Fortunately, Yun Yazi did not actually voice that last thought. If he had, Chen Yixin probably would not have had a smile left for him at all. The only reason Chen Yixin could remain this calm now was because Wenren Li—the person he had once lost and finally regained—was sitting beside him.
After everything they had endured, they had finally managed to remain together. Chen Yixin still hated Yun Yazi for what he had done, but somewhere in his heart, he also remembered the kindness Yun Yazi had once shown him. Whether this meeting would end with them completely falling out, or whether Chen Yixin could truly bring himself to confront his former master without reservation, even he could not say for certain.
“Thirteen, how exactly do you intend to deal with me?”
Chen Yixin shifted his gaze from Yun Yazi to Jing Zhihua, staring until the man became visibly embarrassed and angry. One thing was certain: Jing Zhihua truly hated being called Thirteen. By erasing his name, Chen Yixin was effectively erasing everything that had ever existed between them.
Jing Zhihua remained silent, but Chen Yixin knew him far too well not to understand the reason behind his present composure.
Jing Zhihua believed Yun Yazi and Yun Zhenzi had come to demand justice for him—to punish Wenren Li for abducting him and Chen Yixin for auctioning him off without any regard for his dignity.
“I suppose you’ll cripple my cultivation again, then plant another curse in my divine soul that leaves me in unbearable agony and torture me until I finally die. Would that be enough to satisfy the divine scion?”
Chen Yixin’s voice carried a smile, almost as though he were joking, yet everything he described had genuinely happened to him before. If not for Wenren Li, even if Chen Yixin were still alive now, he would have been barely clinging to life with death already close at hand.
After saying this, Chen Yixin paused and looked back toward Yun Yazi. “What does Master think?”
What could Yun Yazi possibly say? There was no question that both Jing Zhihua and the Yuding Sect had wronged Chen Yixin, while Yun Yazi himself had been the person who set this entire tragedy in motion. He could not defend himself, nor did he have any defense to offer.
“What happened before really was too much, but this time… I wasn’t trying to kill you. I wanted to protect you.”
When everyone else had fallen silent, Jing Zhihua spoke again. A trace of urgency entered his expression. Perhaps the “punishment” he had mentioned really did mean what he claimed now. The way he looked at Chen Yixin also allowed both Wenren Li and Han Zichuan, who were watching him coldly, to finally understand the real reason his feelings had changed.
He had started longing for Chen Yixin again. But how could he still dare think that way? The vanity that came with being called the divine scion had completely blinded him, making him ten or a hundred times more arrogant and conceited than before.
The higher Jing Zhihua raised himself now, the more devastating his fall would be when the truth came out.
Smack! Chen Yixin swept a hand through the air, and spiritual power struck Jing Zhihua across the face hard enough to send him tumbling. Yun Yazi did not move. Yun Zhenzi’s brows drew together as he stepped half a pace forward, but in the end, he said nothing.
“What exactly are you? Do you really think someone like you gets to decide whether I need your protection?”
Chen Yixin’s expression turned cold. Apparently one slap was not enough, because he immediately began mocking him as well. “Disgusting. You’d better shut your mouth. Next time, I won’t slap you—I’ll cut out your tongue.”
If Jing Zhihua did not still have a little usefulness left, Chen Yixin genuinely wanted to kill him on the spot. Any affection or deep devotion directed at him by anyone other than Wenren Li only made him feel revolted.
Chen Yixin’s gaze drifted downward. Jing Zhihua awkwardly shuffled backward. It was not only Jing Zhihua’s tongue Chen Yixin wanted to cut off now; he was beginning to consider removing the man’s most important male appendage as well.
The look in Chen Yixin’s eyes grew increasingly dangerous. Yun Zhenzi lightly tugged Yun Yazi’s sleeve. No matter what happened, they could not let Chen Yixin continue humiliating the divine scion like this. Otherwise, the blame would eventually fall on them as well.
Wenren Li lifted a hand and covered Chen Yixin’s eyes, turning Chen Yixin’s head toward himself before finally lowering his hand. Clearly, Wenren Li did not like Chen Yixin staring at that part of another man’s body, even when Chen Yixin was only looking because he wanted to cut it off.
