When Chen Yixin fell asleep, he had been lying upon Woven Cloud with his head pillowed in Wenren Li’s arms. When he awakened, he was still lying upon Woven Cloud with his head pillowed in Wenren Li’s arms—but they were no longer inside their residence in Luanmo City.
They were lying together inside a half-open cloud boat. Wu Fei, Nan Ke, and the other Demon Guards were nowhere to be seen; only Chen Yixin and Wenren Li rested there in each other’s arms.
“A-Rong is awake.” As Wenren Li spoke, he gently stroked Chen Yixin’s hair. Spiritual power seeped into him, helping clear away his drowsiness.
“I left Wu Fei, Nan Ke, and the others in Luanmo City to await the outcome of the discussions. We went on ahead.” Once the other nine Demon Lords finished deliberating, Wu Fei and Nan Ke would continue along the original route according to their earlier travel arrangements, which was why the red bridal sedan had also been left in Luanmo City.
Chen Yixin nodded, then sniffed lightly. “What did A-Li cook?”
“I made some porridge,” Wenren Li answered as he helped Chen Yixin sit up.
Nan Ke’s squad, whose members had trained in cooking, was not with them, so Wenren Li must have prepared the porridge himself. Chen Yixin looked at him, surprised to discover that Wenren Li could cook as well. Then again, he knew artifact refinement and alchemy, was both a healer and a talisman master, so becoming a cook was naturally no great challenge.
“A-Li is amazing.”
As Chen Yixin spoke, his gaze drifted toward the small stove where the porridge bubbled away. When he looked back, he met the faint expectation in Wenren Li’s eyes. Understanding immediately, Chen Yixin smiled, pulled him closer, and kissed his cheek.
Wenren Li pressed his lips together, the expectation in his eyes transforming into laughter. He turned his head to return the kiss on Chen Yixin’s cheek, only for Chen Yixin to turn at the same time, causing their lips to brush and collide.
Chen Yixin lifted his gaze slightly, then narrowed his eyes in amusement. The hand resting on Wenren Li’s shoulder tightened and slid around his neck. Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Yixin deepened the kiss.
Faced with Chen Yixin’s enthusiasm, Wenren Li felt the same helpless uncertainty as always. It did not come from rejection, but from the vast difference in their strength, which forced him to maintain such careful control.
“A-Rong…” Wenren Li called softly as he caught the hand Chen Yixin was using to cause further trouble. Shifting their positions, he turned and pressed Chen Yixin down upon the Woven Cloud. “A-Rong…”
Wenren Li called his name again, his voice even more lingering than before. Chen Yixin had already teased him into genuine arousal.
Chen Yixin was not intimidated by his tone. He kept his arms around Wenren Li’s neck and glanced at him sidelong. “Doesn’t A-Li like it when I kiss you this way?”
“I like it.” Wenren Li lowered his head and kissed Chen Yixin. Rather than relying on words, he preferred to show Chen Yixin exactly how much he liked it.
Chen Yixin slowly closed his eyes and relaxed, allowing himself to enjoy Wenren Li’s gentle, focused kiss. A trace of laughter appeared on his face, yet an image suddenly flashed through his mind: two people standing together in the heart of a sea of flowers.
Chen Yixin’s brows drew together slightly. When he tried to see who the other person was, he encountered a powerful obstruction. At the same moment, Wenren Li’s hand stroked his hair, and threads of spiritual power entered him, dispersing the discomfort.
Chen Yixin licked his lips. During their entanglement, the collar of his robe had been pulled slightly open. After considering the experience, he offered his judgment. “Excellent.”
The cloyingly sweet kiss had been excellent. That was what Chen Yixin meant.
Wenren Li nodded. His gaze swept across Chen Yixin’s vivid red lips and faintly flushed cheeks. Pressing his own lips together, he felt that restraining himself became more difficult each time.
He remained beside Chen Yixin for a while longer until he had recovered, then helped him sit up and served the porridge, feeding him personally. Wenren Li had already become thoroughly practiced at caring for Chen Yixin.
The cloud boat continued flying at tremendous speed. They ate, slept, and lived aboard it. Occasionally, when Wenren Li feared Chen Yixin might become bored, he would take him for a walk through the mountains and forests they passed before continuing their journey.
One month later, they arrived at a small mortal town in the Western Territory.
Chen Yixin possessed no spiritual power and was presently no different from an ordinary mortal, while Wenren Li’s methods were sufficient to make him appear mortal as well. They stopped before an abandoned City God Temple outside the town, then entered together on foot.
Chen Yixin looked around, a trace of nostalgia appearing on his face. “I really have been here before.”
Strange gales that even Golden Core cultivators feared frequently swept across the Xiguang Plains. When Chen Yixin and the other disciples from Yuding Sect first arrived there, one such gale scattered them. Traveling alone, he passed through this town and discovered a clue in this seemingly unremarkable place, allowing him to enter the Fentian Nether Abode ahead of the others.
As Chen Yixin spoke, he took Wenren Li’s hand and led him toward the place where he had once stayed.
“I remember there was a little sapling in that courtyard. It didn’t grow a single leaf, only one flower bud. Whenever I touched it, it would become shy. I wonder whether it has gained sentience after all these years.”
