As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Feng Qingyun took a deep breath. For a moment he fell into despair, just about to reach his hand and pick another flower bud from his main vine. However, Long Yin pressed his wrist quickly. “Little Palace Master, your good family is still watching us.” Seeing that he was too guilty to listen to common sense, the Demon Lord had to change his words. “Feeding me your flower buds in public…” He said. “I don’t mind, but when that obnoxious niece of yours goes back and talks to someone, I’m afraid–“
The effect of his speech was basically immediate.
Feng Qingyun was also worried about that. At the moment, he finally remembered there were outsiders present, so before Long Yin could finish his words, he immediately retracted his main vine, gathering all the strange flowers and plants inside the Baihua Cave and storing them together.
And just like that, the huge cave turned into a barren land in an instant, looking extremely desolate.
Hua Ying’s face suddenly changed. The ferocious vines swallowed all the precious thousand-year-old flowers, not leaving even a single leaf for them. And yet, she still didn’t dare to say a word until Feng Qingyun got up and turned his head, facing them with a faint expression.
That look was completely different from the anxious one he showed in front of the Demon Lord, just like looking at a group of strangers. Hua Ying’s heart suddenly felt like it was stabbed with a needle-like discomfort, and even her stomach churned a little uncomfortably for a moment.
Just as she was about to call Uncle, she suddenly noticed the clothes they were wearing and, after realizing something, her expression immediately changed: “You are that male–!”
The words “male pet” almost left her lips but fortunately, her companions seemed a little bit smarter for once, eagerly stopping her and silently begging her to swallow those words back to where they came from. At present, Mu Hanyang was not with them, and with their cultivation… Even if they were stacked together on top of each other, they were still not enough to fill the space in between the Demon Lord’s teeth. Weirdly enough, they did not notice that Long Yin was momentarily just a pretty ruin held together with magic glue. They’ve only seen Feng Qingyun feed him a flower bud, an action that seemingly healed all his wounds in an instant. Therefore, those righteous cultivators subconsciously thought Long Yin had recovered his full strength.
However, even if the Demon Lord was out of the discussion, they still did not dare to act rashly. With Feng Qingyun’s attitude of not recognizing them at all, it was still unknown what kind of fate awaited them.
After a few breaths, Hua Ying finally found a few words that did not sound downright offensive: “… It turns out that it was Uncle who prevented us from buying Tianshan Jade before…”
“That would be useless for you anyway,” Feng Qingyun answered lightly.
Hua Ying almost choked on her breath, screaming back with indignation: “…Eldest Brother is crippled and Second Brother’s cultivation is all gone, all because of that demon next to you! They were raised by you, Uncle, how can you be so cruel to them?!”
And yet, Feng Qingyun asked back, just as calm as before: “Weren’t you also raised by me?”
Hua Ying fell silent as if she didn’t expect him to say that. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
“You have always loved alchemy. When I ordered you to practice diligently and carefully refine three furnaces every day, you disobeyed the Yin and Yang and tried to take shortcuts by conspiring with Mu Hanyang behind my back.” Feng Qingyun continued calmly in his ever-so-cold tone. “Because he gave you quality materials, did you truly believe you were a naturally born genius at refining pills?”
Hua Ying’s face turned pale when she heard her achievements being questioned, and she subconsciously argued back: “…That’s because Master believed in my talent. You didn’t!”
“Talent?” Feng Qingyun stared at her and said word by word. “Do you know what he gave you?”
The poor girl was stunned, and a horrible answer overflowed from her heart: “…What?”
“The single bud I managed to nurture after hundreds of years,” Feng Qingyun said lightly.
As soon as those words were said, Hua Ying’s face suddenly became emptier than ever before.
“Mu Hanyang was afraid that if your cultivation stagnated, you’d be devastated, so he didn’t let me tell you. All those “quality materials” he generously gave you after ripping them from me were for you to grow into a proud child of Heaven. Instead, he made you like this… Arrogant, disrespectful, and a complete bully.” Every word Feng Qingyun said cut into Hua Ying’s heart. “So, have I ever been cruel to you?”
Hua Ying couldn’t believe what he said for a moment, trembling with a faint spirit: “I…I…”
Although Long Yin vaguely guessed that Feng Qingyun’s habit of cutting his vines left and right at any given time was developed in the Xiān Gōng Sect, he never thought that even his niece’s practice of alchemy depended solely on consuming his precious buds as soon as he managed to grow them.
No wonder his man couldn’t bloom for 600 years!
Thinking of that, Long Yin’s face darkened, but he really was weak and useless at the moment, otherwise… Hua Ying’s two brothers at home would really have something to cry about. As for the little stupid girl, she didn’t know about Long Yin’s real situation, but simply looking at his terrible eyes made her almost jump out of her body.
Feng Qingyun quickly grabbed Long Yin’s wrist, stopping him from entangling with useless people. However, seeing that he had every intention of turning around and leaving, Hua Ying still couldn’t care about anything else, plucking up the courage to say: “…Uncle… Master, I’m sorry.”
And yet, Feng Qingyun answered lightly: “I don’t need it, and I don’t accept your apology. Not everything in the world can be fixed by a word of sorry.
Hua Ying was a proud righteous cultivator, so proud that apologizing almost took all her self-esteem, making her feel like crying when Feng Qingyun rejected her olive branch. But thinking of her poor and sick brothers far away in the Xiān Gōng Sect, she still shamelessly continued: “My brothers… They didn’t mean it. Eldest Brother lost his right eye. He’s such a proud person, if he can’t see again, he’s going to die! Please, Uncle, for the sake of raising us, save him!”
Feng Qingyun finally raised his eyes and looked at her. After a while, he actually took out a Baimu fruit from his storage bag. Everyone immediately showed joy when they saw it, and only Long Yin raised his eyebrows.
The next second, however, Feng Qingyun cast a spell on the Baimu fruit right in front of their eyes.
“I remember Liu Wu said that from now on, he will practice his Master’s sword, abandoning all the things I taught him. However, he might have abolished my swordsmanship that day, but he did not abolish the cultivation I helped him achieve,” Feng Qingyun said. “Since I’ve already raised him once, I no longer owe him anything. Since you want me to help him again, he’ll have to return what he got from me first.” Looking at the Baimu fruit in his hands, he continued: “This is what he needs to regain his sight. However, it comes with a condition. After eating it, his cultivation will go back to theQi Condensation stage. Whether he wants eyes or power, he can decide by himself.”
Hearing that, Hua Ying couldn’t help but feel a chill in her heart, panicking: “Uncle–“
“From now on, I’m no longer your uncle.” Feng Qingyun said as he threw the Baimu fruit to her. “Go back and tell Mu Hanyang that he doesn’t have to look for Lingsai incense anymore since I don’t plan on ever coming back.”
Realizing that Feng Qingyun had listened to all their discussions at that time, everyone’s faces turned white while Hua Ying’s brain started to buzz. For the first time, she felt abandoned, unsteady on her feet, and with heavy drops of tears in her eyes that were about to fall any moment.
But Feng Qingyun didn’t even look at her twice, pulling Long Yin away from the ruins without looking back.
…………………
The two were a little luckier when leaving the secret realm since as soon as they looked up, they were already in the floating mansion they rented. Feng Qingyun quickly pulled Long Yin back to their bedroom and sat him down on the bed solemnly.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Long Yin still had the heart to joke. “Were you afraid that I was going to kill your niece?”
“She hasn’t been my niece for a long time.” Feng Qingyun was no longer shy and reserved in speech, continuing: ” With Hua Ying’s plain cultivation, she’d eventually find her demise on her own. What I was afraid of was you dropping dead in front of everyone, while still running your mouth!” After saying that, he immediately grabbed his storage bag, desperately looking inside for any kind of life-saving elixir. However, he forgot that he was a sword cultivator and a spiritual plant on top of it! There were no elixirs that would work on him anyways, so there was no need to even carry one. Therefore, he searched for a long time, going from his storage bag to the storage ring Long Yin gave him, before finally finding half a bottle of qi replenishing elixir, which was nothing but a layer of crumbs left at the bottom of his pockets.
Feng Qingyun put that sorry excuse of a life-saving item in front of Long Yin with a cold face, planning to go and buy everything and anything he could find at the stalls downstairs. “Wait, wait!” Seeing his agitated mood, Long Yin grabbed his wrist and staggered: “I don’t even have a drop of magic breath left! Guess how many cultivators in here know what you look like and are able to sense your current spiritual state at the same time?!”
“I don’t care if they recognize me! Can they refuse to sell me magic potions because they know who I am?!” Feng Qingyun pursed his lips, saying harshly.
“Then I’m afraid they won’t even dare to accept your spirit stones.” Long Yin moved his hand from grabbing his wrist to grabbing his palm and smiled. “My Little Palace Master is not afraid of anyone, but they all know you came to the Demon World with me. Now you’re out there, desperately looking for life-saving elixirs while flaunting your abundant spiritual power… Isn’t that foolish? How different is that from straight up telling the whole world that medicine is for me? The Demon Lord is in trouble, so there’s a chance to dethrone me, and once there’s chaos, your world may not be peaceful.” Long Yin pulled Feng Qingyun’s hand and pressed it to his heart, continuing: “Since I am a demon, it’s not so easy for me to die. I’ll be fine in a moment.”
Feng Qingyun knelt beside him, frowning. Seeing that he was still hesitating, Long Yin simply pulled him over by the hand he was holding, rubbing their faces together. “… Does the Second Palace Master of the Xiān Gōng Sect want the whole world to know that you sucked me dry? That although you’re not very old, you still excel at using flawless self-taught techniques?”
Feng Qingyun’s face was hot. Seeing that the Demon Lord was still in the mood to mess with him, he knew there was nothing he could do to help… And yet, he still did not dare to push him away as usual, only retorting angrily: “… If you talk nonsense again, I will… Gag you!” As a sheltered little potted plant who grew up in the most righteous sect of the entire cultivation world, Feng Qingyun really… Couldn’t swear at all. On the contrary, he only managed to look like a bluffing cat.
Of course, Long Yin was not scared of that threat. Instead, he smiled and pulled Feng Qingyun even closer, essentially positioning himself comfortably on his lap. As for Feng Qingyun, he was stunned and his ears suddenly burned up, almost jumping up: “What are you doing–?!”
“Let’s talk about business.” Long Yin relied on his own “virtues” of taking the entire body after being offered a finger, pretending to be serious while simultaneously clinging to Feng Qingyun’s waist. “During that illusion in the ruins, I did not see the Xuanwu beast at all, but I did see that mysterious sword cultivator you spoke about. However, I saw him fighting two other cultivators, and as soon as the illusions ceased, there was only the heart of the beast left buried under the rocks. I came to find you right after, but I was still one step too late.”
Feng Qingyun was indeed taken away by his words, and for a moment, he forgot about the embarrassing position they were in. Hearing his recollection of the events, he frowned slightly and looked down at the man who was practically lying on top of his thighs, saying: “I saw the Xuanwu fighting three immortals at first. After the beast died and took one immortal with him, that sword cultivator arrived and attacked the remaining two, using the body of the Xuanwu to support the collapsed sky.”
“Three immortals?” Long Yin raised his eyes, and a strand of Feng Qingyun’s hair swept over his cheek, feeling slightly cool to the touch. He raised his hand and curled it around his finger, saying: “The illusion I saw showed him fighting only two.”
It was an extremely ambiguous action, coupled with an extremely ambiguous mood, but Feng Qingyun didn’t pay attention for a while. Instead, he said: “Accordingly, what we have arrived at should be scenes of different places happening at the same time during the ancient war. That mysterious cultivator, let’s assume he fought two cultivators somewhere, and then immediately rushed to save the Xuanwu. However, he was late, so he avenged the beast, used it to prevent the sky from collapsing, and left with his sword… And then the Xuanwu’s corpse fell back to the earth, nourishing the Baihua Cave. But the heart… Why was it on your side?”
“Perhaps the rest of the Xuanwu was buried somewhere else. I don’t care about that for the time being. I suddenly thought of one thing–” Long Yin turned around, asking: “You were attracted by the spiritual plants inside the Baihua Cave, and you also have drawn so much essence from me. You should have blossomed directly, right? Why is there still nothing? Was it not enough to fully satisfy you?”
In fact, Long Yin seemed to be more concerned about his blooming than Feng Qingyun himself. Moreover, his words were really a little too ambiguous, making Feng Qingyun’s ears turn red. “…You should pay attention to your words,” he mumbled.
Long Yin was still lying on his lap. Hearing that, he continued to play with Feng Qingyun’s hair, cheekily saying: “Why, Little Palace Master? Do you actually understand what I was hinting at? I thought you were really innocent and ignorant.”
However, Feng Qingyun pursed his lips and said: “…I have been married for more than 300 years in my previous life…”
“Oh~” Long Yin’s tone was long, and his eyes narrowed. “I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time. Since you liked that surnamed Mu so much, how come you never cornered him in bed and used him to advance your cultivation? Was it because you were afraid he could not embrace a man? But you could have used your identity as his little Miss Yu and guilt him into letting you suck him dry… “
Feng Qingyun was feeling hot all over, stumbling over his words in an effort to explain himself: “… I did not get the chance, he did call me “Miss Yu” on our wedding night and then accused me of tricking him!” Speaking of that, he suddenly paused and frowned at the person in his arms: “Wait, did you know that he was the groom in that illusion?!”
Long Yin deliberately asked: “Who?”
“Who?! Who are we even talking about?! Mu Hanyang!” Feng Qingyun snatched the strand of his hair from the Demon Lord’s hand, staring at him without blinking: “Did you know that the person he was looking for all this time was me?!”
Long Yin responded: “Naturally. The Dragon God is omnipotent.”
Feeling how ridiculous everything was, Feng Qingyun asked in anger: “…Then why didn’t you tell me?!”
“You never asked.” Long Yin’s answer was even more ridiculous. “Why would I tell you something that I was sure would make you unhappy? Remember how you acted that first time we met outside of the illusion world? You drew your sword and charged straight at me, without realizing once that I was the Dragon God. What good would it have been if I told you the truth? Both you and Mu Hanyang acted according to the arrangements of that illusion, unable to change the course of events. If he were to find out that you played the role of Miss Yu, would he come crying back to you, scolding his previous behavior and professing his undying love? What would you do then? Would that have made you happy?”
Feng Qingyun’s breathing stagnated. He looked down at Long Yin for three seconds, suddenly realizing that the Demon Lord was indeed the only man who fully knew him. After all, Mu Hanyang was the one who raised him from seed to human shape. While he was full of expectations for their future together… If he were to realize it was the man he deeply loved who chose to sacrifice him for the greater good right on the eve of their marriage ceremony… Would he give up on the future he dreamed about because of an illusion? Or would he choose to unhappily move forward with the wedding and continue living his life full of resentment and doubt?
Everything that happened in that illusory world was originally about gaining experience, but in the end, it was nothing but Heaven’s arrangement.
He probably would have ended up comforting himself that everything was his fate, overjoyed that his Senior Brother loved him after all, even if it was only in an illusion… And even if it was only when he played the role of a woman.
Feng Qingyun continued to look at Long Yin. For a long time, he couldn’t help but want to ask… Since you knew the truth, what was in your heart when you still chose to come to my Dao ceremony, and why did you leave without doing anything? But in the end, thinking that Long Yin was not the same person as he was in their previous life, he swallowed those words deep into his heart. However, as if he could read his mind, Long Yin suddenly said calmly: “Although I don’t have the memory of the past, you… You must have been very happy on your wedding day, right?”
Feng Qingyun was stunned. He suddenly recalled his excited and happy appearance on the day of the ceremony, answering softly: “…Hmm. I was stupid.”
“Then I must have also been stupid. I saw how happy you were so I must have not wanted to be the one who ruined it.” Despite not being able to recall the memories of their previous life together, Long Yin could still clearly guess what kind of thoughts he might have had.
Feng Qingyun’s heart trembled, only able to say after a long time: “…I thought that with your temper, you would have said something. Even if it didn’t work, you would have been pleased to just ruin the mood.”
“I would have been happy to ruin other people’s day, but I knew you did not want to come with me. Wouldn’t showing up just embarrass you on your happy day?” Long Yin laughed lightly at himself, before continuing: “I am not Mu Hanyang, nor do I want to see you even more entangled with him. After all, I am a selfish man, but keeping my mouth shut in that situation was the most magnanimous thing I could think of. As for doing other selfish things while presenting my actions as doing good for you… That’s something I completely despise.”
When Feng Qingyun heard those words, his heart jumped violently, as if he had been slapped. However, without waiting for that moving emotion to ferment, Long Yin followed closely by joking: “Who knew that my actions would condemn you to live the life of a widow despite being married?”
Feng Qingyun suddenly came back to his senses and couldn’t help staring at him. Seeing his annoyed reaction, Long Yin smiled more happily, looking very much like an enchanting ghost who was just about to steal someone’s soul. He even raised his hand and ran his fingers over the corners of Feng Qingyun’s mouth, saying: “So the Little Palace Master has eaten so much of this Lord’s blood, but there’s still no sign of blooming. Why? Do I not suit your taste?”
Feng Qingyun turned his head to avoid his movements, answering with red ears: “…I don’t know. The flower buds have developed to maturity, but it seems that they’re still not ready to open.”
“What’s missing?” Long Yin asked.
Feng Qingyun pursed his lips, still saying: “… I don’t know.”
Long Yin finally straightened up and sat up from his lap, commenting: “Your good brother raised you like this. You’re a spiritual plant and yet, you don’t know anything about your body.”
Feng Qingyun knew that he was at a loss, not daring to argue back, making Long Yin almost laugh at his meek appearance. “Let your main vine out and let me look at it,” he demanded.
Feng Qingyun took a deep breath, but after seeing the man’s serious expression, he still obediently did as he was told. Several bright red flower buds were hanging on his three-finger thick emerald green main vine. The largest of them had been plucked by Feng Qingyun himself, but the remaining buds were still struggling to open up.
Long Yin frowned and gently touched the flower bud closest to him. Just as he was about to check it in detail, he was directly hit in the face by the vine.
Long Yin: “…”
Feng Qingyun: “–!”
Feng Qingyun’s ears suddenly started ringing in shame, and he quickly tried to recall his main vine. As for Long Yin, his face immediately blossomed into a red mark, making him look like a hooligan who had been slapped by a virtuous lady. Rubbing his face half-heartedly, he complained: “How spirited… It looks like the Second Palace Master had long been itching to get revenge on this Lord, right?”
“…Who asked you to move without asking for permission?!” Feng Qingyun was very much a flower demon who lacked common sense. Even if he knew that spiritual plants were moody by nature, it still wasn’t good to touch them casually, right? But after actually “slapping” someone, he still felt guilty in his heart, with no confidence in his words.
Long Yin couldn’t help but hook the corners of his mouth, thoroughly enjoying the scolding. However, after Feng Qingyun pressed his lips, he unwillingly let the man check several flower buds from his main vine. Looking at them from all angles, the Demon Lord commented, with his expression gradually becoming more serious: “From the state of your flower buds, whether it’s spiritual power or age, they should have matured a long time ago. Previously, it was because of a lack of nutrients that your flower buds could not grow. Now, they managed to grow, but remain closed…”
And yet, Feng Qingyun couldn’t hear what he said at all. He simply clenched his heart tightly, with ears as red as if they were about to bleed. After a long time, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence from between his teeth: “I don’t know… Have you had enough?! Stop messing with it!”
Having his flower buds being turned and rubbed all over was simply a double torment of body and soul, leaving way for numbness and an unspeakable sense of shame to climb all the way to his heart. In a sense, Feng Qingyun felt that not even being stabbed with a sword was as painful.
However, Long Yin didn’t answer. After bowing his head for a moment, he actually asked a question that shocked the world, making both ghosts and gods cry: “If it’s not the flower bud, is there a problem with your stamens?”
Feng Qingyun was stunned at once. When he came to his senses, he couldn’t believe it: “…What… What do you want to do?!”
“Open your flower buds and see the situation of your stamens, obviously.” Long Yin’s serious appearance didn’t look like he was playing tricks. “Your flower buds are likely to have developmental problems, or your whole plant has problems. Anyway, there’s only one way to find out.”
Feng Qingyun almost tried his best not to slap the man’s face once again, saying from between his teeth: “…Don’t even think about it!” After saying that, he immediately wanted to retract his main vine back into his primordial body, but Long Yin was acting uncharacteristically serious, pulling at it with a deadly grip. “You said that your cultivation stagnated somewhere. Your swordsmanship has continued to be refined, but you’re no longer able to advance your realm. Haven’t you thought about why? As a flower demon, your flowers will not bloom, so naturally, you can’t reach the peak either. It’s simply a miracle that you still managed to cultivate so far despite not solving this matter, but if you continue like this… I’m afraid that one day both of us will really see the Dao, only that it will be way too late. So, do I have your permission to continue?”
Feng Qingyun suddenly stopped. Getting the opportunity to be reborn must come with a huge price but in the end… There was still no chance for him to ascend to Heaven. So, was he willing to continue? Feng Qingyun suddenly fell silent but Long Yin didn’t urge him, only waiting quietly. After making full psychological preparations, Feng Qingyun finally nodded. However, he regretted his decision almost immediately, as soon as the Demon Lord actually held his main vine in his hands.
The petals were rubbed open one by one, and the stamens were exposed to the air, arousing unprecedented shivers and ripples. Feng Qingyun’s pupils shrank sharply and he pulled away, trying to escape. “Wait, wait… Long Yin! No–“
But the man still pulled his main vine, continuing to forcibly open up the buds on it. Then, with a rigorous and focused posture, he gently ran his fingertips over the young and fragile stamens.
Feng Qingyun’s pupils trembled slightly, and the bottom of his eyes was dyed with water almost instantly: “You–!”
……………………..
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