Yun Yazi had not only failed to pass those words on to Chen Yixin, he had also tampered with Chen Yixin’s memories, making him believe that his A-Hua had merely been a native wandering soul within the Fentian Nether Abode. He had even erased Chen Yixin’s memory of Wenren Li’s aura.
Every intimate moment Chen Yixin had shared with Wenren Li had been altered as well, and not a trace remained of his memories of teasing the little sapling. The affection left behind in Chen Yixin’s memory had instead become gratitude born from the belief that Wenren Li had once done him a great kindness.
Had Chen Yixin himself not stubbornly insisted that he had truly loved his A-Hua, the memories left to him would never have been enough to explain feelings that went beyond friendship.
He had spent forty-nine years searching throughout the Fentian Nether Abode, exhausting every means at his disposal until he finally found Jing Zhihua’s soul, and Yun Yazi’s schemes had played no small part in that. Yun Yazi had disapproved of Chen Yixin and Wenren Li’s relationship, yet at the same time he had wanted to exploit those very feelings and make Chen Yixin become Jing Zhihua’s Dao Protector.
Chen Yixin had sacrificed an enormous amount for that soul. To ensure its successful rebirth, he had even transferred the inheritance he obtained from the Fentian Nether Abode to it. Everything he had done had ultimately become another person’s wedding clothes, and he had nearly given his heart to the wrong person as well.
Fortunately, after all those twists and turns, his A-Hua had still come back to him.
“He seems to have misunderstood something.”
A trace of mockery flashed across Wenren Li’s face as he spoke. He tilted his head slightly, brushing his lips against Chen Yixin’s hair, while a hint of ruthlessness surfaced in his eyes. “A-Rong, don’t be afraid. Now that I’m awake, I won’t let anyone bully you again.”
Chen Yixin was extraordinarily sensitive by nature. There were very few people he still trusted now, and he did not even fully trust his own memories, yet he believed everything Wenren Li had told him, just as he believed these words now.
“All right.”
Chen Yixin slowly sat upright, then raised both hands to cup Wenren Li’s face. He touched him gently and studied him carefully, and that intense feeling of having regained something once lost once again swelled until it filled his entire heart. He leaned closer and pressed his lips to Wenren Li’s.
Their noses touched, their gazes met, and both of their heartbeats fell into disorder at once. Chen Yixin slowly narrowed his eyes, caught Wenren Li’s lip between his teeth, and pushed straight into the kiss, impatient and relentless, as though he wanted to swallow Wenren Li whole.
A trace of heartache appeared in Wenren Li’s eyes. He understood that some part of Chen Yixin was still afraid.
He gently held Chen Yixin while responding to the fervor of his kiss, one hand patting and stroking his back in an effort to soothe him, but the flame that began where their lips and tongues tangled soon spread through their entire bodies, burning hotter and hotter beyond Wenren Li’s control.
“A-Rong…” Wenren Li called softly, but Chen Yixin merely lifted his eyes and gave him one look before kissing him again with even greater force. They fell back onto the bed, Wenren Li’s hair spreading beneath him as Chen Yixin leaned over his body.
Chen Yixin’s kisses traveled from Wenren Li’s lips down his neck and continued lower. He raised a hand and tugged lightly at the ribbon tying his own hair. His black hair spilled loose, mingling with Wenren Li’s across the bed.
Chen Yixin’s eyes had already reddened slightly, his emotions slipping completely beyond restraint. Wenren Li still retained enough clarity to know that he ought to stop Chen Yixin, because this was not yet the right time for them to go any further, but everything he actually did amounted to indulgence.
At last, when Chen Yixin had pulled most of Wenren Li’s robes open and done nearly the same to his own, Wenren Li raised his arms and caught him, holding Chen Yixin securely against his chest. “A-Rong, bear with it a little longer.”
Their first dual cultivation would benefit Chen Yixin enormously, and it could not be wasted before Chen Yixin had even begun cultivating again.
