Sixteen years ago, Zhou Xuanlan woke up in the rainy night, finding himself tightly holding a red-clothed young man in his arms.
The young man’s appearance somewhat resembled his master in his memory, yet seemed different.
His nominal master then, Shen Liuxiang, typically wore white clothes, his face covered with thick powder that blurred his features, leaving people to remember only his pale face and a strand of hair almost touching the ground—entwined with Ye Bingran’s hair.
Only once had he revealed a face like this young man’s.
Thus, Zhou Xuanlan wasn’t even sure if this was his cruel master who only knew how to be infatuated with Ye Bingran.
Nevertheless, it didn’t prevent him from immediately throwing the person aside. In this completely unfamiliar environment, he observed discreetly, gradually understanding the situation from the cheers and conversations of those around.
Zhou Xuanlan had no attachment to the world in his memory, only regretting that he hadn’t yet clarified some things, so he adapted to the change extremely quickly. In his previous life, he had become the lord of the Three Realms without ever revealing his demon race identity, but in this world, not only was it exposed, he was merely a demon king.
Zhou Xuanlan couldn’t tolerate this. Against the opposition of many demon kings, he waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood to ascend to the position of Demon Emperor. After being somewhat satisfied, he discovered that the reverse scale on his body was gone.
He had no past memories but vaguely felt he had given it to Shen Liuxiang.
This was the most incomprehensible thing to him.
His nominal master Shen Liuxiang, who had repeatedly harmed him for Ye Bingran’s sake, placed him in mortal danger multiple times, and finally perished saving Ye Bingran, had actually been intimate with him…
Zhou Xuanlan was utterly disgusted, firmly convinced this couldn’t have been him, that he couldn’t possibly have done such a thing!
The dead do not return to life, and the reverse scale was nowhere to be found.
Until today, when he sensed the aura of the reverse scale and rushed over.
The young man before him was indeed different from the Shen Liuxiang he knew and seemed to know no fear, or perhaps still regarded him as that beloved Zhou Xuanlan.
Zhou Xuanlan took out a silk handkerchief, wiping his thin lips, his eyes filled with anger.
Shen Liuxiang watched his actions, seeing he was nearly wiping his lips raw. He couldn’t help but blink his phoenix eyes, for the first time suspecting that Zhou Xuanlan had a cleanliness obsession. Otherwise… he couldn’t possibly be so repulsed by him, could he?
A desolate autumn wind swept through Shen Liuxiang’s heart. Just as he was about to ask for clarification, a slender hand caressed the back of his neck, the well-defined fingers experimentally squeezing, with considerable force, emanating a faint cool sensation.
Shen Liuxiang was stunned. That hand had already moved from the back of his neck to the front, pausing briefly at his throat, then suddenly gripping it.
Zhou Xuanlan’s fingers tightened, choking the delicate, fragile neck.
Ao Yue was completely unaware of this, his giant gray wings flapping as he flew toward the boundless Xuanyao Palace.
On his broad back, the purple-clothed youth was forced to tilt his head back, disbelief on his face, both hands grabbing Zhou Xuanlan’s powerful wrist, desperately trying to loosen the hand choking his neck.
But that hand only applied more force.
The knuckles turned white from exertion, and blue veins bulged under the skin on the back of his hand.
Clearly determined to strangle his prey!
Zhou Xuanlan’s eyes were ice-cold. Shen Liuxiang, being choked by him, widened his phoenix eyes, as if unable to believe he would do this. Only after sensing his emanating killing intent did his expression change from disbelief to despair.
The corners of his eyes reddened unconsciously, his long eyelashes trembling, almost on the verge of tears.
“Zhou Xuanlan… you…”
Shen Liuxiang’s voice was choked, struggling to utter words. “You… you need to apply more force! Otherwise… I can’t act convincingly…”
“Boom—!”
Thousands of thunders suddenly erupted in the sky.
A vein bulged on Zhou Xuanlan’s temple, and the terrifying pressure he released frightened Ao Yue into falling from midair. Amid the violent turbulence, his hand applied even more force, a strength capable of destroying heaven and earth, choking Shen Liuxiang’s neck.
