Shen Tanqi was gradually becoming puzzled by this absurd world. He grabbed Yu Ce’s sleeve, pulling him close, and through gritted teeth, he whispered, “We can’t get married. We’re brothers; brothers don’t get married.”
Seeing the seriousness in Shen Tanqi’s eyes, Yu Ce knew he wasn’t joking. He lowered his gaze slightly and murmured, “I understand. I was just talking.”
They were martial brothers, but not blood brothers.
At least, that’s not how he saw it.
Goldfish and Taro Ball were liked by the Shen family. Yu Ce should have been pleased, but that bit of happiness suddenly vanished with Shen Tanqi’s brief statement.
Yu Ce remained silent, slowly placing his hand over his chest.
Was his heart racing?
No.
Did he like him?
He did not.
Then why did he feel so empty when Shen Tanqi decisively rejected him?
The family head glanced at them impatiently and said, “Enough with this nonsense. The children are born; we can’t let my grandson continue to wander outside and eat those… those messy things with you, can we?”
He couldn’t accept it. Shen family children must be more noble from birth than others.
In the future, he would never let Goldfish and Taro Ball live through those days again, where they cherished every little thing.
He wanted them to live in luxury, with the finest delicacies, to raise his two precious grandsons.
As for blood ties, once they entered the Shen family’s gates, they were Shen family. Shen family was still under his control, and no one dared to object.
Shen Tanqi furrowed his brow and replied resolutely, “No, I will never marry out of obligation.”
Once the sect’s grand competition concluded, Shen Tanqi would naturally ‘die’ there, and there would be no more Shen Tanqi in this world. Allowing Yu Ce and the two children to marry into the Shen family was out of the question, especially considering how formidable and difficult to handle the Shen family was. When he voiced his opposition, the family head became enraged, puffing his beard and glaring, “You’re pushing it! Have I not given you enough face today?”
Consort Shen quickly intervened, reaching out to pat his chest reassuringly, “The grandchildren are here. Is the family head trying to scare them?”
Goldfish and Taro Ball looked up at him with innocent eyes, immediately quelling the family head’s anger. He swiftly changed his demeanor, smiling as he affectionately patted the children’s heads, “Grandpa isn’t angry. Grandpa is just teaching your daddy a lesson.”
Shen Tanqi wiped the sweat from his forehead, relieved that he had brought the children back today. Otherwise, would he have been forced by the family head to kneel and marry against his will?
“Master, you’re too hot-tempered. Have a Celestial Pill to cool down,” Consort Shen said, uncorking a bottle nearby and handing the family head a small white pill. “There’s no rush for marriage. Let them get to know each other first. They have important matters to attend to tonight; let’s have them handle that first.”
The head of the family glanced at her and said, “You take care of it.”
Consort Shen nodded, excused herself, and before leaving, instructed someone to bring some delicate snacks for Taro Ball and Goldfish.
Passing by Shen Tanqi, she whispered, “Young master, let’s go. I’ll take you to check on the guards. Just focus on eradicating evil; the children will be safe at home.”
With urgent matters at hand, Shen Tanqi had no choice but to suppress thoughts of discussing marriage with the old man. However, just before stepping out of the main hall, he turned back to the family head and said with earnest concern, “Father, don’t take that Celestial Pill anymore.”
This remark infuriated the family head once again. Without thinking, he threw the pill away, retorting, “If I don’t take the pill, should I eat you instead? Can you cure my illness?”
Seeing the pill tossed aside, Shen Tanqi quickly fled the main hall.
After they left, the family head held the bottle of Celestial Pills, opening it to discover that the one he had just thrown was the last one. He rubbed his temples; although he was annoyed, deep down, he began to doubt the effectiveness of the pill because of Shen Tanqi’s words.
If it worked, why hadn’t his headache improved after all these days?
