After spending a day in the small cottage, Shen Tanqi fetched two buckets of water from the river and washed Yu Ce’s clothes until they were spotlessly clean.
Yu Ce sat beside him on a stool, quietly observing. Every now and then, he would ask, “Will you still wash my clothes for me in the future?”
Shen Tanqi glanced at him and replied, “No, quit it.”
If Yu Ce weren’t so young, after sweeping the house for half the day, Shen Tanqi wouldn’t have washed his clothes to avoid indulging his habit of taking advantage.
Yu Ce softly murmured, “Oh,” then said, “Then I’ll wash them for you in the future.”
Shen Tanqi looked up at Yu Ce and teased him, laughing, “What if I decide not to take care of our children in the future?”
Leaning on his chin, Yu Ce replied softly, “I’ll take care of them.”
Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’d do anything I ask?”
Yu Ce nodded earnestly, seeming genuinely puzzled by his question, “You’re my husband, why wouldn’t I?”
“…,” Shen Tanqi was speechless. He couldn’t help feeling that he had changed Yu Ce.
Without children, Yu Ce would probably have always been the carefree and ambitious person he used to be.
That was who he truly was.
Shen Tanqi pursed his lips and said, “But what if I don’t want you to do that?”
“What do you want me to do?” Yu Ce lowered his head, took out his clothes from the tub, and cast a simple drying spell, softly saying, “I do this because I like it, not because of you.”
Shen Tanqi remained unconvinced.
Seeing his skepticism, Yu Ce spoke earnestly, “My aunt wanted me to inherit the position of the Daemon Lord and revive the dragon race. I escaped from the Hidden Dragon Valley because I didn’t want to. If I don’t want to do something, no one can force me.”
“But you’re exceptionally talented, the Son of Heaven. You are destined to stand at the pinnacle of the world.” Shen Tanqi felt justified in his belief. Yu Ce was the male lead; without him, this world would collapse.
Yu Ce shook his head and replied, “No one can stay at the top forever in this world. And if anyone could, it wouldn’t be me.” He smiled, adding, “Maybe it could be you?”
Shen Tanqi gasped, “Absolutely impossible! It could never be me. I don’t have any special talents.”
He was just a lazy fish who never once considered becoming the male lead. Even being a cannon fodder with a decent family background after transmigrating into a novel felt like good luck.
“Talent isn’t everything,” Yu Ce shrugged dismissively. “Everyone is unique in their own world. With diligence, anyone can rise to the top.”
Shen Tanqi disagreed, saying, “By that logic, everyone would be a Son of Heaven.”
At this, Yu Ce pursed his lips and continued, “My father once said, Heaven operates on balance. For every immortal, there’s a demon; for every human, there’s a monster; for every yin, there’s a yang, and for every righteous person, there’s an evil one.” Yu Ce picked up a twig from the ground and drew a small bagua diagram1The bagua is a set of symbols from China intended to illustrate the nature of reality as being composed of mutually opposing forces reinforcing one another.
. “If I were to stand at the top, wouldn’t I disrupt this balance? Therefore, Heaven would continually test me with trials. I don’t want to be that person, nor do I want to endure constant hardships.”
Finishing his explanation, he looked at Shen Tanqi, who seemed to grasp his words vaguely, and whispered, “Would you want to be at that kind of pinnacle?”
Shen Tanqi couldn’t argue. In the original book, Yu Ce indeed didn’t have an easy journey; he faced numerous trials before becoming the number one figure in the immortal realm. Just when Yu Ce was about to succeed, new cannon fodder characters would appear to challenge him.
He would encounter countless people like ‘Shen Tanqi’ from the original book, encounter countless Shen families. Before he succeeded, Yu Ce’s life was indeed not going very well.
He watched young Yu Ce hang up clothes in rows, then pick up a broom to sweep the fallen leaves in the yard.
Suddenly, Shen Tanqi thought, actually, this isn’t so bad.
If Yu Ce lives happily and does what he loves, why force the plots from the original book?
As Shen Tanqi sorted through these thoughts, his mood improved. Just as he was about to help Yu Ce hang the clothes, he heard a crackling sound in his mind.
“System 3530, connection with host successful, entering book crossing…”
Before the system could fully materialize, Shen Tanqi grabbed it and stuffed it into his embrace.
Gritting his teeth, Shen Tanqi muttered, “You connect when you shouldn’t, and you don’t when you should.”
The system’s virtual avatar, the little yellow chick, blinked innocently. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Shen Tanqi ground his teeth and vigorously squeezed the chick in his palm.
He had promised Yu Ce he would stay for two more days, leaving the next day, but he hadn’t expected the system to connect successfully today.
After a moment, he sighed deeply, released the system that looked completely unrecognizable due to his actions, and walked slowly behind Yu Ce. He whispered softly, “Yu Ce, I have to leave.”
The young man paused in hanging the clothes, and upon hearing Shen Tanqi’s words, his hand trembled slightly. Without turning around, he said, “Is that so? Didn’t you say you’d leave tomorrow?”
Shen Tanqi rubbed his head awkwardly and murmured, “I didn’t intend to suddenly come out and leave, but… in the future, you are still waiting for me.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Ce nodded slightly, smoothing out the last wrinkles on the outer garment, and replied calmly, “It’s okay, go back. We’ll see each other again eventually, there’s no rush.”
Seeing him like this, Shen Tanqi felt a slight relief in his heart. Unable to resist, he took a step closer and gently pulled Yu Ce into his arms.
His body temperature was still as cold as before, with a faint hint of elusive rain and misty sandalwood.
He held Yu Ce tighter, resting his head on top of Yu Ce’s, and whispered softly, “You must wait for me. In this world, I will come find you again.”
This was just a parallel world, and Shen Tanqi didn’t know if future events would change. But one thing he knew for sure was that he would fall in love with Yu Ce. However they might meet, he would fall in love with Yu Ce.
Finishing his words, Shen Tanqi let him go, teasing him like a child by flicking Yu Ce’s earlobe and saying with a smile, “I’m leaving. Aren’t you going to even look at me?”
Yu Ce still didn’t turn around, seemingly more interested in the wrinkles on the clothes in front of him. He replied softly, “Alright, go ahead.”
This child was determined not to see him off.
Shen Tanqi sighed lightly, took two steps back, and stepped into the time and space vortex created by the system. He waved to Yu Ce, saying, “Goodbye.”
The vortex swallowed him completely, sweeping away the dust and fallen leaves on the ground, not even leaving a trace of his clothes.
After a while, the wind calmed and the clouds settled.
Yu Ce turned around, staring blankly in the direction Shen Tanqi had left, feeling lost and desolate, uttering each syllable slowly,
“Shen, of the Shen family, Tan of sandalwood, Qi of lacquer.”
He would remember it firmly, engraved in his heart, until Shen Tanqi returned.
Goodbye, his husband.
“Yellow Chick System reminder: About to transport the host near the male lead, please prepare!”
As the time and space vortex spit out Shen Tanqi, he was almost moved to tears.
The scene before him was finally familiar— it was the desolate Bloodthirst Cliff where he had left!
Yu Ce, he had returned.
But where was he?
Shen Tanqi looked around, but there was no sign of Yu Ce anywhere.
He held the system close, standing still in disbelief.
The chick and he exchanged a glance.
“Host, don’t… don’t be upset, don’t be upset…”
Shen Tanqi expressionlessly squeezed the system like a ball, gritting his teeth, “Did you mess up the coordinates again?”
The system trembled cautiously, “Sometimes there may be a slight issue. Let me recalculate the coordinates. At least this time, the system didn’t crash, so that’s progress, right?”
Shen Tanqi: …
What good was progress if he couldn’t find Yu Ce and didn’t even know if this was the right time frame?
“How long will it take this time to calculate correctly?” Shen Tanqi asked.
The system estimated, “Could be as short as one or two days. The coordinate codes are really complex, so it’ll take some time to crack them.”
A day or two would be manageable, as long as he could return within the agreed-upon seven days.
But before Shen Tanqi could relax, the system added, “However, it could take countless days, and we might not be able to locate the original coordinates.”
Shen Tanqi widened his eyes in disbelief. “How could that happen?”
“I’m not entirely sure. If we had some kind of medium to facilitate the transmigration, it would be easier. But we don’t have anything,” the system lamented.
After a moment of silence, Shen Tanqi rubbed his head and whispered soothingly, “It’s okay. We’ll do our best.”
Although he said this aloud, deep down, he felt a creeping sense of unease and tension in his heart.
Just as Shen Tanqi was getting increasingly frustrated, he heard a voice behind him, filled with surprise and excitement, “Daddy?”
“Hmm?”