Chen Yixin met Wenren Li’s gaze, and the danger in his eyes immediately vanished. He wrapped an arm around Wenren Li and simply collapsed into his embrace. “That was disgusting. I need to hold A-Li for a while and look at A-Li some more to cleanse my eyes.”
“All right.” Wenren Li stroked Chen Yixin’s hair, and there was really no need to describe the indulgence in the gesture. Han Zichuan and Yun Yazi both looked away after staring for a moment. Unless something truly extraordinary happened between these two men, there was probably no room for anyone else to come between them.
“A-Rong and I didn’t come here to stop whatever deal you intend to make.”
Wenren Li continued stroking Chen Yixin’s hair as he addressed Yun Yazi. Once everything was settled and everyone who upset Chen Yixin had been driven out of Yanzhou, the two of them could finally return to their bridal chamber and dual-cultivate in peace.
“But you—you broke the agreement you made with me and altered A-Rong’s memories without permission. Do you have anything you intend to explain to either of us?”
Yun Yazi owed Chen Yixin an explanation, but he owed Wenren Li one as well. Back then, the two of them had jointly protected Chen Yixin while he cultivated. At the final moment, Wenren Li had voluntarily taken every enemy upon himself and asked Yun Yazi for only one thing: to pass a message to Chen Yixin. Yun Yazi had broken his word.
“I broke my promise and violated our agreement.”
Yun Yazi lowered his gaze even further. Wenren Li awakening this early meant Yun Yazi’s plan had failed completely. And reality had indeed proven it: Wenren Li was the person Chen Yixin had chosen. Yun Yazi had managed to stop them once, but he could not stop them a second time.
“I have nothing to say. I only hope the Demon Lord will treat Yixin well from now on.”
“Heh…” Chen Yixin, who had buried his face beside Wenren Li’s neck, gave a cold laugh. He turned to look at Yun Yazi, his eyes filled with disappointment he could not conceal. “Master really is heartless. You have nothing to say, but A-Li and I lost a hundred years because of you, and I even ended up raising a thankless wolf like that…”
Jing Zhihua’s face flushed slightly as though he had something else to say, but Yun Yazi touched a finger lightly through the air and Jing Zhihua immediately lost consciousness. If Jing Zhihua kept provoking Chen Yixin, today’s confrontation would not end with words alone.
“What is Master afraid of? Let him speak. It isn’t as though this is the first time he’s humiliated me like this.” Chen Yixin laughed coldly, then finally looked toward Yun Zhenzi. “Isn’t that right, Martial Uncle?”
Before Chen Yixin had been sent back to the Zhenhai Chen clan from the Yuding Sect, Jing Zhihua had shown him this same ugly face more than once. Back then, Jing Zhihua had been even more explicit, going so far as to suggest that Chen Yixin become his male concubine.
The more Chen Yixin talked about it, the more disgusted he became, and his desire to kill Jing Zhihua only intensified.
“The divine scion is young and impetuous, and his temper may be somewhat strong, but you were the one who humiliated him with the engagement first. It’s all in the past now. There’s no point bringing it up again.” Yun Zhenzi’s voice carried the refined cadence of a scholar, but spoken with such self-righteous confidence now, that refinement only made him sound sanctimonious.
So all those years Chen Yixin had protected and spoiled Jing Zhihua had somehow become humiliation?
“Junior Brother!” Yun Yazi warned Yun Zhenzi. They were hardly confronting Chen Yixin alone. Wenren Li was sitting directly in front of them, and so was Han Zichuan, Sect Master of the Tianji Sect, whose depth and allegiance remained unclear.
Yun Zhenzi did not think he had said anything wrong. He stepped forward twice and helped Jing Zhihua up. “Senior Brother, continue catching up with your disciple. I’ll take the divine scion and leave first.”
This was no longer mere sanctimony; it was sheer arrogance.
“Fellow Daoist Yun Zhenzi, if you pay me two hundred and fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones before taking him away, I have no objection. But Han has yet to see so much as half a spirit stone…”
They had become so absorbed in talking that they had apparently forgotten Han Zichuan had actually bought Jing Zhihua. Yun Zhenzi was even planning to walk off with him without paying. The sheer audacity of that calculation was enough to leave any normal person speechless.
“Or perhaps Fellow Daoist Yun Yazi intends to pay Han?”