“Grandpa~”
The soft voice of the little one interrupted the family head’s thoughts. He happily embraced Goldfish and Taro Ball, placing one on each thigh, and responded with a cheerful “Ah—”
Who needs those Celestial Pills?
It’s more effective to spend more time with the grandsons; it brings more peace of mind.
For now, he would refrain from taking them.
Meanwhile, with Consort Shen leading the way, things became much easier. They brought several capable individuals from the Shen family, all with decent cultivation levels, and made their way boldly towards the city center, to the location agreed upon with the beggar.
Along the way, they encountered many Chen Guis heading towards the same destination. It seemed the beggar’s demonic enticement array was working, though it remained uncertain if the beggar himself was safe at this moment.
When Shen Tanqi and his group arrived, they found that the beggar was not at the agreed-upon location. Instead, the area was swarming with Chen Guis, clustered together like mice on a glue trap, their heads packed tightly, a terrifying sight that triggered Shen Tanqi’s intense fear of crowds.
He turned to the various guest guards behind him and clasped his fists, saying, “I’m counting on you all.”
The guards smiled faintly, one of them responding, “Young Master, it’s our honor to serve the Shen family.”
They were not just paying lip service; after exchanging pleasantries, they promptly deployed a variety of weapons and charged forward. The clanging of metal hitting flesh rang out, accompanied by the splatter of blood.
Just the sounds alone made Shen Tanqi shudder. Yu Ce covered his eyes and whispered, “Find a place to hide; I’ll come find you later.”
With that, Yu Ce cast a familiar protective bubble around Shen Tanqi and drew a sword gleaming with icy light, plunging into the battlefield.
His movements were swift, precise, and ruthless, devoid of any unnecessary flourishes or delays, each strike lethal.
An elder guest guard fighting alongside him admired his skill and shouted, “Impressive technique! Your cultivation is profound, and yet you’re so young. Which faction do you belong to?”
Yu Ce didn’t even look up, calmly pulling his sword out from a Chen Gui’s skull before turning away, replying nonchalantly, “I’m Shen Tanqi’s children’s father.”
Upon hearing this, the elder guest guard froze in place, dumbfounded, until Yu Ce disappeared into the crowd, and an approaching Chen Gui snapped him out of his daze.
Surely… he must have misheard.
Wait, Shen Tanqi is supposed to be the esteemed heir of the main branch of the Shen family. How could he possibly be involved with a cultivator from the daemon race and even have children with him?
Hmm, it’s impossible. I must have misheard.
Shen Tanqi touched the protective bubble and couldn’t help but recall when Yu Ce had cast a similarly indestructible bubble for him back at the bottom of the Bloodthirst Cliff.
At that time, he naively thought it was a gift from Bai Long.
Thinking about this, Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but smirk, but then remembered he couldn’t stay here for long. With this formation in place, Chen Guis would likely continue to come.
He scanned his surroundings and spotted a rundown thatched hut not far away.
Raising an eyebrow, Shen Tanqi followed his instincts, swiftly running over to the hut. As soon as he lifted the grass curtain door, his forehead was smacked by a golden alms bowl.
“Die, evil demon!”
After a moment, Shen Tanqi, with a bowl-shaped mark on his forehead, sat inside the thatched hut, grumbling in pain, “Look carefully before you hit!”
Sure enough, the beggar and his entourage had been hiding here. Shen Tanqi had noticed this was the only new thatched hut around, so he figured the beggar would likely take shelter here too.
The system clung to Shen Tanqi’s leg, wailing dramatically, “Long time no see, host! Did you miss me?”
Shen Tanqi rubbed the system’s head with amusement, chuckling, “Can’t you chat with me through internal messages?”
The system still clung on, unwilling to let go, “Long-distance relationships just aren’t the same!”
The beggars and Little Black couldn’t understand their cryptic banter and teased, “Alright, enough with the deep bond between master and servant.”
With that, the system finally released Shen Tanqi’s leg and eagerly asked what he had been up to.