Upon hearing the word ‘Daddy,’ Shen Tanqi’s heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, he turned around, his gaze starting from the person’s feet and slowly moving up… up… and up…, until—
Shen Tanqi stood frozen in place, mouth agape, as if struck by lightning.
Standing before him was a towering figure, 1.9 meters tall, broad-shouldered and long-legged, with a bright smile. Without waiting for Shen Tanqi to react, the person hugged Shen Tanqi tightly, just like Shen Tanqi had squeezed the system earlier, and started rubbing his face against Shen Tanqi’s in excitement.
“It really is Daddy! It really is… I’m not dreaming!”
Shen Tanqi trembled as he reached out, gripping the person’s wrist, saying, “Yes, you’re not dreaming. I must be the one dreaming.”
He pinched his own leg hard, almost tearing up from the pain.
Damn it, it wasn’t a dream. But why…
His family’s Goldfish had somehow transformed into a towering 1.9-meter whale!
With a slender figure, graceful snowy robes, simple black hair tied back neatly, and delicately handsome features fair as jade, he embodied all the outstanding traits of Yu Ce and Shen Tanqi. Who else could he be but their eldest son?
Well, this time he didn’t go back to the past, but somehow leaped into the future.
Judging by his appearance, he must be close to eighteen years old now. Which meant, in this timeline, Shen Tanqi hadn’t successfully returned…
Shen Tanqi felt a twinge in his heart, aching with sorrow.
Goldfish, standing before him, tears shimmering in his eyes, was reluctant to let go of Shen Tanqi, holding him tighter and tighter. “You finally came back. Little brother and I have been waiting for you for so long.”
Shen Tanqi: …
Hold on, give him a moment to catch his breath. He was feeling a bit suffocated.
After a moment, sensing that he might be strangling Shen Tanqi, Goldfish quickly released him, softly apologizing, “Daddy, did I hurt you?”
Shen Tanqi supported him and took a deep breath, weakly saying, “It’s okay, I’m not dying.”
At most, he was just a bit shaken.
His son was actually taller than him, and by quite a bit too. Was that even reasonable? Could it be that dragon genes were just that powerful?
Shen Tanqi kept staring at Goldfish’s appearance, accepting the reality. Suddenly, he felt a profound sense of parental pride, like witnessing his daughter come of age. Indeed, he was proud of his son.
“Why are you here?” Shen Tanqi looked around but didn’t see anyone else nearby. How could Goldfish suddenly appear here?
Goldfish blinked at him, smiling sweetly. “I dreamt about it last night, dreaming that Daddy appeared out of thin air Bloodthirst Cliff. I thought it was just because I hadn’t been sleeping well these days, so I came over just to stroll around, but I never expected that dream to be true.”
Shen Tanqi realized that this was his son’s unique ability—the secret skill of dream induction.
“Daddy, come quickly. I’ll take you to meet little brother,” Goldfish held onto his wrist tightly, as if afraid Shen Tanqi might disappear again, leading him down the slope of Bloodthirst Cliff.
Following Goldfish’s steps, Shen Tanqi observed that the Rongyun Sect seemed more prosperous than before.
The main hall had been renovated, and there were more disciples, indicating considerable effort had been put into its management.
Deeper into the sect, he could see flocks of white cranes flying across the sky, and lotus flowers blooming by the edge of the lotus pond.
Suddenly, Goldfish stopped abruptly and shouted towards a nearby sword training platform, “Erdan—”
Before he could finish speaking, a figure flashed through the lotus flowers and landed beside them in the blink of an eye. Without hesitation, he covered Goldfish’s mouth firmly.
“I’ve told you many times, brother, stop calling me that.”
“Mm mm.”
Got it, got it.
Taro Ball’s face flushed crimson, biting his lip tightly. His gaze slowly shifted to the figure behind his brother, noticing the somewhat restrained Shen Tanqi.
At the moment, Taro Ball bore a striking resemblance to the young Yu Ce: brows resembling distant mountains, eyes deep like ink, dressed in ethereal robes that exuded an air of immortality.
Looking at his own son, Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but feel a bit hesitant in recognizing him.
Shen Tanqi waved somewhat awkwardly. “Hey?”
Taro Ball’s hand instantly loosened, as if in disbelief. He stepped towards Shen Tanqi, then suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace.
Shen Tanqi was about to say something, but a few hot tears rolled down his face.
In front of him stood the tall and elegant eighteen-year-old boy, tears streaming down his face, his voice choking, “You came back so late.”
“If only you had come back a bit earlier, Father wouldn’t have left.”
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)