Yet the other remained full of vitality, the tears he had tried so hard to squeeze out evaporating due to the prolonged time.
Evidently, with the reverse scale’s existence, he couldn’t harm Shen Liuxiang in the slightest.
Zhou Xuanlan had never been so irritated. When he had seen Shen Liuxiang’s utterly desperate expression, he thought he had succeeded… but it was all an act!
“Bang!”
Ao Yue crashed to the ground, rolled in fear, and shrank into a pudgy gray puppy form.
It wasn’t that he was a coward; the demon race’s bloodline suppression was innate. He didn’t know why Zhou Xuanlan had suddenly rele
ased dragon might. Not just him, but at that moment, everyone in the entire Xuanyao Palace was prostrated on the ground, trembling with fear.
In these ten-plus years, when had the Demon Emperor ever shown such great anger?
Now experiencing it firsthand, the vast Xuanyao Palace was completely silent.
And the person who caused all this, turning his head left and right, curiously surveyed the surroundings, then touched the stiff hand on his neck, his eyes curved in a smile: “Is your hand tired? Why not let go?”
Zhou Xuanlan remained silent.
So Shen Liuxiang wrinkled his nose, trying hard to redden his eyes: “Then I’ll cry for you, beg for mercy first, and you can magnanimously spare me, how about that?”
Zhou Xuanlan: “…”
He withdrew his hand, seeing that the young man’s fair neck, after all his great effort, was left with only faint red marks.
“…”
The atmosphere became somewhat frozen. Finally, Shen Liuxiang was picked up by Ao Yue, who had recovered his breath and grown larger.
Finding an uninhabited place to put Shen Liuxiang down, Ao Yue returned to human form and sighed deeply: “When the city gate catches fire, it’s the fish in the moat that suffer.”
Shen Liuxiang asked: “What happened while I was gone?”
Ao Yue recounted everything in detail. That year, when he arrived, Zhou Xuanlan was unconscious but tightly holding Shen Liuxiang’s corpse. No one could separate them. Just as he was wondering what to do, Zhou Xuanlan woke up, after which his temperament completely changed.
Shen Liuxiang estimated that the so-called corpse was an empty shell created by his master using supreme magic, intended to make the world believe he was dead so they wouldn’t search everywhere, interfering with his soul nurturing in the Devil Realm.
Ao Yue said: “Zhou Xuanlan was probably too heartbroken and ignored you, so I found a place with good feng shui and buried you there.”
Shen Liuxiang placed his hand on Ao Yue’s shoulder, patting it: “For that, I must thank you.”
“You owe me a huge favor!”
Ao Yue howled, his expression excited. “Do you know what pressure I was under?!”
“At that time, Xu Xing… Emperor and Ling Ye, one wanted to take your corpse back to the Imperial Palace, the other wanted to take it back to Qinglin. Neither would yield, and the two fought fiercely outside. So I dug a hole overnight and buried you.”
Speaking of this, Ao Yue was tearful: “They almost slaughtered me! Fortunately, I was holding your tombstone! They still wanted to dig you out from the grave, but I shouted ‘Rest in peace’ until my throat was raw, before they abandoned the idea.”
In the end, Ao Yue said: “You should visit Zhongling Mountain. The place I chose for you is particularly good, with a mountain of orange trees.”
Shen Liuxiang said gratefully: “Next time, definitely.”
The two talked for a long time, and the sky had already darkened. Ao Yue looked up, thought for a moment, and said: “I need to return to my den.”
Shen Liuxiang: “You’re not staying?”
Ao Yue said meaningfully: “Since you’ve returned, I don’t need to worry anymore and should go tend to my own affairs.”
Shen Liuxiang: “What affairs?”
Ao Yue shook his gray wings: “A grand plan for reproduction, to revitalize the Heavenly Dog tribe.”
“?!”
Shen Liuxiang asked: “You’ve gotten over Su Baiche?”