Shen Tanqi briefly explained what had happened at the Shen family. When the system heard that the Shen family head wanted Yu Ce to marry into the family, it turned pale with fear, “You didn’t agree, did you?”
It wasn’t until Shen Tanqi shook his head that the system breathed a sigh of relief, patting its chest with a chicken wing, “That’s good, that’s good. If you had agreed, we’d have to change the entire genre of this book. From a cultivation protagonist to a reluctant son-in-law and dad figure. Forget about the reaction from the main system, the readers would tear you apart.”
Shen Tanqi understood these reasons well, but sometimes, things weren’t as straightforward as one imagined.
Just like now.
Sometimes, Shen Tanqi found himself thinking about how unfair the world could be. Why, why were these wonderful children confined to the pages of a book? Why couldn’t he watch them grow up, witness them start families?
He longed so much to see Goldfish and Taro Ball grow up.
He wanted nothing more than to continue living with them like this forever, never apart.
But if he truly did that, the world line would collapse, and the two children would be treated as bugs and removed by the main system.
You couldn’t have everything in this world.
Shen Tanqi pursed his lips, huddling in a corner, arms wrapped around his legs.
He missed the children a bit.
As if sensing his thoughts, the system spoke with a hint of reluctance, “It’s okay, host. You’ve already refused. Nothing bad will happen. After dealing with the Chen Guis, you can stay a few more days at the Shen family, keep your distance from the male lead, and rest well.”
The more time he spent with the children, the harder it was to let go. The system regretted not warning Shen Tanqi about this earlier; it felt like a dereliction of duty.
But at this point, there was no better solution.
Shen Tanqi quickly resolved to focus on what he could do, embracing the system, the two of them hugged each other tightly.
Take it one step at a time; things would eventually get better.
After all these years, hadn’t he always managed to get by like this, taking life as it came?
At a quarter past the Tiger hour, the wind gradually subsided.
The night draped over Shouxia City like water, cool and serene.
As Shen Tanqi was on the verge of falling asleep, a gentle hand reached out and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, dispelling the remnants of a troubled dream.
He had a nightmare.
Monsters were chasing him relentlessly, and he struggled to hide, only to find that his two little ones were missing. When he turned back, he saw Goldfish and Taro Ball caught in the monsters’ hands, about to be devoured.
“No!”
In reality, however, he merely whimpered softly.
A breeze swept past his face, and he saw a figure rescuing the children from the monsters’ grasp, placing them safely beside him.
Stammering, he asked, “Who are you? Batman or Spider-Man?”
The person smiled but did not answer, disappearing into the distant mist.
Shen Tanqi abruptly woke up, instinctively wanting the person not to leave, to stay behind.
Even Shen Tanqi couldn’t quite explain why he didn’t want the person to leave, but in his dream, the feeling was so palpable, his heart ached painfully.
After waking for a long while, the dull ache persisted in his heart. Sitting up, he looked around and realized he was no longer in the rundown thatched hut but lying on a large, soft bed. Red sheer curtains slowly descended, lightly veiling the outside world.
Little Black and the system were nowhere to be seen, adding to his unease in this unfamiliar place. The only thing he could see…
Not far away, through the hazy sheer curtains, stood a figure similar to the one in his dream, standing by a table.
His movements were graceful as he removed his outer garment, revealing a thinner, well-proportioned body with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. Upon closer inspection, Shen Tanqi even noticed faint veins protruding on his arms, and his hands were large and powerful, capable of effortlessly lifting someone.
As Shen Tanqi continued to gaze, he suddenly swallowed hard.
A deep, indescribable heat surged within him, as if he were being roasted over a fire. The more he looked, the more intense the itching sensation in his heart became.
After a while, trembling, he reached out and pulled aside the curtain, softly calling out the person’s name, “Yu… Yu Ce…”
“I think… I’m having a dependency episode.”
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)