“Ah, I forgot to mention something. If you’re conducting a transaction here in Yanzhou, you should pay A-Li and me a little… venue fee as well. Not much—exactly fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones.” Chen Yixin was growing increasingly fluent at extortion. With a few movements of his lips, he had casually demanded another fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Converted into low-grade spirit stones, that was five million. Even calling it an outrageous demand no longer seemed sufficient.
But Chen Yixin simply disliked Yun Zhenzi and the Yuding Sect. If there was any possible way to squeeze spirit stones out of them, he intended to squeeze them dry.
Chen Yixin’s face was exceptionally cold and solemn as he spoke, making it obvious there would be no negotiation. Yun Zhenzi had already been blocked by Han Zichuan, and now Chen Yixin casually extorted him on top of it. His face flushed red. He wanted to erupt but had no idea how, and the sheer frustration on his face was surprisingly satisfying to look at.
“That makes three hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones in total.” Han Zichuan had no intention whatsoever of paying an extra fifty thousand for a fake divine scion. Even if doing so would make Chen Yixin happy, there were plenty of other ways to accomplish that.
“Sect Master Han, rest assured. We’ll have it delivered to Tianchi Mountain in a few days.” Yun Yazi finally spoke, breaking through the increasingly awkward atmosphere. After speaking to Han Zichuan, he raised his gaze to Chen Yixin again, and a trace of bleakness entered his voice.
“The divine scion concerns Taixuan’s future. Some decisions left me with no other choice. I don’t expect you to understand me, and I accept that you may choose never to forgive me. We were master and disciple once…”
“Where is Zhou Yan?” Chen Yixin interrupted Yun Yazi’s increasingly emotional speech. He found it irritating and no longer had any desire to keep “reminiscing.” “Hand him over to me. Then the next time we meet, I might still be willing to call you Master.”
Jing Zhihua was a fool. Half of that was because Chen Yixin had spoiled him rotten, while the other half was because Zhou Yan had deliberately led him astray. More importantly, based on what Chen Yixin and Wenren Li suspected, Zhou Yan was definitely connected to the Otherworld Demon that had appeared in their hall earlier.
“Yixin, Zhou Yan is your senior brother. If he has done something wrong, I will punish him. But handing him over to you…”
“Would there be something inappropriate about handing him over to my Demon Consort?” The moment Wenren Li spoke, Yun Yazi felt pressure descend from him—far stronger than it had been a hundred years ago in the Fentian Nether Abode. Wenren Li had slept for a century, yet his cultivation had actually become even stronger?
“It seems you’re unwilling.” After Yun Yazi remained silent for a moment, Chen Yixin supplied the answer his silence had already given. Yun Yazi was not merely reluctant to give up Zhou Yan as a disciple. Perhaps, in Yun Yazi’s mind, this was his boundary—a boundary Chen Yixin still had no right to cross.
“I’ll call you Master one last time.” Chen Yixin rose as he spoke and looked Yun Yazi directly in the eyes. He had come to see Yun Yazi today because he intended to bring their hundred-year master-disciple relationship to a complete end.
“Master, be careful of Zhou Yan.” Chen Yixin said it neither loudly nor softly, but both Yun Yazi and Han Zichuan immediately fell into thought.
“One more thing. Once Sect Master Han and the Yuding Sect have settled the matter between yourselves, have someone send the fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones to the Demon Palace. If A-Li and I have to come collect them ourselves, the price won’t still be fifty thousand.”
With that, Chen Yixin turned away. Wenren Li stood as well, reaching out to pull Chen Yixin into his arms. “A-Rong can rest easy. From now on, what is mine is yours, and wherever the two of us are together is our home.”
The Yuding Sect was no longer Chen Yixin’s home, but the Likui Demon Palace always would be.
“Mm.” Chen Yixin answered and wrapped his arms around Wenren Li’s waist. The trace of sadness that had suddenly risen in his heart dissipated with Wenren Li’s words.
“Today is A-Rong’s and my wedding day, so I’ll postpone the matter of settling accounts for now. Three months from now, we’ll come to the Yuding Sect for the person we want. If you still refuse to give A-Rong and me an explanation then, we’ll collect it ourselves.”