“My feelings for True Man Su were ultimately misplaced,”
Ao Yue choked up. “I once found him and asked if he remembered those tunes he played for me at Qinglin Sect when he was dressed in white. But surrounded by wives and concubines, with his vast wealth behind him, he mercilessly drove me away.”
Shen Liuxiang was shocked: “Wives and concubines!”
Ao Yue clearly didn’t want to discuss this further. With a wave of his wings, he was about to leave when Shen Liuxiang hurriedly asked: “Do you have any communication talismans? Give me a few.”
Ao Yue nodded, taking out a stack from his storage pouch, then suddenly realized: “And the storage pouch! I buried it with you!”
Shen Liuxiang accepted the communication talismans: “No matter, I’ll go to Zhongling Mountain another day and dig up the storage pouch.”
Only then did Ao Yue flap his wings and fly away.
The night sky was dotted with stars and the moon, without wind or clouds.
Shen Liuxiang stood in place, sending two messages to Qinglin Sect and the Imperial Palace. Then, holding another talisman, he remembered how Ye Bingran had swept his grave for many years. His long eyelashes lowered, and with a light sigh, he also sent a talisman to North Lun Sword Sect to express his gratitude.
Finally, Shen Liuxiang put the remaining communication talismans away and sought Zhou Xuanlan’s figure.
In the study, Zhou Xuanlan held a message that had just been delivered.
Gu Tie had appeared in Yanming City.
This Gu Tie, who always wore a ghost mask, had led the demon race in his previous life, initiating a great war between the demon realm and the cultivation and devil realms, which he had stopped. After defeating him, Zhou Xuanlan had found the remaining dragon eggshell on him and was about to research it when he opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by forest rain.
The other half of his eggshell contained important information, and he needed to find it.
And the reverse scale.
Zhou Xuanlan’s eyes darkened. Giving the reverse scale to someone else was such a foolish act, impossible for him.
Apart from anything else, without the reverse scale, his cultivation progress had become extremely slow over these years. It seemed that the previous ‘him’ wanted to keep Shen Liuxiang by his side forever. This way, with the reverse scale on him, it was as if it were on himself.
Now, before retrieving the reverse scale, he wouldn’t let Shen Liuxiang leave Xuanyao Palace.
Zhou Xuanlan left the study, his divine sense scanning around, finding the person in his bedchamber.
The young man was lying on the large bed, covered with a soft blanket.
His arm slightly shielding his eyes, straight nose and red lips, the inner clothes loosely worn, exposing half of his beautiful, fair collarbone. His soft black hair was spread on the bed, somewhat disheveled, giving off a sense of languor.
No matter how one looked, he was breathtakingly beautiful.
Standing by the bed, Zhou Xuanlan lowered his eyes, his thin lips slightly curving upward, then with a wave of his arm, threw the person along with the blanket outside the door.
“Get out—”
Shen Liuxiang woke from his dream, wrapped in the blanket, rolling several times in the corridor before finally stopping.
He looked up at the large door that had instantly closed, stood up, but before he could touch it, he was blocked by an invisible barrier.
Not giving him any chance at all.
Shen Liuxiang ground his teeth, turned around, and went back into the blanket, falling asleep in the corridor outside the door.
Zhou Xuanlan’s lips curved into a cold smile with a trace of mockery. Just as he was about to pour a cup of tea, his form suddenly paused.
Shen Liuxiang, with his head buried in the blanket, puffed his cheeks, took out the gleaming reverse scale, stared at it for a long time, and lightly kissed it.
“Either you had no choice… or you still refuse to remember me…”
“If it’s the former, I’ll forgive you; if it’s the latter… I’ll wait for you.”
All sensations from the reverse scale were transmitted to his heart, causing Zhou Xuanlan’s expression to be momentarily dazed. He slowly frowned, letting out a cold snort.
He certainly knows how to climb into bed.
Shen Liuxiang put away the reverse scale, poked his head out from the blanket, rested his hands behind his head, and openly slept in the corridor.
The next morning, he heard the door open, slightly opened his eyes, rubbed his sore neck, and saw black robes with gold trim flashing past before his eyes.
“Wait!”