Chen Yixin froze. His entire expression turned aggrieved. “How long? I want you right now.”
Apparently glaring at Wenren Li was not enough, because Chen Yixin opened his mouth and bit down on Wenren Li’s chin as well. “A-Li, have you forgotten? You’re my Dao companion. We swore an oath before Mother.”
A hundred years ago they had been betrothed Dao companions, and now Chen Yixin had even married into the Likui Demon Palace. Why could they still not be intimate?
Chen Yixin’s frustration rapidly turned into grievance, but Wenren Li’s expression remained unwavering, and even a certain other reaction was being kept remarkably calm. Was Chen Yixin supposed to be the only one losing his mind over this?
“I haven’t forgotten. I won’t make A-Rong wait too long,” Wenren Li continued soothing him gently. It was not that he had no reaction; he was suppressing it entirely with spiritual power. Besides holding Chen Yixin firmly in his arms like this, he truly did not know how else to calm him.
“Hmph.” Chen Yixin finally released Wenren Li’s chin and settled against his chest. His expression looked somewhat better, but he was still thoroughly dissatisfied inside.
“Hmph…”
Wenren Li helplessly curved his lips. Every time Chen Yixin huffed, he lowered his head and kissed Chen Yixin’s cheek, one kiss after another, until some of Chen Yixin’s resentment finally eased.
“I suspect Yun Yazi doesn’t know that you were later schemed against.” Yun Yazi knew of Wenren Li and Chen Yixin’s past. Once Wenren Li awakened, if Chen Yixin was unharmed, so much the better, but if anything had happened to him, Wenren Li would never have spared the Yuding Sect.
As for Yun Yazi’s reckless matchmaking, perhaps he had genuinely believed he was acting for Chen Yixin’s benefit. In his eyes, how could an ancient Demon Lord of unknown age compare to an Immortal Lord from the Upper Realm? If Chen Yixin developed feelings for Jing Zhihua, then even after Wenren Li awakened, there would be nothing he could do about it.
“But he lied to me.” Chen Yixin’s eyes darkened. “In the end, whatever bond existed between master and disciple still couldn’t compare with the great undertaking of becoming immortal…”
By the standards of the cultivation world, Yun Yazi’s actions could hardly be called some monstrous evil, but to Chen Yixin, whatever affection remained between them as master and disciple had been exhausted completely. Yun Yazi was not necessarily wrong, and Chen Yixin was equally entitled to hate or resent him. They simply valued different things.
“What about A-Li? What matters most to A-Li?” Chen Yixin asked, lifting his eyes toward Wenren Li. Chen Yixin lived according to the extremes of his own nature and emotions, even regarding life and death with the same freedom. From the past until now, the only true obsession he had ever possessed was love—his feelings for Wenren Li.
Wenren Li did not answer immediately. In truth, after living so many years, he had rarely considered questions like this. Day after day, year after year, he seemed almost to endure alongside the world itself, as though solitude had always been his inevitable fate.
Yet Chen Yixin’s arrival had shown him colors of life that he had never seen before, something even more tempting than longevity itself. Chen Yixin’s openness came from his nature; Wenren Li’s came from having experienced far too much.
“A-Rong. What I value is A-Rong.”
Within the Fentian Nether Abode, Wenren Li had been willing to disperse both his spirit form and soul form for Chen Yixin. His actions had already made his choice for him.
Chen Yixin wanted to maintain some dignity when he heard that, but how could he possibly remain reserved after hearing something so wonderful? His eyes curved with delight, and he leaned against Wenren Li’s shoulder, unable to stop smiling.
“I’ll remember what A-Li said. This time, I won’t forget.”
Once Chen Yixin was happy, he completely forgot his earlier frustration. Wenren Li released him and began tidying the room. Chen Yixin did not want to be left alone, so he followed directly behind Wenren Li without helping, trailing after him like a little tail.