The betrayal Chen Yixin had suffered at the Yuding Sect had never been settled. Everyone involved, Zhou Yan included, would eventually face his reckoning. Back then, Wenren Li had temporarily let the matter rest because he was worried about Chen Yixin’s injuries. Now that Chen Yixin had recovered, the time had come to return and settle everything.
“There’s one more thing you’ll learn soon enough. After today, the Yanyue Sect will no longer exist in Taixuan.”
On this very day—the day Wenren Li and Chen Yixin were married, when countless members of both the orthodox and demonic paths had gathered in Yanzhou—the absent Yanyue Sect had already been uprooted and completely erased. Every part of the operation had been arranged personally by Chen Yixin through Wu Fei and the others.
A hundred years ago, Wenren Li had first killed one of their elders. This time, he had killed their sect master and captured their Deputy Sect Master. Miao Yin had openly declared that the Yanyue Sect and Likui Demon Palace could never coexist. Were they supposed to sit around waiting for the entire Yanyue Sect to come seeking revenge? Naturally, it was better to strike first.
The leaders of the major Immortal Sects had all been drawn to Yanzhou. With the Likui Demon Palace facing the Yanyue Sect alone, destroying the Yanyue Sect had cost the Likui Demon Palace very little. In fact, the Yanyue Sect’s pleas for help had not even managed to reach Yanzhou before the sect was completely destroyed.
But to Yun Yazi and Yun Zhenzi, Wenren Li’s words were more than a simple announcement. He was warning them—warning the Yuding Sect not to follow in the Yanyue Sect’s footsteps.
“A-Rong, let’s go back.”
Wenren Li had no intention of waiting for their reaction. He took a step and carried Chen Yixin directly back to the small courtyard outside their bedchamber at the Likui Demon Palace. He originally intended to pull Chen Yixin straight inside, but Chen Yixin tugged him in the opposite direction and headed toward a room in the side hall instead.
There was a wine pool inside the side hall, though the pool that had originally been full was now only half filled. A sheet of silver floated on its surface. Chen Yixin used his spiritual power to lift the drunken Yinzi out of the wine.
With obvious distaste, Chen Yixin grabbed Yinzi by one of its long tendrils and deposited it on the large bed in the side hall. He even covered Yinzi with a Woven Cloud blanket before finally taking Wenren Li’s hand and leaving.
“The Abode Spirit said Yinzi was a gift A-Li gave me.” Once they stepped out through the doors of the side hall, Chen Yixin glanced toward Wenren Li and told him this. So even the reason Chen Yixin treated Yinzi so well was, in large part, because Yinzi had come from Wenren Li.
Before falling in love with Wenren Li, Chen Yixin had never imagined he could become so deeply attached to someone that his affection naturally extended to everything connected to them.
“A-Li must have given me plenty of other things too. It’s a shame I don’t remember any of them.”
At first, Chen Yixin had resisted the idea of his previous life, always feeling that the person from those memories was not truly him. But after learning about the bond he had shared with Wenren Li, his attitude had shifted from resistance to anticipation. He found himself constantly wanting to know more about the two of them. Not every memory had to be happy, but all of them were undeniably special to Chen Yixin and Wenren Li.
Wenren Li’s expression softened along with Chen Yixin’s words. His own feelings were much the same, perhaps even stronger. He wanted desperately to recover his memories, because none of the kindness Chen Yixin had shown him deserved to be forgotten. They were memories worthy of everything he could do to preserve them.
“And when A-Li said those things just now…”
“Mm?” Wenren Li waited for Chen Yixin to continue, only to find Chen Yixin pressing his lips together while staring at him with shining eyes. Those bright eyes moved steadily closer until, right in front of their bedchamber door, Chen Yixin leaned in and bit lightly at his lips.
“They made me want to kiss A-Li.” Only after kissing Wenren Li did Chen Yixin finish what he had been trying to say. He had not merely wanted to kiss him; he had already done it.
Wenren Li’s Adam’s apple moved. He pushed open the door and, with noticeably hurried steps, wrapped his arms around Chen Yixin and guided him inside. The instant the door closed behind them, Wenren Li pressed Chen Yixin back against it, leaned closer, and even his breathing became rapid.
They looked at each other for a moment. Wenren Li lowered his head, Chen Yixin willingly tipped up his chin, and their lips met.
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