Chen Yixin abruptly stopped speaking, only then realizing that saying such things in front of Wenren Li might be inappropriate. He glanced sideways at Wenren Li and quietly explained, “I only touched it. I didn’t do anything else.”
The look in Wenren Li’s eyes made it seem as though Chen Yixin had done something outrageous. It had only been a little sapling. Was he not even allowed to touch one?
“Mm,” Wenren Li answered softly, his expression filled more with helplessness and indulgence than anything else.
Chen Yixin had no idea how many events—and how much fate—had arisen from that single touch.
Chen Yixin had reached Foundation Establishment at sixteen and arrived at the Xiguang Plains at twenty. He remained inside the Fentian Nether Abode for ten years and had already formed his Golden Core by the time he emerged. He then continued lingering within the Fentian Nether Abode, searching for forty-nine years before finally returning.
The world believed Chen Yixin had remained there for so long because he had discovered some extraordinary opportunity. In reality, he had merely been searching for the Dao companion with whom he had been only one final ceremonial bow away from completing the bond. As matters now stood, however, he had found the wrong person.
“It’s just ahead.” Chen Yixin pointed toward a courtyard in front of them while his gaze wandered over the surroundings. “Nothing here has changed at all.”
By the end of the sentence, his voice had grown solemn. Nothing had changed—truly, not even the slightest detail. Even the stone stools beside the road remained in exactly the same positions. An elderly man approached carrying firewood… and he had not changed either.
“Uncle Lin…”
More than a hundred years had passed. An ordinary mortal should have died long ago, yet the people and objects here remained exactly as they had been in the past.
“So it’s young Chen. You’re back from the plains, then? Your aunt has been talking about you. It’s dangerous outside, so don’t wander too far.”
“Uncle Lin, how long was I gone?” Chen Yixin asked the elderly man carrying firewood. He did not know why the answer mattered to him so much. Had he not always known there was something unusual about this town?
“Almost half a month, I’d say. Your aunt and I have both been worried.” As Uncle Lin spoke, he turned toward Wenren Li, and his smile became even warmer. “A-Li is back too. Once you and young Chen have settled in, come over to your Aunt Lin’s house and share a drink with us.”
Wenren Li nodded. Uncle Lin exchanged a few more pleasantries with him before continuing on his way with the firewood.
Chen Yixin remained faintly stunned as Wenren Li led him into the courtyard where he had once stayed.
“A-Li… Wenren Li. So this is where the name sounded familiar…” Chen Yixin finally remembered why Wenren Li’s name had once seemed familiar. He had heard it here in this town.
Uncle Lin had told him that the courtyard’s original resident was a man named Wenren Li. Chen Yixin could stay there without paying anything as long as he cleaned the house once a day. Since a single cleansing spell could accomplish that, Chen Yixin had naturally agreed.
Of course, the main reason he had chosen the courtyard was that it was the only pleasant and peaceful residence in the entire town. Yet he had never imagined that it belonged to Wenren Li, much less that they had already crossed paths more than a century earlier.
Once they entered the courtyard, Chen Yixin pulled Wenren Li to a stop and raised his chin. “Doesn’t A-Li have anything he should tell me?”
Wenren Li did not answer. He gently stroked Chen Yixin’s hair and led him onward into the courtyard’s main room before finally asking, “What does A-Rong want me to tell him?”
Chen Yixin fell silent for a moment, and his expression cooled slightly. “Everything, naturally.”
A trace of helplessness appeared on Wenren Li’s face. He drew Chen Yixin closer and let him lean against him before speaking. “A hundred years here passes like ten days. Ten such intervals complete one cycle. If we return nine hundred years from now, everything in the town will have returned to the way it was when you first entered.”
“This is one of the Fentian Nether Abode’s Dao Grounds. Everyone you see here is actually a ghost drawn into this place by the Dao Ground. Yet within these grounds, even Buddhist cultivators cannot detect their true nature or harm them.”
Chen Yixin’s expression had already lost its chill the moment Wenren Li pulled him closer. He lifted his eyes and deliberately retained a trace of coldness in them. “What about A-Li?”
“I came here in the past and lived here for two thousand years, so I know its abnormalities. Because I was born a Demonborn, the power of this Dao Ground can be used by me. I was able to leave behind a soul imprint here, which created this courtyard and my identity within the town.”
“Oh…” Chen Yixin responded, then raised a hand and pinched Wenren Li’s cheek. “You didn’t lie to me, but you didn’t tell me everything either. A-Li, I trust you. Even before I recover those memories myself, I’m still willing to believe you.”
Wenren Li probably had not expected Chen Yixin to say such a thing. The Chen Yixin he knew was profoundly wary, thoughtful, suspicious, intelligent, and meticulous. It was precisely because of those qualities that he found it even more difficult to trust others.
They continued looking into each other’s eyes. Hesitation filled Wenren Li’s gaze, while Chen Yixin’s held only undisguised stubbornness.
Wenren Li was just about to speak when Chen Yixin interrupted with another question. “Was A-Li the little sapling with the flower bud in the courtyard?”
A faint flush appeared on Wenren Li’s face as he nodded. “Mm. I wasn’t only the little sapling A-Rong met. I was also A-Hua—the one A-Rong loved inside the Fentian Nether Abode.”
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