Back when they had lived together in the valley within that strange realm, Chen Yixin had often behaved this way as well. In fact, much of his later laziness and pickiness had been spoiled into him by Wenren Li during those years.
After tidying the house, they went next door to visit Old Lin and his wife. They did not even eat anything; they simply sat around and chatted.
“Young Brother and A-Li certainly get along well,” Old Lin said, tipping back another mouthful of wine. The town was quiet to begin with, and there were few outsiders, so there was not much gossip available beyond the same handful of things.
Chen Yixin lifted their joined hands from beneath the table and gave them a little shake. “A-Li and I are married.”
“We’re married,” Wenren Li confirmed, his gaze settling on Chen Yixin, and the feeling he gave off became entirely different.
Old Lin and his wife both stared blankly for a moment, but beyond their surprise, neither said much more.
Chen Yixin did not even need Old Lin and his wife to spread the gossip about him and Wenren Li. They walked home hand in hand, and whenever they encountered someone out for a stroll, Chen Yixin simply repeated exactly what he had told Old Lin.
“When we come back nine hundred years from now, I’m going to tell them all again.”
The restraints around Chen Yixin’s heart had completely fallen away. Happiness radiated from him from the inside out. If he had not remembered that he was already more than a hundred years old, he probably would have started skipping down the street.
“All right.” Wenren Li nodded, indulging him completely. When they held their formal wedding in the future, they intended to let all of Taixuan know anyway.
That night, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li lay together in bed, and Chen Yixin began putting his hands all over Wenren Li again. Compared with before, he did so with even greater confidence now. This was A-Li—and also his A-Hua.
“When will your spirit form and soul form recover?” Chen Yixin asked. Ever since learning the truth, this question had remained constantly on his mind. He had watched them disperse before his own eyes; for Chen Yixin, that memory remained a shadow he could never completely forget.
“My spirit form recovers the most slowly, but it has already returned. My soul form will still need some time.”
Whether that time would be long or short depended upon opportunity and fortune.
“Oh.” Chen Yixin acknowledged that, then after a moment kissed Wenren Li on the cheek, becoming shamelessly sweet and obedient. “Can I see it?”
Wenren Li’s cheeks reddened faintly, but he could not refuse Chen Yixin when he acted so docile. He nodded. The oil lamp inside the room flared to life, and they both sat up. Wenren Li slowly closed his eyes, and moments later a little sapling flew out from between his brows.
The little sapling looked exactly as it had in the past, still nothing more than a tiny plant with a single flower bud and not one leaf. Compared with the first time Chen Yixin had seen it, however, it was clearly much weaker.
Chen Yixin stroked it with aching tenderness, then gathered it into his palm and carefully ran his fingers all over it. The familiar sensation beneath his fingers and the overwhelming fondness he felt while touching it could not be concealed at all. His memories still had not returned, but neither instinct nor emotion could be dictated by memory alone.
Wenren Li’s breathing grew slightly faster. He had only just begun suppressing the reaction with spiritual power when Chen Yixin lowered his head and gently kissed the flower bud.
Chen Yixin raised his eyes and saw the slightly flustered expression on Wenren Li’s face. His lips curved, and he gave the flower bud a light lick.
It did not matter if he never recovered every memory of the past. As long as he remained together with Wenren Li, they would create countless new memories, even more unforgettable than the old ones.
“A-Rong…” Wenren Li’s breathing quickened again. He raised a hand to stop Chen Yixin, but once more failed to do so. Chen Yixin parted his lips and took the flower bud directly into his mouth, looking up at Wenren Li with an extraordinarily innocent expression.
This was, more or less, Chen Yixin’s revenge for Wenren Li stopping him earlier that day. Surely he could not be expected to be the only one burning with frustrated desire.
Chen Yixin kept the bud in his mouth for quite some time. Only after thoroughly enjoying Wenren Li’s increasingly strained expression did he finally let it go.
“Up to now, A-Li’s flower is the only one I’ve ever put in my mouth, and it’ll stay that way.”
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