening still the same Huo Yening without the memory of their acquaintance?
What was there to see? What was there to yearn for?
As a demon, he shouldn’t have such complicated emotions. Perhaps in the future, if they met again, he hoped to have become the Demon Lord by then.
Huo Yening’s last wish was for him to become the Demon Lord. Fulfilling that wish might be the only way for him to feel truly free.
With a swirl of demonic mist, a blue-gray peregrine falcon flew out the window, disappearing into the vast, stormy sky.
Taro Ball watched it for a moment, sighed softly, and turned to the doctor. “Do the strange uncle and the bad brother really have a fate together?”
It didn’t seem like either of them wanted to see each other.
The doctor simply smiled and did not answer, slowly closing the window against the drifting rain.
“Who knows?”
At the top of the Xianding Lake, the golden-purple lightning of the tribulation illuminated every corner of the world, making it nearly impossible to open one’s eyes.
Shen Tanqi shielded his eyes with his hand, struggling to distinguish Yu Ce’s form amidst the lightning. He watched as the tribulation lightning poured down, flooding the area with overwhelming spiritual energy. The lake, which had been turned into a sea of fire by Xie Chi, blossomed into a vast expanse of flowers, with dead trees sprouting fresh green branches.
The torrential rain abruptly stopped, and sunlight pierced through the heavy clouds. The blood-stained garment, once red with blood, was now washed clean and transformed into a pure, pristine white.
Spiritual energy surged out as if it were free, transforming the entire Xianding Lake into a paradise. Shen Tanqi and Goldfish both felt their dantian filled with incredibly pure spiritual energy, even sensing signs of a possible breakthrough.
He gazed at the scene before him in a daze, feeling as though he were in an extraordinary dream. This must be what immortals in such dreams look like.
Snapping back to reality, he saw the figure in the snowy-white robes slowly walking towards him from his ascension point.
Wherever he passed, new life blossomed—grass turned green, flowers bloomed, and dead butterflies were reborn.
Even his already strikingly handsome face seemed to be shrouded in an aura of immaculate divinity.
Shen Tanqi stared at him, suddenly overwhelmed by an inexplicable urge to bow his head in reverence.
He fought against this strange impulse, managed a smile, and asked with concern, “It’s great that you’ve successfully survived the tribulation. I really didn’t know it was like this…”
Before he could finish, the supreme deity grasped his face with an authoritative grip.
“Ah Qi.”
The gaze was dark and heavy. Shen Tanqi’s eyelashes fluttered, his legs growing weak.
“Just now, who did you say you wanted to marry?”
Maybe he should just bow after all, Shen Tanqi thought silently, before being tortured by this person all night.
He opened his mouth to explain, but before he could say anything, he was suddenly kissed deeply, stealing his breath away.
The kiss was urgent, filled with anger and possessiveness.
Shen Tanqi was at a loss, holding Yu Ce’s face. With his brother and the child watching, he initially wanted to struggle. But upon seeing the pained and aggrieved look in Yu Ce’s clear eyes, all his strength seemed to drain away.
Never mind, if the child sees, then let him see. Just… consider it an early education.
Not far away, Shen Tanwu glanced at the little Goldfish beside him, who was staring wide-eyed while holding Sandan. He quickly covered the child’s eyes and said, “We don’t learn this, okay?”
Amidst his mumbling, Shen Tanqi’s lips glistened with moisture, his eyes soft and gentle. Seizing a brief moment, he stood on tiptoe and kissed the corner of Yu Ce’s mouth, whispering softly, “You’ve worked hard, my love.”
The voice was so sweet that it instantly calmed Yu Ce’s anger. Still, he asked with a hint of reluctance, “Ah Qi, if I really died, would you remarry?”
“… Well, I’d see how it goes.”
Yu Ce’s eyes widened in disbelief. He tightened his embrace, no longer resembling the ascended celestial he once was, and said anxiously, “How can you say ‘see how it goes’? The children are mine, and so are you. How can you just say ‘see how it goes’?”
Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but smile. Every time Yu Ce was with him, he seemed to revert to the Yu Ce Shen Tanqi knew so well.
Soft-hearted, possessive, clingy, not good with sweet words but very good at annoying him, and sometimes a bit shameless behind closed doors.
But he loved this Yu Ce so much, loved him to the core!
Shen Tanqi cradled Yu Ce’s face and couldn’t resist giving him another deep kiss, whispering with a teasing threat, “If you dare die before me, I’ll find someone even better looking to remarry.”
Yu Ce pressed his lips together, hugging him even tighter and biting out, “No.”
Their lips were sealed again, Yu Ce’s tongue lightly biting Shen Tanqi’s as if to teach him a lesson. Shen Tanqi glared at him in pain.
Damn, you’re like a dog.
Yu Ce nuzzled his neck, kissing his cheek softly, and said, “Ah Qi, a Golden Immortal’s lifespan is ten thousand years. I won’t die before you in this lifetime. So, when you say this… can I take it as you agreeing to my proposal?”
Shen Tanqi suddenly looked up and gave Yu Ce a playful smile, saying, “Proposing with empty hands, huh, brother?”
Yu Ce’s lips tightened, his ears tinged with a faint blush.
“So… what should I give you?” he asked.
With a wave of his hand, the rain turned into an endless flurry of peach blossom petals. With another sweep, a vast palace materialized by the Xianding Lake, grand enough to encompass the heavens.
“What do you want?” Yu Ce asked nervously, though he was already an immortal, he still seemed as cautious as a dutiful husband in front of Shen Tanqi. “Anything you want.”
Shen Tanqi reached out, holding a petal, and smiled slightly. He covered his lips, but the smile shone in his eyes. “Who taught you this?”
To use the Golden Immortal abilities for such things—there surely wasn’t another person in the world like Yu Ce.
Yu Ce lowered his eyelashes and gently held Shen Tanqi’s hand, murmuring, “I’ve always been self-taught in things that make you happy.”
Shen Tanqi was taken aback, retreating a step in awe.
My god, Yu Ce’s speaking like a human now!
“Do you like the gift? Will you accept it?” Yu Ce was so nervous he didn’t know what to do. Even facing Xie Chi hadn’t made him so anxious. Shen Tanqi’s every word and action could easily sway his emotions.
As Yu Ce spoke, Shen Tanqi turned to look at the ornate palace with carved beams and painted rafters. He sighed dramatically with his hands behind his back, “It’s okay.”
Yu Ce immediately grasped Shen Tanqi’s hand, asking, “What kind of place do you want?”
Shen Tanqi’s eyes sparkled mischievously as he leaned in and said, “I’d like a small thatched cottage, preferably with a garden and a vegetable patch. In the garden, I want a small black dog and a little yellow chicken. A kitchen where I can cook, two rooms—one with a big bed that fits three children, and another room where I can…”
He slowly leaned closer to Yu Ce, his voice soft and gentle: “…where you and I can sleep.”
Yu Ce’s heart skipped a beat. Shen Tanqi’s description was exactly like the thatched cottage from his dreams. Ah Qi wanted to give him a home, a home just like the one in his dreams.
After a long pause, seeing Yu Ce lost in thought, Shen Tanqi reached out and playfully poked his head, smiling, “Well? Are you going to say something?”
Yu Ce took his finger, gazing at him intently, and nodded. “Yes.”
Shen Tanqi blinked and chuckled. “Great, then I accept your proposal.”
“Mm, good!” Yu Ce, thrilled, moved to hug him. Before he could reach out, a sudden shout from nearby interrupted their private moment.
Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce turned to the sound, only to see Goldfish, holding Sandan, looking panicked. Goldfish was holding Sandan up high with trembling hands, stammering, “Daddy, Daddy, Father!”
“Sandan… Sandan cracked open by himself!!”
Yu Ce: ?
Shen Tanqi: ?
What’s going on?!
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)