Shen Liuxiang reached out to grab, but having just woken up, there wasn’t much strength in his hand and he couldn’t grip firmly. Fortunately, the other person stopped.
Zhou Xuanlan lowered his gaze.
The young man tilted his head up, blinked his phoenix eyes at him, and said: “I’m hungry.”
Shen Liuxiang’s cultivation had dropped to the Foundation Establishment level and he hadn’t yet practiced abstinence from food. His stomach had been empty all night and began to growl when he woke up.
Zhou Xuanlan stared at him for a moment, then summoned palace servants to prepare food. Shen Liuxiang was pleasantly surprised, but unexpectedly, after eating and drinking his fill and wiping his mouth, he was promptly taken away.
Shen Liuxiang belatedly realized: “The last breakfast?”
Zhou Xuanlan brought him to a quiet pavilion rich in spiritual energy: “This lord will cultivate here, and you are not to leave even half a step.”
“Not even half a step?”
Shen Liuxiang drew closer, putting on a pretended difficult expression. “This… you really can’t be apart from me, can you?”
Zhou Xuanlan: “The reverse scale is on you.”
Shen Liuxiang: “That’s a good excuse.”
Zhou Xuanlan’s face darkened. With a flash of movement, he made the young man who was approaching him miss his target and fall to the floor. “Do not leave the pavilion, nor come near this lord.”
Shen Liuxiang lightly pursed his lips, sat cross-legged, and also planned to cultivate.
But as soon as he closed his eyes, he noticed something wrong: all the spiritual energy in this place was rushing toward Zhou Xuanlan, and he couldn’t compete for even a tiny bit.
Shen Liuxiang opened his phoenix eyes, looking toward where countless spiritual energies were gathering. “Can you share a little with me?”
At the Foundation Establishment stage, compared to Zhou Xuanlan’s realm, he could only consume a tiny fraction of the spiritual energy here. If Zhou Xuanlan shared a little with him, it wouldn’t affect himself at all.
But the black eyes opened, looking at him coldly: “No.”
“Just a little bit.”
“It’s all mine.”
“…” Shen Liuxiang said, “Spiritual energy belongs to everyone. One shouldn’t be so domineering.”
Zhou Xuanlan closed his eyes and ignored him.
Shen Liuxiang was so angry his teeth itched. He tried to compete for spiritual energy for another half hour, competing until he was dizzy and nearly fainted when he opened his eyes.
He caught his breath, looking toward the dark figure not far away. Seeing the spiritual energy flowing peacefully around him, he should be in a meditative state where small disturbances wouldn’t bother him.
Shen Liuxiang stood up. Unable to cultivate, he could only wander around.
On a carved desk made of spiritual wood, there was a complete set of writing implements. Shen Liuxiang took a few sheets of paper, sat closer to Zhou Xuanlan, and idly began folding little objects.
After folding one, he would throw it onto Zhou Xuanlan. Since he wouldn’t notice at this moment, it was a way to vent his anger.
With the reverse scale nearby, for over a decade, Zhou Xuanlan had never cultivated so comfortably.
By the time he finished cultivating, it was already late night.
He opened his eyes, about to stand up, when from his headpiece, shoulders, collar… a large pile of paper objects fell down with a rustle – paper cranes, roses, stars, little frogs, all sorts of things. Around him, they were piled like mountains.
Zhou Xuanlan lowered his eyes, his brows exuding a gloomy air.
In an instant, the pavilion lit up with fire.
Zhou Xuanlan found the young man lying on the desk, his eyes revealing murderous intent. Unable to harm the person, he was about to smash the desk with a palm strike.
At this moment, the young man slightly turned his head.
Perhaps hungry from not eating all day, Shen Liuxiang unconsciously pressed his lips together. His face, white as jade, with dark eyelashes lowered, showed he was sleeping soundly.
Zhou Xuanlan’s hand paused, the spiritual energy in his palm unconsciously dissipating.
His gaze was obscure and unreadable. After staring for a while, he stepped forward, his slender hand falling on the desk.
He tapped lightly: “Get up.”
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Aghidjgf, give back the real ZXL! ><
Thank You for the new chapter♡ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ)