《Binding the Dragon for the Empress》


 Prologue

    Ten thousand years ago, in the Nine Heavens, the love between the Heavenly Emperor and General Xuan Long was the envy of the gods.


    The day of the war between the gods and the devils, the sky was dyed red with blood as the two tribes bordered on the South Ridge of the Gods, and General Xuan Long led the heavenly soldiers and generals to chase away the devils. However, he was seriously injured and fell into the arms of the Heavenly Emperor who came to him, smiling as he was dying, "Don''t cry, I''m not going to disappear. After I fall into reincarnation, you can come and find me."


    The Heavenly Emperor cried like a child who could not find his mother and wiped away the blood that was pouring out of his mouth, "The four seas and eight wildernesses are so big, how can I find¡­ You must not die, how can I bear it if you die and leave me alone?"


    "A''Yuan is good, be obedient." Xuan Long strained to lift his blood-stained hand, his fingertips probing the Heavenly Emperor''s stunning face, wanting to wipe his tears, but afraid of dirtying his face, he withdrew his hand. "See the wound on my face? The marks left by the karmic fire will be engraved on my soul and carried with me in reincarnation¡­ The next time you see me, you will recognize me at a glance." Xuan Long''s handsome face was so obscured by blood that he could barely see his original face. The right side of his face was burned by fire and the flesh was turned out, and even his long, originally shiny hair had lost its luster like dead grass. A hole was pierced in the front of his silver battle suit, and blood poured out of his heart.


    "I don''t want it, I don''t want the next life, I want you to stay with me forever¡­" The Heavenly Emperor broke down and picked the man up in his arms, stood up and flew back to the Nine Heavens. "I''ll take you to the Healing Fairy now, there must be a way¡­"


    "There must be a way¡­" Xuan Long''s consciousness was already blurred, his turquoise eyes half-darkened. He thought it was raining in the sky, and it took him a moment to realize that it was his lover who was crying, "It''s no use¡­"


    ¡°A''Yuan¡­ it''s useless¡­" The Heavenly Emperor flew fast, and Xuan Long was held so steadily in his arms, so steadily that he wanted to sleep.


    ¡°A''Yuan, talk to me, okay?..." Xuan Long smiled softly with narrowed eyes. "If you keep ignoring me¡­ I''m going to fall asleep¡­"


    The Heavenly Emperor sobbed and choked, "Okay, when you''re better, I''ll talk to you every day, I won''t let you go anywhere, I don''t want you to be a general, I want you to be my Heavenly Queen."


    "Silly A''Yuan, I am willing to be your general." Xuan Long''s voice grew fainter and fainter, but a smile remained at the corners of his lips, "I am willing to be your general¡­ to protect you for all eternity."


    The man in his arms was lifeless before they could reach the Nine Heavens.


    "I should be the one to protect you¡­ I should be the one to protect you¡­" The Heavenly Emperor''s beautiful peach blossom eyes gradually lost their sparkle as he looked at the man in his arms with fondness and murmured. ¡°A''Po¡­ A''Po, look at me."


    "Don''t you sleep¡­ I beg you, don''t sleep, look at me¡­ okay¡­"


    ¡°A''Po¡­"


    "Didn''t you say you wanted to go to the eight wildernesses to see the sea? Open your eyes now and I''ll take you there, okay?¡­"


    Naturally no one answered him.


    The Heavenly Emperor felt that this man was joking with him, how could he die, how could he die¡­ It must be fake.


    "Han Po, if you don''t wake up, I''ll marry someone else to be the Heavenly Queen and not want you anymore." The Heavenly Emperor deliberately coldened his face to scare him.


    The man in his arms remained silent.


    However, the Heavenly Emperor panicked. Fearing that he might misunderstand, he leaned over to his ear and kissed him intimately, "I just lied to you¡­ I won''t marry anyone else, I just want you¡­"


    ¡°A''Po, wait for me¡­ I won''t keep you waiting for long."


    "When I find you, I''ll take you to see the sea in the eight wildernesses and do everything you want to do."


    ¡°Okay?¡­"


    Three days later, the 95th Heavenly Emperor abdicated from his divine status, fell into reincarnation, and voluntarily suffered the hardships of the world.


    It took the Heavenly Emperor ten thousand years to finally get the chance to reunite with Xuan Long in the mortal world, but he fell in love with the wrong person and personally pushed his A''Po into the abyss¡­

 CH 1

    A Dragon Heart Can Cure All Diseases


    Ten thousand years later. The Human World.


    "A bunch of trash! You can''t even diagnose what ailment my Queen is suffering from! What use do I have for you!!!¡± Inside Luanfeng Hall, a young emperor in a large red and gold wedding robe angrily slapped the edge of the bed and rose, pointing at and scolding the imperial doctors who were kneeling on the ground.


    "Your Majesty... the, the ministers are terrified¡­" The imperial doctors wailed as their foreheads hit the ground, shivering.


    ¡°Terrified, terrified, terrified! All you know is to be terrified! My Zhiyu is sick like this and you''re still terrified! If you don''t think of a way to save him, you will all have your heads taken off!¡± The emperor''s eyes were red, and after roaring, he dropped to the edge of the bed, drained of all strength. His peach blossom eyes turned from anger to softness when they saw the unconscious man on the bed, and his long fingers touched the man''s jade-like face lovingly, with endless pain flashing across his eyes.


    Behind the red silk screen, the man was also dressed in a large red wedding robe, with a golden silk phoenix on the robe, making his waist weak and his face pale.


    Ning Zhiyu, the son of the Prime Minister of the current dynasty.


    As his name suggests, he is a quiet and dignified man with the appearance of a clear breeze and a bright moon. Since they met at the Prime Minister''s residence a few years ago, Yan Yuan has fallen in love with him and has since become obsessed with him as if he were a treasure in the palm of his hand, a cinnabar mole that he holds in the palm of his hand for fear of dropping it or melting it in his mouth, a treasure among treasures. (Angel: A cinnabar mole refers to a mark left on the heart after experiencing a love which cannot be forgotten.)


    Yan Yuan finally married his beloved, as he wished, today.


    What no one could have imagined was that on the night of the wedding, Ning Zhiyu was struck with a sudden illness and his life was in danger, and none of the hundreds of doctors at the imperial hospital could diagnose what was wrong with him.


    The huge bedroom was silent. When everyone was in danger, a young imperial doctor in vermillion crane robes came out of the crowd and knelt down ten paces away from Yan Yuan, "Your Majesty, I have a method, perhaps it can be tried.¡±


    "Speak." Yan Yuan''s eager gaze was turned towards him, his voice sounding heavy.


    The young imperial doctor lifted his head, his red lips slightly parted as he spoke with a faint smile, "Outside Chang''an City, at the foot of Jinghua Mountain, there is a thousand year old pond with a mysterious dragon in it. The heart of a dragon can be used in medicine to cure a hundred kinds of diseases."


    "Dragon''s heart?" Yan Yuan frowned. "How do I obtain it?"


    "There are many immortal cultivators in Chang''an City, Your Majesty can seek their help." The imperial doctor said.


    Yan Yuan pondered for a moment, "Tomorrow I will personally take someone there to get the dragon heart¡­" His gaze was firm as he took Ning Zhiyu''s hand that was hanging on the edge of the bed, ¡°to save my A''Yu."

 CH 2

    The Heart and The Mouth Are Saying Different Things


    Rumour has it that there is a thousand-year-old pond beneath Jinghua Mountain in which a mysterious dragon lives.


    The rumours are true.


    Xuan Long was born ugly, with a broken horn. He was abandoned by his siblings and mother when he was young and was expelled from the dragon clan, so he wandered all the way here, living at the bottom of the pond for years.


    Yesterday, on a rare occasion, Xuan Long went out and picked up a badly wounded human from the edge of the pond.


    He had no idea that this human would be so noisy. Since waking up, he had been pestering him with questions, annoying the dragon as he asked questions that he could not answer.


    "What''s your name?"


    "¡­¡­"


    "How old are you?"


    "¡­¡­"


    "Have you always lived alone in the pond?"


    "¡­¡­"


    "Why don''t you have any family or friends?"


    "¡­¡­"


    The bottom of the pond was dark.


    Xuan Long, who had transformed into his human form, was sitting cross-legged on the ground with blank eyes. When he was disturbed, he raised his hand and waved his sleeve to silence him.


    Peace and quiet.


    The human had been rescued with wounds all over his body, and when he woke up, his bloodstained robes had long since disappeared. He woke up in a white tunic, his peach blossom eyes wide open as he circled around Xuan Long, pointing to his mouth anxiously but unable to make a sound.


    Xuan Long opened his eyes and looked at him coldly for a moment, then lifted his sleeve and with a wave of his sleeve, the silencing spell was lifted.


    The human breathed heavily before gluing himself to Xuan Long again, and was not afraid to get in his face, "Your pupils are so beautiful, they are turquoise¡­"


    "¡­¡­¡±


    "You''re so pretty, why do you need to wear a mask?"


    "¡­¡­"


    "You must look better without the mask, can you take it off and show me¡­" The human knelt down beside Xuan Long and lifted his white fingers to remove the golden mask with the ancient bronze pattern from the right side of his face.


    Xuan Long raised his hand to clamp down on the other man''s wrist and stared indifferently at the human, "You''re not afraid of me."


    "Why should I be afraid of you?" Yan Yuan laughed. His face was extremely beautiful, his eyelashes thick, and when he smiled, it was as if everything had lost its colour, the sky and the earth dimmed, giving people the illusion of gentleness and deep affection, if one ignored the cunning in it, "You saved my life, so naturally you are not an evil dragon like the rumours circulating, I like you."


    Xuan Long withdrew his hand and dropped his eyes in silence.


    No one had ever said they liked him.


    His mother and siblings hated him, saying that he was born ugly and unlucky, which would affect the dragon clan''s qi.


    It was even rumoured that there was an evil, man-eating dragon in the thousand-year-old pond. There are often Taoist priests who come to the pond to catch him, but they are not good enough to enter the ten-thousand-foot deep pond, so naturally they cannot harm him.


    This human, however, said that he liked him.


    When Yan Yuan realised that Xuan Long was not as cold and heartless as he appeared to be, he thought of his own dying empress, so he tried again and again to cling to him, hugging his thin waist and speaking coquettishly, "So what''s your name?"


    "You saved me and I don''t even know your name."


    "Just tell me¡­"


    Xuan Long had never been this close to another person before. His entire body froze, a trace of shock flashed through his demonic pupils, his thin lips pursed into a line, and he spoke stiffly, ¡°Nameless."


    "Nameless?¡± Yan Yuan straightened up in surprise to look at the other party, "Did your mother not give you a name?"


    Xuan Long''s eyelashes lowered, creating a faint shadow beneath the deep sockets of his eyes. As if this was a difficult question to answer, he was silent for a long time before answering, "Mhmm.¡±


    In human form, Xuan Long was not much different from an ordinary human, the only difference being the colour of his pupils.


    He was dressed in black clothes and his long hair was not tied back. With a waterfall of black hair spreading out around him, he looked cold and lonely. His face was clearly very handsome, but he had to wear a golden mask on the right side of his face, which was a bit odd.


    "Why?¡± Yan Yuan suppressed his inner doubts and asked, "Don''t you dragons have names?"


    "No." Xuan Long answered.


    Because his mother thought he was ugly and did not want to give him a name, she banished him from the dragon clan when he was less than a hundred years old.


    A dragon is considered to be an adult when he reaches the age of a thousand years, and at that time he was too young. He wandered around and was nearly caught by a Taoist priest trying to practice making pills, so he couldn''t be bothered to give himself a name.


    Later, he found this place to live, and since he had been a solitary dragon for thousands of years, he did not need a name.


    Yan Yuan didn''t know the reason for this, but he inexplicably felt some heartache, "Then let me help you name yourself, okay?..."


    Xuan Long turned his head in bewilderment to look at the human, and the pair of unconventional peach blossom eyes were filled with a gentle light, causing his heart, which had been silent for thousands of years, to beat heavily for no reason.


    Xuan Long, who had never experienced love before, did not understand what that meant and silently lowered his eyes, "No need, I don''t need a name."


    He would be alone in the future anyway.


    Yan Yuan frowned disapprovingly, "You should have a name if you are alive, how can you not have one?"


    He thought for a moment and his eyes suddenly lit up, "You were born so cold and handsome, how about calling yourself Han Po? Han as in ice, and Po as in water. Cold as ice water, coming and going as you please."


    Xuan Long wasn''t an ordinary person, so he didn''t understand the significance of it, but he was moved by the caring eyes of the human.


    When others saw him, they were afraid, but this man was not afraid, he even gave him a name.


    What a rarity.


    Xuan Long did not know that the human race is good at having a disagreement between their heart and mouth¡­ Although the man said he liked him, his heart was thinking about how to pull his scales and kill him.

 CH 3

    Would You Like to be With Me as Husband and Wife


    Trigger warning: This chapter does mention rough sex, though it doesn''t go into the details of it.


    On that day, Yan Yuan went out of the palace in disguise to look for the legendary mysterious dragon in the thousand-year-old pond under the Jinghua Mountain. Unexpectedly, before he could rendezvous with the immortal cultivators who claimed to be able to subdue demons, he was attacked at the edge of the pond and was seriously injured, and when he woke up, he found himself in the pond.


    It was a blessing in disguise.


    In recent years, the world has not been very peaceful. There are demons and evil spirits in and around Chang''an City, digging out people''s hearts and drinking their blood, and they are extremely evil. Yan Yuan originally thought that this mysterious dragon was not a good creature. A demon is a demon, cold-blooded and cruel. If he digs out his heart, he is doing the people a favour.


    However, now it was the very same demon in his eyes that had saved him.


    The empress'' life is in danger¡­ with only relying on the thousand-year-old ginseng, he will last at most three months.


    He doesn''t have much time left¡­


    As he was in a daze, the sound of footsteps approached the stone bed. Yan Yuan returned to his senses and rolled over to see the broken medicine bowl with a missing spout in the hand of a man in exquisite clothes, and immediately wrinkled his brow bitterly, ¡°A¡¯Po¡­ I think I am almost well enough, there is no need to drink any more medicine.¡±


    In a flash, a month had passed. His body had long since healed, but in order to find an excuse to stay, he had said that his internal injuries had not yet healed. When Xuan Long saw him shouting in pain all day, he poured him a bowl of medicine every day, a medicine that was neither grey nor black, and Yan Yuan was scared by the bitterness.


    Xuan Long handed the bowl to him, "Drink."


    The man seemed cold and ruthless, but in fact he was very easy to get along with, and it could be said that he had responded to Yan Yuan''s every request over the past month.


    As an emperor, he had been pampered since he was a child. His mouth was fussy and he loved good food. No matter what delicacy he wanted, Xuan Long could go to the market and get it for him, but he was extra tough on the matter of drinking medicine.


    Knowing that he could not avoid it, Yan Yuan took the bowl and drank it down, then handed it back to the dragon and was about to lie down to sleep when he was suddenly handed something else.


    It was a square piece of milky white cane sugar, lying in the palm of Xuan Long''s hand.


    Yan Yuan''s heart moved slightly. Picking up the sugar and putting it in his mouth, he washed down quite a bit of the bitterness, "You''ve gone to the mortal world again?"


    ¡°En." Xuan Long said.


    There was only one stone bed at the bottom of the pool, so the two of them could only sleep together at night. Xuan Long tended to take up a small spot along the edge of the bed, and he was accustomed to sleeping on his side with his back to Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan cherishes Ning Zhiyu and has always been in love with him, but has never crossed the threshold of courtesy, and has always kept to himself. For some reason, he couldn''t help himself when facing Xuan Long. Looking at the man''s lonely back, he couldn''t help but wrap his arms around his strong, thin waist, trying to dispel that loneliness, ¡°A''Po."


    Xuan Long''s body froze, and the roots of his ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    Except for his first instinct to push Yan Yuan away, which aggravated his injuries, Xuan Long did not resist Yan Yuan''s closeness afterwards.


    Even now, he was not used to having someone by his side, and was unable to get used to the feeling of a disturbed heartbeat.


    What was wrong with him¡­


    "I like you." Yan Yuan said close to the dragon''s ear.


    The fondness was genuine and had nothing to do with love, it was only because he had stepped in to save his life¡­ roughly like liking the heartfelt servants around him.


    If he didn''t have to, he wouldn''t want to hurt Xuan Long in any way, but now, he had to make a choice.


    His lover was waiting for him.


    ¡°¡­¡­" Xuan Long didn''t know how to reply to Yan Yuan, so he didn''t say anything.


    "Do you like me?¡­" Yan Yuan asked gently.


    Xuan Long''s turquoise demon pupils widened in bewilderment, his mind a jumble of confusion.


    He didn''t know.


    Most likely, he liked him.


    After all, no living being would hate someone who truly treated them with respect.


    "In our human race, if two people love each other, they can become husband and wife, never to be separated."


    ¡°A''Po, would you like to marry me?¡­"


    Yan Yuan''s voice was so gentle and melodious, like the most sincere zither sound in the world. It was buzzing and vibrating in Xuan Long''s ears, messing with his heartstrings, so much so that he didn''t even notice that his belt was being slowly unbuckled.


    ¡°Husband¡­ wife¡­" Xuan Long murmured in a trance, these two words too foreign to him.


    He had lived alone for thousands of years and had never thought that there would be a living being willing to be with him in the future.


    With gentle movements, Yan Yuan flipped Xuan Long over to lie flat on his back, bullying his way onto him. Placing his palm against the unmasked left side of the man''s face, he lowered his head to kiss his thin lips, ¡°En, husband and wife."


    "Would you like that?¡± Yan Yuan''s smile was the same as when he first saw him; a stranger like a jade, a gentleman like no other in the world, and a smile that gave Xuan Long the illusion that he would drown in his eyes.


    His cheeks burning inexplicably, Xuan Long turned his face away, no longer meeting his gaze, and spoke indifferently, "If you are willing, I don''t care."


    With a low laugh, Yan Yuan turned the man''s face and kissed him. Yan Yuan himself had little technical skill at all, just sticking his tongue in and kissing him. Xuan Long was embarrassed, his brow wrinkled in discomfort at the other man''s roughness, his long, sparse eyelashes fluttering helplessly, and his cheeks flushed.


    It was a good thing his complexion was not as white as Yan Yuan''s, so it wasn''t too obvious.


    When the kiss ended, Yan Yuan gasped for breath and went to pull at Xuan Long''s clothes, but Xuan Long clasped his wrist warily, his naturally cold turquoise eyes staring at him with a hint of suspicion.


    "What are you doing?"


    "To be husband and wife is to have intercourse, everyone does.¡± Yan Yuan said with amusement, "Don''t you know that?"


    Xuan Long stared at him for a moment without moving, then slowly let go of his hand.


    After taking off his clothes, Yan Yuan had no time to admire Xuan Long''s beautifully proportioned body before he noticed a wound on his chest the size of a grown man''s fist. The surface layer of skin was gone, revealing the pink and tender flesh inside, which was quite scary.


    "You''re injured?" Yan Yuan wrinkled his brow, subconsciously wanting to reach out and touch it, but afraid of hurting him. "How did you get it?"


    "It''s nothing to worry about." Xuan Long did not want to worry him and did not want to say more.


    Yan Yuan didn''t ask any more questions.


    It was the first time for both of them. As soon as they got to the main event, Xuan Long''s face turned white with pain and cold sweat appeared at the corners of his forehead. Yan Yuan stopped for a moment, ¡°Does it hurt? The first time is a little painful."


    Xuan Long saw his excited look and could not bear to spoil his fun, so he reluctantly gasped and said, ¡°It''s okay."


    How could Yan Yuan not know if Xuan Long was in pain? Before the wedding, the palace maids had sent him a book on lovemaking, so he knew exactly how to do it between men, and he had deliberately omitted those tedious steps to make him suffer.


    After the rough lovemaking session was over, Xuan Long''s face was bloodless, and his blue silk was scattered around his body in a messy manner, sticking to his cheeks. It was the first time Yan Yuan saw him look so weak, and he felt a little sad, ¡°Not feeling well?"


    Xuan Long opened his half-dazed eyes, and seeing Yan Yuan''s worried face, he said, ¡°¡­ It''s fine."


    Yan Yuan found blood between his legs and wanted to ask him to get up and clean it up, but the man had already fallen asleep, his sharp eyebrows stayed wrinkled, and he was defenseless in his sleep.


    Usually, Xuan Long''s sleep was very light; his five senses were so acute that he would wake up at the slightest turn of Yan Yuan¡¯s body. He had never slept this deeply.


    This might be his only chance¡­


    Yan Yuan stared at Xuan Long''s face for a long time. It was an extremely handsome and gentle face, even the shape of his lips looked good in just the right way, thin and glowing with a touch of powder, his masked appearance was like a heavenly god descending to the earth, ice-cold but not really inhuman.


    He had always been curious as to why Xuan Long wore that golden bronze mask, which he didn''t even take off in his sleep, and while it seemed like now was a good opportunity to find out, he no longer had the heart for it.


    There were more important things waiting for Yan Yuan to do.


    A little over half an hour later, Yan Yuan gingerly got out of bed and walked over to the uneven stone table not far away, on which were some fresh fruit and a shiny dagger.


    Xuan Long had never eaten fruit. All those things had come after Yan Yuan''s arrival, including the blanket on the stone bed, which Xuan Long had gone to mortal world to get because Yan Yuan had said it was too hard. Before that, the dragon had always slept on a bare stone bed.


    Yan Yuan picked up the dagger on the stone table, which felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, but he nonetheless forced himself to walk towards the man on the bed.


    Between the life of Xuan Long and the life of Ning Zhiyu¡­


    He chose the latter.

 CH 4

    Healing Medicine


    Xuan Long had been cultivating for nearly ten thousand years and should not have been so weak. As his great tribulation approached and his magic power weakened, the pain in his body became vivid, and even the wounds left by plucked scales were slow to heal.


    As the tribulation drew nearer, he became more and more like an ordinary mortal, and it was natural that he would suffer from this torment.


    The man on the stone bed, who had just experienced the so-called marital intercourse, was naked and had not even had time to cover himself with a quilt before falling asleep, trusting Yan Yuan too much to think of defending himself.


    Yan Yuan quietly stopped at the edge of the bed, his eyes falling on the wound on the left side of Xuan Long¡¯s chest. The wound was right over his heart, as long as the dagger was stabbed in, he would die¡­


    It wouldn''t be too painful.


    Then his heart could be cut out and he could go back to save A''Yu.


    As an emperor, Yan Yuan has a compassionate heart, but he knows that he is not an indecisive person. When he killed the ministers at the Golden Palace and spilled blood on the ground, he did not have the slightest weakness, but now he can''t do it.


    The dagger in his hand was raised high, his fingers squeezing the handle so hard that his bones turned white, and he was unable to bring it down.


    A kind of deep pain almost drowned Yan Yuan, as if he and Xuan Long had not met for the first time in January, but rather in a previous life. They must have known each other in a previous life, otherwise he would not be so soft-hearted.


    To be soft-hearted to others is to be cruel to Ning Zhiyu¡­


    He can lose anyone, but he cannot lose his A''Yu.


    Yan Yuan closed his eyes, his breath trembling as he gritted his teeth and raised the dagger in his hand, stabbing it fiercely at Xuan Long''s chest¨C


    The man on the stone bed suddenly gave a low whimper. Frowning in pain, he rolled over and curled up slightly, looking like some kind of wounded beast, too fragile to be concealed.


    Yan Yuan''s movements halted, and Xuan Long''s pale face was reflected in his eyes.


    The tip of the knife was stained with a few drops of blood; he had only stabbed it in a fraction of an inch earlier, and a tiny stream of blood trickled from Xuan Long''s chest onto the snow-white blanket.


    It looked dreadfully shocking.


    After a moment of daze, Xuan Long half-opened his turquoise eyes without warning. His hazy gaze fell on Yan Yuan beside the bed, and it took him a moment to react, as if he didn''t understand, "¡­Why aren''t you asleep yet?"


    Yan Yuan swiftly hid the dagger in the sleeve of his robe. He pursed his lips and whispered, "Looking at you, you look good."


    Xuan Long didn''t notice anything unusual. He had already gotten used to the pain in his chest and it wasn''t obvious that it had increased a bit, besides, he wasn''t in his right mind at the moment.


    Yan Yuan always says mushy things to him, and Xuan Long is shy but doesn''t show it on the surface, "Go to sleep."


    Then, overwhelmed, he closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep.


    Yan Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and dared not make any more rash moves.


    He felt faintly annoyed and inexplicably relieved to have missed this opportunity.


    Just wait¡­ a little longer¡­


    Pressing down his jumbled thoughts, Yan Yuan went and fetched a clean white cloth and carefully cleaned the blood from Xuan Long''s body before he got into bed and hugged him from behind.


    When Xuan Long woke up the next day, his body felt so strange that he couldn''t walk easily. He had heard that it was pleasurable to have intercourse with one''s beloved, but he did not know exactly how. It was probably just like how he was now, his heart was happy but his body had to suffer, otherwise why would it hurt so much?


    Yan Yuan loves the buns and lotus leaf congee at Jingyu Palace, so Xuan Long got up and went to Chang''an City to buy breakfast food. In the past hundreds of years, he did not have to go out once, living off of fish and shrimp, but now he has to travel to the mortal world three times a day.


    When he returned, Yan Yuan was still sleeping. Xuan Long put the food box on the stone table, his bony fingers pulled open his lapel to reveal his heart, and he picked up the dagger on the table.


    It was the same dagger that Yan Yuan had used last night when he wanted to kill the dragon and cut out his heart.


    Xuan Long''s palm gently stroked his heart, and that patch of skin was instantly covered with black scales that glowed beautifully.


    The dragon scales over his heart were the best medicine for his wounds. Now that they had almost all been pulled out, Xuan Long casually aimed at a dragon scale at the edge of his heart and pried it off with the tip of his blade.


    He swallowed a muffled grunt in his throat without uttering a word, but his face turned a little whiter and the blood stained his clothes. Fortunately he was wearing his xuanyi, so it was not easy to see. (Angel: Xuanyi is a red and black dress worn by ancient sacrifices.)


    "What are you doing?" Soon after, Yan Yuan''s voice came from behind him.


    Xuan Long calmly straightened his clothes, covered up the blood on the dagger and put it back in its place, before turning to look at Yan Yuan, who was already sitting up on the bed, "Get up and eat your breakfast."


    "What were you doing just now?" Yan Yuan stared suspiciously at the man''s cold face, feeling that something was wrong with him.


    "Nothing." Xuan Long said.


    "Why did you get hurt like that?" Thinking of the wound on his heart, Yan Yuan frowned.


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, avoiding his gaze, "I didn''t intend to get hurt."


    Yan Yuan knew Xuan Long''s temperament well. If he was unwilling to talk about something, even he could not pry it out, so he had to give up.

 CH 5

    Immortalised in Life and Death


    Another half month passed in a flash.


    Yan Yuan finally couldn''t sit still any longer, and on this day when he was having lunch, he said to the man across the stone table, ¡°A''Po, my wound has healed, and the country can''t live without a ruler, I''ve been here for too long and must return to the palace."


    Xuan Long''s hand holding his chopsticks paused.


    As a demonic beast, he liked to eat raw meat and had never eaten cooked food before. He had only tried to change his habits after being with Yan Yuan, hoping to be more similar to him. He had only been using chopsticks for a month, so he was still clumsy and dropped them off the table.


    Picking up the chopsticks without changing his expression, he spoke indifferently, ¡°En, I''ll send you back, will you leave this afternoon?"


    Seeing the man''s reaction, Yan Yuan was a little annoyed and put down his chopsticks, aggressively saying, "I''m leaving, aren''t you the least bit sad about it?"


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at him, "If you want to leave, I can''t keep you."


    Xuan Long''s eyes are cold by nature, and his pupils are different from the round ones of the human race; his pupils are narrow, golden and turquoise, and incomparably demonic. Yan Yuan knew he liked himself, but could not quite read his emotions, as Xuan Long hardly ever gave them away, he always looked cold and indifferent to everything.


    This made Yan Yuan feel annoyed for no reason, "Who said I''m going alone, I want you to come with me."


    At these words, not only the dragon, but also Yan Yuan himself froze.


    He had originally intended to trick Xuan Long into returning to the palace before finding the opportunity to dig out the dragon''s heart. However, now it was as if he really couldn''t let him go, and he was angry about it.


    He must have been possessed.


    After both of them stared at each other for a moment, Yan Yuan was the first to come back to his senses, reaching out his hand to hold Xuan Long''s hand that was holding his chopsticks and smiling, "Since we are husband and wife, we naturally have to be together, don''t you want to stay with me until we are old?¡­"


    Xuan Long recited the words ¡¯stay together until we are old'' in his heart, his ears inexplicably burned up, and he calmly lowered his eyes, "I am willing."


    Half an hour later, ten thousand feet up in the sky, a pure black dragon weaved through the clouds, carrying a stunning-looking human on its back.


    The closer he got to the palace, the heavier Yan Yuan''s mind became. As he rode on the back of the dragon, his jade-white fingers gently touched the dragon''s half-broken right horn, and he could not help but feel distressed.


    ¡°A''Po, why is one of the horns on your head broken off?¡­"


    "It was cut off when I was young." Xuan Long said softly.


    Yan Yuan''s heart clenched: "Who?"


    Xuan Long: "My mother."


    Yan Yuan wrinkled his brows deeply: "Why?"


    "I don''t know." Xuan Long was silent for a long time, then said, "Perhaps she didn''t like me."


    He had many brothers and sisters, all of whom his mother loved, but she didn''t like him, and she used to whip him when she was angry.


    That day, when she was drunk, she cut off his horn with her sword and expelled him from the dragon clan.


    He never saw his mother again, so he never had the chance to ask her why.


    Why she treated him that way.


    "Does it hurt?¡­" Yan Yuan''s voice was strained.


    "It doesn''t hurt much." Xuan Long''s voice was low and calm, as if he was telling someone else''s story.


    Yan Yuan wanted to say some nice words to cheer him up, but he couldn''t. He could only bend down to kiss Xuan Long''s broken horn tenderly and speak with difficulty, "You still have me, I like you.¡±


    Any more than that, he dared not say.


    When that day came, the truth would be too cruel.


    Unaware of how cruel Yan Yuan truly was, Xuan Long appeared to be indifferent to many things on the surface, and he would take every word Yan Yuan said seriously to heart.


    ¡°En."


    No one had ever treated him earnestly, but Yan Yuan treated him well and was willing to be close to him, so he took it seriously.


    Moreover, loving Yan Yuan was something that did not require any reasoning, it was an instinct engraved deep in his soul, just like the scars on his face that were burned by karmic fire: immortal and indestructible.

 CH 6

    Pulling Out Scales to Save a Life


    A white light flashed above the Imperial City and two figures appeared in the emperor''s bedchamber, Qiankun Palace.


    Yan Yuan was in a hurry to see the empress he had been longing for, so he left in a hurry after settling Xuan Long in the side hall of his bedchamber.


    News of his safe return to the palace soon spread and when Yan Yuan arrived at Luanfeng Hall, people from the Imperial Hospital were already waiting.


    The red silk satin had not yet been taken down, but the atmosphere was depressed. The man sleeping on the bed looked paler than he had been a few dozen days ago, and his clear face had diminished considerably.


    As soon as Yan Yuan saw Ning Zhiyu in this state, his eyes reddened and he slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, holding his cold hand and saying dully, ¡°A''Yu, you have suffered."


    "I miss you very much¡­"


    The man on the bed ignored him, and Yan Yuan was not annoyed, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed for a long time.


    He had vowed to protect Ning Zhiyu properly in this lifetime and never make the same mistakes he did in his previous life, but now that his lover was so sick right under his nose, how could he not be anxious and upset?


    Half an incense stick later, Yan Yuan spoke in a light voice, "My dear ministers, have you found out the cause of the illness?¡± (Angel: Half an incense stick is around 30 minutes.)


    The imperial doctors sighed and hung their heads in defeat.


    ¡°Zong Hua, you speak." Yan Yuan turned his head to look at one of the imperial doctors who was dressed in vermillion official robes.


    Zong Hua was the one who had told Yan Yuan that a dragon''s heart could cure all diseases. He was already a good doctor in the Imperial Hospital at a young age, and he had picturesque eyebrows to match his name. In terms of medical skills, he has the potential to surpass the head of the Imperial Hospital, which is why Yan Yuan believed in him so much.


    However, at this moment, even Zong Hua looked like he was in a difficult position. He clasped his hands together and said, "Your Majesty, if we still can''t find the dragon heart, I''m afraid the Empress¡­ won''t last much longer."


    Yan Yuan''s heart clenched, remembering Xuan Long''s trusting appearance. Frowning, he spoke in a low voice: "¡­ Is there no other way but to dig out the dragon''s heart?"


    Zong Hua was silent for a moment, "If we really can''t find a dragon heart, it would be okay to find some dragon scales."


    "Dragon scales?¡­" Yan Yuan asked in a daze.


    Zong Hua: "Exactly."


    "Although the effect of dragon scales is not as strong as that of dragon hearts, which can eradicate the root of the disease once and for all, it can still suppress stubborn diseases, and the closer the scales are to the heart, the stronger the effect will be."


    "If taken continuously for a month, the Empress will be able to wake up."


    Yan Yuan''s eyebrows relaxed, his eyes mixed with joy and sorrow, "Really?"


    In this way, not only would Xuan Long not have to die, but he would also be able to save A¡¯Yu.


    Dragon scales should be like human fingernails, they can still grow after they are removed, so even if it hurts, it is better than digging out the dragon''s heart¡­


    If he pulls out the scales, he can still grow them again, but if he cuts out the heart, there would be no more Xuan Long in the world.


    "This remedy is what I have seen with my own eyes in the medical books passed down by my family, and it should be correct.¡±


    Yan Yuan nodded and murmured, "I understand.¡±


    "All of you should leave, I would like to be alone with the Empress for a while."


    ¡­¡­


    The side halls of Qiankun Palace are not as luxurious as the main hall, but they are still spacious with carved beams and painted buildings.


    The first time Xuan Long came into contact with the place where Yan Yuan grew up, he, who had always been cold, dull, and rarely curious, could not help but observe the surrounding environment.


    It turned out that the man had been brought up in such a place, no wonder he was a bit extravagant. But in Xuan Long''s opinion, Yan Yuan is still very cute.


    The great tribulation was approaching, and Xuan Long felt his spiritual power weakening more and more, so he felt very tired after flying a short distance. When he saw a bed in the hall, he went to sit cross-legged in meditation, but he fell asleep while sitting there.


    As the day wore on, the sound of a door being pushed open resounded in the long silent hall. Xuan Long woke up instantly, opening his eyes alertly to look at the door.


    It was Yan Yuan who had returned.


    At some point, the man had changed into a bright dragon robe, with a jade crown on his head and a slender physique. He was originally quite fair, but now he looked even more noble.


    He walked over to Xuan Long¡¯s side and sat down on the edge of the bed, naturally wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his face on Xuan Long''s shoulder, asking in a low voice, ¡°A''Po, did you miss me?"


    Xuan Long let him hold him, and an imperceptible softness appeared in his cold pupils, ¡°En."


    It was all an act, but when he heard this answer, Yan Yuan couldn''t help but feel happy inside, and couldn''t help but lean in to whisper in his ear, "I missed you too."


    ¡°En." The corners of Xuan Long''s lips curved up.


    Yan Yuan was stunned. In a daze, he withdrew the hand he had circled around his waist, and looked at the man''s handsome profile with an incredulous expression, his heart thumping loudly, "¡­You just smiled."


    Xuan Long heard his words and turned his head to look at him.


    Looking into the man''s turquoise cold and beautiful eyes, Yan Yuan said in awe, "This is the first time you''ve ever smiled at me¡­"


    A bit of bewilderment leaked out of Xuan Long''s eyes.


    Had he never smiled before?¡­


    It seems so.


    There was nothing to make him happy before, so naturally there was no reason to smile.


    But now it was different.


    This man said he liked him and was willing to care for him...


    "You look so good when you smile." Unable to suppress the urge to get close to Xuan Long, Yan Yuan leaned closer to him and seriously said, "Smile more in the future."


    Xuan Long had never been complimented like that before, so his face felt hot, and he unnaturally turned his head away, "Mmm."


    A moment later, the person beside him suddenly wrapped his arms around his waist. When Xuan Long subconsciously turned his head to look, his lips met Yan Yuan¡¯s, and the latter leaned over and pushed him down onto the bed.


    On that day, Yan Yuan had lied to Xuan Long about wanting to marry him, hoping to torment him so that he would have the chance to dig up the dragon''s heart. However, instead of digging out the dragon''s heart, Yan Yuan had become obsessed with his body, and every now and then, he would press him down to have some fun.


    Yan Yuan knew it was wrong for him to do so, but things like desire were always hard to control, and he reassured himself inwardly that when Ning Zhiyu woke up, he would definitely make a clean break with Xuan Long.


    Right now, he was only doing these superfluous things to stabilise Xuan Long.


    And when it came to such things, Xuan Long never refused him, even though Yan Yuan''s technique was really poor, having no merit except for its size, which was still painful.


    After it was over, Xuan Long again looked pale and deflated. Yan Yuan looked at him with a puzzled expression and raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from the corner of his forehead, nervously saying, ¡°A''Po, are you having a hard time?¡­"


    Strange, he obviously had been a lot more careful.


    Xuan Long thought that this was how couples had sex, and if he said that it hurt, it would definitely upset Yan Yuan, so he opened his eyes for a moment and said in a dull voice, "It''s okay, I''m just a little tired.¡±


    Pain is painful, but the heart is sweet.


    Yan Yuan reached out and touched between his legs, frowning, "But you''re bleeding again."


    Xuan Long paused, and his Adam¡¯s apple twitched slightly, "It will be fine in a few days."


    Yan Yuan''s mind was quickly drawn to other matters as he lifted a corner of the blanket off the man''s body, "Why has the wound over your heart not healed after so long?"


    Not only did it not heal, but it was also getting worse. The pink and tender flesh had turned darker and if it was not treated, it would probably fester.


    Naturally, Xuan Long could not tell him about the impending tribulation, "Maybe it''s because of the weather."


    Yan Yuan had thought that a highly skilled demonic beast would heal quickly from its injuries, but now it seemed that this was not the case. He was suddenly a little worried and wrapped his arm around Xuan Long''s neck, saying, "Tomorrow I will ask the doctor to bring some medicine to put on your wound.¡±


    The medicine of the mortal world is of little use to demon beasts, but Xuan Long did not explain this, and that did not stop his heart from feeling warm: ¡°En."


    Before dinner was served, Xuan Long grew sleepy. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard the person beside him hesitantly say, ¡°A''Po, I want to discuss something with you¡­"


    Xuan Long could not help but open his eyes and look at him, "Go ahead."


    Those turquoise eyes were always cold, but Yan Yuan could see the ultimate tenderness in them, and he had already vaguely guessed where the wound over the man''s heart had come from.


    He had guessed it from the moment the imperial doctor had said that the dragon scales over the heart were the most effective medicine.


    That would explain why after taking that neither gray nor black soup, his own wound had healed completely in three days.


    But Xuan Long''s injury had not healed even now.


    It was difficult for Yan Yuan to talk to him, but when he thought of his lover whose life was in danger, things seemed to get easier again, "Can you give me some dragon scales?¡­"


    Xuan Long froze, and an animal-like disbelief surfaced in his eyes, "What do you need dragon scales for?"


    Yan Yuan looked at him and answered with difficulty, "I have an important friend who is very sick, and if he is not treated, he will die¡­"


    Seeing his sad appearance, Xuan Long''s heart didn''t feel good either, even though there was little expression on his face, "How many do you want?"


    "Thirty." Yan Yuan made the cruellest request in the most gentle way, "¡­ I want the ones beside your heart, is that okay?"


    Xuan Long froze again, then said, "Okay."


    "Thank you.¡± Yan Yuan wrapped his arms around his body and kissed his ear, "I''ll have the imperial doctor bring the best wound medicine."


    "Mnn."

 CH 7

    Only Yan Yuan


    During Yan Yuan''s absence from the palace, the Prime Minister was in charge of the court. Now that he had returned to the palace, it was time he resumed the morning court.


    It was after five o''clock and the sky was white as a fish''s belly when the eunuch announced in a low voice outside his bedchamber that it was time for Yan Yuan to get up for the morning. Yan Yuan was used to getting up, but he was sleeping soundly with Xuan Long, so he frowned and refused to pay attention to the old eunuch outside. (Angel: ''The sky was white as a fish''s belly'' means that the sky is bright even though the sun has not yet risen.)


    He is only 19 years old, and although he is the emperor of the world, his childishness has not yet receded.


    In front of his subjects, he has to stand tall and hide his true emotions in order to gain the trust of others, but in front of those close to him, he has never bothered to hide them.


    Seeing that the people outside were in a hurry, Xuan Long gently touched Yan Yuan''s hand that was circled around his waist, ¡°A''Yuan."


    The voice was mellow and gentle, completely different from Xuan Long''s icy appearance. Hearing that, Yan Yuan''s anger had mostly subsided, he didn''t want to remember it anymore. He opened his eyes reluctantly, hugged Xuan Long''s waist and pressed himself close to him, moving over for a passionate, wet kiss.


    Xuan Long suffered in silence, his ears quietly tinged with red. He always seemed a bit mute in this regard, and did not know how to respond, for fear of drawing mockery and ridicule, so he simply did not respond and cooperated with Yan Yuan in whatever way he wanted.


    The kissing became a little steamy, and the temperature inside the bedchamber gradually rose. Yan Yuan''s hand slid all the way down his naked body and stopped between the man''s legs, ¡°A''Po, I want to¡­"


    Xuan Long subconsciously separated his legs a little. Although that area was still wounded, he could still bear it.


    There was a faint cold fragrance on his body that seemed to be innate, and it smelled particularly soothing. Yan Yuan was already obsessed with Xuan Long''s body, and smelling that smell when he was in the mood was even more overwhelming.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes changed, his fingers¡­


    [Angel: This part was omitted in the post and I wasn''t able to find it on Weibo. If anyone knows where I can find it, I will translate it and add it to this chapter, but until then, use your imagination for what took place.]


    The first time I saw a man in my arms, I still refused to get up. He used to think that the phrase ''the night is short and the day is high, from now on the king does not go to court in the morning'' was too absurd; as an emperor, how could he delay the government because of lust? It was only after he had a taste of it himself that he realised the beauty of it.


    In fact, Xuan Long was not his type. He loved Ning Zhiyu; loved his gentleness, loved his soft nature, unlike Xuan Long who was so strong that he did not need protection.


    Ning Zhiyu was different. As the son of the Prime Minister''s concubine, it was because of his protection that he was able to live out his life in peace. Men will always be protective of the weak, and besides, Ning Zhiyu had been his lover in his previous life.


    Yan Yuan had once promised to be with Ning Zhiyu for the rest of his life, but now that he had broken his promise, he often felt guilty. And yet he could not help himself from having fun with Xuan Long, so he reassured himself that it was all just to achieve his goal.


    Thinking this way made him feel better and his guilt lessened significantly. He wrapped his arms around Xuan Long''s waist and looked at the man''s handsome, cold features, asking, ¡°A''Po, why do you always have to wear a mask? It''s too much of a nuisance, so take it off."


    Xuan Long paused, his voice a little hoarse from the affair he had just had, "My face is ugly, it will scare you."


    "It won''t." Yan Yuan said as he reached out to remove the dark golden bronze mask from his face.


    Just as he touched it, Xuan Long clasped his wrist and turned his head to look at him quietly.


    "It really won''t." Yan Yuan assured.


    Xuan Long stared at him for a moment, turned his head to look at the bright yellow tent above him, and only after a long time did he say calmly, "Mother has disliked me since I was a child, because of my ugly appearance."


    "All beings in the world are repulsed by the sight of me, but you are the only one who does not hate me."


    "I am afraid that if you see my real face, you will not like me anymore."


    Yan Yuan didn''t expect Xuan Long to be so sensitive at heart despite his cold exterior, so he was stunned for a moment and spoke without thinking, "I promise, no matter what you become, A''Po will be A''Po, and my love for you will never change."


    Xuan Long couldn''t help but look at Yan Yuan, whose peach blossom eyes were as warm as water and full of sincerity.


    Yan Yuan slowly extended his hand over to him, and he did not dodge.


    The dark gold mask, engraved with ancient Sanskrit inscriptions, was finally removed. Even though Yan Yuan was mentally prepared, he could not help but draw a cold breath when he saw Xuan Long''s full face.


    Looking only at the left side of his face, he was handsome and cold, with a straight nose, which was an excellent appearance. But on the right side of his face was a horrific, palm-sized scar, which was raised and a purple-red colour, with twisted growths like centipedes on top, which almost ruined all beauty.


    Yan Yuan didn''t feel that it was ugly, he just felt an unexplained gnawing pain in his heart, gnawing away as if his soul was tearing up, making him feel the urge to cry, "How could this happen?¡­"


    "Maybe it''s because I did something wrong in my previous life and it left marks on my face." Compared to Yan Yuan, Xuan Long himself was quite indifferent.


    ¡°A¡¯Po, my heart aches for you." Yan Yuan reached out and embraced the man.


    Xuan Long curved his lips lightly and whispered, "If you don''t dislike it, I have no fear."


    With the rest of the people, he was indifferent.


    It was only Yan Yuan.


    After looking at him, Xuan Long put the mask back on. Even if Yan Yuan didn''t mind, he was afraid that the other party would get tired of looking at his face.


    Seeing that the sun was getting hotter and hotter outside, and that it would be unreasonable to stay away any longer, Yan Yuan called the eunuchs outside to come in and help him put on his dragon robe, then spoke to the dragon inside the bright yellow tent, ¡°A''Po, I have to go to court, I will be back at midday to accompany you for lunch."


    ¡°En." A low male voice came from within the tent, causing the grand eunuch to become more and more curious as to what kind of person could make Yan Yuan so obsessed that he even missed the morning court and called himself ''I'' in front of him.


    After putting on the dragon robe and the crown, Yan Yuan hurriedly had to leave, but stopped after a few steps and turned back to say, ¡°A''Po, the dragon scales¡­"


    Ning Zhiyu''s body couldn''t wait another day.


    "I''ll give them to you at midday." The pain of pulling out the scales was nothing when Xuan Long thought of the warmth he felt just now.

 CH 8

    Inside the Vermilion Palace''s walled pathway, Yan Yuan was sitting on top of the dragon carriage in his dragon robe, with a line of palace maids and eunuchs at his side, heading for the Golden Palace. He was reminiscing about Xuan Long''s bone-chilling body when he heard Chen Yan, who was following him, ask cautiously, "Your Majesty, since that gentleman has been favoured, will you give him a title?"


    Yan Yuan instantly turned cold and looked down at the old, immortal eunuch, "I promised to be with Zhiyu for the rest of my life, how can I go back on my word?"


    Chen Yan hurriedly lowered his body, "Your Majesty, I am sorry, this servant has spoken too much."


    Yan Yuan gave a cold snort and withdrew his eyes.


    He and Xuan Long had different paths. If it wasn''t for Ning Zhiyu, they might never have crossed paths in this lifetime, so how could he possibly give him a title?


    The day Ning Zhiyu regained his health would be the day he parted with Xuan Long.


    "Be careful, if A''Yu wakes up and hears something he shouldn''t hear, watch your head."


    Chen Yan raised his sleeve and wiped the cold sweat from the corner of his forehead, saying, "Ai, I will make sure the palace maids and eunuchs keep their mouths shut so that not a word will be revealed."


    Only then was Yan Yuan satisfied, but the image of Xuan Long''s pleasure beneath him popped up in his mind again at an inopportune moment.


    It''s okay to obsess about him when they are together, but to still keep thinking about him when they are apart, he might really be possessed. Yan Yuan forced himself to think about the government affairs and Ning Zhiyu, simply to stop thinking about Xuan Long who was so cold on the outside, but in reality was so simple that he could be described as stupid.


    ¡­...


    If a demon has been cultivating Taoism for 10,000 years, they will not be far from becoming an immortal. In fact, they will not need to sleep much and will be resting when they close their minds to cultivate, however, as Xuan Long''s heavenly tribulation is approaching, his habits will gradually degenerate to be similar to those of human beings.


    Not long after Yan Yuan left, Xuan Long drifted off to sleep again, he seemed to have become extraordinarily lazy and sleepy lately.


    It was nearly midday, and the hot sun outside the window had long since disappeared. Dark clouds covered half the sky, lightning flashed and thunderstorms broke out, an ominous sign in every sense of the word.


    Xuan Long woke up in a trance and remembered that he had promised Yan Yuan that he would hand over the dragon scales to him at midday, so he got up and got out of bed despite his discomfort.


    The blood between his legs had long since dried, but the pain was so severe that it seemed like a knife was scraping him with every step he took. He did not need to pretend in Yan Yuan''s absence. Slowly, he walked towards the bathing tub prepared by the palace staff earlier, a fine sweat seeping from the corners of his forehead.


    After hastily cleaning his body, he manifested a black iron dagger in his hand.


    The iron dagger cut iron like mud and it cut dragon scales very smoothly, but it was too painful, so his movements were slow. He cut fifteen scales off in a row before his wrist began to tremble and blood poured from his chest, staining the originally clear water bright red.


    Xuan Long was sleeping when Yan Yuan left, and was still sleeping when Yan Yuan returned, sitting on the edge of the bed and shaking the man in it. ¡°A''Po, wake up."


    Xuan Long''s face was pale and his brows were slightly wrinkled. Yan Yuan called him for a long time before he opened his icy turquoise demon pupils and looked at Yan Yuan quietly, saying weakly, "You''re back.¡±


    "Why are you still sleeping?" Yan Yuan asked with some dissatisfaction. "I''ve been calling you for a long time."


    Xuan Long propped himself up on the bed and slowly sat up, silently taking the black lacquered wooden box from the bed and handing it to Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan was puzzled, "What is this?"


    "Dragon scales." There was no expression on Xuan Long''s face.


    Yan Yuan''s face was delighted and he couldn''t wait to open the box. Inside were thirty clean dragon scales neatly arranged in rows, emitting a familiar faint cold fragrance.


    ¡°A''Po, you are so kind." Yan Yuan looked up and smiled.


    Xuan Long was not used to being complimented like this, and his cold face heated up slightly as he avoided looking at him and did not speak, before hearing Yan Yuan say, "I have some urgent business, I can''t accompany you to lunch at midday, so I will come back to you in the evening."


    ¡°A''Po, you won''t be angry, will you?¡­"


    Xuan Long froze for a moment, then shook his head.


    Yan Yuan happily moved over and gave him a kiss, said some more nice words perfunctorily, and hurried away with the dragon scales.


    Since he had already gotten the dragon scales, there was no way he would have the heart to stay here and eat with him.

 CH 9

    Cold Feet


    As the night grew dark, the door of the bedchamber was lightly rapped three times, and from outside came the deliberately low voice of the young eunuch, "Master Han, it''s time for your evening meal, would you like to be served?"


    Xuan Long was sitting cross-legged on the bed to take a rest. He opened his icy turquoise eyes to look at the door and said, "When will A¡¯Yuan come over?"


    The only person apart from the empress who dared to call Yan Yuan by his name was this young man. It had only taken a few days for Xiao Dezi to go from his initial fear and panic to his current calmness, but he was still a bit weak when it came to talking nonsense, "The Emperor has been tormented by the affairs of the state recently and has not rested for several nights. Please don''t blame the emperor, he just can''t get away."


    The palace attendants at Qiankun Palace all knew that Yan Yuan, apart from going to court, was watching over the empress day and night these days, hardly leaving him, even the government affairs were handled in Luanfeng Hall. It was only Xuan Long who was kept in the dark.


    He feels that he is ugly and does not like to go out. This is what happened when he was in the thousand-year-old pond; he didn''t want to go out and scare people, nor did he want to be disliked.


    That day after Yan Yuan left with the dragon scales, he had said he would come to him at night, but had not fulfilled his promise.


    It had been three days since they had seen each other.


    Xuan Long was used to being alone, and he liked the quiet, so three days should have been nothing more than a blink of an eye for him, but he couldn''t wait for Yan Yuan, and he always felt restless.


    If you look at it carefully, that is perhaps what the human race calls lovesickness.


    "I don''t blame him." Xuan Long spoke in a muffled voice.


    The young man inside was so mysterious, he didn''t know what he looked like, and he had such a dull nature. Yan Yuan ordered that no one was allowed to see him, and whenever the palace staff went in to serve food, the man always avoided them.


    ¡°Young Master, do you want me to serve the meal?" Xiao Dezi asked again through the door with curiosity.


    The person inside seemed to stifle a few coughs and spoke somewhat hoarsely, "No need."


    It sounded like he was sick.


    The emperor obviously did not care about the person inside, otherwise he would not have hidden the man away like this and not given him a name. Xiao Dezi wanted to withdraw, but he could not bear it and asked one more question,¡°Young Master, are you not feeling well? Do you want to call the imperial doctor?"


    Xuan Long covered his mouth and coughed twice more. He put his palm over his chest wound and couldn''t help but lie down, feeling better before saying, "It''s nothing, you can go back."


    The wound where the scales had been pulled out was only hastily wrapped in white cloth, without any medicine. Before, he could heal the wound in a few days with the use of spells, but now they were useless.


    Heavenly tribulation. Xuan Long had never been afraid. If he could become an immortal, he would be an immortal. If he was unlucky enough to die, he would die, no one would care about him anyway.


    Now it was very different.


    He started to be afraid, afraid of what would happen if he died and left Yan Yuan alone.


    Mortal medicine was useless to him, so he could only endure it.


    At the same time.


    Luanfeng Hall.


    The dragon scales were put into the medicine, and after taking it three times a day for three days, Ning Zhiyu''s complexion was already quite rosy.


    Zong Hua stood in front of the bed, bending over to check the man''s pulse through the silk handkerchief.


    Yan Yuan did not dare to breathe too hard. Standing aside, he stared at the doctor''s young face and asked, "How is it?"


    A moment later, Zong Hua withdrew his hand and said, "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, the medicinal effect of these dragon scales is even better than I had imagined, and the Empress'' pulse is becoming more and more stable. Perhaps he will wake up in less than thirty days."


    "That is very good, that is very good." Yan Yuan was overjoyed and laughed. "These days have been hard on Imperial Doctor Zong. When my A''Yu recovers and is healthy, I will reward you well."


    "This is within my duty, I dare not covet a reward.¡± Zong Hua could not refuse, so he thanked him and prepared to leave.


    Yan Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed and took Ning Zhiyu''s hand, but suddenly remembered something, "Wait."


    Zong Hua turned back in confusion.


    Yan Yuan: "Has Ai Qing brought good medicine?¡± (Angel: Ai Qing is a monarch''s affectionate name for his subjects.)


    Zong Hua: ¡°Your Majesty is injured?"


    "No, if you have brought it, you should give it to me."


    In the past few days, Yan Yuan had been so preoccupied with Ning Zhiyu that he had left Xuan Long out in the cold. He had only just remembered the dragon he had left in the side hall and suddenly felt a little guilty.


    He had to go back tonight and coax him a bit.

 CH 10

    Token of Love


    It wasn''t that Yan Yuan hadn''t thought of Xuan Long even for a moment in the past few days. On the contrary, whenever he was distracted while staying by Ning Zhiyu''s side, he would always unconsciously think of the man''s icy turquoise pupils and the way he smiled awkwardly.


    Yan Yuan deeply felt that it was wrong for him to be like this, it was as if he had been enchanted. In order to get the medicine, he had already broken his promise to Ning Zhiyu to spend his life with him, and if he continued to act wrongly, he would be ashamed of his conscience.


    Therefore, although he really missed Xuan Long''s body these few days, he forced himself to endure it, unwilling to make another mistake.


    But avoiding the other party like this is not the way to deal with the situation. Ning Zhiyu''s body has not yet healed, and there will definitely be uses for Xuan Long in the future, so he must make Xuan Long stay by his side willingly.


    Luanfeng Hall was quiet. Yan Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, pondering for a long time while staring at Ning Zhiyu''s clear face, then called out, ¡°Somebody."


    Chen Yan quickly entered from outside the hall with small steps and bowed, "What are Your Majesty''s orders?"


    Yan Yuan''s face was expressionless, "Go to the treasury and pick out some decent treasures."


    Chen Yan didn''t understand what he was thinking, and hesitantly raised his eyes to look at the emperor''s unparalleled face, "What kind do you want, Your Majesty?"


    Yan Yuan''s mind recalled Xuan Long''s heroic and cold face. That dragon was not ordinary, so he did not think that treasures would be attractive to him. After thinking about it, there was only one thing that could make him happy: ¡°A jade pendant."


    Chen Yan followed the order and went off. When he returned, he was followed by two eunuchs, one carrying a dark brown lacquered wooden tray, on which were ten of the finest jade pendants neatly arranged.


    There were jade pendants with golden inlays, pure jade in the form of dragons, and phoenix jade pendants¡­ Yan Yuan took a rough glance at them and was suddenly drawn to an oval jade pendant carved with an iris flower.


    The jade pendant was tied with an ink-coloured silk knot, and it was exquisite and beautiful, especially the carving of an iris on it, which made Yan Yuan particularly fond of it for no reason. He picked it up and twirled it around his slender fingers, "This is the right one."


    ¡°Okay." Chen Yan responded and waved his hand for the two young eunuchs to retreat.


    "How is Han Po these few days?" Yan Yuan asked casually as he played with the jade pendant in his hand.


    "Han Po has been staying in the hall and has not gone out. From what Xiao Dezi said, it seems that Han Po does not have a good appetite, he only takes meals once a day, and he does not eat much at a time."


    "Is that so?" Yan Yuan raised his head slightly. He remembered that Xuan Long had always had a big appetite. When he was in the ancient pond, Xuan Long would eat all his leftover food.


    Strangely enough, he hadn''t seen him gain much weight. His waist was thin but strong, much thinner than the average man''s, especially when he was tensed in pain, and his slim, toned muscles were sexy as hell.


    "Yes." Chen Yan replied.


    "Have the imperial kitchen prepare some meals to send over, and prepare more fish and prawns, he loves them.¡± Yan Yuan returned to his senses, "I will go and see him."


    The sky was already dark, and the large imperial city was engulfed in the night. A full moon hung in the sky, shrouded in a hazy layer of fog.


    The door of Qiankun Palace''s side hall was pushed open and Yan Yuan smelled a faint cold fragrance as soon as he stepped in.


    He called out to A''Po a few times but got no response. When the eunuch lit the candle, Yan Yuan hurriedly went to the inner room, opened the bright yellow bed tent, and was relieved to see the man on the bed.


    He thought he had left.


    Xuan Long was sleeping so soundly that he didn''t even notice that someone had come in. He was already quiet and was even more so when he was asleep, it was just that his handsome face looked too pale in the dim candlelight.


    Yan Yuan gently shook his shoulders and after a few moments, Xuan Long slowly opened his eyes, still a little unresponsive, and looked at Yan Yuan motionlessly.


    His face was so beautiful in the dimness that it did not resemble that of a mortal.


    "Why did you go to bed so early? Is it because you are not feeling well?"


    In fact, it was not that he had slept early, but that he had slept all day. Xuan Long slowly sat up, wanting to ask Yan Yuan if he had finished his work, or if he had had a good time these days, but his mouth was clumsy and all that came out in the end was the word "No."


    "I''m sorry, I really was too busy. I wanted to come back to you that night, but I was held up by political affairs." Yan Yuan fished out the prepared jade pendant from his sleeve and presented it to the man like a treasure. "Look, this is something I picked out from the treasury today to give to you."


    Xuan Long lifted the jade pendant from his palm, "What is this?"


    "In our human race, if two parties are in love, they will give each other a token of love. Since I am in love with you, I cannot avoid this customary gift. This iris jade pendant is the token of my love for you, you must take good care of it and after you accept it, you must never change your mind."


    Xuan Long looked at Yan Yuan''s smile in somewhat of a daze, and his heart was flooded with an indescribable warmth. He nodded earnestly, put the jade pendant away in a precious manner, placing it in the hidden pocket of his robes, and whispered. "I will take good care of it."


    He then raised his hand to touch the back of his neck and violently ripped off a dark dragon scale, rubbing the blood off on his snow-white robes and handing it to Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan''s brow furrowed in shock, "What are you doing?"


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, "A token of love."


    The neck of the dragon is where the inverse scale is. There was nothing he could give Yan Yuan other than his heart, and this unique scale was the best proof of that. (Angel: According to Chinese legend, there is a white scale about the size of a palm under the neck of the giant dragon, which is crescent-shaped, commonly known as the inverse scale.)


    Once he had fallen in love, he would never change his mind.


    Yan Yuan nervously pressed Xuan Long''s shoulder and turned to look at it. A piece of skin was missing from the back of his neck, which had been intact, and blood was pouring out, staining a large part of the back of his clothes red.


    "Does it hurt?"


    Xuan Long''s face was pale, but he shook his head, stubbornly shoving the dragon scales into Yan Yuan''s hand.

 CH 11

    The Real Advantage


    This dragon scale was slightly different from the ones Xuan Long had given Yan Yuan before. The previous ones were close to fan-shaped, while this one was crescent-shaped, with a faint silvery-white sheen on the ink-coloured scales, which was surprisingly beautiful.


    "Although you may be dull to pain, you can''t do this to yourself, it distresses me to see you like this." Yan Yuan looked at the dragon scale on his palm with a worried look on his face, which reminded him of the 30 pieces.


    If only one scale caused so much blood loss, what about 30 scales?


    Xuan Long pursed his lips. He wanted to coax him, but he didn''t know what to say, so he moved his lips dryly, "Don''t be angry."


    "I''m not angry, it'' s just..." It''s just hard to feel guilty. Yan Yuan''s brows were so furrowed that they could kill a fly. He looked up at the man''s handsome face and finally sighed: "Forget it, I''ll put some medicine on it for you.¡±


    "No need to apply medicine, just wipe it off casually." Xuan Long spoke in a low voice.


    "What nonsense."


    Chen Yan got his orders, brought in the Jinchuan Medicine and left. Yan Yuan opened the red tasselled cap on the small jade bottle, told Xuan Long to turn over, and sprinkled the pure white powder evenly on the back of his neck.


    This was the best wound medicine in the palace. It should have stopped the bleeding, but strangely enough, even though Yan Yuan poured the entire bottle of medicine on the wound, it was useless. The wound still didn''t stop bleeding, and the blood continued to flow out, almost staining Xuan Long''s entire back red.


    If a normal person had lost that much blood, he would have fainted already. It was not as if Yan Yuan had never seen so much blood before, but at this moment, he could not help but feel a tightness in his throat, "How could this be?"


    The place where the reverse scale is located is the source of the dragon''s heart and blood, and can also be said to be the weak spot. A slight touch on that spot will cause pain to the heart, not to mention the pain of having the reverse scale ripped off, which is a hundred times more painful than a broken finger. How could it be cured with mortal medicine?


    "I have had a strong body since I was a child, I am only bleeding a little, you need not worry." Xuan Long''s breath was slightly unsteady as he spoke, and with a flick of his palm, a clean piece of white silk appeared, which he cupped in his hand, lifted to the back of his neck, and used to casually wipe away the blood.


    The wound was already fragile, so how could it withstand such treatment, however, Xuan Long did not show any pain on his face. Yan Yuan was shocked to see this and hurriedly got up to stop him, frowning, "How can you not take care of yourself like this? Don''t move."


    Xuan Long then obediently complied and remained silent.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t care for himself, but rather that he didn''t know how to care for himself. When he was a child, he was often injured and beaten bloody by his mother, and when no one gave him medicine, he could only pick up a not too dirty cloth and wipe his wounds casually. As painful as it was, he could always bear it.


    No one has taught him how to take care of himself.


    Yan Yuan asked the eunuchs outside the hall to bring in clean robes, white silk, and warm water, and Xuan Long watched as Yan Yuan got busy. The latter first wrapped his wounds in white silk. His hands were so white and slender, and his movements were so gentle. Occasionally, his knuckles would accidentally touch the intact skin on the back of his neck, gently and softly; it was a warm touch, just like a tickle.


    Xuan Long''s Adam''s apple twitched slightly, and his ears reddened.


    "Does it hurt?" Yan Yuan''s brows didn''t relax.


    "It doesn''t hurt." Xuan Long said.


    He had said this several times in a row, so Yan Yuan believed it, and smiled, "A dull sense of pain is really an advantage. Being unable to feel pain when you''re injured saves you a lot of suffering."


    When he thought about it this way, he felt less guilty about having Xuan Long pull out his scales to save Ning Zhiyu.


    He didn''t feel any pain anyway, and he was only bleeding a little, so he could try to compensate him in other ways.

 CH 12

    I Only Know that You are the Best Person for Me


    The white silk was wrapped around Xuan Long''s neck layer after layer, and it was not long before it was soaked with blood. Yan Yuan had to remove it and re-wrap it with a new one two or three times in a row before the bleeding finally stopped, and a beautiful knot was tied at the back of his neck.


    Yan Yuan did not want to look at Xuan Long''s face, as the guilt that had faded would come back to haunt him with just one glance. He dabbed the handkerchief in warm water and took Xuan Long''s hand that was draped over the quilt. With downcast eyes, he wiped the blood that remained on the man''s fingers, "How is the wound on your chest? Let me see."


    Xuan Long began to drift off to sleep again and braced himself by saying, "It''s almost healed."


    "Let me see." Yan Yuan refused to listen to him, casually tossing the handkerchief back into the silver basin to the side and staring up at the man''s pale face.


    His turquoise pupils looked clear and demonic under the dancing candlelight, the erect pupils twitching slightly as if they were trying to conceal something, but Yan Yuan didn''t give him the chance, "You know I''ll be worried, let me see."


    That day, Yan Yuan had taken the dragon scales and left. He didn''t know how he was hurt, but he didn''t think it would be good to think about it.


    After a moment of silent stalemate, Xuan Long lowered his head and untied the belt of his robe to reveal his injured body. When he was clothed, he looked tall and sturdy, but in reality, the body beneath his clothes was not strong, only thinly covered with a nice layer of muscle. His chest was wrapped in a layer of coarse black cloth that had been obtained from an unknown source, making the true extent of his injuries invisible.


    "I''ll do it." Yan Yuan sat closer to him, taking his time to understand the crude knot. The coarse black cloth was removed layer by layer, and when the last layer was removed, Xuan Long''s body suddenly shuddered and he let out a low grunt.


    It turned out that the cloth wrapped around the wound had grown together with the wound.


    Yan Yuan raised his eyes to look at the man''s pale face, and his throat went dry, "Bear with it."


    If it was not taken off in time, it would be more difficult to deal with later.


    Xuan Long responded, his body shaking with his movements, his breathing getting heavier, cold sweat sliding from the corner of his forehead across his angular jawline and dripping onto the back of Yan Yuan''s hand.


    "You lied to me, you said it didn''t hurt." Yan Yuan complained.


    Xuan Long''s chest rose and fell with difficulty, and his low voice was slightly muffled, "¡­ only a little."


    The black cloth that had been stuck to the wound was finally removed, and the already uneven wound from the plucked scales now looked even more ragged, with the previously pink flesh turning a deep red.


    The wound had also doubled in size from the original size of a grown man''s fist.


    Yan Yuan silently applied the medicine for Xuan Long, then carefully rewrapped the wound with fine white silk, as if this would equalise what he owed the other man.


    Seeing that he didn''t say anything, Xuan Long thought he was angry and called out to him, somewhat helplessly and awkwardly, ¡°A''Yuan."


    His mother used to look like this when she was angry, simply minding her own business and ignoring him, treating him like he was nothing. That feeling was a million times worse than the physical pain.


    If he had pestered his mother, he probably would have gotten a bloody whipping in return. Over time, he stopped doing the things that always hurt him, and developed this dull and reticent nature, not accustomed to expressing his emotions outwardly.


    Because no one cared, no one would be a bit soft on him just because he hurt.


    Yan Yuan is the one who would go soft on him.


    Just when Xuan Long was hesitant and didn''t know what to say, Yan Yuan suddenly raised his head, leaned over and embraced him, softly saying. ¡°A''Po, I''m sorry¡­ I didn''t want this either.¡±


    "I didn''t want to do this."


    Xuan Long froze, and in response to what he was saying, he raised his hand to cover Yan Yuan''s broad back and whispered, "Don''t be sad. I''m fine."


    "I know, as long as I''m happy, you''ll be happy, right?" Yan Yuan''s chin rested on his shoulder, his eyes hot, "But I''m still sad. For some reason, from the day I met you, it''s as if I had an inexplicable mourning inside me, as if I had known you in a previous life¡­"


    "Perhaps it was a match made in heaven."


    When Xuan Long said such words in such a serious tone, Yan Yuan snorted out a laugh and couldn''t help but say, "How come you''ve learned to talk romantically too?"


    "¡­¡­" Xuan Long was speechless. There was no need to look to know that this dragon''s ears must be red.


    Yan Yuan''s mind was wrapped up in other things, and he didn''t have the heart to tease him any further. He released Xuan Long and looked at his handsome face, ¡°A''Po, what if one day you find out that I have wronged you?¡­ Can you forgive me?"


    "What do you mean by wronging me?" Xuan Long looked at him.


    "I mean if, just in case.¡± Yan Yuan didn''t know exactly what he was insisting for, but he just wanted the other man''s assurance. "If that day comes, will you be able to forgive me?"


    Xuan Long was silent for a long time before he lowered his eyes, "I only know that you are the best person in the world for me."

 CH 13

    Different Paths for Different People


    "Then promise me, no matter how big a mistake I make or how badly I treat you in the future, you have to forgive me once." Yan Yuan took Xuan Long''s hand that was draped over the quilt and spoke like a child acting spoiled with an adult.


    There were emotions in his eyes that Xuan Long couldn''t understand, like sadness and struggle. Even though Xuan Long couldn''t understand, he didn''t ask, and simply replied, ¡°En, I promise."


    He did not want Yan Yuan to be sad.


    As the person who treated him the best in this world, even if he was bad, how bad could he be?


    What was the harm in forgiving him?


    Yan Yuan''s heart fell to the ground. He knew that Xuan Long had always kept his word, and had never gone back on his promises. If he said he would forgive, then he would forgive, and he would automatically ignore anything that he had done regardless of how excessive it was.


    As soon as he was in a good mood, his appetite improved. After spending the whole day in Luanfeng Hall guarding Ning Zhiyu, the weather was stifling and he hadn''t eaten much during the day. But now, Yan Yuan felt a great deal of emptiness in his stomach, so he ordered someone to bring in the meal and pulled Xuan Long, who had already changed into clean clothes, to sit at the table.


    One man and one dragon sat down next to each other. The table was a round, carved rosewood table, and on the table were ten dishes and one soup, served on jade plates and in decorative bowls, exquisite and full of colour and flavour.


    Yan Yuan put an appetising cold dish into Xuan Long''s bowl, "This is beef braised by the imperial chef in the palace using an ancestral secret recipe, you can''t get it in the market, it''s much better than fish and prawns, try it. I haven''t seen you for a few days, I see that you have lost weight. Is it because you are not used to the food in the palace?"


    Xuan Long shook his head and picked up the chopsticks on the table in silence. He still didn''t know how to use them very well, and held both of them awkwardly for a long time before he picked up the thinly sliced beef in the bowl, paused for a second in front of his eyes and tentatively put it into his mouth.


    He was still not used to the seasoned food of the human race; to him, natural, unprocessed food is the most delicious and tasty, but Yan Yuan had said that in their human race, only animals eat bloody raw meat.


    Fortunately, his appetite is weak and he is not overly ambitious when it comes to food, as long as he can fill his stomach.


    The piece of beef was not as bad as he thought it would be, it was salty with a hint of sweetness. Xuan Long chewed it a few times and was about to swallow it when a familiar churning sensation suddenly rushed through his stomach, causing him to pause in his tracks.


    Yan Yuan looked at the man who had suddenly frozen in confusion, "What''s wrong? Is it not good?"


    Xuan Long shook his head, waited for the nausea to pass, and swallowed the food in his mouth without changing his face, "Very good."


    The food Yan Yuan gave him was naturally delicious.


    "Then you should eat more, I heard from Chen Yan that you have not had a good appetite recently. I specially ordered the imperial kitchen to make this fish and prawns, but today I changed it to something different." It was not unusual for one''s appetite to be poor in hot weather, and Yan Yuan, being like this himself, did not take it seriously. He merely kept on giving Xuan Long food, thinking in his heart that he wanted to make it up to him, but in reality that was all he could do to compensate him.


    ¡°En." Xuan Long replied indifferently, having trouble with the half-bowl of delicious food in front of him, as he had been suffering from nausea for no apparent reason for some time now. He smelled the oils and fishy food that the human race had to put in their cooking, causing the nausea to be more and more serious, so he had cut his diet back from three meals a day to one.


    As a demon beast, he likes to eat meat, but now all he can eat are the light vegetarian dishes and white rice that he has never touched before.


    ¡°A''Po, what are you staring at? Eat up." Yan Yuan put down his chopsticks and reached out to tuck Xuan Long''s long hair behind his ears, revealing the handsome side of his face with the dark gold mask.


    This dragon is really clumsy; he doesn''t even know how to tie his own hair, it hangs down all day long, but it is undeniable that it is quite pretty.


    Xuan Long returned to his senses and slowly ate all the food in his bowl, the churning in his stomach suppressed.


    Apart from Yan Yuan, no one else would offer him food like this and ask him if he was hungry, so he did not want to refuse Yan Yuan''s kindness.


    If he lost it, no one would be kind to him anymore.


    "Your body is injured, so rest early after you have eaten." Yan Yuan took Xuan Long''s already empty bowl and gave him a spoonful of rich chicken soup, saying under his breath, "I''ll stay with you tonight, I won''t go."


    Xuan Long was naturally happy, but he did not show it even when he was happy. It was not that he deliberately hid it, but that he would not show it.


    After washing up in the evening, Yan Yuan let Xuan Long lie down in the newly changed clean bedding, while he himself lay on the outside, leaning against the bed. He was holding a random book that he had found in the library and was telling him a story.


    The story was about a snake demon and a rich young man.


    In order to practise Taoism, the snake demon killed a lot of people on earth, digging out their hearts and sucking their yang energy. Later, she met a rich young man with a good heart who was not only handsome, but also not as greedy as other mortals who wanted the beauty of the snake demon. For this reason, the snake demon''s heart was moved by his Hongluan Star and her heart secretly loved him. (Angel: the Hongluan Star, ºìð½ÐÇ, is the lucky star in mythology that presides over happy events such as marriage and childbirth.)


    For the sake of the rich young man, the snake demon decided to give up her evil deeds and cultivate the good path. After that, she lived like a mortal, no longer thinking of becoming an immortal, only wanting to be with the rich young man.


    A year later, on the night of the couple''s wedding, a Taoist priest who had subdued the demons approached the rich young man and told him that the snake demon was not human. After listening to the Taoist priest''s words, the rich young man slipped realgar into the wedding wine, and when he saw the snake demon in its original form, he stabbed his dagger seven inches into her.


    Xuan Long had been drowsy, his consciousness wandering, but when he heard this, he couldn''t help but wake up and twist his head, his icy turquoise eyes fixed on Yan Yuan, ¡°Why? Doesn''t he love her."


    Yan Yuan: "He is afraid."


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, "Why should he be afraid?" Even a demon is willing to give its life to love someone who deserves it.


    Yan Yuan: "She has harmed people before. Besides, humans and demons have different paths."


    "Humans and demons have different paths..." There was a bit of confusion in Xuan Long''s eyes, and his voice was its usual mellow and low tone, ¡°Does that mean that human and demon can''t be together¡­"


    ¡°En."


    Xuan Long didn''t know what to say for a moment, and only after a long time did he say dully, "I''ve never harmed anyone.¡±


    "I know." Yan Yuan smiled, dropped the book and laid down, moving up to Xuan Long''s ear to kiss it, "We are different, we are a destined pair, naturally we will not be hindered by these worldly things."

 CH 14

    Desperate Dreams


    The fires of the candles in the hall flickered on and off, the overlapping figures in the curtained tent shifted, and a suppressed, muffled groan faintly emanated. A slender, bony hand suddenly reached out from beneath the tent, and the next moment it was clasped tightly to the edge of the bed.


    The cryptic sound of collision and disordered breathing did not disappear from the hall until late at night¡­


    Yan Yuan pulled Xuan Long''s waist into his arms, and their sweaty bodies were suddenly pressed together, their noses filled with a crisp, cold fragrance that was incomparably soothing to the senses.


    Yan Yuan kissed Xuan Long behind the ear, ¡°A''Po, I couldn''t hold back for a moment, I''m sorry¡­"


    Xuan Long was too tired to pay attention to him, his eyelids were too heavy to lift, and it was only after a long time that he managed to squeeze out a hoarse sentence, "No harm done."


    Yan Yuan didn''t intend to have sex with Xuan Long, he just wanted to accompany him to simply sleep. Who knew that when he moved over to kiss him, he couldn''t control himself when he smelled the cold fragrance on his body. Yan Yuan suspected that the cold fragrance on Xuan Long''s body was mixed with some kind of bewitching drug, otherwise, how could he have lost control of himself like this?


    But from the day they first met, Xuan Long has smelt like this, which shows that he was born with it and could not have done anything to it.


    Even the Xuan Long''s blood and sweat smelled this good, unlike the human race, where the blood smelled of unpleasant rust and the sweat smelled even worse.


    Things seemed to be going in an uncontrollable direction.


    How could he always be unable to escape the temptation of Xuan Long''s body?


    Is it because Xuan Long is really too delicious¡­ or is it because he has only tasted this one dragon''s body that he is this thirsty?


    He would know when Ning Zhiyu woke up and they could consummate their marriage.


    Yan Yuan was holding Xuan Long, but he was thinking of A''Yu, who was lying unconscious in Luanfeng Hall. He thought that A''Yu was so gentle and soft, and so fair and handsome, that he must be much better than Xuan Long.


    When the time came to consummate their marriage, he would certainly stop craving Xuan Long''s body.


    A''Yu is the queen he married with three books and six rites, the treasure he has loved for three years, his vermilion mole. Xuan Long was just a pawn tricked into the palace to save A''Yu, and Yan Yuan had always been very clear about which was more important.


    He did not want to take Xuan Long''s life, he only needed a few dragon scales to save A''Yu, and when A''Yu woke up, he would let him go.


    He felt guilty, but as the emperor, Yan Yuan owned all the rivers and mountains, and since Xuan Long was in his kingdom, he also owned him. Life and death were just a matter of his own words, so what was the problem with asking him for some dragon scales?


    However, Yan Yuan''s heart was inexplicably troubled, probably because he not only wanted Xuan Long''s scales, but he had also cheated him of his feelings.


    Yet he thought, "I don''t love him anyway, so I can be ruthless and I don''t need to worry so much."


    Since ancient times, emperors have often been merciless, and he had already been very kind. If it were someone else, they might have taken Xuan Long''s heart at the very beginning.


    As he thought about this, Yan Yuan felt that he was right in the end; it was all for A''Yu''s sake, and he had no choice but to do so.


    Smelling the unique cold fragrance of Xuan Long''s body, Yan Yuan closed his eyes peacefully and gradually fell into a deep sleep.


    He had a dream.


    There was a monstrous war, with fire everywhere.


    There were corpses strewn around from the battle, falling messily to the ground like rags, and the sky was dyed blood red¡­


    A man fell dying in his arms, his face full of blood. He tried to wipe his face with his sleeve, but the blood-blurred face could not be wiped clean, and instead he hurt the wounds on the man''s face.


    The desperation and sadness of death surged through Yan Yuan''s chest. He was terrified, afraid that the man would leave him forever, so he held him, covering the bloody hole in his chest, and begged him over and over again not to die.


    The man seemed to be smiling at him, his mouth that kept gushing blood moving and saying something to him. Yan Yuan could not hear him clearly, nor could he see the man''s face. His ears rang incessantly, like the sound of the wind, and like a cry from a distant valley mixed with the wind. Yan Yuan broke down and cried as he realised that gradually the man was not even talking, his mouth not moving, as if he had no more strength.


    No matter how much he begged him, in the end, the man was still lifeless in his arms. The man''s body turned into an inky starburst, disappearing little by little in his arms, disappearing into thin air¡­.


    Yan Yuan couldn¡¯t wake up from the nightmare, his eyebrows wrinkled in pain and he murmured in despair, ¡°A''Yu¡­"


    ¡°A''Yu¡­ don''t go¡­"


    It was raining outside the hall, dripping on the eaves of the hall, and the sky was faintly dewy white.


    Xuan Long, who was beside him, was awakened and looked thoughtfully at the tears that continued to flow from the corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes. He hesitantly reached over to help wipe them away, but just after wiping them away, new tears came out, gradually wetting his temples.


    Who is A''Yu?¡­


    Xuan Long did not understand why Yan Yuan was crying so much when he remembered that person, and after a moment of silence, he gently nudged Yan Yuan''s arm, trying to wake him up, ¡°A''Yuan."

 CH 15

    I Will Protect You


    "A''Yu!" Yan Yuan abruptly and violently sat up on the bed, the bright yellow quilt slipping from his body to his waist, his eyes wide and staring dead ahead, and his breathing rising and falling violently.


    Xuan Long was startled and sat up slowly, holding back the pain from his body, and looked at Yan Yuan with a subtle concern in his icy turquoise pupils, "Did you have a nightmare?"


    Yan Yuan seemed to have woken up from his dream, slowly turning his head to stare at Xuan Long, his seductive peach blossom eyes were now bloodshot and looked a bit hideous.


    Xuan Long had never seen Yan Yuan like this before, and he didn''t know what to do for a moment, but even though he was at a loss inside, his face was still expressionless, "You¡­"


    Before the words could be spoken, Yan Yuan turned his head away with a glare, lifted the covers and got out of bed to get dressed with a kind of indifference that rejects people from a thousand miles away.


    Yan Yuan took the clean robes from the mica screen and put them on after removing the green dragon patterned robes. Turning his back to Xuan Long on the bed, he continued to dress without any intention of speaking to him.


    It was not yet time to wake up in the morning, the rain was falling outside and the hall was as quiet as if no one was there.


    Xuan Long was the worst at dealing with such a scene. If Yan Yuan was angry with him, he wouldn''t even know how to coax him, he would just tell him not to be angry. He didn''t even understand what was wrong with Yan Yuan at that moment. It was obvious that he had been fine last night, so why did he suddenly lose his temper?


    "A''Yuan, you¡­" Xuan Long guessed that he was not feeling well and that was why he was so inexplicable, but Yan Yuan did not give him the chance to ask.


    "Don''t call me that." Yan Yuan''s hand tying his belt paused, his tone not too heavy, but enough to shut Xuan Long up, "And don''t talk to me."


    Apart from his father and mother, in this world, Ning Zhiyu should be the only one qualified to call him that.


    When coaxing Xuan Long to make love that day, he pestered him to call him, ¡®A''Yuan'', but now he regrets it.


    That dream was like a wake-up call.


    When Xuan Long saw that he was unhappy, he was silent and looked quietly at his tall back, his thoughts bewildered.


    Yan Yuan treated Xuan Long like air and did not say a word to him when he left. There was a knock at the door and it was time for Chen Yan to call him to court.


    The door of the hall suddenly opened from the inside. Chen Yan looked up and saw the emperor with his long hair unbound walking out with a tense face, and he said in surprise, "Your Majesty, what are you¡­ doing here?"


    "Going to Luanfeng Hall." Yan Yuan said and left, walking very quickly. Chen Yan looked up at the rain under the eaves, panicked, and followed him with an umbrella, "Aiyo, my Emperor, take care of your body¡­"


    The more the rain fell, the more impatient it became. The sky seemed to be leaking, and the storm was raging. When Yan Yuan arrived at Luanfeng Hall, half of his body was soaked through, and the smooth fabric was cold against his body.


    At the sight of the man with a jade-like face on the bed, Yan Yuan''s eyes became wet, and without any sense of decorum, he knelt straight by the bed, grabbed the man''s beautiful hand and pressed it to his face, murmuring obsessively.


    "A''Yu¡­"


    "A''Yu¡­"


    It was only at this moment that he felt truly alive.


    That dream had been too painful.


    It was as if it had ripped his heart out of his chest.


    Yan Yuan had dreamed of that scene countless times before. He could not see the man''s face clearly, but that despair clung to him like it was gnawing at his bones, making him want to die with the man in his dream immediately.


    It was someone who was very, very important to him, much more important than his own life, Yan Yuan was sure of that.


    He started having that dream at a very young age.


    Since he was fourteen, he had seen a man in his dreams almost every night, and it was always such a tragic scene that he would wake up with a wet pillow.


    That man was so cruel, making him suffer like that but not even letting him see what he looked like.


    He thought that it must have been his lover from a previous life, otherwise why would he have returned to this dream so stubbornly and strangely?


    He probably wanted him to go looking for him, but Yan Yuan was the crown prince at the time and had not been outside the palace gates more than a few times, so he did not know where he could find him, therefore all he could do was wait, wait for him to come looking for him.


    If it was destiny, they would surely meet each other, right?


    Yan Yuan waited, and waited for a long time, but he never came. On his 16th birthday, his father said that he would choose one of the noble daughters to be his crown princess, but he refused without thinking. He knew that he loved that man deeply, even though he did not know what he looked like.


    But he knew he would come.


    That summer, Yan Yuan met Ning Zhiyu, and the bloody face of the man in his dream became clear¡­


    On that day, he followed his father out of the palace to visit the Prime Minister who was ill. His father went into the Prime Minister''s bedroom to visit him, while Yan Yuan waited outside. When he got antsy, he couldn''t resist wandering around, and he wandered into the garden.


    At that time, Ning Zhiyu was already 17 years old, one year older than Yan Yuan. He had the appearance of a breeze, but he was extremely tender. His mother had been a foot washing maid without a name and had died in childbirth, so although Ning Zhiyu was the son of the Prime Minister, anyone could secretly step on him, and the Prime Minister had never bothered much about his frail son.


    When Yan Yuan first met Ning Zhiyu, he was forced by his younger brother to climb a tree to collect a kite, and the tree was several people high. Ning Zhiyu was wearing a white robe, and his two thin arms were struggling to climb up the trunk of the tree. His sleeves were in a heap under his arms, and when he was about to touch the kite, he suddenly stepped on air and fell down.


    His forehead hit a stone on the ground and his head was bloodied, but as if he was used to it, Ning Zhiyu trembled and tried to get up. When Ning Hong, the Prime Minister''s son, saw that his brother had been injured, he knew that he had caused trouble and slipped away.


    The moment Ning Zhiyu turned towards him, Yan Yuan''s heart was suddenly struck¡­


    He looked at Ning Zhiyu''s bloodied face and thought of the man''s bloodied face in his dream, and his heart ached so much he couldn''t breathe. He didn¡¯t know why he was feeling distressed, whether it was because of the man in his dream or because of the man in front of him, he couldn¡¯t tell.


    Ning Zhiyu''s lips were pale and there was no one around him, so he staggered and was about to leave the garden when Yan Yuan stepped out of the shadows where he was hidden and stood in a daze in front of him, "Are you¡­ hurt?"


    Yan Yuan was dressed in civilian clothes, and Ning Zhiyu had never seen His Royal Highness before, so he only thought he was a noble son of some family. After being slightly stunned, he smiled and shook his head, "It doesn''t hurt."


    That smile was miserable and helpless.


    In his dream, Yan Yuan could not see the man''s face and could not hear him speak, but through the shape of his mouth, he could vaguely guess that the man had also said to him that it did not hurt.


    It was obvious that he was hurt badly, yet he comforted him by saying that it didn''t hurt.


    "How can it not hurt?¡­" Yan Yuan trailed off with a strained throat.


    "When you get used to it, it doesn''t hurt anymore." Ning Zhiyu was still smiling, his eyes were beautiful, as clear and warm as his nature. Yan Yuan felt that the man in his dream should also have such a pair of gentle eyes, so he followed the impulse in his heart and spoke softly, "Come with me, I won''t let you get hurt again in the future."


    "I will protect you."

 CH 16

    I''m Annoyed With Him


    At first, Yan Yuan was not sure that Ning Zhiyu was the one he was destined to love, he just felt heartbroken and could not see him being bullied like this and pretending to be strong when he was injured.


    When the eunuchs in the palace made mistakes and were beaten half to death, he had never felt any pain, but why did he feel so much pain when he looked at Ning Zhiyu?


    There must be a reason for that.


    On that day, after Yan Yuan had obtained his father''s consent, he asked Ning Zhiyu to go back to be his prince''s companion. He didn¡¯t let him do the heavier work, and had him grind ink and wash his pen by his side, treating him like a treasure.


    It was strange, but ever since he was with Ning Zhiyu, Yan Yuan never had that dream again. As time passed, their relationship grew deeper and deeper, and he gradually became certain that Ning Zhiyu was the man in his dreams.


    Now that he has returned to his side, there is no need for him to enter that dream anymore.


    But just last night, he had that heartbreaking dream again¡­


    "A''Yu, are you blaming me¡­.


    Outside the hall, the rainstorm raged on, and the sky was dark. The candles that had been burning all night in the inner room of Luanfeng Hall had not yet gone out, and the last small candle was left trembling and burning with a dim light, reflecting the snow-like face of the person on the couch.


    Yan Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, his long hair scattered, water dripping from it. He grabbed Ning Zhiyu''s hand and pressed it to his lips in a delicate kiss, his eyes red as he said, "A''Yu, you mustn''t be angry with me¡­"


    "I really didn''t know what to do, so I tricked that dragon into coming to the palace with a book. If you died and left me alone in this world, what would I do¡­ how could I be without you?"


    "You fell ill so suddenly, I thought of all sorts of ways to save you and only found that one feasible way."


    "Don''t worry¡­ I only have you in my heart, my relationship with that dragon is just an act, he is just a beast in my eyes, he is nothing, how can he compare to you?"


    "Don''t be angry with me, just wake up, okay?¡­"


    "You wake up, and I promise, I will never look at him again in the future."


    The man on the bed had his eyes closed peacefully. His originally pale and lean face, because of the nourishment of the dragon scales, now has a faint rosy lustre on his skin, as if he was a demon spirit that had absorbed the essence of blood, and he looked even better than before.


    Yan Yuan looked deeply at him for a long time before slowly leaning down to kiss his forehead tenderly.


    It was a thousand times more gentle than when he was with Xuan Long, a million times more gentle.


    Even though Yan Yuan was inwardly guilty of being with Xuan Long, his tenderness and affection had to be given to Ning Zhiyu after all.


    Only to his A''Yu.


    "Your Majesty, it''s time to go to court¡­" The sound of deliberately restrained footsteps came from afar, coming from outside the hall. Chen Yan stopped ten paces away from Yan Yuan, suppressing his sharp rooster''s voice to carefully remind him.


    Yan Yuan did not look back at Chen Yan, his eyes constantly remained on the man on the bed, "The court is exempt today, you go outside the Meridian Gate to inform the ministers and tell them to go back. I only want to stay with my A''Yu today, I''m not going anywhere."


    Chen Yan noticed that Yan Yuan was in a low mood, so he withdrew without saying anything. He returned shortly afterwards, followed by two eunuchs, one of whom was carrying a lacquered wooden tray with clean clothes folded in four squares; one was a blouse and the other was a set of gold silk robes, "Your Majesty, let the eunuchs help you change out of your wet clothes."


    Yan Yuan turned his head to look at Chen Yan, "Why haven''t you left yet?"


    "This servant has asked Xiao Dezi to go to the Meridian Gate to inform the ministers." Chen Yan held the horsetail whip in his arms and half-bowed, "Your Majesty is wet, so this servant does not dare to stay away. If the Emperor''s body is hurt, the Empress will be anxious when he wakes up and finds out."


    The day was hot and muggy even when it was raining, and although it was uncomfortable to wear wet clothes, it wasn''t cold. Yan Yuan was in no mood to toss and turn, but when he heard Chen Yan say that Ning Zhiyu would be worried if he found out, he moved to stand up and let Chen Yan and the two eunuchs change his clothes and wipe his long wet hair.


    Chen Yan bowed his head and fastened Yan Yuan''s luxurious jade-encrusted belt, then suddenly heard Yan Yuan say in confusion, "Didn''t I arrange for Xiao Dezi to serve Han Po?"


    "Master Han does not like to be waited on, so he only uses Xiao Dezi for serving meals. This servant sent him away on his own initiative, so please do not blame him, Your Majesty."


    Chen Yan was an old eunuch who had grown up with Yan Yuan, and Xiao Dezi was Chen Yan''s most favoured disciple.


    Yan Yuan thought of the expressionless face Han Po had all day long, "That''s right, he really doesn''t need to be served."


    Chen Yan smoothed out Yan Yuan''s lapels and said with concern, "Did Your Majesty get angry with Master Han this morning?"


    Yan Yuan wrinkled his pretty eyebrows and gave a cold snort, saying, "What could he be angry with me for, it is me who is annoyed with him."

 CH 17

    How to Make Him Happy


    Xuan Long was very tired, and there was a dull pain in his stomach for some reason. After Yan Yuan left, he fell asleep before he could think about it too much.


    When he woke up again, the sun was already setting outside the window. He sat up from the bed and found that his legs were damp, sticky, and uncomfortable, and there was a strong, cold scent around the tip of his nose.


    But this time there seemed to be unusually large amounts of blood, and it had soiled the mattress, so he was afraid he would have to trouble the palace staff to change it.


    "Master Han? Master Han?" There were three short, crisp knocks at the door outside the hall.


    Xuan Long snapped out of his daze and, through the silk tent, turned his head to look in the direction of the hall door and spoke in a hoarse voice, "What is it?"


    Xiao Dezi suppressed his excitement and said, "Master Han is finally awake. This servant has come to call you three times today, if you don''t answer this servant, this servant wouldn''t know what to do¡­"


    The emperor had ordered that no one was allowed to enter the side hall without the consent of Master Han, so naturally Xiao Dezi did not dare to enter without permission. When the emperor left this morning, he had a stinky face and looked like he was angry with Master Han, so Xiao Dezi didn''t act for fear that if he went to inform him, he would step on Yan Yuan''s dragon whiskers and break his head.


    After all, no one knew for sure how much the emperor valued this Master Han.


    "Master Han?¡­ If you are not feeling well, this servant will go and find an imperial doctor." Seeing that there was no response from the man in the hall, Xiao Dezi pressed himself against the door.


    Xuan Long pressed on the faint pain in his abdomen and felt that it was not unbearable, "No need, please get some water."


    "Ai, this servant is on his way."


    Xiao Dezi moved very nimbly and returned in no time with others.


    The door of the hall was thrown open and several eunuchs in Zhuqing Palace robes entered, pouring buckets and buckets of hot water into the wooden tub. Xuan Long sat on the bed and listened to the commotion outside, a little lost in thought.


    They could not see him because the tent covered him.


    Because of this, the palace staff became more and more curious about this Master Han, but they did not dare to look at him, so they filled up the water and left.


    After cleaning up the blood from his body, the cloth wrapped around his chest was soaked through when he finished his bath. Xuan Long got out of the tub and raised his hand in front of his body. The white silk disappeared into thin air, revealing the hideous wound.


    It was no longer bleeding, so he didn''t bother with it. In a flash, a neat black robe appeared on his body, with a palm-wide belt that outlined his waist, and his waist-length hair dripping sporadically downwards.


    Afterwards, Xiao Dezi was called in to change the mattress. When he lifted the quilt and took a look, a ''ho'' sound came out of his throat and he said with wide eyes, "How can Master Han bleed so much again, the Emperor is really¡­"


    Feeling self-conscious of his slip of the tongue, he swallowed back the words that followed.


    In fact, it was not too much; a palm-sized blood stain, printed on the bright yellow dragon-patterned mattress.


    But how is this different from abuse?


    Xiao Dezi slandered in his heart, but did not dare to ask more questions. He looked for other happy topics and said cheerfully, "Master Han, don''t you find it boring to stay in the house day after day? The palace is very spacious, so if you ever feel like it, you should go out for a stroll. I''m afraid you will be bored out of your mind if you''re cooped up for too long."


    There were carved openings on the mica screen. Xuan Long stood behind the screen, watching the eunuch''s busy back through the openings, and remained silent.


    He had been alone in the thousand-year-old pond for nearly ten thousand years and had long since grown accustomed to a dull and boring life. For him, it was the same everywhere he went alone, except when he was with Yan Yuan.


    The world seemed to change when that person pestered him and smiled at him.


    It became warm, so warm that it didn''t seem too bad to be alive.


    That kind of joy and pleasure¡­ had only ever been given to him by Yan Yuan.


    Remembering this morning''s incident, Xuan Long asked in a low voice, "If someone is angry, how should I coax them?"


    Xiao Dezi pulled the soiled mattress off and paused to say, "Why are they angry?"


    Xuan Long was silent once again.


    He didn''t know why Yan Yuan was angry.


    He just suddenly started ignoring him.


    Xiao Dezi''s eyes twinkled as he understood, then h said, "If the Emperor is angry¡­ this servant really does not dare to speculate on the Emperor''s heart. But¡­ quarrels between husband and wife are inevitable, and although this servant has never eaten pork, he has heard a few pigs run away."


    "A few days ago, I heard from Xiao Tongzi that his mistress was playing with him and wanted to separate from him, so he used his entire fortune and asked someone to buy a gold bracelet from outside the palace to give to his mistress. Xiao Tongzi''s mistress was very happy and immediately made up with him happily." Xiao Dezi was a little envious when he said that. When he had saved enough money, he would also find a mistress of the palace to keep him company. The deep palace was too lonely.


    "The feelings of ordinary people are so¡­ but the Emperor, as the ninety-five supreme, naturally lacks nothing. This servant thinks that if you are sincere, you will be fine." (Angel: The ninety-five supreme, ¾ÅÎåÖÁ×ð,  symbolises the authority of the Emperor.)


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes in thought.


    Sincerity¡­


    What is sincerity?¡­


    The inverse scale at the back of his neck had already been torn out and given to Yan Yuan. Other than that, he did not know how to prove his sincerity to the other party.


    He couldn''t say anything nice, and he didn''t even understand why he was angry, so it was no wonder he was like that.


    Perhaps he thought he was clumsy.


    "Why don''t you try your hand at making a little something to give to the Emperor?¡­" Xiao Dezi smoothed out the clean mattress and spoke to the dragon behind the screen, "Sincerely, just deliver it."


    If the other person cares, even if he sends a feather, he will treasure it carefully.


    If they didn''t care and pulled their hearts out, the other party would still be afraid that the blood would stain their hands.


    Xuan Long felt that Xiao Dezi had a point.


    He had occasionally seen hand-carved figurines at a stall in the marketplace. The seemingly rough wood, after being skillfully carved by the vendor''s hands, could bring the customer''s appearance to life.


    That night, Xuan Long disappeared from the palace.


    The night market was full of lights and people, and the vendors were enthusiastically shouting. To Xuan Long, all of this was meaningless. He found the vendor who carved the wooden figures from memory. There were two or three people in front of the stall watching the craftsmanship of the owner''s live carving.


    Xuan Long found a spot neither near nor far away and watched in silence for a long time, until the street was clear and cold, then he turned to leave.


    When he returned to the palace, he asked Xiao Dezi to find wood and a carving knife.


    The first time he did it, he naturally could not be as skilled as the vendor, and he cut his hand before he made a few cuts. Fortunately, he did not need a person to sit in front of him in order to carve them, as the vendor did.


    Yan Yuan''s face had long been imprinted on his heart and all he had to do was close his eyes and his mind would be filled with that person''s smile.


    Xuan Long sat at the table, concentrating on tinkering with the wood, and when he looked up again, it was already dawn.


    He raised his hand to massage his sore eyes and looked down to continue.


    He wanted to finish the little wooden figure quickly and take it to Yan Yuan, telling him not to be angry anymore, even though he didn''t know what he had done wrong.


    But it didn''t matter.


    As long as Yan Yuan was happy, that was all that mattered.

 CH 18

    Hot and Cold


    When you focus on doing something, you have little time to think about anything else.


    It took Xuan Long five days to carve a small wooden figure. During which, apart from eating and sleeping, he carved the wood, leaving many tiny cuts on his fingertips. He was very serious about it, but the small wooden figure was not detailed and not even one tenth as beautiful as Yan Yuan.


    Naturally, such an object could not be given away.


    Xuan Long silently put the little wooden figure into an empty box in the hall and prepared to carve a new one. He had to make a satisfactory one before sending it to Yan Yuan, but that would certainly take many days.


    He did not know why Yan Yuan had been angry for so long, but five days had passed and it should have subsided. If it were him, he would not have been able to be angry for a day.


    At noon, the palace servants brought food into the hall and placed it neatly on the round table. When they were about to leave, Xuan Long called out for Xiao Dezi.


    Xiao Dezi waved his hand to tell the low-rank eunuchs to go out, then turned to look at the man behind the mica screen and bent down slightly, "What is your order, Master Han?"


    Xuan Long: "A¡¯Yuan, did he¡­ ever say anything to you?"


    Xiao Dezi''s heart was like a mirror, but his mouth feigned, "Master Han has flattered this servant, how could His Majesty have spoken to this servant? This slave guesses that the emperor is busy again, so he had no time to come here. If Master Han misses His Majesty, why doesn¡¯t this servant go over and tell him?"


    "No need, I''m just asking casually." Xuan Long more or less knew that the emperor of the human race manages a lot of things on a day-to-day basis and could not possibly be with him all day and night.


    Perhaps he was too entangled, but only five days had passed, so why was he unable to sit still.


    "If there is nothing else, this servant will retire first, you can eat while it is still hot." Xiao Dezi said softly.


    "En."


    After Xiao Dezi left, Xuan Long went to the table and sat down. Instead of eating, he took a jade pendant out of his pocket and carefully caressed it in his hand.


    The jade pendant was kept in a hidden pocket on his chest. He would take it out many times a day to look at it, but he did not want to hang it on his body for fear of accidentally hitting it or losing it.


    The simple and delicate pattern of the iris is the token of love given to him by Yan Yuan.


    As the saying goes, a day without seeing him is like three autumns, and after five days had passed, it seemed like a long time. When his thoughts were too intense, he would look at the jade pendant and remember Yan Yuan''s affectionate smile that day, and the loneliness and anxiety in his heart would be replaced by a hint of sweetness.


    Suddenly, Xuan Long recalled the name Yan Yuan had inadvertently called out in his dream early that morning, and after lunch, when the palace staff came in to clean up, he asked, "Do you know who A''Yu is?"


    Xiao Dezi, who was removing the plate, was stunned for a moment, his brain turning rapidly¡­ Isn¡¯t A''Yu the Empress''s nickname, only the Emperor would call him that.


    This is probably where it all went wrong!


    Xiao Dezi thought for a moment and said to Xuan Long in the tent, "In reply to Master Han''s words, this servant does not know."


    "However¡­ a year ago, the Emperor kept a jade-white snow fox named A''Yu, but it somehow got lost. The Emperor ordered people to search the entire palace but they couldn''t find it, so he was sad for a long time."


    There was indeed a snow fox in the palace a year ago, and it was indeed lost, but it was a snow fox that Yan Yuan had ordered someone to get from the West to make Ning Zhiyu happy. The snow fox was so quiet and beautiful that Yan Yuan thought it resembled Ning Zhiyu, so he used the name A''Yu.


    The person who was sad is Ning Zhiyu, and when he sees Ning Zhiyu sad, Yan Yuan is also sad, so technically speaking, Xiao Dezi is not lying, at most he is glossing it over. Even though he is now serving Han Po, he has not forgotten who his true master is. In this way, even if Yan Yuan''s boat capsizes in the gutter later, he will not be blamed.


    Xuan Long was deep in thought, "So that''s how it is."


    Tomorrow, he will go to the snowy mountains to find a new one and send it to Yan Yuan.


    ¡­¡­


    At dusk, in Luanfeng Hall.


    Zong Hua came over every day to check Ning Zhiyu''s pulse, and today was no exception.


    It had been ten days since he started taking the dragon scales. Only the last of the thirty scales remained, and they would be gone after tonight. However, Ning Zhiyu showed no signs of waking up. Yan Yuan paced anxiously in the hall, looking at the back of the imperial doctor, and he asked, "Didn¡¯t you say that A¡¯Yu¡¯s pulse is getting more and more stable? Why is he still not awake?"


    Zong Hua did not answer, and after a moment, slowly withdrew his hand from Ning Zhiyu''s wrist, "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, it''s almost time. Continue to give the medicine according to the prescription, the dragon scales must be continued."


    Yan Yuan had planned to stop seeing Xuan Long, but when he said that, his heart burst with anger, "Where can I get so many dragon scales? You quack, can''t you find any other medicine that can cure A''Yu apart from dragon scales?"


    Zong Hua turned to face Yan Yuan and bowed his head, "I am sorry for my incompetence, please forgive me, Your Majesty."


    If there really was another way, Yan Yuan would not have gone to such lengths to trick Xuan Long back to the palace in the first place. He had just lost his temper, when he calmed down, he still had to give him the dragon scales.


    These days, he was in a very anxious mood, hoping that Ning Zhiyu would wake up sooner, but at the same time, he uncontrollably thought of Xuan Long, who he had left behind in Qiankun Palace.


    He hadn''t meant to be cold to Xuan Long that day, he was just disgusted with himself; he was obviously playing a game, so how could he have almost indulged in a tender moment? If not for that dream, he would have fallen deeper and deeper.


    All he wanted now was for A''Yu to regain his health sooner, so that he could cut himself off from Xuan Long.


    "Forget it, you can leave." Yan Yuan finally deflated and spoke feebly.


    When the door to the hall was pushed open, Xuan Long was sitting on the beautiful couch by the window, carving a new wooden figure. He looked up and saw that the person who came in was Yan Yuan. With a flick of his palm, he subconsciously hid his things away.


    Yan Yuan was dressed in a silver and white bamboo patterned brocade robe, and his face looked uneasy as he walked towards him. Xuan Long didn¡¯t know how to react, and he didn¡¯t move.


    "How have you been lately?" Yan Yuan stopped in front of Xuan Long and raised his hand to touch the unmasked left side of his face.


    The knot in Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly, "Still fine."


    "You didn''t even ask me if I was okay?" Yan Yuan asked, aggrieved.


    Xuan Long looked at his stunning face and was silent for a moment, "Are you doing well."


    Yan Yuan hugged Xuan Long for a moment before releasing him, as if he wasn''t the one with the cold face that day. Grabbing Xuan Long''s wide sleeves, he opened them to look at him from left and right, his eyes running over his waist and finally stopping at his face.


    "You seem to have lost some weight."


    During dinner, Yan Yuan kept offering dishes to Xuan Long, and the smell of oil and fishy food ran into his nose. Xuan Long''s face turned pale and his stomach churned, causing his eyebrows to knit slightly. Seeing how eager Yan Yuan was, he silently picked up the food in the bowl and put it into his mouth, asking, "Have you lost your anger already?"


    Yan Yuan was stunned for a moment and looked at the man beside him, "You know I''m used to getting angry, I wasn''t aiming it at you."


    "En." Xuan Long nodded, not making another sound.


    Yan Yuan put down his chopsticks, took Xuan Long''s hand and said in a soft voice, "I''m sorry, next time, if I mess up again, you''ll¡­ you won''t let me in the room, okay?"

 CH 19

    I''ll Take it Seriously


    Yan Yuan changed back to his old self, his soul-stirring peach blossom eyes were begging, with a hint of coquetry, harmless as always.


    His portrait was once circulated to the people and he was crowned the most beautiful man in the capital by young girls who were not yet married; there were few people in the world who could beat his beauty.


    He was a pretty boy, noble and peerless. (Angel: Pretty boy, ôæô湫×Ó, is an idiom that means rich and noble children.)


    Xuan Long looked at Yan Yuan for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and sullenly said, "I have never gotten along with anyone before. If there is something bad, you can say it straight. If there is something I can change, I will definitely change it."


    Just don''t be so erratic, so cold and so hot.


    He seemed calm on the surface, but in fact he had been suffering a lot inside these days.


    If Yan Yuan had bluntly said that he hated him, he would have left without saying a word, but this ambiguous attitude was what made him wonder what to do.


    "You''re not bad, I''m the one who''s bad¡­" Yan Yuan grabbed Xuan Long''s hands and guided him to turn around to face him, "I promise, I won''t treat you that way in the future. A¡¯Po, don''t hate me, okay?"


    Xuan Long looked at him quietly, "I have never hated you."


    "I know, A''Po has always been the best to me." Yan Yuan smiled.


    Seeing him smile like this, Xuan Long''s turquoise eyes also showed a weak smile, but it was not obvious.


    Yan Yuan rubbed Xuan Long''s hands, but suddenly felt that the feeling in his palms was not right. When he looked down, he saw that the tips of those long, slender fingers were covered with many tiny scratches, which had already scabbed over, but perhaps because the wounds were too dense, they were a little red and swollen.


    "What happened to your hand?"


    Xuan Long pulled his hand back as an afterthought, "I did it accidentally."


    Yan Yuan frowned, holding on to his hand and not letting go, "How could you get so many wounds by accident? What have you been doing these days?"


    "Nothing." Xuan Long did not want to say more, "You don''t have to worry, it will heal soon."


    Yan Yuan wasn''t too curious, as he had other things on his mind, so when he heard Xuan Long say that, he let go of his hand and grunted in feigned anger, "Then if it doesn''t heal in a few days, I''ll ask you about it." Then he picked up his chopsticks and continued to give Xuan Long food, his voice uncharacteristically gentle as he said, "Eat, you have to eat more, if you lose too much weight, I will be distressed."


    Xuan Long did not want to make Yan Yuan feel distressed, so he obediently ate all the food in his bowl. It seemed that he ate the most when Yan Yuan was around.


    After dinner, Yan Yuan ordered a black veiled hat for Xuan Long to wear and took him out of Qiankun Palace for the first time.


    One man and one dragon sat in the carriage, the scenery outside the window changed from vermilion palace walls to cliffs. The carriage was travelling on a not so narrow path, swaying, and the night breeze flowed in through the fluttering curtain, extraordinarily leisurely.


    Xuan Long did not expect such a place to exist in the palace and turned his head to ask Yan Yuan, who was at his side, "Where are we going?"


    Yan Yuan held Xuan Long''s waist and kissed the side of his face, his eyes smiling: "To a nice place, you''ll love it."


    The carriage swayed for half an hour and stopped at the top of the mountain. Yan Yuan put the black hat back on Xuan Long, and the two of them got off the carriage.


    A place like a folk courtyard appeared in front of them, and when they entered, there were small bridges and flowing water, rockery and pavilions, and a half-moon in the sky dispelling the thick inky night.


    The two of them stopped by a pond. Xuan Long did not understand why Yan Yuan had brought him here and was in a daze when he was suddenly embraced gently by a pair of arms from behind him.


    Yan Yuan circled Xuan Long''s waist and rested his chin on his shoulder, "This is Yanbing House, I will come and stay here for a few days in my spare time. You have been in the palace for so many days, I am worried that you will feel bored in the palace all day so I thought of bringing you here to take a break. Do you like it?"


    In fact, Yan Yuan did not need to go to such great lengths. For Xuan Long, no matter where he was, as long as he had Yan Yuan by his side, it was the best.


    "I am happy." It was true that his heart was moved.


    The palace attendants had withdrawn at some point and they were the only ones left. Yan Yuan took Xuan Long by the shoulders and turned him around, first lowering his head and delicately kissing him on the lips, and then kissing him deeply. Xuan Long''s waist was held extremely tightly, and he closed his eyes, clumsily but diligently meeting Yan Yuan''s wet kiss.


    "I have missed you a lot these past few days." As the air grew thin, Yan Yuan let go of him with a low gasp, his eyes staring darkly at Xuan Long''s face covered by a dark gold mask.


    It was a very heroic face, cold-looking because of its naturally icy turquoise pupils, and it was not at all associated with softness, but damn, Yan Yuan had reacted to just hugging and kissing this man.


    Xuan Long''s pale face was tinted with a bit of blood, his turquoise pupils dazzled in the hazy mist, and there was a bit of bewilderment in his coldness; he always shows such a defenceless expression in front of Yan Yuan.


    He hadn''t forgotten the purpose of the trip ¨C whenever he had made love to Xuan Long, it was always extraordinarily easy to get him to comply with his requests, so he obeyed his instincts, grabbed his hand and placed it on¡­ the indescribable.


    "I miss you here too."


    Before Xuan Long could understand what he meant, he was pulled up from the ground by Yan Yuan''s hand. Yan Yuan raised his hand to undo his belt, and Xuan Long clasped his wrist: "I''m a little tired today."


    He really was tired; his abdomen was aching, his back was covered in a cold sweat, and it was a little cold when the wind blew.


    "I will make you comfortable." Hurt appeared in Yan Yuan''s eyes, "Could it be that you''re really angry with me?"


    He simply grasped Xuan Long''s weakness; knowing that he liked him and would definitely be soft-hearted, he repeatedly used such a method against him.


    Sure enough, Xuan Long said, "No."


    "Then take off your clothes." Yan Yuan said.


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, his voice already hoarse, "I''m tired."


    Yan Yuan¡¯s face turned cold. He let go of Xuan Long and picked up the clothes on the ground before leaving, "Forget it, you don''t care too much about me anyway. What kind of a spouse are you if you refuse to grant such a small request?"


    Xuan Long looked at his back and his pale lips moved, wanting to call out to him, but the words didn''t come out.


    For he had always known that those who really wanted to leave could not be kept.


    When he was young, his mother cut off his dragon horns and drove him out of the dragon clan. He begged her not to abandon him, but she still left without even looking back, leaving him with an increasingly distant back.


    Just that. That''s all.


    Xuan Long''s figure shifted slightly and he sat down against the pillar beside him in a cold sweat


    Yan Yuan was sure that Xuan Long would come after him, but he did not expect to reach the courtyard door and not hear any movement from behind him, so he became even angrier. After waiting for a while, he angrily went back the way he came.


    "You¡­" He couldn''t help but say hurtful things, but as soon as he got closer, Yan Yuan froze.


    Xuan Long was sitting on a wooden bench in the pavilion, his body leaning against a pillar, his long hair covering most of his face, and his dark robe almost melting into the night.


    Yan Yuan sensed that something was wrong and felt panic for no reason, so he stepped forward with lighter steps: "What''s wrong with you?¡­ Are you uncomfortable somewhere?"


    Xuan Long did not respond at first. Yan Yuan shook him several times before Xuan Long opened his eyes and looked at the person who had returned in confusion: "¡­ Why did you come back."


    "How could I really leave you behind, I''m just scaring you." Yan Yuan frowned and said sternly.


    Hearing this, Xuan Long lowered his eyes and said nothing, his body leaning weakly back against the pillar.


    The deliberate bullying just now was real, and so was the anxiety and sadness at the moment. Yan Yuan did not know why he had such complicated and hidden emotions. He bent over to pick up Xuan Long''s legs and walked quickly towards the house, gritting his teeth, "How could I have forgotten that although you seem to be a cold-hearted dragon, you are actually so stupid that you don''t know how to coax people!"


    It was clear that his belly hurt, but his heart was warm. Xuan Long leaned on Yan Yuan''s shoulder, his lips curved in a rare moment, and he said in a very low and dumb voice: "Then don''t be easily angry with me in the future."


    "And don''t say you''ll leave me behind either."


    If you do, I will take it seriously.

 CH 20

    The Empress Awakens


    "Don''t you have ten thousand years of daoxing? Why are you always this weak, as if you''re going to die when you are touched?" Yan Yuan laid Xuan Long on the bed and used a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. (Angel: Daoxing is the mana-like strength that practises Taoism, such as immortals.)


    Xuan Long was still conscious despite the pain, and looked at Yan Yuan with his dark turquoise eyes. He actually liked this feeling; whenever he was hurt, this person always cared for him.


    Yan Yuan frowned, his hands moving quite roughly, almost rubbing off a layer of his skin, "Are you faking it? It makes my heart ache, so I can''t bear to be cruel to you."


    Xuan Long didn''t feel any of the agony, as the pain in his abdomen overshadowed everything else. In a trance, he seemed to see Yan Yuan''s eyes reddening, so he obeyed the other man''s words and weakly said, "En, I''m faking it."


    So you don''t feel sorry for me.


    "I knew it." Yan Yuan''s voice changed tone, "You''re not as stupid as you seem, you actually have quite an ingenious heart, otherwise you wouldn''t be able to charm me like this."


    Ingenious heart?


    What is an ingenious heart¡­


    If one is extraordinarily fond of him, one has a heart, which he should have. There are many, many. (Angel: This sounds weird, but it is what was exactly what was written; ÓÐÐí¶àÐí¶à)


    Xuan Long: "En, I have a heart."


    Yan Yuan was simply annoyed by him and suddenly slammed his hand on the edge of the bed, yelling in a low voice, "You are not allowed to speak anymore! I don''t want to hear you talk."


    Xuan Long froze for a moment, then twisted his head to look upwards and closed his eyes.


    After a few moments, he heard Yan Yuan''s voice in his ears, "You should sleep well, the human doctors should not be able to heal you, so it is useless to summon them."


    "What is wrong with you today? I clearly didn''t touch you that much just now."


    Xuan Long opened his eyes wearily and turned his head to look at Yan Yuan, who had regained his composure, as if he had not been the one who had suddenly lost his temper, and was now looking like a big child who had made a mistake.


    When he entered through the door, Yan Yuan was still walking with the birds, and afterwards, he casually found a white blouse and put it on hastily. Sweating in the heat and wearing his hair in a ponytail, he looked somewhat distressed, but his face was still precious and beautiful, too beautiful to be a mortal.


    He was only 19 years old.


    Those of the dragon race become an adult at the age of 100. At the age of 19, he was still a young dragon who only knew how to roll around in the mud. He was so many years older than him, so he should have given in to him more and cared for him.


    Seeing that Xuan Long did not say anything, Yan Yuan took hold of his hand resting on the brocade quilt and tightened it a little, "A''Po, don''t die, please."


    Xuan Long looked at his reddened eyes and helplessly raised his hand to touch Yan Yuan''s fair face, comforting him, "I won''t die."


    Even if it was for the sake of this person in front of him, he will live well.


    Yan Yuan guessed that Xuan Long was this weak because his old wound had resurfaced. After all, that wound was considered serious, so he did not dare to ask more. Because he had caused all this, even in the future, he would continue to do so.


    Forcing himself to stop thinking about it, Yan Yuan laid down on Xuan Long''s side, wrapped his arms around his waist and whispered in his ear, "A''Po, what did you say to me when you entered just now?"


    Turns out he didn''t hear it¡­


    Xuan Long''s thoughts wandered and he subconsciously replied, "I didn''t say anything."


    Some things can be said once, but it''s hard to say them a second time, especially when he has such a sombre nature.


    Yan Yuan refused to let him go and nibbled on his ear, "Liar, I clearly heard you muttering something."


    "You heard wrong¡­" Xuan Long closed his heavy eyes, his voice lowering as he couldn''t hold on any longer and fell into a drowsy sleep.


    Yan Yuan''s mother died early and he grew up with Concubine Heng, who was good, but ultimately was not of his blood and was quite limited in her closeness. In front of people, he had to follow the rules and behave like a crown prince, and in front of his father, he had to be a wise and measured son, and when he became emperor, he had to be as decisive as an emperor and not show any weakness, otherwise he would probably be defeated, both in the past and in the future.


    When his father was alive, he had never acted petulantly.


    Perhaps because he knew that Xuan Long would spoil and pamper him, he was extraordinarily unrestrained.


    "No, I''ve finally come to keep you company for a while, how can you just answer and fall asleep¡­" Yan Yuan saw that Xuan Long was going to sleep before he could answer his question, so he was not happy. He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, "No sleeping, stay with me and talk, I want you to talk with me¡­"


    Xuan Long unconsciously muffled a grunt, his pretty sword-like brows tightly knitted, with no intention of waking up. Yan Yuan saw his face was pale and his hands were pressing tightly on his stomach, and froze, "A''Po, is your stomach hurting?"


    "Did you eat something bad?" Yan Yuan stared at Xuan Long for a moment, then pushed his hand into the bedding and found the spot on his belly, gently rubbing it through the clothing, "Look at you, you are such an old dragon and you are still greedy for food, let me rub it for you, it won''t hurt anymore."


    As he rubbed, Xuan Long''s furrowed brows gradually relaxed. Yan Yuan looked at his handsome brows and raised his hand to remove the dark gold mask from his face, revealing the ugly scar embedded on the right side of his face.


    The moment Yan Yuan saw it, he felt distressed. Such a big wound, how painful it must have been when he was burned by fire? If Xuan Long says he was born that way, then it should have been painless.


    Yan Yuan''s heartache then seemed unjustified, and even he couldn''t figure out why. He put the mask back on Xuan Long, and continued to rub his stomach, whispering:


    "A''Po, look at how good I''ve been to you, you can''t blame me when you find out the truth later."


    "I didn''t want to do that either."


    "I can''t help but save A¡¯Yu. If he dies, I won''t be able to live either."


    "So, I''ll just have to fail you¡­"


    "Worst comes to worst, in the future, I''ll treat you better and not bully you so much¡­"


    "Okay?¡­"


    "¡­¡­" Xuan Long''s eyes were quietly closed, already having fallen into a deep sleep.


    He was cold even when he was asleep, but Yan Yuan knew he was extraordinarily soft-hearted, so he took it upon himself to help him make a decision.


    Yan Yuan propped himself up on the bed with one arm, leaned over and kissed Xuan Long''s forehead, and whispered, "If you don''t say anything, I''ll take it as an agreement."


    The second day.


    It was raining in the morning, and Yan Yuan was sleeping soundly with the man in his arms when there was an untimely knock on the door outside.


    Yan Yuan frowned in annoyance, his eyes were still closed and he was about to open his mouth to reprimand them, but he was cut off by Chen Yan''s next words:


    "Your Majesty, news has come from Luanfeng Hall, the Empress has awakened¡­"


    Yan Yuan''s eyes snapped open and he suddenly sat up straight, "What did you say?!"


    "The Empress is awake¡­"


    Before these words fell, Yan Yuan rolled over and got out of bed. Although the house in this courtyard was not as gorgeous as the palace, it was still elegant and exquisite, and everything in the house was well equipped. Yan Yuan opened the wardrobe and casually found a set of clothes and put them on without looking at them, forgetting to even call someone in to help him.


    In his haste to get dressed, he didn''t notice that his white robes were stained with blood, and when he left, he didn''t look at Xuan Long, so he didn''t notice that the man in the bed tent looked even worse than last night.

 CH 21

    I''m at the Mercy of God


    Xuan Long woke up in severe pain; the pain in his abdomen was even more intense than last night, as if something was falling down, and his lips were pale. He covered his stomach and sat up slowly, finding himself alone in the room, the other side of the bed cold.


    "A''Yuan."


    Thinking that perhaps Yan Yuan was in the courtyard, he called out hoarsely, but there was no answer, not even from the palace staff who should have been guarding the door.


    Perhaps he had slept too long, so he had left first.


    Yan Yuan had to attend the morning court every day, so he couldn''t afford to be delayed.


    Xuan Long lifted the bed tent and shifted out of the bed, walking out with feeble steps, leaving a blood-red footprint on the ground with every step he took.


    Drops of red fell from under the hem of his robes, hitting the dark floor.


    When he opened the door to his room and looked out, Yan Yuan was indeed gone, the courtyard was quiet and the drizzle had not yet stopped.


    Xuan Long looked down at the blood at his feet. He originally thought that the repeated abdominal pains in recent days were due to the approaching heavenly tribulation and weakening of his magic power, so he didn''t take it seriously, but now it doesn''t seem so.


    Why is there so much blood flowing¡­


    Last night, he and Yan Yuan clearly did not go all the way to the end¡­


    If he rushed back like this, he would definitely scare Yan Yuan. After thinking for a moment, Xuan Long transformed into his original form and flew into the sky.


    Half an hour later, in the realm of the Dragon Clan.


    In the darkness of the valley, the black dragon hovered in mid-air for a few seconds before suddenly charging towards the ground and transforming into a man in black clothes. He stumbled in the rain, as if he would fall down in the next moment.


    Dragons love water, and this rainstorm is a perfect time for them to have fun and play. There are many young and old dragon boys and girls in the valley flying around in their original forms, laughing and playing.


    Seeing the intrusion of a foreign dragon, they were alerted and immediately sent the youngest dragon to inform the clan leader while the rest hid in the bamboo forest not far away and whispered.


    Green dragon maiden: "Who is he¡­"


    Silver dragon teenager: "I don''t know, I''ve never seen him."


    They were all still underage and naturally could not have met Xuan Long, who had left the dragon clan as a young child. At that moment a slightly older looking white dragon girl looked over and said:


    "I used to hear my mother say that there was a dragon in the patriarch''s family who was born ugly and terrifying, and his personality was so extraordinarily withdrawn and unpleasant that no dragon was willing to play with him¡­"


    "Later, even the patriarch could not tolerate him anymore, so he was expelled, and it seems he even had one of his horns chopped off."


    "Really?" The green dragon maiden starred in surprise with wide aqua eyes.


    "En."


    "That''s too pitiful¡­ Dragon horns are essential for our dragon clan''s courtship. Having a pair of good-looking dragon horns is more important than being beautiful, and besides, the matriarch is his own mother." The green dragon maiden touched her dragon horns and felt a vague pain¡­ Cutting them off, how painful that must have been.


    Ordinary dragons keep their dragon horns when they take human form, as they have always been proud of having a pair of beautiful dragon horns.


    The silver dragon teenager coldly snorted, "I think he deserved it, our dragon race is born with outstanding looks and has never been ugly, he must have done something wrong in his past life to end up like this, born with bad luck."


    ¡­¡­


    This was said in whispers, but in reality, the volume was not deliberately lowered. Dragons are born with five sharp senses, and Xuan Long heard every word of those comments.


    His obscure turquoise eyes looked vaguely at the muddy ground without any reaction, and his blurred back gradually disappeared into the rain.


    In the elegant little bamboo courtyard, an old man with white hair sat at a small stone table drinking tea, and even though it was pouring rain, his body was not even half wet, and the tea bowl was even steaming hot.


    Xuan Long pushed aside the half-height bamboo fence and quietly walked up to him. "See a doctor."


    The old man looked as if he was not surprised. He slowly sipped his hot tea before raising his slender eyes to look at Xuan Long. "Charge you for a hundred years of Taoism."


    Xuan Long nodded his head.


    The old man placed the tea bowl in his hand on the table and lifted his jaw, "Sit down."


    Xuan Long was about to sit down when the old man suddenly said sharply, "Ai, wait, don''t sit. What a strong smell of blood, don''t dirty my stone stool."


    Xuan Long stood up straight again and quietly extended his right hand towards him.


    The old man ritualistically rubbed his hands twice on his jewelled blue brocade robe before he placed two fingers on Xuan Long''s wrist and used his spiritual breath to probe into him.


    With a slight lift of his thin eyebrows, he said:


    "You''re pregnant."


    The sky was clattering with rain and Xuan Long thought he had heard wrong, "¡­ What?"


    "Originally a hermaphrodite, then having sex with a man, the essence becomes knotted and there it is." (Angel: A hermaphrodite is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both reproductive cells associated with male and female sexes.)


    "It''s a good thing the foetus is unstable, it''s almost gone. The heavenly tribulation is approaching, and the spiritual breath is gradually weakening. This foetus needs to absorb your spiritual power to grow, which is extremely unfavourable to you. If you want to be cleansed, I will boil you a bowl of immortal herbs, drink it and it will be gone."


    Xuan Long''s lips were trembling, and he was already struggling to speak. He barely stood up straight, and he didn''t dare to touch his abdomen. The blood and rainwater under his feet had merged into a small pool, "¡­ What if I want to keep it?"


    The old man took one look at his feet and gave a disgusted ''tsk'', "I should have known better than to let you in, you''re making this old man''s floor dirty."


    Then he picked up the bowl of tea on the table and took a sip, "Think carefully, this is a human child, you are a demonic beast, can people tolerate it? I don''t know what the hell it will be when it is born."


    "If I want to keep¡­ what should I do." Xuan Long lowered his eyes, the rain dripping over his thick black lashes.


    "Shame on you, to get yourself into this state for the human race, shame on you, truly shame on you." As if prejudiced against the human race, the old man cursed and gulped down his tea.


    "¡­¡­" Xuan Long was silent.


    He had lived in the ancient pool for a long time and was unfamiliar with everywhere else, but he remembered that there was a holy doctor among the dragons who would treat anyone, demon or devil, as long as they paid enough money.


    Other than him, he could not find any other being who could help him.


    "A thousand years of Taoism will be charged for the preservation of a foetus, and seeing that it is not easy for you nowadays, the hundred for the consultation will be waived." The old man put down his tea bowl and stood up, "Come with me."


    "Many thanks." Xuan Long strained to lift his feet to follow.


    The old man entered the room and turned around, rummaging through a five-drawer cupboard to find something, "You are not clean, so lie down on the floor, lest you soil this old man''s bed and have to clean it up."


    "Hmm." Xuan Long answered, holding onto the door frame and stepping over the threshold. He stopped walking inside and slid helplessly against the door frame to sit on the floor, his eyes downcast as he panted.


    "Hurting badly?" The old man asked.


    Xuan Long shook his head, no longer able to speak.


    "Serves you right." The old man cursed and walked over with a white jade bottle glowing with silver light, handing it to him. "Drink it."


    Xuan Long moved his hand hanging on the ground, but failed to lift it up. The old man frowned as he pulled the lid off and brought it to his lips, "A tonic to stop the bleeding."


    "It took me forty-nine days to boil such a small pot. You are too late, drink it and then I will cast a spell, whether it will be saved or not is up to God."

 CH 22

    You''re Lucky


    Xuan Long nodded and took the old man''s hand, then slightly tilted his head and drank the spirit dew in the bottle. Bitterness wrapped around his lips and teeth, a coldness rose in his belly, then a strange warmth rose, which actually relieved some of the pain.


    The liquid rushed down his throat, and unable to swallow it in time, Xuan Long choked and coughed. A lot of it came out from his lips, and when the old man saw that he was coughing to death, his face turned pale and he spoke bitterly.


    "A waste, a real waste. Such a big dragon can''t even drink the medicine properly, it''s useless."


    It was clear that he had poured it out too quickly.


    Xuan Long didn''t argue with him. His violently heaving chest gradually calmed down and the back of his head leaned against the door frame, he was unable to hold on and close his eyes.


    "Don''t sleep, there''s still some left, hurry up and drink it." The old man unceremoniously cupped both of Xuan Long''s cheeks and poured the remaining mouthful of spirit dew in. "You''ll have to endure more later."


    Xuan Long subconsciously swallowed it and opened his turquoise demon eyes to look at the old man. His eyes were already a little out of focus, he couldn''t last much longer.


    "In this case, you have to perform the Flowing Cloud Reversal Technique to recall the broken spirit body of the foetus in your womb and reshape it. It hurts a bit, so bear with it and don''t scream too loudly, I''m old and I hate it when other dragons yell in front of me, it gives me a headache."


    Xuan Long nodded.


    The old man put the empty white jade bottle into his pocket, then ceremoniously went to the inner room to find a soft cushion made of gold thread and laid it on the floor before sitting down cross-legged in front of Xuan Long. A purple-red ball of light coalesced in his palm and he slowly pressed it against Xuan Long''s abdomen with a solemn expression.


    The moment the ball of light poured into Xuan Long''s body, he tensed up violently, his breathing tightened at a speed perceptible to the naked eye, hideous blue veins burst out from the backs of the hands that were digging into the ground, his head tilted to one side, his lips pursed and he panted lowly, but he didn''t say a word.


    Cold sweat slid down from the corners of his forehead like rain, and his eyes dropped to the ground.


    When he remembered the way Yan Yuan had smiled, it seemed to hurt less, and he could bear any further pain¡­ That person is still waiting for him, he needs to get better and go back sooner.


    If it takes too long, A''Yuan is bound to be worried, right?


    That is the only person in the world who will care for him, and he must not let him down.


    "You can endure it, but this Flowing Cloud Reversal Technique is even more painful than crushing bones while alive, as if there is a knife gouging back and forth in the abdomen. If you were an ordinary dragon, you would have been rolling on the ground in pain."


    The old man glanced at Xuan Long''s hand on the ground, which was straining so hard that blood was seeping from his fingers.


    In the past, he had performed the Flowing Cloud Reversal Technique for many pregnant dragons, and most of them were accompanied by their husbands, but this was the first time he had seen such a miserable dragon come alone to seek medical help.


    The old man''s palm magic did not stop and did not diverge from its path.


    "Look at you, what does a good dragon have to do with a useless human? I''m afraid he can''t even enter this dragon realm, leaving you to suffer this worse than death experience alone. No good."


    Xuan Long originally had a solitary nature and was not good with words, he had always listened to the vitriol of others with deaf ears, but when he heard Yan Yuan being slandered, he couldn''t help himself and muttered something to himself.


    "¡­¡­No matter how bad he is, he is the person who treats me the best in the world."


    He is the only one I have.


    The old man sneered, "Humph, if you look at the six realms, the human race is the most selfish and self-serving. For the sake of power and status, they can betray their best friends and kill their brothers, they are worse than pigs and dogs. One day you will understand that what you are suffering today is a joke."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and stopped speaking.


    It did not matter if the other side misunderstood Yan Yuan, as long as he was clear in his own mind.


    There was also no need to tell others about his relationship with Yan Yuan.


    Two hours later.


    The old man withdrew his hand, the purple light in his palm fading instantly: "Count yourself lucky, after all this suffering, the foetus is preserved."


    Xuan Long was half unconscious, his eyelids too heavy to lift, and he squeezed out an inaudible breath in his throat: "Thank you, Senior."


    With a cold snort, the old man suddenly ripped open Xuan Long''s wet lapels to reveal the long-lasting purple and black wound on his chest. With a flick of his hand, he found a red coral medicine bottle, ripped off the lid and poured a large amount of medicine powder on it.


    "You must be mentally prepared, your body now is no better than that of a weak and useless human, if you don''t know how to take care of yourself, you may die before you can survive the tribulation, and whether or not the foetus can be born successfully is another matter."


    "You pulled this scale yourself, didn''t you?"


    If it was not done voluntarily, who could pull the scales protecting a dragon''s heart?


    With ten thousand years of Taoist practice and a good path, if he survived this heavenly tribulation, he might not be far from becoming an immortal¡­


    Seeing that he did not reply, the old man knew that he had passed out. He stood up, gathered the long hair on Xuan Long''s back to one side and sprinkled the remaining powder on the hideous wound on the back of his neck: "It''s really a bargain for you, it took me so much effort and I gave you a bottle of immortal muscle powder for nothing, it is not a loss at all to charge you for a thousand years of Taoism."


    "I''ve lost a lot of money."


    Two days later.


    Outside the bamboo building, the sun was shining brightly. Xuan Long woke up on his bed, the back of his hand covering his eyes, and sat up weakly, taking a moment to realise where he was.


    The soiled clothes had been changed and the pain in his abdomen was gone. He slowly looked down and stretched his slender hand to his belly and was about to touch it when he hesitantly stopped half an inch from it, curling his fingers and returning them to his side.


    The little thing inside was so fragile that he felt as if it would shatter if he touched it. It was surreal that he could have a child with Yan Yuan.


    It was undoubtedly a strange and odd thing, but when he thought about it, if he could have a child with his and A''Yuan''s blood in it, their family would be more complete.


    That was something he had never¡­ dared to think about.


    "Finally, you are awake, you stupid, useless dragon, you have been occupying my bed for two days!" The person''s voice arrived before he did, and in the next breath, the log bead curtain was lifted and the old man walked into the inner room with big strides, holding fragrant sesame bread in his hand to nibble on.


    Xuan Long turned his head to look and the old man had stopped in front of the bed: "The matriarch is your mother?"


    Having not heard anyone mention his mother for a long time, Xuan Long froze and then lowered his eyes, "Yes."


    The old man: "The day before yesterday, after you fell unconscious, she came over with her longsword and said she wanted to kill you and cut off your other dragon horn, but I stopped her."


    "Hm." Xuan Long answered calmly, his eyes attached to the green luan brocade quilt on his body, not knowing what he was thinking.


    The old man stared at his pale profile for a while, but in the end he didn''t ask anything. Sitting down on a rattan chair and crossing his legs to munch on the sesame bread, he wiped the oil from his mouth with a handkerchief after taking a bite: "Now that you''re well, hurry up and leave, there''s no room for you here. The matriarch is such a relaxed woman, but when she sees you, she goes crazy like that and I can''t stop her for more than a few moments."


    "Thank you, Senior, for saving me." Xuan Long whispered as he lifted the quilt and got out of bed.


    He stood up straight and put his hands together with two fingers in front of his chest, his fingertips coalesced into a black spirit ball as he chanted a spell under his breath. He was about to transfer a thousand years of Taoist energy to the old man, when the old man''s figure flashed and moved instantly in front of him, raising his hand to bounce the spirit ball back into Xuan Long''s body.


    Xuan Long opened his eyes in confusion, and the old man had sat back in his original rattan chair, "Wait until you have passed the great tribulation before you pay your debt, I don''t want one corpse and two lives to dirty my house, it¡¯s bad luck. Hurry up and get going."


    "Many thanks¡­ I will pay back double when the time comes."


    This dragon is really stupid, he can''t even say something nice, just a word of thanks. The old man rolled his eyes at his back and ate the last bite of sesame bread.


    "You can live well before you do. Remember, the foetus is weak and you are only one month pregnant, so you must be careful. Do not let your spiritual energy fluctuate too much, do not bump against it, do not have intercourse, and do not pull out the dragon scales again."


    "Too much blood loss can also endanger the life of the foetus."


    "Do you hear me?"


    After swallowing the sesame bread in his mouth, he turned his head and saw that Xuan Long had long gone.

 CH 23

    What Do You Take Me For?


    "Stupid dragon!!!"


    "Stupid dragon!!!"


    Ten thousand feet above the sky, Xuan Long was speeding between the clouds. When he vaguely heard a familiar voice from behind him, he couldn''t help but slow down. Looking back, a beautiful dragon with a silvery-white body appeared in his sight and it was flying towards him cursing.


    ¡°You stupid dragon, even if you lack heart, you don''t even listen to the words of a dragon. What are you doing running so fast, rushing to reincarnation?!"


    Xuan Long subconsciously stopped and took his human form to stand on the clouds waiting for him, and in the blink of an eye the silver dragon reached him, shifting into an old man.


    "Senior." Just as Xuan Long spoke, the old man threw something into his arms. Xuan Long raised his hand to catch it, only to hear him say: "Take it. This is a holy medicine to calm the foetus, it¡¯s extremely precious. If you feel sick in your belly, take two of them."


    "Thank you, Senior¡­" Xuan Long looked at the small porcelain bottle in his hand and gently rubbed it.


    The old man''s right hand unfolded, two sesame buns wrapped in kraft paper appeared in his palm and were stuffed into Xuan Long''s arms as well, "And this, take it and eat it on the way."


    Xuan Long took them. Few beings were willing to be kind to him, and he was speechless for a moment, ¡°¡­ I''ll be there soon."


    The old man interrupted him, "Stop talking nonsense, eat when you''re told to, you don''t know how hungry the little brat in your belly is. Remember, you are not as strong now as you were before, you must¡­" Blah blah blah, repeating the precautions painstakingly, the old man said uneasily, "Do you remember?"


    "Mm." Xuan Long nodded his head.


    "All right, go on, go on." The old man waved his hand at him impatiently.


    "Thanks a lot, Senior, I¡­" Xuan Long stood still.


    When the old man saw him mentioning thanks again, he said breathlessly, "You have such a dull nature, what exactly does that human see in you? Be careful with everything, don''t be stupid and believe everything people say."


    "Mhm." There was little expression on Xuan Long''s face, but a warm emotion surged in his heart, and the sesame bun in his hand was still faintly warm.


    "I''ll go if you don''t." The old man turned and walked a few steps away before transforming into a silver dragon and flying away, soon becoming a very small silver dot, his voice fading away, "Torture this old man, why should I worry about you, you stupid dragon, I must have had too much to eat last night¡­"


    Until the beautiful silver dragon disappeared from sight, Xuan Long looked down at the sesame bun in his hand. After a long time had passed, he opened the kraft paper bag and put the sesame bun to his lips, gently taking a bite. The crispy sesame bun was wrapped in not too salty but not too light smoked fish meat, which was exceptionally tasty.


    He didn''t know when the dragons had started cooking food like the humans did.


    He had not been back for too long, and had become so unfamiliar with the dragon lands that there was no place for him there, and he wanted to go back to Yan Yuan.


    Where A''Yuan was, that was his home.


    ¡­¡­


    Outside Luanfeng Hall, Yan Yuan''s face was taught as he paced back and forth. Shortly after, a young eunuch hurriedly trotted in from outside and knelt down and bowed before Yan Yuan.


    "Have you found him?" Yan Yuan asked urgently.


    Xiao Dezi wanted to cry and straightened up, not daring to look up: "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, there is still no¡­"


    "Go look again, if you can''t find him by tomorrow, your head is no longer needed." Yan Yuan''s gaze was cold, and with a lift of his sleeve, he turned and entered through the hall door.


    Xiao Dezi was so scared that his face paled and he crouched on the ground, shivering.


    Chen Yan looked at Yan Yuan''s back and gently went over to help Xiao Dezi up, lowering his voice and saying, "What''s going on? How could a living person suddenly disappear?"


    ¡°This servant doesn''t know, but that morning, this servant went to the thatched hut in the backyard to relieve himself, and when he came back, Master Han had disappeared¡­ The door was wide open, and when this servant went in to take a look, there was blood all over the floor, and the bed was also covered in blood¡­¡± Xiao Dezi''s voice was tinged with sobs, and the corners of his eyes were red. "Master, do you think that Master Han¡­ will be¡­ will be¡­"


    "It won''t happen." Chen Yan said comfortingly.


    "Although the palace is large, it is only a square inch compared to the outside of the palace. If a person dies, they will find the body. If they don''t find it, then they are still alive."


    "However, Yanbing House is located at the back of the mountain, there is no one there, where can Master Han go?¡­ The cliff is just beyond the courtyard. Could Master Han have tried to go down the mountain alone and then lost his footing and fallen off the cliff?¡­" Xiao Dezi''s eyes were filled with despair.


    That day, Yan Yuan took the palace staff with him down the mountain in a carriage, leaving Xiao Dezi to keep watch outside the house. He only left for a few moments, and when he returned, the courtyard was empty.


    If a normal person had lost that much blood, he would not have survived. Xiao Dezi did not dare to tell the whole truth, only telling Yan Yuan that Master Han had disappeared, otherwise he would have been executed for dereliction of duty.


    "Now that the Empress has awakened, I think the Emperor will forget about Master Han after some time. When the time comes, Master will put in a good word for you and you will not be sentenced to death." Chen Yan patted Xiao Dezi''s back and sighed, ¡°You go and look for him again."


    Xiao Dezi answered and left with his head hanging in despair.


    Inside the hall.


    Ning Zhiyu strained to sit up from the bed, and when Yan Yuan saw this, he hurriedly went over to hold him up with tension in his throat: "Why did you wake up so early today? You''re not sleeping?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and smiled. Although he had woken up, his face was still bloodless and his speech was breathless, making people feel distressed, "¡­ I vaguely heard A''Yuan reprimanding the palace staff, why is there always such a strong anger lately?"


    Yan Yuan¡¯s face was unsettled, "The reason for this is not because they are stupid. The ingredients for your medicine have all run out, I asked them to find them, but they have been searching for days and still haven''t found it."


    "It doesn''t matter, I feel much better, A''Yuan doesn''t need to worry about me¡­" Ning Zhiyu smiled like a spring breeze, but before he finished his words, his face suddenly changed and he covered his lips and coughed quietly, coughing up a handful of blood.


    Yan Yuan''s complexion suddenly changed and his eyebrows wrinkled tightly. He opened his hand and looked at it, the corners of his eyes gradually turning red, "It''s all my fault for being useless, as the ruler of a country, I can''t even save the person I love the most."


    Ning Zhiyu lifted his left hand and touched Yan Yuan''s cheek: "I am the one who is useless, I have been weak and sick since I was a child, if it were not for the good treatment I received from A''Yuan, I am afraid I would not have lived to see my crown. Don''t be too sad for me, if you are sad, I will be sad too¡­"


    Yan Yuan did not say a word as he grabbed Ning Zhiyu''s right hand and took out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe away the blood on his hand, "How can I not be sad? The pain is in your body, and the pain is in my heart. I will definitely heal you."


    Ning Zhiyu looked at Yan Yuan''s beautiful eyebrows and curved his lips, "Mmm."


    Ning Zhiyu''s body was still weak, and he was only awake for a few hours every day. After talking with Yan Yuan for a short time, he was tired again. Yan Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand, waiting for Ning Zhiyu to fall asleep before he got up and left.


    He wanted to lead the men to find Xuan Long himself.


    The dragon had unexpectedly disappeared without his consent, and Yan Yuan was both anxious and furious.


    With a sullen face, he walked out of the hall door, only to see Xiao Dezi, who had wilted not long ago, rushing over with a joyful face, "Your Majesty, Master Han has returned¡­"


    Yan Yuan''s expression relaxed, "What did you say?"


    Xiao Dezi knelt down and bowed in a dignified manner, saying with pressed joy, "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, Master Han has returned and is in Qiankun Palace."


    Not only had he returned, but he had returned intact, so his head would not have to be removed!


    "Where did he come back from? Did he say anything when he came back?" Yan Yuan''s eyes were dark and shadowy.


    Xiao Dezi: "When this servant went back to Qiankun Palace just now, he saw Master Han coming out of the side hall, wearing the same black veil hat as when he went to Yanbing House that day, and he asked this servant where His Majesty was. Your Majesty, go and have a look."


    Yan Yuan: "Just asked where I was? Other than that, he didn''t say anything else?"


    Xiao Dezi: "No."


    "Go back to Qiankun Palace." Yan Yuan relaxed, withdrew his eyes, walked around Xiao Dezi and left, with Chen Yan following behind him with boosted steps.


    So it seemed that Xuan Long had not left because he had discovered A''Yu''s existence, but for some other reason.


    What could the reason be?


    In any case, the fact that he had suddenly left without saying goodbye made him very angry.


    Inside Qiankun Palace, Xuan Long sat at the table and waited for a long time. When he saw that Yan Yuan had not yet come, he unconsciously looked out of the window and became lost in thought.


    Before he returned, he had only thought of returning earlier to tell the man about the pregnancy, but after he returned, he began to hesitate again, not knowing how to speak.


    Would the child of a man and a dragon be born a man or a dragon? Or would it be half human and half dragon?¡­ If Yan Yuan knew, would he really be able to accept it?


    After all, even he himself found it strange.


    While lost in thought, the door to the hall was suddenly pushed open vigorously from outside and Yan Yuan walked in with an expressionless face, his gaze colder than ever.


    "Where have you been for the past two days? Why did you leave without telling me? What do you take me for?"

 CH 24

    Both Hard and Soft


    One could feel Yan Yuan''s impending eruption of anger through the air.


    Xuan Long did not expect Yan Yuan to be that angry, so he stood up, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I went back to the ancient pond."


    Yan Yuan: "Went back for what?"


    Xuan Long was really not very good at lying, so he lowered his eyes to avoid Yan Yuan''s aggressive gaze, which always made him sad easily, "To fetch something."


    "What thing?" Yan Yuan refused to let go.


    Xuan Long paused and slowly walked towards him, bending down to hold Yan Yuan''s hand, which was the only way he could think of to coax someone at the moment: "Don''t be angry¡­"


    This was how Yan Yuan pampered him on a regular basis.


    ¨C However, Yan Yuan avoided it and even took a step backwards.


    Xuan Long was at a loss as to what to do. His ice-like turquoise eyes looked at Yan Yuan in silence, containing an unmistakable sense of helplessness.


    Yan Yuan looked at him for a moment, then turned around and walked away.


    Xuan Long subconsciously took a step after him and spoke in a muffled voice, ¡°A''Yuan."


    Yan Yuan stopped in front of the closed hall door and turned his back on him, "Do you know that I will be worried if you leave without saying goodbye like that?"


    Xuan Long looked at his tall back, "I know I was wrong."


    "Hmph." Yan Yuan turned back around and raised his eyebrows, ¡°That¡¯s it? What will you do to make it up to me?"


    Xuan Long: "What you want.¡±


    Yan Yuan: "Come here."


    Xuan Long did not hesitate and walked slowly towards him.


    Yan Yuan stared at his handsome face in the dark gold mask and pressed, "Undress."


    ¡°A''Yuan, I¡­" Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly as he tried to tell him about the pregnancy.


    Yan Yuan sneered, "What''s wrong? Not even willing to do that? And to say that you like me, I see that liking is simply more contemptible than the weeds in the imperial garden."


    Xuan Long swallowed back the words that were on his lips.


    Yan Yuan didn''t know what was wrong with him, but when he saw him like this, the anger in his heart grew: ¡°You never have a response, you''re annoying!"


    With these words, he pushed the man in front of him and strode back. He didn''t really want to leave, he just wanted to scare the dragon. Yan Yuan knew that sometimes it was more effective to be hard than soft.


    This dragon would accept both hard and soft.


    Because he likes him and cares for him.


    This time, he must not forgive him too easily, otherwise if he leaves without a word next time, what will happen to A''Yu''s illness.


    He must be taught a lesson.


    Sitting down at the table, he poured himself a cup of tea and drank it down in one go.


    Xuan Long was stunned for a moment, then turned around and went to his inner bed. When he came out, he had a white fluffy snow fox cub in his arms, a very small one, which he had found on a special trip to the snowy mountains before he returned to the palace. It was just a month old, so it was the perfect time to raise it.


    Yan Yuan did not even look at him. Xuan Long handed over the young fox, which was quietly cowering in his arms, "It''s for you. Don''t be angry."


    Yan Yuan turned his head to look at Xuan Long curiously, and reflexively frowned when he saw the small dumpling in his hand, thinking about what this dragon was doing by giving him a fox.


    So he turned his head back and told Chen Yan, who was standing guard outside, to fetch the official documents, ignoring the man beside him.


    Knowing that he was clumsy, Xuan Long thought about what the old man had said and felt that he shouldn''t be so dull and uninteresting, so he used his spiritual power to heat up the cold tea and poured a cup of it for Yan Yuan to take in his hand while he was reading the official documents.


    "Drink the tea."


    Yan Yuan glanced at the steaming hot tea and casually pushed it away, spilling most of the tea on the table: ¡°In such hot weather, giving me such hot tea, are you expecting me to get angry?"


    You can''t drink hot tea on a hot day, Xuan Long recorded this in his heart, then filled up the tea cup and cooled it down with his spiritual power: "It''s already cold."


    Yan Yuan didn''t even look up as he scribbled on his official documents: "Too cold is not good either, it hurts your stomach."


    No matter how slow he was, Xuan Long could see that he was deliberately looking for a fight, but he still put his palm against the bowl of tea. Once it turned warm, he turned around and left the desk in silence.


    Yan Yuan continued to behave in this manner until dinner. Xuan Long knew that he was annoyed with him, so he did not take the initiative to provoke him anymore.


    At night, before the candles went out, Yan Yuan was lying on the inside of the bed with his back to Xuan Long, even his back was cold. Xuan Long looked at him hesitantly for a long time before calling out, ¡°A''Yuan."


    "Don''t call me." Yan Yuan snorted coldly, "You don''t like me anyway, you haven''t seen me for two days and you don''t even want to have marital relations with me."


    ¡°That¡¯s not it." Xuan Long retorted with a low and hoarse voice, "The doctor said¡­ I''m pregnant."


    The latter half of his sentence was like a murmur. Yan Yuan did not hear it, and turned to examine him, "What did you say?"


    When Xuan Long saw this expression on the other party''s face, it was hard to speak again, so he closed his eyes and said, "Nothing."


    "Then undress and let me vent my feelings, and I will forgive you for not leaving for the past two days without saying goodbye." After a long detour, it was back to the original point. Yan Yuan rolled over onto Xuan Long''s body, staring at the man beneath him like a wolf.


    Xuan Long didn''t hear the slight insult in Yan Yuan''s words, he only felt confused. The doctor''s words were still ringing in his ears, if he disobeyed, it would most likely hurt the foetus, but if he didn''t obey Yan Yuan, he really didn''t know how to coax him.


    Are all humans this angry¡­


    Yan Yuan didn''t even give Xuan Long a chance to answer. In the middle of his thoughts, Xuan Long suddenly felt a coolness in front of his body, his clothes were ripped away from his body, and Yan Yuan stared at the bare skin of his chest in surprise: "Your wound is healed?"


    Xuan Long nodded, ¡°En."


    "Then I can rest assured." Yan Yuan joyfully lowered his head and kissed his chest.


    Originally, he didn''t know how to talk to Xuan Long, but now that his old wounds had healed, it would be much easier to talk to him again.

 CH 25

    I''ll Give It To You Tomorrow


    Xuan Long was still unable to resist Yan Yuan''s flowery words. Although he was cold on the outside, he was extremely soft-hearted, especially towards Yan Yuan, who only needed to pester him with a few words of pity before his heart would soften.


    Inside the tent, the legs of the bed shifted, and Xuan Long''s dark turquoise pupils were slightly out of focus as he gazed up at the moonlit beauty of the human above him, panting raggedly.


    Yan Yuan curled his lips into a smile and leaned over to stare into Xuan Long''s eyes, his long raven-black hair falling on his slim chest, "What are you looking at me like that for? Do I look good?"


    "Mmm." A very soft sound escaped Xuan Long''s nose.


    Good looking.


    Yan Yuan''s eyebrows were tinted with a smile, obviously pleased. He bent over to take Xuan Long''s lips, suddenly pressing harder.


    Xuan Long suddenly seemed to be in pain. He let out a low hum and put his hands against Yan Yuan''s chest, wanting to push him but not quite able to, and his voice was muffled: "Be gentle..."


    Yan Yuan raised his eyebrows. Thinking that the dragon had grown up and now knew how to cry out in pain, he didn''t take it seriously and nibbled on Xuan Long''s ear, saying, "Gentle is not good enough."


    It was midnight and Xuan Long was exhausted after a long day''s journey, so he curled up on one side and fell asleep.


    Yan Yuan, however, was full of energy and was getting more and more energetic. He used most of the soft cream in the small jade jar and was very satisfied that Xuan Long was not bleeding this time.


    It was because he had applied too little before, and his skills were better than those of ordinary people, so it was no wonder he was always injured.


    It was good that he had learned from his experience with Xuan Long, so he would not hurt A''Yu in the future.


    After he had stopped, Yan Yuan refused to let go of Xuan Long and wrapped his arms around his flat waist from behind. Because his body was much stronger than his, it appeared that Xuan Long had lost some weight. In fact, Xuan Long had indeed lost a lot of weight. With all that torture, he was not made of iron, so how could he not have any reaction?


    Yan Yuan was so full of thoughts about Ning Zhiyu that he didn''t bother to pursue these matters and pestered him, ¡°A''Po, A''Po, don''t sleep."


    Xuan Long opened his eyes and his eyes fell on the bright yellow tent cloth in front of him.


    "These past two days, what the hell have you been doing?" Yan Yuan''s hand slid around his abdomen dishonestly, and Xuan Long''s body gradually tensed as he thought of the small thing in his belly, his ears tinged cherry red.


    "You have to tell me everything."


    "Come on, say it."


    Xuan Long''s heartbeat abruptly intensified in his chest; he was a loner by nature and had hardly ever felt such strong emotions before, but after being with Yan Yuan, he had felt them more often.


    The dryness in his throat was so strong that he wanted to open his mouth to tell Yan Yuan what had happened, but he didn''t quite have the courage to do so. What kind of look would he give him if this person couldn''t accept it?


    Would it be the same as others who... coldly and disgustingly denounced him as a monster.


    ¡°I... have nothing to hide from you."


    After all, there was no way to say it.


    Just wait a little longer, wait for the right time... If this person cannot accept it, he will go back to the thousand year old pool alone to give birth to the child in his womb and live with them.


    ¡°Forget it, if you don''t want to talk about it, I won''t force you." Yan Yuan said unhappily, "But there is one thing you must promise me."


    Xuan Long asked sullenly, "What is it?"


    Yan Yuan: "The dragon scales you gave me last time are used up, and that friend of mine has not yet recovered from his illness, so give me some more."


    Upon hearing this, Xuan Long did not answer for a long time.


    Yan Yuan stared at his slightly curled back: "Can''t you?"


    "The dragon scales near my heart have not yet grown." Xuan Long said.


    Although the skin on the surface appeared to have healed, it was not so easy to regrow the scales that had been plucked away raw.


    Yan Yuan thought he was shirking his responsibilities and became a little anxious: "Your injury has clearly healed, don''t lie to me."


    Xuan Long slowly turned to look at Yan Kite, his eyes were clearly born icy cold and demonic turquoise, with vertical pupils, but his voice was extremely gentle: "¡­ I have not lied to you."


    Yan Yuan did not want to hear this, he had to have the dragon scales to save Ning Zhiyu. Frowning, he said, "You are numb to pain anyway, what''s wrong with giving me some."


    Xuan Long opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he didn''t, and he turned his back to him wearily, "I''ll just give it to you tomorrow."

 CH 26

    Important and Unimportant


    Ning Zhiyu''s illness could not be delayed for even half a day, and when Yan Yuan thought of him vomiting up so much blood when he coughed, his whole heart twisted in pain.


    The next morning, Xuan Long went behind the mica screen and used a dagger to pluck out thirty dragon scales from the right side of his chest. The blood dripped down as if it were leaking, soaking through his clothes in no time.


    Yan Yuan was waiting anxiously outside. Xuan Long reluctantly straightened his lapels, stepped out from behind the screen, and handed him the dragon scales that had been cleaned with a spell.


    "Take them."


    A whole thirty pieces, the size of the palm of his hand, glowed with an inky black lustre, any more than that would be too much for one hand to hold.


    Yan Yuan looked down but didn''t take them. Although he couldn''t see anything on the outer appearance of the Xuan Long, he smelled a strong smell of blood. Before, he didn''t understand why the cold fragrance on Xuan Long''s body was sometimes thick and sometimes thin, but later he learned ¨C if Xuan Long was sweating, or bleeding, the smell would become stronger.


    Because that cold fragrance was inherently the smell in his bones and blood.


    "A''Po, are you all right?..." Yan Yuan stared at Xuan Long''s pale face and whispered.


    "It''s nothing." Xuan Long shook his head and moved the dragon scales closer to him.


    Yan Yuan lifted his hand and took them, but his heart suddenly felt a little sour. When he had asked for them, he clearly didn''t feel anything, but when he really got them, it was as if ants were gnawing at his heart, a subtle hidden pain.


    But that hidden pain was nothing compared to the immense pain that Ning Zhiyu had to endure.


    "Thank you, A''Po... If you hadn''t been here, I really wouldn''t have known what to do."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes uncomfortably, "Don''t say thank you."


    Between them, if they said thank you, it would seem too formal.


    "Okay." With the dragon scales, Yan Yuan was in a more relaxed mood, so he didn''t hesitate to smile at Xuan Long. He stepped forward and clasped the back of his waist, lifted the hair from his forehead and kissed him on his forehead. "Then I will come looking for you later."


    "Mmm." Xuan Long''s eyelashes fluttered lightly, casting a faint shadow between the sharp contours of his eyes. Yan Yuan looked at him for a moment, pinching his whitening earlobe and leaning down to kiss him on the lips before turning to leave.


    As soon as Yan Yuan left, Xuan Long could not hold on any longer and staggered towards the bedside, sitting down on the bed and lying down.


    The loss of blood made him feel cold and dizzy, and the pain in his abdomen was not stopping. It seemed that the elder''s words were true, and that after becoming pregnant, his body was becoming less and less capable than before.


    A cultivator must go through forty-nine tribulations before he can achieve ascension. He has lived for ten thousand years and has gone through forty-eight tribulations of various sizes, among which are the Nine Heavenly Thunderbolts, the Ten Thousand Swords Through the Spirit, and the lying Sands Purgatory... He has been subjected to all kinds of natural and man-made tribulations, but this time it seems to be extraordinarily difficult, the tribulation has not yet arrived and he is already so useless.


    The pills given to him by the old man appeared in his palm, and he swallowed two of them, then curled up on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.


    ¡­¡­


    When Yan Yuan arrived at Luanfeng Hall, Ning Zhiyu was getting up, and the palace maid was waiting at his bedside to freshen him up. When he saw Yan Yuan coming, his eyes lit up and he smiled elegantly, "A''Yuan"


    Ning Zhiyu was dressed in a white blouse, his black hair half tied up and hanging down in front of his body. The white colour suited him very well, loosely placed on his body, making him look like a sick beauty.


    Yan Yuan retreated from the palace maids and walked to the bedside to sit down. He took Ning Zhiyu''s hand on the Qingluan brocade quilt and kissed the back of his thin hand: "Did my A''Yu sleep well last night?"


    "Very well." Ning Zhiyu nodded with a smile. Although his face was pale, his eyes were bright, and when he looked at Yan Yuan, his eyes were filled with stars. He was warm and gentle in nature, and his words were spoken softly. "It would be better if I had A''Yuan at my side."


    Yan Yuan knew that Ning Zhiyu was displeased with him for not accompanying him, but he was used to holding back his anger and did not make a fuss even if he wanted to. Yan Yuan was particularly distressed by this and raised his hand to pinch Ning Zhiyu''s snow-like face, explaining somewhat sheepishly: "Last night, I was busy reviewing documents. When I left, I saw you asleep, so I did not tell you. I''m not leaving tonight, I want to stay with my A''Yu."


    ¡°En." Ning Zhiyu grabbed Yan Yuan''s big hand and pressed it to his face, smiling at him.


    Yan Yuan''s heart moved slightly as he cupped Ning Zhiyu''s face and leaned down to kiss him compassionately on his eyelids.


    The man in front of him was different from Xuan Long; this was his greatest treasure and he had to be careful when he touched him, gentle and tender, for fear of hurting him even a little.


    After a few moments of tenderness, they parted, and Ning Zhiyu, clearly reluctant to leave, asked, "Isn''t A''Yuan going to the court?"


    "I am going." There was mystery hidden behind Yan Yuan''s smile. "I have something important to deliver to you."


    Ning Zhiyu: "What is it?"


    "Chen Yan." Yan Yuan called out loudly towards the outside of the hall.


    It wasn''t long before the old eunuch meandered in, carrying a beautiful little jade dumpling in his arms.


    When Chen Yan came closer, Ning Zhiyu was surprised when he saw what the thing was: "This is..."


    "Ice Mountain Snow Fox." Yan Yuan smiled and took the little jade dumpling from Chen Yan''s arms and gently placed it in Ning Zhiyu''s arms. "The one I gave you last year got lost, but this year another one was brought in from the West as a tribute. It is even more beautiful than the previous one, I thought A''Yu would like it, so I hurriedly brought it to give to you. Look, this snow fox''s pupils are ice blue."


    The corners of Ning Zhiyu''s eyes and eyebrows were tinged with joy, and even his face seemed to be rosy. Picking up the young fox and examining it carefully in front of his eyes, he finally took it lovingly into his arms, raised his head, and said in a gentle voice, "Thank you, A''Yuan, I am very happy."


    When Yan Yuan saw that he was happy, he was happy too, and together with Ning Zhiyu, he stroked the white fluffy body of the little ball: "If I am not here, this little fox will keep you company so it will not be so boring. I''m worried that if you''re sick for a long time and can''t go out, you''ll be in a bad mood for a long time."


    Yan Yuan originally had no intention of taking the fox, but on second thought, if he didn''t take it, Xuan Long might be unhappy, so he took it. As for who he gave it to, that was his own business.


    It''s just like the tributes from various countries, after they are sent to him, he can reward whoever he likes.


    Ning Zhiyu was still smiling, but his eyes suddenly turned red, startling Yan Yuan, who nervously raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes: "What''s wrong?..."


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and looked at Yan Yuan with fascination, smiling with red eyes, "In this world, A''Yuan treats me the best. You think of me and remember me in every way. I was so unlucky in the past, perhaps because I had to save up my good fortune to meet you."


    Yan Yuan breathed a sigh of relief at his words and dried Ning Zhiyu''s moist eyes with his fingers, saying helplessly, "Fool, if I don''t treat you well, who will?"


    "You are my heart, my treasure, the queen who will accompany me for the rest of my life. Naturally I will treat you well. I will not only treat you well, I will give you the best of everything in the world. As long as you want it, even if it''s the stars and the moon in the sky, I will try my best to pick them and give them to you."


    He said these words without the slightest bit of pretence, and his eyes were full of seriousness and tenderness. He really treated Ning Zhiyu very well, otherwise he wouldn''t have ventured into the dragon pool without caring about his own safety.


    "I don''t want that, I just want A''Yuan by my side." Ning Zhiyu leaned over and embraced Yan Yuan''s waist, resting his face on his shoulder, a happy smile in his eyes.


    It was at this moment that a faint, cold fragrance suddenly leapt into his nose, causing Ning Zhiyu to freeze.


    Yan Yuan never used any fragrances... he was allergic to pollen.

 CH 27

    Dragon''s Inner Elixir


    "What''s wrong?" The two of them let go after hugging for a while. When he saw Ning Zhiyu staring at him in disbelief, Yan Yuan was puzzled.


    ¡°It''s nothing." Ning Zhiyu smiled and shook his head, his expression unchanged.


    Yan Yuan leaned over and kissed him lightly on the corner of his forehead, "Then I''ll go to the court, I''ll come and keep you company later."


    "Mm."


    Yan Yuan said he would come later to keep Ning Zhiyu company, so he would really come, unlike with Xuan Long, who he coaxed with his mouth but in reality did not care about at all, forgetting what he had said to that dragon in the blink of an eye.


    Only Xuan Long waited foolishly, thinking that Yan Yuan would really come, and that he would not be allowed to sleep in the darkness of the night. They couldn''t see each other very often, and if he slept like this again, he would waste another day. When A''Yuan comes, he should have a good talk with him.


    Although he was too clumsy and could not say much at all, it would be good for him to stay with him in peace and quiet.


    He got up and cleaned himself, dressed his wounds hastily, changed out of his bloodstained robe, and sat down at the table to wait. He was carving a small wooden figure in his hand, but he didn''t feel bored.


    Although Yan Yuan was no longer angry with him, he was not prepared to give up halfway on what he had started. Even if the final wooden figure was still too shoddy to be given away, it would be good to keep it for his own pleasure.


    As the moonlight dawned outside the window, Xiao Dezi gauged the time and knocked lightly on the door, "Young Master Han, it''s getting late, do you want to be served a meal?"


    The carving knife in Xuan Long''s hand slipped and cut his left index finger, and blood instantly emerged. He recovered from his daze and lifted his sore neck to look at the door: "Wait for A¡¯Yuan to come, then bring it in."


    Xiao Dezi: "It is already this hour, the Emperor will not come. You haven''t eaten much since noon, you should eat something to fill your stomach first. If the Emperor knows you don''t take care of your body like this, he will be distressed."


    The man in the hall did not reply for a long time, and when Xiao Dezi could not help but speak again, a low, muffled voice came from the door.


    "He said he would come."


    ......


    At the same time.


    Luanfeng Hall.


    Ning Zhiyu has been ill for a long time. Not only is he unable to breathe fresh air, he is exhausted even after taking a few steps out of bed. Yan Yuan does not want him to suffer, so he lets him eat in bed, and is now personally feeding him congee from a white jade bowl.


    The congee was made from a thousand-year-old ginseng and a top-quality hen. The hen was de-boned and only the lean meat was taken and shredded into pieces, which was boiled in a golden pot and sprinkled with a handful of spring onions. It was light and nourishing, and melted in the mouth, making it the most suitable for Ning Zhiyu nowadays.


    However, his appetite was not good and he said no more after just a few bites. Seeing how thin he was, Yan Yuan was distressed and tried to cheer him up.


    "Eat some more. If you finish this bowl of congee, next spring, I will take you out of town to hunt, how about that?"


    When Ning Zhiyu heard him say this, he seemed a bit moved. He looked down at the ginseng and chicken congee that was still left, and hesitantly looked up at Yan Yuan: "Really?"


    "Silly, when have I ever lied to you."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled at his words and nodded, ¡°En, A''Yuan has never lied to me."


    He then took the bowl and spoon from Yan Yuan''s hand and put one bite after another into his mouth, clearly not having an appetite but trying desperately to swallow it, his face becoming more and more pale.


    Yan Yuan was distressed to see how little he ate, but he was also distressed to see him pushing himself like this. He was about to tell him to forget about it when Ning Zhiyu covered his mouth and fell onto the edge of the bed, vomiting, and the white jade bowl fell to the ground and broke.


    The palace staff quickly brought a spittoon over. The congee that had just been eaten was vomited out, and a lot of blood was coughed up, splattering on the snow-white spittoon''s inner wall, which was shocking to the eye.


    Yan Yuan was so anxious that he shouted for the palace staff to summon the doctor. Holding Ning Zhiyu''s thin body with both hands and patting him on the back, his whole body was in chaos: "A''Yu... A''Yu..."


    Ning Zhiyu looked like he was about to cough out his internal organs, and when he slowed down, his whole body was already deflated. Yan Yuan held him tightly in his arms, his eyes were red: "It''s all my fault, I forced you to do something. From now on I won''t force you, A''Yu can eat as much as you want, I won''t force you again."


    Ning Zhiyu''s chest rose and fell weakly. Lifting his hand, he placed it over Yan Yuan''s hand that was encircling his body and gently held it, listening to the strong heartbeat in Yan Yuan''s chest as his eyes fell on the nine-headed candlestick with its swaying firelight in the distance:


    ¡°A''Yuan is doing it for my own good."


    "Perhaps it is because I am too weak... to bear A''Yuan''s kindness."


    "It''s because I''m too useless."


    Yan Yuan looked down at Ning Zhiyu and saw that he was smiling but his eyes were red. His heart tightened and his arms tightened: "Don''t say that about yourself. I forbid you to talk about yourself like that."


    "Okay, I won''t say it." Ning Zhiyu meekly responded and closed his eyes, "Don''t say anymore..."


    Ning Zhiyu was already asleep when the imperial doctor arrived.


    Zong Hua came in from outside the hall carrying a wooden medicine box. Yan Yuan exempted him from the salute and directly let him check Ning Zhiyu''s pulse.


    He took out an ink-stained handkerchief from the wooden box and laid it on Ning Zhiyu''s wrist, which was faintly bruised, and had just placed two fingers on it when he heard Yan Yuan say:


    "Didn''t you say that dragon scales could save A''Yu? Why is he still so weak after being awake for a few days? I can see that his spirit seems to be worse than when he first woke up, and just now he vomited so much blood."


    Zhong Hua was at home on leave for the past few days, and this was the first time he had been to the palace for consultation since Ning Zhiyu had woken up.


    After hearing Yan Yuan''s words, he did not answer immediately. He quietly checked his pulse and asked the palace staff to bring the spittoon where Ning Zhiyu had just vomited blood to check, before turning to Yan Yuan and bowing to him.


    "Your Majesty must have misunderstood what I meant. As this minister said that day, the dragon scales can only revive the Empress and suppress his condition, but not cure it completely. If we want to cure it at the root, we still need a dragon heart."


    "What did you say?" Yan Yuan frowned.


    After going around in circles, he still needed the dragon heart, so why did he go through all this trouble to coax Xuan Long, he might as well have just dug his heart out raw in the first place.


    Zong Hua: "Dragon scales are still useful, but taking too many will gradually create resistance to the medicine, which is the reason why the Empress''s spirit is getting worse and worse after waking up. Without the dragon heart in the medicine, it won''t work in the end."


    Yan Yuan was so agitated that he paced back and forth twice, then fiercely flung his sleeve and sat down on the edge of the bed, his face grim, "You quack doctor, useless to the core! All you know is dragon heart this, dragon heart that, what use do I have for you?!"


    Zong Hua maintained his bowing posture without moving, waiting quietly for this fire of his to pass.


    After a few moments, Yan Yuan really calmed down and looked deeply at him, "I''ll ask you once more, is there really nothing else under the sky that can save A''Yu''s life other than the dragon''s heart?¡±


    Zong Hua was silent for a moment: "Yes, there is, but it is more difficult to obtain than the dragon heart."


    "What is it?" Yan Yuan''s heart was secretly happy.


    Zong Hua looked up and met Yan Yuan''s gaze, "The dragon''s inner elixir. The dragon''s heart can be dug out raw while the dragon is caught by surprise, while the inner elixir, a spiritual core condensed from the dragon''s spiritual energy, cannot be obtained by others if it is not willingly expelled."


    Yan Yuan: "If the inner elixir is lost¡­ will the dragon die?"


    Zong Hua shook his head, "That would not be the case, it would only become no different than a mortal."

 CH 28

    Extraordinarily Precious


    The night was slightly cool, the candles in the palace were dimly lit, the wind blew the heavy and magnificent curtains, which fluttered and wavered.


    Yan Yuan sat behind the desk, staring at the document in front of him for a long time, but he had not read a single word of it. His mind was filled with thoughts of what the imperial doctor had said before he left the palace.


    The inner elixir is not like dragon scales which can grow again after they are gone. If he asked Xuan Long for it, would he be able to give it to him?


    But compared to having his heart cut out, at least without the inner elixir, he could still live.


    ¡°A''Yuan..."


    ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Suddenly, Ning Zhiyu''s frightened and weak cry came from the inner hall, pulling Yan Yuan back to reality. He got up abruptly and ran to the inner hall, only to see Ning Zhiyu propping himself up on the bed and trembling as he rose.


    Yan Yuan took a few steps forward to help him, "What''s wrong?"


    "I thought you had left." Ning Zhiyu leaned into Yan Yuan''s arms, his head resting on his chest, and smiled weakly. "When I woke up and couldn''t see you, I got a little flustered."


    Yan Yuan understood and rubbed his chin against the top of Ning Zhiyu''s head, softly saying, "Silly, if I said I would stay with you, I will stay with you, how could I go back on my word. Just now, I was reading a memorial outside the hall."


    Ning Zhiyu was silent for a moment, "I just... had a dream."


    Yan Yuan looked down at him, "What did you dream about?"


    Ning Zhiyu smiled, his face so pale in the dim candlelight that it was almost transparent: "I dreamt that A''Yuan had abandoned me and fell in love with someone else."


    Yan Yuan was stunned and said in a deep voice, "Nonsense."


    Ning Zhiyu had always obeyed Yan Yuan and listened to his words, but this time he did not, and spoke with a raspy nasal tone: "There is no nonsense... I called you in my dream, but you ignored me and walked away holding hands with another man. I wanted to walk faster to catch up with you, but I couldn''t catch up."


    Yan Yuan could not help but feel guilty when he heard this. Since he and Ning Zhiyu were lovers in their previous lives, it was not surprising that their hearts were connected and that Ning Zhiyu could sense what was going on. Although he and Xuan Long were just playing a game, in order to achieve his goal more quickly, they had been intimate, so he felt more and more guilty towards the person in his arms.


    He lowered his head and kissed Ning Zhiyu''s hair, solemnly saying: ¡°A''Yu, don''t worry, forever and always, I will only have you in my heart, no other person or thing can enter my eyes. I love and cherish you so much, how could I leave you behind."


    Ning Zhiyu looked up at Yan Yuan with a smile on his face, his fair hands cupped his face and he said softly, "Then would A''Yuan dare to swear to me?"


    Yan Yuan smiled and raised a finger to scratch the bridge of his nose, "Why wouldn''t I dare." He then raised his right hand, bunched his middle three fingers and sat upright, "I, Yan Yuan, swear today by the fate of the great dynasty, that if I fail Ning Zhiyu and abandon him in this life, I will lose my kingdom, lose my eyesight, and not be allowed to live well..."


    Before the pledge was finished, Ning Zhiyu hurriedly grabbed his hand: "Don''t say it, don''t say it."


    Yan Yuan''s heart softened and he raised his hand to touch Ning Zhiyu''s thin face. Ning Zhiyu grabbed his hand and said softly, "I don''t want to live eternally, I only want this life. A¡¯Yuan is so good, I dare not be greedy and take you for myself. As long as we can depend on each other in misfortune and good fortune, and grow old with white heads, it will be very good."


    "Then you are really not greedy." Yan Yuan laughed, then stood up, leaned over and put his forehead against Ning Zhiyu''s, and whispered. "But I am greedy, I just want you for myself, so that you will always belong to me. Whether it is in this life or the next, I only want you."


    Anyone would be moved to hear such a promise.


    The corners of Ning Zhiyu''s lips curved up and tears flowed in his eyes as he slowly closed his eyes and took the initiative to kiss Yan Yuan''s lips.


    When Yan Yuan kissed Ning Zhiyu, he was extremely gentle, unlike the way he kissed Xuan Long, which was so rough that he seemed to want to swallow him, so the kiss seemed lingering and warm. Seeing that Ning Zhiyu was breathing a little heavier, he let go of him.


    Ning Zhiyu''s chest rose and fell a little rapidly, his pale face tinged with two clusters of light red, his eyes hazily looking at Yan Yuan: ¡°A''Yuan..."


    With such a beautiful person in front of him, how could Yan Yuan not be moved? His throat was dry and he raised his hand to wipe away the remaining tears on Ning Zhiyu''s face, "It''s late, go to sleep. I''ll watch you sleep, and I''ll go back to reading the documents after you''ve fallen asleep."


    Ning Zhiyu froze slightly and said, "We haven''t consummated our marriage until today, don''t you want to..."


    Yan Yuan sighed, "Of course I want to, but you are not well now, so I dare not touch you easily. If I accidentally break you, what should I do?¡±


    ¡°A¡¯Yu, be good, go to sleep." Yan Yuan got up and supported Ning Zhiyu''s shoulders, making a gesture for him to lie down.


    Ning Zhiyu obediently laid down, and somewhat embarrassedly said, "Although I am useless, that kind of thing should still be possible..."


    Yan Yuan flicked his forehead, ¡°Silly A¡¯Yu, there are still many days ahead, are you still afraid that I will run away in the future?"


    Ning Zhiyu quietly looked at Yan Yuan, the corners of his eyes red: "But I''m afraid... I won''t live past next spring."


    This broken body is getting weaker every day, can he really grow old with Yan Yuan? It''s all just talk.


    In the end, he will not be able to stay with Yan Yuan for long.


    "If you say any more silly words, I will really get angry." Yan Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed and raised his hand to fix the hair on Ning Zhiyu''s forehead, "I am here, I will protect you, the King of Hell will not dare to take you, do you believe me?"


    Ning Zhiyu smiled and nodded, ¡°Mm. I believe everything that A''Yuan says."


    Seeing him smile, Yan Yuan smiled along with him, "Alright, close your eyes. When you wake up in the morning, I will still be by your side."


    ......


    At midnight, seeing that the ugly hour was about to pass and the day was about to dawn in another two hours, Xiao Dezi looked towards the empty red iron gate of Qiankun Palace, which was pitch black with nothing but the shadows of dark trees. He sighed and turned to knock on the door of the side hall, whispering to the person inside, ¡°Master Han, the Emperor will not come. If you''re hungry, can this servant have the kitchen heat up the food and bring it over to you? Waiting like this is not the way to go¡­" (Angel: Ugly hour is the period of time between 1 and 3 AM.)


    Xuan Long was still sitting at the table. He stared at the wooden carving in his hands, and a faint loss surfaced in his icy turquoise demon pupils.


    ¡°A''Yuan must be too busy."


    Xiao Dezi said to himself that he was indeed busy, busy with the Empress, but his mouth agreed, "Yes, the Emperor is certainly busy with his day-to-day duties."


    Xuan Long''s fingertips gently rubbed the little wooden man''s face, as if looking at someone through it, "Then I will wait a little longer, in the morning, he should come."


    If he slept, he would be so deep in sleep that A''Yuan would not be able to wake him up when he came, and if he left, he would not be able to see him again.


    Xiao Dezi was so young yet worried that his hair was turning white. He pressed himself against the door and said sadly, ¡°Young Master Han, if you starve yourself, the Emperor will have to strip away the skin of this servant, so just have some meals..."


    Xuan Long did not answer, and gently pressed the small wooden figure against his chest, at the closest point to his heart, as if he was with Yan Yuan.


    The world is too lonely and cold, and Yan Yuan is a faint flame. It is not warm at all, but because he has never seen a flame before, that little bit is warm enough.


    It is also extraordinarily precious


    Translator Notes


    Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

 CH 29

    Very Happy


    Xiao Dezi didn''t think that Young Master Han would be so stubborn, saying that he would wait, but he really waited until dawn.


    Yan Yuan came after the morning court, and the sun was not yet warm. The eunuchs on guard outside the hall bowed to Yan Yuan, and Xiao Dezi lowered his voice to Yan Yuan, "Your Majesty, you have finally come... This Young Master Han has not slept all night."


    Yan Yuan stopped and turned his head to look at Xiao Dezi: "Didn''t sleep all night? Why?"


    Xiao Dezi held his palms up, half covering his mouth: "Young Master Han said you would come and insisted on waiting for you."


    Only then did Yan Yuan remember that after he had taken the dragon scales yesterday, he had told Xuan Long that he would come to keep him company later and had forgotten about it when he saw Ning Zhiyu. His eyebrows knitted slightly and he said, "Why didn''t you persuade him?"


    This was a great injustice to Xiao Dezi, who felt wrong and grimaced, "Your Majesty, this servant persuaded him¡­ but Young Master Han didn''t listen, he insisted on waiting for you. He didn''t even take his evening meal last night, he said he would wait for you to come and pass it on."


    Yan Yuan frowned and pondered for a moment: "He is just like this, he is very stubborn, it is normal that he cannot be persuaded. I don''t blame you."


    Then he walked towards the bedchamber.


    The eunuch trotted past Yan Yuan, pushing open the doors to the hall to his left and right. As soon as Yan Yuan entered the inner hall, he saw the man who had waited for him all night lying asleep on the carved rosewood round table.


    Xuan Long rested one arm under his face, his long hair unbound, his dark gold mask still properly in place, his extraordinarily thick black eyelashes drooping quietly, and his cold, hard facial features making him seem impersonal and inexplicably lonely.


    His face was pale from the wounds he had sustained and his lips were dry and slightly flaky.


    He always slept this deeply, and Yan Yuan was used to it. Sitting down on the wooden bench next to him, he raised his hand and nudged Xuan Long''s shoulder.


    ¡°A''Po."


    ¡°A''Po."


    Xuan Long looked like he was very uncomfortable; his sharp eyebrows wrinkled slightly, and a faint muffled hum came from his nose. When Yan Yuan saw that he still did not wake up, he increased his force, pushing Xuan Long so hard that his chest hit the edge of the table, causing him pain. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he finally got up from the table.


    Yan Yuan saw him covering his chest in pain: "Are you okay?..."


    Xuan Long shook his head and moved his hand away from his chest, his eyes still a little blurry from just waking up.


    Yan Yuan took out a white silk handkerchief from his chest and wiped the cold sweat from the corner of Xuan Long''s forehead: "You are finally awake, I¡­ I heard Xiao Dezi say you waited for me all night, how could you be so silly? In the future, if you don''t see me coming when it''s very late, you should rest earlier."


    Xuan Long looked at him quietly and said in a low muffled voice, "... You said you would come."


    Yan Yuan paused his movements and locked eyes with him, "I did say that, but who knows when I will be caught up in government affairs. As an emperor, I cannot be as leisurely as ordinary people."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and said indifferently, "Yes, I know."


    But perhaps he will come.


    Yan Yuan wiped away the cold sweat at the corner of his forehead, "So don''t be so stubborn in future, and don''t take my words too seriously."


    Xuan Long just looked at him with those dark turquoise pupils which contained emotions that Yan Yuan did not want to understand and did not say anything,


    Yan Yuan knew that the dragon had definitely not listened to his words, so he did not want to persuade him any further. He put away his handkerchief and opened the brown wooden food box that he had brought in himself on the table.


    "You have not eaten all night, you must be starving. I have asked the imperial kitchen to prepare a snack, made of fresh shrimps, you should like it."


    The celadon plate in the food box was taken out and placed in front of Xuan Long. The snacks on the plate were made of shrimp and raw flour, and they were kneaded one by one into small round balls which were crystal clear and mixed with grains of pink shrimp, making them look very delicate.


    The food was not greasy, Xuan Long smelt the aroma and felt a little hunger in his stomach.


    Yan Yuan handed him the chopsticks and said with a smile, "Try it."


    Xuan Long took them and with great difficulty, he picked up a prawn ball in a very awkward and odd manner, and slowly put it into his mouth. As soon as he swallowed it, Yan Yuan asked eagerly, "Is it good?"


    An inconspicuous happiness appeared in Xuan Long''s eyes as he whispered back, ¡°En, it''s delicious."


    Yan Yuan diligently picked up the teapot in the middle of the table and poured a cup of water, placing it next to Xuan Long''s hand, and said softly, "Then you should eat more. If it''s not enough, I''ll have the imperial kitchen send some more."


    Xuan Long felt uncomfortable seeing him staring at him with such an intense gaze. He slid the tips of his chopsticks between the prawn balls before finally picking one up and bringing it to Yan Yuan, ¡°A¡¯Yuan should eat too."


    Yan Yuan leaned over and ate the prawn ball from Xuan Long''s chopsticks, and smiled, ¡°En, I''ll eat too."


    One person and one dragon ate all the food on the plate, but Xuan Long''s chopsticks were not very good and two of them fell on the floor, soiling Yan Yuan''s clothes.


    He was particularly good-tempered and gentle with Xuan Long today, so he did not get angry with him. After the not too hearty breakfast, he carried Xuan Long to bed.


    The fire he had held back at Ning Zhiyu''s room last night was all poured out onto Xuan Long. Yan Yuan didn''t want to see the wound on his chest, so he took him from behind. Xuan Long knelt on the bed, his long hair hanging down in front of him, moving with his body.


    After kneeling for a long time, he couldn''t kneel any longer and buried his face in the soft pillow, panting hard, and the white cloth wrapped around his chest oozed blood.


    Yan Yuan was young and energetic, and had a strong desire in this area which lasted a long time. He tossed Xuan Long around every time, but he never cried out in pain, he stifled it all and swallowed it so no one would know.


    As long as the person behind him was happy, that was all that mattered.


    The moment of peace after a rough affair is when Xuan Long is happiest, when Yan Yuan will hold him and sometimes kiss him on the forehead, just as he is doing now.


    Yan Yuan''s hands circled his waist, kisses fell on his forehead, warm breath spilled on his face, and he intertwined intimately with him, speaking in a cordial way, ¡°A¡¯Po, are you happy when you are with me?"


    "... Happy." Xuan Long''s voice was hoarse as he answered him truthfully.


    Yan Yuan was obviously pleased: "Then how happy are you with me?"


    This question really stumped Xuan Long. He only knew that Yan Yuan was the most important person in the world to him, but he had not thought about the rest.


    He was silent for a long time before saying, "I am very happy."


    Dissatisfied with this, Yan Yuan pestered him and said, "How happy is very happy? If the maximum is ten, how happy are you with me? Is it ten?"


    Xuan Long was embarrassed by such blunt words from him and looked away, ¡°En."


    More than ten. If Yan Yuan wanted it, he would even give up his life.


    Yan Yuan took advantage of the situation and said, "Then can you promise me one thing?¡­ Okay?"


    Xuan Long smiled and turned his head to look at him: "Say it."


    Yan Yuan: ¡°Promise first."


    After a pause, Xuan Long said, "Okay."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes glowed, "You''ve agreed?"


    "Mm."


    Yan Yuan hesitated for a moment and tentatively said, "Do you... have a spiritual core in your body that is condensed from spiritual energy and called an inner elixir?"


    "Mm."


    Yan Yuan looked at his pale face, his own face reflected in those ice-cold beautiful turquoise pupils, "Can you give me your inner elixir?..."

 CH 30

    Get the Hell Out of Here!


    "What do you need the inner elixir for?"


    Yan Yuan explained, "It''s my friend, he''s so sick that the dragon scales no longer work, he needs your inner elixir to cure him."


    Xuan Long looked away from him and didn''t say anything for a long time.


    Yan Yuan moved over and kissed his face, whispering, "Can you do it?"


    "I know that without the inner elixir, you will become no different from a mortal, but isn''t it better that way, we can grow old together. Otherwise I would die of old age, and you would still be as handsome and young as you are now, living alone in the world as a dragon. I''ve already thought about it. When we die, we will be buried together in an imperial tomb, and we will be husband and wife in our next life, okay?"


    That sounded extremely tempting.


    Xuan Long turned his head to look at Yan Yuan, wanting to tell him that without his inner elixir, he would not be able to live more than a year, how coukd he talk about growing old together. Moreover, the baby in his belly needed the spiritual energy from the inner elixir to feed it, and if he lost it, it would probably die with him and not be born successfully.


    ¡°A''Po?" Yan Yuan urged him to answer.


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, "The inner elixir, it must not leave my body."


    Yan Yuan¡¯s face instantly changed: "Why can''t it leave your body? You clearly just don''t want to. Are you unwilling to become like a mortal, unwilling to stay with me, and when I die, will you go and find someone else?"


    A few moments of intense sadness appeared in Xuan Long''s heart, but his face was still expressionless: "No."


    Yan Yuan pressed on, "Then why?"


    Xuan Long stopped looking at him again, as if he was running away, but also as if he didn''t know how to explain it.


    He was always this clumsy, and not many people in this world were willing to understand.


    Yan Yuan stared at Xuan Long''s heroic but bloodless face and said in a deep voice, "Say something."


    The knot in Xuan Long''s throat moved gently, but he remained silent.


    Yan Yuan suddenly got up from the bed and lifted the bright yellow tent to leave: "If you are so petty, then let''s forget it."


    Xuan Long grabbed his wrist and looked at his back, "I''ll give you more dragon scales, is that okay? Dragon scales over the heart, they will grow after some time."


    Yan Yuan shook off his hand without looking back: "I''ve told you that dragon scales are useless!"


    The sound of clothes rustling came from outside the tent, and before long, there was the sound of distant footsteps. The double vermilion-painted wooden doors were heavy, and when one was pulled open with force, it was particularly loud, then it creaked softly, and then it was silent.


    As an emperor, Yan Yuan did not need to close the door himself. The little eunuch closed the door gently, as if he was afraid of disturbing the person in the hall.


    Chen Yan saw Yan Yuan come out and hurriedly followed him: "Your Majesty, what is wrong with you¡­ has Young Master Han angered you?"


    Yan Yuan said coldly, "Humph, who told him to be insensitive."


    The words were deliberately spat out so heavily that even person in the hall could hear them.


    Xuan Long slowly sat up on the bed and looked across the tent in the direction Yan Yuan had left, a noticeable helplessness in his cold turquoise eyes.


    He took the small wooden figure from under the pillow, slid his thumb across its rather delicate face, and said in a low, mute voice, "I am not... as invulnerable to swords and spears as you think."


    ......


    Yan Yuan strode out of Qiankun Palace with a foul face.


    Chen Yan asked in a low voice beside him, "Your Majesty, where are you going?"


    "To look for A''Yu."


    After spending a whole day in Luanfeng Hall and hanging out with Xuan Long for a whole day, Yan Yuan had dinner with Ning Zhiyu then returned to Qiankun Palace on the pretext that he had to talk to the minister in the imperial study about the war at the border.


    When he entered, the silly dragon was sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze. When he saw Yan Yuan return, he was obviously very happy, even though he didn''t smile or show any extra expression, Yan Yuan could just feel that he was very happy.


    When Xuan Long got up to greet him, Yan Yuan passed by him with an expressionless face and sat down at the round table, pouring himself a cup of tea and drinking it, as if he had not seen him.


    Xuan Long was stunned and stood behind Yan Yuan for a moment before turning around and walking towards the bed. He took the small wooden figure and returned, holding it in his hand for a moment before finally going forward and handing it to Yan Yuan.


    "Don''t be angry."


    The second one that he had already carved out was much more delicate than the first one, and it also bore a slight resemblance to Yan Yuan, so he thought it would barely catch his eyes.


    Yan Yuan took a slow sip of tea, twisted his head to look at it, and took it in his hands to examine it: "Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"


    "You''re so clumsy to coax people with such a crude and cheap thing." Then he threw it to the ground and rolled it to Xuan Long''s feet with a grunt.


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes to look at it and silently bent down to pick up the wooden figure. When Yan Yuan saw his appearance, he suddenly felt a bit annoyed inside. He didn''t mean to bully this stupid dragon, but if he didn''t get the inner elixir, A''Yu would die.


    But this stupid dragon was still unwilling to give it to him, is it possible that he really wanted to wait for his death and then make love to someone else? When he thought of this, the small fire in Yan Yuan''s heart suddenly became a blazing fire, so he raised his hand and slapped the wooden figure that Xuan Long had just picked up.


    "I''ve told you not to pick up such a piece of shit! Don''t you understand human language?"


    Xuan Long straightened up. He looked so cold, but in fact he had a good temper, he didn''t even know he should be angry at being treated like this, he just looked at Yan Yuan quietly and said stubbornly: "This is not... something shit."


    This is his heart.


    It was the most precious thing he had.


    If it were anyone else who dared to refute his words like this, he would have been dragged out and beheaded long ago, but not this dragon. Yan Yuan became more and more furious and completely confronted Xuan Long, standing up and kicking the wooden figure even further away: "This is!"


    "It''s not." Xuan Long turned around and was about to pick it up when Yan Yuan grabbed his wrist and pulled him back hard, pushing him: "I have never seen someone as insensitive to good and bad as you, get out of my sight.¡±


    Xuan Long took an unsteady step back, his eyes downcast, his expression not visible as his long hair covered most of his face, and his voice was low: "I am not a human being."


    I''m not human and I''ve never lived with anyone, this is the first time. If there''s anything wrong, you should teach me.


    Yan Yuan didn''t know what he was thinking, he was so angry that he pointed at the door of the hall and said, "Right, right, right, you are not a human being, you are a beast, only a beast can be as insensitive as you are. If you really love me, you should give me whatever I want! Get lost, I don''t want to see you again!"


    Xuan Long lifted his head to look at Yan Yuan, not understanding why he was so angry. He was so good looking, yet his words made him feel so sad.


    Yan Yuan pointed at the door and said it again, "Get lost.¡±


    Xuan Long didn''t move, his voice getting lower and lower: "I haven''t done anything wrong."


    Why did you tell me to go away like Mother did?


    Yan Yuan opened his mouth and said, "If I tell you to go away, then go away, why should there be any reason for it? I¡¯m disgusted with you, I hate you, okay?"


    Xuan Long nodded, seemingly muttering to himself, "So that''s how it is."


    He turned around, took a few steps towards the door of the hall, and his form disappeared from the hall.

 CH 31

    The Gift of Reciprocity


    Yan Yuan was very satisfied with his anger, but he regretted it afterwards.


    He didn''t care what happened to this stupid dragon, but if Xuan Long really left, what would happen to A''Yu''s illness?


    Thinking about this, he panicked, gurgling as he poured the water out of the teapot and drank it down, then abruptly got up, opened the door of the palace wide and walked out, roaring at the gloomy sky.


    "Han Po!!! You come back to me!!!"


    "I forbid you from leaving! Do you hear me!!!"


    "Come back here!!!"


    The eunuch on guard outside the palace was startled. Seeing Yan Yuan in such a state, he thought he had lost his mind. Hadn¡¯t this Young Master Han been in the palace for a good reason, when did he ever go out?


    Yan Yuan roared in anger for half a day, but did not see the dragon appear in front of him, so he thought that Xuan Long had really left. He turned around and went back to the palace, ready to throw all of Xuan Long''s things out. That stupid dragon, how dare he just say leave.


    The heavy door slammed loudly, and Yan Yuan froze for a moment when he entered the inner hall and saw Xuan Long walk out of thin air.


    "I thought you were gone."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes, and a clear loneliness filled his body.


    He was about to leave, but when he heard Yan Yuan calling him, his feet could not move, as if they had taken root.


    "Why are you back again?"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips and did not say anything.


    Yan Yuan was so happy to see him in front of him that his gloom lifted. He walked up to Xuan Long and cupped his face with his right hand: "You can''t leave me behind, can you? I knew it, you must be unable to leave me... how could you really leave just because of a few reprimands from me..."


    Xuan Long still didn''t say anything, his eyes hanging down and refusing to look at him.


    Yan Yuan sensed the difference and hesitantly said, "Are you angry?"


    Xuan Long slightly turned his face away, and Yan Yuan''s hand froze in mid-air. He withdrew his hand and said resentfully, "Don''t be angry, you know I have a bad temper and sometimes I just can''t control it, I didn''t mean to say those unpleasant things to hurt you."


    "I''m sorry, A''Po, don''t be angry with me, okay?" Yan Yuan stepped forward and took Xuan Long''s body, which had diminished considerably in recent days, into his arms and whispered softly in his ear.


    Xuan Long tried to retreat from his embrace, but Yan Yuan held him so tightly that Xuan Long could not struggle, so he did not move.


    Yan Yuan kissed Xuan Long from his earlobe all the way to his cheek, his voice was magnetic and sexy: "If I do this again in the future, you can scold me severely or hit me a few times, just don''t be angry with me, okay?..."


    He begged so pitifully that even the most hard-hearted person would have to be soft-hearted, not to mention Xuan Long, who was already unable to be cruel to him.


    Not even the slightest bit was possible.


    Xuan Long''s lowered eyelashes trembled slightly as he hoarsely spoke.


    "I am not angry."


    Just sad.


    It was as if there was a knife twisting in his heart, which hurt more than pulling scales.


    Yan Yuan knew that he had made a big fuss this time, so he took his face in his hands and placed a kiss on his forehead: "It''s all my fault, A''Po, don''t be upset. If you really can''t calm down, it''s okay to beat me up at this moment to vent your anger. Anyway, you are this powerful, a demon with ten thousand years of Taoism, if you slap me down, I will definitely be half dead and you will be relieved of your hatred."


    "Come on." With that, Yan Yuan let go of him and took a half step back, as if he was ready to die.


    Xuan Long looked up at Yan Yuan for a moment and then said in a dull voice, "I won''t hurt you."


    "I know you can''t bear to do that." Yan Yuan was waiting for his words, and with a smile on her face, he bent down and picked Xuan Long up by his legs. "In that case, don''t be angry and don''t be sad, if you suffocate your body, I will be heartbroken. Let me serve you today, consider it compensation, okay?"


    Before Xuan Long could react, he was put on the bed. Yan Yuan lifted the hem of his clothes and untied his trousers, but Xuan Long subconsciously reached out to stop him. After making love this morning, he felt uncomfortable in his belly, he did not want to do anything like that again today, but Yan Yuan refused to let him go and kissed Xuan Long''s eyelids, saying with coaxing and deceit, ¡°A¡¯Po is obedient, I will show you what comfort is."


    Before Xuan Long could say anything, Yan Yuan stripped him of his trousers and knelt halfway down in front of him.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Xuan Long''s body tensed up like an electric shock, staring in amazement at the person buried between his legs. He had never experienced such a strange sensation before, his cheeks abruptly flushed, and he went to push Yan Yuan''s shoulder in panic, gasping uncontrollably. "You, don''t be so..."


    "Let go¡­"


    Yan Yuan served him for a moment, then looked up proudly and asked, "Are you comfortable?"


    The bottom of Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes had been tinged with mist. He had perhaps stirred the foetus, his belly was hard and taut and uncomfortable, but that place was forced to awaken, which was actually not too comfortable.


    ¡°A''Yuan... don''t be like that."


    "If you can make me comfortable like this, I can make you comfortable like this. Why can''t I?" Yan Yuan didn''t listen to him at all. After saying that, he lowered his head and continued working hard. It didn''t take long for Xuan Long to respond honestly. Yan Yuan tasted that taste and thought to himself that this dragon was really strange, the blood being fragrant is not enough, even the stuff inside is cold scented.


    Xuan Long''s face was white, he lowered his head and used a handkerchief to wipe the filth on his legs. Yan Yuan picked him up and put him on the bed, took the handkerchief from him and wiped him clean, then threw it on the floor, and one person and one dragon lay down together.


    When he got on the bed, Xuan Long wanted to sleep. Remembering that the time was so short, Yan Yuan teased him with amusement, "How can you be so indifferent... but it''s understandable, it''s the first time after all."


    Xuan Long did not listen to the banter, he wanted to take out the foetal pills and swallow one, but it was not very convenient with Yan Yuan at his side. He thought it seemed bearable, so it was better to save it, if he ran out of it, there would be no more.


    That senior had already taken good care of him, so it was not good to keep bothering him and taking something from him for nothing.


    Seeing Xuan Long¡¯s distracted mind, Yan Yuan was a little dismayed and squeezed his palm, saying, ¡°A''Po, you haven''t answered me just now... Did I serve you comfortably?"


    Xuan Long returned to his senses. It was quite painful, as he had been hit by his teeth several times, but he saw Yan Yuan''s expectant look and could not bear to hurt his pride, so he said, "Mmm, comfortable."


    Yan Yuan was pleased and began to advance, "I''ve made you comfortable, shouldn''t you make me comfortable too?"


    "En." Xuan Long thought he was talking about that, and after a moment''s hesitation, he raised his hand with a pale face and untied the laces of his robes.


    Yan Yuan held down his hand: "I don''t mean that, I mean... the inner elixir, just give it to me, okay?"


    "Good A''Po, good A''Po, I know you are the best to me, just give it to me, give it to me..." Yan Yuan hugged him, his face rubbed in the nook of his neck.


    Xuan Long spoke in a low voice, "If you want anything else, I can give it to you."


    "Only the inner elixir... won''t do."


    Yan Yuan instantly went cold, sitting up from the bed and looking down at him, "What can''t you give it to me, you just can''t give up ten thousand years of Taoism? I''ve begged you like this, and you''re still indifferent."


    ¡°A''Yuan..." Xuan Long had never looked so hurt before, even his cold turquoise eyes had become vivid. He had become more and more human after spending time with people.


    But Yan Yuan had no softness in his heart, his eagerness was like an act he was putting on, and he turned his back coldly: "Go sleep in the outer hall tonight, I don''t want to see you."


    If he rushed, Xuan Long would leave, and if he did, he might not be able to find him, so he could only rush to the nearest place.


    After a moment of silence behind him, Xuan Long sat up, silently lifted the quilt, and got out of bed.

 CH 32

    Evil Spirits Haunt Us


    There was no bed in the outer hall, only a table and chairs for meeting guests. How could someone sleep there?


    In fact, Yan Yuan''s mouth was just a little bit uncontrolled. In his heart, he thought that if Xuan Long could give in to him and say a few nice words to coax him, what would be so difficult about giving him a place on the side of the bed. The matter of the inner elixir could be discussed later.


    But the dragon was just stupid, so stupid that he couldn''t even say a word to coax others, and when he was told to leave, he really left, which was extremely boring.


    He slept alone all night, and left in a huff early the next morning. When he went to the outer hall, he saw Xuan Long sleeping on the table. Perhaps because he felt Yan Yuan''s cold gaze, Xuan Long climbed up and saw Yan Yuan looking at him expressionlessly.


    ¡°A¡¯Yuan¡­¡± He opened his mouth and hesitated as if he wanted to say something, but Yan Yuan didn''t give him a chance, grunting out of his nose and leaving with a flick of his sleeves.


    Xuan Long froze in place for a long time, then slowly lowered his eyes.


    If Yan Yuan wanted something from a mortal, all he had to do was open his mouth and there would be people scrambling to bring it to him. Only this dragon was insensitive to good and bad and refused to hand over the inner elixir, clutching it like a treasure.


    It was not possible to rob him openly, nor was it possible to force him to do it. The only weakness of Xuan Long was that he was in love with Yan Yuan, so Yan Yuan grabbed this opportunity and hung him out to dry on purpose.


    He was left to dry for three whole days.


    Ning Zhiyu''s spirits fluctuate, but with the previous dragon scales to support him, it should still be possible to hold out for 30 to 50 days. Yan Yuan plans to hang Xuan Long out to dry so that when Xuan Long gets anxious, he can go back to grind him up.


    As for the time in between, he would naturally spend it wholeheartedly with Ning Zhiyu.


    It rained early in the morning and the sun came out in the afternoon, so the hot air was washed away a bit and it was very comfortable. Ning Zhiyu had been lying on the bed for too long and always wanted to go out for a walk. Yan Yuan was afraid that his boredom would lead to depression and aggravate his condition, so he took this day to take him to the Imperial Garden for a walk.


    Ning Zhiyu was sitting in front of the bronze mirror, and Yan Yuan was standing behind him, holding a wooden comb and gently grooming his long black hair. However, despite the fact that Ning Zhiyu had become Yan Yuan''s empress, he still felt a little uneasy.


    ¡°A''Yuan, just let the palace servants do this. You are the emperor, how can you stoop so low for me?"


    "Let me do it myself..." Ning Zhiyu turned sideways to snatch the wooden comb from Yan Yuan''s hand, but Yan Yuan raised his hand to avoid it. "How many times have I said that I am willing to do such things for you."


    Seeing his insistence, Ning Zhiyu had to give up. Yan Yuan continued to comb his hair with a smile in his eyes, a happiness and satisfaction that came from deep inside.


    "I always feel as if I used to do the same thing in my last life, slowly combing your hair and tying it up, while you sat there quietly, not moving, letting me do it."


    Ning Zhiyu was amused: "You remember everything from your past life, A''Yuan?"


    Yan Yuan: "That is natural, otherwise how could I have found you so smoothly, I relied on my intuition. Perhaps I loved you so much that I was obsessed with you, and I often saw you in my dreams. Later, when I met you again, I rarely had that dream anymore."


    Ning Zhiyu looked at Yan Yuan in the mirror and wondered where his melancholy was coming from: "What dream?"


    Yan Yuan came up to Ning Zhiyu''s ear, as if to whisper. Ning Zhiyu was about to listen when he heard him exhale, "... Won''t tell you."


    Ning Zhiyu was stunned and laughed, ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan straightened up and burst out laughing, and it took a while before he stopped. Looking deeply into Ning Zhiyu''s pale, clear face in the mirror, he clasped his hands lightly on his shoulders.


    "It''s nothing. It doesn''t matter what happened in your past life, what matters is that you are by my side and in front of me at this moment."


    Ning Zhiyu twisted around and tilted his head to look at Yan Yuan, his eyes filled with lingering affection, "Mm."


    As they stared at each other for a while, Yan Yuan remembered the tragic scene in his dream, and looked at Ning Zhiyu, who was sitting in front of him. His heart ached so much that he could not help but bend down and kiss him, while Ning Zhiyu obediently closed his eyes.


    The two of them were in the middle of their love affair when a loud, coarse roar suddenly came from far outside the hall.


    ¡°Report¨C"


    Yan Yuan let go of Ning Zhiyu and looked out, and it was not long before Chen Yan entered with hurried steps, his face impatient.


    Yan Yuan frowned: "What is it?"


    Chen Yan knelt down and bowed, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from the border!"


    Yan Kite''s gaze was cold: "Didn''t the small border country that invaded last month surrender? Even the king has been killed, and they still have time to seek death? Tell the general who delivered the message to wait in the outer hall."


    Chen Yan followed his orders and went out.


    The Imperial Garden was definitely out of the question for the time being, so Yan Yuan turned apologetically to look at Ning Zhiyu, but before he could say anything, Ning Zhiyu told Yan Yuan to get on with his business. He was always so understanding.


    Yan Yuan bent down and kissed Ning Zhiyu on the forehead, rubbing his face with his thumbs, and said guiltily, "I will go and take a look, and when I have time, I will come and keep you company and I will go out with you."


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and said with a faint smile, "I''m fine, state affairs are important. A¡¯Yuan, go quickly."


    Yan Yuan turned around and left. The general was already waiting in the outer hall, and in a few moments, Yan Yuan had a clear picture of what had happened.


    Just last month, after the surrender of the small border country, a fox demon suddenly appeared in the military camp. The fox demon was extremely beautiful, and was known to eat people''s hearts, and several hundred soldiers under General Zhenbei died as a result. General Zhenbei had invited several famous cultivators from the border area to subdue the demon, but they all failed to return.


    This shows the depth of the demon''s power.


    Half a month ago, the demon was not satisfied with killing people in the military camp anymore and started hurting people''s lives, killing several families in one night. The general who sent the message spent half a month rushing back to Chang''an City, cutting the time in half. Tired from the journey and kneeling in front of Yan Yuan with his dusty face, he no longer looks like a young general. If you ignore the rough and suffocating aura honed from battle wounds, he looks like a beggar.


    Yan Yuan ordered the palace staff to arrange accommodation for him and sent the general down to freshen up and fill his stomach.


    That night, Yan Yuan summoned the civil servants and military generals to discuss countermeasures. If it was the human race who invaded the country, it would be easy to handle, but a demon is an uncontrollable existence for the human race. Even in Chang''an City, there are occasional demons, but they are only small demons of shallow virtue, which ordinary cultivators can handle.


    This is the first time they have seen such a demon that has killed hundreds of people.


    In the face of the unknown, the human race looks so small. Even the soldiers who have been trained for years and are physically fit have died so tragically, not to mention the common people. If this continues, sooner or later, the army will be in turmoil and the peoples'' hearts will be unstable. Other countries will take advantage of the opportunity to invade, and the kingdom will be in danger.


    Yan Yuan would never allow such a thing to happen.


    The final decision was to find a more powerful cultivator to remove the demons, but looking around, in the whole of Chang''an City, the only one who could hope to do so was Taoist Master Yuan Kong, who had lived 120 years in his mortal body and had removed most of the demons in Chang''an City. However, just a few days ago, Taoist Master Yuan Kong passed away in his home.


    In the imperial study, the civil servants and military generals were sad and the atmosphere was gloomy. Yan Yuan, dressed in his dragon robe, sat behind the dragon desk, seemingly as helpless as they were, but in fact, he already had a plan in mind.


    A mortal body cannot withstand the ravages of a demon, but what about a demon? What about a demon with 10,000 years of Tao?


    There was one right now, in the side hall of his palace.


    If he asks, Xuan Long will definitely go through fire and water to get rid of the demon for him.

 CH 33

    The Heir of Dragon and Man


    Late at night, the door of the palace was thrown open and Yan Yuan entered the side hall of Qiankun Palace. A small candle flame was burning alone in the room, the faint light barely reaching every inch of the room.


    On the bed, with the tent tucked away, Xuan Long sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, his lips pursed, his back straight, his cold face pale under the candlelight, and there was a little bit of inconspicuous cold sweat on the corner of his forehead.


    Yan Yuan originally thought that Xuan Long had already fallen asleep, but he did not expect that he would still be hard at work cultivating in the middle of the night. He had been cultivating so feverishly that he did not even stop when night fell, did he want to ascend to immortality early so that he could leave him? No wonder he refused to hand over the inner elixir.


    Thinking of this, the little bit of guilt he had in his heart when he arrived was instantly dissipated, and Yan Yuan''s face turned cold as he walked towards the person on the bed.


    Perhaps because of his mood, the foetus in Xuan Long''s belly had been very agitated recently, and his spiritual energy had fluctuated greatly. He had been tossed awake several times during the night, and after taking the foetal pills, he sat up to adjust his spiritual breath, and only then did he gradually feel better.


    At this time, although the foetus was not yet two months old, it had already developed a spiritual sense. When it was happy, it would roll around in Xuan Long''s spiritual sea, and when it was unhappy, it would make a fierce fuss, tormenting Xuan Long to the point that he was helpless and could do nothing about it.


    When he heard the sound of footsteps, Xuan Long slowly opened his eyes. He had not seen Yan Yuan for three days, and when he saw him, he did not know what to say.


    "You are so leisurely, staying up most of the night to rush your cultivation, is there no room for you on Earth anymore?"


    The corners of Yan Yuan''s mouth were hooked, as were those peach blossom eyes, and the candle light danced on his face. He was dressed in his dragon robes, luxurious and cold, yet he struck Xuan Long as unfamiliar.


    When he first met him, the human man pestered him and acted like a spoiled child, saying he liked him and insisted on naming him.


    A short time had passed and it was already so distant.


    Xuan Long was clumsy, but it wasn''t as if he couldn''t sense if someone had malice towards him, and right now, Yan Yuan was already disgusted with him.


    Looking at each other for a moment, he lowered his eyes and whispered:


    "If you can tolerate me, there will be a place for me on Tarth."


    "If you can''t tolerate me..." there seems to be no such thing.


    After a moment of silence in the hall, Yan Yuan laughed and clapped his hands together, his eyes sneering: "Not bad, not bad, you have grown in your ability to speak lovingly."


    Xuan Long''s eyes settled on the edge of the bed, and suddenly he called to him, ¡°A''Yuan. That day. What you said was true, wasn''t it?"


    Yan Yuan did not react: "What?"


    Xuan Long looked up at him for a few moments, then lowered his gaze again, "Nothing."


    Yan Yuan was most annoyed by his dull nature, which was so stubborn that he wouldn''t respond no matter how bad he was beaten. Who knew what he was thinking, but Yan Yuan didn''t really want to know what he was thinking, he was just annoyed.


    "Say what you have to say."


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, his voice still low: "You... have you been well lately?"


    Yan Yuan''s expression was indifferent: "Still good. And you?"


    Xuan Long paused: "Fine."


    Then there was nothing more to say.


    If you ask Xuan Long to find a topic, it would be very difficult. If Yan Yuan did not take the initiative to provoke him, it would be impossible for them to be together. If you think about it, except for when Yan Yuan would say something nice to Xuan Long when he wanted dragon scales, the rest of their communication was in bed.


    The connection between them was actually thin and bland.


    Yan Yuan spoke, "There is nothing you want to say to me?"


    Xuan Long thought for a long time before saying, "... You don''t have to be angry."


    "Can''t do it." Yan Yuan frowned, throwing a tantrum like a child, "You are coaxing me like this?"


    Xuan Long raised his head to look at Yan Yuan and asked lightly, "What do you want?"


    Yan Yuan was straightforward: "There is a demonic creature haunting the border, digging out the hearts of my soldiers and people. It is extremely cruel. You should remove it for me. You are a dragon yourself, you fly extremely fast, you should be able to return in a few days."


    Xuan Long pursed his lips and was silent.


    Seeing this reaction from him, Yan Yuan couldn¡¯t hold back his anger and sneered, ¡°What? Not willing?"


    "Not willing to give the inner elixir, not even willing to help with such a trivial matter?"


    "So all this talk of liking me is just lip service after all."


    Every word he said was extremely hurtful, and Xuan Long shook his head, his already low voice sounding like he had swallowed gravel: "No."


    "It clearly is." Yan Yuan snorted coldly and turned around with a flick of his sleeve to find a chair to sit on. Guessing that Xuan Long thought he was going to leave, he hurried, and behind him came the clumsy, muffled words of that dragon:


    "I''ll remove it for you."


    "Don''t be angry."


    Yan Yuan''s heart was relieved and a smile came to his face as he turned back and said, "It would have been better to say so earlier, why did you have to upset me?"


    The purpose was achieved, and tomorrow morning, Xuan Long would leave for the border to ambush the demon. It was already late in the night, so Yan Yuan stayed for the night, which was a kind of practice for him.


    As he fell asleep, Yan Yuan heard Xuan Long speak, his voice as low as a rock, more like muttering to himself:


    "You know I am clumsy and always displease you, so don''t be angry all the time."


    Xuan Long looked at the bright yellow roof of the tent above, his icy turquoise eyes were adorned with inexpressible emotions. Yan Yuan turned back to look at him for a moment, then moved over to hug him and said against his ear, "Then if you obey me in everything and make me happy, I naturally won''t be angry."


    Xuan Long moved his lips:


    "I am actually¡­" not as invulnerable as you think.


    Yan Yuan saw that he stopped mid-sentence: "What?"


    "Nothing." Xuan Long closed his mouth, after all, he was not used to showing his weakness to others, even if this person was Yan Yuan.


    At first, it was because he didn''t want to upset him, but then he realised that Yan Yuan might not be upset.


    Then there was even less need to say more.


    Having been so busy with the affairs of the country today, Yan Yuan was by now very tired, and it was a rare occasion that he did not pester Xuan Long for a tumble. He kissed him on the cheek, "Go to sleep now, you have to get up early tomorrow to make the journey."


    "If you succeed in getting rid of the fox demon and keep my country safe, I should really thank you"


    Xuan Long: "I will do my best."


    Yan Yuan had a rare moment of pity for him, ¡°A''Po, is there anything in particular you want?"


    Xuan Long shook his head.


    He only wanted to be with Yan Yuan, other than that, there was nothing else he wanted.


    Worldly glory and riches were all nothing to a demon.


    Compared to the flashy palace, he preferred to live with Yan Yuan at the bottom of the dark pond, where at least there was no one to disturb them and they could see each other day and night.


    Yan Yuan seemed to understand what he was thinking: "I promise you, when you return, I will put aside my affairs and spend a few days with you, okay?"


    Xuan Long was slightly stunned, but an emotion called happiness soon appeared in his eyes: "Mhmm."


    See, he was so easy to coax.


    "Go to sleep." Yan Yuan kissed his face, wrapped his arms around his waist, and slept on the nape of his neck.


    A long time passed and Xuan Long couldn''t help but call out to him.


    ¡°A''Yuan."


    "Hmm?" Yan Yuan did not open his eyes, but answered lazily.


    Xuan Long hesitated for a long time before he said, "I have something I want to ask you."


    Yan Yuan: "Say it."


    Another long time passed before Xuan Long said, "If the dragon race could bear children from humans, how would you feel about the children that would be born?"


    "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Yan Yuan''s eyes opened, his eyes showing doubt.


    "Just a casual question." Xuan Long was a little uncomfortable, the knot in his throat pulsed.


    Yan Yuan was so sleepy that he closed his eyes and casually said, "If a beautiful dragon girl gives birth to an heir with a human, it is only right that she should also be beautiful."


    Xuan Long''s heart suddenly became restless and his throat ached, "Do you really think so?"


    ¡°En."


    When Yan Yuan had fallen asleep, Xuan Long turned his head to look at him and carefully raised his hand to touch Yan Yuan''s fair face.


    This man was so beautiful, if the child followed him, it should also be very beautiful.


    Just now, Yan Yuan replied like that. Thinking that he should not mind the existence of the foetus in his belly, and not mind that the father of the foetus in his belly is a demon, if he returns safely from this trip... he will tell him¡­


    ... he is pregnant.

 CH 34

    Fox Demon (Part One)


    In the early morning, Yan Yuan accompanied Xuan Long to have breakfast in peace. There was no quarrel and no cold face, it was a warm meal. Yan Yuan gave food to Xuan Long, who ate silently with his head down.


    After the meal, Yan Yuan asked the palace staff to bring in some fresh fish cakes. He took the kraft paper, wrapped up the fish cakes and several other snacks that he had not finished earlier, and handed them to Xuan Long in a brocade bundle: "Take them and eat them on the way."


    "Mhm." Xuan Long reached out to take them. In fact, he was perfectly capable of hunting on the way, but Yan Yuan''s kindness and thoughtfulness still made him feel very warm and he could not refuse.


    Yan Yuan: "Be safe, go early and return early."


    "Mhmm." Xuan Long responded and turned to leave.


    "Wait." Yan Yuan called out to stop him.


    Xuan Long turned back to look at Yan Yuan, and saw Yan Yuan walk up to him and place a kiss on his forehead. Xuan Long subconsciously closed his eyes as Yan Yuan''s kiss slowly slid down the bridge of his nose and landed on his lips.


    Xuan Long''s waist was clasped tightly and the knot in his throat slid slightly with Yan Yuan''s lingering kiss. Yan Yuan was rarely this gentle, so much so that a feeling of reluctance suddenly arose in Xuan Long''s heart when he parted.


    "Go, I''ll wait for you in the palace." Yan Yuan said.


    "Mhmm." Xuan Long turned around with his bag on his back, and before he could take a step, he turned back to look at Yan Yuan, "If I return safely, can... we live in peace later?"


    Yan Yuan knew what Xuan Long was worried about, and his eyes smiled: "I promise you, if you come back safely, in the future I will control my temper and live a good life with you, I won''t always lose my temper with you like that again."


    Xuan Long nodded and took a few steps in the direction of the palace door, his form disappearing from Yan Yuan''s sight.


    Outside the palace, the giant dragon with a black body hovered in the air and rushed towards the clouds, all the way to the north.


    ......


    Since the demon rampage at the border, there are not many people in the border towns nearby who go out in the evening. It took Xuan Long three days to get to the town where the murder took place, but when he walked through the market, the sky was grey and dull, and there were no people.


    Occasionally, the crows'' cries came from afar, which were quite mournful and creepy.


    His spiritual energy was being eaten up by the little thing in his belly, and his body was a bit overwhelmed by the long and constant flight. He smelled the strange demonic aura and searched for it inch by inch in the town, but it suddenly disappeared afterwards. When he returned to his senses, he was already in the middle of nowhere, and there was an abandoned and dilapidated temple next to him. After hesitating for a moment, he took a step inside and prepared to rest here for the night, and then go looking for the fox demon tomorrow.


    The rain was falling from the sky, falling along the eaves of the building. Xuan Long sat down against the wooden door, which was too old to be seen in its original colour, and took out his embroidered bag, taking out the snacks Yan Yuan had given him and eating them slowly.


    Three days had passed and the fish cakes were no longer fresh, they had lost their moisture and were dry and unpleasant to eat, but when he remembered that Yan Yuan had prepared them for him, he felt that they were as delicious as ever.


    With two fish cakes in his stomach, he gradually became sleepy and leaned his head back against the door, looking at the sky blurred by the rain. He wondered what Yan Yuan was doing now, thousands of miles away, whether he was resting well, whether he was taking his meals seriously, whether... he was thinking of him as he was.


    The temple here is similar to a sanheyuan. When Xuan Long closed his eyes to sleep, a man tapped his toes on the ground and landed silently on the eaves on the side, his ice blue eyes staring at Xuan Long, his moon white robe flowing lightly in the night, his inky hair flying, his body untouched by half a drop of rain. (Angel: A sanheyuan is the basic form of traditional Han dwellings that is commonly composed of a main house in the north and two wig rooms to the east and west.)


    In the blink of an eye, the man''s figure moved like a ghost to Xuan Long''s side, slowly crouched down, came up to Xuan Long''s ear and blew a breath, laughing: "What are you doing following me?..."


    Xuan Long frowned slightly, then suddenly opened his icy turquoise eyes and raised his hand to strike at the man. The man reacted very quickly and instantly disappeared to his right before his figure appeared on his left, slowly squatted down, propped up his face and looked at Xuan Long, sizing him up: "The human race likes my beautiful appearance and just lusts after my body, but is it possible that you, a dragon, are also attracted to me?"


    Then he tsked and shook his head, "I don''t like dragons, and you''re too old."


    A spell struck empty air and landed on the temple door, which collapsed with a ''bang''.


    Xuan Long was not used to having beings this close to him and cast a teleportation spell to distance himself from him, looking down at the man from a few paces away and making a faint conclusion: "You are the fox demon."


    The man''s gaze turned cold, and a murderous aura swept over his stunning features. The inner corners of his eyes were extremely deep, while the ends of his eyes were slightly upturned, and the ends of his long, thin eyebrows flew up, making him cold and charming.


    It was a very different look from the human race, with icy blue eyes and such a remarkable appearance that it was easy to recognise it as a fox.


    ¡°How is it fox demon?" The man stood up, clearly unhappy, and choked out. "Aren''t you a demon too?"


    Xuan Long looked at him calmly, "Why do you want to kill?"


    "None of your business." The man was amused, "It''s just as well that a stinking Taoist priest from the human race has come to catch me, but is it possible that you, a dragon, have also changed your profession to subduing demons?"


    The fox demon looked no more than 200 years old. In Xuan Long''s eyes, he was just a child who had just come of age, and if you counted carefully, he would be close to Yan Yuan''s age, so he was extraordinarily patient: "You will fall into the demonic path if you kill and do evil. Just call it quits now."


    "So what? If you fall into the devil''s path, you fall into the devil''s path. That kind of evil mortal who can''t walk when he sees beauty, I''ll kill every one I see. If you meddle in my affairs again, I''ll cut your heart out too. As it happens, you have a profound understanding of Taoism, if I eat your heart, I''m afraid I''ll ascend to immortality tonight."


    Although the fox demon was a killer, he had his own set of principles, he would not take the initiative to seek trouble if other demons did not offend him, so he dropped these words and flew away. Xuan Long moved in front of him and blocked him in mid-air, his ink-coloured sword flashed in the darkness of the night.


    The fox demon narrowed his eyes slightly. Seeing that he was really going to make a move, he immediately became angry. With a flourish of his right hand, a long silver whip appeared in the palm of his hand, and he lashed it fiercely at Xuan Long: "Get out of the way!"


    Xuan Long dodged and appeared behind him with a low voice, "I promised someone that I would help him remove the evil demon that was harming people, if you stop and do no more evil, I will let you go."


    The fox demon did not bother to say more to him, waving his long whip and wrapping it around him, sneering, "Although you are stronger than me, your spiritual power fluctuates so much that you didn''t even notice me approaching, so you must have been seriously injured. I, Hu Le, have never been afraid of anyone before, so tonight I''ll show you, a nosy dragon, what it means to be powerful!"


    As he spoke, his long whip struck Xuan Long''s chest.


    In his peak state, Xuan Long could easily defeat the fox demon, but the foetus in his belly was drawing on his spiritual energy every day. It had only been a month or so but he felt that most of his spiritual energy had been drained. His long sword, wrapped in magic power, slashed at the fox demon''s spirit whip, wanting a quick and easy victory. Suddenly, there was a pain in his abdomen and his face lost its colour, so he subconsciously protected his belly. The long whip struck him right in the chest, and the sharp barbs on the whip gouged deep into his body, taking away a piece of flesh from his chest, and he saw blood instantly.


    Xuan Long grunted and fell to his knees.

 CH 35

    Fox Demon (Part Two)


    Hu Le raised his eyebrows and stared at the blood on his silver whip, surprised, "Don''t you dragons all have heart protecting dragon scales? How can you be beaten so badly."


    Xuan Long covered his chest, the only blood left in his face fading at a rate visible to the naked eye. Warm blood bubbled out from his fingers as he stood up silently with his long sword propped up on the ground.


    Without the dragon scales protecting his heart, he was no different from the fragile human, and naturally, he was easily injured.


    Hu Le furrowed his pretty brows and looked at his back, "Hey, are you alright? I didn''t mean to hurt you, but you insisted on coming up here to die."


    In this state, Xuan Long knew that he would not be able to complete the task given to him by Yan Yuan. He braced himself and walked towards the temple. Finding a dirty place to sit down, he fished out the porcelain bottle from his chest pocket, poured out a foetus pill, and swallowed it, then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. The rain had stopped outside and his heavy breathing was distinct in the darkness of the night.


    It seemed to be a little warm between his legs, the foetus in his belly was frightened and was currently rattling around. Xuan Long gently pressed his palm to his belly as if to comfort it.


    Xuan Long had thought the fox demon had gone, but to his surprise, a moment later there were footsteps at his side, followed by the sound of clothes rubbing together; he should have crouched down beside him.


    "You said you were helping someone else to kill me, who is that person?"


    Xuan Long naturally could not tell him the identity of Yan Yuan, and he closed his eyes without answering.


    Hu Le stared at the man''s heroic face and guessed, "Demons certainly don''t care about such idle matters, and apart from the human race, I haven''t made any enemies recently, so the one who told you to come and kill me is a human, right?"


    "......"


    "A dragon of your calibre would not be driven by someone, so that person is either kind to you or in love with you. I guess... you''re in love with that human.¡± Hu Le slowly leaned close to Xuan Long''s ear and exhaled hot air. His voice was particularly compelling, as good as a sea demon chanting over the water, mortals would immediately lose their minds when they heard it.


    Xuan Long smiled and slowly opened his eyes, turning his head to look at him.


    Hu Le''s gaze was icy cold: "I really did guess correctly. Another dumb demon."


    With such a rude remark, Xuan Long didn''t really want to talk to him anymore. His body ached so much that he closed his eyes and just wanted to get a good night''s sleep.


    The voice suddenly became hoarse.


    "Do you know why I killed those people?¡± Hu Le''s eyes changed, and Xuan Long saw watery light under his eyes, along with intense hatred, "Because they deserved to die."


    "I once had a twin brother and we relied upon each other for survival; we grew up together, trained together, and left the fox clan together to come to the mortal world to train."


    "He fell in love with a mortal who, after learning of his identity as a fox demon, lied to him about loving him and, in the depths of his love, mixed water with a talisman and tricked him into drinking it. When he revealed his original form, they skinned him alive."


    "My brother''s fur was particularly beautiful, snow white, not a trace of impurities, and more fluffy and soft than mine. As a child, I slept against him like this, and as long as he was at my side, I had nothing to fear... because although he was as weak as I was, he would protect me even if he fought for his life. " The corners of Hu Le''s mouth curled up, but tears trickled down from his eyes.


    "But that man skinned him alive... do you know why?"


    Xuan Long was infected by his sadness and felt some sadness in his heart as well, ¡°Why?"


    "Because that human wanted a beautiful hide to make into a scarf to please his beloved.¡± Hu Le smiled, his eyes showing mockery. "He was a noble prince of a different surname of the Western Hong Kingdom who fell in love with the eldest princess of the kingdom. Naturally, ordinary fox skins did not catch the princess'' eye, so he ordered people to go around hunting foxes. Later, he heard the Taoist priest say that fox demons are beautiful in appearance and have the most beautiful fur, which cannot be compared to foxes in the mortal world."


    "At that time, my brother and I were mingling in Western Hong to make a living, and the prince, who had learned of my brother''s identity from somewhere, went to the bakery where he worked every day to buy buns, treating him with affection and saying that he liked him and wanted to marry him."


    "My brother was simple and that prince was born like a dog. It didn''t take long for my brother to fall in love with him, and he came home joyfully every day to tell me how good that prince was to him... I still remember that the sunset that evening was particularly beautiful, and my brother said he had to go out to an appointment with that dog prince, but he never got to come back." (Angel: Born like a dog is an idiom meaning that they are a human but act like a dog.)


    Hu Le was still laughing, but as he spoke, he could not hold it together, his voice choked up and his face was full of tears.


    "He was conscious when he was skinned, and the man skinned him while he was awake just because his beloved wanted a beautiful fox skin."


    "But what about my brother? What did my brother do wrong?"


    "Once upon a time we also practised the Way of Goodness, and we did not want to steal like other demons, so we took on the form of mortals and bought food with the money we earned with our hands every day, without stealing or robbing half a cent.


    Hu Le was crying and trembling, perhaps because he had been alone on earth for too long, and when he suddenly found someone to talk to, he lost control.


    Xuan Long raised his hand and gently touched Hu Le''s head, "Don''t be sad."


    When Hu Le first saw him, he didn''t hate the man in front of him. It was rare for him to feel kindly towards other beings, so when he was so gently comforted, he suddenly cried more and more. When he was wronged as a child, his brother would do the same to him, stroking his head and telling him not to be sad.


    Trembling, he flung himself into Xuan Long''s arms, causing him to grunt in pain and break out in a cold sweat. His body stiffened and he endured, but in the end he did not push the little fox away, allowing him to whimper and cry in his arms.


    "Our mother died when she gave birth to us, and my brother and I came to the mortal world only when we couldn''t survive in the fox clan."


    "If I had known this, we would not have come... I would have found a deserted place in the deep woods to hide, and just eat the fish in the water and catch the beasts in the mountains. If I had known that my brother would die, I would not have pestered him to come to the mortal world, woo woo woo... "


    Xuan Long hesitantly raised his hand and gently patted Hu Le''s back, "Don''t cry..."


    He really does not know how to comfort people. Hearing this, Hu Le stood up with tears in his eyes, complaining, "I am so pathetic, do I not even have the right to cry?"


    Xuan Long: ¡°That¡¯s not..."


    Hu Le swooped back in, wrapping his arms around his neck and leaning into him.


    "Later, I took revenge for my brother. I killed that dog prince and the ugly-hearted princess, I pulled out the tongue of that nonsense Taoist priest, and I dug out their hearts and roasted them in front of my brother''s grave.¡±


    "But what use is that¡­ my brother will never come back, I am the only fox in this world, alone and miserable, and there is no meaning to anything."


    "I am happiest only when I kill. Watching those ugly humans as they swoon over me, I pull out their hearts... bloody, how beautiful..."


    "It was the same when my brother died in my arms, covered in blood... When I found him at the mass grave, he was still breathing, and he spoke to me, told me not to take revenge, told me to live well... "


    "But how can I not take revenge, how can I live well..."


    "I can''t do it, I can''t do it..."


    Gradually, Hu Le stopped crying, only his tears kept flowing. He rambled on in Xuan Long''s arms for the rest of the night, and Xuan Long patted his back and coaxed him through the night like this.


    When the sky lightened, Hu Le found that Xuan Long no longer responded to whatever he said, and, startled by this, he sat up violently.


    He saw that the man''s face was pale and he had passed out, and his own white robe was half stained with blood.

 CH 36

    Still Worth the Gamble


    "Hey... wake up!¡± Hu Le pushed Xuan Long''s body, but the other party did not respond.


    He peeled open the lapels of Xuan Long''s clothes and took a look. The missing piece of flesh in his chest looked really frightening, and while he could pull out the heart of a human without blinking, he was now panicking.


    How could a dragon be so tolerant, bleeding so much without uttering a word?


    Perhaps because the dragon had listened so quietly to his rantings all night and comforted him so patiently, Hu Le didn''t want anything to happen to him, so he got up and picked Xuan Long up by his legs, ran outside, and flew up.


    At the foot of the mountain, deep in the woods hidden by thick trees, there was a cavern. Hu Le took Xuan Long in his arms and kicked through the entrance of the cave: "Old radish! Get out!!!"


    A small, fat old man, shaped like a radish, ran out and tremblingly welcomed Hu Le into the cave, where he carefully placed Xuan Long on the rock bed.


    Half an hour later.


    "What? Pregnant?!"


    "You stinky radish spirit, you¡¯re looking for death aren''t you? You dare to talk nonsense in front of me!!¡± Hu Le glared with his cold fox eyes and raised his hand to strike the fat old man.


    Although Hu Le is shallow, he has a great talent for cultivation and his magic is quite impressive for his young age, all the little demons in this area are afraid of him.


    The fat old man covered his head with his small hand: "This old man is not talking nonsense, this dragon is pregnant, the fainting is due to excessive blood loss and the movement of the foetus. It''s obvious that you hurt the man but you want to blame the old man, it''s really a sin..."


    "You!¡± Hu Le was about to raise his hand, but the fat old man was so scared that he immediately stopped speaking.


    "How can we cure it?"


    The fat old man had a smile on his face: "This old man has some spiritual herbs here, if you don''t mind, take them and boil them for this dragon to drink."


    Hu Le brought Xuan Long back to the hut where he and his brother had lived.


    It had been a long time since he had been back, and when he first returned, his eyes warmed as he remembered all the memories he had made with his brother in the past.


    He found the clay pot, boiled the herbs as the radish spirit had told him to do, and then cleaned the house carefully. After all this was done, the sun had set. Hu Le poured the medicinal soup into a bowl and fed it to Xuan Long on the bed with a spoon.


    He forced Xuan Long''s mouth open, but he was so unconscious that he could not even swallow, so the soup flowed out of his mouth.


    In the past, his brother had always taken care of him, but he had never taken care of anyone else.


    After thinking about it for a while, he poured half a bowl of medicine into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out, and he bent down and used the tip of his tongue to break open Xuan Long''s dry lips, feeding the medicine to him with his mouth.


    Although he had used his beauty to lure people and killed many dirty-minded dog-men, he had never had sex with anyone before, and it was the first time he had kissed a living creature. After feeding the medicine to Xuan Long, he stared at Xuan Long''s heroic eyebrows, and his cheeks suddenly heated up.


    After he finished feeding him all of the medicine, Hu Le sat on the side of the bed and watched Xuan Long for a long time. Xuan Long''s originally white lips were warmed by the medicine and had some blood on them. Their thin shape was quite pleasing to the eye, so he tentatively leaned in and kissed him.


    They were soft and did not annoy him, unlike those human beings whose souls reeked.


    ......


    Xuan Long opened his eyes. The sharp pain in his chest caused his breathing to catch, and before he could figure out where he was, he heard a surprised magnetic voice coming from the side of the bed.


    "You''re awake?"


    Xuan Long turned his head to see that it was the fox demon. The coldness he had felt when he first met him was gone, and he was now looking at him with a worried frown on his arched brows.


    "You''ve been asleep for three whole days."


    Xuan Long propped himself up on the bed and slowly sat up. He was in a humble straw hut, furnished only with a table, two stools and a shabby wardrobe. Although the place was simple, it was well-kept. The table was covered with a light blue tablecloth, which added a little warmth to the humble room. In the middle of the table lay a small half-used white candle, its small cluster of flames the only source of light in the room.


    "Where is this?"


    Hu Le paused, "This is where my brother and I used to live."


    "Thank you for saving me." Xuan Long spoke hoarsely.


    "I was the one who hurt you.¡± Hu Le turned around, went to the stove, and brought over a plate with two holes. Inside was a whole roasted chicken, which was golden and smelled especially fragrant.


    "Eat, you haven''t eaten in three days.¡± Hu Le handed the plate to Xuan Long. "This is my favourite roast chicken, it''s all for you."


    Xuan Long lifted the corners of his mouth in a rare, very light but genuine smile and took the plate, "Many thanks."


    Hu Le casually pulled over a stool and sat beside the bed. He stepped on the wooden steps along the bed and stared at Xuan Long''s excessively handsome face through the candlelight, propping his chin up and saying, "You''re actually quite good-looking." He blushed a little, like a boy who has seen the woman he loves, but the light was too dim to notice.


    Xuan Long was oblivious, taking a chicken leg and eating it slowly. He asked Hu Le if he wanted to eat, but Hu Le said he had no appetite. It was the first time that a living creature had complimented him on his good looks, apart from Yan Yuan, and Xuan Long was a little uncomfortable and replied in a muffled voice, "I am not good looking."


    Hu Le frowned, "Nonsense, you are clearly good looking, a different kind of good looking than me... If I had to compare it to something, it would be like a general fighting on the human race''s battlefield, heroic and handsome. Of course, those mortals are not comparable to you."


    Xuan Long didn''t know what to say, so he stopped talking. He had never been used to responding to compliments from others.


    After a long silence in the room, Hu Le hesitantly spoke: "The healer said that you are pregnant."


    Xuan Long''s hand holding the food paused slightly, ¡°Mhmm."


    Hu Le raised an eyebrow, "You knew?"


    Xuan Long: ¡°Mhmm."


    Hu Le was silent for a long moment: "... You are pregnant with a human child?"


    "Mhmm." Xuan Long responded indifferently.


    It was a normal thing, but Hu Le stood up from the stool with a ¡®bang'', the hasty movement causing it to fall backwards.


    "How can you be pregnant with a human child?" He asked incredulously.


    Xuan Long''s gaze was calm: "Why not?"


    As long as you love them, why not.


    Hu Le was so anxious that he spun twice in place, his heart on fire, "That human is clearly using you!"


    "Seeing that you are highly skilled in Taoism, he lied to you and said he loved you so that you would work for him!"


    "Also, how did you lose the dragon scales on your chest! Did that human pluck your scales off?"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, intending to defend Yan Yuan: "Not everyone is as bad as you say they are."


    Hu Le is extremely sensitive to this kind of thing. He doesn''t believe that a human can really love a demon, if they could, his brother wouldn''t have died: "Then tell me, how did your dragon scales get taken?!"


    Xuan Long remembered the way Yan Yuan always asked for dragon scales, and his turquoise eyes darkened slightly, "It has nothing to do with you."


    "You are simply, simply stupid!¡± Hu Le''s eyes turned red with anger, ¡°Hopeless!"


    Xuan Long placed his plate gently on the edge of the bed, unable to eat anymore.


    In fact, there were things that he hadn''t been entirely unaware of, so why should anyone else have to say them?


    It was just that he kept it in the back of his heart and didn''t want to think about it much.


    Angry, Hu Le turned around and sat at the table, his back to Xuan Long: "You will regret this. How could a human fall in love with a demon."


    Xuan Long''s body did not move, his lowered eyes hiding emotions beneath them, "¡­ Couldn''t they?"


    If you don''t gamble, how will you know if they will.


    He was all alone and had nothing anyway, so he could still afford to gamble.

 CH 37

    In Name Only


    There was only a single bed in the room, so the two demons had to squeeze together. Hu Le was still angry with Xuan Long and refused to talk to him, but after Xuan Long had fallen asleep, he gingerly made his way to the bed, looking steadily at that handsome face and touching it.


    At first, he didn''t dare to get too close, his heart thumping as if it were about to fly out of his chest, but Hu Le never knew he could be this innocent, he was just so happy to be under the same roof as another being, so he wanted to get closer, and closer.


    Xuan Long''s body was so warm that he could feel the warmth of his body half an inch away. Hu Le couldn''t resist, so he carefully wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed himself against him.


    It was just like the old days when he had slept with his brother in his arms.


    But it seemed a little different from that feeling, exactly what was different, he didn''t quite understand.


    Xuan Long was wounded and sleeping heavily, unaware that the little fox was secretly using him as a warming tool. Hu Le was taller than Xuan Long, with arms long enough to enclose him in his arms.


    Hu Le nudged Xuan Long''s tall nose and frowned, "You stupid dragon, if you don''t listen to me, don''t look for me to cry when the time comes."


    "......"


    There was no response.


    The next day, before dawn, Hu Le rose and went to the mountains to hunt pheasants and rabbits. Xuan Long was pregnant and had not yet recovered from his serious injuries, so he should eat well.


    The pheasant was stewed into a soup and the rabbit was roasted to perfection. When Xuan Long woke up, he smelled the scent and walked outside in search of it. Hu Le was in the courtyard, a pile of firewood was burning and the rabbit was roasting on the fire next to a red-hot cooker with a pot of soup stewing on the stove, gurgling and steaming.


    Hu Le, in a blue brocade robe, sat on the ground without raising his head: "Awake?"


    ¡°Mhmm." Xuan Long responded.


    "Go in and sit for a while, food will be served soon."


    Xuan Long stood still, waiting for Hu Le to finish the breakfast, and followed him in.


    Hu Le poured out the chicken soup from the pot into a large white bowl, while the roast rabbit was cut into pieces with a knife and served on a plate. He had been in the community longer than Xuan Long and naturally knew more about earthly things than Xuan Long.


    All of these bowls and plates were picked up by the restaurant when his brother was around. They were all broken bowls with holes in them which didn''t affect the use of them, but they were not very beautiful. For them, it was good enough if they could hold something. Later, when his brother died, he didn''t want to throw them away, as each one held memories.


    Hu Le used a soup spoon to scoop a large chicken leg into a small bowl, then added a spoonful of soup and pushed it in front of Xuan Long: "Let''s eat."


    He had no expression on his face, but Xuan Long could sense his good intentions. In this respect, Hu Le and Yan Yuan were somewhat alike; they had a twisted energy about them and both loved to sulk.


    "Thank you." Xuan Long responded, reaching out to take it.


    Hu Le snorted and lowered his head to drink his soup, his nine snow-white tails appearing behind him, dangling on the ground and swaying lazily.


    He had been spoiled by his brother since he was a child, and he had a certain temper and liked to be coaxed. He does not care for other creatures, and only those that he liked could coax him. This stupid dragon couldn''t coax anyone, and Hu Le wanted to talk to him, but he couldn''t face it, so the meal ended quietly, nearly causing him internal injuries.


    As Hu Le rose to clear the table, Xuan Long spoke up, whispering, "I''m going back."


    "Back where?¡± Hu Le looked up at him.


    Xuan Long: "Chang''an."


    Hu Le''s face went cold: "You''re going back to that human?"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, not answering him: "You must not kill any more people. It''s not worth it to dirty your own hands for those people."


    Hu Le clutched a pale green rag in his hand, his chest heaving viciously a few times, and his beautiful face revealing his fury. He suddenly flung the rag on the table and sneered, "That''s none of your business, who are you to me, do I need you to take care of me?!"


    "......"


    "I am not qualified to take charge of you." Xuan Long was silent for a long time.


    It was just that Hu Le had a pitiful life. They had already crossed paths, and he was taking care of himself like this, so he was more or less at ease.


    Before he met him, he had thought that he was an evil demon who did not understand spirituality, and that was why he had gone on such a killing spree. After understanding it, he realised that there is a reason as well as a cause and effect.


    He could not bear to let him do it again.


    The only thing he could do was to persuade him to be kind.


    For the sake of Yan Yuan, but also for the sake of Hu Le.


    "Then what are you saying all this for? Does it matter half a penny to you whether I kill or not, whether I cultivate the path of goodness or not? To put it bluntly, it''s still for the sake of your beloved human, so that you can complete your mission and then go back to continue living in peace and harmony with him, isn''t it?"


    Xuan Long''s thick eyebrows wrinkled slightly: "It''s not..."


    "Clearly it is! You and I only met in passing, if not for that, why would you worry so much about me?!¡± Hu Le was so angry that the corners of his eyes turned red, and he turned his back to Xuan Long, unwilling to let him see through his emotions.


    Xuan Long looked at his back and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Hu Le, I don''t want you to fall into the demonic path."


    Hu Le was stunned, and his eyes suddenly got hot, he understood why the feeling of sleeping with Xuan Long was different from his brother, because with his brother, it was familial love, and with Xuan Long... he seemed to like this stupid dragon.


    Hu Le inhaled through his nose to hold back the hot feeling and said without good grace, "Hmph, don''t talk about all this nonsense. If you can, go back and tell that human that you failed to complete your mission and see if he will give you a good face."


    "If you are no longer of use to him, will he discard you like a mere piece of junk, or will he continue to treat you like a treasure."


    Xuan Long''s throat tightened and he said in a low muffled voice, "... He won''t."


    Hu Le turned to look at him expressionlessly, "Won''t you know if you try?"


    That afternoon, Xuan Long set off on his way back to Chang''an.


    It was raining heavily and it was as gloomy as evening. Thinking about what Hu Le said, Xuan Long flew through the air extraordinarily fast, his destination being the Imperial City.


    That answer, Xuan Long did not dare to imagine. He had to find out for himself from Yan Yuan whether he would give him up if he was no longer of use.


    Would he?


    Probably not, after all, he was so kind to him, he would hug him and say he liked him over and over again, he would give him medicine, and he would prepare fresh fish cakes for him before leaving.


    No one had ever treated him that way before.


    If all those good intentions were fake... Xuan Long subconsciously didn''t want to think about it any further.


    It took three days to get there, but only a day and a half to get back. He had used up so much spiritual energy that he had very little left to reserve for the child in his womb. Xuan Long didn''t dare waste any more, so he didn''t even bother to use the rain cover technique, and was soaked to the bone by the rainstorm that fell for several days. When he arrived at the Imperial City, the rain had stopped and there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky.


    When Xuan Long was passing by the laundry bureau, he suddenly heard some palace maids washing clothes and talking about Yan Yuan, so he landed on the ground and listened in silence.


    The two young palace maids were oblivious, only feeling a gust of wind fall on their cheeks.


    "Eh, have you heard ah, recently there is a foreign country that brought more than ten beautiful children to the Emperor as a tribute. The king of the foreign country knows that the Emperor likes men, so he picked all the men whose bones were more beautiful than women¡¯s. I heard¡­ that they are much better looking than the Queen." The little blue-clothed melon-faced palace maid on the left padded over to whisper with the little blue-clothed round-faced palace maid on the right.


    "What''s the use of that, the Emperor and the Empress are deeply in love and have agreed to spend a lifetime together, how can the Emperor look at other people. Other people, ah, in the eyes of the Emperor, are... all nothing." The round-faced little palace maid stumbled over the new words she had recently learned and used them with eyes full of envy.

 CH 38

    Who Are You?


    The small melon-faced palace maid nodded her head while rubbing her clothes and agreed, "That is true, the Empress has been ill for so long, but the Emperor still takes care of him attentively and accompanies him day and night, without developing flirtatious thoughts, so I am relieved."


    "Someone as good as the Empress needs to be treated in the best way possible..." This little palace maid was originally serving beside Ning Zhiyu, but because she broke a teacup given to him by Yan Yuan, she caused Yan Yuan to become furious and was going to be dragged off to be killed on the spot. It was Ning Zhiyu who begged for her favour, which saved her from death, and she went to the laundry bureau.


    Although they were no longer master and servant, she remembered his kindness, so she was particularly keen to learn news of Ning Zhiyu.


    The round-faced palace maid and the melon-faced palace maid are colleagues and have a good relationship, so she naturally knows about her past. Seeing that she was lost in her memories, she flicked the water from the washing basin at her face with her fingertips, trying to make her laugh: "Don''t worry about it, the Empress is well. Hurry up and get to work, if the disciplinarian hears us gossiping, he will break your legs."


    The little melon-faced palace maid looked towards the round archway and saw no one coming, so she put her mind at ease and flicked water at the round-faced palace maid''s face in retaliation. The two of them laughed and joked around for a while, but their eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of a pair of black boots in front of them, the surface of which was wet and stained with mud.


    "Who is the empress?"


    The two palace maids looked up and saw a man in a black robe, with a long, lean body, wearing a black veil hat, making it hard to see his face. Perhaps because he had just experienced a heavy rain, there was water dripping from his body, and he looked a little embarrassed.


    The two of them were taken aback, did this man walk without a sound? Looking at this outfit, he didn''t look like someone who was on duty in the palace... The small melon-faced palace maid sized him up and spoke with a frown: "Who are you? Why did you barge in so abruptly?"


    "I..." Xuan Long spoke, not knowing how to answer.


    At that moment, a demonic wind caught him by surprise and blew up the black veil that was blocking Xuan Long''s face. The palace maids took the opportunity to see his face, but since Xuan Long had pressed the veil down in time, they could not see him very clearly, only a few of his features and his turquoise eyes. The little round-faced palace maids stared in shock.


    They say that the people of the foreign countries look slightly different from the people of Darong, as their features are deeper and more three-dimensional, and their eyes are either blue or green in colour...


    The small melon-faced palace maid immediately thought of those male pets who were sent to the palace. She did not have a good feeling about those people, those people are here to compete for favour, and are an existence that makes Ning Zhiyu unhappy. If her benefactor is unhappy, she is naturally unhappy. Shaking off the water on her hands, she stood up and looked Xuan Long up and down, then coldly said: "You are one of the male pets who were sent as a tribute to the Emperor by the foreign countries, right? "


    "......"


    When she saw that Xuan Long did not answer, she became more and more certain, and her clear face showed disgust without any disguise: "What are you doing running around in the palace when you can''t obtain the Emperor''s favour? This is the laundry bureau, you can''t bump into the Emperor here."


    "You, don''t waste your breath, the Emperor''s couch is only for the Empress, and a lowly male pet like you is no match for the Empress. The Empress is the son of the Prime Minister, who was born in a noble family. Look at yourself, apart from that face, where else can you be compared to the Empress?"


    The palace maid herself was lowly, but when she had someone she wanted to defend, she became emboldened. Looking at Xuan Long almost as if he were a monkey, her every word carried a sting, trying to extinguish his prestige and his confidence in fighting for favour, "I can see that your face is inferior to the Empress'', and your silhouette is so rigid and hard, without any soft beauty, how could the Emperor possibly see you? You''d better stop while you''re ahead, the Emperor only loves the Empress, one couple, one pair for a lifetime, and there is no room for anyone else in his heart."


    Xuan Long didn''t take the palace maid''s words to heart, but he was still stung by Yan Yuan''s remarks about loving the Empress. He was so confused that he stubbornly asked: "Who is the empress?"


    The palace maid laughed: "Since you have entered the palace and want to gain favour, do you not even know who the Empress is? I don''t know if you really don''t know or if you are deliberately pretending to be stupid. Then I will kindly tell you today who the Empress is. The Empress is called Ning Zhiyu, the third son of the Prime Minister of the current dynasty, and as his name suggests, he has the appearance of a clear wind and a bright moon, and is gentle, dignified and kind. On the sixth day of the sixth month of the year Tai''an, the Emperor enthroned Ning Zhiyu, the son of the Prime Minister, as Empress, with three books and six rites and an amnesty for all the world, and the whole country celebrated together. The Empress is the only one qualified to accompany the Emperor."


    Xuan Long had been alone in the thousand-year-old pond for too long, so long that he had forgotten about time. He was insensitive to the years of the human race, but that did not stop him from learning something from this, "Is that what... you human beings call husband and wife..."


    The palace maid was stunned and looked at him oddly, "The Emperor and the Empress are husband and wife. Normal people have multiple spouses, but the Emperor insists on marrying only the Empress, three thousand weak waters only take one scoop... From this alone, you should know how important the Empress is to the Emperor. If you are sensible, you should stop feeling this way before it is too late.¡± (Angel: Three thousand weak waters only to take one scoop comes from Buddhist scriptures, and means that you may encounter many beautiful things in your life, but as long as you carefully grasp one of them, it is enough.)


    The man in front of her did not speak for a long time, and when he spoke again, his voice had become very hoarse, "He has never spoken to me about this..."


    The round-faced palace maid next to her tugged at the sleeve of the melon-faced palace maid and lowered her voice, "Don''t say any more, it looks to me like he''s very sad."


    The man''s body was filled with an unconcealed loneliness. Although his face was covered, just by listening to his voice, one could feel that he was silently crying from a broken heart.


    "Hmph, he knows he has no hope of winning favour, so he is sad." The small, melon-faced palace maid changed her usual gentle nature and spoke nonchalantly. "Who are you, why should the Emperor talk to you about this? The most precious person should be hidden in his heart like a treasure, so he will not talk about it with people who do not matter."


    ¡°Really?¡­" Xuan Long muttered back.


    Irrelevant person.


    Was he an insignificant existence in Yan Yuan''s mind?


    As the two of them watched, Xuan Long slowly turned and left.


    He searched the palace for Yan Yuan''s scent and stopped in front of a bedchamber called Luanfeng Hall.


    The evening sun was shining on the ground and the air was sweet and fresh after the rain. Xuan Long had wanted to tell Yan Yuan about his pregnancy when he returned, but now his mind was empty.


    He had cast a stealth spell so that the palace guards could not see him, and he easily entered the hall under the noses of everyone. The light in the luxurious hall was dim, and the decorations were extremely comfortable and appropriate. A calming incense rose from the half-human-tall nine phoenix bronze pot.


    Before he entered the inner hall, he heard Yan Yuan''s gentle questioning voice from inside.


    "Ah Yu, what''s wrong?"


    ¡°Have another nightmare?


    Yan Yuan sat on the side of the bed, his palm pressed against Ning Zhiyu''s face, caressing it gently.


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, his voice a little hoarse as he had just woken up, and he said with a smile, "No, perhaps I thought I wouldn''t be able to see you if I fell asleep, so I couldn''t bear to sleep for too long."


    Yan Yuan''s heart ached, and his voice became softer and softer: "Silly A''Yu, it''s just that you miss me when I''m not at your side, but I''m at your side with you, why are you still uneasy?"


    The corners of Ning Zhiyu''s eyes were slightly red, and his gaze did not want to leave Yan Yuan''s face for a moment: "I don''t know how much longer I can see, so I want to look at you more."


    Xuan Long soundlessly stopped ten paces away from the two, staring at them in awe.


    A''Yu... A''Yu was the name Yan Yuan had called in his dream.


    It turned out that A''Yu was not a fox, but a human being.

 CH 39

    Tears In Eyes


    The man on the bed was just as beautiful as the palace maid had described, but he looked too weak and pale, and seeing that he was so breathless that he could not even speak, he knew that he was terminally ill and would not live long.


    Yan Yuan treated him like a precious piece of jade, carefully holding him in his palm, not even willing to speak too loudly.


    Xuan Long had thought that Yan Yuan had treated him well enough, so well that he could not help but offer those feelings as the most important thing in his heart, but at this moment, those good feelings seemed very small compared to the man in his bed.


    Yan Yuan would never be so patient with him, and would always get angry before he could say a few words.


    It turned out that Yan Yuan was not just a child, but that he had given all his tenderness to others and naturally had no more room for him.


    In fact, he was already reluctant to pretend to give him a little bit of his tenderness and act with him.


    The dragon''s breath remained within the body after Ning Zhiyu had taken dragon scales, and it didn''t take long for Xuan Long to realise that the dragon''s breath belonged to him.


    What terminally ill friend... Where is there a terminally ill friend, it''s clearly a couple who love each other deeply.


    Xuan Long has not cried for a long, long time. When he was very young, he did not like to cry much because his mother always beat him, and if he cried, he would be beaten harder and harder. The more he endured it, the more he got used to it, and the more blood he shed, the more he could keep quiet.


    The hardest he ever cried was the day he was expelled from the clan by his mother, who cut off his horns. He cried his heart out, hugging his mother''s legs and begging her not to expel him, that he would be obedient and would go to a corner where she could not see him and he would not bother her.


    His mother''s heart was as cruel as ever that day, and she never softened her heart for him, so the little Xuan Long, who was not even a hundred years old, wandered away from the dragon clan with a badly injured body.


    In the nearly ten thousand years that followed, no matter what happened to Xuan Long, he never cried again.


    What could hurt more than being hurt by one''s own family.


    There is nothing else.


    Until Xuan Long met Yan Yuan. The human smiled so beautifully, like a tiny ray of sunlight coming through a mossy rock crevice, and every morning when he woke up, he always felt that the world had changed.


    He was happy to serve Yan Yuan, to wash his soiled clothes, to buy his favourite food from the market for him, to make several trips a day without any trouble, as long as Yan Yuan was happy.


    As long as this person was happy, he was not even afraid of pulling the dragon scales off his body alive, and the pain was nothing compared to the weight of Yan Yuan in his heart.


    This was because this weak human was the only being who had been willing to come close to him in nearly ten thousand years. As a result, he carefully nurtured this hard-won relationship, lest this fragile and delicate flower should break one day when he was not aware of it.


    The love between a human and a demon must be much less easy than ordinary relationships. If he was in love, what did it matter if he gave in to that person at every turn? Apart from his life, he would be willing to give anything to Yan Yuan.


    But he never thought that... Yan Yuan''s good treatment of him was all a lie.


    Could it be that... their meeting, getting to know each other, and loving each other, were, from the very beginning, all premeditated...


    The answer is clear enough.


    When Yan Yuan''s empress became seriously ill and needed dragon scales to heal, he deliberately approached him and tricked him into trusting him so that he would willingly hand over the dragon scales.


    With the words of the medical master and the fox demon ringing in his ears, Xuan Long knew it was time for him to leave, but it was as if a spell had been cast on his body, his feet had taken root and he could not move.


    He hadn''t shed a tear in ten thousand years, but now his eyes suddenly felt a little hot. He stared blankly at the scene of the two people rubbing each other¡¯s faces in front of him, and a strange twinge of pain emerged in his heart.


    He had thought that Yan Yuan was the one who would be soft to him, but it turned out that this was not the case, Yan Yuan''s tenderness had been given to someone else, and his softness naturally belonged to someone else.


    If it wasn''t for the man in bed named ''A''Yu'', Yan Yuan wouldn''t have approached him, and they might never have crossed paths in their lives.


    It was all a sham.


    All the warmth and love that he had once felt was exchanged for dragon scales.


    He was intoxicated and secretly rejoiced like a fool...


    The two people on the bed were oblivious to Xuan Long''s presence.


    At this time, Yan Yuan was thinking about Xuan Long, he wondered why the dragon hadn''t returned after so many days. The previous dragon scales had been consumed a few days ago, and without the dragon scales as a medicine, the prescription was useless.


    Ning Zhiyu''s health was getting worse and worse. Yan Yuan had previously said he would take him to the imperial garden, but now he could hardly even get out of bed and take two steps. Yan Yuan was so impatient, his fingertips softly brushed through Ning Zhiyu''s ink-like hair at the corner of his forehead and he coaxed: ¡°A''Yu, wait a little longer, soon those people will be back from their quest for medicine. I won''t let anything happen to you, you can trust me."


    "Mm." Ning Zhiyu nodded and looked at Yan Yuan, "What kind of medicine is it that is so precious?"


    Yan Yuan saw that his cheeks were thin and as pale as snow, and his heart ached dully. He held Ning Zhiyu''s hand and said in a soft voice, "Didn''t I tell you before that it was a very rare herb that was not available in the palace, and could only be found on the edge of a steep cliff."


    "Mhmm." Ning Zhiyu had doubts in his heart and felt that he was hiding something, but since Yan Yuan did not want to say anything, he did not pursue the matter and said with a weak smile, "Look at me, I have been sick for too long, even my mind is not very bright anymore. It¡¯s good that A''Yuan does not dislike me."


    Yan Yuan smiled along with him and gently pinched Ning Zhiyu''s cheek: "How could I ever dislike you, I treasure you more than anything."


    Ning Zhiyu lifted his hand and wrapped it around Yan Yuan''s neck, pulling him closer, then tilted his head up and kissed him on the lips, his dark eyes fixed on him, and he softly said: ¡°A''Yuan insisted on taking me as his empress. My body is unfit for use, and being a man, I cannot bear an heir, so you are at a great loss with me."


    Yan Yuan propped his arm at Ning Zhiyu''s side and raised his hand to caress his brow: "Where does this come from?"


    Ning Zhiyu hesitantly said, "As an emperor, without an heir, the ministers must not..."


    Yan Yuan raised his hand and held his index finger over Ning Zhiyu''s white lips, "Shhh."


    Ning Zhiyu suddenly stopped speaking.


    Yan Yuan''s hand turned to touch his cheek, his expression serious: "Do not mention this again. It is enough that I have you, what do I need an heir for? When the time is ripe, I will choose a suitable royal son from the royal family¡¯s side branches to be enrolled as one of the princes. If you can have children, I will be happy, but if you can''t, it doesn''t matter. I don''t even want to look at a child born to someone else."


    Ning Zhiyu did not say anything for a long time.


    Yan Yuan looked at his appearance and smiled, "What? Are you going to cry? Silly A''Yu, I love you, so naturally I have to treat you with all my heart and soul."


    "I am afraid that A''Yuan will regret it later, I am not as good as you think, how can I, Ning Zhiyu, be worthy of your imperial dignity and treatment..." Ning Zhiyu said dumbly, circling Yan Yuan''s neck.


    "If I say you are worth it, then you are worth it." Yan Yuan leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.


    In his previous life, Ning Zhiyu died in his arms. Yan Yuan did not know why he died, but his intuition was that it was for him. Since that was the case, in this life, he would protect him and cherish him instead.


    Not far away, Xuan Long watched Yan Yuan''s smile with a frown. He should have been happy to see how happy he was with that man.


    But this was not the case, and the sadness that welled up in his chest almost overwhelmed him.


    Standing still in a self-abusive manner, he slowly started waking up from that big dream...


    Ning Zhiyu used to love to read poetry and books, but now that he is ill, he rarely even reads books anymore, so Yan Yuan sits on his side of the bed and reads to him to lull him to sleep.


    This is what Yan Yuan and Ning Zhiyu are used to doing, and it is naturally much more delicate than dealing with Xuan Long. After all, Ning Zhiyu is the Prime Minister''s son, so they had a lot to talk about. Although he is not favoured, he has been taught by a teacher and is not lacking in literary skills. Unlike Xuan Long, who is not good at mundane things, and who seems lacklustre.


    For Yan Yuan, his few uses are for indulging in lust, or for being a fresh medicine.


    Before falling asleep, Ning Zhiyu vomited blood, soiling the bed. Yan Yuan''s heartache was obvious, and his eyes were red. The palace staff bustled in and out, bringing hot water to help clean up Ning Zhiyu''s blood and tossing and changing the clean mattress.


    There is a difference between living beings, and Xuan Long has known this since he was a child.


    For example, his mother hated him, but loved his siblings very much.


    Another example was that of Yan Yuan at that time. He felt a lot of pain for that man, while he had pulled so many scales and shed so much blood, but he did not see how much Yan Yuan cared.


    After all, they were different.


    After Ning Zhiyu had fallen asleep, Yan Yuan brought Chen Yan in, fished an ink-coloured dragon scale with a silver glow out of his sleeve, and handed it to him, "Go personally, grind this dragon scale into powder and add it to A''Yu''s prescription, boil it and send it here. Be careful, it''s the last piece, if you mess it up, I''ll make sure you''re punished."


    It was Xuan Long''s inverse scale.


    A beautiful dark green braided rope was attached to the moon-white scale, a gift from Xuan Long to Yan Yuan, but to Yan Yuan, it should have no meaning, otherwise why would he not have hesitated when he handed it out, without even a trace of expression on his face.


    The little light left in Xuan Long''s dull turquoise eyes faded with Chen Yan''s departure.


    He fished out the iris jade pendant from his chest pocket and rubbed it gently in his palm. It was given to him by Yan Yuan, and he said that if he accepted this token of love, he could not change his heart for the rest of his life, and he had never changed his heart.


    But had Yan Yuan ever been sincere with him?


    Xuan Long felt that he should perhaps be as ruthless as Yan Yuan, and smash this ridiculous jade pendant to the ground, thus ending their relationship, or show himself and confront Yan Yuan in person, asking him why he had deceived him.


    However, remembering all that had happened in the past, remembering the moments of warmth Yan Yuan had given him, Xuan Long could not do so, and he was not the type to make a fuss. He held the jade pendant in his hand and left Luanfeng Hall as quietly and as feebly as he had come.


    When he lifted his head, there were tears in his cold turquoise eyes.


    Fortunately, no one saw him, and his wishful thinking wouldn''t look too ridiculous.

 CH 40

    Never See Each Other Again


    Xuan Long did not leave the palace immediately.


    He went back to Qiankun Palace.


    Xiao Dezi was very surprised to see Xuan Long suddenly come in from outside the courtyard and appear in front of him.


    For the last ten days, he knew that Xuan Long was not in the palace, as to where he had gone, Yan Yuan naturally would not tell him. If he had not left through the main door, then he must have gone through a secret passage inside the palace, and it was not strange that there was a secret passage leading to the outside world in the emperor''s bedchamber.


    Xiao Dezi greeted him with a lurch, ¡°Young Master Han, you''re back?"


    "En." Xuan Long replied without pausing his steps.


    He was dressed in a black robe, with his usual black hat on his head, and with his tall figure, it was hard for Xiao Dezi not to recognise him.


    "Where have you been all these days?¡± As soon as the question was out of his mouth, Xiao Dezi realised that he had overstepped his bounds, for even though Young Master Han had no name and no title, as the person on the emperor''s bed, he was still half his master, so it was not his place to ask. Fortunately for him, he did not bother with him and only said tiredly, "Please go and tell him that I am back."


    Then Xuan Long entered the door.


    Xiao Dezi answered behind him and left to inform Yan Yuan.


    During these days when Xuan Long was not in the palace, the bedchamber was cleaned every day on time. All the furnishings were still the same as before, and every corner was scattered with memories of him and Yan Yuan, sweet and sour, bitter and spicy, but in Xuan Long''s eyes, they were all sweet.


    Now that he has been away for just seven or eight days, when he returned, his state of mind has changed dramatically.


    No matter how beautiful his dream was, it was only a false illusion crafted by that person, but why did he still want to seek an answer from Yan Yuan even though he already knew it?


    He had to have that person admit it himself.


    Xuan Long sat down at the table and slowly placed the jade pendant in his hand on the table.


    Yan Yuan came quickly, pushing open the door of the hall and rushing in. He looked Xuan Long up and down, and seeing that he was fine and should not have been injured, he opened his mouth and said:


    "Why did you come back so late?"


    "It''s been almost 10 days."


    "Did you get rid of the fox demon?"


    Xuan Long looked up at him, trying to find a trace of affection in Yan Yuan''s eyes, but his face was full of anxiety and impatience, without even concern, so how could there ever be affection?


    Xuan Long withdrew his gaze and replied in a muffled voice: "Not yet."


    Yan Yuan: "Why?"


    Xuan Long looked at the dust flying in the air, "The fox demon''s spiritual power is strong and I cannot get rid of him."


    Yan Yuan frowned, "Don''t you have ten thousand years of Taoism? Could it be that the fox demon''s Tao is even more profound than yours?"


    Xuan Long bowed his head and did not answer.


    Yan Yuan sensed that something was wrong and approached him, "What''s wrong with you? Are you wounded?"


    Xuan Long shook his head.


    Yan Yuan knelt down in front of Xuan Long, took his hand in his lap, and softened his voice, "Then why do you look so unhappy?"


    "......"


    "It''s okay, if you can''t get rid of it, it''s good to just come back safely, I''ll think of something later. I haven''t seen you for so many days, I really miss you, did you miss me?" Xuan Long was very good-tempered, and never used to be angry with Yan Yuan, but there were few times when he was like this. Yan Yuan found it quite strange, so he coaxed him patiently.


    Xuan Long lifted his eyes and looked at Yan Yuan''s beautiful face, then spat out one word: "Never."


    Yan Yuan laughed and raised his hand to tickle Xuan Long''s waist, trying to tickle his skin: "I don''t believe you."


    Xuan Long''s eyebrows furrowed lightly as he stood up silently and avoided him.


    Yan Yuan''s heart suddenly became a little annoyed, he stood up and looked at his back: "What the hell is wrong with you?"


    "If you have something to say, just say it, why are you being so petty? I''m busy with court affairs during the day, so it''s not easy for me to come over here. I haven''t seen you for so many days, and now you''re coming back to give me a scowl?"


    The towering acacia trees outside the window blocked much of the bright light, and even Xuan Long''s back was hidden in the darkness, as if it would disappear in front of Yan Yuan at any moment along with the coming night.


    "You already have an empress, why do you still say... you want to be married to me."


    The man''s voice was so low, so hoarse.


    Yan Yuan should have had many ways to make Xuan Long happy, but at this moment, hearing the other party ask this question, a lot of panic came out of his heart uncontrollably, and his mind was empty for a moment.


    "What?"


    "You already have an empress." Xuan Long repeated the words slowly, "Why do you say that you want to be with me, as husband and wife."


    It was clearly such a faint question, but it seemed like every word was weeping blood, and every word smashed into Yan Yuan''s heart.


    The knot in Yan Yuan''s throat rolled, not expecting this day to come so unexpectedly. He had originally planned to wait for Ning Zhiyu''s illness to be cured, then find a random excuse to send Xuan Long away, but who would have guessed that he would find out in advance.


    With Xuan Long''s nature, he would never have asked if he had not already confirmed the truth of the matter. Since he had asked, he truly knew. It did not matter where he had found out, what mattered was how to appease him, "You know everything?..."


    "Why would you lie to me?" Xuan Long turned his back on him and whispered.


    ¡°A''Po... listen to my explanation." Yan Yuan stepped forward to tug his wrist.


    This time Xuan Long did not hide, he was willing to listen to his explanation, as long as Yan Yuan spoke, he would believe it.


    But such a skillful speaker, who grabbed his sleeve and stammered for a long time, did not say anything.


    "I..."


    When Xuan Long saw how nervous and uneasy he was, he opened his mouth for him, "For the sake of the dragon scales, right?"


    Yan Yuan subconsciously shook his head, "No..."


    Xuan Long''s turquoise eyes were as cold and demonic as usual, so he should not be able to see any emotions, but at this moment, Yan Yuan was staring at those eyes of his and he could sense the pain of the other party from the depths of his heart, as if they had some strange telepathic connection, and even Yan Yuan''s heart inexplicably felt pain.


    He deeply understood that if he could not give a reasonable explanation, Xuan Long would definitely leave him. He did not want this man to leave him, and as for the reason, Yan Yuan instinctively attributed it to Ning Zhiyu.


    "I admit that at first I approached you for the dragon scales, but later, during the time I spent with you, I have long since fallen in love with you... A''Yu is my legitimate empress. I have a guilty conscience towards him, and thought that if I could cure him of his illness and feel less guilty, I would be able to be with you in the future with peace of mind. I was afraid of your anger, so I didn''t dare to tell you, I only dared to claim that it was a friend who was sick and needed dragon scales. You must have listened to some slanderous rumours and misunderstood me..."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and pulled his hand back from Yan Yuan: "... You are still lying to me."


    "I''m not! Really not! A''Po, believe me, I''m not lying to you." Yan Yuan fiercely hugged Xuan Long''s waist from behind, his voice a little hoarse.


    Xuan Long tilted his head, waiting for the unfamiliar heat in his eyes to subside, his eyes falling on the window, "I saw it with my own eyes, you were intimate with him."


    "I heard... you call his name in your dreams with my own ears. You must have loved him very much to have taken such lengths to deceive me. It must have been very hard for you all these days." Xuan Long had never opened his mouth to say so much to Yan Yuan, who had thought that this moment would come at the time of parting.


    Yan Yuan could no longer find an excuse to explain, so with the panic in his heart, he begged, ¡°A''Po¡­ A''Po... I know I''m wrong, give me another chance."


    Xuan Long lowered his head, looked at the pair of white and beautiful hands circling his waist, and pried them away little by little.


    Yan Yuan refused to let go, so Xuan Long exerted his strength and pushed harder. The two arms shackled him tightly, strangling Xuan Long''s abdomen with a dull pain.


    Xuan Long''s face turned white: ¡°... Let go."


    "I won''t let go, you''ll leave if I do, won''t you?" Yan Yuan''s chest pressed against Xuan Long''s back and he spoke with a sobbing voice, "I forbid you to go, I forbid you to leave me."


    Even Yan Yuan himself didn''t know why he was so upset.


    It was as if Xuan Long''s departure had emptied his heart.


    Xuan Long could have pried Yan Yuan away with a little spiritual power, but he still could not bear to hurt him. Bewildered, he spoke, "You lied to me, why do you still want to keep me?"


    "I don''t care, I just won''t let you go." Yan Yuan''s childish nature was starting again.


    He always treated Xuan Long with such recklessness, and Xuan Long had never been able to deal with him.


    Not in his last life, and not in this one.


    "Just let go, I have something for you."


    Yan Yuan vaguely guessed what was going on, and slowly let go of his grip.


    Xuan Long walked over to the table, and with a flourish of his hand, he conjured up the black iron dagger he was used to, then lifted up the left side of his wide sleeve robe, revealing a length of his arm.


    Xuan Long''s body easily arouses one''s sexual desire. His waist and abdomen were smooth and tight, and he would unconsciously tense with Yan Yuan''s intrusion. His hips were firm, his legs were straight and slender, and his arms were naturally as good as exquisite works of art.


    Yan Yuan watched his actions in bewilderment as Xuan Long''s palm slid over his left arm and the soft skin was covered by a layer of hard mystical scales. With the sharp edge of his blade, he cut off a piece of dragon scale and put it into the ink-coloured wooden box that had just been set on the table.


    Then came a second, a third, a fourth... That beautiful arm gradually became a bloody blur, with blood dripping to the ground from the tip of the blade. Xuan Long''s face was ashen, his thick black eyelashes trembling slightly from the pain, and his breathing getting heavier and heavier.


    In the past, he was afraid that Yan Yuan would worry about him, so he plucked the scales behind his back, but now he knows that Yan Yuan will not worry about him, so there is no need to avoid it. The reason he stayed like this is for the dragon scales, so he gave them to him.


    From now on, he will never be moved by anyone again.


    ¡°A''Po... " Yan Yuan stared at Xuan Long''s action. He felt that he should stop him, but when he thought of Ning Zhiyu, who could not even get out of bed yet, he was like a wooden man who could not move.


    Xuan Long plucked dozens of scales in a row, maybe thirty, maybe forty, or perhaps even more, Yan Yuan didn''t count them. In any case, he had nearly plucked all of the scales from his entire arm, and without the scales covering it, it was just raw flesh and blood, and the air was filled with a strong, cold fragrance.


    Xuan Long''s face did not change as he shook down his sleeve to cover his injured arm. His right hand picked up the wooden box on the table and handed it to Yan Yuan, saying in a low, mute voice, "The scales from my heart are gone, the ones from elsewhere are weaker, but they are better than nothing. Take it."


    ¡°A''Po..." Yan Yuan blinked, and tears rolled down his face.


    Xuan Long was clearly struggling to even speak himself. He raised his hand, using his sleeve to awkwardly wipe Yan Yuan''s tears, whispering, "Don''t cry. I know you have difficulties, I don''t blame you."


    "Then don''t go..." Yan Yuan said in a trembling voice as he leaned in to hug him.


    Xuan Long shook his head and pushed him away gently, "Although I don''t blame you, in the future, I don''t want to see you again."

 CH 41

    Leave


    When a person wants to leave, the other party can not keep them.


    Not to mention the fact that Xuan Long is a demon that could go to Heaven and Earth.


    Yan Yuan could no longer tell whether he was anxious that Ning Zhiyu would henceforth be without medicine, or whether he could not let go of Xuan Long. In short, he just did not want to let Xuan Long leave him, and as soon as he thought that this man would completely disappear from his life, his whole being was in turmoil.


    The emperor of the generation was, at this time, crying very indecently. His thick eyelashes were stuck together with tears and his peach blossom eyes were occupied with despair. He chased after Xuan Long and grabbed his sleeve:


    ¡°A''Po... don''t go. Don''t go."


    "I really know I was wrong, I shouldn''t have lied to you."


    "If you care about your title, I will make you a concubine, how about that?"


    "The imperial concubine is also as rightful as the empress, didn''t we agree that we would stay together for the rest of our lives?"


    "You are not allowed to go... I am not allowing you to go."


    Xuan Long was dragged and had to turn around to look at Yan Yuan, who was much taller than him and was still crying like a child, with tears all over his jade-like face, he really had no image at all.


    Xuan Long looked away and spoke with downcast eyes, "You know I... don''t care about that."


    Yan Yuan spoke dully, "I know you don''t care, but don''t you like me? Then let us continue to be together.... You must not leave me, if you go, what shall I do later."


    Xuan Long refused to look at him, "You already have an empress."


    "That''s different... you and him, you are different from him...¡± Yan Yuan bent down to grab Xuan Long''s hand.


    Xuan Long turned slightly to the side, avoiding Yan Yuan''s touch.


    ... It was indeed different.


    Yan Yuan treated his empress with genuine love, while treating him with nothing but deceit, demands, and exploitation.


    ¡°A''Po..." Yan Yuan stiffened and stood up straight.


    With his beloved showing such a vulnerable look in front of him, there was no way Xuan Long could not be upset. However, perhaps it was because his heart was too small and his eyes could not tolerate sand, he could not pretend that nothing had happened after experiencing those things.


    Even if Yan Yuan loved him, he could not share his love with another person.


    Besides, Yan Yuan did not love him.


    The wind from outside the window rushed into the hall, brushing across Xuan Long''s face. His long hair hanging down in front of him moved slightly, and blood dripped down from his left sleeve robe, falling onto the dark wooden floor.


    "It has come to this... us, let''s forget it."


    Yan Yuan choked back a sob, "Can''t forget, how can I forget about it?"


    "You promised me, you promised that no matter how big a mistake I made in the future or how badly I treated you, you would forgive me for once, how could you go back on your word?"


    "You can''t break your promise... you can''t lie to me."


    Xuan Long: "¡­ You were the one who broke your promise first."


    You lied to me first.


    It was the token of love that I gave you that was used as a medicine for someone else.


    His most precious heart was trampled underfoot by this man at his own will...


    The place he once longed for had become a sad place. Xuan Long no longer wanted to stay any longer. He mechanically turned around, his eyes sweeping over the furniture and ornaments in the hall. Looking at those familiar objects, his eyes darkened like a pool of dark turquoise stagnant water, with no more light.


    He foolishly thought that wherever Yan Yuan was, there would be a place for him.


    It turned out that he was wrong.


    To this day, he was alone after all.


    Only that dark, thousand-year-old pond could give him a place to stay.


    It was time to leave.


    When Xuan Long lifted his legs to leave, Yan Yuan was afraid that he would disappear as he had before, so he rushed up and hugged him from behind, refusing to let go of his hand, crying so hard that his body trembled.


    "A''Po¡­ A''Po ......"


    "Don''t go..."


    "You are not allowed to leave me, you are not allowed to leave me..."


    Xuan Long didn''t hesitate anymore, he used a little bit of spiritual power in his hands and easily broke Yan Yuan''s hands away. Yan Yuan fell on the ground and hugged Xuan Long''s legs.


    "You are not allowed to leave..."


    "You are not allowed to leave..."


    He cried such pitiful tears, as if he really couldn''t bear to part with Xuan Long. Xuan Long was at a loss for a moment, but eventually he bent down and wiped his fingers across Yan Yuan''s face, speaking hoarsely, "You are no longer a child. In the future, don''t cry like this again."


    Yan Yuan took the opportunity to grab Xuan Long''s hand. At that very moment, Xuan Long saw a blue light flashing across Yan Yuan''s palm, and then a pale blue iris slowly blossomed in that palm, like the wings of a butterfly, which was so vivid that Xuan Long froze.


    He took Yan Yuan''s hand in a daze and stared at his palm.


    A memory so faint that it was almost gone gradually reappeared in his mind...


    Nearly ten thousand years ago, he was expelled from the dragon clan after his mother cut off his horns. He left the dragon world in despair, dragging his severely injured body with him, but before he could get down the mountain, he fainted halfway.


    The rain that day fell so heavily and unmercifully on his weak body that he never got up after he fell.


    He thought he was going to die.


    Just as he was about to slip into unconsciousness, a blurred figure appeared in the rain... The man was dressed in white, held an ink-coloured oil paper umbrella, and was walking towards him on the muddy mountain path.


    He was so badly injured, with the exception of the broken horn, and covered in bloody whip marks, that no matter how hard he tried to keep his eyes open, he could not see the man''s face.


    All he could remember was that the man crouched down in front of him and his slender hand gently touched his head. The man''s voice was so gentle that it made him feel warm in the pounding rain, and the man said, "Little dragon, don''t be afraid, I won''t hurt you."


    He saw that the man''s hand flashed with blue light, and in his palm was a pale blue iris that blended perfectly with his skin, as if he had been born with it, and it was beautiful.


    That was the last memory he had before he passed out, and when he woke up again, the rain had passed and his wounds had been bandaged. Although the herbs the man had put on him had done little to help, they had managed to stop the bleeding and keep him alive.


    The beautiful oil-paper umbrella was left behind to shield his huddled body from the storm overnight.


    He was too weak to defend himself, and after leaving the Dragon Clan he was nearly caught and skinned by Taoist priests several times. After finding the thousand-year-old pond for shelter and cultivating some Taoist skills, nearly a hundred years had passed when he entered the mortal world again.


    He tried to use the scent on the oil paper umbrella to find the human being who had saved his life to repay his kindness, but after many unsuccessful attempts, he knew that the person was no longer alive.


    Ten thousand years have passed, and the dynasties on earth have changed countless times. The long river of time flowed slowly, enough for many things to fade away, but there are some things that will never be forgotten.


    For example, this pale blue iris in Yan Yuan''s palm is exactly the same as the person who saved his life in the past... Xuan Long recognised it at a glance.


    Yan Yuan was still crying when he saw Xuan Long staring at his palm, so he moved over to look at it, and when he did, he was frozen himself.


    Yan Yuan drew back his hand, sat up on the ground and rubbed his thumb hard on the petals of the flower in his right palm. However, the iris was fused into his skin and could not be rubbed off at all. He bewilderedly said, "What is this...?"


    Xuan Long looked at Yan Yuan. He was wearing a white ink cloud patterned robe and he was really beautiful, but his pair of peach blossom eyes were pitifully red... Beauty is beautiful, but his face has not lost the heroic aura that a man should have. A strand of black hair fell in front of his forehead, and his aura was full of nobility. Perhaps because his skin was too white, his cheeks and nose turned red when he cried, as if he had suffered a great deal of grief.


    This was his lover.


    The benefactor who had saved his life.


    It turns out that fate does not play tricks on you, it''s just that... everything has a destiny.


    In his previous life, Yan Yuan saved his life and sowed karma. He did not repay his kindness, but now he has to repay it in this way...


    ¡°A''Po... what is this?" Yan Yuan looked at Xuan Long.


    Before today, this iris flower mark had never appeared on his hand, so he subconsciously thought it was related to Xuan Long.


    Xuan Long shook his head and stood up.


    He didn''t know why this flower appeared on Yan Yuan''s hand, but it was probably just like the ugly birthmark on his face, which was imprinted on his soul and would be carried with him even during reincarnation. Some people have done something wrong in their past lives and deserve to be punished for it, so they have a hideous scar, while others have done something good and deserve to be identified at a crucial moment, so they have a beautiful iris flower.


    Xuan Long thought that Yan Yuan should be the latter.


    In this regard, what this person had done to him earlier was nothing, he merely tricked him out of many dragon scales and took away some of his heart. If this person had not reached out to save him, there would be no Han Po standing here today.


    Han Po... Han Po.


    This is a very nice name.


    If it wasn''t for Yan Yuan, he might not even have a name, living in this world, like a rootless wandering soul, with no living soul willing to even look at him.


    That¡¯s all... nothing more...


    It''s time to be satisfied...


    Xuan Long turned around. The sky outside became dark at some point, and night was approaching. The hall had not yet been lit, and his back was lost in the darkness, causing Yan Yuan''s heart to feel a bit uneasy.


    "A''Po..."


    "I''m leaving." Xuan Long spoke in a low voice, not turning around.


    He hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something more to Yan Yuan, telling him to take care of himself, but then he thought, as Yan Yuan is an emperor, he has many people waiting for him in the palace, so why should he worry about him?


    Then he walked forward, and his figure disappeared in the hall.


    Yan Yuan clambered up and hurried forward a few steps, calling out undyingly, ¡°A''Po¡­ A''Po..."


    The dragon was truly gone.


    The hall was empty, he was the only one, there wasn''t even a trace of half a shadow.


    ¡°A''Po!!! A''Po!!!"


    ¡°A¡¯Po!!!!"


    Yan Yuan stumbled around the hall like a headless fly, shouting Xuan Long''s name, imagining that he would appear when he heard his voice as he had done before.


    But not this time.


    Xuan Long was gone.


    He was angry with him.


    He would never come back.


    Yan Yuan fell to the ground, tears streaming down from his eyes. The eunuchs outside the hall heard his heartbreaking cries and knocked anxiously on the door to ask him what was wrong, but Yan Yuan heard nothing.


    He wondered why Xuan Long had left.


    Maybe it was because he had treated him so badly... He had always bullied Xuan Long, in bed and under the bed, knowing that the stupid dragon was not as pain-sensitive as he said he was. It''s not that he''s not afraid of pain, but he pretends he doesn''t know, and he torments him as much as he can because he''s boring and won''t cry out in pain.


    Anyway, he is a demon, a demon with 10,000 years of Tao, and a small injury will not kill him.


    But demons can also bleed and be afraid of pain... Just now, Xuan Long had bled a lot.


    This is the first time Yan Yuan has seen Xuan Long pluck so many scales. In the past, he did not allow him to see¡­ how much blood Xuan Long had shed and how much pain he had endured alone.


    No wonder he wanted to leave.


    He treated him too badly.

 CH 42

    Made for Each Other


    The blood loss caused a vague pain in his abdomen and dizziness. Xuan Long lost his strength before he could fly out of the palace and he had no choice but to stop in the imperial garden, taking his human form under a huge tree and holding onto the trunk, barely able to stand still.


    The cramping pain in his abdomen gradually intensified. Xuan Long covered the small of his back and slowly slid to his knees, "Hmm..."


    "Hey, are you okay?" A white light flashed mid-air, and the fox demon who had been following Xuan Long for several days finally couldn''t help but show up and hurriedly bend over to help him.


    Xuan Long turned his head to look at Hu Le after a moment and mumbled, "Why are you here?"


    Hu Le saw that his face was pale and his heart clenched as he said, "Why can''t I be here, are you the only one allowed to be here?"


    Xuan Long dropped his eyes in silence, he was too ill to argue with anyone.


    Hu Le''s brows knitted together, "You are a dragon with at least ten thousand years of Tao and you can''t even detect that I, a fox demon with just over two hundred years of Tao, am hiding beside you. To get yourself into this state for a human, you¡­ you are just stupid."


    "As stupid as my brother."


    Xuan Long drew his hand back from the crook of Hu Le''s arm and stood up with difficulty, holding onto the trunk of the tree.


    "Now you believe what I''m saying. All human beings approach demons with ill intent."


    Xuan Long did not pay any attention to him and turned to go. His steps were weak and he walked extremely slowly, as if he would fall down in the next moment.


    The night was dark and a light rain fell from the sky, hitting Xuan Long''s shoulders and hair and staining his eyelashes.


    Hu Le hurriedly followed him and grabbed Xuan Long''s arm: "Hey! I''m talking to you!"


    "I heard everything!"


    "That man betrayed you and deceived you! Why didn''t you react at all?"


    He happened to grip Xuan Long''s left arm where it was wounded. Xuan Long grunted and tried to pull his hand back, but Hu Le held on until he felt a strange warmth and stickiness in his palm.


    The demon''s night vision exceeded that of the human race by a hundred times. Hu Le looked down at his palm, which was sticky and covered in blood, "You''re injured?!"


    Before Xuan Long could answer, he grabbed his arm and lifted up his wide sleeved robe. The outer garment was basalt coloured, so the injury was not easily visible, but the inner robe was pure white, and the not-so-smooth fabric stuck directly to the flesh and blood, staining the entire white sleeve bright red.


    Hu Le rolled up the sleeve of Xuan Long''s inner robe a little and saw his arm which was pitted after losing its dragon scales, and his eyes instantly reddened, "How could this happen?!"


    "......" Xuan Long drew his hand back in silence, not wanting to discuss this with him, just wanting to leave this place sooner rather than later.


    Earlier, worried that his trail''s would be discovered, Hu Le did not dare to get too close to Xuan Long, and even listened in the corner of the walls quite far outside the hall, so he did not hear very clearly, but it was enough to let him know the important news.


    Hu Le recalled that dragon scales seemed to be mentioned several times during the conversation between the two men, and his gaze chilled as he took a guess, "It''s that human, isn''t it? He pulled your scales again?"


    "¡­¡­¡± Xuan Long didn''t answer, his figure gradually moving away in the rain. Hu Le stared at his back and said with bitter hatred, "I''ll kill him and avenge you!"


    Hu Le transformed into a nine-tailed white fox and sprinted in the opposite direction. Xuan Long used his body-shifting technique and stepped in front of him, hoarsely saying, "Don''t go."


    Hu Le transformed back into a man with a charming, noble face and gritted his teeth, "Why?! He has treated you like this, do you want to continue to love him?!"


    The rain fell on Xuan Long''s face, which was covered in an ancient bronze and dark gold mask, like a delicate and lifeless sculpture. His dry lips moved slightly and the voice that came out was very weak and hoarse, so much so that he really had to pay attention to hear what he was saying, "It has nothing to do with love. The dragon scales, I gave them to him willingly.¡±


    Hu Le: "Are you insane?!"


    Xuan Long did not move a muscle, and only his eyelashes, which hung with rain, trembled slightly, "He had saved me in a previous life, so we are even."


    "From now on, we are strangers to each other... and won''t meet again."


    When Xuan Long said this, Hu Le could not say anything further. Xuan Long walked ahead, and Hu Le followed him behind.


    "You go on. Don''t follow me anymore."


    Hu Le raised both eyebrows and said angrily, "Do you think I want to follow you, Young Master?¡±


    "...... It''s not as if I''m afraid you''ll die halfway."


    The door to the palace was closed at this hour, but a door for a human could not stop a demon. Xuan Long had no strength to fly, so he took his time. As no one was waiting for him at his place of return, he did not need to rush back as he had done before when he was worried that Yan Yuan might be waiting for him.


    Fortunately, he could return to the cold, dark, thousand-year-old pool whenever he wanted.


    Hu Le knew that Xuan Long was stubborn and didn''t dare to carry him away, but he couldn''t help but chatter to him again:


    "Hey, I''ve heard that there are many delicious snacks in Chang¡¯an. I used to live in Western Hong, this is the first time I''ve been to Chang''an, why don''t we just stay in a house in the city after we leave the palace, and when we''ve had enough of Chang''an''s food, we can go and enjoy the world."


    "I promise you that I will never dig into people''s hearts again and will definitely correct my ways properly."


    "... Do you think that''s good?"


    Hu Le was actually a bit of a wooer, but for fear of rejection, he didn''t dare to make it too obvious. He was so charming that he could even charm himself, but when it came to Xuan Long, he was so rigid that he couldn''t use any of his charming techniques.


    It is true that the IQ of people who fall in love will plummet, and the same goes for demons.


    The most annoying thing was that he had hinted so bluntly, but Xuan Long still did not respond, simply treating him like air. Hu Le couldn''t bear this temper, but when he was about to argue with him, Xuan Long suddenly swayed and fell down.


    Hu Le instinctively caught him: "Hey!"


    "Stupid dragon! Stupid dragon!"


    "Wake up!"


    Xuan Long''s face was as white as paper, his eyes were tightly closed and he had passed out.


    "Damn it.¡± Hu Le cursed under his breath as he picked Xuan Long up in his arms and flew up.


    ¡­¡­


    Three days later, Xuan Long woke up with a low cough, covering his lips. He sat up, propped up on the bed, just as Hu Le pushed his way through the door.


    "You''re awake?"


    Hu Le was carrying a turquoise medicine bowl in his hand, and his eyes showed surprise. When he saw that the bandage on Xuan Long''s left arm had turned red, his face changed and he hurriedly put the bowl on the table, went over, grabbed his hand and put it down, frowning, "Don''t use this arm, it''s barely healed and the wound is breaking open again because of you."


    Xuan Long''s basalt robe had been replaced and he was now wearing clean white profane clothes, so it was clear that Hu Le had saved him again. Xuan Long looked up and around, "Where is this?"


    "An inn in Chang''an City, a few days ago? You suddenly fell into a coma, so I took you to stay in a random inn."


    The place was elegant. Excluding the bedroom, there was also a welcoming room outside, which was very spacious and on the top floor.


    When Hu Le saw that Xuan Long did not speak, he explained awkwardly, "Don''t worry, I didn''t steal or rob, I saved all this money from before."


    As for how it was saved, it was naturally from the hearts of those rich merchants and businessmen who were full of fat. Those wealthy merchants had stolen many layers of skin from the commoners, so he had done his part to remove the evil spirits.


    Hu Le watched Xuan Long''s expression carefully, fearing that he would hate him for it, but in fact, Xuan Long''s mind was empty and he hadn''t thought of anything.


    "Many thanks."


    "No need to thank me, I''m happy to save you, Young Master." He turned to the round table and brought over a bowl of medicine, scooping a spoonful to Xuan Long''s pale lips, and spoke softly, "I have asked the healer to come and see you, and he said that you are in a very bad state. If you do not recuperate properly, not to mention the child, you may lose your life. This is an elixir that is good for the recovery of wounds, so drink it quickly."


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, then took the bowl of medicine and tilted his head, drinking it down in a few gulps.


    Hu Le took the empty bowl of medicine back and, finding the blood on his arm an eyesore, muttered, "The old wound on your heart has not yet healed, but you have added a new one to your arm."


    The dragon and the fox stayed in the inn for the time being. Xuan Long liked the quiet and hated to go out, and apart from his encounters with Yan Yuan, he hardly ever went out of the thousand-year-old pond, as the bright daylight made him feel that his ugliness and inferiority could not be hidden, even if he wore a mask. Therefore, he spent years and years hiding at the bottom of the dark pond, not willing to disturb any living creature.


    Having thought that his long life would be spent in such endless loneliness, Yan Yuan''s appearance brought a brief moment of joy to his bitter and tasteless life.


    For the first time, someone said they liked him and were willing to treat him well. Even if this was nothing to ordinary people, to Xuan Long, it was a rain from Heaven, a pool of clear water for a traveller in the desert who was about to die of dehydration. In such a situation, even if it was a mirage, he would have jumped at it.


    Although he had an ugly scar on his face and a lonely and uninteresting personality, there was at least one person who liked him, and that was enough.


    But in the end, that person''s love was never real.


    Xuan Long became more sullen because of this. Perhaps because he had a foetus in his belly, he always slept during the day, but at night, he loved to sit by the window in the outer room, watching the lights of the city and the crowds of people.


    Ten thousand lamps were burning, but none of them were lit for him.


    The market outside the inn was the busiest area in Chang''an, and most of the vendors downstairs were selling Qixi Festival gifts, such as jade, knots, fans, handkerchiefs... and much much more.


    Xuan Long looked at those pairs of men and women with smiling faces, and his icy-turquoise eyes were slightly lost in thought.


    In a trance, a familiar figure suddenly came into view.


    The man was dressed in a navy blue brocade robe with a jade crown on his head, and his handsome face was particularly striking in the crowd.


    He was carefully protecting Ning Zhiyu, who was wearing a white robe beside him, as he crossed the crowd and stopped in front of a small stall.


    The street market was too noisy for Xuan Long to hear what the two men were saying, but he saw them talking and laughing in front of the stall. Yan Yuan''s face wore his long-lost gentleness, and the two men looked down and picked up something. Finally, Yan Yuan picked up a silver hairpin from the stall and inserted it into Ning Zhiyu''s hair, and they smiled at each other.


    Made for each other.


    Somehow, this phrase suddenly came to Xuan Long''s mind.


    Translator Notes


    Hey guys! I have recently acquired an uncensored version of the raws for this book thanks to one of my amazing readers. I will be using that to translate from now on and will be going back to add in parts that were censored in previous chapters. If I update a previous chapter, I will send a notification over my discord server. I will start by updating chapter 7 tonight.


    Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

 CH 43

    As Long As You Like It


    It was a beautiful painting, the other people were only a backdrop, and the only people who caught Xuan Long''s eye were the pair.


    It was hot in the summer and it was probably because of Ning Zhiyu''s poor health that he wore a lot of clothes. With a silver and white cloak over his white robe, his skin was like pale snow and his figure was eloquent. Standing beside Yan Yuan, they were a match made in heaven.


    "Does it look good?" Ning Zhiyu raised his hand and touched the silver hairpin that Yan Yuan had put on for him, and asked with a smile.


    "It looks good." Yan Yuan looked doting, "Anything looks good on A''Yu."


    Ning Zhiyu''s eyes were filled with laughter, "You''re used to coaxing me."


    "Not at all, I am telling the truth." Yan Yuan smiled as he took Ning Zhiyu''s hand.


    Nowadays, the Emperor of the dynasty is married to a male queen, and the wind of Longyang has been gradually accepted by the people, so it is not unusual for two men to hold hands in public. (Angel: Longyang is the term used in multiple terms that refer to love between men.)


    "This gentleman is elegant and has outstanding looks, he will look good in anything. Your husband is not lying to you."


    The word ''husband'' caused Ning Zhiyu''s pale cheeks to flush a little red, and he couldn''t help but look at Yan Yuan.


    "No mistake, he''s my husband." Yan Yuan met Ning Zhiyu''s gaze, smiling on the surface, but in reality, he was a little distracted. "I''ll take this silver hairpin, how much is it?"


    The stall boss quoted a number and the plain-clothed guards behind Yan Yuan stepped forward to pay.


    Hidden in the shadows beyond the reach of mortal eyes, Xuan Long watched as the two backs submerged themselves in the crowd and disappeared from his sight.


    A short time later, in front of the stall that Yan Yuan and Ning Zhiyu had done business with, a man in black clothes wearing a black gauze hat appeared, standing fixedly in front of the stall. When the boss saw that he had looked at it for a long time and had no intention of buying, he asked in a puzzled voice, "This gentleman, do you have something you want to buy?"


    The man was silent for a long time before his hoarse voice came out from under the hat, "Just now...  the silver pin that the gentleman in blue had put on for his beloved, could there be more?"


    The boss understood, lowered his head and picked up a hairpin from the stall and handed it to the man with both hands, "The silver hairpin that that gentleman bought for his lover just now is exactly this one, and it just so happens that there is still one left; this style is an ancient firing technique with a cloud pattern, and it is very delicate and beautiful."


    The man reached out to pick up the hairpin, but stopped before he could touch it. He didn''t know what he was hesitating about, but eventually slowly withdrew his hand. "... Actually, I don''t want it."


    "Then why don''t you look at something else?" The boss said.


    The man shook his head and left as quietly and silently as he had come.


    The boss was busy greeting other customers, so he didn''t care. After about half a cup of tea, the man appeared next to the stall again, perhaps because he saw that the boss was busy, he didn''t come forward and only watched quietly from the side.


    It was strange that the hairpin was so beautiful, but after all this time, it was still lying there in good condition, not having been bought.


    After the boss had sent away a wave of customers, he noticed the man''s figure and took the initiative to call out, "Sir?"


    Only then did the man step forward and gently twirl the silver hairpin with the cloud pattern, asking in a low voice, "This hairpin, how much is it?"


    "Five taels of silver."


    The man raised his hand, fished out an ingot of silver from his chest, and placed it on the stall.


    "Okay, wait for a moment haha, I''ll find the change for you." The boss smiled joyfully.


    "No need." The man dropped a remark, took the hairpin, and turned to walk away.


    The boss looked up: "Eh, Sir..."


    The man''s footsteps did not stop, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.


    The boss rubbed his eyes... and muttered, "What a strange man."


    It is clear that he likes it very much, and after looking at it, he did not buy it. If he was short of money, it would make sense, but that man is so bold that he does not even want the change, so where does he look like a master who is short of money?


    Strange. Strange.


    Inside the inn.


    Hu Le came back from outside and was anxious to see that Xuan Long was not there. He was about to go out to look for the dragon when he saw Xuan Long fly in through the window and take his human form inside the room.


    He hurried to greet him, "Where have you been?"


    "I took a casual walk." Xuan Long took off his hat.


    Hu Le was shocked: "Usually you refuse to go out even when coaxed, but today there was no dragon shadow, I thought something was wrong with you, I was worried sick."


    Xuan Long was too weak now, and if he was targeted by ill-intentioned cultivators, it would be very dangerous.


    "I''m fine." Xuan Long turned around and headed for the bedroom.


    Hu Le followed, "Today is the Qixi Festival, everyone outside is paired up, what''s the point of you going to hang out alone? I''ll go with you after dinner."


    "......" Xuan Long did not reply and sat down on the edge of the bed.


    Knowing that he was in a bad mood, Hu Le tried to cheer him up: "I went to the King''s Palace, which is the most famous restaurant in Chang''an City, and all the dignitaries of the human race love to eat there. The chicken really smells good when it''s roasted."


    "Want to eat?" He produced a roast chicken and handed it to Xuan Long, who could smell it through the oil paper.


    Xuan Long shook his head and said in a light voice, "I''m not hungry."


    Hu Le snorted, "I knew you were a picky eater, but I didn''t buy just this one thing to eat."


    He raised his sleeve and with a wave, the rosewood round table not far away was filled with sumptuous dishes, more than a dozen of them.


    Hu Le leaned over and took Xuan Long''s hand, "Let''s go, accompany Young Master to eat."


    Xuan Long smelt the aroma of the food in the room and felt uncomfortable. His already bloodless face became paler and paler, and he pulled his hand away from Hu Le''s hand and turned his back on the bed: "You eat. I''m a little sleepy."


    Hu Le frowned, "You can''t go on like this. How can you be so dull and not even say a few words to me? Even if you are in a bad mood, you must think of the baby in your womb, he will be hungry."


    Xuan Long stared at the snow-white walls inside: "... I am naturally like this."


    He was originally this dull.


    When Hu Le saw that he could not be persuaded, he stopped. Xuan Long heard that there was no movement in the house, so Hu Le must have left.


    The dragons in the clan were right, no one would be able to stand his cold and lonely nature. The little fox had been following him all along, so it was good that he was gone now, leaving him alone.


    After lying there for a long time, Xuan Long took the silver pin with the cloud pattern out of his pocket.


    It was a beautiful piece of jewellery that matched Ning Zhiyu very well. He, on the other hand, was holding this beautiful hairpin, which should not have belonged to him, in his hand, and it looked unconventional and ridiculous.


    He didn''t know why he had bought the silver hairpin, but when he came to his senses, he was already in front of the stall. After thinking about it, he decided that it was not a good idea to buy this hairpin. What did he buy the hairpin for? He didn''t know how to tie his hair and it was useless to buy it.


    Besides, it was a gift from Yan Yuan to Ning Zhiyu for the Qixi Festival, so why would he buy an identical one?


    No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason that should drive him to buy this silver hairpin, so he left.


    But in the end, he went back to the stall and bought it.


    There was no reason.


    He just wanted it, wanted it badly.


    Perhaps that would be enough to pretend that Yan Yuan''s feelings for him were true for a moment. Even for a moment, it would be good, so that he wouldn''t be so upset.


    But why, when he looked at this beautiful silver hairpin, did his heart feel even more uncomfortable?


    After all, those feelings cannot be stolen.


    Xuan Long closed his eyes and put the hairpin back into the hidden pocket of his robe.


    He didn''t know how much time had passed, but the sound of deliberately light footsteps came from behind him, and Hu Le approached Xuan Long with a catlike movement, ¡°A''Po, are you asleep?"


    Xuan Long''s body stiffened when he heard this name, and he slowly sat up, his low voice unconsciously cold: "Don''t call me that."


    "Why?¡± Hu Le instantly exploded. "That human can call you that, can''t I call you that?"


    "......" Xuan Long did not speak.


    He just... hearing this name reminded him of the man.


    Hu Le was quiet for a long time, but finally backed off; this dragon had just suffered an emotional injury, and he was kind-hearted enough not to argue with him. In a small voice, he asked, "... Then what should I call you?"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, ¡°Anything"


    Hu Le tilted his head and thought: "Your name is Han Po, so I will call you A''Han, how about that?"


    "Or Han Han?"


    "Or Po Po?"


    "Which one do you prefer?"


    "All of them are fine." Xuan Long said.


    He replied in such a perfunctory manner that Hu Le was discouraged and did not want to dwell on the subject with him any longer. He spread his hand and a plate of freshly sliced raw fish appeared in the palm of his hand.


    He produced a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Xuan Long, ¡°Hey.¡±


    Xuan Long did not take them and looked at Hu Le in silence.


    When Hu Le smiles wickedly, he looks like a fox, but at this moment, his ice blue eyes look pure, like a 200-year-old fox who is a little nervous about talking to his beloved.


    He whispered, "I went to ask the healer, and he said it was normal for a pregnant demon to be picky about food, he also said that you dragons love fresh fish. I thought about it, you have lived in the thousand-year-old pool for a long time, the fish there must be most to your liking, so I went and caught a few. After removing the guts and bones, only the flesh of the fish was left and then cut into fillets, which are best to eat at this time."


    "... Eat up!¡±


    Only then did Xuan Long notice that Hu Le was all wet. He looked at the fresh fish fillets that glowed a light pink on his plate, each one cut to about the same size, and it was clear that care had been taken.


    "... Why do you treat me so well?"


    Yan Yuan treated him well for his dragon scales, so what about Hu Le... why?


    Hu Le was so stared at by Xuan Long. Not sure what came to mind, his cheeks suddenly reddened, and he suddenly shoved the plate into Xuan Long''s hand, turned, and ran away: "Aiya! I told you to eat it, why are you talking so much? I''m embarrassed..."


    Xuan Long was confused when he saw his figure disappear inside the house.


    Since he had been with Yan Yuan, he had not eaten fresh fish for a long time, and now he really felt a bit greedy. Using chopsticks to pick up a piece into his mouth, he chewed it, and then remembered what Yan Yuan had said:


    ¡°Ei ei ei, how can you eat such raw meat? Only savages and beasts eat such uncooked things--"


    At that time, not long after Yan Yuan was rescued by Xuan Long and returned to the thousand-year-old pond, the two of them sat face to face, Yan Yuan ate food bought by Xuan Long from the market, while Xuan Long ate raw fish caught in the pond. After eating, Yan Yuan was dumbfounded to see him eating with blood all over his mouth, and told him that he should not do so.


    For the first time, Xuan Long knew that it was wrong to eat like that.


    It was wrong for the human race.


    Afraid of scaring Yan Yuan, he earnestly learned from him how to use chopsticks and tried to adapt to human food. He became more and more like a human and understood how to love... but the man''s heart never belonged to him.


    The persistence from before was no longer necessary.


    When Xuan Long thought about all that, he didn''t have much of an appetite, but he still ate half a plate. Hu Le was right, he should think about the foetus in his womb.


    In the future, no matter what... he will have a child with him.


    Half an hour later, Hu Le returned, and Xuan Long was sitting cross-legged on the bed, adjusting his breathing.


    "Here."


    Xuan Long opened his turquoise eyes, only to see Hu Le holding a red sachet of incense in his hand and handing it to him.


    "What is this?"


    "A gift for the Qixi Festival.¡± Hu Le''s ears burned red and his voice seemed a little tight in the dimly lit room, "I saw that everyone else had one, you should have one too."


    "¡­¡­¡±


    When Hu Le saw that Xuan Long didn''t take it, he took the initiative to stuff it into his hand, "It''s filled with spirit grass, it smells good, and it can calm the mind and nourish the baby."


    Without putting the scented sachet to his nose, Xuan Long could smell the pleasant scent, which seemed to really have a calming effect on his mind. His heart warmed as he whispered, "Thank you."


    "You... as long as you like it."

 CH 44

    Jade Shattered


    As the carriage moved unhurriedly along the road, the hustle and bustle of the Qixi Festival faded away, and the closer they got to the palace, the quieter the market became.


    The two of them sat side by side in the carriage, Ning Zhiyu leaned on Yan Yuan''s shoulder and spoke softly to him, but Yan Yuan never responded to him.


    ¡°A''Yuan?"


    ¡°A''Yuan?..."


    Ning Zhiyu called out to Yan Yuan several times before Yan Yuan came back to his senses and turned his head to look at Ning Zhiyu: "... Hmm?"


    Ning Zhiyu sat up and worriedly asked, "What are you thinking about these past few days? You are always lost in thought when you are with me, is it because you have encountered some difficulties in the affairs of state?"


    Yan Yuan smiled, "No."


    Ning Zhiyu looked steadily at his handsome face, and an indescribable sadness rose up in his heart. He felt that although this man was sitting beside him, his heart was getting further and further away from him.


    Today, Yan Yuan had not planned to take Ning Yuan out, but Ning Zhiyu had begged him for a long time, saying that he wanted to go to the temple fair and watch the lanterns like an ordinary couple. Since Ning Zhiyu rarely wanted anything, Yan Yuan could not bear to refuse, and seeing that he was in much better spirits after taking the dragon scales these days, he agreed.


    However, from the day Xuan Long left, his heart never stopped missing him.


    Yan Yuan knew he was wrong to do so, but he simply could not control himself. At first, he was only obsessed with Xuan Long''s body and wanted to make love with him when he was close to him, but now that Xuan Long was gone, his heart was left empty. Although he would not die, he could not stop thinking about that dragon''s face in his mind, thinking about it when he ate, thinking about it when he slept, thinking about it when he dealt with court affairs, even when he was with Ning Zhiyu, he could not help but think about it frequently.


    He knew that the deeper he fell, the deeper his betrayal of Ning Zhiyu. However, if people could easily control their feelings, how could there be so many smitten men and women who would die for love?


    Could... he really be in love with that dragon?


    What about A''Yu, what should he do about A''Yu... Yan Yuan''s heart clenched when he thought of this, but at that moment, Ning Zhiyu suddenly coughed at his side.


    Yan Yuan''s heart was startled and he took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and brought it to Ning Zhiyu''s lips. Ning Zhiyu raised his hand to take it and Yan Yuan gently smoothed his thin back: "Does it hurt a lot?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, covering his lips with the handkerchief and coughing incessantly. The curtain of the carriage was lifted by the wind, and the moonlight penetrating from the window revealed that his face was pale and his eyes were scarlet.


    Yan Yuan was distressed and ordered the guards driving outside to quicken their pace.


    It took a long time for Ning Zhiyu to calm down, and when the white handkerchief was removed from his lips, it was half red with blood.


    Yan Yuan took the handkerchief from him and folded it, using a clean area to wipe away the blood left on Ning Zhiyu''s lips, and said dumbly, "I should never have brought you out. You were fine, it must be because of the wind this evening, now you are coughing up blood again."


    Ning Zhiyu knew that he was concerned about him, so he smiled and lifted his hand to touch Yan Yuan''s warm cheek, saying comfortingly, "This body naturally has its ups and downs, it''s fine, don''t worry about it, A''Yuan."


    Yan Yuan did not want to say heavy words again, so he silently took Ning Zhiyu into his arms. Ning Zhiyu leaned on his shoulder, and remained speechless for a long time.


    "¡­ A''Yuan.¡±


    When the carriage entered the imperial city, Ning Zhiyu called him.


    Yan Yuan looked down: "Hm?"


    "I am very happy tonight." Ning Zhiyu said softly.


    Yan Yuan smiled, his eyes soft: "I am also very happy."


    ¡°A''Yuan." Ning Zhiyu called out to him again.


    "Hm?" Yan Yuan patiently replied.


    "If... you fall in love with someone else one day, don''t tell me."


    Yan Yuan''s body stiffened slightly, "What are you saying?"


    "Nothing."


    The corners of Ning Zhiyu''s mouth lifted in a shallow arc, as relaxed as if he were chatting about what he had eaten this evening. His eyes were as dark as night, with a not-so-heated light burning inside them. Perhaps because of the darkness, the fire seemed extraordinarily alive, yet it seemed like it would go out at any moment.


    "I just want to be happy in my last days on earth. If you fall in love with someone else, don''t tell me, give me a glass of arsenic and send me away in peace. It would be better if you fed it to me with your own hands, and I could die in your arms... which would make me happy."


    Seeing the smile on Ning Zhiyu''s face, Yan Yuan felt dazzled and panicked, tightening his arms to hold him tightly in his embrace, saying hoarsely, "You have really been sick for too long, even your mind is not very clear anymore, always talking nonsense like this. But I will not despise you, you are my empress, no matter what you become, I will continue to love you. How can you say such a thing as giving you poisoned wine? Do you want to make me unhappy and upset?"


    Ning Zhiyu clutched the lapels of his coat and his eyes turned red: "No..."


    He did not want to upset Yan Yuan.


    He just couldn''t accept that the only person in the world who had treated him well was leaving him. If that day came, he would rather be a sober-minded fool than a blind man with bright eyes.


    There was nothing to fear from death, but what was worse than death was watching his beloved go against him. If a person has no hope, death is a very easy thing.


    Yan Yuan stroked Ning Zhiyu''s back and spoke in a warm voice: "I know you are sensitive, and when you are sick for a long time, you tend to have random thoughts."


    "I don''t blame you."


    "If you are tired, go to sleep, I am here."


    Ning Zhiyu could not help but feel the urge to cry. This man had obviously treated him so tenderly, how could he suspect that Yan Yuan had changed his mind? Maybe he really was sick and loved to think wildly, hurting himself as well as his A''Yuan.


    ¡°En." Ning Zhiyu wrapped his arms around Yan Yuan''s waist and leaned against his shoulder, closing his eyes while tears slipped out of the corners of his eyes.


    The carriage stopped outside Luanfeng Palace. Yan Yuan carried Ning Zhiyu and got out of the carriage. When he entered the palace, Ning Zhiyu woke up. Yan Yuan gently put him on the bed, took Ning Zhiyu''s hand and talked for a while, then put him to sleep before he left to attend to today''s pile of government affairs.


    Yan Yuan had not returned to Qiankun Palace for several days, and spent the night either in the Luanfeng Hall or on a small couch in the imperial study. As soon as he returned to the place where he had lived with Xuan Long, he felt empty and desolate, and could hardly sleep.


    He did not expect that a mere demonic beast could leave such a heavy mark on his heart, just like the scratch marks left by a sword passing over a wall; no matter how deep the marks are, they can be repaired to perfection by skilled craftsmen, but what once existed will not be erased forever with the calmness of the surface.


    In the imperial study, Yan Yuan sat behind the desk, looking at the documents on the table. The weasel hair brush in his hand was about to fall, and the ink from the tip of his brush dripped onto the documents, blurring the words on them into a mess.


    Yan Yuan snapped back to his senses, and when he looked around, he saw that the large imperial study was empty, and he was the only one. The unique solitude and silence of the dark night completely submerged him, and he suddenly remembered the clumsy dragon.


    Although the dragon was clumsy, he was really good to him; he would try to coax him when he was angry, he wouldn''t say anything nice, but would only use his actions to prove his sincerity.


    Yan Yuan originally thought he did not care about Xuan Long''s sincerity, the person he loved was A''Yu, what did he need Xuan Long''s sincerity for? He had felt it was superfluous before, but now... it was still actually a burden.


    He cannot betray his promise with A''Yu...


    Yan Yuan put down the weasel hair brush in his hand and took out the iris jade pendant from his chest, the same piece he had given to Xuan Long as a token of love. Xuan Long did not take it with him when he left, and it was left on the table in the side hall of Qiankun palace.


    It is funny that when he chose this jade pendant, Yan Yuan did not use any care, he just asked the eunuch to pick it from the treasury. He just took a random piece and gave it to him, telling Xuan Long that he had chosen it carefully, and then he made him so happy that he even plucked a scale and gave it to him.


    Now that the dragon was gone, Yan Yuan kept this meaningless jade pendant in his pocket, taking it out from time to time to look at it.


    When he looked at this jade pendant, he always wondered whether Xuan Long had once held this jade pendant in his possession, and whether his fingertips had also rubbed the lines on it, thus thinking of him.


    However, no matter how confused he was, no one answered him.


    Xuan Long had left.


    The sky and the sea are wide, will he go back to the thousand-year-old pond, or will he find another place where no one knows about him, where he can hide in peace and quiet, where he cannot be found?


    Yan Yuan''s heart swelled with an inexplicable sadness. He lifted his hand and wanted to throw the jade pendant to the ground to break his undeserved thoughts, but he felt reluctant to do so.


    He had given Ning Zhiyu the inverse scale as medicine, and the only remaining link between him and Xuan Long was this jade pendant, which meant very little to him, but it contained the love that they had shared.


    Even if that love seemed ridiculous to anyone.


    Eventually, Yan Yuan withdrew his hand, but somehow his grip failed to tighten and the jade pendant slipped from his hand extremely quickly, smashing onto the hard tabletop.


    The jade shattered.


    Yan Yuan scrambled to pick up the jade pendant and tried to piece the fingertip-sized fragment of broken jade back together, but he could not do so, and with unease in his heart, he called out in a loud voice.


    "Chen Yan!"


    "Chen Yan!"


    Chen Yan came in and seeing his anxious face, he carefully approached him and asked, "Your Majesty, what is wrong?"


    "Look at this jade pendant, can it be restored to its original form?" Yan Yuan said in an urgent voice.


    Chen Yan looked at it for a moment and truthfully said, "Your Majesty, this jade is broken, I am afraid it cannot be restored. Even if it is repaired, it will still have marks. Aren''t there still many jade pendants similar to this one in the treasury, you should not be in such a hurry."


    "It''s not the same... not the same.¡± Yan Yuan murmured, a sense of foreboding faintly appearing in his heart.


    This was the token of love he gifted to Xuan Long, and since it was a token of love, it was naturally unique, how could another one be the same.


    When he finds Xuan Long later, he will have to return this jade pendant to him. There is no reason to take back what he gave away.


    At this moment, Yan Yuan did not think about anything, only this thought came to his mind.


    However, a broken mirror is difficult to make whole, and so is a broken jade.


    Unless the immortals were alive, this jade would never be restored to its original form.


    Just like a broken relationship, even if you try to restore it afterwards, it will never be the same as before.


    That night, Yan Yuan had that dream again, and when he woke up in the morning, he wept and wet his pillow, drowning in the grief of the destruction for a long time. Even when he ran to Luanfeng Hall and held Ning Zhiyu in his arms, he could not feel at peace.


    Unable to figure out why this was so, he blamed it all on the fact that the heavens had found out that he was conflicted and therefore used this intense pain to warn him to treat his lover well.

 CH 45

    He Had No Choice


    Angel: My parents arrived a little early so I have not had a chance to edit this chapter, but I still wanted to post it anyway, so here it is. I will come back and edit it either tomorrow or Sunday when I have time.


    Half a month had passed.


    Xuan Long was watched by Hu Le day after day, taking his medicine and replacing the bandage on time. He looked much better, and the wounds on his arm and chest had scabbed over and no longer bled from time to time.


    Hu Le was very pleased with this, and seeing Xuan Long, whose face was originally thin, being nourished by himself, he was happy as hell. It had felt good to be taken care of by his brother, but he had never thought that it would be a pleasure to take care of others as well.


    Although Xuan Long still seldom spoke, he was satisfied that there was still a long future ahead of him and he would be able to cheer him up.


    On this day, after lunch, Hu Le changed Xuan Long''s dressing as usual. One dragon and one fox sat on the edge of the bed and Hu Le carefully untied the bandages on Xuan Long''s arm.


    The arm didn''t look as horrible as before, but it was still very frightening. The scab that had formed was a deep red, and was rigidly covering the soft, bloody flesh of the entire arm. Hu Le felt his breath strain at the sight.


    "It hurts, doesn''t it..."


    Xuan Long shook his head.


    A small, flat, white, round porcelain vial appeared in Hu Le''s hand, and he opened the lid, put a pile of light green ointment on his fingertips, and rubbed it on Xuan Long''s wound, his eyes cold and he cursed under his breath, "Damn the human race... Next time I meet that dog emperor, I will beat him to the ground and make him unable to recognize his parents."


    Hu Le had to scold Yan Yuan several times every time he administered medicine to Xuan Long, who was used to it and knew that he was just talking about it and did not take it to heart. But every time he mentioned him, he was still in a trance.


    Hu Le finished applying the medicine for Xuan Long and put the cap on the bottle: "I went to the outskirts of the city today. There is a quiet and elegant house there, it''s very nice. If you like it, I will buy it and add some furniture in a few days, then we will move in, okay?"


    Seeing Xuan Long''s lack of response, Hu Le looked up at him and the whole fox wilted.


    "What''s wrong?... Don''t you want to."


    "I don''t like Earth." Xuan Long spoke in a low voice.


    He had loved this mortal world along with Yan Yuan, but now it still seemed strange and out of place to him.


    Hu Le asked softly, "Then where do you want to go?"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, "In a few days, I will return to the thousand-year-old pond."


    "... And what about me?¡± Hu Le asked blearily.


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment: "You go."


    "Go? Where am I going?¡± Hu Le scuffled to his feet, "My brother is no longer in the world, and I will be a lonely fox if I leave. Are you that cruel? I''ve gone to all this trouble to look after you for so long, and all I get is you kicking me out?"


    "Do you know what you call this behaviour...¡± Hu Le''s demonic, cold fox eyes hardened and widened as he was so angry that he couldn''t say anything straight. "Called, called ungrateful, crossing the river and tearing down the bridge!"


    "The thousand-year-old pool is cold and secluded and dark, not a good place to be." Xuan Long explained, "You won''t like it."


    "Who says I won''t like it?¡± Hu Le said sharply, "What does it matter if it''s darker? I like places that are dark! Besides I have night pearls, even if it''s dark, if I put out a few night pearls, it will be as bright as day, what''s so scary about that? As for the ghostly cold, I didn''t grow this fur for nothing, I didn''t even feel the cold when I lived in the frozen mountain, let alone your thousand-year-old pool, I was born to not be afraid of the cold."


    "But..." Xuan Long hesitated.


    After all, underwater was not a suitable place for the fox race to live.


    Hu Le sat down on the edge of the bed, clutched Xuan Long''s sleeve, and whispered, "But I just want to be with you.¡±


    ¡°Why?" Xuan Long looked at him, suspicion appearing in his icy green eyes.


    Hu Le stammered, "Because... I''m too lonely in this world alone, and I don''t particularly hate you, so I want to keep your company."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and murmured, "I''m so boring, you don''t feel bored?"


    Hu Le quickly said, "Those who are bored with you have shit in their eyes and cannot see the difference between good and bad! I know a good dragon when I see one, I know that you are different from other creatures, you are the best dragon in the world, because you listen to me like my brother did."


    Xuan Long felt amused and couldn''t help but ask lightly, "If I am willing to listen to you, then I am a good dragon?"


    "That''s natural!¡± Hu Le''s icy blue eyes reflected Xuan Long''s handsome face.


    As he watched, his ears grew red and he looked away uncomfortably.


    This stupid dragon was really pretty.


    Xuan Long did not notice Hu Le''s strange appearance, and after a moment, he said, "If you don''t mind, you can come back with me in a few days."


    "Really?¡± Hu Le turned his head over to him and asked with suppressed surprise.


    "Yes." Xuan Long nodded.


    Hu Le''s tail was disobeying him again and he wanted to wag it, but he was a famous fox and he could not lose his image in front of his beloved because of something so trivial, and besides, wagging his tail was an old dog''s act, so he pretended to be calm and said, "In that case, it''s happily been decided."


    In truth, one side of his mouth was going to grin to his ear.


    ¡°En." Xuan Long responded.


    "You can''t go back on that.¡± Hu Le said uneasily.


    ¡°En."


    He had already said it, so he would not go back on it.


    The thousand-year-old pond was spacious enough to accommodate a hundred more Hu Le''s, and he had saved him several times and now had nowhere else to go, so he should take him in.


    Besides, it was good for him to have a living creature for company.


    Hu Le was like his brother.


    In fact, Xuan Long''s real brother was not close to him, perhaps because of his mother''s influence, and not only his clan, but all his siblings disliked him.


    When he was young, they used to gather and bully him, calling him a monster.


    Therefore, Hu Le''s presence was special to Xuanlong.


    Three days later, Hu Le packed his bag, bought a lot of human food and put it away in his spirit sea, and went back to the thousand-year-old pond with Xuan Long with a relaxed mind.


    It had been a long time since he had returned, but everything in the simple cave at the bottom of the pond was still the same as before. The stone bed was covered with the quilt that Yan Yuan had slept on, the stone table had the dishes and food boxes that Yan Yuan had used, and there was even a piece of Yan Yuan''s worn-out clothing still here.


    Xuan Long walked in front, slightly lost in thought as he looked at the familiar scene. Hu Le crossed over to him and interrupted his thoughts, "Wow, so you really didn''t lie to me, this place of yours is too shabby."


    "......"


    Hu Le raised his hand and with a wave, the barren stone cave was instantly transformed into an elegant garden, with a coffee table and screen, a wardrobe and a wooden bed, everything was there, and there was even a turquoise jade tea set on the coffee table. Hu Le went over and sat down, picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of water, drinking it all in one gulp. Then a few treasured night pearls appeared in his hand and were flicked into the air, making the room as lit as the day.


    "How''s that, nice, isn''t it?"


    This was the same courtyard that Hu Le had seen before on earth, and it was now reproduced in its entirety, with decorations a little more elaborate than the inn.


    Xuan Long''s expression did not change as he stood there, not knowing what to think.


    Hu Le stood up and went over to him, asking carefully, "Are you unhappy? I just thought that since you are pregnant now, you should be more comfortable. If you are not happy, I will just change back..."


    "No." Xuan Long shook his head.


    He was just not used to it.


    The place where he had lived for ten thousand years had suddenly become a completely unfamiliar environment, and the scent of Yan Yuan''s life had been erased along with it...


    However, this is good.


    It was time to start a new life.


    In the past, it was just a dream, and when you wake up, it''s time to end it.


    ......


    Luanfeng Hall.


    The windows and doors were closed and the thick curtains and tents did not let in any breeze. Ning Zhiyu was lying unconscious on the bed. The dragon scales were exhausted and the medicine was cut off. In just a few days, he became like this; his face was pale and his breathing was as weak as a dying person.


    "Your Majesty, if we continue to delay like this, I am afraid that the dragon scales will not work." The advice of the imperial physician sounded lowly in the hall.


    Yan Yuan closed his scarlet eyes and waved his hand wearily, "I will think of a solution, you go away..."


    Zong Hua was ordered to retreat. He packed up the medicine chest and walked a few steps, hesitantly turning back to look at Yan Yuan who was sitting on the side of the bed looking at Ning Zhiyu in a daze.


    "Even if the dragon scales are good, they can only delay it, if it is delayed, even with the inner elixir or dragon heart, I am afraid that the best healing effect will not be achieved. Your Majesty..."


    "I am aware of this, you may go." Yan Yuan interrupted him with a wave of his hand, powerless to turn back.


    For half a month, the longing for Xuan Long''s soul and bones had already made Yan Yuan''s life very difficult... It was not so much that it caused him pain, but that the longing followed him like a shadow, haunting him like a ghost or a sprite. If he was slightly distracted, Xuan Long would appear before his eyes, which had seriously affected his life.


    In addition, Ning Zhiyu''s condition had deteriorated dramatically over the past few days, and he was struggling more and more in his heart. When he closed his eyes, he had that miserable dream of his former lover dying in his arms.


    He knew he should go and get Xuan Long back, he should continue to coax that dragon into pulling out its scales to cure Ning Zhiyu, into handing over its inner elixir, but Yan Yuan could not bear it.


    He more or less knew that he was truly moved by the dragon, but he did not know how much of his true heart he had. He only knew that he could not bear it, and every time he thought back to that day when Xuan Long pulled out his scales in front of him, he felt his heart ache.


    His scales, his heart, his inner elixir could have saved Ning Zhiyu''s life. But the price paid was so tragic, he had to shed so much blood...


    If Yan Yuan had a choice.


    He would not do that. He knew he should let the dragon go, the sea is vast and there will always be a place for him, the palace was not the right place for a dragon to be.


    However, he had no choice.


    Ning Zhiyu was dying.


    His lover was dying.


    Even if Yan Yuan had a little bit of love for Xuan Long, that little bit of love was still no match for Yan Yuan''s obsession with Ning Zhiyu in his past life and present life.


    He could not betray his lover, so... he had to be sorry for that dragon.


    In the afternoon of that day, Yan Yuan set out on the road back to the thousand-year-old pond, followed by a few cultivators who were fairly capable. Although they could not catch Xuan Long, they could at least find out if there was any demon breath in that pond.


    The final result was pleasing: Xuan Long did not go elsewhere, but returned to the ancient pond where the two had lived.


    Yan Yuan retreated from the plain-clothed guards and monks behind him, put his hands in a circle at his lips, and roared with all his might into the quiet surface of the pool.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "You''re in there aren''t you-"


    "I know you''re in there, come out-"


    At that moment, Xuan Long was sleeping, as he had done since he got pregnant, and he slept for a long time every day. When he heard that familiar voice, he opened his eyes in a daze.

 CH 46

    I Miss You


    At first, Xuan Long thought he was hallucinating. He often saw Yan Yuan in his dreams these days, dreaming not of what had happened, but of him and Yan Yuan living together in the Nine Heavens Divine Palace, surrounded by an immortal aura, facing each other day and night and enjoying each other''s company.


    The scene in his dream was too good to be true, with Yan Yuan lovingly pestering him, combing his hair and tying it back, and the two of them flirting with each other in the daytime as the immortal cranes swept by outside the hall, their voices singing long and hard.


    Most of them were fragments, which felt real in the dream and imaginary when he woke up. Perhaps it was because he was thinking about it every day and dreaming about it every night, but Xuan Long did not take it to heart.


    The persistent shouting came from the shore to the bottom of the pool, and Xuan Long gradually came back to his senses and finally realised that it was not an illusion, it was Yan Yuan who came.


    Hu Le, who was setting the dishes at the table, looked over at the man who was sitting up in bed and hesitantly said, "It seems that someone is calling you?¡±


    ¡°No," Xuan Long paused in his movement to lift the covers, ¡°you heard wrong."


    Hu Le frowned and placed his chopsticks on the plate, straining to hear, "It''s clear there is."


    There was silence in the room for a moment.


    Hu Le suddenly understood something: "It''s that dog emperor who''s here?!"


    "......"


    Seeing that Xuan Long didn''t say anything, Hu Le immediately confirmed his suspicion, hooking his lips and smiling coldly, "Good for him, the fucking human emperor, I didn''t have to go clean him up, but he came to my door himself. Wait, I''m going to skin him alive to make you soup so he can taste what the pain of plucking scales is like."


    As soon as Hu Le turned around, his form disappeared, and Xuan Long disappeared from the room immediately afterwards, stopping him halfway, "Don''t go."


    The two of them were in the middle of the pool, with fish swimming around them. Xuan Long had come out in such a hurry that he was not even wearing shoes on his feet, his long raven-black hair scattered behind him, his robe and long hair floating slightly with the vivid current, his handsome face expressionless.


    Hu Le saw him in this state and hated him, ¡°Why? He treated you that way, do you really not resent it at all?!"


    Xuan Long''s lips twitched slightly, "If you show yourself in front of people, there will be no peace in the future."


    "Don''t change the subject! You''re just protecting him, you''re still protecting him even now.¡± Hu Le pushed aside Xuan Long, who was in the way, and walked away. "I''m going to kill him! I hate those filthy humans! I hate that they killed my brother and now they''re going to continue to hurt you!!!"


    "......" Xuan Long lowered his eyes and grabbed Hu Le by the wrist.


    Hu Le turned back with scarlet eyes, his eyes themselves were originally ice blue, but now they were blue and red, even more demonic, "Just pretend you didn''t hear anything."


    "I no longer want anything to do with him." Xuan Long''s small fan-like lashes blocked the intense emotions under his eyes, and the sadness that surged around him softened Hu Le''s heart; this man clearly looked tough, but it was always easy to make his heart ache.


    Hu Le frowned, reluctantly pulling his wrist back from Xuan Long''s hand.


    "Never mind."


    "Let''s go back to dinner."


    "We made grilled shrimp and grilled fish for dinner, and we have sashimi, too."


    "Are you hungry?"


    Xuan Long nodded, "Yes."


    So one dragon and one fox went back to their dwelling at the bottom of the pool.


    There were ten dishes on the table covered with a navy blue tablecloth, most of which were food from the water, such as sea bass, crucian carp, grass carp, crab, and shrimp... cooked into a variety of dishes.


    In addition to taking care of Xuan Long, Hu Le loves to think about these things. He feels very happy to cook for his favourite person, but of course he doesn''t show it too much on the surface, after all, he is a noble fox, in the past, it was always others who came to please him.


    The first thing he did at the table was serve Xuan Long. Hu Le took Xuan Long''s bowl and ladled soup into it, then placed it in his hands, "This is clam soup, only found in the sea. Drink it to warm you up before the meal."


    "Thank you." Xuan Long picked up the spoon and drank slowly with his head down.


    Hu Le stared at him and asked, "Are you this polite with that dog emperor too?"


    Xuan Long was slightly stunned and did not say anything.


    Hu Le felt that he had said the wrong thing and hastened to give him a dish to change the subject, "This is braised crucian carp, I ran to a restaurant and stole it, try it..."


    Xuan Long ate quietly.


    Hu Le couldn''t resist asking, "Is it good?"


    "Mmm. Delicious."


    Hu Le was happy, and behind him, nine snow-white fluffy fox tails slowly grew out, dangling at an angle where Xuan Long couldn''t see them, wagging and wagging, and he looked down happily to eat the roast chicken.


    Yan Yuan''s shouting stopped at some point, and Xuan Long was distracted by the meal.


    He had not expected Yan Yuan to come to him.


    He thought the words had been made clear when he left that day.


    Why did he still come...


    On the shore, the cultivator hidden behind the trees walked up to Yan Yuan''s side and whispered, "Your Majesty, this is not the way to go on, we need to use some means to force that dragon to come out."


    "Even if he comes out, what can you do to him?" Yan Yuan said coldly.


    "This..." The cultivator was in a difficult position.


    "I have my own way, you hide in the dark and do not come out."


    The leading cultivator retreated back into the shadows sarcastically. Yan Yuan took a few steps towards the bottomless ancient pond and continued to roar at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°A''Po-"


    ¡°A''Po-"


    "Are you really that heartless ¨C not even willing to see me anymore ¨C"


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "If you really don''t want to see me ¨C I''ll jump into this pool to find you¨C"


    Xuan Long, who was sitting by the window in a daze, froze.


    At this time, it should be late on the shore, and he thought Yan Yuan had left, but he didn''t expect the man to not only not leave, but to also say that he would jump down to find him.


    Without spiritual protection, this thousand-year-old pool was a dead end for the human race. There were so many dark currents in it that if they were swept in, they would be swallowed up in no time.


    Xuan Long''s hands on his lap slowly tightened, and his thin lips pursed. A transparent barrier separates outside the window from inside the house, and outside, fish of different colours weave in and out of the water and grass, so cheerful. He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to listen to that abrasive sound.


    However, in the next breath, the sound of a heavy object falling into the water was heard from the surface.


    "Thud!¨C"


    Xuan Long jerked to his feet.


    "Don''t go.¡± Hu Le appeared in front of him, "I thought you said you had nothing more to do with him, so what does it matter to you if he lives or dies?"


    Right.


    What did it matter to him whether the man was dead or alive when there was no longer any connection between them anyway.


    But he couldn''t... ignore it.


    Even if it was only because the man had saved his life, he couldn''t ignore it... He couldn''t watch the man die in front of him.


    "... I can''t do it." Xuan Long dropped a sentence and disappeared into the distance.


    The shore had fallen into chaos, and Chen Yan, who had accompanied the driver out of the palace, was in a hurry.


    "Your Majesty¨C"


    "Your Majesty¨C"


    ¡°Aiyo! How can the Emperor jump into the pond just like that! This is killing me, you¡­ you guys, what are you still standing there for, why don''t you hurry up and jump in and rescue the Emperor?" In his panic, Chen Yan grabbed a guard and pushed him into the pond, but the guard was so tall and big that he could not be pushed by an old and thin eunuch.


    The guard looked embarrassed: "Eunuch Chen, His Majesty has instructed that we are not allowed to save him, and if I ruin His Majesty''s plan, he will execute the nine clans of my family..."


    "If the Emperor is gone, you, you, you all have to die..." Chen Yan was so anxious that his old face was red and he could not even speak, but he was a dry duck and did not know how to swim, so he could only seize the guards and cultivators here. However, these people had the emperor''s order, no one dared to go down, so they were on the shore, staring in disbelief.


    Chen Yan felt that Yan Yuan must have gone mad, saying that there was a dragon in the ancient pond that could save the Empress''s life, so he did not even want his own life.


    Although Yan Yuan had been trained in martial arts since childhood, he was also a real dry duck!


    That''s right, Yan Yuan could not swim, but he believed that Xuan Long would not leave him alone. It was a trust that started deep in his soul, even if his breath was deprived by the cold water coming from all directions and his lungs seemed to explode, he still believed that Xuan Long would not leave him alone.


    Xuan Long loved him so much, how could he bear to see him die?


    As his body slowly sank, Yan Yuan''s consciousness grew thinner and thinner. His hair spread out and he no longer had the strength to struggle, his light brown eyes reflected the clear moonlight on the surface of the water, his eyelids were so heavy that he could hardly lift them.


    It was a foolish thing to gamble his life on the other party''s sincerity, but Yan Yuan had no choice but to do so, for the sake of Ning Zhiyu... and because he really wanted to see Xuan Long.


    But why is the dragon still not coming...


    Just as Yan Yuan was about to fall into unconsciousness, he saw Xuan Long swimming towards him in the shadows. The moment his body was caught in Xuan Long''s huge tail, Yan Yuan''s breathing was instantly smoother, but his earlier drowning made him very tired, and he closed his eyes at ease, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.


    See, he had won the bet.


    That was the last thought Yan Yuan had before he fell unconscious.


    At the bottom of the pond, Xuan Long marched inside with a drenched Yan Yuan in his arms. Hu Le opened his arms in front of him, his eyes red with a low growl, "You are not allowed in our nest with this dog emperor!"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, ¡°Hu Le..."


    "Me and him, you can only choose one, if you choose him, I will leave now!¡± Hu Le hated the human race, especially this insidious and malicious one who also hogged Xuan Long''s affection.


    "......"


    Xuan Long''s silence cut like a knife into Hu Le''s heart. He dropped his hand feebly and nodded with a cold smile, "I see, this man is important to you after all, and I am nothing compared to him."


    "I am nothing! It''s all wishful thinking on my part!"


    Hu Le shouted at him and flew out the door, Xuan Long looked at him blankly and took two steps after him, ¡°Hu Le."


    With Yan Yuan still unconscious in his arms, and with Xuan Long now pregnant, it was hard to carry such a big man, so he had to move over and put him on the bed first.


    He raised his hand and used some spiritual energy to dry Yan Yuan''s clothes and hair, forcing out the water he had poured into his lungs.


    As Yan Yuan slept through the night, Xuan Long watched over him, recalling what Hu Le had said before he left. He felt a little puzzled, but could not make sense of it, so he had to give up.


    At dawn, Yan Yuan opened his eyes and saw the man in a daze on the side of his bed, and his nose tingled: ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long returned to his senses and his face was flat: "You are awake."


    Yan Yuan suddenly sat up and embraced Xuan Long, resting his chin on his shoulder, and saying mutely, "I knew you wouldn''t leave me alone."


    Xuan Long''s body froze, and after enduring for a moment, he did not push him away: "Why did you come here?"


    Yan Yuan buried his face into the nook of Xuan Long''s neck and sullenly said, "I missed you."

 CH 47

    Hole In Your Brain


    "Miss me for what?"


    "I just miss you, a lot." This Yan Yuan did not lie, he did miss Xuan Long very much, although the purpose of his trip was not pure, ¡°A''Po, I have come to find you to return to the palace, will you come back with me?"


    Xuan Long exerted force to push Yan Yuan away from him and refused in silence.


    Yan Yuan''s heart was hard and he raised his hand to grab Xuan Long''s hand, which Xuan Long dodged.


    "A''Po..."


    "You''re here for the dragon scales, aren''t you." Xuan Long''s low voice rang out in the room.


    Yan Yuan was stunned and looked at him in a breathless manner, without speaking.


    Xuan Long couldn''t bear to see such a look from him, so he turned his face away, leaving Yan Yuan with a cold and silent look, and said in a low voice: "I won''t give it to you. Your empress'' illness has nothing to do with me."


    "Let''s not mention that." Yan Yuan pulled out the iris jade pendant tied with an ink-coloured string from his chest, took Xuan Long''s hand, and placed it in his palm, "Look at this jade pendant, you forgot to take it with you when you left, this time I deliberately brought it back to you."


    Xuan Long looked down to see that the original turquoise jade pendant had an extra rugged gold stripe around the edge. The gold was old, inlaid on the jade, gold and green, delicate and ancient, very unfamiliar.


    "It''s just that I accidentally broke a little fragment of the jade, and the artisan used gold to set the pendant together. It¡¯s not the same as before, but it looks better than before. The gold inlay is also excellent."


    Xuan Long silently withdrew his hand, "It''s not that I forgot to take it away."


    It was deliberately left behind.


    "This is something I gave you, there is no reason to take it back." Yan Yuan said undyingly.


    "......" Xuan Long was speechless.


    Then does he deserve to be trampled on for what he gave to him?


    "If you don''t want it, then I will throw it away." Yan Yuan went the other way.


    ¡°En." Xuan Long said indifferently.


    Having never been treated so coldly by Xuan Long, Yan Yuan felt uncomfortable and uneasy, and he forced a smile, "Then I''d better keep it for you first, maybe you''ll want it one day."


    Xuan Long did not accept his words and did not even want to look at him, "Now that you are awake, let''s go."


    Yan Yuan had never been so aggrieved: "I won''t go. If you don''t come back with me, I won''t go."


    "As you wish." Xuan Long got up and disappeared inside the house.


    ¡°A''Po!¡±


    Yan Yuan got out of bed and chased after him, but he could not catch up.


    His attention was soon drawn to the interior of the house. The last time he came here, the bottom of the pond was a simple cavern, but this time, it had turned into an elegant house. Yan Yuan went to the window and was quite shocked to see catfish larger than a human passing through the water plants, which were ten feet high.


    Having not eaten anything all night, Yan Yuan soon felt hunger in his belly. After looking around the house and not finding anything to eat, he walked out the door and found a charming little courtyard.


    There were large trees covering the eaves of the house, and a larger courtyard beyond the arched door, with rockery, flowing water, birds singing, and flowers scenting the air, and from time to time, there were wandering creatures passing overhead and outside the boundaries on all sides, and the large night pearls floating above which illuminated the otherwise dark courtyard as if it were daylight.


    This should be some kind of illusion used. Yan Yuan soon lost interest and, unable to find Xuan Long in the courtyard, went back inside, wilting and sitting back on the bed, calling out into the air:


    "A''Po."


    "Are you really leaving me alone... I''m hungry."


    "I didn''t have my dinner last night, so if you don''t care about me, I''ll starve to death."


    Xuan Long did not leave the bottom of the pool, and hearing Yan Yuan''s voice, he appeared and took the leftover roast chicken that Hu Le had eaten last night and brought it to Yan Yuan.


    "Eat it."


    Yan Yuan took the roast chicken cut into pieces on a plate, picked it up with chopsticks, and ate a bite. The food from the night before was not as tasty as the fresh food, and as he always had a picky mouth, he tasted the good and the bad in one bite, and could not swallow it.


    "You''re getting more and more perfunctory with me now, even bringing me cold chicken to eat."


    "......"


    This was Hu Le''s favourite roast chicken, he could eat two at one time. Perhaps because he was in a bad mood last night, he had left half of it and couldn''t throw it away, he was going to keep it for breakfast.


    Seeing that Xuan Long¡¯s face was not good, Yan Yuan ate vigorously and switched your words , ¡°Forget it, it''s actually not that bad."


    In fact, it wasn''t that Xuan Long was looking bad, but rather he knew that he was in the wrong, and his heart was weak after doing something wrong.


    "Finish eating and leave." Xuan Long produced a palm-sized black cloth bag and handed it to Yan Yuan, the inside bulging.


    "What is this?" Yan Yuan put down his plate and chopsticks, took it, and opened the drawstring to see that it was dragon scales.


    He froze and looked up at Xuan Long in front of him, finding him unusually pale.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "I know why you are here." Xuan Long whispered, "Take the dragon scales and leave."


    After speaking, Xuan Long turned to leave. Yan Yuan got up and clasped his wrist: "You come back with me, okay?..."


    "Don''t think two thoughts at once." Xuan Long''s back was straight, and between his loneliness and despondency was an unshakeable stubbornness.


    "In the dragon clan, everyone is monogamous. Since you have promised¡­ him, if you want to be together for life, don''t go back on your word."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes turned red and he mumbled, "But I simply like you..."


    It would have been nice if Ning Zhiyu hadn''t had a stubborn disease, if Ning Zhiyu and he hadn''t been entangled in previous lives, perhaps then he would have had a virtuous empress and a beloved imperial concubine, just like an ordinary emperor.


    It''s a pity that Ning Zhiyu will soon die, as he is more important to him than his own life, so the rest of the living beings can only stand aside.


    It is also a last resort to use them.


    "If your like is like this, I don''t want it." Xuan Long said in a low muffled voice.


    Yan Yuan hugged him from behind, and his words were already thick with nasal sounds: ¡°A''Po, don''t treat me so cruelly."


    The dragon scales were plucked from the back of his waist. Yan Yuan''s action touched his wound, causing Xuan Long''s breath to tighten and cold sweat to break out at the corners of his forehead, and he did not move to break Yan Yuan''s hand around his belly.


    "Call me when you''re done eating, I''ll walk you to shore."


    Yan Yuan was not very old, but he was not badly built. Half a head taller than Xuan Long, his iron arms were tightly shackled to him: "I won''t go! If you force me to leave, I will jump down again. You don''t like me anymore anyway, so let me drown in front of you!"


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes, the bottom of his eyes bloodshot: "... Don''t force me."


    "I don''t want to force you... I don''t want to either." Yan Yuan''s lips fell on the crescent-shaped scar on the back of his neck.


    The scar was a little deeper than the skin and was left from plucking the inverse scale.


    While the skin might recover with medicine after the scales were plucked in other places, it would take hundreds of years, or even longer, for a new inverse scale to grow in that area.


    It is so precious.


    The last time Ning Zhiyu was suddenly in good spirits, it was because he had taken this inverse scale that protected the blood of his heart.


    "You are forcing me now." Xuan Long felt warmth on the back of his neck, it was Yan Yuan crying, and he was suddenly unable to struggle.


    This person was always like this, saying things to him that ran counter to his heart and never changing.


    As they came to a stalemate, a white light flashed mid-air and a long silver whip wrapped around Yan Yuan''s waist and stomach, ripping him away from Xuan Long and flipping him violently to the ground.


    Yan Yuan grunted in pain as Hu Le appeared and the whip lashed hard at his body with a strong wind.


    "Roll!"


    In a flash of lightning, Xuan Long dashed over and grabbed Hu Le''s barbed silver whip with his bare hands, falling to his knees. Blood instantly seeped from his fingers, dripping onto the heavy carpet, but he did not utter a word.


    The whip had just hooked on Yan Yuan''s belt and had not injured him, but if it had, it would have cost him half his life.


    ¡°A''Po!"


    Hu Le¡¯s pupils suddenly shrunk, and he dropped the long whip to see Xuan Long''s injury. The sharp silver hook was embedded in Xuan Long''s palm, and blood was flowing like water.


    "Why are you doing this..."


    "Why are you doing this..."


    Xuan Long didn''t say a word and silently drew his hand back. Hu Le wouldn''t let him, carefully pulling the silver hook out of the soft, bloody flesh, tears welling up under his eyes and dripping down his fair cheeks.


    "You''re just stupid, you''re just stupid!"


    Xuan Long closed his eyes, his lower back was aching and his ten fingers were not connected to his heart, he really did not want to talk.


    Yan Yuan rose from the ground and rushed over, ¡°A''Po!!!"


    "Get lost!¡± Hu Le turned his head to glare at him.


    Yan Yuan had never been treated with such impudence by anyone since he was a child. The veins at the corners of his forehead flared and he gritted his teeth, "What are you? What is your relationship to A''Po?"


    Hu Le squatted on the ground, conjuring up medicine and gauze to stop the bleeding and heal Xuan Long''s wounds. His moon white robe hung down to the ground, his eyebrows cold, and the corners of his eyes red, his fierce aura causing all the fish outside the window to hide away, "It is not for you to decide who I am. If you dare to pester Han Po again, I will have your life."


    Yan Yuan''s chest was heaving with anger and he wanted to check on Xuan Long''s injuries, but Hu Le was already helping him, so he was redundant. He felt a little powerless and panicked, and looking at the man''s cold face, he asked, ¡°A''Po, who is he?"


    Xuan Long closed his eyes and ignored him, as if he hadn''t heard.


    Yan Yuan''s hands hanging at his side slowly clenched into fists.


    "Does it hurt badly?¡± Hu Le asked in distress.


    Xuan Long opened his turquoise eyes and shook his head.


    Hu Le gently wrapped the gauze around him in a circle and repented, "It''s my fault. It was my recklessness."


    Even knowing that it was Xuan Long who would be in trouble if he hurt this dog emperor, he had still been so impulsive. But who would have thought that Xuan Long would act in such a way to save that dog emperor, not even caring about himself.


    After wrapping up the wound, Hu Le bent down and picked Xuan Long up from the ground and headed for the bed.


    As Xuan Long was gently placed on the bed, Hu Le realised that the front of his white robe was stained with blood, and he looked up sharply at the man''s bloodless face: "Are you hurt again?"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips and before he could say anything, Hu Le turned him around in a frenzy, using his spiritual power to unbuckle his belt and lift up his robe to see a bloody patch on the back of his waist, with a palm-sized piece of skin missing, a gruesome sight.


    Hu Le broke down instantly.


    "I have been administering your medicine and boiling it on time every day, not daring to slacken off in the slightest, and I have finally managed to get you almost healed, now this dog comes and it''s like this again!!!"


    "Why do you treat yourself so badly? Did you really owe him in your past life?!"


    "Even if he once saved you and plucked so many dragon scales, it should be repaid!!!"


    When Xuan Long saw him crying like this, he was a bit at a loss for a moment and didn''t know how to comfort him: "Don''t cry... I don''t feel any pain..."


    "It takes a hole in the brain to believe your words!" Hu Le choked and sat down on the edge of the bed, conjuring up the healing tools he had used earlier. He first used clean gauze dipped in water to wipe up the blood around Xuan Long''s wound before sprinkling the medicinal powder on it.

 CH 48

    Embarrassment


    "You''re back." Xuan Long allowed him to wrap his wounds and spoke awkwardly.


    Hu Le spoke in a good-natured way, "I''ve only been away for one night and you''re already in this state... If I didn''t come back, there''s no telling what you''d be tossed into."


    "......"


    Hu Le saw that Xuan Long did not say anything, so he knew that the dragon did not know what to say again. He hated in his heart, but his hands moved more and more lightly, and he spoke with difficulty, "I left and you didn''t even come to me, I squatted by the pool and waited for you all night, but you didn''t even get up on the shore, am I really that unimportant to you?"


    Xuan Long: "... No."


    He had never believed that people who really wanted to leave could be held back.


    Although Hu Le''s Tao was shallow, his spiritual power was not bad and he was capable enough to mingle in the world. Instead of staying by his side and staying in this lonely ancient pond, he might be able to live a better life by leaving.


    What reason did he have to keep him?


    "Then why didn''t you come to me?¡± Hu Le asked accusingly.


    "......" Xuan Long pursed his lips.


    "Then if I get angry with you in the future, you must come to me.¡± Hu Le didn''t want to make things difficult for this stupid dragon at all.


    Xuan Long looked at his absolutely charming face, "¡­ Okay."


    "Actually, I just want you to coax me, like my brother did, give me a step up and I''ll come back naturally.¡± Hu Le frowned, squirming.


    "I understand." Xuan Long spoke seriously.


    "Don''t keep getting yourself hurt in the future, okay?¡± Hu Le lifted his reddened eyes. "I''ll worry. You and I are the only ones left in this world, and I don''t want you to get hurt or have anything happen to you."


    "Okay." Xuan Long said.


    It was only then that Hu Le was satisfied. Seeing Xuan Long''s forehead dense with cold sweat and his face becoming increasingly ugly, he frowned sharply, "Is it abdominal pain again?"


    "It''s no big deal." Xuan Long''s expression was flat and his voice was feeble.


    It was obviously caused by the kneeling when he blocked the whip for the dog emperor, which probably affected his abdomen. Hu Le glanced coldly at Yan Yuan, who was standing not far away like a wooden man, and pinned the long hair on the side of Xuan Long''s face behind his ear so that the sharp outline was completely exposed.


    Hu Le took out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat from his forehead, "I''ll go and make some medicine, if you can''t stay up, lie down for a while.¡±


    ¡°En." Xuan Long answered.


    Hu Le put away the handkerchief, got up, and disappeared into the room.


    Yan Yuan thought he knew Xuan Long very well, but he did not expect that after only half a month of separation, Xuan Long had a foxy-looking demon by his side, and it seemed that the two demons were very close. He finally had room to speak now, and nervously approached him, ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long leaned back against the bed and turned his head to look at him.


    "What is your relationship with him..."


    Yan Yuan has always been self-confident and did things with ease, rarely having this kind of downward spiral. Xuan Long didn''t know what it was like in his heart, in short it was very bad. He withdrew his eyes and closed them, "It''s none of your business."


    "How can it have nothing to do with me... if it''s about you, it''s about me." Yan Yuan walked to the bedside and asked in a small voice. "Just now he said that you had abdominal pain again, why would you have abdominal pain?"


    This question was actually very ridiculous; almost all of the injuries suffered by Xuan Long were caused by Yan Yuan, who was actually coming to care for him now.


    It would have been better if he had been slapped and given a sweet date to make it hurt more. The sweet date was sour, astringent, and even had sharp, broken porcelain dross inside.


    Xuan Long didn''t have the strength to ignore him, so he simply closed his mind and rested.


    "If you don''t want to care about me, just ignore me." Yan Yuan had completely lost his former arrogant air, "Rest well."


    Hu Le used his spiritual power to boil medicine and returned shortly afterwards, carrying a white jade medicine bowl in his hand. He walked to the side of the bed and saw Yan Yuan sitting on the edge of the bed, blocking the way, so he spoke coldly: "Get out of the way."


    Yan Yuan''s face turned sour, but he got up from the side of the bed. Hu Le sat beside the bed, handing the bowl of medicine to Xuan Long: "I have used my spiritual power to cool it down, it is suitable to eat."


    Xuan Long took the bowl and drank the dark medicine in a few gulps.


    The medicine was extremely bitter, but he didn''t even frown. Hu Le saw it in his eyes and was heartbroken. When he opened his hand, a pale yellow dried apricot appeared in his palm, wrapped in icing sugar, which looked very relieving.


    "Sweet fruit."


    Xuan Long froze, twisting the dried fruit from his hand and putting it in his mouth.


    "Is it good?¡± Hu Le laughed.


    ¡°En." Xuan Long responded in a low voice.


    It was delicious.


    The icing sugar melted in his mouth, and the bite was sweet and sour.


    No one had ever been so attentive to him.


    "I bought it when I was shopping before coming here with you. If you take one after drinking the medicine, it won''t be so unpleasant.¡± Hu Le felt very satisfied with his own wit.


    The demon was treating Xuan Long too well, and Yan Yuan looked at him with great displeasure, as if his heart was being pressed down by a big stone, suffocating him to the point that he could not breathe. Xuan Long had treated him so well before, but he had never cherished it.


    He wanted to get rid of the foxy thing, but this was Xuan Long''s territory, and now he was the one who was unwelcome. This was not in the palace, and he was even less of an emperor in front of the demons. Yan Yuan realised then that this dragon was not at all as easily controlled as he had thought.


    In the past, Xuan Long had indulged him and pampered him because he cared for him and liked him, but if Xuan Long did not like him anymore, he would be nothing.


    ¡°A''Po... are you really ignoring me?" Yan Yuan stepped forward with red eyes.


    He knew his sadness was unjustified, the person he loved was Ning Zhiyu, so who cares if Xuan Long had changed his heart. However, it was just hard for him, very hard, as if he had lost his most precious treasure.


    Hu Le laughed coldly and raised his hand, a white light appeared in the air and shot Yan Yuan far away: "Do you really think you''re some kind of figurehead? Get as far away as you can, there are no demons here willing to spoil you. I''m not going to kill you for the sake of Han Po."


    Yan Yuan staggered backwards and bumped into the wardrobe, he steadied himself and limped forward, ¡°A''Po, don''t ignore me..."


    "Go away." Xuan Long''s eyes fell on the brocade quilt.


    "I''m not going..." Yan Yuan said hoarsely.


    Xuan Long: "That man must be waiting for you."


    Both of them knew who the person he was talking about was.


    But Yan Yuan was so stubborn.


    "I won''t leave until you go back with me."


    After going back to the original point, Xuan Long knew that there was no point in continuing this conversation with Yan Yuan, so he stopped talking.


    He had not slept all night, and was so weak both mentally and physically that he passed out before he could lie down, and Hu Le tucked him in.


    Yan Yuan stepped forward to see him, but Hu Le rose to block him, and the cold light in the latter''s ice-blue eyes was like a sword as he lowered his voice and said, "If you dare to disturb him, I will whip you to death."


    If eyes could kill, both sides would have killed each other a million times over by now. Yan Yuan was shaking with anger: "You vixen..."


    "I didn''t expect you, a dog emperor with shit in his head, to have some eyesight, I am a fox spirit.¡± Hu Le tsked and laughed. "What? Never seen a demon as beautiful as me, right? You''re so wide eyed, if you stare again, you''ll be in trouble."


    "You..."


    "You what, get lost!"


    Hu Le¡¯s long whip circled Yan Yuan''s waist, threw him out, and at the same time, the door to the room closed and a layer of fluctuating transparent barrier appeared outside, a boundary.


    Yan Yuan fell heavily to the ground, his leg bones in severe pain, and he did not get up for a long time. He struggled to get up against the pain when a large pile of thick firewood appeared out of nowhere in front of him.


    Hu Le threw his axe to the ground and clapped his hands, "Chop this pile of firewood."


    ¡°Don''t even think about it." Yan Yuan looked up with scarlet eyes.


    Hu Le laughed, "Fine, no lunch until you finish. If you want to stay, you have to work, there''s no such thing as free food."


    "......" Yan Yuan had never been so humiliated before, and his hands were embedded deep in his palms.


    "Even the emperor will have to be obedient when it comes to me.¡± Hu Le kicked the axe on the ground towards Yan Yuan. "Don''t make things difficult for yourself."


    He could not force the man away, but it was easy to give him some pain, and if he did not hurt his flesh, he would not cause trouble for Xuan Long, which was good. Leaving his words behind, Hu Le disappeared into the small courtyard and went to the kitchen to prepare food for Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan got up from the ground with difficulty, his originally clean white robe was scuffed, the hem of his coat was dirty, and his hair was in disarray; there was no trace of his dignified imperial posture. He turned to look at the house that was surrounded by a boundary, knowing that he could not enter, so he did not bother to do anything useless.


    After standing in place for a long time, he finally picked up the heavy axe.


    Having grown up in a life of luxury, with thousands of people waiting on him, he had never done this kind of rough work before. Before chopping even a few pieces of wood, his delicate palms were worn by the rough axe, and they were hot and painful.


    After chopping firewood all morning, the smell of food wafted out of the house when it was time for lunch.


    His stomach growled indignantly. Yan Yuan pursed his dry lips, raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from the corner of his forehead, and continued chopping wood.


    Inside the house.


    Xuan Long sat down at the table and Hu Le set the dishes in front of him.


    "Is he gone?"


    Hu Le''s chopsticks, which were serving Xuan Long''s food, stopped and he frowned, "... No."


    Xuan Long looked up.


    Hu Le snorted coldly, "I saw that he was too idle and assigned him some work to do."


    ......


    The door to the room suddenly opened, the boundary dispersed, and Hu Le walked out of the house.


    Yan Yuan stopped moving and turned his head to look expressionlessly.


    Hu Le walked up to him, looked at the unevenly chopped firewood on the floor, and snorted, "And the emperor, you''re so clumsy, you can''t even chop firewood properly, there''s no use for a bird.¡± (Angel: Bird is used as derogatory slang for useless.)


    "......"


    "Go in and eat."


    Yan Yuan followed Hu Le into the house in silence, and when he saw Xuan Long, his expression changed, but unfortunately the latter didn''t even look at him.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    Yan Yuan sat down at the table and Hu Le threw chopsticks into his hand.


    After working so hard for so long, Yan Yuan''s hands spasmed uncontrollably. He picked up the chopsticks and was about to take a dish when Hu Le slapped them away with his chopsticks, leaving two red marks on the back of his white hands.


    He reflexively retracted his hand.


    "The food on this table is not for you to touch. This is your share."


    Hu Le put the broken bowl with the missing spout in front of Yan Yuan, which contained two steamed buns made of white flour.


    It was obvious that he was being treated like a beggar.


    He looked up angrily and met Hu Le''s sneering gaze.


    "What?"


    "Disgusted, huh?"


    "It''s good to have something to eat, if you don''t want to eat, get out."


    Yan Yuan looked at Xuan Long and found that he had no intention of paying any attention to him. With sourness in his eyes, he lowered his head and picked up the steamed bun in the bowl with his dirty hands.

 CH 49

    Inch by Inch


    The steamed bun had been sitting there for a few days, so it was dry and devoid of any moisture, causing Yan Yuan''s eyes to turn red as he choked on it and made a lot of noise.


    Hu Le dropped his chopsticks and made a loud ¡®smack¡¯ sound: "You don''t know how to behave! How can we eat when this spittle is being coughed onto the food?"


    Yan Yuan covered his mouth and coughed away from the table. It was clear that it was not like what he had said, this fox was deliberately looking for a fight.


    Yan Yuan was not on his own turf, so he didn''t take it personally. His throat was so hot and sore that he couldn''t eat the thick, hard buns, so he sat there with his eyes downcast.


    Hu Le hated Yan Yuan so much that if he could, he would have thrown the dog emperor out to the fish, who cares if he was embarrassed. He was about to continue to trouble him when Xuan Long interrupted in a soft voice: ¡°Hu Le, don''t make a scene."


    Hu Le was instantly deflated, "... Where is the trouble, I''m just trying to help you vent your anger."


    With a wave of Xuan Long''s hand, Yan Yuan had a green porcelain tea bowl in his hand, containing warm jasmine tea with a light fragrance, while the two white steamed buns turned into sticky, soft and tasty rice. He then picked up his chopsticks and, with a less than skilful gesture, gave Yan Yuan a piece of spiced marinated beef, "Eat it."


    His right hand was injured trying to save Yan Yuan, and he was shaking a little when he held the food.


    Yan Yuan''s gaze moved from Xuan Long''s bony hand to his cold but calm face, and the dryness in his throat grew: ¡°A''Po..."


    "Let''s eat." Xuan Long did not look at him.


    Hu Le was not pleased, bursting with resentment, "You serve him food, what about me?"


    Xuan Long paused and lifted his chopsticks.


    Hu Le: "I''ll have the chicken."


    Xuan Long poked his chopsticks at the plate of white cut chicken, which was clearly flat, but it slipped away from his chopsticks several times as if it had grown legs. Seeing that his hands were shaking violently, Hu Le lifted his chopsticks and put a piece of fish fillet into Xuan Long¡¯s bowl, "Forget it, I''ll do it myself. Only someone with crippled hands and feet would need someone else to pick up the food."


    Yan Yuan pursed his lips, mentally unbalanced. He put a shrimp into Xuan Long''s bowl, pleasingly saying, ¡°A''Po, you love fish and shrimp the most."


    "Mm." With difficulty, Xuan Long picked up the large translucent prawn.


    "Yo, you''re really good at taking advantage of the dishes made by me. You''re capable of frying two dishes yourself.¡± Hu Le snatched the prawn from between Xuan Long''s chopsticks and nimbly peeled the shell off, putting it back into Xuan Long''s bowl.


    Yan Yuan did not think as thoughtfully as Hu Le, and did not act as thoughtfully as Hu Le, so he slunk away and said nothing.


    After the meal, Hu Le asked Yan Yuan to wash the dishes, and he was scolded by Hu Le for the oil that stuck to the plates.


    Yan Yuan, formerly the crown prince and now the emperor, had not been subjected to such humiliation since he was 19 years old.


    After he broke two bowls and two plates in quick succession, he was driven aside by Hu Le, who threw up his sleeves and huffed and puffed as he washed the pot, which was covered in bubbles, "You royalty are not taught to wash dishes?"


    Yan Yuan turned to leave the kitchen and was knocked back by the barrier in the doorway, leaving a red patch on the corner of his forehead. He grimaced, "Not taught."


    ¡°Tch.¡± Hu Le laughed mischievously, and a cold glint appeared under his icy blue eyes, "Then what do they teach? Specialising in teaching abducting and bullying dragons?"


    "¡­¡­" Yan Yuan''s back teeth clenched tightly, his face grimacing.


    "I''m not wrong, am I?¡± Hu Le was unaffected in the slightest, rag after rag wiping the bowls one by one, "Aren''t you approaching Han Po because his blood and flesh can heal the sick?"


    Yan Yuan: "None of your business."


    "Not my business?" In the blink of Yan Yuan''s eyes, Hu Le dodged in front of him, a murderous aura bursting out between his cold brows, his fingers sliding up Yan Yuan''s neck like a snake, slowly sprouting long, sharp nails that could bring him to his death with the slightest force.


    Hu Le came up to Yan Yuan''s ear, curving his upturned eyes and laughing lowly, the laugh was echoing, magnetic, and confusing. "You say it has nothing to do with me?"


    Yan Yuan couldn''t even react before he was pinned down by Hu Le, his life was in his opponent''s hands, and he was tense and unmoving.


    "I''m telling you, it has to do with me.¡± Hu Le''s words were as slow as a snake spitting out letters, making Yan Yuan feel uncomfortable, "As long as it''s about him, it''s about me, and if you ever hurt him again... I will absolutely make you die a horrible, horrible death."


    "You can kill me right now." Yan Yuan said provocatively with an expressionless face.


    "Do you think I don''t want to?¡± Hu Le suddenly looked ruthless, pushing him away with force, those long, slender nails leaving a long scratch on Yan Yuan''s jade white neck. "It''s because he would be upset if I killed you!"


    "Just one whip against you and he wouldn''t be able to resist blocking it for you!"


    "What makes you think you''d have survived this long otherwise?"


    Yan Yuan staggered back, his palm covering his injury, his brow furrowed in pain, "... You like him."


    "Or what?¡­¡± Hu Le looked at him like an idiot, "Is it possible that I like you?"


    "......"


    At night, Yan Yuan was arranged to sleep in the most remote woodshed in the courtyard, while Hu Le told Xuan Long that he had been settled into a compartment in the small courtyard next door, so that he would not worry.


    After staring at Xuan Long as he finished drinking the foetus medicine, Hu Le changed the dressing on Xuan Long''s hand and back, removing the blood-stained gauze layer by layer, and whispering, "I think the bed in my room is too hard, maybe I''ll squeeze in with you."


    Xuan Long took it seriously and was silent for a moment: "I''ll just switch with you."


    "No, I mean...¡± Hu Le cursed himself for his stupidity, why did he turn a nice stone cave into an elegant garden on earth? It was just one hole with one bed before, but now it was many rooms, he couldn''t think of any way to sleep in his beloved''s room at night.


    Xuan Long looked at him, waiting for him to say something else, and after a moment of stammering, Hu Le deflated ¡°¡­ It¡¯s nothing."


    In the middle of the night.


    The dimly lit woodshed was full of firewood and there was no place to lie down. Yan Yuan stood in the gap between the firewood and the wall, which could only fit one person, and was occasionally frightened by the rats crawling under his feet. He had always hated these filthy things the most. Who would have thought that there would be rats under the water, it must be that damned fox demon''s doing.


    There was no door to the woodshed, and the barrier was enough to trap him in it. Yan Yuan had been standing for half the night, and his legs were so sore and numb that he could hardly hold on when he suddenly felt a faint light coming in from outside.


    He tried to walk outside and found that the barrier had disappeared.


    The light came from the night pearl floating over the front courtyard, and as the mansion was so large, the light was swallowed up by the dark green water in the backyard. With that little bit of light, Yan Yuan felt his way to the courtyard where Xuan Long was.


    The door was unlocked, so he pushed it in easily. Yan Yuan entered gently. A small candle flame was burning in the room, and the bed was uncurtained. Xuan Long was wearing profane robes and lying on the bed with his back to him.


    It was probably because of the injury to his back, which would hurt if he lay flat, so that was all he could do.


    ¡°A''Po..." Yan Yuan stopped in front of the bed and whispered, ¡°are you asleep?"


    Xuan Long did not stir at first, and only after a while did he speak in a low voice. From the sound of his voice, it did not sound like he had just woken up, he should have been awake, ¡°What?"


    Yan Yuan cautiously got on the bed, avoiding the wound on Xuan Long''s back, and encircled his abdomen from behind: "That barrier, it was you who removed it, wasn''t it?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." Xuan Long said indifferently.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were sour and hot, and he buried his face into the back of his neck, "You clearly care about me, and you still don''t admit it."


    "......"


    ¡°A''Po, are you really not going back with me?" Yan Yuan said sullenly.


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    Yan Yuan remembered Hu Le''s words, "Is it because of that fox spirit?"


    "......" Xuan Long''s heart was baffled.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were red, "You don''t really like him, do you?"


    "What''s so good about him, doesn''t he just know how to cook and do demonic magic?"


    "If you come back to the palace with me, I will ask the cooks in the imperial kitchen to cook for you every day in different ways. There are tens of thousands of palace maids and eunuchs who can serve you, there are also guards who can protect you. The clothing, food, housing and transportation in the palace is definitely more comfortable than if you were here under the water."


    "... He treats me with sincerity." Xuan Long interrupted with a loud voice.


    With just one sentence, all of Yan Yuan''s words were gambled away.


    Yan Yuan was suffocated for a long time before crying.


    "I also treat you with sincerity."


    "It''s just that my heart has to be given to someone else. Who told you to appear so late, if you had appeared earlier, I would have loved only you... What can I do? He is my empress, I can''t leave him alone, don''t be so petty, okay?"


    "I have said that I will make you a concubine as long as you are willing..."


    "... Don''t say it." Xuan Long spoke suddenly and wearily, his throat as mute as if something had choked it, "Don''t say it."


    Yan Yuan closed his mouth.


    The weight of love that Xuan Long wanted was too heavy, and he simply could not afford to give it.


    Except for Ning Zhiyu''s illness, he had rarely felt so helpless. Perhaps both Xuan Long and Ning Zhiyu were destined to be unbreakable bonds in his life, and it would be a heartbreaking pain to give up either one.


    Yan Yuan bowed his head, fished out the gold-encrusted iris jade from his chest, put his arm through Xuan Long''s waist, placed the jade solemnly into Xuan Long''s hand, and then held Xuan Long''s hand so that he would have no way to refuse it.


    "This jade, it''s a gift from me, you''d better take it." The voice carried a low begging in it, "I am the emperor, and no one has ever dared not take good care of something I rewarded to them. This is not a reward, but it is a token of my appreciation, so you should take it, okay?"


    "...... " Xuan Long''s breathing became a little shaky.


    Yan Yuan just hugged Xuan Long from behind, holding his hand, and in Xuan Long''s hand was the piece of jade, cold with not much warmth.


    ¡°A''Po... I can''t give you all of my love, but I do love you."


    "During the time you left me, I could not help thinking of you everyday."


    "I realised then that I liked you so much, so much... that I simply could not be separated from you."


    "I know I''ve been bad to you and always made you sad. I know I was wrong, and if I ever get the chance, I''ll be sure to make up for it."


    "Tomorrow... I''ll be leaving."


    "He is still waiting for me."


    "He is too sick, if I don''t go back, it will be too late, I can''t watch him die, if he dies, I won''t be able to live either."


    ¡°A''Po... thank you for still caring for me and understanding me even now."


    Yan Yuan kissed the scar on the back of Xuan Long''s neck. It was clearly a gentle and soft movement, but it was as if he was holding a knife with an open edge, piercing his heart inch by inch.

 CH 50

    Assassination


    The next morning, Yan Yuan was leaving with the pack of dragon scales.


    From the ten-thousand-foot-deep pond, with Yan Yuan on his back, Xuan Long flew out of the water in a matter of seconds. Yan Yuan emerged on the shore, where the guards and the old eunuch, who had been crouching in the bushes for days, rushed out in surprise and joy.


    When Xuan Long saw that there was someone to meet Yan Yuan and that he did not need to worry about him, he silently turned around to go back to the water, but Yan Yuan jumped up and hugged him from behind, calling in his ear in a mute voice.


    "A''Po..."


    To the onlookers, Yan Yuan''s eyes were red as he hugged a ball of air, and their faces paused to watch the frightening scene.


    Everything that needed to be said had already been said to Xuan Long, and Yan Yuan was actually at a loss for what to say as he hugged him at this moment; he just felt reluctant to let go. He felt very sad.


    His purpose in leaving the palace to find Xuan Long had been accomplished. With the dragon scales, Ning Zhiyu was saved for the time being, so he should take the scales and go back happily to save his beloved.


    As for the future, he could talk about it later. The big thing was that he could ask Xuan Long for scales when they were all used up, for he knew how soft the dragon''s heart was beneath its cold exterior.


    When Hu Le bullied him, although Xuan Long did not help him to his face, he would silently help him behind his back and release him from the barrier.


    He could not be ruthless with him after all.


    Perhaps it was because of this that Yan Yuan''s heart became even sadder. He wanted to have the best of both worlds, to break free from his tedious and embarrassing situation. He hoped that Ning Zhiyu would be healthy, so that he would not need to pluck out Xuan Long''s flesh and blood to continue his life, and that he would not have trouble saying a word of concern in front of Xuan Long.


    But what is the use of thinking about this? God will not spare a dying person from life and death just because he wants to live on, nor will he feel compassion for the extravagant wishes of a mere mortal like him.


    In the past, he had the cheek to ask Xuan Long if it hurt after he had pulled the scales, but now the answer was clear. Did it really stop hurting if he asked? No, it would still hurt. After the pain, he would still ask Xuan Long to pluck out his flesh and blood to save another person, so there was no point in asking.


    He was in the worst position to ask that question.


    Now, there was someone new at Xuan Long''s side, someone who was truly willing to be good to him.


    Even if they were not together now, would there still be a place for him in Xuan Long''s heart if they stayed together for a long time?


    When Yan Yuan thought of how close this dragon was to others, his tear glands threatened to burst, he had never shed so many tears since he was a child. He didn''t know why, but whenever he touched on matters concerning Xuan Long, his heart was too fragile to bear half the hurt and aggravation.


    "A''Po... will you fall in love with that fox demon?"


    Xuan Long''s cold turquoise eyes reflected the rippling water, and the embrace behind him made him taste sorrow from the depths of his soul: "What''s the point of talking about this now?"


    "But I just want to know..." Yan Yuan pouted with a sob in his ear.


    Xuan Long was silent for a long time and whispered back, "No."


    Until now, this person''s sadness had tugged at his heart, making it difficult to restrain himself.


    "Really?" Yan Yuan asked joyfully.


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and parted his hand that was circled in front of his belly, his low voice was gentle, "Let go. It''s getting late."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes blurred with tears as he looked at the man''s face with the dark gold mask, "Then I will come back to you next time."


    "Hm." Xuan Long did not look at him.


    Yan Yuan cried like a child: "Can you hug me again, please?"


    Xuan Long had never taken the initiative to hug him, and naturally he wouldn''t now. When Yan Yuan saw that he didn''t move, he went forward, took Xuan Long into his arms face to face, and kissed his forehead.


    "A''Po, I''m sorry."


    "I''ll see you next time."


    "I''ll bring you¡­ bring you good food and fun from the palace."


    "Okay." Xuan Long replied in a low voice.


    Only then did Yan Yuan let go of him and take three steps back, "A''Po, I''m leaving then..."


    "En."


    Xuan Long gazed silently at the handsome face, as if he wanted to carve his features into his heart.


    The palace guards huddled around Yan Yuan and escorted him to the low-key but luxurious carriage on the jungle path a short distance away.


    As Yan Yuan got into the carriage, he looked through the lush woods at the edge of the pond, where Xuan Long had been standing earlier, but he had disappeared. He hung his head in despair as he stepped on the back of the palace guard to get into the carriage.


    The carriage swayed as it went up the path, and from outside the walls came Chen Yan''s worried question.


    "Your Majesty, are you all right?..."


    Yan Yuan returned to his senses and said casually, "It''s nothing."


    "The past two days have worried this old slave, fortunately you have returned safely, it seems that that dragon is really spiritual." Chen Yan followed the carriage outside and walked as fast as he could.


    Yan Yuan barely tugged at the corners of his mouth and smiled, "... He is indeed spiritual, he treats me well and is no different from the human race. You have even met him face to face."


    Chen Yan said in surprise, "When?..."


    Yan Yuan did not reply.


    There was silence in the carriage for a long time, and Yan Yuan''s low, hoarse voice came out, seemingly muttering to himself:


    "Chen Yan, is it really hard to balance both sides in the world?..."


    "I am obviously the emperor, in charge of ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains, but why is there a time when I can''t do anything..."


    Chen Yan guessed that Yan Yuan was referring to the matter of Ning Zhiyu, and deliberately reassured: "Your Majesty, it is difficult to have both sides in the world. Life is more bitter than sweet, as an emperor, you should be better than all the people. No matter how difficult the current suffering is, it is only temporary, everything will be fine."


    Yan Yuan lowered his eyes, hiding the loneliness in his eyes: "Is that so..."


    Chen Yan said, "Yes, you are the True Dragon Emperor, you will be protected by the true dragon."


    He wasn''t wrong.


    Wasn''t Xuan Long the real dragon that was guarding him?


    After the shadow of the carriage disappeared down the winding path, a long time later, the surface of the pond leapt up to a height of several feet, and Xuan Long, hidden in the air, entered the water.


    Hu Le had just gotten up and ran over to look for Xuan Long. After looking around the house and not seeing him, he ran into the returning Xuan Long on his way out.


    "Where have you been?"


    Xuan Long''s face was unchanged as he walked slowly to the house, "Went ashore."


    Hu Le followed him, "And where is the dog emperor?"


    "Already left."


    "Really?" Hu Le raised an eyebrow, his heart wild with joy. "At last, that plague has been sent away."


    "Don''t run around with that wound on you." Hu Le pulled Xuan Long to a seat at the table. "What''s for breakfast?"


    Xuan Long: "Whatever."


    Hu Le tsked, guilty, "There''s no such thing as whatever."


    Soon his eyes lit up and he got up and headed out, "Just wait, I have a new dish that you will like!"


    Xuan Long looked at his blazing back and called out to him, "Hu Le."


    "Hm?" Hu Le turned back.


    Xuan Long averted his gaze, "I want to leave this place."


    Hu Le froze, and being such a smart fox, he immediately understood why: "That''s fine."


    "If that dog emperor can''t find you, he won''t be able to pester you." Hu Le walked up to Xuan Long and knelt down, gently holding his cold hand and rubbing it heartily. "You are so soft-hearted, always letting him bully you, and you refuse to let me kill him when I want to."


    "Don''t worry, no matter where you go, I will accompany you."


    Xuan Long''s heart moved and he spoke woodenly, "Thank you... for treating me like family."


    Hu Le frowned, "I don''t treat you like family."


    "......" Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly.


    Hu Le slapped his head in irritation and stood up, "No, I meant..."


    "I... I, I am..."


    In love with you.


    Xuan Long''s bewildered turquoise eyes trailed after him, clearly waiting for an answer.


    It was clearly a very simple sentence, but Hu Le just couldn''t say it; for the first time he really fell for a demon, his heart was struggling far more than it appeared, and if he was rejected, he would be very upset.


    No matter how strong a person is, if he falls for someone, his heart will become very fragile.


    It didn''t matter if he lost face, what he feared most was that Xuan Long would alienate him because of it, if that happened, who would he find to cry to then.


    "I just..." Hu Le hesitated for a long time, looking at Xuan Long''s sluggish response, he was ashamed and anxious, and he was finally forced to explode: "You stupid dragon, you are foolish, you... I don''t want to talk to you anymore!"


    Then he turned and ran away.


    "......"


    Xuan Long had never felt that anyone would really like him, so even if Yan Yuan misunderstood that there was something between him and Hu Le, he would not think that Hu Le would have any feelings for him other than those of a relative.


    As far as he was concerned, Hu Le just saw him as an older brother.


    Seeing the other man say this, Xuan Long became more and more puzzled. When Hu Le''s figure disappeared outside the door, he withdrew his eyes and murmured.


    "Isn''t... treating me... as an elder brother."


    What was that?...


    A friend, perhaps. Friends are also good.


    After all, Hu Le had been the one to look after him almost exclusively for so long. He hadn''t done his duty as a brother.


    The house was silent, Yan Yuan had been here for only two days, and when he left again, he felt as if something was missing. Xuan Long''s heart was empty, and he was slightly lost in thought as the iris jade pendant, which had changed from its previous form, appeared in his palm.


    After today, they will never see each other again...


    The time had come to end this meaningless relationship. After that, whatever happened to that man, he would not care anymore.


    No longer.


    A little more than half an hour later, Xuan Long felt a sharp stabbing pain coming from his heart as he wandered off, his face suddenly drained of blood. He put away the jade pendant in his hand, covered his heart with a stifled grunt, and a strong burning sensation appeared in his palm.


    Opening his palm, he saw a flash of blue light and a beautiful iris slowly bloomed...


    It was no different from the one in Yan Yuan''s hand...


    Xuan Long stared blankly at the pale blue petals, not understanding why this flower had suddenly appeared in his palm. He stood up, propping himself up on the table, and inexplicably had a strong, bad feeling in his heart.


    Meanwhile.


    Thirty miles away, on the official road, a group of black-clad assassins fought with Yan Yuan''s plain-clothed guards in a tangle. The assassins came aggressively with a strong force, and in a short time, the guards who had undergone rigorous training fell one after another. In the dark, an archer who was ready to fire was crawling.


    "Quickly, escort the Emperor away!"


    The chief guard shouted, helping Chen Yan to cover Yan Yuan''s retreat as the curtain was lifted and Yan Yuan stepped out of the carriage with a grim look on his face¨C

 CH 51

    You Must Not Die


    "Gasp-!"


    "Your Majesty!!!"


    For those who practice martial arts, all swords and shadows will slow down. Chen Yan''s pupils widened and he shouted, opening his arms to block in front of Yan Yuan. Yan Yuan pushed Chen Yan away, his palm condensing internal force, and the arrow immediately stood still in the air. The transparent orb condensed inside grew bigger and bigger, and when it exceeded his palm, the internal force caught the arrow feather and flew towards the roof not far away. The dead soldier who was lying in ambush on the tiles rolled down, the arrow plunging backwards into his neck, his eyes wide and unseeing.


    It was enough that he had been defeated by his lover, but he had not expected to be attacked again halfway back to the palace. Yan Yuan was in a bad mood, these people have some nerve.


    Since he was a child, he had been named the crown prince, a position that was equivalent to being in a constant state of turmoil and bloodshed, and many people coveted that position and wished for his death. Yan Yuan grew up in a pampered and spoiled environment, but he never missed his martial arts training. He did not like to use weapons, and his hands would become calloused after practising too much with swords, so he only practised martial arts and internal strength. The late emperor searched for a master who was very good at martial arts, and found him a master who created his own internal martial arts technique, called the Palm of the Heart, in which internal force is concentrated in the palm and when it hits the enemy''s chest, it will shatter the heart, lungs and blood vessels and kill him.


    Yan Yuan hated fighting and killing, which was an insult to his identity. With his guards at his side, he would never personally fight until he had to, but today he really needed to find an outlet for his anger. Pushing Chen Yan''s old bones under the carriage to hide, he avoided the long sword thrust by the assassin on his left and slapped his palm against the wrist of the assassin, who immediately saw a black palm mark on his wrist and his sword fell in response.


    Yan Yuan kicked the other man who rushed in from the right, and flipped up in the air, his white clothes flying. When he landed, he kicked an oncoming assassin in the chest and he fell down with a scream. Yan Yuan used his strength to leap up and stomp on the heads of five assassins in quick succession, causing their cheeks to deform and causing them to spit out a mouthful of blood as they collapsed.


    This time, he went out of the palace in a very low-key manner, with only ten guards at his side, who followed the carriage in disguise and should not be distinguishable from the servants of an ordinary and wealthy family. The man behind the assassination attempt knew so much about his journey, so if nothing else, he had a spy beside him.


    Half of the ten guards were dead, and only four or five were left fighting for their lives beside Yan Yuan. The number of assassins who had fallen was far greater than that of the guards, but because there were so many of them, as soon as a small number died, more came out of the deep woods beside them, which were their main ambush point.


    In the middle of nowhere, there was an abandoned courtyard in the distance and no one was around. The assassins were so powerful that they seemed to be determined to kill him, and the only way out was to kill them.


    Yan Yuan''s inner strength and the wind of his palm landed on the assassin''s chest, ending his life with a palm strike. Blood spurted out of the assassin''s mouth and splashed in the air, landing sporadically on his eyelids and eyelashes. Yan Yuan¡¯s originally pure peach blossom eyes were as cold as snakes.


    He had already thought about who was behind the assassination.


    Not many people around him knew of his true strength, including the guards, who probably thought he was just an unarmed emperor. To go to such lengths to send such powerful soldiers to kill an unarmed emperor meant that he must know him well.


    Who else could it be but his good brother, who was thousands of miles away?...


    Yan Huo Hang.


    The name was gnawed in his mouth as Yan Yuan''s men became more and more ruthless.


    The guards were amazed to see him so skilled, but perhaps they were inspired by his morale, and their ambition was boosted, so Yan Yuan led them to fight their way out. The corpses on the ground gradually piled up into a small mountain, and Yan Yuan, red-eyed, grabbed the sword in the hands of the young guard beside him, held it with both hands, and swung it down diagonally from above, cutting the neck of an assassin who was rushing towards him, splashing blood everywhere.


    The last of the assassins fell.


    All the men were exhausted, the guards recovered from their fright, their legs were weak and they were happy. They looked at Yan Yuan and said in a trembling voice.


    "Your Majesty... we have won!"


    "Humph." Yan Yuan raised his hand and wiped the blood from his face, his long and slender eyelashes were stained with red, set against his pale and snowy handsome face, he actually looked like a demon. He curled his lips into a smile, snorted in response, threw away the dirty and stained longsword in his hand and turned around, his voice was a little slightly tired and mute, "Go."


    Chen Yan crawled out from under the carriage with a sobbing face. The assassins were aiming at Yan Yuan, they didn''t pay any attention to him as an old, immortal eunuch, and even if they did, they didn''t bother to spend any effort on him. He was lucky to be the best in the scene, unharmed, and pounced on him to ask if Yan Yuan was alright.


    Yan Yuan was hit by a few swords on his arm, the rest of the body was unhurt, however the sword seemed to have been drenched with something, to the extent that he was so weak that his mind became slow to turn. He vaguely seemed to hear the sound of a sharp arrow cutting through the air from behind him. He stopped in his tracks and felt a chill in his heart before he had time to turn back to look.


    "Hmmm..."


    His body froze and he looked down in surprise to see that the arrow feather had penetrated his heart and the basalt arrow was stained with his blood.


    No wonder it was so cold...


    "Your Majesty!!!"


    "Your Majesty!!!"


    It all happened so fast, so fast that it caught everyone present off guard.


    The sneak attacker, seeing that he was right on target, retreated from behind the concealed trees at the first sign of success.


    Chen Yan and his guards rushed up to help him, but Yan Yuan''s body still fell inevitably. There was a mist of blood before his eyes, and he could not see anything.


    He had heard that before one died, one would look back on one''s past life, and at that moment, what appeared in his mind was Xuan Long''s face.


    The way the man had smiled.


    The way he was shy.


    The sullen look.


    Xuan Long seldom smiled, but when he did, he was actually very gentle, and his cold, hard silhouette would melt like an iceberg. Perhaps it was because he was not used to making that kind of expression, so it was always a little stiff, but it made him look handsome and cute in a different kind of way.


    When he is shy, his face does not reveal much emotion, and he will unconsciously avert his eyes from his gaze, looking untouched, when in fact his reddened ears had already revealed his emotions.


    His silent look was too dull, but that didn''t stop him from wanting to get close to him, especially in bed, where he always pushed harder on purpose, wanting to see an expression other than his expressionless face. Seeing his bewildered look for him, the difference he made in Xuan Long''s mind was always a source of achievement for him.


    In fact, Yan Yuan had been inwardly resisting Xuan Long''s attraction for some time, and he could not understand how he could remember the smallest details so clearly, even clearer than the little bits and pieces of time he had spent with Ning Zhiyu.


    Yan Yuan closed his eyes, the cries in his ears causing him quite a headache, his brow wrinkled slightly as he exhaled a faint sound.


    "... Chen Yan, shut up."


    As he spoke, blood gushed out of his mouth like running water. Chen Yan immediately silenced. Yan Yuan half-opened his eyes, a trace of clarity returned to his eyes. Above him were the shadows of the trees in the sky, the sky was grey, and the shape of a single crow passed by with a mournful cry.


    It was clear to all that it was too late, and that the bumpy carriage would only hasten death.


    Chen Yan looked at the emperor he had grown up watching with old tears. Yan Yuan reluctantly moved his fingers and took out the packet of dragon scales in a black cloth bag from between his own wide-sleeved robes and dropped it to the ground.


    "Take the dragon scales back... to A''Yu."


    "You tell him... I¡­ what I originally promised¡­ him... should be... impossible to do..."


    "Your Majesty..." Chen Yan and the guards suppressed their sobs.


    Yan Yuan never thought that his life would end at the age of 19. He used to say that he would protect Ning Zhiyu for the rest of his life and that he would stay with him until he grew old, but naturally those promises could not be kept.


    Strangely enough, at the last minute, the person he wanted to see most was Xuan Long. Perhaps it was because he was the one he was most sorry for in his life.


    Although he had not fulfilled his promise to Ning Zhiyu, he had cheated and used Xuan Long from the beginning to the end, and had never given him any warmth. The dragon was foolish enough to trust him, and even now he was willing to listen to a few words of pampering and submission from him and then pulled out his scales and let him go back to save his beloved.


    He treated him really well¡­ It¡¯s a pity he can never see him again.


    Yan Yuan used the last of his strength to give his last words and told Chen Yan to go back to the palace and fetch the holy decree behind the plaque on the desk in the imperial study, which was the decree to enthrone the new emperor. On the day of his accession to the throne, the emperor would appoint the most suitable crown prince in his mind and hide the decree in the imperial study in case something untoward happened and chaos broke out in the court.


    Chen Yan choked back a sob and responded.


    Yan Yuan felt tired, he wanted to go to sleep, but he felt reluctant, he was still so young, he still had his ambition to rule the world, he still had people he wanted to meet, so how could he die like this?


    But how could a mortal not follow his fate?


    The cries in her ears gradually faded away, became ethereal, and finally disappeared completely, as if they were blocked by a boundary capable of isolating sound, and Yan Yuan heard the low, trembling voice of a man in his ears.


    "¡­ A''Yuan."


    Yan Yuan raised his heavy eyelids, and there was only a blurred shadow in front of him. The man was dressed in basalt clothes. He could not see the other man''s face, so he could not see the tears that adorned his eyes.


    Yan Yuan opened his mouth with difficulty and coughed up blood, "A''Po... is that you?"


    "Am I... hallucinating?"


    "It''s me." The man said.


    Yan Yuan heard Xuan Long''s voice and couldn''t help but laugh, his chest was heavy with large splatters of blood, and the blood in his mouth seemed like it couldn''t be stopped.


    "A''Po, look... I treated you.... so badly...."


    "Now... I''m getting my retribution."


    "You''re relieved..."


    "Then... don''t be mad at me... Okay?..."


    "I am not angry." He heard Xuan Long say.


    "That''s good... that''s good..." Yan Yuan smiled with an ashen face and a breathless smile.


    "A''Po... if there is another life, I will treat you well."


    "I know... I owe you."


    "I owe you..."


    He spoke slowly and closed his eyes, his breath no longer there.


    Xuan Long knelt beside Yan Yuan and gently pressed his cold hand to his face, as if to warm him. Without blinking, tears flowed from his cold turquoise eyes, and he repeated in a low voice:


    "I am not angry."


    I am not angry, you must not die.

 CH 52

    The sky was pouring rain.


    Chen Yan and the remaining guards crouched down beside Yan Yuan and cried quietly. When they raised their heads again, Yan Yuan had disappeared from the ground in front of them, leaving only a puddle of blood diluted by the rain.


    "Your Majesty."


    Chen Yan''s eyes widened as he called out briefly, drawing the attention of several guards, all of whom stared in horror at the scene before them and stood up to look around in an attempt to find Yan Yuan in the rain and mist.


    In fact, it was only Xuan Long who used a shield, a barrier that blocked the sound and mortal eyes.


    Yan Yuan stopped breathing as Xuan Long watched. He was born to be the supreme ruler of the Nine Heavens, yet he willingly abdicated his position for the sake of a dragon and fell into the mortal world. How can Heaven tolerate this?


    He had been in the mortal world for ten thousand years and had not come to the end of his life.


    His destiny is to return to the Heavenly Palace and become an emperor without love or desire. If he goes against the will of Heaven, he will not end up in a good place.


    The rain swept over Yan Yuan''s pale face, wetting his hair and his feather-like eyelashes. He looked as peaceful as if he were asleep, but there is a difference between a living person and a dead person after all. The living have shiny skin, while the dead lay there lifelessly.


    Xuan Long lifted his sleeve and gently wiped the blood from the corners of Yan Yuan''s mouth and chin with the cuff of his sleeve, remembering that Yan Yuan wanted to be clean, and he did not like this kind of unkempt appearance.


    The blue iris in his palm emitted an ethereal light that gradually went out as Yan Yuan died, leaving a scorch mark from the blazing fire that Xuan Long could not feel the pain of.


    From the moment he hurried here and saw Yan Yuan fall down after being struck by an arrow, his mind and body went numb. When one is extremely sad, one cannot feel pain, and the same is true of demons.


    Xuan Long''s hands went across Yan Yuan''s back and knee hollows, slowly holding him in his arms as he staggered to his feet.


    Dragon realm.


    The wooden barred door of the small bamboo courtyard was pushed open, and when he heard the movement, the old man took a leisurely sip of his tea and turned back to look, surprised.


    "It''s you." Sizing up Xuan Long for a moment before his eyes moved to the person in his arms, he immediately frowned, "I don''t take human beings here."


    "Senior... please help me." Xuan Long stopped not far from him with Yan Yuan in his arms, his hoarse voice muffled in the rain.


    With a face full of dismay, the old man put down his cup of tea and said, "Why do you get wet every time you come back to my place? I won''t let you in the house if you''re like this."


    "Besides, this old man made a rule a hundred thousand years ago to save gods, save ghosts, save demons, and save charmers, just not people, it''s useless for you to beg me, go away, go away." He said, impatiently waving his hand to drive him away.


    Xuan Long''s eyes were downcast, the rain washed over his steely face, and he remained motionless.


    The old man was so angry that he stomped his foot, "It''s useless even if you beg me, this person is dead through and through, it''s hopeless."


    Other people might not be able to save Yan Yuan, but Xuan Long knew that this senior could. He was known in the demon world for his ability to revive dead demons and rebuild their flesh and bones, and he could even recreate the flesh of dead souls.


    All this was something he had overheard his clanmates talk about when he was a child, not having seen exactly how, only knowing that he was so skilled in healing that even fallen gods would seek him out.


    "Will you get up?"


    Xuan Long only repeated the words in a low voice: "Please senior, help..."


    "Fine, if you don''t go, I''ll go." The old man gave him an exasperated laugh, "You can just kneel here, kneel until tomorrow I don''t care."


    With a wave of his hand, the tea set on the stone table disappeared and the old man went into the bamboo building, and the door was shut with force.


    He was a keen chess player, and when he entered the room, he took out his treasured jade chessboard and sat down at the coffee table to ponder it alone.


    Darkness comes very early in the dragon realm, and today it was raining, so it became completely dark just after noon. The old man ate two salted fish biscuits with pleasure and opened the window to take a look outside, and his mood suddenly became bad.


    The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and there is a tendency for the trees in the dragon realm to be washed away, but the trees are mostly ten-thousand-year-old trees that have become refined, so they are not so easily destroyed, but this is not necessarily the case for pregnant dragons.


    Xuan Long knelt outside for more than an hour without changing his posture, his back straight, his face no better than that of the dead human being he was holding in his arms.


    The old man couldn''t stand it and opened the door to go out.


    "You want to save him that badly?"


    "Please, senior, help..." The rain did not make Xuan Long feel cold, it was just that the overdrawn spiritual energy he had used in rushing to the dragon realm with Yan Yuan had made him weak, and when he had knelt for a long time, his low, mute voice became a little shaky.


    "This man is the father of the foetus in your womb, right?" The old man stared at Yan Yuan''s face and murmured, "What do you want from him? He looks quite dog-like, but there should be quite a few dragons matching his appearance, right? If he dies, he dies, just find another one, why do you have to hang yourself from a crooked tree?"


    Xuan Long was silent, letting him criticise him.


    There might be many people in this world who were better than Yan Yuan, but the only person who had touched his horn ten thousand years ago, who had told him not to be afraid, who had saved his life and who had left him an umbrella to shelter him from the wind and rain, was Yan Yuan.


    The only person who had spent more than a month with him in the ancient pond and had made a promise to him that they would live together forever was Yan Yuan.


    Even though his love was like an illusion, even though he had lied to him and used him, he could not stand by and do nothing because of the kindness that saved his life ten thousand years ago.


    No matter how you calculate it, Yan Yuan is one of the few people in this world who has treated him well.


    He could not let him die...


    The old man no longer bothered to say more, the irony faded from his eyes and his face was expressionless as he saw that Xuan Long had already made up his mind.


    "This old man never saves people, so if I have to make an exception today, I will use that remaining dragon horn of yours in exchange."


    Xuan Long froze and did not hesitate: "Okay..."


    "Come in with me." The old man turned around and walked inside the house.


    Xuan Long got up with Yan Yuan in his arms, his knees that had been kneeling for so long tingled with pain when he put pressure on them, his lips were pursed, and he followed the old man into the house with his legs a little shaky.


    Yan Yuan was placed on the bed in the inner room.


    The old man put his fingers together and probed Yan Yuan''s brow, pausing for a few moments before withdrawing his hand.


    "Life and death have a destiny. He is already a man of the underworld, if he tries to change his fate against the Heavens, it will surely backlash against him, have you really thought about it?"


    Xuan Long stared at Yan Yuan''s face and asked softly, "What backlash?"


    "I don''t know. Perhaps the heavenly tribulation will come early, or the heavenly tribulation will be aggravated, or there will be many misfortunes and fates. In short, if you forcefully save him, you will destroy your qi, and there will be no good results. Furthermore, there is only one way to save him."


    As Xuan Long watched, the old man slowly spat out the words: "One life for one life."


    "One life for one life..." Xuan Long muttered under his breath, as if he was pondering his words.


    "It''s not just one life for one life." The old man sneered, "There is only one thing in this world that can save a dead person ¨C the internal elixir of a demon. This 10,000 years of Tao energy of yours, after fusing into his body, will not only save him, but also make him strong and healthy and live a long life. But if you don''t have your inner elixir, you will dissipate your ten thousand years of Tao energy and become as weak as a mortal. When the heavenly tribulation comes and you are pregnant... how can you stop it?"


    "You will definitely die."


    "Regardless of when the heavenly tribulation will come, the foetus in your belly now draws on your spiritual energy for nourishment, and without the spiritual core, it will eat away at your soul power to grow. Once you lose your inner elixir, you will live at most three years, and the foetus may fall at any time."


    "You were originally a demon that could grow with the heavens and the earth, and after cultivating the path of goodness, you might have been able to become an immortal after this tribulation, but now you don''t even care about your life for the sake of a mere mortal."


    "This old man will ask you one last time, have you thought it through?..."


    Xuan Long had prepared himself psychologically before he came, he knew from the start that going against the Heavens and changing one''s fate would not end well, and he also knew that to save a dead person, one must pay a huge price, so he was not really surprised.


    He had lived for ten thousand years, which was long enough, and had tasted loneliness for ten thousand years; death had never been a terrible thing for him; endless loneliness was more terrible.


    It was only more frightening when the person he cared about died in front of him.


    When he heard the old man say those words, Xuan Long''s first thought was not about how long he would live, but about the child in his belly. His bony hand stiffly touched his flat abdomen and spoke with difficulty, "The foetus, might not be able to be kept..."


    "You still don''t even have full assurance that you can deliver the foetus safely, let alone if your Tao is dispersed. It''s a very unlikely scenario."


    The palm of Xuan Long''s hand pressed against his abdomen tightened slightly, and a pained look swept across the bottom of his eyes.


    After losing Yan Yuan, the child was all he had left; his hope for the future. No one knew how much he rejoiced at the presence of this child, no one knew how much joy this child, which had not even grown in size, had brought to his depleted life.


    He could have just turned around and left, as the old man had said. Was it really worth it to dissipate ten thousand years of painstakingly cultivated Tao for a mere mortal?


    Is it really worth putting your life at risk for someone who doesn''t love you?


    But who knows, in a relationship, there is no such thing as worth it or not, only willingness and reluctance to give up.


    And he didn''t want to.


    Xuan Long slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the only thing left in his eyes was unshakable determination.


    "... I''ve thought it over."


    "I beg Senior¡­ please help."


    The old man let out a long sigh and finally said, "Spit out your inner elixir."


    Xuan Long condensed his spiritual breath, and an inner elixir glowing with dark green flames slowly emerged from his eyebrows. The old man reached towards his forehead and grabbed the inner elixir, placing it in front of his eyes and shaking his head with a grave expression.


    "Ten thousand years of Taoism, ah..."


    "One day, you will regret it..."


    He had already said this, and so had Hu Le. Who could know if he would regret it afterwards? If he did not save him, he would regret it right then and there.


    Since he had accepted Yan Yuan''s favour, he would have to return it. A life for a life, that was good too.


    As the inner elixir left his body, Xuan Long instantly felt as if his strength had been drained from his body. He watched as the old man melted the entire inner elixir into his hand, and the slightest hint of green gushed into Yan Yuan''s eyebrows little by little.


    The deadly aura on Yan Yuan''s face gradually faded away and he was reborn, while Xuan Long''s life, with the speed of a blazing fire, was about to burn out.


    He loved him like a moth to a flame, and never cared for himself.


    In his last life, and in his current life.

 CH 53

    Stay


    "Alright, you take him back, he will wake up after three days of slumber."


    The old man withdrew his hand, the green colour on Yan Yuan''s forehead completely melted into him, and his originally ghastly white face regained its rosy colour. He had just died, his soul had not yet left his body; he only needed the inner elixir to repair his physical body, and he would be as healthy as ever, and even stronger than before.


    What he took away was not only Xuan Long''s ten thousand years of Taoism, but also the merit and qi he had accumulated over ten thousand years.


    "... Many thanks, Senior." Xuan Long whispered his thanks and retreated a few steps, his long sword appearing in his hand, while at the same time, an ink-coloured dragon horn extended from his hair on the left side, about the length of an adult man''s hand, and only half of one on the right side. He swung the long sword, and before the old man could react, the sword shadow flashed and chopped off the intact dragon horn right down to the root.


    "Unh..."


    The dragon''s horn fell to the ground, leaving an inch-long circular wound at the fracture. Blood instantly gushed out, dripping down his forehead and seeping into his eyes. Xuan Long did not mind, slowly bending down and picking up the horn.


    The old man noticed and turned around, surprised: "What are you doing?


    Xuan Long pursed his lips and slowly handed over the blood-stained dragon horn in his hand, saying hoarsely, "The kindness of Senior... Han Po will certainly remember it."


    His Tao has been exhausted, the only reward he can give is this dragon horn.


    When he came last time, he promised to pay back double the reward for keeping the baby after he had safely passed the heavenly tribulation, but he could not do that anymore.


    The old man''s face turned blue: "I said I wanted it, but I didn''t ask you to give it now. What are you doing in such a hurry?!"


    Xuan Long was breathing heavily, the sudden loss of his inner elixir had already left him vulnerable, and to lose his horn at this time was like cutting off a hand when he was terminally ill, the pain was no different.


    He was now no different from a mortal, to be precise, no different from a mortal who was terminally ill, no better than a delicate porcelain that would break if it was accidentally knocked to the ground. If the human race wanted him dead, it would be easy.


    The only remaining power he had was enough to maintain his human form and to create a sword that was no longer as powerful as it once was.


    "......"


    When Xuan Long didn''t say anything, the old man slapped his thigh and took the dragon horn, pulling Xuan Long to sit down on the edge of the bed, aiming the broken horn at the blood-red fracture and casting a healing spell, with a purple light appearing in his palm.


    "This old man said that only to test your resolve. You''re good, you have to break yourself here to be happy, don''t you?"


    "Senior..." Xuan Long, who was never used to taking kindness from others for nothing, looked sideways at the old man and tried to get up.


    The old man held him back by the shoulders: "Don''t move!"


    "If you move again, I really won''t be able to reattach it."


    A slight coolness came from the wound on top of his head, covering the pain a little, and Xuan Long was a little helpless.


    "I can no longer afford to pay..."


    "I know." The old man held Xuan Long''s horn and watched as the wound gradually healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.


    "This old man didn''t want that from you either."


    "I save demons all by eye contact. If the eye is good, I won''t take a penny, if the eye is not good, I will take ten thousand years of Taoism."


    "I see that you are good, so I will help you, what''s the harm?"


    "Senior''s kindness, I will never forget it." Xuan Long''s throat felt as if something was sticking in it.


    "If you really want to repay me, then live well." The old man sighed, "This old man would hate to see my clan''s dragons die for love and for people."


    "It is too late for that." Xuan Long''s eyes fell to the ground, his heart without regret.


    "It is not too late." The dragon''s horn was already attached and the old man conjured up a white handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from Xuan Long''s face, "If you take the child away, you will be able to live like a human being, at least for another hundred years."


    "... I don''t want to part with it." Xuan Long said.


    "Even if you give birth to this child safely, you will have at most two years to live. You can stay with him for two years, but what about after two years?" The old man''s gaze raked over Yan Yuan on the bed, and discerned for him the situation at hand without any delay, "If this human can accept the child in your womb, it means that he really loves you, and if he loves you so much, how can he live if you leave him and the child to sleep underground? If he doesn''t love you, he won''t accept the child in your womb, and then you will pass away, leaving the child alone in this world, without a loving father or mother. To leave a child alone in this world, without a loving father or mother, is cruel."


    Xuan Long had not had time to think so much about it; he had originally thought of living alone with his child after he gave birth to it. Now, with only three years left to live, he must find a peaceful place for the child before he leaves.


    As the child''s biological father, Yan Yuan''s side was the best haven for the child.


    But can he really accept an heir born of a dragon...


    "Dare I ask Senior, is this child born... a dragon or a human." Xuan Long asked in a low voice.


    The old man frowned as his handkerchief disappeared from his palm, "It''s hard to say, it could be human, it could be a dragon, or it could be half human and half dragon."


    Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly, a sign of his nervousness: "What is half human and half dragon?"


    "It''s a human with dragon horns from birth." The old man said, "Such a child is a monster in the human race, and an alien in the dragon race. Dragons of impure blood will not be accepted by the dragon race."


    "......" Xuan Long fell silent at his words.


    The old man looked at him with worry and said in a serious tone, "Han Po, you need to bear too much when you give birth to him. Without your protection, this child''s future will certainly be stormy and dangerous."


    Xuan Long''s lips moved, and the sound that came out was nearly nothing: "He should... protect him."


    "Hey..." The old man knew his mind was made up, and ceased to advise, turning with a long sigh and going outside the house.


    Two days later, Xuan Long took Yan Yuan and left the Dragon Realm.


    He had no more spiritual power and could not fly. The old man sent them to the bottom of the hill and arranged for a spacious carriage, which was suitable for Yan Yuan as he was still unconscious and the couch in the carriage was soft and comfortable for him to sleep on.


    When they crossed the Meridian Gate, Xuan Long showed the jade pendant with the dragon pattern that Yan Yuan was carrying and entered the palace without any problems.


    Chen Yan saw Yan Yuan die with his own eyes, but as his body disappeared into thin air, he was unable to give an explanation to his ministers, so he concealed the news of his death and secretly sent someone out of the palace to look for him.


    When Xuan Long appeared in Qiankun Palace with an unharmed Yan Yuan, Chen Yan almost thought he was hallucinating, but at that moment, Yan Yuan was lying on the dragon bed, wearing a neat white robe, his face rosy and his breath calm.


    Combined with what Yan Yuan had said earlier, that he had met the dragon, and seeing with his own eyes that Yan Yuan had come ashore safely after spending two days in the thousand-year old pond, Chen Yan was more or less certain of the identity of this ¡®Master Han''.


    This was the true dragon''s manifestation.


    Chen Yan''s cloudy eyes were red as he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Xuan Long, thanking him for saving the Emperor''s life. Xuan Long got up from the side of the bed and bent down to help him up. Chen Yan cried for a while and then withdrew of his own accord.


    Early the next morning, Yan Yuan woke up in his bed. The bright yellow tent above him made him a little confused about his situation. He raised his hand and touched his chest, and felt that it was as good as ever, with no signs of injury on his body at all. A soothing energy flowed through his muscles and bones, making him feel full of energy, as if he had taken a magic elixir, and he was incredibly comfortable.


    There was a distinct breathing sound in his ears, and when he turned his head to look, he saw a cold, angular face with eyelashes as thick as shadows on a tree. A dark gold mask covered the right side of the man¡¯s face, but it was still difficult to block the paleness of the face.


    Yan Yuan''s heart stirred. He was certain that he was not dreaming, and opened his mouth to call out, "A''Po..."


    Xuan Long was sleeping heavily, a little far away from Yan Yuan, with at least half a metre separating them. Yan Yuan moved over and embraced his strong, thin waist, calling out to Xuan Long several times before he woke up, his icey turquoise eyes full of drowsiness.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes reddened and he clasped his waist tightly, the two of them pressed close together, so close that the other''s breath was close by: "I thought I''d never see you again."


    "You saved me, didn''t you?"


    "En." Xuan Long''s eyes gradually regained their clarity.


    "The fact that you were willing to save me proves that you still love me." The tip of Yan Yuan''s nose rested against Xuan Long''s, speaking with a thick nasal tone:


    "This time I will never let go of you again."


    "A''Po, stay here, okay?..."


    Xuan Long looked at Yan Yuan and did not speak.


    Yan Yuan nuzzled against his nose and said, "I said that if I had another life, I would treat you well. I was dead, but now I am alive again, so I am living another life, I will keep my promise."


    "Why don''t you stay with me? Okay?¡­"


    Xuan Long''s face was expressionless, only looking at Yan Yuan with those icy turquoise eyes, making Yan Yuan confused as to what he was thinking, and his heart became more and more anxious as he said dumbly.


    "Actually, speaking of something like growing old together... is indeed coaxing you to be happy. You see, you are a dragon, you have lived for ten thousand years and are still this handsome and young, while I am a human, I can only live for a hundred years at most."


    "You just stay by my side and accompany me through these hundred years, okay?..."


    "When I die, you may prefer to travel the rivers and lakes or live at the bottom of the pond for a long time, I won''t be able to see it, you still have a lot of life to enjoy, I just want to possess you for a short period of less than a hundred years, so just make me whole..."


    "A''Po..."


    "Is that okay..."


    Not knowing whether it was because his heart had softened, or because he couldn''t resist Yan Yuan''s pampering, after a long silence, Xuan Long opened his mouth in a low voice, "... Okay."


    Just one word was enough for Yan Yuan to leap for joy, and his eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"


    "Mm." Xuan Long responded softly.


    "I knew you loved me the most!" Yan Yuan rubbed the man in his arms, and dropped delicate kisses on his ears, working his way from his ears to Xuan Long''s lips.


    Xuan Long''s lips were slightly thin, but very soft. Yan Yuan first tasted them lightly, but when he did not refuse, he deepened the kiss. He hadn¡¯t vented his feelings for a long time, and when he became intimate with Xuan Long, he soon caught fire.


    The lust-laced kiss was so domineering and irresistible that it was difficult for Xuan Long to breathe. He raised his hands to push the man away from him, but Yan Yuan had no intention of giving way, so Xuan Long slowly relaxed his strength and let him manipulate him with his eyes downcast, his eyelashes trembling slightly as Yan Yuan dug his hands into the hem of his shirt.


    When he was about to be suffocated, Yan Yuan finally let him go and instead attacked the belt around Xuan Long''s waist. Xuan Long subconsciously pressed his hand and met Yan Yuan''s lust-filled light brown eyes.


    "A''Po, I want..." Yan Yuan lowered his head and pecked Xuan Long''s lips, pampering himself with him.


    "... I''m tired today." Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly and his voice did sound a little tired.


    Seeing that he was ever so pale, Yan Yuan didn''t care: "I haven''t even been close to you for a long time, just once, is that okay?..."


    After staring at each other for a long time, Xuan Long slowly let go.

 CH 54

    "A''Po, you''re getting more and more powerless, it''s only been a short while and you''re already going to sleep..." Yan Yuan discontentedly dragged Xuan Long''s legs under him, the two of them instantly joined closely together. Xuan Long let out a low hum and opened his dazed eyes to look at Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan bent down and kissed him on the lips, rubbing them gently, "Comfortable?"


    "Mmm." Xuan Long subconsciously answered.


    "Lying to me again." Yan Yuan raised his hand to wipe the sweat from the corner of Xuan Long''s forehead, not knowing whether he was comfortable or in pain, but seeing him like this, he must not be having fun.


    "Is performing conjugal acts with me so tasteless?" He asked in frustration.


    It was as if an iron pestle had been thrust into his body, moving in and out brutally, without a pause, and it was uncomfortable. He had heard that it was very pleasurable for a couple to be united in spirit and flesh, but Xuan Long had never felt any pleasure, perhaps because they were not really a couple, so they could not be united in spirit and flesh.


    Even if their bodies were forced together, it was like a coarse thread being threaded through a tiny needle hole; it could not be forced. Xuan Long did not understand why Yan Yuan was so keen to do this with him, but seeing that he seemed to feel comfortable, he did not say anything more, nor did he want to spoil his mood.


    "No."


    "Then are you comfortable?" Yan Yuan asked relentlessly, his warm breath spilling onto Xuan Long''s face, the tips of their noses touching from time to time as they continually moved.


    "Very comfortable." Xuan Long''s fingertips clenched the bedding beneath him, his breathing became increasingly laboured by the other man''s rampage, his pale lips opened, and the sound he made was almost faint.


    Yan Yuan felt that he was being perfunctory and pushed hard up against him, "Then you''re not allowed to sleep."


    Xuan Long seemed to be in pain, his body shuddered fiercely, a hoarse cry of pain unconsciously emitted from his throat, and he curled up like a shrimp dropped into boiling water, yet he was pulled away from his arms and legs in the next breath.


    "What''s wrong with you?" Yan Yuan brushed the sweaty hair from the corner of his forehead with his fingers, vaguely feeling that something was wrong.


    Xuan Long''s ears were buzzing and he couldn''t quite hear what Yan Yuan was saying. He half raised his eyes and replied back vaguely, "En... Won''t sleep."


    Halfway through, Xuan Long fell asleep, and Yan Yuan guessed that he was this weak because he was overworked and exhausted from running around to save his life.


    Yan Yuan quickly lost interest, vented his excess desire, and got up to take a bath.


    When Chen Yan saw Yan Yuan wake up, he wept with joy.


    "This servant thought that day was goodbye forever, but fortunately you are back, otherwise this servant would have died and would not have had the face to explain to the late emperor, woo woo..."


    Yan Yuan remembered the way Chen Yan stood in front of him without thinking when the poisoned arrows flew that day, and his heart warmed slightly.


    "Don''t cry, I am here in good condition."


    Chen Yan raised his sleeve to wipe away his tears and said, "Thanks to Master Han, without him... fortunately he was there."


    "En." Yan Yuan whispered, "I will treat him well."


    When the palace staff filled the bath, Chen Yan retired, leaving Yan Yuan to bathe alone.


    He wanted to go and see Ning Zhiyu after the bath, but now that Xuan Long had just returned to his side and was still warm, he was a bit reluctant to part ways, and since Ning Zhiyu had dragon scales, he should be fine. After bathing, Yan Yuan had some food brought to him and ate some of it before going to bed to sleep with Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan had slept for three days and was full of energy, so he couldn''t sleep. He just quietly held Xuan Long and looked at his peaceful sleeping face, thinking about future matters.


    Should he give Xuan Long a proper identity, or should he continue to hide him in Qiankun Palace as before?


    Yan Yuan knew that Xuan Long himself did not care much for things such as a title, but he had to do what he had promised Xuan Long. He just didn''t know how to speak to Ning Zhiyu.


    He had also promised Ning Zhiyu that he would be with him for the rest of his life.


    No matter what he did, it would be wrong.


    He could not make a decision, so Yan Yuan stopped thinking about it and was prepared to wait until Xuan Long woke up. If he wanted to be his imperial concubine, he would discuss it with Ning Zhiyu.


    Xuan Long had saved his life, which was a great favour.


    A''Yu was so understanding that he should be able to understand.


    As he was lost in thought, his thoughts were interrupted by the low whimpering of the man in his arms. Xuan Long''s eyebrows were wrinkled and he was sleeping restlessly, mouthing something indistinctly.


    "Good A''Yuan... don''t cry..."


    "After I¡­ fall into reincarnation... come find me..."


    Xuan Long seemed to be very sad, the inaudible words were tinged with a bit of crying. Yan Yuan could not quite hear what he was saying, and even if he tried to listen, he could only identify the words ''reincarnation'', ''find me'', and so on.


    When he raised his hand to wipe away the clear liquid that had slipped out of the corner of Xuan Long''s closed eyes, Yan Yuan''s heart was struck by something and ached tightly.


    Panicking, he tightened his grip on Xuan Long''s waist and woke him up.


    "What did you dream about?"


    For a long time, Xuan Long seemed to be immersed in the kind of sadness that Yan Yuan could not understand, staring at him with a bewildered look.


    "Have I treated you that badly?" Yan Yuan clearly misunderstood and said in a low voice, "Even in your dreams, you dream that I bully you."


    "¡­ No." Xuan Long said.


    Not bullying, but some broken, sorrowful moments.


    He dreamt that he was dying and Yan Yuan was hugging him and crying with great sadness. When he saw that Yan Yuan was sad, he was sad too and said something to coax the child in order to comfort the other.


    The Yan Yuan in his dream wore a silver battle cannon and looked no different in age from the Yan Yuan in front of him, with the same stunning features, the same love of pampering him and crying and begging him not to die, which was so heartbreaking.


    "So what did you dream about?" Yan Yuan propped one elbow up on the bed and looked at Xuan Long curiously.


    "Dreaming of..." Xuan Long opened his mouth and swallowed the words back, "nothing."


    He didn''t really want to talk about life and death with Yan Yuan, it was too heavy.


    "Why are you like this again, stopping mid-sentence and then hiding everything in your heart?" Yan Yuan was dissatisfied, "How do I know what you''re thinking if you don''t say anything."


    Xuan Long pursed his lips and hesitated about how to tell the other party about the child, when he saw Yan Yuan let go and lie down.


    "Forget it, I won''t force you."


    "......"


    "By the way, how did I get saved?" Yan Yuan didn''t get angry with him, twirling a strand of black hair on the side of Xuan Long''s face and playing with it in his hands.


    "Casting a spell." Xuan Long said lightly.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes glowed as he leaned closer to him and said, "If you can save me, can you also save A''Yu?"


    Xuan Long paused and said in a low, sullen voice, "No."


    Yan Yuan choked, "Why not?"


    There was only one inner elixir, and now that it was gone, it was natural that he could not.


    Unless his heart was cut out.


    "......"


    Seeing Xuan Long''s silence, Yan Yuan tentatively asked, "Are you afraid that if A''Yu gets well, I won''t like you anymore?"


    "No." Xuan Long was sleepy eyed, and it was unclear as to what he was thinking.


    Yan Yuan felt that he definitely wasn''t telling the truth. Even a dead person like himself could be saved so easily. Would Ning Zhiyu, a living person, be even harder to heal than him?


    Definitely not.


    "Just be kind and save A''Yu... " Yan Yuan tugged at Xuan Long''s sleeve and begged in a soft voice, "to avoid having to pluck dragon scales later, how painful. You are so highly skilled in magic, I think you should have a way, right?"


    Xuan Long shook his head in silence, his icy turquoise eyes staring upwards in awe.


    "A''Po..." Yan Yuan said, half his body over Xuan Long''s, his sticky kiss landing on his eyelids, pestering him with undying affection.


    Xuan Long closed his eyes and turned his face away to avoid it. The low tone of his voice was thick with weariness, "I can''t help with this."


    "I don''t believe it." Yan Yuan frowned.


    Xuan Long whispered, "There is a destiny for life and death, and no one can tamper with it."


    "What about me? How can mine be changed?" Yan Yuan''s heart was sulking. Once Xuan Long, who had always been submissive to him, disobeyed him, he became extraordinarily angry and unconsciously became aggressive.


    "......" Xuan Long closed his eyes and did not say anything.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were on fire: "You are obviously jealous of him."


    Xuan Long slowly turned his back.


    A moment later, Yan Yuan heard him say:


    "Perhaps."


    Silence erected a high wall between the two.


    Yan Yuan''s anger came and went quickly, and he realised that he had been unreasonable; Xuan Long had been kind enough to save him, so where was his obligation to save his empress?


    It had been so hard to coax Xuan Long to stay, and if he was forced to leave again, there might not be a second chance.


    Yan Yuan moved up and hugged Xuan Long from behind, whispering in his ear to admit his mistake: "I''m sorry, A''Po, I didn''t control my temper for a moment."


    "It''s alright." His voice was as gentle and calm as ever.


    When Xuan Long said nothing was wrong, he meant nothing was really wrong. Yan Yuan''s heart relaxed and he thought about saying something to cheer him up when he heard Xuan Long speak as if he was talking to himself, "I know he is your soft spot. Whenever you touch him, it will always be different."


    Yan Yuan''s heart sank and he gathered his waist and belly between his hands a little tighter: "You are also my soft spot..."


    "Really?" Xuan Long asked in return.


    "En." Yan Yuan nodded vigorously, though Xuan Long couldn''t see it.


    "I don''t want to be your weakness."


    "Why?" Yan Yuan''s heart was pulled tight for no reason.


    Xuan Long indifferently said, "It''s enough that you have him."


    Yan Yuan frowned: "I don''t like you saying such things, don''t say that in the future..."


    "En."


    For the matter of Ning Zhiyu, Xuan Long could not do anything about it, and for the rest of the matters, he always obeyed him.


    "A''Po, why do I feel that you are strange..." Yan Yuan couldn''t say what was strange, it''s just that he felt that Xuan Long had become different, but where exactly, he didn''t know.


    "It''s you who''s being paranoid." Xuan Long replied.


    Yan Yuan thought about it and agreed, so he didn''t dwell on the matter.


    "A''Yuan." Xuan Long called to him.


    "Hm?"


    "I have something... I want to beg you."


    The word ''beg'' was a little too heavy, and Yan Yuan wondered, "What is it?..."


    Since it was about the child, he hoped that Yan Yuan would raise the child after his death, for old time''s sake, and not resent the fact that his biological father was a dragon.


    It was a difficult thing to ask, for he was not sure if Yan Yuan could accept it, but the matter had come to this, and even if he could not accept it, he had to give it a try.


    Under Yan Yuan''s gaze, Xuan Long opened his mouth, "I..."


    At this very moment, an urgent voice came from outside the hall.


    "Your Majesty... it''s not good, the Empress has heard of your death from somewhere, he has refused to take his medicine for several days in a row, he is now unconscious in bed, bent on death, you should go and see..."


    Yan Yuan¡¯s complexion suddenly changed and he leapt up from the bed without thinking.

 CH 55

    He''s Easy to Fool Anyway


    The person who came was the palace maid at Ning Zhiyu''s side. When Yan Yuan heard that something had happened to Ning Zhiyu, he left without looking back, so Xuan Long had to swallow back the words that were on his lips.


    In the silence of the hall, Xuan Long took a pill from the hidden compartment on the side of his bed. The sharp pain in his abdomen gradually faded away, but the pain like ants gnawing at his bones only increased.


    That was what it was like to have the power of the soul eaten away, starting from the moment he lost his inner elixir. There were always hours in the day when the pain was severe, just as a human being needs a lot of nourishment when he is hungry, a foetus also needs a lot of nutrients when it is hungry.


    Xuan Long''s body curled up like a pangolin that had been hit hard, and he shivered visibly, his arms wrapped around himself to ease the pain, but the effect was clearly weak.


    A cold sweat broke out on his back and he was barely able to maintain his composure in front of Yan Yuan, but now he could no longer do so. His mind too confused to think about anything else, he fell into a deep sleep amidst the dense pain.


    When Yan Yuan arrived at Luanfeng Hall, Ning Zhiyu was waking up on the bed. The palace attendant had boiled medicine and brought it to the bedside, persuading him bitterly: "Your Majesty, you should drink the medicine, if His Majesty knew that you were not caring for your body, how worried he would be..."


    Ning Zhiyu was as thin as a paper figure with thin bones, lying thinly under the thick brocade blanket, his scarlet eyes staring lifelessly upwards, looking ready to die at any moment.


    When he heard the palace attendant''s words, he only blinked woodenly, without any reaction.


    Seeing that persuasion was useless, the elder eunuch winked to the two younger eunuchs beside him, who immediately went to the bedside and combined their efforts to hold Ning Zhiyu''s shoulders and back to lift him up. The elder eunuch came forward with a jade medicine bowl and scooped up a spoonful of the pitch-black soup to Ning Zhiyu''s lips.


    "Your Majesty, just take a sip..."


    Ning Zhiyu turned his face away and raised his hand to block it, he had not eaten for several days and could not control his strength, the turquoise jade bowl was accidentally brushed to the ground with a crashing sound and shattered into pieces, spilling the soup and medicine with dragon scales all over the ground.


    The eunuch sighed and slapped his thighs, "This medicine is very precious, the medicine inside was brought back by the Emperor after a lot of hard work, if it is spilled, it will be gone..."


    The corners of Ning Zhiyu''s mouth curved up and his gaze was dead silent as he softly said, "If it''s gone, it''s gone."


    "We agreed... to hold the hand of our son and grow old with him..."


    "He is dead, what reason do I have to live... I am going to be with him."


    "On Huangquan Road... I''ll hold his hand, and in my next life, we''ll be husband and wife again..."


    Ning Zhiyu''s nature is unhurried, gentle, and quiet, and he treats the palace staff extremely well. The hall was desolate, and when the palace staff saw that he was determined to die, they raised their sleeves and wiped their tears, not even noticing when someone came in from outside the hall.


    ¡°A''Yu..."


    Ning Zhiyu froze and looked stiffly at the source of the voice. Yan Yuan, in a dragon robe, lifted the beaded curtain and walked quickly towards him. Ning Zhiyu moved his mouth, but failed to make a sound.


    When Yan Yuan entered, the palace staff backed away to make way for him. Yan Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbed Ning Zhiyu''s cold hands, and spoke anxiously, "I heard that you haven''t taken your medicine for a few days, do you want to be scolded by me?"


    Ning Zhiyu stared blankly at the stunning face in front of him, tears falling from his dark eyes to his cheeks: ¡°A''Yuan... is that you?"


    Yan Yuan tightened his hand: "It''s me."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled, his fingertips trembled as he caressed Yan Yuan''s face, feeling the vivid touch and temperature, and cried lowly: "They said you were dead..."


    Yan Yuan took the person into his arms, patted Ning Zhiyu''s back, and said softly: "I''ve come back, haven''t I?¡±


    "Don''t cry, don''t cry."


    Although Ning Zhiyu was a few years older than Yan Yuan, when they were together, Yan Yuan''s stability was always the same as his. Perhaps because he felt that Ning Zhiyu was alone and lonely and that he was the only one he could rely on, he did not want to let him suffer.


    Yan Yuan did not tell Ning Zhiyu about his departure from the palace that day and did not meet with him for several days on the pretext that he was busy with court affairs. Ning Zhiyu thought that he was really busy and did not come, so he asked the palace maid to make a delicious snack and send it to Qiankun Palace to remind him to take care of his health, but the palace maid inadvertently learned from the conversation between Chen Yan and the guards that the whereabouts of Yan Yuan''s body was unknown after his death.


    Ning Zhiyu ordered someone to bribe the head guard and found out that Yan Yuan had been fatally shot while trying to find his medicine, and he was so disheartened that he wanted to die.


    Yan Yuan comforted Ning Zhiyu and learned from him what had happened, and he was terrified. If he hadn''t come back to life, or if he had woken up a few days later, would Ning Zhiyu really have died with him?


    "Silly A''Yu." When Yan Yuan scolded Ning Zhiyu, his tone was soft and gentle, unlike when he was angry with Xuan Long and his words were extremely unpleasant, "No matter what time it is, you must not belittle your own life. I have gone to such great lengths to find your medicine, and this is how you repay me?"


    Ning Zhiyu stopped crying and leaned reassuringly into Yan Yuan''s arms, listening to his steady, strong heartbeat: "Everyone in this world belittles my life, only you care for me and feel sorry for me."


    "If you die, I will follow you. Even if I go to hell, as long as you are by my side, I will not be afraid of bulls, ghosts, snakes, or gods.¡±


    "Because I know... you will protect me."


    When Yan Yuan heard this, his throat tightened up and the strong feeling of guilt inside him came back up.


    Ning Zhiyu trusted him so much, how could he break his heart, this was the love of his life in his previous life... What about Xuan Long, what should happen to Xuan Long?


    The desperation of his dream made Yan Yuan unwilling to hurt Ning Zhiyu, while his inexplicable obsession with Xuan Long made him unable to be ruthless. In a dilemma, Yan Yuan was hesitant.


    He put the matter of appointing a concubine out of his mind for the time being and asked the palace staff to bring in a light meal. Seeing that Yan Yuan was safe, Ning Zhiyu was finally willing to eat. Taking one bite after another, he obediently ate the green vegetables and meat porridge that Yan Yuan spooned over to him. He chewed slowly, which made him look particularly elegant.


    After half a bowl had gone down, Ning Zhiyu waved his hand to reject the spoon offered by Yan Yuan, covering his lips and stiffly coughing twice, he shook his head and said, ¡°No more."


    Yan Yuan knew that he had a small appetite, so he didn''t force him, handing the bowl to the palace staff and letting them all exit, leaving the two of them alone in the hall.


    "Are you sleepy?"


    "I''m not sleepy when I look at you."


    Although Ning Zhiyu said so, his body was too weak and he could not hold on for long after taking the medicine, so Yan Yuan helped him lie down and ran his fingers over Ning Zhiyu''s beautiful eyebrows.


    Seeing his distracted look, Ning Zhiyu asked, holding back his exhaustion, ¡°A''Yuan, do you have something on your mind?"


    Yan Yuan was silent for a moment, met Ning Zhiyu''s gaze, and gathered the courage to speak, ¡°A''Yu... I have something that I want to ask you. If you are not happy to hear it... then forget it."


    Ning Zhiyu''s intuition was that it was something not very good, but he still smiled: "What is it? Just say it, I won''t be unhappy."


    Yan Yuan had rarely been this apprehensive: "Haven''t you always wanted to know why the medicine you are taking is so precious and hard to find?"


    "In fact, it''s not something that can be found from a cliff face at all, it''s something that can only be found by entering a ten-thousand-foot-deep pond."


    "I was afraid of scaring you before and didn''t tell you the truth."


    "Your remedy, it¡¯s not herbs... but dragon scales."


    "Dragon scales?..." Ning Zhiyu said in surprise.


    Yan Yuan decided to tell the whole story: ¡°En."


    "On the night of our wedding, you suddenly fell ill and your life was in danger, and the imperial doctors were at their wits¡¯ end. At this time, Zong Hua told me that there was a dragon in the thousand-year-old pond under Jinghua Mountain, and that the heart of the dragon could be used as medicine... to cure all diseases."


    "Apart from this solution, I didn''t know what else to do to wake you up, so I could only treat a dead horse as a living one, and took cultivators to the ancient pond the next day to capture the dragon alive. I didn''t know that I would run into an assassination attempt halfway through the journey, and I fell to the bottom of the pond by mistake."


    "It is strange that¡­ it was clearly under water, but people can breathe freely, so I thought the dragon had cast some kind of spell." Yan Yuan said this, and as if recalling something beautiful, his face unconsciously showed a little smile, which quickly disappeared because of the next words and he became a little frustrated.


    "I originally thought he was as cruel as the rumours circulating in the rivers and lakes, but who knew that he was cold on the outside while treating me gently. I took this opportunity to pretend to like him and tricked him into returning to the palace so that he could pluck dragon scales for you to use as medicine."


    "I wanted to cut his heart out while he was asleep, but I couldn''t bear it. He had no grudge against me. Just because his flesh and blood could save lives, did he have to die? I couldn''t do it."


    "So, I could only keep coaxing him in the name of love... to get dragon scales from him and use them to suppress your illness."


    "Later, he found out that I didn''t love him at all, that it was all a lie, and left."


    "This time, when I left the palace, I went to seek him for dragon scales, but I ended up encountering an assassination attempt again and lost my life halfway... It was he who saved me."


    "So what?..." Ning Zhiyu knew that what Yan Yuan was going to say next was the main point.


    "If it wasn''t for him... I would be dead." Yan Yuan¡¯s confidence bottomed out.


    "I don''t think I should let him give so much for nothing... Since he likes me and is willing to stay by my side, I''m thinking of giving him a name and making him a concubine."


    Ning Zhiyu thought Yan Yuan might be crazy. That''s a demon, and regardless of whether it''s true or not, what he said is unbelievable enough: "You want to appoint a demon as a concubine?..."


    Yan Yuan hurriedly explained, "Although he is a demon, he has a gentle nature and is no different from the human race."


    "Don''t worry, even if I appoint him as my concubine, the person I love the most is still you."


    Ning Zhiyu frowned slowly, "For thousands of years, the rumours in society are that all demons are evil and demonic and like to eat human flesh and blood, could he be staying by your side for some purpose..."


    "No! What purpose could he have, he just loves me, that''s why he''s willing to extract scales to save you." Yan Yuan didn''t quite like the way Ning Zhiyu spoke about Xuan Long.


    Ning Zhiyu looked at Yan Yuan as if he didn''t know him, ¡°A¡¯Yuan, are you in love with him?"


    "I am not! The person I love has always been you." Yan Yuan blurted out, "If it were not for the cure of your illness, I would not have gone to such lengths to keep him. The act of registering a concubine is primarily to stabilise him, and secondly, I feel guilty about the way I treat him... at most, I only like him a little."


    "Is that so?" Ning Zhiyu withdrew his gaze.


    ¡°En."


    ¡°Then¡­ do you agree?" Yan Yuan finally turned towards Ning Zhiyu, and was more considerate of his feelings, "If you don''t agree, I''ll find an excuse to put it off, he''s easy to fool anyway and won''t do anything."

 CH 56

    Share12-15 minutes


    Yan Huo Hang


    "You are the emperor, you should have a harem of three thousand beauties. This kind of thing, why do you need to ask if I agree or not?" Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes, his lips tinged with a smile. "It''s fine if you are happy."


    Seeing him like this, Yan Yuan suddenly felt very uncomfortable in his heart. In his last life, this man died because of him, and in this life, he was not treated wholeheartedly.


    ¡°A''Yu¡­¡±


    Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes and did not respond to him. Yan Yuan was silent for a moment and spoke guiltily, "If you are unhappy, then forget it, let him be a nameless and faceless person by my side, and you can pretend that he does not exist, I will never treat you lightly because of him. Okay?"


    ¡°Okay." Ning Zhiyu said.


    Yan Yuan was afraid that he wouldn''t be able to think straight and continued, "You can only live because of his flesh and blood... When the dragon scales are finished being used, I will ask him to continue to pluck them for you."


    "Mm." Ning Zhiyu responded.


    "Are you sleepy?" Yan Yuan probed for his hand that was resting on the brocade quilt and shook it, "Sleep if you are sleepy, I will wait for you to sleep before I leave."


    Ning Zhiyu did not speak again.


    Yan Yuan stayed by his side for half an hour. Ning Zhiyu was breathing steadily and must have fallen asleep, so Yan Yuan gently put his hand under the blanket and got up to leave.


    When Yan Yuan''s back was about to disappear into the hall, Ning Zhiyu slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at his tall back, his dark eyes covered with intense sorrow and despair.


    His A¡¯Yuan was leaving him after all.


    ¡­¡­


    After several days of ignoring the government affairs, Yan Yuan went to the imperial study. According to the pile of documents, the heinous fox demon at the border is no longer causing trouble. No matter what the reason is, this is a good thing.


    When he thought of this, Yan Yuan suddenly remembered the male fox demon beside Xuan Long in the ancient pond... At first, he was jealous of the relationship between Xuan Long and the fox demon and did not think much about it. Now that he thought about it, the male fox demon and the fox demon that harmed his people are not the same, right?...


    They should not be... Xuan Long, such a good dragon, how could he befriend a fox demon like that? Although Hu Le was not a good thing either.


    "Someone."


    "Summon General Chen and the Prime Minister to the palace."


    Yan Yuan didn''t know what came to mind, but hatred and loathing flashed across his eyes.


    He had reached the limit of his patience with Yan Huo Heng.


    Yan Huo Heng was Yan Yuan''s half-brother and the son of the current Empress Dowager, born on the same day, same month, and same year as Yan Yuan, only one hour before him.


    It has always been the practice of Darong to appoint the first son, not the eldest. When Yan Yuan''s mother died in childbirth, the Emperor chose the Empress Dowager, who was a noblewoman, as Yan Yuan''s adoptive mother in order to find a virtuous and benevolent mother for him. In order to balance the power of the court, and to avoid concubines of noble birth using Yan Yuan''s status as the Crown Prince and the power of his mother''s family to form cliques in the court and disrupt the dynasty, Lady Heng, who was the daughter of a minor magistrate, was undoubtedly the best choice at the time.


    Ten fingers can be long or short, and one''s own children are not always equally good, let alone those coming out of someone else''s womb. Although the late emperor did not treat Yan Yuan with affection, he was completely partial to him. After all, he was the child of his beloved, and just because he did not want to look at him for fear of being hurt, it did not mean that he did not value him.


    The previous emperor issued an imperial decree ordering Yan Yuan to be sent to the side of Lady Heng, and at the same time, took away Ledy Heng''s own son, Yan Huo Heng, and gave him to Concubine Liang to raise.


    She had a problem with her health and was born unable to have children, so it was good to have an adopted son to fall back on in her old age, but she was spirited and short-tempered. In front of the late emperor, she could still pretend to be gentle, while treating the palace staff with a bad temper, she would shout at them and scold them, so Yan Huo Heng had not had a good life since he was a child. Concubine Liang loved to fight and be jealous, and when she was at a disadvantage with other concubines, she would use him as an outlet for her anger, beating him to the point where he was bruised and battered, thus developing his gloomy and cold-blooded nature.


    Until he reached adulthood, he was not allowed to see his own mother, and even though she knew that her own son was living a life worse than that of a dog, she could not say anything bad about Concubine Liang in front of the late emperor, because she had sworn that from the day Yan Yuan came to her, she would Yan Yuan''s own mother and could not care about anything else.


    Because of Yan Yuan, she was promoted from a concubine to an imperial concubine, and her father became a fourth-ranking governor from a ninth-ranking official. If Yan Yuan is good, her family prospers, but if Yan Yuan fails in any way, she and her mother''s family will all suffer the same loss.


    She could only secretly give some silver to the palace maids and eunuchs around Concubine Liang in the hope that they would take care of Yan Huo Heng, but how could the palace maids and eunuchs influence their master''s affairs?


    Concubine Heng was a good adoptive mother, gentle in nature and kept a close distance from him. It was only when Yan Yuan became an adult that he realised she was not his real mother.


    On the day of his accession to the throne, Yan Huo Heng killed his adoptive mother, Concubine Liang, and when the royal son was sent to the heavenly prison, Concubine Heng knelt down and begged Yan Yuan, tearfully telling him about the son swap.


    As she watched her own son suffer, there was nothing she could do about it, and she had to genuinely care for someone else''s son every day. This was an extremely cruel thing for a mother to do.


    Although Yan Yuan did not see all this happen, it did happen because of him. The crime of matricide was an unforgivable one, and under pressure from the courtiers, Yan Yuan had to send him into exile.


    Although he was exiled, he was actually sentenced to become a junior general at the border. Yan Huo Heng had a talent for leading troops into battle, and in just a few months, he was promoted from a junior general to a lieutenant, and then from lieutenant to captain in a year, leading his men to drive out the rampaging Huns on the southern border, and to take over several small countries.


    Yan Yuan, thinking of all the suffering he had endured for nothing, gave him special attention and personally went to the palace to welcome him when he was triumphant.


    Unexpectedly, Yan Huo Heng was not only ungrateful, but also harboured a wolf''s ambition. He was at the border, but his hands were so long that he wanted to take his life repeatedly, and as his military power grew, he became more and more undisguised...


    An hour later, General Chen and the Prime Minister received their orders to enter the palace.


    The two are both more than fifty years old. Having been the right hand of the previous emperor when they were young, they were now loyal subjects of Yan Yuan.


    From the time Yan Yuan was attacked at his birthday banquet last year, they suspected that the culprit behind the attack was Yan Huo Heng. The rest of the princes left for their territories when they reached adulthood, all of them being idle princes with no power, and even if they wanted to rebel, they would not have the strength to do so.


    Only Yan Huo Heng, whose biological mother was the Empress Dowager and who held the power of a million soldiers, had the power to rebel and make the Imperial City change hands at any time.


    At first, Yan Yuan was not sure until after the assassination, when Chen Yan ordered his men to look for Yan Yuan''s body. He used the arrows used by the dead soldiers and found the underground workshop where the arrows were forged according to the material of the arrows, and through the workshop, he found an assassin group called the Ghost Pavilion.


    The Ghost Pavilion is well known in the rivers and lakes, with a large network of organisations throughout the country. In the Ghost Pavilion, you can buy human lives and information, as long as you can think of it and pay enough money, everything is possible.


    The identity of the buyer was revealed to be Yan Huo Heng; he had bought the life of Yan Yuan.


    If Yan Huo Heng wanted to hide his identity, it was definitely an easy task, and to be discovered so easily meant that ¨C he had done it on purpose.


    His wolfish ambition no longer had the patience to hide.


    After General Chen and the Prime Minister entered the hall, Yan Yuan gave a cursory account of his own assassination on this trip out of the palace in his modest clothes, saying only that he had suffered a minor injury and omitting the incident of Xuan Long saving him and bringing him back from the dead.


    This alone was enough to make General Chen''s face and neck red with anger, and he cursed in the hall, "That wolf-hearted, dog-lunged thing! If the Emperor hadn''t let him off the hook, he would have died years ago!"


    Compared to General Chen''s excited expression, the Prime Minister was calm: "Things have come to this, this Yan Huo Heng cannot be kept, what is Your Majesty going to do?"


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were dark, "Next month, it will be my birthday, so we will take the opportunity to ask Yan Huo Heng to come back for my birthday banquet. Once the holy decree is issued, he will not dare to not return. If he wants to assassinate me, then I will return the favour. What do you two ministers think?"


    The Prime Minister folded his hands in a thoughtful manner, "In that case, it would not be a bad idea. It¡¯s just that... Yan Huo Heng is very strong in martial arts, if you want to get close to him, I''m afraid it''s not that easy to deal with him, and it''s even more difficult to do so unnoticed."


    "I have a candidate in mind who can definitely make him die without a place to be buried." Yan Yuan said.


    "Who is it?" General Chen asked curiously.


    "A strange man." Yan Yuan smiled mysteriously.


    "Before next month, you must tighten the deployment of the city''s defences, but don''t worry about the rest, I have my own arrangements."


    "Yes." General Chen took orders.


    "Ning Aiqing, why don''t you go to Luanfeng Hall later to see A''Yu, he is not in a good mood these days, you are his father, he should be happy to see you.


    "Yes." The Prime Minister bent his thin back and replied.


    He was ashamed to say that he hadn''t treated Ning Zhiyu with much importance in the past, after all, he was a product of drunken recklessness. Ning Zhiyu''s birth mother was humble, and in his opinion, what happened that night was a stain on his life, so he ignored Ning Zhiyu altogether.


    Who would have known that his sickly son would be picked up by Yan Yuan and become a phoenix on a branch?


    Yan Yuan knew more or less what was in the Prime Minister''s mind, but that did not affect Ning Zhiyu''s feelings when he saw his father, for a late father''s love is still a father''s love, and he felt guilty for Ning Zhiyu, so he tried to make up for him in other ways.


    In the evening, Yan Yuan finally finished the pile of government affairs and returned to Qiankun Palace.


    The strange man he was talking about was, of course, Xuan Long. He said he couldn''t get rid of the fox demon, but in the end, the fox demon had stopped, so Yan Yuan thought it was Xuan Long''s doing.


    If Xuan Long could subdue the demon, what was so difficult about helping him kill someone?


    It was wonderful to have that dragon by his side, he was simply his lucky star; not only did he like him like that, he was also able to save Ning Zhiyu''s life. That was nothing, the most important thing was that with Xuan Long around, the thorn in his side was not even an annoyance anymore.


    Yan Yuan sometimes wondered if Xuan Long could be the divine dragon sent from the heavens to guard him, otherwise how could he be so divine, always feeding him and even securing the kingdom for him.

 CH 57

    Share12-15 minutes


    Do You Want Him to Love You Forever


    The bright yellow tent of the dragon bed was tightly closed, and a bony hand was hanging outside the tent, pale from the dim candlelight. On the wrist was a green brocade handkerchief, and the Imperial Doctor had two fingers together, the tips of his fingers resting on his wrist through the handkerchief, checking the pulse intently.


    Yan Yuan didn''t expect that the dragon with immense powers would be as sick as a mortal. When he returned from the imperial study, he heard Xiao Dezi say that Master Han hadn''t taken his meals for the whole day and didn''t answer his calls, so he hurried into the side hall and found Xuan Long asleep on the bed, his body scalding hot and he wouldn''t wake up no matter what.


    In his desperation, he had to summon the Imperial Doctor.


    Seeing that Zong Hua had not moved yet, Yan Yuan asked in a daze, "How is it?..."


    "This person''s pulse... is really strange.¡± Zong Hua frowned.


    Yan Yuan: "How strange?"


    Zong Hua deliberated, "It''s not quite the same as a normal person."


    Yan Yuan frowned slightly, "He''s not a human, he''s a dragon."


    "A dragon?...¡± Zong Hua was stunned. He had been curious before as to how exactly Yan Yuan had acquired the dragon scales, and never thought in a million years that he had brought the dragon to the palace.


    ¡°En." Yan Yuan was too lazy to explain to him and said anxiously, "You didn''t have a way?"


    Zong Hua stepped back a few steps, bowed with downcast eyes, and said, "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, my medical skills are limited, I can only heal people, not dragons."


    Yan Yuan pondered for a moment, "He is burning up so badly, go and prescribe some medicine to reduce the fever. I don''t know if it will help..."


    "That will have to do for now.¡± Zong Hua nodded his head.


    Yan Yuan waved his hand, signalling for him to go back. Zong Hua lifted the medicine box and said, "Your Majesty can wipe his forehead with a wet cloth soaked in cold water to lower the heat, and wipe his body with cold water every hour, it should have some effect."


    Yan Yuan immediately ordered the palace staff outside the hall to bring in cold water, then lifted a small piece of the bed tent and sat down on the edge of the bed, holding Xuan Long''s cold hand.


    Zong Hua looked at Yan Yuan''s figure, wanting to say something, but finally said nothing and slowly turned away.


    Although the pulse of the dragon was different from that of the human race, he vaguely perceived two pulses, one large and one small, from it. The two pulses are fluent and smooth as if they were rolling pearls... Isn''t that a happy pulse?


    It should be wrong... The dragon is a man, and besides, both pulses are so weak that if they were in a human, they would kill two people in one body.


    Before it is determined, he would not dare to say anything, for if he is not careful, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.


    Xiao Dezi quickly brought in a basin of water. Yan Yuan was reluctant to let anyone else touch Xuan Long, so he dismissed the palace staff, lifted up his sleeve, drenched a white cloth with water, wrung out the excess water, and covered Xuan Long''s forehead.


    Before long, the damp cloth was warmed by Xuan Long''s body heat, so Yan Yuan had to repeatedly dip the cloth into the cold water, and lift the blanket while using another cloth to clean the dirty stains between Xuan Long''s legs.


    It was left behind this morning by Yan Yuan, who had left Xuan Long behind when he learned of Ning Zhiyu''s accident. At that time, Xuan Long seemed to say he had something to ask him, but Yan Yuan didn''t have time to listen. When Xuan Long wakes up, he will have to ask him what the matter is.


    The human method of cooling Xuan Long with cold water seemed to be useless, so Yan Yuan could only hope for medicine to reduce his fever, and a little more than half an hour later, the palace staff brought in some medicine from the Imperial Hospital.


    Xuan Long''s lips were pursed and his teeth were tightly closed, he couldn''t feed it to him, and even if he forced it open, it wouldn''t go down. Yan Yuan guessed that Xuan Long was afraid of bitterness and didn''t show it when he was awake, but when he was asleep, he didn''t hide it.


    Yan Yuan had no choice but to endure the bitterness and take the medicine in his mouth, cover Xuan Long''s lips, use his tongue to pry open his teeth, and pour the medicine in.


    In the past, Xuan Long had occasionally been weak, but he had never slept as long as he did now. For the first time, Yan Yuan realised that this dragon was not as strong as he had imagined, that he could ache, and that he could be as sick as the human race.


    Moreover, it was an illness that could not be cured by the finest medicine in the palace.


    After the medicine was poured in, Xuan Long suddenly reacted; his body curled up in a slightly twisted manner, his hands were embedded in his abdomen as if it was painful there, a low whimper came from his throat, his teeth were chattering, and cold sweat appeared at the corners of his forehead.


    Yan Yuan was startled, worried that he would hurt himself, and instinctively pulled Xuan Long''s hands away from his abdomen: ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Po... don''t scare me."


    Xuan Long was in a coma, acting entirely unconsciously. Yan Yuan''s intuition told him that he should not let him do this, so he laid down in panic and used his arms to confine his body tightly.


    ¡°A''Po¡­ A''Po..."


    Other than calling his name, Yan Yuan didn''t know what to do. For the first time, he realised that he was so distant from Xuan Long, and that he knew so little about him that he could not even notice that Xuan Long was sick, let alone know why he was sick, and then, even though he knew, he was still at his wits'' end, not knowing how to ease his suffering.


    Yan Yuan was so afraid that he would just fall asleep like this, and dropped a hasty kiss on Xuan Long''s sweat-covered forehead, trying to give him strength in this way, ¡°A''Po, Xiao Dezi said you have been sleeping for a whole day, don''t sleep, open your eyes and look at me, okay?..."


    The man in his arms gradually quieted down, his long eyelashes hanging, delicate like a lifeless mannequin.


    Seeing that he was not paying attention to him, Yan Yuan gave in and said, "I know, you should be tired, then you should rest well, I will accompany you."


    "Then you must wake up tomorrow, okay?..."


    "I''ve never seen you sick before, you''ve suddenly turned into this state, it really scares me..."


    Yan Yuan did not close his eyes until midnight, and when he opened his eyes the next day. Xuan Long was still sleeping, his high fever had not only not subsided, but had even gotten worse, his whole body seemed like a furnace, Yan Yuan was woken up by the heat.


    If this body temperature were to occur in a human being, he would have been burnt to death. Yan Yuan did not even bother to go to the morning court and continued to ask people to bring cold water to Xuan Long to cool him down. Last night, he saw that Xuan Long''s stomach hurt after drinking the medicine to reduce his fever, so he guessed that the medicine would be harmful to Xuan Long, so Yan Yuan did not dare to give it to him.


    With such a crude method, there was no telling when it would take effect, but there was no other way but to keep it up.


    Xuan Long was sick for ten whole days, and Qiankun Palace was in a mess. With the backlog of court affairs, Yan Yuan had to resume the morning court on the third day of his coma, and every day, except for the one or two hours of the court, he spent the whole day at Xuan Long''s bedside, never leaving Qiankun Palace.


    Luanfeng Hall had sent people to bring snacks to Yan Yuan several times, but they were all turned away on the pretext that he was busy with court affairs. The rumour that the Empress had fallen out of favour gradually emerged in the palace, saying that the Emperor had brought back a charming man when he went out of the palace in disguise some time ago and kept him in the Qiankun Palace.


    As for the promise of a lifetime of love, it may be genuine when the love is strong, but when it becomes weak, it will not count. Ordinary men have three wives and four concubines, let alone the emperor of a country.


    The Empress is too sickly to even have sex, and sooner or later he will lose the heart of the Emperor.


    The palace maid in charge of Luanfeng Hall indignantly repeated the rumours to Ning Zhiyu, who listened to them with an unchanging smile on his lips: "Is that what they say?¡­"


    The palace maid looked at Ning Zhiyu''s bloodless face and her eyes were moist and hot: "Yes, this servant does not know where this rumour started, but when this servant returned from Qiankun Palace just now and passed by the Cold Palace, this servant heard the eunuchs and palace maids there gossiping, so this servant could not bear to listen to them and went in to scold them."


    Ning Zhiyu laughed: "Why are you so angry... True is true and false is false, just because more people hear it, it doesn''t become true. Didn''t I tell you not to bully others with your power?"


    "Where is this servant bullying others?" The palace maid complained, "It''s just that those dogs and lackeys can''t wait to step on the Empress'' back when they see you in dire straits, and are happy to say a few bad words about you as if they''ve won ten thousand taels of gold. If you really had such a day, you might be bullied by others."


    "You''re so soft, even if you hear those people criticising you, this servant is afraid you won''t punish them... Then this servant can only be tougher, to let them know that the Empress is not easy to bully, that Luanfeng Palace is not easy to bully."


    "I say one sentence, you say ten... cough cough cough... cough cough..." Ning Zhiyu''s eyes showed helplessness, and he covered his lips coughing, his breath unsteady, "I''ve really spoiled you during the week..."


    "Your Majesty..."


    This coughing brought out a lot of blood, which dripped down the back of his snow-white hand onto the brocade quilt. The palace maid took out a handkerchief with red eyes and held Ning Zhiyu''s hand to wipe away the blood. The fact is that it is not strange to see this, but it hurts to see such a good person suffering from illness every day.


    Ning Zhiyu''s gaze fell into the air, the light in his dark eyes faint, like the last bit of fire about to burn out, and he laughed.


    "In fact, what they say... is not all false."


    "Once upon a time, A''Yuan wanted to see me day after day and pester me. Nowadays, I ask people to visit him with snacks, in the hope of getting a few kind words from him, but he won''t even give them to me."


    "In fact, there are many things that do not need to be said."


    "I know that best myself...."


    The palace maid grabbed his hand and said hoarsely, "Your Majesty... don''t say that, His Majesty is just too busy, when he is free, he will come to keep you company. His Majesty is most concerned about you."


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, his voice gentle.


    "There is no need to comfort me, I am not a fool."


    "They are right... how can a sickly body keep an emperor¡¯s heart..."


    "What I have received is more than enough. At least he loved me once... Meeting him is the only blessing I have in this life. Perhaps I am poorly blessed, and my blessings are only a few, and they are gone before I can experience much."


    "What cannot be forced... cannot be forced in the end..."


    The palace maid''s beautiful face fell into tears, she instinctively knew that if the Emperor really no longer loved the Empress, then Ning Zhiyu would die. Without enough love, people who are not strong enough will wither like the leaves of an autumn tree.


    "No, it won''t happen, this servant will go and beg His Majesty tomorrow, so that he can come and see you."


    "Don''t go." Ning Zhiyu said softly, "One should live with dignity, that way, even if one day I am no longer by his side... I can still leave a good impression in his heart."


    The palace maid sniffed and whimpered. Ning Zhiyu had a headache from the noise but did not bother to drive her away, leaning the back of his head against the bed frame and closing his eyes.


    A few moments later, he suddenly heard an eerie male voice ringing in his head.


    "Do you want to make him love only you forever?..."

 CH 58

    Share11-14 minutes


    Demon


    Ning Zhiyu thought he was hallucinating from thinking about Yan Yuan, so he opened his eyes and looked into the empty hall.


    Except for the palace maid by the bed, there was no one in sight.


    "You can''t see this honoured one..."


    "This honoured one is inside you..."


    The voice appeared again. It was so close that it was as if it was spoken close to Ning Zhiyu''s ear, low and rustling, causing a chill to run through his bones and his throat to tighten as he asked, "Who are you?"


    The palace maid froze, forgetting even to cry, "Your Majesty, what''s wrong with you?..."


    "Qingmei, you can go away first, I am tired and would like to be alone for a moment." Ning Zhiyu calmly shook his head and closed his eyes, while listening to the voice in his head say:


    "It doesn''t matter who this honoured one is... What matters is whether you want to have Yan Yuan love only you."


    For some reason, the voice seemed to gnash its teeth extra hard when it said the words ''Yan Yuan''.


    When Qingmei went out, the panic under Ning Zhiyu''s eyes couldn''t help but show up, and his thin hands silently clenched the bedding over his body: "Why are you inside me?..."


    "Are you a devil?"


    "Devil?" The voice sneered. "Stupid human, this honourable one is a demon."


    "Demon..." Ning Zhiyu''s heart was in shock.


    "You don''t need to be afraid, this honourable one resides within you and lives in symbiosis with you, and will not harm you."


    Ning Zhiyu suppressed his panic and asked in a low voice, "Why do you want to reside inside me, what is the benefit to you?"


    "A spiteful soul has nowhere to go, so it has to find a host."


    Ning Zhiyu: "Why me..."


    "You are a pure and virtuous person, your soul is fresh and sweet, which suits my taste, and your body is so compatible with mine. Besides, you are that person''s empress."


    Ning Zhiyu thought of something almost immediately and tightened his grip and said, "My illness... is because of you."


    "On the night of my wedding, I suddenly fell ill because of you."


    That voice echoed with an odd note: "A little clever."


    Ning Zhiyu figured out the reason and his eyes turned red, momentarily forgetting his fear: "It was you... who did this to me. If it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t have gotten sick, and if I hadn''t gotten sick, A''Yuan wouldn''t have gone to seek the dragon for me, not to mention fallen in love with him."


    "It was you who harmed me..."


    "You think that without this honourable one, Yan Yuan can love you forever?" The voice interrupted him. The words were mocking.


    "Don''t be stupid. He didn''t hesitate to give up his position as Heavenly Emperor for the sake of Xuan Long and willingly fall into the mortal world to suffer from reincarnation just to love a mortal."


    "He has searched for Xuan Long for ten thousand years, but now he has fallen in love with the wrong person. When he comes to his senses, do you think there will still be a place for you beside him?"


    Ning Zhiyu was dazed and said, "What are you talking about..."


    "He and Xuan Long were an immortal couple in a previous life. Ten thousand years ago, Xuan Long led the celestial soldiers in battle against the demon race in the body of a divine general, and died in that bloody battle when he won a great victory. In order to avenge Xuan Long''s death, Yan Yuan went on a killing spree, slaughtering all the demons and giving up his position as Emperor of the Nine Heavens to enter reincarnation as a mortal to find him. The search took 1ten thousand years. Do you think that Yan Yuan''s relationship with Xuan Long in his previous life was deep, or just the few years of affection with you?¡­"


    "If he hadn''t drunk that bowl of Mengpo soup when he was reincarnated, would he not have recognized the wrong person..."


    "But... it''s better to be mistaken... it''s better to be mistaken..."


    Ning Zhiyu heard his madness and elation and asked, "How do you know this... and why should I believe you?"


    "On the basis that I belong to the demon clan that he drove to extinction." The voice gritted its teeth, and the sudden rise in volume shook Ning Zhiyu''s eardrums. A feeling of nausea welled up in his chest, and his face turned white.


    It took a long time to find his voice: "... What do you want to do?"


    "This honourable one wants to take revenge¨C"


    "Let him know what it is to repent and wish for death... hahahahahaha... hahahaha... "


    Ning Zhiyu fought back the churning in his stomach and spoke with difficulty, "... You want to kill him."


    "No, this honourable one will not kill him."


    "Death is such an easy and pleasant thing to do, living in pain is more pleasing..."


    "In order to avenge Xuan Long, he slaughtered tens of thousands of beings of my demon race, so this honourable one will make him kill the lover he has been seeking for ten thousand years with his own hands, and make him watch Xuan Long die in front of him..."


    "Think about it, the day he regains his memory, what kind of wonderful expression will appear on his face?..."


    "He will definitely be worse off than dead, and will kill himself so he can join Xuan Long in the ground. Where is the need for this honourable one to do anything?"


    "Hahahahahahahahaha-hahahahahahahaha-"


    Ning Zhiyu covered his ears in pain and collapsed into a ball on the bed: "No... I won''t help you... I won''t help you..."


    "No, you must help this honourable one."


    "Otherwise, the day Yan Yuan completely falls in love with Xuan Long will be the day you leave the palace."


    "He loves Xuan Long so much, do you think he will allow you to stay with him at that time? After you leave the palace, where can you go?..."


    "Back to your father''s Prime Minister''s mansion?"


    "He is willing to look at you and think highly of you now because his cowardly, incompetent, lowly son has become a phoenix overnight, but everything you have was given to you by Yan Yuan. Once you lose your status as Empress and the shelter of Yan Yuan, you will be back to the old Ning Zhiyu that everyone scorned. Even the subordinates in the Prime Minister''s mansion will be able to step on you when you fall down..."


    Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes, and tears slid down his fair cheeks. He covered his ears tightly, yet the voice still penetrated his brain and stung his heart, so he pleaded, "Stop it... stop it..."


    "Did this honourable one say something wrong?" The voice asked lightly in return.


    "The former Ning Zhiyu was so lowly, and the abolished Ning Zhiyu will be a dog in the water that everyone will shout at. Do you remember the winter when you were five years old and you were forced by your first-born brother to jump into the water to show him how to do it?... If you didn''t jump, he would have beat up your nanny. A five year old child can''t swim... You were drowning and were rescued when you were dying. Your health started to deteriorate then, right?... When you were eight years old, the only nanny who took pity on you and was willing to love and cherish you fell ill and died. In fact, she was poisoned by the Prime Minister''s wife who hated you, her husband had only one woman in his life, but because your mother broke her vows, she gave birth to you, a filthy, sinful child. You knew all that, but you didn''t dare to say anything because no one would stand up for you. When your nanny was alive, you had someone to look out for you, and when she died, it was even harder for you¡­ You grew up like duckweed in that Prime Minister''s mansion, sinking when anyone stepped on you."


    "When you were sixteen, your noble brother forced you to climb a tree to collect a kite, and you fell down and cracked your head open. No one cared about you... except for Yan Yuan, who appeared and asked if you were in pain, bandaged your wounds, and took you back to the palace."


    "Your life was favoured from that moment... but who would have known that everything you have now, you stole from someone else."


    "When he looked at you, he was actually thinking of his lover from his previous life, of Xuan Long, and all the good he did for you was because of another person."


    "But even if you know that now, what can you do?..."


    ¡°A''Yu, in this world, no one will want you except Yan Yuan. You can only cling to him firmly like a piece of cowhide, otherwise, you will end up in a miserable situation." The voice became gentle, like a lover''s mumbling.


    "No..." Ning Zhiyu said with tears streaming down his face as he covered his ears and shook his head desperately. "He loves me... he loves me..."


    ¡°It''s not because of someone else..."


    "Don''t fool yourself." The demon burst out laughing.


    "Haven''t you already felt it yourself? He''s being drawn to Xuan Long. In their previous life, they formed an immortal couple and made a love contract in front of the Three Life Stones with the iris as a contract; that love contract is engraved on their souls and whenever they meet, they will be uncontrollably in love with each other."


    "His heart will only grow farther and farther away from you. If you don''t think it through, once he falls completely in love with the Xuan Long of this life, this honoured one will not be able to help you."


    "While he still has guilt and scattered vague feelings for you now, you still have a chance to turn the tables."


    Ning Zhiyu''s eyes were deathly silent as he looked up and muttered, "I won''t let you have your way... I won''t let you hurt him..."


    "It''s not like the honourable one is asking you to hurt him."


    "This honourable one only needs you to join hands with this honourable one, and make Yan Yuan kill Xuan Long with his own hands and dig out his heart... Don''t worry, mortals who drink Mengpo soup will not regain their memories of their past lives, and when Xuan Long dies, you will be able to spend the rest of your life in harmony with Yan Yuan. With this honourable one has a dragon heart to reshape his physical body, you will then be completely free of this honourable one."


    "Such a good thing that kills two birds with one stone?... What reason is there not to do it?"


    "When Yan Yuan regains his memory, it will be in his next life at the earliest. You don''t even know where you will be in your next life, so why should you care if he is better off dead?"


    "You have to plan for your present life."


    Ning Zhiyu spoke woodenly, "Aren''t you afraid that I will find a monk to drive you away?"


    "You can try, although this honourable one needs your body now, a mere mortal monk can''t do anything to me."


    "This honourable one advises you... not to act rashly, otherwise this honourable one dares not guarantee that this honourable one will not be in a bad mood and kill Yan Yuan."


    "If he dies, you can''t even have this life of his."


    "No... don''t..." Ning Zhiyu didn''t even notice that the other party was lying. If the demon was really capable of killing people, why would he need to bother talking to him here? "You said you wouldn''t hurt him."


    "Humph. " The demon said. "So how about it? Have you considered it?"


    Ning Zhiyu: "You have the ability to kill¡­ if you want Xuan Long''s heart, you can just go dig it out yourself."


    "What''s the point of that? The soul of this honourable one relies on the power of your soul. It is indeed possible to kill someone, but it will take a lot of spiritual energy, not to mention digging out the heart of a dragon. Why should this honourable one do it myself when this honourable one has a ready-made labourer to use?"


    "This honourable one will give you three days to think about it, if you still can''t decide, then this honourable one will have to choose someone else."


    "There are many other bodies that are suitable for this honourable one to reside in."


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à

 CH 59

    "Your Majesty, have something to eat. This is a fresh confection from the imperial kitchen, a new design." Qingmei brought an enamelled tray to the bedside, which contained pink pastries in the shape of peaches.


    Ning Zhiyu looked out of the window at the green willows, the summer was about to pass and the afternoon was already a little cooler, ¡°... A''Yuan has not seen me for thirteen days. This is the first time he has been this busy since we met."


    "The servant does not understand the affairs of the court, but His Majesty is always so busy because he cannot get away." Qingmei whispered soothingly, "Yesterday, when the servant went to the Qiankun Palace to deliver fresh peach juice, His Majesty instructed this servant to take good care of you, telling you to take care of yourself and that he would come when he was free."


    Ning Zhiyu: "I want to go and see him. If he doesn''t come to see me, I will go to see him, and I will make a pot of tea for him."


    "Your Majesty, you are not well, so you should not go out at will." Qingmei said worriedly.


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, "I''m fine. I have been lying down for too long, it might be good to go out for a walk."


    Qingmei knew that she could not persuade him, so she did not. She waited for Ning Zhiyu to get out of bed, then changed his white robe and put on a cloak before going out.


    Qingmei asked someone to prepare a phoenix carriage, but Ning Zhiyu did not want to take it and insisted on walking.


    Although Qiankun Palace is not far from Luanfeng Hall, it still takes a little more than half an hour to walk there slowly. With such a weak body, it didn''t take long for Ning Zhiyu to break into a sweat. As the sun set within the palace walls, Qingmei followed him with an umbrella, holding a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from the corners of his forehead.


    Seeing that the palace gate of Qiankun Palace was just around the corner, Qingmei rejoiced, "The Empress is going to see the Emperor personally, and the Emperor will be happy to see you."


    "Is that so?" Ning Zhiyu smiled, clearly in a better mood.


    "Yes."


    Chen Yan and Xiao Dezi were standing guard outside the hall, and when they saw Ning Zhiyu coming, they hurriedly greeted him and saluted him, and Ning Zhiyu exchanged pleasantries with them and explained the purpose of his visit.


    When Chen Yan went in to inform Yan Yuan, Yan Yuan was sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping the unconscious man''s face. Hearing Chen Yan finish, Yan Yuan turned his head in surprise, ¡°A''Yu is here?"


    "Yes, the Empress is waiting for you outside the hall."


    "He is ill, why has he come to seek me personally?" Yan Yuan frowned, threw away his handkerchief, and got up to walk out, "It is all my fault that I have not taken the time to visit him recently and have left him out in the cold."


    Yan Yuan''s pace was brisk and he was about to leave the inner hall when a few tiny whimpers suddenly came from behind him. He stopped in his tracks and jerked back to look, only to see the man''s hand on the bed moving on the brocade quilt.


    Yan Yuan excitedly returned to the bedside and called out to Xuan Long, ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long''s dense black eyelashes trembled, and after a few breaths, he slowly opened his icy turquoise eyes. Yan Yuan took hold of his hand, ¡°A''Po!"


    "You''re awake... you''re finally awake."


    "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"


    Xuan Long shook his head, and Yan Yuan spoke with red eyes, "You scared me to death, you slept for a full thirteen days."


    "How can you be so sick? I have given you medicine used by the human race, but it has no effect at all. If you didn''t wake up, I wouldn''t know what to do."


    Ten thousand years of Taoist virtue were scattered in an instant and he became like a mortal, and with a child in his womb, it was normal for him to be sick, and it would not be normal for him not to be sick.


    Yan Yuan''s hand was holding him so tightly that it hurt a little. When Xuan Long saw how worried Yan Yuan was, he didn''t know how to explain it to him.


    "Did you use up too much spiritual energy to save me?" Yan Yuan had read a story in a storybook about a spiritual monster giving up half of its Tao to save a person in order to repay its benefactor, and associated it with this matter.


    "No." Xuan Long spoke in a mute voice. Instinctively, he did not want Yan Yuan to know the truth.


    "Then what is the reason?"


    Xuan Long was quiet for a short while: "Perhaps I was a bit tired, so I was sick for a bit longer."


    "That''s good... that''s good." Yan Yuan grabbed the back of Xuan Long''s hand and pressed it against his own face, still scared, "Then I''m relieved."


    Seeing that Yan Yuan had not come out for a long time, Chen Yan came in to urge him, standing outside the beaded curtain and saying, "Your Majesty... the Empress is still... standing in the sun."


    Yan Yuan''s gaze met Xuan Long''s, and inexplicably felt a little weak. After a pause, he said: "You can tell him to go back first. I will go and look for him later."


    "Your Majesty..." Chen Yan seemed to want to persuade him.


    "Go on." Yan Yuan interrupted him without looking back.


    Chen Yan could only retreat.


    ¡°A''Po... I..." Yan Yuan wanted to explain something, but Ning Zhiyu was his legitimate Empress, and this was something Xuan Long knew, so what was there to explain.


    "He came to seek you, will you not go?" Xuan Long asked.


    Yan Yuan tightened his hand and said truthfully, "You''ve only just woken up after a long time, I''m worried about you."


    "I''m fine." Xuan Long lowered his eyes and tried to pull his hand back.


    He wasn''t used to Yan Yuan acting this way. In the past, when Yan Yuan had heard that something was wrong with Ning Zhiyu, he had been eager to leave, but how could he have changed once he woke up from his sleep?


    Yan Yuan refused to let go of Xuan Long''s hand and unhappily said, "Are you pushing me out now?"


    "......"


    ¨C


    When Ning Zhiyu saw Chen Yan come out, he unconsciously took a step forward, and Qingmei immediately followed. Chen Yan closed the hall door and turned back, saying apologetically, "Your Majesty, the Emperor was suddenly caught up in other affairs and could not get away... I''m afraid he won''t be able to see you now. You should take more care of your body, the Emperor said he would visit you later, so you should go back first."


    "Is he really so busy that he can''t even see you..." Qingmei muttered.


    Ning Zhiyu did not speak for a long time, the slanting sun overhead reflected on his face, clear and elegant, but also pale as paper. He smiled and nodded, ¡°En, I know, I''m grateful to Eunuch Chen."


    "You''re welcome, Your Majesty." Chen Yan, who had a whisk clutched in his arm, ambled away.


    Ning Zhiyu turned around, the smile on his lips faded, and as he stepped out of Qiankun Palace, his lean figure swayed. Qingmei nervously held him up: "Your Majesty..."


    Ning Zhiyu looked gentle, but in fact there was some unknown stubbornness. He gently drew back his hand, avoiding Qingmei''s support, and left under the umbrella.


    "I once said to him that if one day he fell in love with someone else, he should give me a cup of arsenic and feed me with his own hands to drink it..."


    "It would also be good to die in his arms."


    "Now it seems that even this wish cannot be granted... when he dislikes me, he is unwilling to even look at me."


    He walked inside the vermilion palace walls. For many people this palace was a prison, for Ning Zhiyu, this was the place of his salvation in this life; those few feet high palace walls were the strong barriers that defended him, and when he was here, he had nothing to fear.


    There was nowhere else for him to go but here.


    "Empress, you must not say anything foolish, how could the emperor give you arsenic..." Qingmei said after him.


    Ning Zhiyu smiled and did not say anything more.


    After returning to the palace, he fell into an exhausted sleep. When he woke up, it was late at night, Ning Zhiyu sat up from the bed and asked, "Did he come?..."


    Qingmei shook her head and whispered, "Not yet."


    Ning Zhiyu was not surprised; he was lost in bed for a long time and ordered, "Qingmei, go and have someone prepare some food. If he comes and doesn''t have a hot meal, I''m afraid he''ll be unhappy."


    Ning Zhiyu''s spirit was obviously not good, and Qingmei was anxious, but she did not dare to show it on the surface: "What are you saying, Your Majesty? The Emperor loves you so much, how could he be angry with you?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and said with a smile, "The times are different now."


    Qingmei didn''t answer, but said with red eyes, "The Emperor doesn''t know when he will come, so you should eat something to fill your stomach first. The medicine must be taken after the meal."


    "No, I want to wait for him." Ning Zhiyu said softly.


    After the palace maids withdrew, he was left alone in the hall. The night was like a demon with a huge mouth; the air was filled with an endless void and silence that could devour him completely at any moment.


    Yan Yuan broke his promise.


    He didn''t come.


    Perhaps it was because the ''later'' he had spoken of had not been tonight. Ning Zhiyu sat on the bed with his legs crossed, remaining in the same position throughout the night, as if he was thinking about something, or as if he was thinking about nothing.


    Since the voice that called itself the ''Honourable One'' had given its word three days ago, it had not reappeared, and today, after midnight, the three-day period had come.


    "Is this honourable one right?"


    "He''s not even willing to see you now."


    "What are you waiting for?..."


    The low, magical voice appeared in Ning Zhiyu''s head just as the striking of the clock outside had sounded.


    "......"


    Seeing Ning Zhiyu''s lack of response, the other party slowly said to himself:


    "If you don''t act now, it will be too late..."


    "You are still so young and will have great prospects in the future, are you really willing to give up just like this?"


    "You say you want him to give you arsenic, but ask yourself, are you really willing to die like this? Your happiness has only lasted for a few short years."


    "Although Yan Yuan and Xuan Long were an immortal couple in their previous life, in this life... it was you who became husband and wife with Yan Yuan, and it was you, Ning Zhiyu, who met Yan Yuan first."


    "Xuan Long is the despicable third party, shouldn''t you get rid of him to vent your anger? Once you get rid of him, Yan Yuan will be yours alone, and he will belong to you for the rest of your life."


    It is instinctive for people to feel fear of the unknown, just as Ning Zhiyu did with Xuan Long. When he heard Yan Yuan talking about Xuan Long, he only felt absurd and scared, but he never thought of getting rid of the other party.


    Since he was a child, Ning Zhiyu had never even killed a chicken, so how could he do such a thing?


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, tightening his arms around his body, and spoke in a trembling voice, "No... no... I can''t do it."


    The demon spoke in a warm voice, "It''s not like I''m asking you to do it yourself, I''m just asking you to borrow a knife to kill someone."


    "No, it''s not a person, it''s a dragon."


    "He''s a demon... you''re killing him for the people."


    The demon dwelling inside Ning Zhiyu could easily obtain all his memories and gain insight into all his thoughts, thus gradually breaching his psychological defences.


    "He''s a demon..." Ning Zhiyu was really pulled along by his thoughts.


    "Yes, he is a demon. He will compel Yan Yuan''s mind and steal your lover, he is the culprit who took your lover. Kill him and nothing will change from what it once was."


    "The method is simple, do you see the demon compulsion in front of you? Just infuse it into Yan Yuan while he is asleep, and he will wake up and fall deeply in love with the first person he sees for no reason, and all other living beings will no longer matter in his eyes."


    "By then... you will do whatever you tell him to do."


    As the devil spoke, a small cluster of flame-like material emerged from Ning Zhiyu''s forehead and floated before his eyes.

 CH 60

    Between a Rock and a Hard Place


    It was raining outside the hall, and it was cool and overcast; the summer had passed and the maple leaves had turned fiery red in September.


    Xuan Long still did not look well; he looked even weaker than Ning Zhiyu, and his consciousness was always dull when the soul-devouring pain flared up. Yan Yuan saw him shivering and thought he was cold, so he got under the covers and hugged him tightly.


    ¡°A''Po, what''s wrong with you?..."


    "Tell me, what exactly can be done to cure you..."


    Xuan Long closed his eyes and mumbled back to him vaguely, "Nothing."


    The last time Ning Zhiyu came to Qiankun Palace to look for Yan Yuan was half a month ago. During this period, Yan Yuan went to see Ning Zhiyu several times, and also asked Xuan Long for dragon scales for Ning Zhiyu. Xuan Long was generous every time, the dragon scales over his heart were just formed and he plucked all of them off and gave them to Yan Yuan. His health was getting worse and worse, and he would get sick every few days, so no matter how big his heart was, Yan Yuan noticed that something was wrong.


    He kissed Xuan Long on the corner of his forehead and said worriedly, "You always say that. What is it that you are hiding from me?... Don''t you lie to me, I''ll be scared if you do."


    "There is nothing..." Xuan Long curled up in his arms, his voice faint and hoarse.


    Yan Yuan refused to believe him: "Tell me what is wrong with you. I''ll go find a way to save you, okay?... No matter how hard it is, I will go."


    "There is nothing..." After all was said and done, that was all Xuan Long had to say. Other than that, there was nothing more to say. What would be the point of telling Yan Yuan just to make him worry?


    Yan Yuan put his hand on Xuan Long''s abdomen, and through the thin tunic, he could clearly feel the abnormal bulge there. He had noticed it the last few times he had made love to Xuan Long, but he hadn''t thought much of it at the time. But recently, Xuan Long had become thinner and thinner.


    "You obviously eat so little, yet your stomach keeps getting rounder and rounder, is it some strange disease?"


    Xuan Long opened his out-of-focus turquoise eyes to look at Yan Yuan and called out to him in a low voice, ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan tightened his arms, as if he wanted to rub him into his bones and blood: "I am here."


    "In a few days, it will be your birthday." Xuan Long was actually uncomfortable being hugged, he was already in pain all over, but he did not struggle. It was perhaps because the embrace was so warm that a smile appeared at the corners of his lips.


    "Mmm." Yan Yuan replied to him in a warm voice, "Do you want to give me any birthday gifts?"


    Xuan Long couldn''t hold himself up and closed his eyes.


    Yan Yuan thought there would be no more to follow, and after a while, he only heard Xuan Long say with increasing faintness, "In a few days... I will tell you."


    Yan Yuan''s heart was entangled in a strong uneasiness, and he asked the man in his arms in a mute voice: "You''re going to sleep again?"


    "Don''t sleep... you are always like this, I am always afraid that you will suddenly leave me one day."


    "You said you would stay with me for a hundred years, you can''t go back on your word."


    ¡°En." Xuan Long couldn''t hear what he was saying and subconsciously responded.


    He had nothing precious to give to Yan Yuan, and the only thing he was careful to protect at this time was the child in his womb. Yan Yuan had recently become much more attentive to him, so he must really have some affection for him, just as he had said.


    If that was the case, he would not reject their child.


    He had been hesitant to say anything before, but now that he had some courage, he wanted to tell him on Yan Yuan''s birthday to give him a surprise.


    He probably won''t last three years... It''s better to tell Yan Yuan early, lest his belly really grows and scares him.


    ......


    It didn''t take long for Xuan Long to fall asleep in Yan Yuan''s arms. Feeling bored to death in his heart, Yan Yuan twisted the corner of the blanket, put on his clothes, and got up to leave the room.


    "Your Majesty." Chen Yan saw him come out and bowed to him.


    With his hands behind his back, Yan Yuan looked at the sky that was as dark as night and asked lightly, "How is the Empress these days?"


    Chen Yan sighed, "The same as always, sometimes good, sometimes bad."


    Yan Yuan was silent for a moment: "I will go and see him."


    ¡°Ai, okay." Chen Yan took the oil paper umbrella from the side of the hall door and followed Yan Yuan.


    The atmosphere in Luanfeng Hall was not much better than Qiankun Palace, as the master had been ill for a long time and everyone was sad. Yan Yuan arrived, and the young eunuchs guarding the hall immediately had a smile on their faces and were about to bow when they saw him, but Yan Yuan stopped them with a gesture and dismissed them.


    When he entered, Ning Zhiyu was sitting on the bed in a daze. He still looked the same, wearing a white silk tunic with a navy blue brocade quilt covering his waist, his long hair half tied and half draped in front of his body. Hearing footsteps and thinking it was the palace staff, he did not look over.


    Yan Yuan knew that he had spent too much time and energy on Xuan Long, and had left the one he should be caring for out in the cold. It would have been better if Ning Zhiyu had made a scene with him, but it was because he was as quiet as ever and didn''t make any noise that made him feel even more guilty.


    Yan Yuan stopped a short distance away and called softly to him, ¡°A''Yu."


    Ning Zhiyu''s body shook slightly, then he suddenly turned his head to look, his pale face appearing happy: ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan slowly walked to the bed.


    Ning Zhiyu looked at him with unblinking eyes, "You''re here..."


    "Mm." Yan Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed, hesitated, and spoke. "I''m sorry."


    "... Why do you need to apologise?" Ning Zhiyu''s smile froze slightly.


    Yan Yuan was very slightly dejected: "I''m sorry for having left you out in the cold these days."


    Ning Zhiyu paused: ¡°It¡¯s nothing... I know you''re busy."


    Yan Yuan hung his head and whispered, "He''s sick. Very sick¡­ and probably won''t get better."


    "I always thought that a demon with ten thousand years of Tao like him would not be ill."


    "It is me who has caused him to suffer."


    ¡°A''Yu... what should I do?..."


    Ning Zhiyu''s hand hanging on the brocade quilt tightened slightly, and he smiled, "Then you should treat him well, the worst that can happen is that in the future, I won''t use the medicine."


    Yan Yuan gently shook his head, "It has nothing to do with you."


    "I have a vague feeling that he has become like this because he saved me."


    "But no matter how much I ask him, he refuses to admit it."


    Ning Zhiyu held Yan Yuan''s hand in silence.


    The corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes started to redden: "Although I coaxed him to my side, I did not want him to die..."


    In the past, Yan Yuan would only show such an expression for him, but now he is sad for someone else in front of him. Ning Zhiyu''s heart was sore and he squeezed Yan Yuan''s hand, bracing his spirit to comfort him, "He probably won''t. You said that he has ten thousand years of Tao, he is that powerful, surely he is only suffering from a temporary illness, he will be fine."


    Yan Yuan stopped talking and sat there as if he had lost his soul.


    When he did not speak, Ning Zhiyu kept him company quietly.


    It was completely dark outside the window, and it was raining heavily. A muffled thunderstorm woke Yan Yuan up from his daze.


    He got up and wanted to leave, muttering that Xuan Long would wake up later and that he would be disappointed if he didn''t see him when he woke up.


    Ning Zhiyu''s nose turned sour as he looked at Yan Yuan''s tall back and called out to him, ¡°A''Yuan."


    Yan Yuan stopped sluggishly and half turned around to look at him.


    "You haven''t been with me properly for a long time, so stay with me longer." Ning Zhiyu smiled.


    Yan Yuan pursed his lips without speaking, seemingly hesitating.


    "Stay tonight," Ning Zhiyu was still smiling, ¡°okay?..."


    He rarely begged him like this, in the past, Yan Yuan had always given him whatever he wanted.


    Now that Ning Zhiyu had Xuan Long''s scales to renew his life, and Xuan Long didn''t have anyone who could even diagnose him, even though Yan Yuan didn''t know exactly what was wrong with him, he could guess, based on his instincts, that he was in danger.


    At times like this, it was impossible to leave someone.


    It was because Yan Yuan was so frustrated that he couldn''t find anyone to talk to that he couldn''t resist coming over to talk to Ning Zhiyu. In this palace, there were few people who he could confide in, and Ning Zhiyu was the closest person to him. Strangely enough, when Yan Yuan came to see him, he did not feel much comfort, but rather felt that after only a short period of time, the two of them had become somewhat estranged.


    Yan Yuan''s hesitation was like a sharp blade hanging around Ning Zhiyu''s neck, and the knife fell, breaking the tendons that had been taut in his heart for so long.


    Ning Zhiyu laughed miserably and coughed out a large mouthful of blood. The thunder outside the hall rumbled, the closed window was broken by the fierce wind, and the lightning instantly reflected his face in white. He crouched on the edge of the bed, covering his mouth and coughing his heart out, and the floor was covered in splatters of blood.


    Yan Yuan''s pupils constricted and he rushed over on reflex: ¡°A''Yu¨C"


    What the hell was he thinking, this is his true love...


    Ning Zhiyu coughed so hard that he almost lost his breath. Yan Yuan shouted to the palace staff while taking out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood from the corners of his mouth,¡°A''Yu..."


    ¡°A''Yu..."


    The palace staff came in and cleaned up the blood on the floor, and when everything had quieted down, it was already half an hour later.


    Ning Zhiyu was lying weakly on the bed, half-dozing and looking at Yan Yuan by the bedside: ¡°A¡¯Yuan. Go back."


    Yan Yuan nervously held his hand: "No, how can I leave with you like this..."


    "This looks as if I am forcing you to stay... I just miss you so much that I can''t help but take an inch." Ning Zhiyu had a smile on his face and breathlessly said, ¡°Don''t blame me."


    Yan Yuan shook his head: "How can I blame you, I don''t blame you."


    "He needs you more than I do now... I know that." Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes and tears slipped out of the corners of his eyes.


    Remembering the scene in that dream, Yan Yuan''s heart ached. He tenderly raised his hand to wipe his tears: "I am not leaving, I will stay with you tonight. Don''t talk anymore, rest well."


    Half an hour later, the palace staff brought over the medicine. Yan Yuan woke Ning Zhiyu up and gave it to him. In the dark soup was Xuan Long''s scales, and while he had felt nothing before, now it was a mix of flavours.


    The wound in Xuan Long''s heart will take a long time to heal again...


    Yan Yuan promised Ning Zhiyu that he would stay and would not leave tonight. He told Chen Yan to go back and tell Xuan Long. After washing up, he went to bed early and laid beside Ning Zhiyu.


    The reason he and Ning Zhiyu had not yet consummated their marriage was because he had always been concerned about the other party''s frailty, and strangely enough, he did not seem to have much urge to lie under the same covers with Ning Zhiyu in this way.


    He just thought he was good-looking and felt that he deserved to be pitied.


    On the contrary, when he was with Xuan Long, as soon as he got closer, he could not help himself...


    There was a dim candle flame burning in the hall, and Yan Yuan was lying on his side, looking at Ning Zhiyu''s quiet sleeping face, and falling asleep with his own chaotic thoughts on his pillow.


    In the dead of night, Ning Zhiyu, who should have been sleeping, slowly opened his eyes.

 CH 61

    A Heart of Stone


    "It''s time... merge the demonic compulsion into him."


    A low demonic voice with a compelling tone resounded in Ning Zhiyu''s head.


    The demonic compulsion wrapped in small clusters of red flames slowly floated upwards from Ning Zhiyu''s brow, stopping just out of his reach. Ning Zhiyu''s dark eyes reflected the fire that should not exist in the human world, and his eyes struggled.


    "Let the demonic compulsion get close to his brow, and it will pour itself into his mind."


    "Hurry up, right away, Yan Yuan is yours..."


    In between the demon''s earnest enticement, Ning Zhiyu slowly stretched out his hand as if possessed by the demon. The flame seemed to have life, leaping and adsorbing itself to his hand, carrying a burning temperature.


    "You promised me that you would not harm A''Yuan..."


    "That''s natural."


    "You promised."


    "This honourable one has always been true to his word."


    After hearing this, Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes as if he had made up his mind about something, and when he opened them again, there was no longer much struggle under his eyes. He turned sideways to look at Yan Yuan''s face which was close to him, and his gaze was sad.


    ¡°A''Yuan..."


    "I''m sorry... I can''t lose you..."


    Tears fell from his eyes, and the palm of his hand approached Yan Yuan''s forehead little by little, and indeed, just as the demon had said, the flame autonomously burrowed into Yan Yuan''s brow and disappeared in a flash.


    Ning Zhiyu quickly withdrew his hand and looked at Yan Yuan with nervousness and anxiety. The latter was still sleeping soundly, unaware and not looking uncomfortable in any way.


    "Well done."


    "Next, you just need to, little by little, entice Yan Yuan to dig out Xuan Long''s heart..."


    Ning Zhiyu knew that it was a foolish thing to have his nose led by a demon, but what else could he do other than that? Yan Yuan''s love for Xuan Long was a foregone conclusion. Even if he found a cultivator to drive this demon away, what could he do?


    The only thing he could do was to let go.


    He knew that he would be deep in the mud.


    From this moment on, there would be no turning back for him...


    "What should I do?"


    To avoid alarming Yan Yuan, Ning Zhiyu did not dare to make a sound. The demon was able to pry into his mind, and whatever he wanted to say, the demon could immediately know, and from beginning to end, man and demon were communicating in this silent manner.


    "It is very simple, you will secretly pour out the medicine when it comes, and if you do not take the dragon scales for a few days, your condition will deteriorate sharply and you will be unconscious."


    ¡°Yan Yuan, who loves you as much as he does, will think of a way to save you."


    "No need for you to say it, he will have the idea to take the dragon heart..."


    ¡°The dragon''s inner elixir¡­ is it true that it can also reshape your physical body?" Previously, during Ning Zhiyu''s drowsiness, he vaguely heard the imperial doctor mention it to Yan Yuan.


    "Inner elixir? Heh, it was used on Yan Yuan a long time ago." The demon sneered.


    He could feel that strong dragon breath in Yan Yuan''s body, what else could it be but an inner elixir? It was unclear why Xuan Long''s inner elixir had been given to Yan Yuan, but it was simply as if the Heavens were helping him.


    "Without the inner elixir, Xuan Long is no different from a mortal, so if Yan Yuan were to fight him, it would be easy to take him on. Otherwise, what makes you think that a mere mortal can dig out the heart of a dragon?"


    As Ning Zhiyu''s mind was very delicate, he soon learnt from the demon''s words that he had not been honest with him. Since Xuan Long was no different from a mortal, and according to what he had said before, he had the ability to kill Yan Yuan, then how difficult would it be to dig out Xuan Long''s heart?


    The demon should be unable to leave him, that''s why he needed to lend him a hand to achieve his goal.


    But none of that mattered... they were merely using each other.


    As long as he could keep Yan Yuan by his side, the rest didn''t matter... Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes and the hall was as quiet as before, as if nothing had happened.


    The next morning, Yan Yuan woke up, but did not get up immediately. He was clearly anxious to go back to Xuan Long last night, but today he was a bit reluctant to leave Ning Zhiyu. The two of them were lying face to face, and Ning Zhiyu''s slender hand was on Yan Yuan''s face, looking apprehensive.


    ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan: "Hmm?"


    Ning Zhiyu: "If I were to say, me and Xuan Long, you can only choose one of the two... would you choose me?"


    Yan Yuan''s heart did not feel resentful: ¡°Why are you asking this unprovoked all of a sudden?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and turned his back in a panic: "It''s nothing, if you don''t want to say it, then forget it."


    Yan Yuan pressed himself against him from behind and wrapped his arms around his waist, saying softly, "I will choose you. The only reason I treat him well is because of you."


    "Really?..." Ning Zhiyu smiled.


    "Mm."


    The demonic compulsion was indeed magical. Yan Yuan became more and more attached to Ning Zhiyu, who spent most of the next few days in Luanfeng Hall.


    As the Empress regained his favour, the rumours in the palace gradually dissipated.


    People''s hearts are hard to gauge, and the Emperor''s heart is even harder to gauge, so no one would suspect that someone had played a part in this. Even Yan Yuan himself was unaware of it. He was controlled by the demonic compulsion, and when he saw Ning Zhiyu, he could not help but feel happy, and when he saw him sad, he felt sad with him.


    He was happy with what he was happy about and sad about what he was sad about.


    As for his fondness for Xuan Long, it was fading.


    As the demon said, excluding Ning Zhiyu, the rest of the living beings will become insignificant...


    Yan Yuan usually did not think much of Xuan Long, only when it came to Ning Zhiyu''s illness would he think of that dragon and remember that Xuan Long seemed to be very ill.


    But he couldn''t find a reason to visit him. Yan Yuan felt that he had come to his senses, that he should have made a clear distinction between what was more important and what was less important. Although the demonic compulsion did not erase his memory, it was able to erase Yan Yuan''s emotions while not making him feel weird in the slightest.


    Just like a puppet controlled by evil magic, he will not find out that he is a puppet.


    Two days later, Ning Zhiyu vomited blood and fell into a coma. After the imperial doctor''s diagnosis, he concluded that the dragon scales could no longer suppress his condition. Yan Yuan couldn¡¯t hold back and returned to Qiankun Palace.


    Draped in an ink-coloured outer robe, Xuan Long sat at the purple and gold table, holding a paintbrush to colour the little wooden figure. The wooden figure had a delicate face, an imperial crown on his head, and a bright yellow dragon robe. He was only halfway through applying the yellow paint when the door was suddenly pushed open.


    He used to have a keen sense of hearing and could hear footsteps from a distance, but now he can only detect them when they are close, and his reaction was particularly slow. The wooden figure had been carved earlier, and Xuan Long knew that Yan Yuan would not care for it, so he did not intend to give it to him. However, as he was bored in the hall all day, he could not help but find something to do.


    Subconsciously, he tried to hide the wooden figure in his sleeve, but it fell to the ground in a panic.


    When he bent down to pick it up, Yan Yuan had already come in. There were colourful paints on the table, and the smell was not particularly pleasant.


    "What are you doing?"


    Xuan Long sat up and tightened his grip on the wooden figure in his hand, not speaking.


    Yan Yuan sat down on the stool next to him, saw what he was holding, and said with some disgust, "Why are you still fiddling with this wooden man? I thought I said I didn''t want it. Could this be the birthday gift you will give me?"


    Xuan Long shook his head and put the wooden man into his sleeve, the paint had not yet dried and had soiled his hands, so presumably the clothes were not spared either.


    Yan Yuan was suddenly a little distracted for some unknown reason.


    Xuan Long had really lost weight, the cheekbones on the unmasked half of his face were slightly raised, but he was still handsome, and his originally pale pink lips were bloodless.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes lingered on his face: "Have you been feeling better these days? There should not be anything really wrong, right?..."


    "Hmm." Xuan Long responded calmly.


    Yan Yuan was relieved to see that he was at least able to get out of bed, "I was worried before that you would die, but it seems that I really over-thought it. It''s good that you''re alright."


    "No need to worry." Xuan Long whispered back.


    As a normal human being, it was normal to feel guilty towards one''s benefactor, and since Xuan Long had saved his life and Ning Zhiyu''s life, he was Yan Yuan''s benefactor.


    Yan Yuan looked at him and a strong guilt welled up in his heart, but that guilt would not be heavier than his obsession with Ning Zhiyu. So Yan Yuan stretched out his hand and, in his usual way, gently took Xuan Long''s hand and said in a charming manner, ¡°A''Po, tomorrow is my birthday. I want a special birthday gift, can you give it to me?...."


    Xuan Long lifted his head to look at him, ¡°Tell me."


    As long as he could give it, it would be fine.


    "Inner elixir." Yan Yuan tried to suppress the urgency and pain under his eyes. "I want the inner elixir. A''Yu is dying..."


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment and lowered his eyes, "There is nothing I can do to help."


    The corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes reddened as he changed back to his old self, as if Ning Zhiyu was his life and Xuan Long was a straw that could be trampled on no matter what, "Would you just be merciful? Even if you can still live without your inner elixir, he will die without it. Consider it for my sake, you help me, you help me..."


    Xuan Long''s hand bones were squeezed raw, and he bowed his head, his long hair hanging down in front of him covering most of his face, hidden in the shadows so that his expression could not be seen.


    "A''Yuan... I can''t do it.¡± His voice was still low, as if nothing could stir his emotions.


    Yan Yuan softened his voice to coax him, "Why can''t you do it? You can. As long as you help me, I can promise you anything... Okay?"


    "By giving up ten thousand years of Taoism, you can still spend the rest of your life with me. Although I don''t love you as deeply as A''Yu, I will treat you well.


    Xuan Long was silent.


    Although he already knew that Yan Yuan would not feel more for him than that man, it still made him sad to hear him begging for that man. However, he would never show his sadness.


    Yan Yuan waited anxiously, and his anger suddenly flared up. He shook off his hand and stood up, his expression so cold that he was not the same person as before: "You just don''t want to help! They say that dragons and snakes are one family, I can see that you are just as cold-blooded as a snake, and you are stubborn and hard-hearted!"


    Xuan Long did not want to argue with him, so he silently got up and walked towards the bed.


    No one had ever dared to turn a deaf ear to his words, so Yan Yuan chased after him with a few steps and pushed Xuan Long from behind: "Say something!"


    Xuan Long''s legs were weak and his body lost balance, stumbling a few steps before falling to the ground. Cold sweat instantly emerged and he covered his stomach, it was as if a knife had gouged through his abdomen, and his face was pale.


    Yan Yuan did not expect that he could push him down with such a push. He momentarily panicked and bent down to help him: ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long''s breathing was heavy, and he endured the pain to pull his hand back, curling his lips into a smile.


    ¡°En."


    "You''re right."


    "I am as cold-blooded as a snake... and hard-hearted."


    "In the future, you must not ask me... I will not give up my ten thousand years of Taoism and hand over my inner elixir."


    "I will not save him..."

 CH 62

    A Small Witch in the Presence of a Big Witch


    The robe he had draped over his shoulders slipped to the ground, and Xuan Long, using his own strength, stood up with difficulty and walked towards the bed.


    He did not want to show his weakness in front of Yan Yuan, and although he walked slowly, his pace was quite steady.


    Yan Yuan picked up the basalt robe from the floor and went after him.


    Xuan Long bent down and fished out a white porcelain bottle from a hidden compartment beside the bed. He had been suffering from abdominal pains recently, and there were no more than a few capsules of the medicine newly given to him by the healer last time. He poured two capsules into his palm and clumsily put the extra one carefully back into the narrow mouth of the bottle.


    "What are you taking?"


    Xuan Long had already swallowed the medicine by the time Yan Yuan went over, and was lying on the bed with his back to Yan Yuan.


    "......"


    Xuan Long looked like he was unwilling to pay him any attention, curled up slightly and unmoving.


    Yan Yuan threw away the basalt robe in his arms, opened the secret compartment and felt out the small white porcelain vase, frowning, "What is this? I''ll throw it away if you don''t tell me."


    He didn''t know whether the pain in his abdomen had not diminished at all because the medicine had been taken too often and he had developed resistance to it, but Xuan Long turned around in a blur of consciousness, braced himself to grab it and said in a low, mute voice, "Give it back to me."


    Yan Yuan raised the pill bottle and made the gesture of dropping it.


    Xuan Long frowned slightly, his demonic turquoise eyes looked at him and did not move. It was like he was looking at a child who was fooling around.


    Feeling weak from the look, Yan Yuan lowered his hand and said in a stiff voice, "I told you, I hate it when you hide something from me."


    Xuan Long sighed in relief and laid back down, "You haven''t been honest with me either."


    "So you''re rehashing old scores with me now?" Yan Yuan raised an eyebrow.


    "I know I am not qualified." Xuan Long closed his eyes, and all emotions were covered up.


    When he said that, Yan Yuan had no way to continue picking fights with him. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he looked at the man''s heroic face and said, "It''s not that you''re not qualified, you are one of my people at least."


    "......"


    Yan Yuan had the intention to please him, so he grabbed the sleeve that Xuan Long had stained with yellow paint and pulled out the small wooden figure inside that was larger than a palm. He casually held it in his hand and looked at it for a few moments, then said, "Since this is the gift you were going to give me for my birthday, I will accept it reluctantly."


    Xuan Long opened his eyes to look at the person beside him who was as handsome as the moon: "... It''s not ready yet."


    "That''s okay, I''ll like it this way." Yan Yuan lifted the wooden man and smiled warmly.


    It seemed like it had been a long time since he had smiled at him like that.


    Xuan Long was naturally pleased and looked away uncomfortably. In fact, every time Yan Yuan asked him for something, he would be extra gentle, and he had known that for a long time.


    He told himself not to care, he didn''t have much time left to live anyway, so why should he care about things that made him sad.


    As long as Yan Yuan was willing to accept their child... that was enough.


    The rest of it didn''t matter much.


    "What would you like me to do?" Xuan Long heard his low voice, ringing out in the hall.


    Yan Yuan obviously froze, and looked as though he knew that he knew he had something to say.


    After a moment of relative speechlessness, Yan Yuan spoke, "I want... you to kill someone for me."


    Xuan Long looked at him sideways and moved his lips, "Who is it?"


    "My elder brother, Yan Huo Hang." Yan Yuan''s gaze gradually clouded over. "He is not satisfied with holding millions of troops in his hands and has repeatedly sent people to assassinate me, wanting to take my place."


    "Even if Yan Huo Hang''s martial arts skills are strong, he is only a mere mortal. You have ten thousand years of Taoism, so I think that if you cast an invisibility spell, you will be able to kill him while he is unprepared."


    He did not know that Xuan Long had lost ten thousand years of Taoism, so he could not even fly in the form of his incarnation and could no longer use the invisibility technique.


    Xuan Long was silent for a long time before speaking out, "... Okay, I''ll help you."


    "The figure... is your first birthday present."


    Yan Yuan was in a good mood, and went over to him and asked, "Just how many gifts do you have for me?"


    "Only two." Xuan Long knew that Yan Yuan did not like that wooden man, so he did not count it.


    "There is one more..."


    Yan Yuan was not interested at all and interrupted Xuan Long, "Then leave it in suspense and tell me when you return."


    "He will arrive in Chang''an tomorrow, so you should go to the outskirts of the city in the morning to ambush him and take advantage of the opportunity."


    "Mhmm." Xuan Long responded.


    "There is some use in you keeping the inner elixir, at least you can remove the thorn in my side."


    Yan Yuan had Ning Zhiyu on his mind and left when he had achieved his goal.


    Xuan Long had long since become accustomed to Yan Yuan''s intermittent warmth and coldness; he was not in good spirits and always wanted to sleep, so he had no time to think wildly.


    In the middle of the night, a thunderstorm raged outside his window, and Xuan Long woke up in a cold sweat. His calves cramped so badly that he woke up in pain and stayed awake, picking up the unfinished wooden figure at the foot of his bed and rubbing it in his hands.


    Yan Yuan said he liked his birthday present, but in fact he hadn''t taken it with him when he left. When he was in his presence, he didn''t even know how to act properly, so he could tell at a glance that something was wrong.


    There was a raised wooden button in the secret compartment at the head of the bed, and when it was pressed, there was a smaller secret compartment inside.


    This was a side hall, so Yan Yuan''s things were not usually kept here, so Xuan Long had always used it.


    Yan Yuan wasn''t interested in him, so he wouldn''t know how many things he was hiding in secret.


    As the day dawned outside the window, Xuan Long took out the blood-coloured jade bottle from the hidden secret compartment, poured out the only blood-coloured pill inside, and swallowed it with his head tilted.


    It was a Ling Xuan pill, which could restore the spiritual power of a demon who had lost all his Taoism for a short period of time. Although it was very small, it was enough to allow him to perform the invisibility technique and eliminate a mortal.


    The side effect is that after the medicine wears off, his spiritual power will weaken at an exponential rate within a day, his life expectancy will be shortened, and the pain in his body will be doubled when he has an attack.


    This was originally given to him by the medical sage for his protection.


    If he found out that Yan Yuan was trying to harm him, he would take this Ling Xuan pill and fly away from the palace in his original form.


    In fact, the day Xuan Long decided to return to the palace with Yan Yuan, he was not prepared to leave. In his heart, he hoped that his last days would be spent with Yan Yuan and their child.


    Even if that person did not love him at all.


    Xuan Long closed the drawer of the hidden compartment, and, dressed in his basalt robe and black veil hat, he stealthily passed through the closed doors of the palace.


    The sky was grey, and the rain had been intermittent for days, hardly stopping. Xuan Long shuttled through the rain and fog and flew out of the city.


    From the palace to the outskirts of the city, it only took a few breaths.


    Xuan Long took his human form and landed on a huge tree, holding on to a thick branch and panting lowly. The foetus in his belly was moving around unsteadily, banging against him and causing him pain, obviously feeling his nutrients depleting rapidly and was not happy about it.


    Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes were soft, and he raised his hand to caress the slightly bulging belly under his robe with ease, and said in a warm voice: "Be good..."


    In the future, if your father is not with you, you must be good and listen to that man.


    He is very impatient, if you make him angry, he may not want you anymore...


    The little thing was so mischievous in his womb that Xuan Long was worried, but he would not understand these words even if he said them now, perhaps when he was older he would be able to listen to them.


    He didn''t know if it was because he was tired or something else, but after a while, the little thing quieted down, curled up in a ball in his belly, and didn''t move.


    There was no one on the muddy road, so Xuan Long looked at the hazy mountains in the distance and whispered to the little thing in his belly.


    "When we return to the palace this evening, I will tell him that we have you."


    "Do you think... he will be happy?"


    Originally talking to himself, he didn''t expect the little thing to bump his hand against his belly as if it was conscious. Xuan Long froze slightly and lowered his head, the corners of his lips curving up naturally.


    "Though he dislikes me, you are his child... he should not hate you."


    "It shouldn''t be..."


    There was a sudden murmur of footsteps from the back of the woods.


    "Catch that fox!"


    "Quick! Whoever catches him will be granted a chant by the abbot of the Confessional Temple and will ascend to the ranks of the immortals after death!"


    Xuan Long looked down and saw a white fox scurrying from the bushes. The fox''s originally snow-white, soft, beautiful fur was stained with blood and mud, and the flesh was torn up in several places, which kept trembling as it ran away, revealing the bright red flesh underneath.


    The rain washed over his body, making him look even more disfigured.


    Xuan Long froze, ¡°Hu Le..."


    The fox seemed to hear the whisper from the tree and stopped as an afterthought, lifting those icy blue eyes to look upwards.


    Xuan Long''s mind went blank and he flew down the tree.


    The fox took human form and fell helplessly to the ground, his blue robe torn and tattered, covered in splotches of blood, his snow-white skin scattered with ambiguous marks of bruises, and his sanity didn''t seem too clear anymore. He looked at Xuan Long in fear, shivering constantly.


    "Don''t come... don''t come..."


    "Don''t hit me..."


    Xuan Long walked over and pulled his hands away from protecting his head, his heart feeling a thousand times worse: ¡°Hu Le¡­ it''s me..."


    "It''s me, Han Po..."


    It was hard to imagine what kind of abuse Hu Le had endured. His stunning face was no longer as beautiful as it once was, his face had a few light red marks from the knife, the corners of his mouth were bruised and swollen, and his beautiful eyes were only filled with horror.


    "Han Po...¡± Hu Le looked at Xuan Long in a daze. It took a long time to recognize him, and tears fell from his eyes. ¡°A''Po..."


    "It''s me." Xuan Long crouched down in front of him and touched his face. "Don''t be afraid... it will be okay, I''ll take you away."


    "Where have you been?" Large tears slid down Hu Le''s face, his eyes not quite able to focus as he looked at Xuan Long and his speech was slurred. Xuan Long noticed that a small part of his tongue had been cut out, the wound was new and his teeth were stained with blood, "I made dinner the other day and I noticed you weren''t there... then I went out to look for you and couldn¡¯t find... "


    "It''s all right..." Xuan Long lifted his hand to wipe his tears and took Hu Le into his arms, patting his constantly trembling body. "It''s all right..."


    Hearing the footsteps getting closer, Xuan Long picked up Hu Le and flew away.


    Halfway back to the palace, Hu Le couldn''t hold on and fainted, his hair clinging messily to the side of his face, his breath weak. Xuan Long sensed that his spiritual energy was completely gone and his inner elixir was no longer there.


    Xuan Long took him back to Qiankun Palace, laid Hu Le on the bed, and ordered someone to bring in warm water.


    He was soaked to the bone and his clothes were too torn to be seen, so Xuan Long took them off for him. When he wiped his body, he found that the wounds on Hu Le''s face were nothing compared to his body.

 CH 63

    Ultimately, It Was a Lie


    In addition to the whip marks, burns, pinch marks, and hickeys, the word ''skinny'' had been carved over Hu Le''s heart with a knife in rampantly sharp handwriting, and the knife marks were a finger''s width; the blade had to be repeatedly run over the skin to produce such an effect.


    The wound has scabbed over, but it is enough to imagine the pain he endured while undergoing this.


    The most unbearable part was the one where Hu Le had been severed, it was raw, and the fracture seemed to have been burned with a fire poker, making it a miserable sight... He was so young, but he would never be able to be humane again.


    Xuan Long used all the wound medicine given to him by the Healing Sage on Hu Le, bandaged his wounds, and changed him into clean clothes.


    Hu Le slept restlessly, mumbling nonsense in his sleep. Perhaps because a small part of his tongue was missing, he could not hear the contents.


    Xuan Long did not feel comfortable leaving him alone in the palace and watched over him quietly by his bedside.


    Hu Le slept for the whole day and when he woke up, it was already dark. He regained his sanity, but he no longer had his former arrogance and untouchability. His ice-blue eyes were covered with trepidation, and he looked around and asked Xuan Long in a whisper, clutching the covers, ¡°A''Po... where is this?"


    "The palace." Xuan Long felt like there was a lump in his throat.


    Hu Le propped himself up and gently rested his head on Xuan Long''s legs, his hands gripping his clothing and tears silently welling up at the corners of his eyes as he whispered, "Do even you not want me anymore..."


    Xuan Long''s heart clenched, and he knew that Hu Le was talking about the day he had left without saying goodbye.


    At that time, he had a hunch that Yan Yuan was in danger and the situation was urgent, so he left before he could tell Hu Le. Later, he took Yan Yuan back to the Dragon Clan to seek medical treatment and dispersed his ten thousand years of Taoism, so he had even less energy to look for Hu Le. He did not want Hu Le to know that he was going to die, so he thought that it would be better if he left.


    Hu Le is talented and gifted in Taoism. If he follows the right path, he may be able to ascend to immortality within ten thousand years with few worries, so he should be free of distractions.


    He did not expect that the cheerful and jumpy little fox would look like this when they met again after only two months of absence.


    Xuan Long''s heart was so uncomfortable that it was hard to even say the words that were stuck in his throat, and they seemed like excuses no matter how he said them.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it. I thought... you could live well enough alone and didn''t need me ......."


    Hu Le knew that in Xuan Long''s heart, he was no match for that human, so he didn''t make a fuss, he just fell on Xuan Long''s knee and cried quietly.


    Xuan Long, who was not used to comforting people, helplessly pressed his palm against his trembling back, ¡°Hu Le¡­ I''m sorry. It''s my fault."


    Hu Le cried for a long time, as if he was trying to let out all the pain he had experienced. After he finished crying, he changed back to his silent form, hugged Xuan Long''s waist, and whispered, "You are not sorry for me... we met each other in passing... It''s me who wants to rely on you."


    Xuan Long stroked his head, not saying anything.


    Hu Le lifted his head to look at him, his bloodshot eyes filled with caution, ¡°A''Po... can I still like you in the future?..."


    "... What?" Xuan Long froze slightly.


    Hu Le spoke with a thick nasal tone, "I like you."


    "I never thought of you as a brother... because I like you, the same way that human likes you."


    Xuan Long was completely stunned, not expecting the other man to have such thoughts about him, ¡°Hu Le..."


    And regardless of whether he could respond, and even if he could, he had less than three years to live and an unborn child in his womb, which was inappropriate in every way.


    "It''s okay if you don''t like me, and it''s okay if you think of me as a brother.¡± Hu Le spoke first, as if afraid he would say no, and there was a smile on his pale face.


    "I know... nowadays I am no longer qualified to like you."


    "I can''t even protect you anymore..."


    Xuan Long lifted his hand, wiped the tears from Hu Le''s face with his thumb, and said in a warm voice, "You''ve already treated me well. I''ve always treated you like a brother."


    As kin.


    Hu Le propped himself up with difficulty and pressed his hand against Xuan Long''s slightly bulging belly beneath his robe, forcing a smile, "The little thing is so big already, have you named it yet?"


    "No." Xuan Long knew he was changing the subject and tacitly stopped mentioning it.


    Hu Le raised his eyes, "Have you told the man?"


    Xuan Long shook his head and whispered, "Not yet."


    Hu Le loved Xuan Long and loved the child in his womb, even if it had nothing to do with him.


    "Then I will give the baby a nickname, and you will choose the main name yourselves, okay?..."


    When Xuan Long saw how happy he was, he nodded, ¡°Okay."


    Hu Le was in a bad state, he was so badly injured that every word he said was consuming what little vital energy he had left, and after being awake for so long, he couldn''t hold on any longer.


    He rested on Xuan Long''s knee, with tears in his eyes and a scattered smile on his lips.


    "Then it''s called... Shui Shui, okay?..."


    "Because we met on a rainy day... I saw you that day and my heart rejoiced."


    "I thought to myself... how could a dragon be following me, was it charmed by me..."


    Xuan Long''s voice was muffled when he spoke again, "Okay. It will be called Shui Shui, as you wish."


    Hu Le hugged Xuan Long and closed his eyes contentedly, tears sliding out of the corners of his eyes as he murmured:


    "If he treats you well, I''ll be relieved."


    "But he obviously treats you badly... why do you have to stay with him?"


    "... That day. Didn''t you say... you were going to leave the thousand-year-old pond with me and stay away from him, so he wouldn''t bully you again?"


    "How come I''ve only been gone for a moment and you''ve gone back on your word..."


    In the end, Xuan Long couldn''t tell him the real reason: "... I''m sorry."


    Because Hu Le had lost all his Taoism, he was unable to notice that his inner elixir was gone, and Xuan Long was only able to perceive Hu Le''s condition because he had taken the Ling Xuan pill.


    "So, are you really going to stay with him from now on?...¡± Hu Le held on to his last bit of strength and opened his dull blue eyes to look at the man shrouded in candlelight.


    ¡°En."


    The rain outside the window had not yet stopped, and drops of rain rolled down from the eaves in bunches. Xuan Long¡¯s expression was not really visible in the dim light of the hall. He had always been so silent.


    Hu Le: "... He has an empress."


    Xuan Long pursed his lips, "I know."


    "In the demon clan, having three wives and four concubines is not allowed... We love one living soul for life.¡± Hu Le''s voice grew softer and softer, knowing that Xuan Long was simple and easily coaxed, he held on to his last bit of breath to finish.


    After a long time, silence returned to the hall, Hu Le was asleep and Xuan Long looked at his pale face and whispered:


    "The dragon clan too."


    It¡¯s just that he couldn''t help himself now, he had to stay by the man''s side.


    Sitting quietly on the side of the bed for a moment, Xuan Long rose and wordlessly left Qiankun Palace.


    He had to complete the mission Yan Yuan had given him while the effects of the Ling Xuan pill had not yet worn off.


    The original plan was to ambush him outside the city, but since he had already missed this, the best way was to wait outside the Hall of Peace and wait until the birthday banquet was over, then blend in with the crowd and take advantage of the chaos.


    Xuan Long was not familiar with the routes of the palace, so he followed Yan Yuan''s scent and found the Hall of Peace.


    At that moment, the doors were wide open and Yan Yuan was sitting on the dragon chair, laughing and chatting with the courtiers below.


    Yan Yuan was dressed in a black dragon robe, with the emperor''s crown with flowing pearls on his head, making his face as beautiful as the gods of Heaven. Xuan Long stood stealthily outside the door, slightly lost in thought.


    Next to Yan Yuan sat Ning Zhiyu. Ning Zhiyu was dressed in a phoenix robe, the brilliant red colour of which did not look vulgar on him, but rather had a stunning beauty that was quite different from his usual plain white robe and elegant appearance.


    The two of them sitting together really matched each other.


    Xuan Long withdrew his gaze and subconsciously stopped looking at them, and quietly walked into the hall to look for Yan Huo Heng.


    Yesterday, Yan Yuan had shown him a portrait of Yan Huo Heng, so if he saw him in daylight, he would be able to identify him easily. It was already dark at the moment, and although the hall was lit up with night pearls, he would not be able to see him once he left the hall, so he had to confirm his identity in advance.


    The Hall of Peace is a special place in the palace where banquets are held, with a capacity of a thousand people. At this moment, there were two long rows of tables from the beginning to the end of the hall, with at least a few hundred people sitting there, so it was not easy to recognise an unfamiliar person.


    Xuan Long walked from the entrance to the bottom of the dragon''s chair and looked to his left and right, but was unsuccessful in finding his target.


    Instead, he was attracted by Yan Yuan''s gentle words to Ning Zhiyu.


    Although the emperor and the empress had always sat in the same place, their tables were somewhat separated from each other. But Yan Yuan and Ning Zhiyu were sitting at the same table, as if they could not part for a moment.


    Yan Yuan poured a dish of crystal shrimp into Ning Zhiyu''s bowl, his expression soft.


    "Are you tired?"


    "If you are tired, go back and rest, I will look for you later."


    Ning Zhiyu''s face really did not look too good, but his spirit was good. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile, and his head almost came together with Yan Yuan''s: "Today is your birthday, and as the empress, it is unreasonable for me to step back midway."


    "What does it matter?" Yan Yuan''s eyes were full of heartache, and he shook Ning Zhiyu''s hand on the table in front of the public, "You''ve been very ill these past few days, and you''re still holding on to attend my birthday banquet, it''s really hard for you."


    "It''s no trouble, I wanted to be with you." Ning Zhiyu said softly.


    Xuan Long looked away in disbelief, his hand hanging at his side clenched slightly, and the thought of leaving this place suddenly came to his mind. He thought he could really not care about anything, but in fact, he had never been that open-minded.


    As the two of them were getting cozy, an eunuch suddenly came in from outside the hall to inform them that the King of Zhennan had arrived.


    Immediately afterwards, a tall, upright man came in from outside the hall. He was dressed in a black robe and was clearly a general who had fought in the sands, but his complexion was surprisingly fair, with long eyebrows that went to his temples, and he didn''t smile. His aura was that of a man who had crawled out of the pile of the dead, with an indescribable coldness.


    If you look closely, there is a vague resemblance between his eyebrows and Yan Yuan¡¯s.


    This is Yan Huo Heng.


    No wonder Xuan Long couldn''t find him, he hadn''t arrived yet.


    After saluting, Yan Huo Heng took his seat. The first seat on the banquet table to the left under the dragon chair was vacant, and it was Yan Huo Heng''s place.


    Xuan Long memorised his face and left the hall.


    The rain was pouring down heavily, but it did not affect the pleasure of the people in the hall. Xuan Long leaned outside the door with his sword in his arms, staring at the darkening sky in a daze.


    He couldn''t help but think of the days shortly after he and Yan Yuan first met at the ancient pond, when Yan Yuan treated him best and said he would be with him forever... until he grew old.


    Ultimately, it was a lie


    Xuan Long''s hands tightened around the sword in his arms and he closed his eyes.

 CH 64

    Sick to the Stomach


    Yan Yuan was in a very good mood today, with his lover at his birthday banquet and Xuan Long removing the thorn in his side. He thought that Xuan Long would be able to get the job done, but then he saw Yan Huo Heng, who should have been dead, at the birthday banquet.


    Why hadn''t Xuan Long succeeded?


    Could something have happened?...


    Strangely enough, Yan Yuan''s first reaction was not anger, but concern. He knew that Xuan Long would try his best to do what he had promised him, and now that Yan Huo Heng was sitting in front of him, there must be a reason for it.


    Thinking about how weak Xuan Long had been recently, Yan Yuan suddenly couldn''t sit still and wanted to go to Qiankun Palace to see if the dragon was there and if he was injured.


    But this was his birthday banquet and the courtiers were all sitting around celebrating his birthday, so there was no reason for him, being the main character, to leave.


    Yan Yuan pressed down the turmoil in his heart, lifted the glazed glass on the table, and smiled warmly at Yan Huo Heng below, "Imperial Brother has recovered many small southern border countries for me in the past two years, you have worked very hard and achieved a lot, and recently you have travelled a long distance to come back for my birthday banquet. I must drink to you."


    Yan Huo Heng was cold in nature and did not like to exchange pleasantries with others. When people saw that he was holding a lot of power and had a million soldiers, they would rush to pay tribute to him, but he did not pay much attention to anyone. From the moment he took his seat, he kept his head down and ate quietly. Hearing Yan Yuan mention him, he lifted his cup and spoke expressionlessly, "Your Majesty is very kind, this is a personal responsibility of mine."


    He then tilted his head and swallowed the wine in his cup.


    Those who did not know would really think that he was dedicated to guarding the southern border and serving himself.


    Yan Yuan''s heart was cold, but on the surface, he smiled like a gentleman, "Imperial Brother is a good drinker. You must not return home without getting drunk today."


    "Your Majesty is flattering me."


    Yan Huo Heng was a very good drinker and didn''t need to be told by Yan Yuan to keep refilling his glass. His eyes were long and narrow, slightly upturned, and when he tilted his head to drink, his night-like black eyes showed a bit of dissipation, as if he didn''t care about anything, and the skin at the corners of his eyes was tinged with a thin red because they were too white.


    There is no one in the Yan family who was born unattractive, and Yan Huo Heng was very handsome, but he was so cold that no woman dared to approach him, not to mention the fact that he had committed matricide.


    An adopted mother is also a mother.


    It''s a shame that Yan Yuan still thinks he will repay his kindness for the sake of Empress Dowager Heng.


    Halfway through the banquet, after the singing and dancing, it was time to present the birthday gifts.


    The Prime Minister gave a pair of exquisite jade ruyi, the Minister gave a picture of a famous landscape, and someone else gave a jade Guanyin. In short, they were all things that were not in short supply in the palace, and even though things outside the palace were precious, there were fewer rare things than there were in the palace.


    It was not the gift that mattered, but the sentiment. Yan Yuan accepted the whole list and was so happy that he drank more. His peach blossom eyes were tinged with a light intoxication and he forgot all about his worries.


    The musician was playing a soothing piece of music, and someone at the end of the table spoke up.


    "All the birthday gifts of my colleagues have been given, I wonder what the King of Zhennan is going to give to the Emperor today?..."


    One person took the lead, and everyone became curious, chattering louder and louder.


    Yan Huo Heng took the initiative to rise to the centre and gave an order towards the open door of the hall, ¡°Huan''er, come in."


    When the words fell, a young girl in a white dress with a delicate figure slowly walked in from outside the hall. Her face was covered with a white veil, her hair was half-tied with a simple wooden hairpin, her long ink-coloured hair hung down behind her, her skirt was light, and although her face was not visible, her appearance was definitely not bad.


    As soon as she appeared, the crowd murmured: "What is this King of Zhennan bringing a woman here for?


    ¡­¡­


    The Emperor likes men, everyone knows this.


    Is this not a way for the King of Zhennan to publicly cause discomfort for the Emperor?


    Yan Yuan''s eyes lingered on the women, and then fell on Yan Huo Heng, smiling, "What does Imperial Brother mean by this?"


    Yan Huo Heng bluntly said, "The Emperor will be twenty after his birthday today, so he should have an heir."


    When Yan Yuan was registering the Empress, almost the entire court protested over this matter. In the end, Yan Yuan insisted, chopping off the heads of a few ministers and agreeing to the retirement of a few stubborn old ministers. It was impossible for him to change his mind, and the matter gradually subsided, and the courtiers gradually accepted the reality.


    Who would have known that Yan Huo Heng would publicly present him with a woman at his birthday banquet?


    Yan Yuan''s face immediately turned unpleasant, clenching one hand on the edge of the table as he gritted his teeth and said, "Yan Huo Heng--"


    Yan Huo Heng''s eyes were like deep wells as he indifferently met Yan Yuan''s gaze.


    "For the sake of the country, the Emperor should leave his own selfish desires behind. Start a new branch as soon as possible."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes revealed murderous intent, and he said, word by word, through gritted teeth, "My affairs have never needed you to be in charge of them."


    He had to get involved in matters that were beyond the control of others, what was this if not a demonstration?


    Yan Huo Heng did not say anything, but twisted his head and called the young girl''s name, who understood, and shyly removed her veil.


    The whole audience was in an uproar at this act.


    The young girl''s eyebrows resembled those of the Empress, but as a woman, her features were softer and she was a rare beauty with a plain face.


    The most important thing was that she was able to start a new branch of the royal family, whereas Ning Zhiyu could not.


    Ning Zhiyu''s face turned pale, obviously irritated, and he covered his lips and coughed lowly in pain.


    Yan Yuan anxiously turned his head to look, patting his back to smooth his breath: ¡°A''Yu¡­ Don''t worry, I will never go back on what I promised you."


    "If the Emperor does not have an heir, it will be difficult for the society..." Yan Huo Heng said as he looked at the two men in that hall.


    "That''s enough!" Yan Yuan interrupted him with a twist of his head, fuming with anger, ¡°Someone! Drag this woman away!"


    His words fell, and guards soon came in to take the woman away. The woman had never seen such a scene, and was so scared that she begged Yan Huo Heng to save her.


    Yan Huo Heng frowned slightly as he watched the woman being led away from the hall.


    The hall was silent, and no one dared to breathe too loudly.


    Yan Yuan''s anger was not yet extinguished: "If this happens again, don''t blame me for not thinking of brotherly love."


    Yan Huo Heng was silent for a moment, then bent down and bowed, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."


    Of course, Yan Yuan could not condemn him for this, for Yan Huo Heng had achieved great success in battle. If he did not tolerate this, it would seem that he, the emperor, had no tolerance in his heart, so he had to wave his hand and tell him to sit down.


    The good mood was ruined.


    There was a lot of commotion in the hall, and Xuan Long, who was outside the hall, had noticed it. He heard Yan Yuan get very angry in public, and knew that Ning Zhiyu had a lot of importance in Yan Yuan''s heart.


    He really is... not willing to let him suffer even the slightest bit of grievance.


    It was midnight when the birthday banquet adjourned, and the courtiers, full of wine and food walked out of the hall, stepping out of the light. Xuan Long flew up to the opposite eaves to watch for a while, and did not see Yan Huo Heng come out.


    He felt that his spiritual power was getting weaker and weaker, and he was afraid that the Ling Xuan pill was about to wear off, as the sharp pain in his bones flared up... If Yan Huo Heng did not come out, he could only go in and look for him.


    In a few moments, the courtiers in the hall were almost gone. Just when Xuan Long was about to go in to look for the man, the man in the ink robe slowly walked out. Even if he didn¡¯t speak, his whole person was gloomy. As Yan Yuan said, he didn''t look like a nice guy.


    He had to remove the person who endangered Yan Yuan''s life for him.


    Xuan Long carried his long sword and followed him silently.


    Yan Huo Heng walked slowly, unlike the rest of them who were in a hurry to return home. To leave the Hall of Peace, he had to pass through a long corridor, which was dark and empty; a good place to strike.


    The soul-eating pain was becoming more and more unbearable, Xuan Long broke out in a cold sweat and hid himself. The opponent should not be able to detect him, but he still held his breath and did not dare to push too hard. As Yan Huo Heng rounded the corner of the long corridor, Xuan Long flew up in an unsteady manner, the long sword in his hand thrusting straight at his heart.


    The long sword made of soul power broke through the air with a small sound, which was impossible for Yan Huo Heng to hear given the torrential rain outside the corridor.


    However, just as the longsword was about to strike him in the back of his heart, Yan Huo Heng dodged and caught his longsword with two fingers.


    The wind blew against the black gauze hat worn by Xuan Long, and his masked face was exposed to Yan Huo Heng. Yan Huo Heng''s icy expression relaxed and he said in a daze, "Is that you..."


    Xuan Long understood in an instant that his invisibility technique had failed.


    Then the Ling Xuan pill would soon expire as well... He had to fight quickly.


    Before Xuan Long could think too much, he drew back the longsword in his hand, stepped on the wooden bench next to him and leapt up with both feet, his longsword slashing towards Yan Huo Heng''s face, who easily dodged it with agile movements.


    Xuan Long did not understand why he was only defending but not attacking. In the middle of the struggle, he suddenly felt a pain in his stomach and his movements became slower and slower. Yan Huo Heng took the opportunity to strike his wrist with his palm, and the long sword fell to the ground, disappearing into thin air in an instant.


    The Ling Xuan pill had worn off.


    Xuan Long swallowed a muffled grunt, and his body leaned forward as he lost his strength. Yan Huo Heng caught him in his arms, "Are you alright?" Once the Ling Xuan pill had worn off, it was followed by a multiplied attack of soul-devouring pain. Xuan Long¡¯s body shivered uncontrollably as the pain in his body and dull pain in his abdomen combined to cause his consciousness to fade, and cold sweat slipped from his forehead into his eyes.


    Had Yan Huo Heng not been holding him, Xuan Long would have fallen in his next breath.


    To an outsider, they appeared to be hugging each other intimately.


    The sound of footsteps came from not far away, and Yan Yuan, dressed in imperial robes, appeared at the entrance to the long corridor, followed by Chen Yan, who was carrying an oil lamp.


    "What are you doing?¡± Yan Yuan snatched the lamp from Chen Yan''s hand and strode over to them.


    He was in a bad mood and needed to take his anger out. He had thought that it was a guard and a palace maid who were hugging each other in the Hall of Peace, and fornication was a serious crime.


    Who knew that when he walked over and took a look with the light of the oil lamp, he would see the ghostly face of Yan Huo Heng.


    "Why is it you?"


    Looking again at the person who had just been embracing Yan Huo Heng ¨C


    Xuan Long''s black gauze hat had long since fallen to the ground at some point during the struggle, and when he heard Yan Yuan''s voice, he barely raised his eyes, his out-of-focus turquoise eyes not quite open because of the blinding light.


    The man''s face was pale, and the corners of his forehead covered in cold sweat. No matter how you look at it, he looked very weak, but because he was being held in the arms of another man, he looked like he had just had a sexual encounter.


    Yan Yuan lost his sanity in an instant and roughly ripped Xuan Long out of Yan Huo Heng''s arms.


    "What are you doing here?!"


    Xuan Long stumbled backwards unbalanced, and the back of his head smashed against the pillar of the long corridor. The pain brought him back to consciousness for a few moments, and his icy turquoise eyes looked up at Yan Yuan with some confusion.


    He saw the man looking at him with the eyes of a fly, as if he was something disgusting to the core, and Yan Yuan stepped closer and slapped him.


    "Slut!!!"


    Xuan Long was struck so hard across the face that his mask came loose and fell to the ground, revealing the ugly scar on the right side of his face. He frowned and held his stance, not moving, like that.


    "Have I ever mentioned that you were actually born a real eyesore, especially this scar on your face, it makes me sick to my stomach."

 CH 65

    You Save Him


    The burn marks on his face, which he had been born with, did not hurt, but now his face was burning with pain, as if someone had ripped off his flesh and sprinkled it cruelly with salt.


    When he was young, dragons often used this scar on his face to tease him about his ugliness, but all the living creatures combined were not as cruel as Yan Yuan''s words. The more he cared about him, the more he could make him hurt.


    Xuan Long was born to live in darkness; he had thought Yan Yuan would be his light, but in reality, he had merely moved from one abyss to another.


    In fact, he did not like the sun at all, the warmth of its light only made his inferiority shine. He preferred a secretive night like this one, where no matter how much pain was in his heart, the night was enough to hide him from the jokes of others.


    Xuan Long stood there, keeping his head tilted, his low voice cracking like a fissure, ¡°Have not said."


    But once Yan Yuan said it, he would remember it.


    With a little more attention, Yan Yuan could have noticed that Xuan Long was not quite right; his entire strength was supported entirely by the corridor pillar behind him, his dark hair damp with sweat at the corners of his forehead, and he was panting weakly.


    He could refrain from crying out in pain, but the physical reaction to the soul-devouring pain was beyond his ability to stop.


    Yan Yuan had long since been overcome with fury. Unable to control his emotions, the soles of his feet stomped on Xuan Long''s mask that had fallen to the ground, the metal scraping against the ground with a sharp sound as he raised his hand to pinch Xuan Long''s jaw, holding him against the pillar.


    "Then I will tell you that from the first moment I saw you, everything I have said and done was premeditated."


    "I''ve never loved you, never liked you, not one bit."


    "Everything was a lie."


    Xuan Long was forced to turn his head to look at him, his icy turquoise eyes looking as if they were slightly moist: "I know."


    Yan Yuan thought he had been mistaken and was about to dig deeper when his arm was suddenly gripped by a strong palm. He twisted his head to meet the cold eyes of Yan Huo Heng.


    "Your Majesty, you are drunk."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were red and he fiercely shook off Yan Huo Heng''s hand, "Get lost! You are not in a position to speak here!!!"


    Yan Yuan was unable to tolerate Yan Huo Heng being at his side any longer, as he might not be able to resist killing him.


    Yan Yuan grabbed Xuan Long''s wrist and dragged him away.


    Chen Yan, who had come back to his senses, trotted over from the end of the long corridor and said anxiously, "Aiyo... Your Majesty... you must not..."


    Xuan Long''s footsteps were so weak that he fell softly to the ground before taking a few steps. Yan Yuan turned back to look at him from a high position, his handsome face as cold as a stern ghost, with a smile at the corner of his mouth.


    "What are you feigning? It seems Yan Huo Heng hasn''t been very gentle with you either, so little time has passed and you can''t even walk?"


    Xuan Long''s wrist was clutched in Yan Yuan''s hand, and his wrist bone was raw with pain. He could only use his other hand to cover his aching abdomen and brace himself against the ground to stand up with difficulty.


    Yan Yuan didn''t give him a chance to ease up and dragged him away, drenching him in rain all the way back to Qiankun Palace. Chen Yan was chasing after him with his umbrella, but he couldn''t catch up.


    After entering the side hall, he threw the man he was holding onto the small couch, and the sharp pain in Xuan Long''s abdomen instantly intensified, and he couldn''t help but let out a stifled grunt.


    Without lighting a candle in the hall, Yan Yuan, drenched in water, bullied his way up to Xuan Long''s clothes and tugged at him without a care in the world. His whole being appeared to have gone mad, and there was no trace of his former self.


    Ever since the manifestation of his pregnancy, Xuan Long had stopped wearing his belt, and his loose basalt robe was easily untied. He squeezed the large, cold hand that was pressed against his skin, his breath faint, "¡­ Don''t."


    Don''t do this to me.


    Yan Yuan''s hands did not stop moving, his once pure and gentle peach blossom eyes full of sarcasm: "What?"


    "Let him sleep then do not allow me to sleep?"


    "I thought you were really simple-minded, but I never thought you were actually a slut who could be used by anyone."


    "Anyone can get you to open your legs, can''t they?"


    Soon, Xuan Long had no strength left; his turquoise eyes half-dazed, his consciousness floating, his head tilted to one side as he wondered what he was looking at. The excruciating pain in his body and the pain of the intrusion had robbed him of the ability to even make a sound, and his body that had been thinning day by day continued to sway with the other man''s torture and humiliation, the small couch creaking.


    Yan Yuan felt that he was just pretending. If Xuan Long didn''t want to, he could have cast a spell at will to get away from him, or even from the palace, but instead of that, Xuan Long looked as if he was at the mercy of the Emperor.


    The ants'' scratching resistance just now was like a reluctance to welcome him.


    If he was like that in front of him, would he be even more so in front of Yan Huo Heng?


    When he thought that the seemingly simple Xuan Long was not what he had imagined and did not belong to him completely, Yan Yuan''s whole being was burning with anger.


    The person he loved was Ning Zhiyu, that much Yan Yuan knew very well. But Xuan Long belonged to him, how could he have an affair with someone else?


    He could only belong to him!!!


    "You look at me!"


    "Speak to me!"


    With both cheeks pinched heavily, Xuan Long was forced to turn his face and lift his eyelids, his lax vision barely focusing on Yan Yuan''s face.


    "What is your relationship with Yan Huo Heng?"


    "When did you and him meet?!"


    "Speak!"


    The window by the couch was wide open, the rain and mist were blown into the hall by the fierce wind and fell on the two of them. Yan Yuan''s actions grew more and more vicious. Xuan Long''s breath fractured, the twisting pain in his belly, the soul-eating pain, the multiple torments that overlapped, gradually stripping him of the consciousness he was already struggling to hold on to.


    "I don''t know him..."


    "Lies!¡± Yan Yuan yelled at him hysterically.


    "No... lies..." Xuan Long''s ghastly white lips moved very faintly.


    Yan Yuan is like a child who has been robbed of his beloved toy, and his anger was so great that his heart grew a little aggrieved: "You are lying! I clearly saw you hugging him! I told you to kill him, but you got involved with him. Did you never take me to heart?! You lied to me from beginning to end, right?!"


    "... No."


    Yan Yuan clasped Xuan Long''s shoulder and said in a hateful voice, "Then you explain, you explain to me! I told you to go and ambush him outside the city, why did Yan Huo Heng come to my birthday banquet alive?! And why did you embrace him outside the Hall of Peace?!"


    If Xuan Long had really had an affair with Yan Huo Heng, Yan Yuan would not have been able to detect it after taking off Xuan Long''s clothes. By the faint candlelight coming from the inner hall, he found that there were no marks on this body that he did not want to see, except for the wounds left by the scales pulled from his heart.


    And the place he was forcibly invading at the moment had previously been dry.


    But Yan Yuan could not accept anyone occupying his place in Xuan Long''s world, and that scene in the corridor was enough to make him lose his mind and storm out.


    "I don''t know him..."


    Back and forth, that was all Xuan Long had to say. Yan Yuan was so tired of hearing it that he simply buried his head and vented all his anger.


    Something warm seemed to come out from underneath Xuan Long. Earlier when they were together, Xuan Long would get hurt almost every time. He always said it didn''t hurt, so Yan Yuan didn''t take it to heart, and he didn''t this time either.


    "One word about not knowing each other and that''s it?"


    "Do you take me for a three-year-old?"


    Before Xuan Long fell unconscious, Yan Yuan heard him mutter something under his breath, so he went over and listened intently. Xuan Long''s warm breath breathed in his ear:


    "... I treat you with sincerity."


    With a simple sentence that easily pleased Yan Yuan, most of the gloom dispersed and he curled his lips, ¡°You¡¯d better."


    He could ignore Xuan Long, but Xuan Long must have him in his heart.


    Yan Yuan knew this was unreasonable.


    In this world, not everything is justified, just as all people are born as human beings, but not everyone can be a superior person or an emperor.


    From the moment one is born, one''s superiority and inferiority are clearly distinguished.


    From the moment he met him, Xuan Long could only belong to him, and no one was allowed to lay their hands on him.


    Gradually... Yan Yuan finally noticed that something was wrong, the warm liquid under Xuan Long''s body seemed to be flowing more and more. If it was just an ordinary injury, it would not bleed that much.


    A strong cold fragrance filled his nose. Yan Yuan stopped moving and was about to check, when a subtle movement suddenly came from the side.


    Someone came out of the inner hall.


    "Who?!"


    Yan Yuan quickly pulled clothes over Xuan Long and draped a piece over himself. The figure gradually approached, and after Yan Yuan saw the person''s appearance, his face immediately sank, "Why are you here?!"


    Hu Le appeared in a white robe, barefoot, and with disheveled hair in the side hall where Xuan Long lived, and Yan Yuan couldn''t help but think that his foxy face was really annoying.


    "... What have you done to him?¡± Hu Le asked in a trembling voice as he stared at Xuan Long''s miserable white face.


    When Yan Yuan remembered his previous humiliation by this fox demon at the thousand year old pond, his heart was unhappy. He did not expect that after not seeing him for so many days, this fox demon would again pester Xuan Long like a dog''s tail.


    "What am I doing? It''s an intimate thing that you cannot do with Xuan Long." Yan Yuan laughed coldly, "He has been enjoyed by me from head to tail, all over his body... just now."


    Hu Le was not angered by him and quietly approached Xuan Long, raising his hand to touch Xuan Long''s face, ¡°A''Po..."


    The man did not look like he was asleep, but unconscious... It was clear that he had been fine and talking to him not long ago.


    Yan Yuan''s anger rose and he pushed Hu Le away, "Get out!"


    Hu Le staggered back two steps and fell on his buttocks, touching the wound on his body. He gritted his teeth in pain, rose up, and rushed over to choke Yan Yuan.


    "You disgusting human-"


    "I''ll kill you!!!"


    Yan Yuan reflexively kicked Hu Le in the stomach, and Hu Le spat out a mouthful of blood as his body fell heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.


    Yan Yuan did not expect the fox demon to become so vulnerable, and was so curious that he was ready to crouch down to take a look when he found that the blood under Xuan Long''s body had seeped through the small couch, dripping onto the ground and accumulating into a small puddle.


    Yan Yuan froze on the spot.


    How could so much blood have been shed...


    Hu Le rose from the ground and crawled to Yan Yuan''s feet, his hands trembling as he clambered onto Yan Yuan''s legs.


    "He''s pregnant...."


    "You save him¡­ quickly save him."


    Yan Yuan raised his eyebrows in surprise: "What did you say?"


    ¡°A''Po... is pregnant. It''s your heir and it''s been over four months."


    "You save him...."


    "Please..." Tears glistened in Hu Le''s eyes.


    A''Po cared for this child very much.

 CH 66

    No Children


    Yan Yuan stared warily at Hu Le. They say foxes are cunning, so there was no guarantee that this fox demon was not playing some kind of devious trick.


    "Are you kidding me, Xuan Long is a man."


    Hu Le''s tongue was broken in small pieces and he spoke with great difficulty, the black and blue at the corners of his mouth was particularly striking, and tears continued to trickle from his blue eyes as he whispered:


    "Some dragons are born hermaphroditic, and A¡¯Po became pregnant since he has performed conjugal acts with you."


    "Save him, please..."


    "I know I have bullied you before and you hate me. If you save him, you can pay me back twice as much for everything I did before, I am not afraid of anything."


    The fox, who was once incredibly arrogant, knelt down and bowed his head in front of the human he hated the most.


    Seeing that he did not look like he was lying, Yan Yuan was shocked and panicked for a moment, but his heart still could not accept it and he shouted in a low voice, "Don''t be ridiculous! How can he, a dragon, be pregnant with my child?! Aren''t you as powerful as Heaven and Earth, why do you need to come begging me?!"


    Hu Le lifted his head from the ground and smiled miserably, "If I had the power to save him... why would I need to come and beg you?"


    Having scattered his Taoism, he wouldn''t even get out of this palace, let alone save Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan put his hand on Xuan Long''s pale face, the temperature was cold. He had to trust this fox demon for the time being and said anxiously, "How do I save him?"


    Hu Le let out a breath and said softly, "There is a flower spirit in Chang''an City, she can save A''Po."


    "Don''t call him A''Po!" Yan Yuan furrowed his pretty brow, "This intimate title can only be used by me!"


    Ordering Hu Le to withdraw,, Yan Yuan changed Xuan Long into a clean basalt robe.


    He had previously tried to make Xuan Long happy and had ordered the Clothing Bureau to make Xuan Long some clothes, all of which were made of different materials than the plain ones Xuan Long had been wearing, all of which were made of the finest fabrics in the palace. He had never seen Xuan Long wear them before, and he had never expected to use them at this time.


    However, the clean clothes were soon soiled by the blood that gushed out from Xuan Long''s body.


    Yan Yuan remembered the medicine hidden in a secret compartment by Xuan Long''s bed. Yesterday, he saw Xuan Long taking it and asked him what it was, but he refused to tell him. Yan Yuan guessed that the medicine was related to the massive bleeding that Xuan Long was having today.


    He ran over and found the medicine bottle, poured out two pills, put them in his mouth, and gave them to Xuan Long.


    When he got into the carriage, the bitter taste of the medicine still lingered in his mouth, and Yan Yuan smacked his lips, irritated, touching Xuan Long''s face with his hand every now and then.


    "Where is that flower spirit you speak of?"


    Hu Le''s white profane robe was flecked with blood and his hands were tied with coarse hemp rope in front of him. Sitting on a small wooden stool by the car window, he heard Yan Yuan ask this, and twisted his head and said weakly, "Weihua Lane."


    Just now, Yan Yuan was worried that he was cheating and had tied him up at Qiankun Palace, and had even put talismans on the hemp rope. If it had been in the past, Hu Le would never have suffered such an insult; now he only wanted Xuan Long to be well, and he could endure the rest.


    The carriage swayed and sped out of the palace, breaking into the bustling night of Chang''an.


    When Yan Yuan got the answer, he asked the guard driving outside: "How long will it take to reach Weihua Lane?"


    The sound of a whip was heard from outside and the guard said, "Your Majesty, it will take about half an hour."


    Yan Yuan frowned: "Hurry up."


    The curtain of the carriage moved slightly with the wind, and the light from outside came in, illuminating Yan Yuan''s stunningly handsome face. Hu Le looked at him, still not understanding what it was about this human that was worthy of Xuan Long''s attention, "You are so domineering towards him... do you really love him?"


    Yan Yuan''s brow was full of impatience: "So what if I love him, so what if I don''t, it''s none of your business."


    Hu Le retracted his gaze and leaned back against the wall of the carriage, his pale face full of exhaustion: "If you don''t love him... then let him go."


    Yan Yuan looked up, "Absolutely impossible!"


    Hu Le hooked his lips, the long hair around his face moved slightly with the night breeze, and there were tears under his eyes, "He is so stupid... foolishly treating you well, how can you bear to hurt him like this? You don''t treat him well at all..."


    Yan Yuan smiled and did not speak, and only after a long time did he say in a stiff voice: "It''s not as if I deliberately made him like this."


    Hu Le laughed: "If you didn''t do it on purpose, then so be it. If you did, wouldn''t he be killed by you?"


    Yan Yuan clenched his fingers on the edge of the wooden bench beneath him and said through clenched teeth, "Speak again and I will have you thrown out."


    Hu Le''s smile faded, and in a voice that only he could hear, he murmured, "I really regret that I didn''t kill you at the thousand-year-old pond."


    Yan Yuan was too preoccupied with Xuan Long to listen to what Hu Le was muttering, and after urging the guards to hurry several times along the way, the carriage finally came to a halt at Weihua Lane.


    The alley was very narrow, and it was late at night, so the place was quiet. Except for the team of imperial guards who accompanied the carriage, there was not a single civilian on the road.


    Yan Yuan picked up Xuan Long and got out of the carriage. Hu Le led the way and walked about a hundred metres down the alleyway before stopping in front of a dilapidated mansion.


    Hu Le stepped forward, grabbed the brass handle and knocked on the wooden door. After three knocks, a soulful female voice came from inside.


    "Who is it?"


    "Hua Niang, it''s me."


    "Little fox?"


    "Mmm."


    The wooden door was opened from the inside and what appeared in sight was a young woman in a pink gauze skirt, a strip of pink brocade cloth tied around her head, her knee-length black hair tied into a twisted braid hanging down in front of her body. Those demonic, watery pink eyes were first surprised to see Hu Le, then when she saw Yan Yuan behind Hu Le, she frowned and said nervously, "Why is someone else here?"


    This Weihua Lane was in a deserted area which was not inhabited by mortals. A long time ago, a rich merchant wanted to buy the land here to build a mansion, but was driven away by Hua Niang''s husband who pretended to be a ghost.


    Hua Niang''s original body was a cherry blossom, which absorbed the essence of the sun and the moon to cultivate, and was so timid by nature and low in magic that she was afraid of people, even the stronger members of the human race were able to bully her.


    In the past, she had her husband to protect her, but two years ago, her husband, the Snow Wolf Demon, was captured by a monk who was passing through Chang''an and his whereabouts were unknown ever since.


    After taking the injured Xuan Long out of the palace last time, Hu Le met Hua Niang on his way to seek medical help, when she was being bullied by a gangster on her way to buy vegetables, so he saved her and taught the gangster a lesson.


    When Hua Niang learned that Hu Le had a friend who was injured, she told him that she knew how to heal, so Xuan Long was able to see a doctor.


    Otherwise, Hu Le would not have known what to do when he first came to Chang''an, a place unfamiliar to demons.


    Although a little demon like Hua Niang has a low level of cultivation, she has some talent in healing, and has been living in the human world for years by relying on this skill.


    Her patients were mostly good demons who also mixed in in the human world.


    Hu Le reassured her in a warm voice, "Don''t be afraid... he won''t hurt you or Ying¡¯er. He is the father of the child in Han Po''s womb."


    Hua Niang looked at Yan Yuan warily for a few moments, her white hand covering her mouth as she lowered her voice to Hu Le, "But wasn''t it him who caused A''Long to turn out like that last time..."


    Last time, that is, when Yan Yuan told Xuan Long to go to the border to kill Hu Le, Xuan Long returned to the palace and learned that Yan Yuan had been lying to him and using him as medicine. When the two split up, Xuan Long plucked many scales for Yan Yuan and as a result lost too much blood and went into a coma.


    At that time, Hu Le brought Hua Niang to the inn to see Xuan Long, and he viciously scolded Yan Yuan as being worse than a pig or a dog.


    It was no wonder that Hua Niang was so afraid of him.


    "En.¡± Hu Le laughed. "Don''t worry, he wants to save Han Po too."


    "I''m here."


    When they entered the alley, the hemp rope around Hu Le''s hands had been untied and Hua Niang, seeing the wounds on Hu Le''s body and face, was anxious to ask him what was wrong, which Hu Le brushed off. She had been saved by Hu Le and trusted him, and soon relented, "Well then, come on in, you guys."


    Yan Yuan followed the two demons through the door. The courtyard looked shabby outside, but inside it was plain and clean, and there was a stone mill used by the human race inside.


    Unexpectedly, under the feet of the emperor, there were demons living among the human race, living just like humans, even their habits were so similar, which was really rare.


    Yan Yuan put Xuan Long onto the bed as instructed by the flower spirit, who used her divine sense to check Xuan Long''s pulse. Her face gradually became grave as she complained softly, "Aiya, how could this happen, didn''t I say no intercourse when you brought A''Long here last time."


    Hu Le looked at Yan Yuan with an expressionless face.


    Yan Yuan frowned, "... He did not tell me that he could not have intercourse."


    Hu Le smiled softly, "That is because he cares for you, so he indulges you in everything. But what have you done? Have you ever shown him any semblance of pity?... I''m afraid you don''t even have pity for him."


    "I..." Yan Yuan did not bother to argue with him, and the hand hanging at his side tightened slightly. Looking towards Hua Niang''s busy back, he spoke with difficulty. "Is he... really pregnant?"


    "Yes, it''s been more than four months." Hua Niang replied in a soft voice. Her character was naive and innocent, and the fear she felt just now was long forgotten, "You both have good looks, the baby that comes out must be good looking too."


    Yan Yuan''s heart was really strange, and his brow was deeply wrinkled: "This... is not possible. He is a demon, I am a human, how can we have children?"


    Hua Niang opened the wooden box in her hand and looked back at Yan Yuan strangely: "What''s impossible?... You had conjugal sex with him, isn''t it normal to have a pregnancy. You wouldn''t want to abandon it, would you?..."


    Yan Yuan was dumbfounded and shut his mouth, not speaking anymore.


    The room fell silent, and Hu Le stared nervously at Hua Niang''s movements as she stuck the finger-long spiritual needles in the wooden box, one by one, into the soles of Xuan Long''s feet, his palms, and various acupuncture points on his limbs.


    The unconscious man on the bed suddenly shrank his body in pain, a slurred whisper escaping from his throat.


    "Quickly, hold him down! It will be trouble if all the spirit suppressing needles are lost in the flesh and blood..."


    Hu Le and Yan Yuan heard this and hurriedly went forward to pull Xuan Long''s arms and legs away from him and pressed down on his upper body and legs respectively. Xuan Long''s whole body shook violently and he ended up sobbing quietly.


    Yan Yuan froze, he had never seen Xuan Long cry before, as no matter how badly he was hurt, he never said a word.


    His heart was not very comfortable.


    "Why does it hurt like this..."


    Hua Niang was so anxious that she broke out in a cold sweat and she slightly pulled out the spirit needle that hadn''t gotten too deep, "You are talking nonsense, this spirit-suppressing needle is to retain the baby''s spirit. Sticking it into flesh and blood is piercing into the soul, how can it not hurt? It''s probably like cutting your body in half while alive, and it hurts a hundred times more than that..."


    Seeing Yan Yuan''s dumbfounded look, Hu Le only felt irony, "Can''t imagine, can you? A''Po has suffered like that more than once. Last time, when he was rescued from the palace by me, he experienced it. All thanks to you."


    Yan Yuan pursed his lips and said nothing.


    Hu Le didn''t mean to stab him, he just couldn''t help but say a few more words, and when he didn''t respond, he stopped talking.


    Two hours later, Hua Niang put away the spirit-suppressing needles one by one and put them back into the wooden box, raising her sleeve to wipe the sweat from the corner of her forehead, "Fortunately, he was delivered in time, otherwise the baby would have been in danger."


    By now, the sky was bright outside the window, and Xuan Long''s face was as white as if he had been fished out of the water, his black hair was scattered along his body, his breathing was weak, and a hideous scar occupied the most prominent part of the right side of his face.


    Hua Niang covered Xuan Long with the quilt, and turned to Hu Le and whispered, "Little fox, come with me for a moment, I have something to ask you..."


    Hu Le glanced at Yan Yuan and, seeing that he had little reaction, he went out the door with Hua Niang.


    "What did you say?!"


    "A''Long will live for three years at most without his inner elixir..." Hua Niang asked Hu Le nervously in the courtyard. "Why is it like this? Where are your inner elixirs?... Weren''t they fine when you came last time?"


    The sound of footsteps came from inside the house.


    Hu Le''s eyes flushed red and he swallowed back what he was going to say, saying hoarsely, "Shh, just pretend you don''t know. Don''t ever let that human know, or he might turn against A''Po, got it?"


    Hua Niang nodded her head in fear and trepidation, indicating that she understood.


    As a result of taking the unknown elixir prescribed by Hua Niang, on the way back to the palace, Xuan Long opened his eyes briefly between the shaking of the carriage. Yan Yuan sat on the edge of the bench, looking at his face in a daze, and their eyes met. Yan Yuan froze, then gently held his hand, ¡°A''Po... you''re awake."


    Xuan Long was still not quite conscious and looked at him in a trance, without speaking. Yan Yuan''s expression was a little strange, full of desire to speak, "You''re pregnant with... my child?..."


    Xuan Long''s throat moved and his breath was wavering as he said, "You know."


    Yan Yuan did not quite dare to look directly into his beautiful turquoise eyes, dropping his thick eyelashes as he struggled to speak, ¡°A''Po, you and I live in different worlds, and there is no telling what kind of monster this child will be when it is born... It will certainly not be accepted by the world."


    "You can stay by my side, but this child, we will not have it, okay?..."

 CH 67

    Domineering


    "You bastard-"


    Hu Le never thought Yan Yuan would say such a thing. With red eyes, he sprang up from the bench by the wall of the carriage, lunged forward and clutched Yan Yuan''s clothing, and when he turned around, he punched him.


    The fist hit him square in the nose and blood dripped from his nose. Yan Yuan''s face was grim as he grabbed Hu Le by his collar and punched him in return.


    Hu Le fell to the ground, his brow bruised and his already bloodstained shirt oozing more red from a wound that had opened up on him. Unable to get up, he curled up, but his icy blue eyes glared at Yan Yuan as if he wanted to gouge a hole in his face.


    The carriage was not tall enough for a grown man to stand upright. Yan Yuan''s body half bowed, gracefully and expressionlessly taking a few steps forward, his black satin dragon print boots crushing the pale hand on the ground and applying force.


    "Ugh¡­¡± Sharp pain came from his finger bones and Hu Le bit his lower lip, grunting only a little before he stopped making a sound and he laughed, ¡°A''Po... you see, the human race is the most disgusting species in the world, he is not worthy of your love at all."


    Yan Yuan''s face changed slightly, and his whole body gathered strength to step on the bottom of his feet.


    The sound of bones cracking rang out from within the carriage.


    Hu Le laughed and burst into tears, "You kill me..."


    "Kill me..."


    "Haven''t you been looking down on me for a long time..."


    All the violent elements in Yan Yuan''s heart were awakened. His pupils faintly flushed red, a transparent ball of internal energy emerged from his palm and approached Hu Le''s skull.


    If this slap struck, death would be certain.


    Yet at this moment, there was a voice inside calling out to him, telling him that this was someone Xuan Long cared about and that he could not be killed.


    The sound of something heavy landing on the ground came from behind him, and Yan Yuan''s inner strength dissipated from his hands as he turned back to see, as if awakened, that Xuan Long had fallen next to the bench and was lying on his back on the ground.


    ¡°A''Po!"


    Yan Yuan hurried over and picked the man up from the floor and held him in his arms.


    The lapels of his clothes were gently caught.


    "... Don''t hurt him."


    Yan Yuan looked down to see that Xuan Long clearly couldn''t even hold his eyelids up, yet he was still concerned about the fox demon. He put Xuan Long back on the bench, grabbed the cold hand and held it in his palm, enjoying the smell.


    ¡°A''Po¡­ it''s enough for you to have me, you don''t need anyone else."


    "Other than me, you are not allowed to look at anyone."


    He was so domineering and authoritarian, clearly not in love with him, yet wanting Xuan Long to look at him alone.


    When Xuan Long did not return his gaze, Yan Yuan was angry, shaking his hand and saying, "Say something. If you dare to look at anyone else, I will really kill him."


    Xuan Long''s eyes were closed, having fallen into unconsciousness again, and Yan Yuan''s gaze fell on the small, slightly bulging belly beneath his blanket, and he frowned in a twisted way.


    How could a man be pregnant?


    Or a demon?


    What would a child born from the union of a man and a demon be, a human body with a dragon''s tail, or a dragon''s body with human legs?...


    Whichever it was, it was quite diabolical.


    How could the world accept such a sinful child?


    Even if he could accept it, how could he tolerate an heir born to someone other than Ning Zhiyu, and how sad he would be if Ning Zhiyu found out?


    In short, he could not have this child.


    The carriage drove into the Imperial City as the sun was rising, and as Yan Yuan carried Xuan Long into Qiankun Palace, he ordered Hu Le to be escorted into the outer hall.


    At this time, he still had some conscience in his heart and at least allowed Hu Le to stay by Xuan Long''s side, provided that Hu Le was cleansed in the same way as the eunuchs in the palace.


    Hu Le was pressed to the ground by the imperial guards and stripped naked in public, he had lost all his strength and did not struggle much before his body was humiliatingly exposed to the world.


    Yan Yuan raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw the wound on his lower body, ¡°Tch. It''s good that it''s gone, you won''t do anything bad. At least you''ll still have a life."


    Yan Yuan was worried that if he left Hu Le by Xuan Long''s side, he would be fooled by Hu Le. Seeing that Hu Le''s part was gone, he was relieved and waved away the guards in the hall, leaving Hu Le naked, and went to look for Ning Zhiyu in Luanfeng Hall.


    Hu Le put his bloodstained robes back on and entered the inner hall silently, stopping a short distance away to look at the man on the bed.


    The man was sleeping so deeply that he hadn''t been awakened by all the commotion in the outer hall, but Hu Le was glad he hadn''t seen that scene earlier.


    Hu Le knelt down beside the bed, took Xuan Long''s hand and pressed it to his brow, tears falling from his eyes.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "What should I do..."


    To be able to protect you.


    Xuan Long''s days are becoming shorter and the longer they go on, the weaker he becomes.


    He slept for five days this time, and when he woke up, it was five days later at dusk, with the sunlight streaming in through the window and the shadows of the trees swaying outside, and it was still somewhat warm.


    When Xuan Long woke up, Hu Le was the happiest, running in and out to have food brought to him, and if no one brought food, he ran to the imperial kitchen to ask for it himself.


    The other day, Ning Zhiyu was short of people, so Xiao Dezi was transferred to the Luanfeng Hall and a new eunuch was brought in. The eunuch didn''t listen to Hu Le, and often tripped him, both explicitly and implicitly. Ridicule was a common occurrence, but Hu Le put up with it all, knowing that in this palace, unlike before, he couldn''t cause trouble for Xuan Long.


    Those people didn''t know he was a demon, but when they saw his blue eyes, they thought he was of foreign blood, just a little prettier.


    When Xuan Long woke up and saw Hu Le in his dark blue eunuch''s clothes, he was a bit stunned.


    "I have to have a status when I''m around you. Being a little eunuch is good."


    Xuan Long leaned back against the bed and turned his head away in silence.


    He didn''t say anything, but in his heart he actually knew that it must be Yan Yuan who had made things difficult for Hu Le.


    ¡°A''Po, are you hungry?"


    "You must be hungry after being in a coma for so many days."


    "I have gone to the imperial kitchen to ask for fish, but there is no raw, only cooked... You should not hate it."


    Hu Le rambled and got up to go to the table and brought over a braised fish, the colour of which was fresh and tempting. He handed the plate to Xuan Long along with chopsticks.


    Xuan Long didn''t take it, his icy turquoise eyes fixed on Hu Le''s hand holding the chopsticks.


    Hu Le''s hand was as fair and beautiful as his face, with long, strong bones, yet now his middle and ring fingers on his right hand were uncharacteristically limp and clearly broken. The rest of the fingers were red, swollen and bruised.


    Remembering what had happened to him that day in the carriage, during his semi-consciousness, Xuan Long raised his hand to hold Hu Le''s hand, "Your hand..."


    "It''s okay, it will be fine in a few days.¡± Hu Le put the chopsticks on the plate and handed them over with his intact hand, while his injured hand retracted and hid behind him.


    Xuan Long''s heart was aching, "Show me."


    "I told you it''s all right.¡± Hu Le smiled at him.


    Xuan Long was afraid he would get tired of holding it for a long time, so he just took the plate and chopsticks and lowered his head, hesitating to move.


    Hu Le looked at his cold expression and whispered to him, ¡°A''Po, eat quickly."


    Only then did Xuan Long pick up a piece of fish and slowly put it into his mouth.


    Before he could chew it, Hu Le asked him, "Is it good?"


    "Mmm." Xuan Long whispered. "Yummy."


    Hu Le smiled, "I''ll make it for you next time. Make it steamed, okay?"


    "Okay." Xuan Long''s voice was a little muffled.


    The fish wasn''t very fresh because the people in the imperial kitchen hadn''t given it to Hu Le. Fresh, hot, colourful and flavourful dishes were all sent to Luanfeng Hall.


    The eunuch''s clothes were of the lowest quality, and the imperial kitchen was reserved for the Emperor and Empress, so how could he, a lowly eunuch, get food?


    He begged for two hard, cold steamed buns and stole a plate of fish from the stove when the people in the imperial kitchen weren''t looking.


    The fish was returned from Luanfeng Hall last night, and the Emperor and Empress hadn''t taken a single bite. The chef in the imperial kitchen was going to keep it for himself, but he forgot that it was hard to eat after a night out, so he packed it up and prepared to dump it.


    Hu Le had lost his Taoism and his sense of smell was not what it used to be. He did not bother to taste it, but gave it to Xuan Long to eat, so naturally he would not find out that the fish was not fresh.


    Xuan Long was eating it when he suddenly heard Hu Le whimpering and crying at his side, ¡°A''Po... let''s go. We''re not staying here anymore, okay?..."


    Hu Le¡¯s face was pale, and he looked beautiful in the eunuch''s clothes, but he was crying like a child, and his big tears were falling down.


    Xuan Long looked at him silently and breathlessly said, "Okay."


    He had intended to send Hu Le away.


    This deep palace with its high walls, they couldn''t walk out with their legs.


    For the sake of Ning Zhiyu, it was impossible for Yan Yuan to let him go, but if he just begged him, he should be willing to send Hu Le away for the sake of his former love.


    "Really?...¡± Hu Le stopped crying, but tears were still falling from his eyes.


    Xuan Long curved his thin lips and smiled at him, ¡°Mmm. Really."


    Hu Le didn''t feel quite right; Xuan Long''s promise seemed too easy, and Xuan Long had hardly ever smiled before. He raised his hand and held onto Xuan Long''s wrist, saying:


    ¡°A''Po, don''t lie to me..."


    "You and I have both lost our Tao, how should we leave?"


    Xuan Long was silent: "... You know."


    Hu Le spoke in a trembling voice: "Well, when Hua Niang was healing you¡­ she told me that you had lost your Tao and are pregnant with a child, you will live for less than three years at most. Is that true?..."


    "Mhmm." Xuan Long lowered his eyes.


    Hu Le choked back tears, the warmth in his hand belonging to Xuan Long was keeping him from breaking down, "Why¡­ where is your inner elixir? Was it taken by that dog emperor to heal his empress?"


    Xuan Long knew that Hu Le would surely get to the bottom of it, so he told the truth: "He was assassinated and lost his life."


    "Why are you so stupid... Is he really that important, so important that you don''t even want your own life...¡± Hu Le cried, trembling with tears, and understood without Xuan Long''s explanation.


    Xuan Long would never answer such a question. For those who treated him well, he was always willing to repay them a thousand times over. He should do his best to repay his saving grace. He never regretted coming to this point, he only hated himself for falling in love with that person.


    ¡°Hu Le... don''t cry." Xuan Long clumsily lifted his hand to wipe Hu Le''s tears for him.


    Hu Le raised his hand against his face and sobbed, "He said he didn''t want the child in your womb."


    Xuan Long''s body stiffened slightly, ¡°Mhmm."


    Hu Le knew he was sad and stopped talking about it, even crying very quietly, "How do we leave?¡­ There''s no way he''s going to let us go..."


    Xuan Long drew his hand back and stroked his head, "I have a way. Don''t worry."


    Hu Le seemed convinced and asked him expectantly, "So where would be a good place for us to go when we leave?"


    Xuan Long cooperated with him and replied, "Where do you want to go?"


    A longing look appeared in Hu Le''s eyes, "How about going to Suzhou?..."


    "I heard that the landscape is good there, the scenery is good. Me and you, and Shui Shui, we three demons live happily together. He doesn''t want the baby... I want it.¡± Hu Le put his hand gently against Xuan Long''s abdomen through the bedding and clothing.


    Xuan Long looked at the smile at the corner of his eyes and smiled along with him, "Good."


    Suddenly, the door was pushed open vigorously from the outside, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching revealed the anger of the visitor. Yan Yuan soon appeared in their line of sight, his lips brimming with mockery, "... Where do you want to go?"

 CH 68

    For You When the Child is Born


    The nature of animals makes them wary of danger.


    Hu Le stood up and opened his arms in front of Xuan Long, his icy blue fox eyes glaring menacingly at Yan Yuan as if he would immediately tear him to pieces if he dared to come over.


    In fact, it was ridiculous for a demon who had lost all his Taoism and was covered in scars to make such a move, but that gesture of protecting Xuan Long even if he was fighting for his life managed to displease Yan Yuan.


    Not to mention the fact that this fox had just intended to abduct Xuan Long and leave with him.


    "Taoist Master Shi, take this fox demon away for me and teach him a lesson.¡± Yan Yuan''s deep, cold voice fell in the hall.


    Behind him followed an old man in grey and white Taoist robes, with white hair and sunken eye sockets. He obeyed the order and bowed slightly towards Yan Yuan, then stepped forward, throwing the sceptre in his left hand to the ground and raising the vajra shield in his right hand to cast a spell at Hu Le''s face.


    The monk had come to the palace yesterday. Not long ago, Yan Yuan had secretly issued a notice among the public looking for a high-level Taoist cultivator who could subdue demons and remove devils for a heavy reward.


    He knew that Xuan Long had 10,000 years of Taoism, and if he changed his mind one day, he could leave him at any time. He sought this monk not to subdue demons, but to imprison Xuan Long.


    When he came out of Ning Zhiyu''s bedchamber, Yan Yuan met this Taoist Master Shi and brought him here to cast a spell to set up a boundary outside Qiankun Palace, but no sooner had he arrived than he heard Xuan Long and Hu Le talking about leaving the palace.


    How could he not be angry?


    "Stop."


    Seeing that a golden light seemed to be coming out of the vajra shield, Xuan Long gently pushed Hu Le, who was in front of him, away and got up to get off the ground.


    "If you have a grievance, just come at me, don''t hurt others." Xuan Long had just woken up, even his lips were pale, the profane clothes that should have fitted him looked loose across his body, and his abdomen was not obvious in any way, with no sign of pregnancy.


    He was too thin.


    Yan Yuan saw the scar on his face and felt annoyed, and when he saw him fighting against him for Hu Le, his face became even more ugly and his rear teeth clenched tightly, "This fox demon knows just how to confuse you, what''s the use of keeping it? Is he that important to you?"


    Xuan Long didn''t understand why Yan Yuan was angry; he didn''t love him, so why bother with this? This man was always inexplicable.


    Hu Le was the only family he had in the world, so he was important.


    There was nothing to be gained by angering Yan Yuan at this time, so Xuan Long did not reply, merely saying, "If you don''t like him, let him go."


    Sensing that something was wrong, Hu Le stepped forward and grabbed Xuan Long''s hand: "You said you would go with me."


    Yan Yuan stared at their hands touching each other and laughed angrily, "Why should I let him go? He is the fox demon that I asked you to subdue, isn''t he? He hurt my people and took the lives of so many people, it was already kind of me not to kill him. For your sake, the death penalty can be forgiven, but the living penalty cannot be escaped."


    "Men, take this little eunuch who has violated the law below to me, beat him heavily with five hundred lashes, and put him in the dungeon!¡± Yan Yuan was deliberately humiliating him, and if he was given five hundred lashes, he was bound to be beaten back to his original form.


    The imperial guards came in and seized Hu Le''s hands from both sides to escort him out. Hu Le struggled frantically, but his eyes inadvertently collided with Xuan Long''s. Perhaps he was afraid that he would worry, but he suddenly quieted down and smiled at him with a crooked head:


    ¡°A''Po, don''t worry, I have thick skin, I''ll be fine."


    "I''m a fox, I have nine lives."


    "As long as he doesn''t kill me, one day, I''ll leave with you."


    "We agreed... to take Shui Shui and go to Suzhou together to live a good life."


    Xuan Long''s hands hanging at his side were clenched into fists, the tips of his fingers embedded deep in the bloody flesh, and as he saw that Hu Le was about to be taken out of his sight, he closed his eyes, "Let him go. You left me behind, wasn''t it for the dragon heart... I''ll just give it to you."


    Yan Yuan turned back to look at Xuan Long in surprise, ordered the guards to stop for the moment, and said uncomfortably, "I don''t want the dragon heart, I just want your inner elixir."


    Xuan Long opened his icy turquoise eyes and calmly met his gaze, "The inner elixir is gone."


    Yan Yuan furrowed his pretty brows, "Gone? Where did it go?"


    Xuan Long was silent.


    Yan Yuan took a few steps forward, his long fingers raised Xuan Long''s jaw, and he spoke with a cold face:


    "Don''t deceive me just because I can''t bear to dig your heart out."


    "I hate it when people lie to me."


    "I want your inner elixir."


    Xuan Long: "You release Hu Le first."


    Hu Le was so clever that he immediately understood why Xuan Long had said so confidently that he had a way. It turned out that what he meant by having a way meant using his heart as a bargaining chip in exchange for his freedom.


    Xuan Long had never wanted to leave.


    Hu Le struggled like a madman, breaking down and crying out:


    "Don''t¡­ A¡¯Po¡­ don''t¡­"


    "I said, if you don''t go, I won''t go either!!!"


    "I forbid you from dying for me, I don''t want you to die!!!"


    Yan Yuan had a headache from the noise, he waved his hand and ordered the guards to lock Hu Le up first to await his disposal. Hu Le was soon dragged out, his heart-rending cries getting further and further away.


    Xuan Long''s eyes reddened a little as they followed. Yan Yuan found it strange that this dull, taciturn man had such a vulnerable side. At the same time, he felt unhappy that he could be soft-hearted for someone other than himself.


    As his fingertips applied force, Xuan Long''s cheeks were pinched to the point of redness, and Yan Yuan stared at him grimly, refusing to let go of any expression on his face, "You and that fox demon, you really do have a strong bond. You don''t really like him, do you?"


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes, his tree-shadowed black lashes covering the emotions beneath them, "He and I, we are kin."


    Yan Yuan snorted and let go, "You''d better be. It''s the first time I''ve seen a dragon and a fox become kin. It''s no use for you to like him, he''s a eunuch now, there''s no way he can satisfy you."


    When Xuan Long heard this, he was a little angry. He was angry and disappointed, but did not show it, he only said indifferently, "Who I like is none of your business."


    Like a wolf whose tail had been stepped on, Yan Yuan exploded, "It''s relevant, you promised to stay by my side, so you can only treat me with all your heart and soul!"


    Xuan Long sat down on the edge of the bed, not looking at him, his eyes downcast, and asked awkwardly, "What about you? I have never found you so heartless and cruel before. You also said that although you could not love me with all your heart, you would treat me well... it was all a lie, was it not? I am... just a mere tool to you."


    Yan Yuan held his anger. He wanted to be angry, but it did not make sense, and so he suppressed his dissatisfaction, "Where am I being heartless and ruthless? I just want to keep you by my side, how have I ever treated you badly?"


    "I even let you live in this side hall in Qiankun Palace, and asked the palace staff to serve you with good food and drink. Isn¡¯t it more comfortable than the bottom of your broken pond?"


    Xuan Long raised his eyes and looked out of the window, "To me, this palace is just a prison."


    Yan Yuan: ¡°You stayed willingly, you said you liked me."


    Outside the window was a large willow tree. In the autumn, the leaves had turned yellow, and the blue sky was beautiful, but the world outside had long been far away from him.


    What little life he had left was destined to be exhausted within these cold walls.


    Xuan Long withdrew his gaze, his eyes downcast.


    "I regret it."


    "I shouldn''t have come."


    Had he known that Yan Yuan did not want their child, he would not have come. But if even Yan Yuan couldn''t accept their child... then after his death, how would he survive in this cruel world?


    "You are not allowed to regret!" Yan Yuan moved and sat down at Xuan Long''s side, grabbing his hand hard and almost childishly making his presence known, "You can only love me in this life."


    Xuan Long''s wrist was squeezed until it hurt and he tried to pull it back, but failed, and Yan Yuan''s grip loosened slightly.


    "It''s useless for you to regret. Last night, the cultivators sprinkled the palace with spirit-removing powder, any demon who enters this palace won''t be able to cast even half a spell, you won''t be able to get out."


    "Try it if you don''t believe me."


    Xuan Long moved his lips, ¡°Really?"


    In fact, Yan Yuan was not sure if the monk''s words were true or not, he was just testing Xuan Long; if he still had his powers, why would he bother talking to him here, he could just use some spiritual power to save Hu Le.


    If it was true, there would be no need to set up the boundary.


    "You should have noticed already."


    The corners of Xuan Long''s lips curled up, "Yes."


    Yan Yuan took his hand and firmly interlocked his fingers. Looking at his well-defined side, he said, "Then stay by my side and don''t think about all that nonsense, I won''t harm you even if I see that fox demon in a bad way. This scar of yours is a bit ugly, but I can put up with it."


    Xuan Long spoke in a muffled voice, "You don''t have to put up with it."


    Yan Yuan frowned in displeasure, not letting go of his hand, "Don''t be ungrateful. Who else would want you but me? That fox demon is probably trying to cheat you out of your inner elixir too, otherwise what would he be doing pestering you all the time, what do you have that he might want?"


    Xuan Long lowered his head and didn''t even look at him: "... Not everyone is like you."


    Yan Yuan''s face went cold: "I''ll get angry if you keep doing that."


    The old Taoist had just been dismissed by Yan Yuan, and there were only the two left in the hall. Xuan Long was not accustomed to arguing with Yan Yuan and moved away from the topic, "When will you release Hu Le?"


    Yan Yuan was annoyed to hear him mention someone else, and shook off Xuan Long''s hand to stand up, "When you give me the inner elixir, I will release him."


    Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly, "Let him go first... When the child is born, I will give you the inner elixir."


    Yan Yuan fiercely turned around, "No, this child cannot be born."


    Xuan Long''s hand on the edge of the bed tightened and his voice was muffled: "Why not?"


    Yan Yuan seemed to have become particularly restless recently. He paced back and forth in the hall, the hem of his clothes fluttering, before he suddenly stopped and said to Xuan Long, "You are a dragon, I am a human, what will our child look like? Didn''t I tell you that day that this child would not be accepted by the world and would be treated as a monster!"


    Even if Xuan Long was strong, hearing that the child''s biological father disdains his existence like this, it is inevitable that his heart will still feel like a knife was twisting inside it. His fingertips unconsciously dug into the bed board, and he was not even aware that blood was coming out.


    "He... won''t be very strange, it is just that he will have dragon horns on his head, and in the dragon race, it is a nice thing to have a nice pair of horns. If you really don''t like him... there is no need to announce to the world that you are his biological father. The palace is so big, you can give him a room and a mouthful of food..."


    Yan Yuan felt that this man was simply incomprehensible and interrupted him impatiently, "Get it straight! This is Earth, not the Dragon Clan! Besides, if A''Yu finds out that you are pregnant with my child, what do you want him to think?"

 CH 69

    Please


    It turns out that in Yan Yuan''s eyes, the life of the child in his womb was not as important as his beloved''s joy. He was nothing to him after all, perhaps even a dead leaf outside the window was more precious than him.


    Their conversation that day ended unhappily.


    To be precise, it was Yan Yuan''s unilateral declaration of anger as well as an expression of dissatisfaction that failed to achieve its purpose. Xuan Long did not say anything more after he knew the other party''s true thoughts, knowing that persuasion was useless.


    Something unimportant will not change its ending because of a few words. If weeping and begging on his knees to the other party had worked, his mother would not have been cruel enough to throw him away.


    Going around in circles, fate seemed to keep repeating itself... from the moment he was born, it seemed that he had never been truly accepted by the world.


    Whether as a child or as an adult, he was always redundant.


    Hu Le was locked up, Xiao Dezi was transferred out of Qiankun Palace, and there was no one at his side all of a sudden. Xuan Long should have been used to being alone long ago. Perhaps because he was nearing the end of his life, he found the soul-devouring pain a little unbearable when he was alone, and he often woke up in a cold sweat after hours of continuous severe pain, looking at the empty hall and asking himself why on earth he was here.


    Why did he cocoon himself and fall in love with someone he shouldn¡¯t?


    Why was he foolish enough to think he really deserved to be loved?


    Well now he has lost everything.


    Everything he had was worthless anyway, and if he loses, he loses, but Hu Le can''t risk his life over it.


    He was still young, still very young, and even if he lost his Tao for the moment, he could still start all over and cultivate again.


    He had to save him.


    The setting autumn sun was cutting through the gradually balding branches of the trees and falling on the carved dragons on the edge of the hall. It was already evening, and after a while, it would be dark.


    If Yan Yuan did not come, he had no choice but to go to him.


    Supporting his weak body after the attack, Xuan Long got out of bed, changed his robe, put on his black hat, and went out the door.


    "Where is Yan Yuan?"


    The little eunuch guarding outside the hall was the one who replaced Xiao Dezi, and he came from some unknown palace. He didn''t even look at Xuan Long when he saw him, and with a whisk in the crook of his arm, he said in an ominous manner towards the sky, "At this hour, the Emperor should be in Luanfeng Hall with the Empress for dinner, he can''t stay here every day to watch something dirty that came out of nowhere."


    Xuan Long paused and walked away in silence.


    The eunuch looked at his back and uttered a contemptuous ¡°Cowardly".


    He had thought he was some kind of seductive demon, with the way he looks, and he dared to steal the Emperor from the Empress. That day, he snuck in to take a look at the ugly creature while he was sleeping, and the large scar on his face didn''t upset him at all.


    Even the Emperor had the guts to talk to such an ugly creature.


    Earlier, when he still had his Tao, he had gone to Luanfeng Hall following Yan Yuan''s scent, and Xuan Long remembered the way.


    He walked there slowly. The palace staff on the way saw that he was wearing clothes that did not look like palace attire and a black veil hat that covered his face, and they were curiously hiding at a distance and whispering. He lifted his hand and pulled the hat down over his head to make sure the veil in front of him was properly covering his ugly face, and only then did he feel more at ease.


    "I think he came out of Qiankun Palace, so he must be the male pet that the Emperor has hidden in Qiankun Palace, right?..."


    "I heard Xiao Chenzi say that this male pet looks scary, how could the Emperor keep such a person around ah, is the Empress not good enough?"


    "That''s right, the Empress is elegant and noble, and treats the palace staff well, where can other people compare to that ah, I guess this person may know some kind of evil magic and just charmed the Emperor... Poor Xiao Chenzi, he stayed by the Empress'' side, but now he has to go to Qiankun Palace to serve this forbidden creature that cannot be seen. "


    "Why did he leave the palace and come out to run around?..."


    A few small palace maids carrying food boxes followed not far behind Xuan Long, looking at his back and constantly chattering. At first they restrained their voices, but when they saw that he did not react, they became more and more bold, speaking loudly and unpleasantly.


    He didn''t even notice that someone was approaching.


    "Who gave you the guts to talk about the Emperor in private?"


    A male voice with the texture of ice came from behind him. The palace maids shivered and instinctively turned to look, only to see the man in a python robe, with long eyebrows that entered his temples. His handsome face was clearly expressionless, but his long, narrow black eyes sent shivers down the spine. Everyone knew that the King of Zhennan was ruthless, killing without blinking an eye.


    The palace maids fell to their knees as soon as their feet went weak, tears sprouting from their eyes in fear as they kowtowed and begged for mercy.


    "Your Majesty, the King of Zhennan..."


    "Your Highness, the King of Zhennan ¨C the servants, the servants did not know that Your Highness was here, so they spoke nonsense for a moment, and they are begging, begging for Your Highness'' forgiveness."


    "The servants will not dare to do it again..."


    Yan Huo Heng lowered his eyes to look at them and spoke out coldly, "Behave yourself."


    The palace maids did not know what these words meant, and raised their faces in a daze with tears streaming down their faces, no longer looking smug. The man dressed as a lieutenant general behind Yan Huo Heng bellowed, "The King has spared your lives! Get lost!"


    "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness... Your Highness..." The palace maids trembled and kowtowed several times, then lifted the food box, got up and ran away.


    When Yan Huo Heng raised his head, his gaze coincidentally met with a man in dark robes in the distance. The man''s face was covered with a black veil, but Yan Huo Heng knew that he was looking this way and must have been attracted by the commotion just now.


    Xuan Long averted his gaze and turned around.


    "Wait."


    Yan Huo Heng called out to him, taking advantage of the gap when Xuan Long stopped and quickly stepped over to him, pulling out a dark gold mask engraved with Sanskrit from his broad sleeve and handing it to him, "Your mask... fell on the promenade that day."


    The slanting sun fell on the unsmiling face of the King of Zhennan, actually lightened the gloominess at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows a bit, inexplicably showing a bit of sluggish tenderness and anxiety.


    Xuan Long naturally did not notice the other party''s difference, and raised his hand in bewilderment to accept the mask, "Many thanks."


    His heart was somewhat complicated when he saw Yan Huo Heng, after all, he was going to kill him that night, and things turned into such an embarrassing scene, with him witnessing the whole thing.


    ¡°No trouble at all. Don''t take what just happened to heart, women are born with broken mouths."


    Xuan Long realised as an afterthought that Yan Huo Heng was comforting him, and curved his lips, "¡­ Not all of what they said was false."


    He does have an ugly face, what would Yan Yuan like him for if it wasn''t for the dignified and elegant Empress.


    He kept him, but only to save that man''s life.


    Yan Huo Heng was speechless for a moment.


    "Thank you for returning this mask to me."


    The two should have never crossed paths, and there was nothing to say when they suddenly ran into each other. Xuan Long was no longer able to get rid of anyone for Yan Yuan. He had no hatred nor liking for the person in front of him, he could only stay away.


    Yan Huo Heng looked at Xuan Long''s distant back and subconsciously took two steps after him, murmuring the man''s name inaudibly, ¡°A''Po..."


    There was a notable fondness and complexity in his eyes.


    "Your Majesty, who is this?" The lieutenant behind him asked curiously.


    "The Emperor''s person." Yan Huo Heng said in a low voice.


    "A real male pet?" The lieutenant said in surprise.


    Yan Huo Heng pursed his lips and did not answer.


    Seeing that he was still staring and that the man was long gone, the lieutenant whispered and urged, "Your Majesty, let''s go, the Empress Dowager is waiting for you to have dinner."


    "Mm."


    Only then did Yan Huo Heng withdraw his gaze.


    There were eunuchs guarding the main palace gate of Luanfeng Hall, and idle people were not allowed to enter at will, they had to be announced. Xiao Dezi recognised Xuan Long as soon as he saw him outside the gate and spoke with suppressed delight, "Master Han, what brings you here?"


    "Is he here?" Xuan Long asked in a low voice.


    Xiao Dezi''s smile faltered and he said in a lighter voice, "His Majesty is dining with the Empress at the moment, so wait a moment while I go and tell him."


    "Why don''t you follow me to the palace gate first?"


    "En." Xuan Long answered and followed him through the door.


    There were palace maids and eunuchs guarding outside the palace. Xiao Dezi could enter and leave the bedchamber at will, his status here must be not low. He entered and came out not long after.


    His face was a little troubled, "His Majesty says he is not available at the moment and asked you to wait outside until he has finished his evening meal."


    Xuan Long nodded: "Okay."


    He didn''t say much, and after answering, he stood by and kept quiet.


    The meal went extraordinarily long, until the sun was setting and the moon was over the trees, but Yan Yuan had not yet come out.


    The eunuchs and palace maids outside the hall had all returned from their meal.


    Xiao Dezi, who could not bear it in his heart, whispered to the person under the tree, "Master Han, come up and wait, it''s windy down there."


    Xuan Long stood there without moving, his voice a little hoarse coming from under the black veiled hat, "It''s fine.


    Xiao Dezi continued with a sad face, "Why don''t you go back first, the Emperor may not see you today."


    Xuan Long shook his head and looked at the bright moonlight through the black veil, "I can wait."


    If he did not wait, Hu Le would have to suffer even more in that cold dungeon.


    There was no telling what those people would do to him.


    After Ning Zhiyu had fallen asleep, Yan Yuan gingerly exited the hall door, his cold gaze sweeping over Xuan Long''s figure, his tone warmless, "Come over here."


    Xuan Long followed Yan Yuan and entered the adjacent side hall.


    The structure of the side hall was the same as the main hall, only slightly more simply furnished. Chen Yan lit the candle and retreated, gently closing the door behind him.


    Yan Yuan sat down in the outer hall''s noble chair, expressionlessly looking at the man standing not far away, "Aren''t you very proud of yourself, why have you now taken the initiative to seek me out?"


    Xuan Long knew that Yan Yuan was angry. The day before yesterday, when Yan Yuan had returned to Qiankun Palace, he said he did not want to have conjugal relations with him, and the man had left in a huff, slamming the door.


    They were not married in the first place¡­ so why did they have to perform that act?


    "... Release Hu Le."


    Yan Yuan curled his lips, a sneer flooded his peach blossom eyes, ¡°Why?"


    Xuan Long pursed his lips and spoke in a low voice, "Release Hu Le, and I will have intercourse with you."


    Yan Yuan gave an abrupt laugh, and his face went cold, as if he was even angrier, "Do you think I really value this body of yours? The sight of your face turns my stomach. Get lost."


    Xuan Long lowered his head and did not move: "What do you want?"


    Yan Yuan: "Where is the inner elixir?"


    Xuan Long: "... I said I would give it to you when the child is born."


    Yan Yuan said in a cold voice: "I have also said that I do not want the child."


    This time Xuan Long did not speak for a long time, and only after a long time did he speak in a muffled voice, "... I didn''t ask you for it."


    "Heh, that''s not what you said that day. If you don''t have it removed now, can''t we wait for it to be born and then drown it?"


    "Stop talking." Xuan Long''s voice suddenly hoarsened to a different pitch, like he was about to cry.


    Yan Yuan froze.


    Xuan Long tilted his head slightly, and the posture seemed quite inexplicable to Yan Yuan.


    "Set him free... please. Keeping him won''t do you any good."


    Yan Yuan had been waiting for Xuan Long to come looking for him for the past few days, but as soon as he came, he mentioned another man, so how could he not be angry. The fingertips that kept tapping on the armrest suddenly stopped, "After all that nonsense, you should show some sincerity."


    Xuan Long nodded in a daze and pulled the dagger he had brought with him from his waist, lifting his sleeve to reveal his slim arm, and without hesitation he laid down the blade.


    "He''s running out of dragon scales, isn''t he¡­ I can give you more, fifty¡­ a hundred, all of them... as long as you let him go."


    The blade was embedded in his flesh and blood, catching the dragon scales and applying force fiercely, and a dragon scale was pulled off raw. Xuan Long''s face was white and blood was flowing.


    Yan Yuan rose to his feet and snatched the dagger from his hand, throwing it to the ground, an angry light glinting in his eyes, "I didn''t say that."

 CH 70

    Scumbag


    The candle light in the hall flickered on and off, and above the bed, the tent was hung up, the dim candle light reflecting the two of them in close proximity to each other. Xuan Long was sitting on top of Yan Yuan, his hands were wrapped around his neck, barely supporting his body. The wound on his arm dripped bright red blood as it was constantly bounced around, falling onto Yan Yuan''s taut, snow-white back and settling into the bedding.


    Xuan Long''s brow wrinkled slightly, his lips pursed and did not make a sound, and even his breathing was stoic and firm as Yan Yuan clasped his hands around his slightly rounded waist, making bruises and strangulation marks.


    His eyes touched his slightly bulging belly and he frowned, "I don''t like the way you look now. In a few days, I''ll send someone to the Flower Spirit to get an abortion pill, so you can get rid of the baby before it''s too late."


    Xuan Long was so thin that the child looked a little pitiful, smaller than a normal pregnancy at over four months, but it was enough to make Yan Yuan feel like it was an eyesore.


    He did not know that for Xuan Long, it was the only warmth left in the world. Whenever he felt he could not hold on, the baby in his belly moved gently and he had some strength again.


    In his last life, his only wish was that he could find a stable environment for his child to grow up in and be with him during his last journey, hoping that the child in his belly would not follow in his footsteps. That was the only thing he could give him, even if it cost him his life.


    But Yan Yuan felt that this child was a burden.


    A child born from Ning Zhiyu''s womb would have pleased Yan Yuan.


    The long raven-black hair covered Xuan Long''s thin back and a few strands fell in front of him. He was tense and his belly hurt a little, his turquoise eyes lowered, his forehead touched Yan Yuan''s chin from time to time, and his voice was unsteady, "You are not qualified... to decide whether he stays or goes."


    Yan Yuan was displeased, "I am not qualified, who is qualified?"


    Once Yan Yuan was upset, Xuan Long was going to suffer. He gasped more and more, and on a rare occasion, he fought against Yan Yuan and broke away, "You do not want him... he has nothing to do with you.¡±


    "Shut up." Yan Yuan pulled his face down, trying to keep him from ever saying anything he didn''t like again, "Everything about you is about me. If you say something like that again, I''ll-" The threatening words reached his mouth and suddenly cut off.


    What?


    Xuan Long curled his lips, "You''ll... kill me."


    Yan Yuan felt a little panic in his heart. His eyes flickered a few times and he spoke in a hard voice, "I''ll... I''ll kill that fox spirit."


    Xuan Long indeed stopped talking.


    Yan Yuan succeeded in telling him to shut up, and in turn became even more upset, fiercely picking up the man on top of him and flipping him over, pressing him down onto the bed.


    Xuan Long had never looked at him much at such times, always closing his eyes and tilting his head to one side, suffering in silence as if being with him was a terrible thing.


    Yan Yuan pinched Xuan Long''s face forcing him to turn around, his gaze grim, "Look at me. Don''t stop looking at me."


    He had been with Ning Zhiyu all day, but he looked like a hungry jackal. Xuan Long didn''t know what Yan Yuan was thinking, as his beloved was right next door, but he still had to pester him to do these meaningless things.


    Seeing Xuan Long looking at him distractedly, Yan Yuan frowned and said, "I''m telling you, don''t think I''m obsessed with you just because I''m like this. It''s because A''Yu is not well, so I reluctantly vent my frustrations on you."


    So that''s how it is.


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "Then it''s really been hard for you."


    Yan Yuan hummed, ¡°It isn''t."


    "Wake up." In the middle of the night, Xuan Long''s body was pushed around in his drowsiness. He opened his eyes tiredly and met Yan Yuan''s cold expression, "It''s time for you to go. It would be bad if A''Yu found you here."


    Xuan Long propped himself up on the bed and sat up, moving sluggishly to get out of bed and pick up his clothes from the floor. He fastened his belt and turned around with a pale face, ¡°Hu Le¡­"


    Yan Yuan heard this name so much that his ears were calloused, and he was reflexively repulsed, "Don''t worry, I will return him to you tomorrow. As you wish."


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, "You can send someone to send him out of the palace... I don''t want to see him anymore."


    Yan Yuan hooked his lips, "Impossible, who knows if he will go out to find some kind of help. You better break off the idea of leaving me."


    Xuan Long knew that Yan Yuan probably wouldn''t let Hu Le go if he didn''t hand over the inner elixir, so there was no point in saying more right now. He turned around and was about to leave.


    "Wait." Yan Yuan''s gaze was fixed on the red brocade bag at his waist, "What is that hanging on you?"


    Xuan Long looked down and saw that it was a gift from Hu Le. From time to time, his stomach felt uncomfortable, so he carried this scented pouch with calming and nurturing properties to somewhat ease the discomfort.


    He reached out to cover the pouch and squeezed it tight, "It''s nothing."


    "Stop." Yan Yuan rushed over from the side of the bed in a few steps and ripped the pouch from his waist. The red cord immediately snapped, the movement so fast that Xuan Long was too late to stop it.


    Xuan Long frowned and held out his hand, "Give it back to me."


    Yan Yuan stared at the pouch in his palm, the veins on his forehead throbbing. He had seen this style of brocade bag at the night market during the Qixi Festival, and it was clearly meant to be a token of love.


    "Who gave you this?"


    Xuan Long had no idea what the other man was angry about. The soul-devouring pain was attacking more and more frequently, and he was trembling in pain, just wanting to go back and rest, and he said in a muffled voice, "It''s none of your business, give it back to me."


    Yan Yuan slammed the pouch to the ground, "Are you that cheap? Do you accept every gift you get from anyone?"


    Xuan Long replied in a low voice, bending down to pick up the pouch that had landed at Yan Yuan''s feet, ¡°En, I''m just cheap."


    Before his hand could touch it, Yan Yuan lifted his foot and stomped on the pouch, "A cheap person is not worthy of such a thing."


    The pouch was eventually crushed by Yan Yuan''s foot, and the spices inside spilled out and scattered all over the floor. The delicate red satin surface was covered in dark footprints.


    Having ruined Hu Le''s good will, Yan Yuan left. Xuan Long twisted his fingertips around the tattered and torn casing of the brocade bag in a vain attempt to pat the dirt clean from it, but could not do so.


    "Are cheap people... unworthy of such things..."


    He muttered and repeated what Yan Yuan had said just now.


    It turns out that cheap people are not worthy of using such things.


    The night was dark, and when Xuan Long went out, Yan Yuan had already entered Ning Zhiyu''s door. He braced himself to walk back to Qiankun Palace and collapsed outside the door.


    When he woke up again, it was still dark. Candles were burning in the palace, and Xuan Long was a little confused about the time. Someone was at the side of his bed, holding his hand, which was warm.


    ¡°A''Po... you''re awake." Hu Le was fine when he called his name, but the second half of the sentence was muffled.


    Xuan Long looked at the sound, his icy turquoise eyes vaguely soft, his throat not quite able to make a sound due to the high fever, "Hu Le... you''re back."


    "Mmm." Hu Le replied with a strong nasal tone.


    Xuan Long''s eyes fell down to Hu Le''s bloodstained prison uniform, his long hair cascading, his white face dirty, and looking at the marks on his body, it looked like he had been whipped.


    "They beat you."


    Hu Le laughed, holding his hand tightly and saying, "This little injury is nothing, I can stand it, Young Master."


    Xuan Long twisted his head and closed his eyes, "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have brought you here."


    Hu Le: "You should have brought me here. If you hadn''t brought me here, I wouldn''t have known what kind of trouble you were in here. They went too far to let you just pass out outside the door like that. If I hadn''t come back, we don''t know how long you would have been lying out there."


    Xuan Long opened his eyes and looked up, "¡­ He wouldn''t let you go."


    Hu Le said dumbly, "I like being with you, I''ll be wherever you are. You¡¯ve already dumped me once, you won''t get rid of me again this time. Don''t you lie to me... I forbid you from sacrificing anything for me. We both must live, and as long as we live, we can hope to leave."


    Xuan Long looked at Hu Le, his demonic eyes glowing red in the candle flame, with a hardened light in them.


    "There is a respected elder of the Fox Clan who is well versed in astronomy and geography who will surely have a way to prolong your life and keep you alive. Don''t you want to grow up with Shui Shui?..."


    Xuan Long opened his lips, "I want to..."


    Hu Le took the opportunity to say: "Then promise me that you will never do anything stupid, don''t give in to that bastard... even if it''s for me."


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, "Okay."


    At this moment, there was hope in Xuan Long''s heart. With Hu Le by his side to accompany him without fail, all the hardships before him seemed to be nothing.


    However, he never imagined that one day, Hu Le would leave this world before him.


    Since Xiao Dezi was replaced, the new eunuchs, perhaps because they saw that Yan Yuan had left Xuan Long here unattended and because of the prestige of their old master, always brought over spoiled food, intentionally or unintentionally, which would cost him half his life if he ate it.


    It is not always possible to steal something from the imperial dining room, and if they could not, they would have to eat the mouldy food.


    At noon on this day, the little eunuch proudly tossed in two steamed buns that had been sitting on the table in the outer hall for a few days and left.


    Hu Le smashed the steamed buns on the ground and his eyes turned red with anger: "This is outrageous, he is the emperor and he won''t even give us a bite of fresh food."


    When he returned to the inner hall, he saw Xuan Long leaning against the bed with his eyes dazed, his face bloodless and full of sweat. Hu Le knew that he was suffering from another attack of soul-devouring pain, and went over to him in pain, wiping his sweat with his sleeve.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "Does it hurt badly?"


    Xuan Long closed his eyes and shook his head, saying weakly, "It''s bearable."


    There was nothing Hu Le could do at such a time but to stay with him quietly.


    After the attack, Xuan Long weakly fell asleep. Hu Le tucked him in and went out of the palace, returning with two red carp in his arms.


    Qiankun Palace has a small kitchen. Hu Le carefully cleaned the fish, one with the bones removed and cut into fillets, and the other steamed.


    ¡°A''Po¡­ it''s time for dinner."


    Xuan Long was pregnant now and it would not be good for him to not eat on time. Hu Le woke him up and the fox and the dragon sat at the table together.


    Hu Le put a piece of raw fish into Xuan Long''s bowl and smiled, "The fish was brought from the imperial kitchen. I forgot to take the fish sauce, so the taste is inevitably bland, you can eat it as you like."


    Xuan Long shook his head, "This is good enough. You eat too."


    Xuan Long knew that Hu Le liked it cooked, so he put a large piece of steamed fish into his bowl. The two demons in the hall were eating their meal comfortably when the door was suddenly pushed open.


    The eunuch called Xiao Chenzi came in, followed by a tall, cool and solemn palace maid and two guards with swords. The whisk in Xiao Chenzi''s hand was pointed at Hu Le, his dangling triangular eyes were full of darkness, and he said with a high voice, "He is the one who stole the Queen Dowager''s beloved red carp. The fish scales are still sitting in the kitchen, the nail in the coffin of proof."

 CH 71

    Giving Death


    There is a black jar under the acacia tree outside Luanfeng Hall with two red carp inside, which Yan Yuan personally fished from the pond in the imperial garden, picking out the big and beautiful ones to give to Ning Zhiyu to amuse and relieve his boredom.


    Ning Zhiyu was very fond of them and asked people to find lotus leaves and water plants to decorate them. When he was feeling better, he would go out to see them. However, when the palace staff went to feed the fish this evening, they found that the carp were missing.


    Everything that Yan Yuan gave Ning Zhiyu was precious to him, including the snow fox, which was not very close to him, and he often instructed the palace staff to take good care of them and not to treat them harshly.


    The red carp, which had been kept for months, suddenly disappeared, as if it were an ominous sign. Ning Zhiyu was so sullen because of this that he did not even eat his evening meal and stayed in bed.


    When Ning Zhiyu was upset, Yan Yuan was also upset. Daring to upset his A''Yu is simply outrageous.


    He immediately ordered someone to investigate and asked Qingmei, Ning Zhiyu''s eldest palace maid, to take two high-ranking imperial guards to the other palaces and ask them one by one if they found the fish thief.


    Qingmei and the guards bumped into Xiao Chenzi as soon as they left Luanfeng Hall. Since he went to serve at Xuan Long''s side, Xiao Chenzi has not gone a day without being lazy and slippery, running back to his old master''s palace every day to chat with his colleagues and gossip about the new master. When he heard Qingmei talking about the reason for her visit, he remembered that Hu Le seemed to be hiding something in his arms when he returned to the palace, and immediately led Qingmei and the imperial guards to Qiankun Palace and caught them red-handed.


    The fish scales in the small kitchen had not been cleaned up, and there were two carp on the table, so who else could be a fish thief but Hu Le?


    If it had been any other palace staff, they would have killed him, but Xuan Long was one of Yan Yuan''s men after all, so even if they despised him, they couldn''t touch him easily, at most they could play some tricks in secret.


    It was up to Yan Yuan to decide what to do with him. The imperial guards did not dare to touch Xuan Long, so they tied up Hu Le, who was dressed as an eunuch, and took the two of them to Luanfeng Hall.


    On the way, Hu Le carefully looked at Xuan Long''s face and said apprehensively, ¡°A''Po¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I didn''t mean to steal anything."


    He was a fox demon and knew it was wrong to steal, but in this situation right now, what was he supposed to do if he didn''t steal? It was all his fault for being so stupid and not selling the stolen goods, causing trouble for Xuan Long.


    It was also because there were too many rules in the palace, it was just a matter of eating two of his fish, so why make such a fuss?


    "It''s not your fault.¡± The dark gold mask on Xuan Long''s face had been put back on, and his eyes had been downcast from the moment someone had barged into the palace until now, his pupils erect and different from the norm, not wanting to be seen.


    The cool breeze of the autumn night lifted the long hair on the side of Xuan Long''s face, and as Hu Le looked at his pale, heroic brow, his heart ached. He had only just had an attack of his illness and it was so hard to have a fresh meal, yet such a thing had happened.


    There was no telling what Yan Yuan would do to his A''Po because of the Empress...


    When he entered Luanfeng Hall, Yan Yuan was sitting at the bedside, holding a white jade bowl to feed Ning Zhiyu medicine. Behind him, the guards disliked Xuan Long for walking slowly and pushed him so that he stumbled.


    Hu Le immediately turned red: "Don''t touch him!"


    Yan Yuan paused in his movements with the medicine bowl and turned around to look at him. He had already heard the court lady tell him what had happened, but it was still difficult to say anything when he saw Xuan Long. His eyes moved from Hu Le and finally stopped on Xuan Long, "Are you so greedy that you stole fish from Luanfeng Hall? Are you displeased with A''Yu and deliberately seeking ways to upset him?"


    This is the first time that Ning Zhiyu had confronted Xuan Long, and when he saw that the other party seemed no different from a human being, he inevitably felt guilty and uncomfortable in his heart, so he tugged on Yan Yuan''s sleeve, "A''Yuan... don''t say that."


    The moment Yan Yuan twisted his head, his expression instantly softened, and he held Ning Zhiyu''s hand,, "Some people should be taught a lesson or they will forget who they are. You can''t be made to suffer for nothing."


    Hu Le looked at the tender and affectionate pair and sneered abruptly, wishing he could rush over and kill the dog man and boy, or cover Xuan Long''s eyes and ears and tell him not to listen to these disgusting words.


    Unfortunately, he was too tied up to do anything, and only his mouth was still functioning.


    "Are you so poor that you imprison A''Po in this shitty palace and don''t even give him a full meal, asking people to bring him rancid food every day when he''s still carrying your child in his belly? You are an animal worse than a dog or a pig."


    This thunderbolt exploded, causing Ning Zhiyu''s entire body to freeze: ¡°Child... what child."


    Yan Yuan''s face sank at a speed visible to the naked eye, yet he still turned back with a taut smile and said to Ning Zhiyu, ¡°A''Yu... you must not think too much, I don''t want that child at all."


    "How could I have known that he would become pregnant? If I had known, I wouldn''t have touched him. I was so upset when I found out."


    "You know, I coaxed him back to the palace because of your illness."


    "I have sent someone outside the palace to find an abortion pill that will work for him, that child will not exist soon, no one is as dear to my heart as you are..."


    Xuan Long raised his eyes in a daze, his icy turquoise eyes reflecting the scene before him.


    He thought he should have been immune to those words long ago, but in fact, when he saw Yan Yuan give up all his tenderness without reservation, his heart still ached insufferably dully, even his breath felt like he had inhaled the cold winter wind and swallowed a razor blade, aching sharply.


    The winter is still far away... but it was already this cold.


    A burning tingling sensation appeared in his palm. Xuan Long looked down to see the pale blue iris flower, shining with a faint blue light... He silently closed his palm, suddenly wishing he was deaf and blind so that he could no longer see Yan Yuan and hear his words, then he would not feel so bad.


    Perhaps his mother was right, a dragon like him was born only to be loathed and had no business living in this world¡­ It would have been nice if Yan Yuan hadn''t appeared and saved him that rainy night.


    Death was never a thing to be feared.


    In the nearly ten thousand years of his life, it was living that made it harder for him, especially after thinking he had found the love of his life, only to be cruelly betrayed.


    He didn''t seem to have much left to live for, and even the child in his womb was not expected.


    Over there, Yan Yuan temporarily pacified Ning Zhiyu and turned around, his face grim as he spoke, "Someone, drag this eunuch who is below the law out to me! Beat him to death with a rod!"


    The guards stepped forward to hold Hu Le, who struggled with red eyes, cursing Yan Yuan to hurry up and die. He knew it was not wise, but a demon who had lost his Tao was like a bird with its wings broken off. In front of the noble royal family, he was too small to be able to fight, and this was the only way to get some satisfaction for the person he cared about.


    Xuan Long, who had been silent the whole time, finally opened his mouth. His voice was as low as it had been when he first met him:


    "I stole the fish."


    "I did it on purpose... to make him unhappy."


    "If you want to kill, kill me."


    "Cut out my heart and he won''t need... to suffer the pain of illness anymore."


    When Xuan Long''s icy, calm turquoise eyes lifted, Yan Yuan''s heart ached for no reason, and his fists clenched under his sleeves, "Do you think I wouldn''t dare?"


    "I know you would dare." Xuan Long replied in a light voice.


    It was as if death was an easy task for him, and this thought made Yan Yuan feel breathless, but the bloodthirsty storm in his heart grew stronger and stronger. His peach blossom eyes filled with blood, and his chest rose and fell perversely and violently.


    ¡°A''Yuan... forget it, it''s just two fish, just eat it." Ning Zhiyu whispered and advised.


    Yan Yuan did not pay attention to him and spoke icily, "Send these two to the heavenly prison together, and beat this eunuch with a hundred blows! To serve as an example to others!"


    "Yes."


    The imperial guards took their orders, and Xuan Long''s hands were restrained. He looked at Yan Yuan and asked in a soft voice, "Do you have to torture him?"


    Yan Yuan gritted his teeth, "Yes."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes, as if his heart was ashen, "Yan Yuan... don''t make me hate you."


    Yan Yuan hooked his lips and smiled coldly: "If you want to hate me, then hate me, you say it as if I care about you."


    Xuan Long nodded, and actually curled his lips and laughed, laughing at his own stupidity and recklessness. At such a time, he was still saying something self-serving, he was just medicine, when were his feelings ever cared for?


    ¡°A''Po, don''t ask him." Hu Le''s demonic eyes were red and he was also smiling, "If I die, I die, I have never been afraid."


    As Yan Yuan witnessed Xuan Long quietly turn and leave the hall, he hated Hu Le more and more, hated the fact that Hu Le could receive so much kindness from Xuan Long, hated the fact that they could still smile when they were in such a desperate situation, and that their world seemed to be one that he could not fit into in any way.


    ¡°A''Yuan, you''re lost in thought again. What are you thinking about?¡± Ning Zhiyu leaned against the bed, his clear black eyes looking worriedly at Yan Yuan.


    The incident had been over for a while, and as Yan Yuan was talking with Ning Zhiyu and listening to him, he kept recalling things about Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan returned to his senses and thought he might be crazy. He loved Ning Zhiyu, why would he want to fit into Xuan Long''s world, it was only right that he didn''t give a damn, ¡°It¡¯s nothing."


    Loose profane clothes enveloped Ning Zhiyu''s lean body, revealing his clear collarbones and his pale face. He clutched the bedding between his fingers, "Did you really¡­ create a child?"


    Yan Yuan frowned, ¡°En. I¡¯m sorry, A''Yu, I..."


    Ning Zhiyu''s smile was far-fetched, "If so, it is good, you will be able to have an heir."


    "No, I won''t have it. Even if it is for you."


    "Otherwise... let him go." Ning Zhiyu''s heart fell with deep unease, he felt that Yan Yuan treated Xuan Long differently after all, even though he had taken the demonic compulsion.


    He was clearly being soft-hearted.


    Yan Yuan''s brows knitted deeper: "What about your illness?"


    Did he want to keep Xuan Long tied to him, or was it for his illness?... Ning Zhiyu did not dare to ask the question.


    "Do you really want to cut his heart out..."


    Yan Yuan: "His inner elixir will be able to save you."


    Ning Zhiyu''s throat moved slightly: "Mm."


    Yan Yuan tenderly touched Ning Zhiyu''s face, "Don''t think too much, go to sleep, I will find a way to make him hand over his inner elixir."


    After Ning Zhiyu had fallen asleep, Yan Yuan left the hall. There was no moonlight this night and it was dark outside, so he relied on the not too bright candle flame inside the hall to provide light.


    A man, dressed as a eunuch, appeared at the door of the palace, bowing down before Yan Yuan and speaking in a flattering voice, "Your Majesty, is it time for this eunuch to return to serve the Empress?"


    Yan Yuan''s gaze fell on the eunuch''s not-so-heavy back, recognising this as Xiao Chenzi, who had served at Ning Zhiyu''s side and whom he had asked Chen Yan to swap Xiao Dezi with because his hands and feet were not sharp enough.


    Xuan Long likes the quiet and does not like to be disturbed, so this servant was enough for him.


    But who would have thought that this servant would feed the dragon rancid food without permission? He could bully the stupid dragon, but no one else could do that.


    "Someone, drag this dog slave down. Give him death."

 CH 72

    Don''t Be Shameless


    Hu Le was beaten with a hundred blows. The place where he was tortured was not far from the cell where Xuan Long was being held, but he did not want Xuan Long to hear him, so he did not utter a word.


    The snow-white prison uniform was streaked with blood, and Hu Le was lying on his back on the floor, dying.


    "Hu Le..."


    Hu Le barely opened his eyes, feeling a wet touch on his face. His vision coming into focus, he saw the man''s icy turquoise eyes frozen with a watery mist: it was Xuan Long crying.


    It turned out that he meant a lot to him, that he was crying for him.


    Hu Le was a little happy in his heart, even the wounds on his body didn''t seem to hurt as much, and he laughed, making a sound so weak that it was almost inaudible:


    ¡°A''Po... don''t be sad."


    "I told you... I have nine lives, and when this one is gone, there will still be eight left."


    "So... don''t be sad for me... you just, protect yourself, and you''ll be fine..."


    Xuan Long knelt down beside him, his cold face expressionless, but in those demonic turquoise pupils, tears dripped silently, falling down his sharpened cheeks. His lips trembling, his voice was clumsy and hoarse, ¡°Sorry... sorry."


    ¡°Sorry for what...¡± Hu Le used all his strength to gently hold Xuan Long''s hand, smiling as untamed as he had been when they first met that day. He looked up into the dim, humid air above him, "It''s me who is going to haunt you."


    "Who let me like you...."


    "I know... in this life, we are impossible, it''s all my fault for meeting you too late..."


    "If there is another life... I may be lucky enough to have a place on your pillow...¡± Hu Le strained to twist his head to look at Xuan Long, a tiny light shining in his icy blue eyes, his once rosy face was now only pale.


    Xuan Long felt a dull ache in his heart. He had no good sleep on his pillow. When he was young, the old dragons in his clan had said that he had the face of a person who is destined to be lonely for a lifetime and that no one would ever love him in his life, and even if they did, he would be killed by them.


    He had never taken it too seriously before, but now he somewhat believed it, otherwise why would the only being in the world who had treated him with sincerity have reached such a state?


    "...No need for another life, in this life, we can be together."


    So, you have to live well.


    "Really?..." Hu Le was genuinely happy.


    Xuan Long: "Mmm."


    "Then we have a deal... You can''t go back on your word." Tears dripped from the corners of Hu Le''s eyes.


    Xuan Long: ¡°Mmm. No backing out. We agreed to go to Suzhou."


    "Good..." Hu Le smiled and closed his eyes, unable to hold on and falling into a long coma.


    Xuan Long raised his hand, bit his wrist, gently pinched both of Hu Le''s cheeks, and dripped blood into his mouth.


    When sober, Hu Le was reluctant to take his blood or dragon scales.


    As a result, the old wounds on his body had not healed by now, and now he had added new ones. If he is not treated, he will not be able to hold on.


    As the blood drained from his body, Xuan Long''s vision became a little blurred and he became dizzy with abdominal pain. Fortunately, Hu Le still had the instinct to swallow. After feeding him a lot of blood, Xuan Long curled up beside him and rested.


    In the latter part of the night, the sound of heavy footsteps came from far away in the cold cell. After a shivering rattle, the cell door was opened and Yan Yuan, draped in a basalt cloak, walked in, picked the man on the floor up gently, glanced coldly at Hu Le who was covered in blood, and turned to exit the cell door.


    He was covered in cold frost and it was cold outside. It did not take long for Xuan Long to awaken from the cold after being taken out of his cell, and his consciousness gradually returned as he found himself in Yan Yuan''s arms.


    Looking up from below, the other man''s jaw was taut, his lips pursed, and his absolutely handsome face expressionless. It had just rained this evening, the ground was damp, the trees behind him were dappled with shadows, and a few guards and eunuchs followed not far away. Among them was Chen Yan.


    Certain that he was not dreaming, Xuan Long moved his body, no longer wanting any more intimate contact with this man, and struggled to get to the ground.


    "Let go of me."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were dark and the arms that imprisoned Xuan Long did not move at all, but tightened instead, "Don''t mess with me again."


    Xuan Long did not know what he was angry about yet again. Hu Le was still in prison and he had no capital to upset Yan Yuan, so he stayed quietly in his arms and did not move.


    Yan Yuan carried the man in prison clothes back to Qiankun Palace, and when he entered the door, the purple-golden heather round table was already full of delicious dishes: steamed fish, longjing shrimp, ginseng hen soup, duck in roasted sauce, and a dozen others, as well as several types of dim sum that he had never seen before.


    Xuan Long was placed barefoot on a stool at the table and Yan Yuan sat down beside him, placing his chopsticks on the bowl in front of him.


    "Eat."


    Xuan Long pursed his lips and did not move.


    Yan Yuan waited for a moment and frowned, "I''m talking to you, are you deaf?"


    Xuan Long''s gaze fell on the table full of exquisite dishes and said in a low voice, "If you want something, just say it."


    "I told you to eat." Yan Yuan''s face went cold.


    He was hungry, but at a time like this, Xuan Long could not eat, so he lowered his eyes, "But you want dragon scales."


    "If you won''t eat, forget it."


    Yan Yuan suddenly stood up, and in the next moment, Xuan Long was picked up unexpectedly, his body was unbalanced so he instinctively wrapped his arms around Yan Yuan''s neck, and soon, his body was thrown on the soft bed. Yan Yuan bullied him, and without patience, pulled off his dirty prison clothes that were stained with dust.


    "Mmmm..."


    ¡°I don''t want to do this with you..."


    Xuan Long resisted, but he was stripped clean in no time. Yan Yuan confined him in his arms and worked his way up. Xuan Long put his hands on his shoulders and repeated in a muffled voice:


    ¡°I don''t want to do this with you..."


    ¡°I don''t... want to do this with you."


    Yan Yuan did not care at first, but the more he heard, the more he cared. He bit down on Xuan Long''s shoulder in exchange for a suppressed, muffled grunt. Yan Yuan''s gaze was cold, "If not with me, who else do you want to be with?"


    Xuan Long was already unwell from the blood loss, but Yan Yuan had to torment him like this. He was angry with him, angry that he had an empress and still lied to him, and angry that he was heartless and treated him with an ulterior motive.


    Xuan Long''s body was softly lying on Yan Yuan''s shoulder, and he said dumbly, "With whom... not with you."


    "Looking for death.¡± Yan Yuan clasped his waist tightly, determined to give him a taste of his own medicine. But when he saw the man''s breathing really tighten, he recoiled and slowed down as his gaze fell on his bulging belly, remembering how he almost died that day when the foetus moved.


    He was probably really crazy, staying up in the middle of the night to go to the cell to look for this man. He was lying in bed, and the face of Xuan Long just kept floating in his mind.


    What the hell was he doing?...


    "Liar."


    Xuan Long''s low murmur re-captured Yan Yuan''s attention. His turquoise eyes were lowered, and his long, waterfall-like hair covered his cheeks and fell all over Yan Yuan''s body. The two of them were close together, clearly doing the most intimate things, but they seemed to be drifting apart in an unstoppable way.


    ¡°...Liar."


    "It''s all fake... "


    "Liar."


    The accusations fell on Yan Yuan''s heart, making him feel uneasy. His large palm clasped the back of Xuan Long''s head, forcing him to lift his head, and his lips blocked his lips in a vicious kiss, gagging back all those words that annoyed him.


    Xuan Long''s body was feverish and he was no longer conscious by the end. Yan Yuan laid him down on the bed and kissed his cheeks gently, from his forehead, to his eyelids, then to the bridge of his nose and lips. Yan Yuan propped up his upper body, immersed in his heat, not wanting to leave. His palms covered Xuan Long''s well-defined face and he looked at his eyes flushed with a perverse scarlet.


    "Be good, and I will be good to you."


    "Don''t make me angry again..."


    No one knew how angry he was whenever he saw Xuan Long being nice to the fox demon and standing up for him in a critical situation.


    Luanfeng Hall.


    Late at night, Ning Zhiyu was tossing and turning on his bed, the events of today had left such a deep mark on his heart that he could not sleep at all.


    That Xuan Long, surprisingly, was pregnant with Yan Yuan''s child...


    "What are you being soft-hearted about? Why haven''t you urged him to dig out Xuan Long''s heart!"


    The demon''s cold voice rang out in his head at an inopportune time.


    "I''m soft-hearted?..." Ning Zhiyu muttered and repeated.


    "I have already followed what you said, deliberately not taking the medicine and accelerating the deterioration of my condition, but did it work?"


    "It was Yan Yuan who was being soft-hearted... He simply does not want to let Xuan Long die."


    Demon: "That''s because you''re not ruthless enough! Look at yourself, how many useful things have you done so far?!"


    Ning Zhiyu smiled bleakly, "How can you ever know him better than I do? If he really didn''t care about someone, he wouldn''t have the energy to look at them half-heartedly. Xuan Long is pregnant with his child and he says he dislikes it, but in reality, he runs to the jail in the middle of the night to bring him back. Your demonic compulsion, does it really work..."


    "It''s useful!" The demon had no doubt about that.


    When he was alive, he had used the demonic compulsion to deceive his brother''s beloved demon. That demon originally refused to obey, but once the demonic compulsion was used, he became devoted to his brother, and later, when his brother got tired of playing with him and drove him out, he was so disheartened that he exploded and killed himself.


    How could it not work?


    "Your body is too weak, if you don''t do something about it, I''ll have to go and find a new host, and then the demonic compulsion will fail and it will be too late for you to regret!"


    "Be good to yourself."


    Leaving the vicious words behind, the demon inhabited Ning Zhiyu''s body and did not speak again.


    Ning Zhiyu lay on his back, his hands slowly clenched on the quilt, and his eyes closed in despair.


    When the long love affair was finally over, Xuan Long dozed off and tried to sleep. Yan Yuan did not allow him to sleep and carried him back to the table, serving a bowl of chicken soup that the palace staff had warmed up. He held the bowl and used the spoon to bring it to Xuan Long''s lips.


    "Open your mouth."


    Xuan Long turned his pale face away, refusing to look at him.


    Yan Yuan had just eaten his fill, so he still had some patience left in him and advised without expression, "Don''t be grumpy, you''ve lost too much weight, you''ll have to lose the baby in a few days, your body won''t hold up if you go on like this."


    "Good boy."


    When the bowl and spoon were brought over again, Xuan Long raised his hand to block them, and the bowl was tipped over onto Yan Yuan''s body, the boiling hot soup immediately penetrated his clothes and burned his skin.


    Yan Yuan jerked to his feet and slapped him across the face, "Don''t be shameless!"


    There was a loud ¡®pa'' and Xuan Long was knocked sideways. His mask had been removed when they did it earlier, leaving his face unprotected and leaving five clear fingerprints.


    Lining the hideous scars, they looked even uglier.


    But Yan Yuan felt a stinging pain in his heart, and with his eyes wide with anger, he turned and left, the door slamming with an ear-splitting thud.


    A cold breeze poured in from outside the hall, and Xuan Long covered his lips and coughed stiflingly. There was a sudden wetness in the palm of his hand, and he sluggishly unfolded his palm to see that it was blood.

 CH 73

    Trade Him for a Million Troops


    In Ciren Palace, a beautiful woman in a fancy dress sat on the main seat. When she heard the palace maid say that her son had arrived, she got up without thinking and greeted him joyfully.


    Yan Huo Heng entered and met the Empress Dowager, and bowed in a disciplined manner.


    ¡°Heng¡¯er is here, Mother has been waiting for you for a long time.¡± Empress Dowager Heng was over forty years old and had a gentle temperament. She helped her son up and pulled Yan Huo Heng to the tea table, smiling, ¡°Heng¡¯er, sit down quickly, you¡¯re just in time, the imperial kitchen has brought two plates of dim sum, hibiscus cake, and water peach buns, try them."


    Yan Huo Heng obediently sat down and took the dim sum handed to him by Empress Dowager Heng: "Thank you very much, Empress Dowager."


    Although they were mother and son by birth, they were not as close as they seemed due to their past experiences, and this was the disconnect in Yan Huo Heng''s heart and the pain in Empress Dowager''s heart.


    Yan Huo Heng put the dim sum in his mouth and took a small bite, savouring the taste.


    The Empress Dowager looked at his handsome face and said in a soft voice, "I heard that you will be returning to the border in a few days?"


    Yan Hup Heng: ¡°En."


    Empress Dowager Heng''s eyes showed her reluctance: "You have been fighting at the border for many years and you have only been back for a few days, yet you are going back without even having the time to marry a wife. Your royal brother too, he had to marry a male queen and now he doesn''t even have an heir."


    Yan Huo Heng: "You asked this son to advise him, and this son has already done so."


    The Empress Dowager knew what had happened at the birthday banquet. The woman with the same eyes and eyebrows as Ning Zhiyu had been saved by Yan Huo Heng by chance from mountain bandits on his way back to the capital, and when the Empress Dowager asked him to do so, Yan Huo Heng had given her to Yan Yuan as a birthday gift, causing him to become furious.


    Empress Dowager Heng sighed, ¡°Ei, Empress Dowager knows. Although I have raised His Majesty to adulthood, I am not His Majesty''s own mother, so I cannot influence him too much. He has not been ungrateful in respecting our family, so Empress Dowager cannot ask for anything more. If he hadn''t saved your life back then, Empress Dowager would have lost her own Heng''er, and would not have had the good life she has today."


    Yan Huo Heng had heard these words many times before, and he knew that the Empress Dowager was reminding him not to be ungrateful. Compared to her own son, she might be more affectionate towards her adopted son, Yan Yuan.


    "Hmm. If you have time, you should advise your brother more. The rest of the sons have gone to the fiefdoms, and now you two are the only ones who still see each other occasionally. One of you is a ruler and the other is a minister, you should hold the court in harmony so that the mountains will be safe and secure, and Empress Dowager will be relieved."


    Yan Huo Heng''s brow wrinkled imperceptibly: "I am not close to him."


    The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment: "In the end, we can''t force this matter, if you can''t be brothers, it''s good to be a ruler and a minister."


    Yan Huo Heng asked, "What if we can¡¯t even be a ruler and a minister?..."


    The Empress Dowager froze: "What do you mean by that?"


    In the end, Yan Huo Heng did not tell the Empress Dowager about Yan Yuan repeatedly sending people to assassinate him, and moved on from the topic.


    Before leaving, the Empress Dowager grabbed his hand and said worriedly.


    ¡°Heng''er, you have reached an age when it is time for you to take a wife. Why don''t you stay in Chang''an for a few more days and Empress Dowager will choose some suitable girls for you. If you like any of them, you can get married as soon as possible. I don''t ask for a noble birth, but only for a virtuous and gentle woman who will treat you with sincerity."


    Looking at the Empress Dowager''s appearance, Yan Huo Heng''s heart softened somewhat: "This son already has a sweetheart."


    "Is that true?" The Empress Dowager''s eyes lit up. "Which woman is she?"


    Yan Huo Heng pursed his lips, "Not someone of high status."


    The Empress Dowager was delighted and patted Yan Huo Heng''s hand, "It doesn''t matter, as long as you two love each other and the other is of good character, Empress Dowager will personally arrange for the marriage so that you can marry each other in an honourable manner. When will you bring them to Empress Dowager to see?"


    ¡°Hmm."


    After leaving Ciren Palace, Yan Huo Heng went to Luanfeng Hall.


    The Emperor loved the Empress so much that he was almost obsessed with him, which was well known to everyone in the palace. If he could deal with court affairs in Luanfeng Hall, Yan Yuan would not go elsewhere, so if he went there, he would definitely be able to find him.


    In the evening, Ning Zhiyu sat in front of the bronze mirror in a thin silk robe after bathing, while Yan Yuan wiped his long, wet hair with a cloth.


    The setting sun poured in through the window pane, casting a thin layer of light over the two of them. Ning Zhiyu looked at Yan Yuan in the bronze mirror with serious eyes and called softly, ¡°A''Yuan..."


    "Hm?"


    Ning Zhiyu: "I can''t find the silver hairpin you gave me on the day of the Qixi Festival."


    Yan Yuan looked up: "How can it not be found? Is there someone in the palace who has dirty hands?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, "I don''t think so... that hairpin isn''t worth much compared to the rest of the objects, perhaps I had it on me and dropped it accidentally when I was walking around."


    Yan Yuan paused and continued to wipe his wet hair, softly reassuring: "If it fell off, then it fell off. One day when I leave the palace, I will buy a new one exactly the same and give it to you."


    Ning Zhiyu said, "But if you buy a new one, will it still be the same?..."


    Yan Yuan looked up at the elegant and pale face of the person in the mirror and smiled, "As long as it is my gift to you, it will be the same as the original."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled: "Mm."


    At this time of night, it was not too cold, so it was not likely to catch a cold if you took a bath at this time of day. After drying Ning Zhiyu¡¯s hair, Yan Yuan held him and walked to the bed.


    Ning Zhiyu wrapped his arms around Yan Yuan''s neck and leaned against his chest, his lips tinged with a smile: "I can walk on my own."


    "I am willing to hold you." Yan Yuan''s kiss fell on Ning Zhiyu''s hair, and a light scent rushed into his nostrils, a scent that caused his brows to wrinkle slightly.


    It didn''t seem to be the smell he had imagined.


    Recently, he had been seeing the man in his dreams quite often, but it was no longer limited to the gruesome scenes. He dreamt that the man seemed to be wounded, so he held him in his arms wherever he went and was happy to do so.


    The other man had a scent that fascinated him, and in his dreams he always liked to rub himself against him and sniff him...


    He must have been thinking too much.


    Suppressing the strangeness in his mind, Yan Yuan placed Ning Zhiyu gently onto the bed, and as he straightened up, Ning Zhiyu grabbed his arm, ¡°A''Yuan..."


    It was a remarkable, inviting gesture.


    Yan Yuan leaned over and kissed Ning Zhiyu''s forehead.


    "Good boy, you didn''t sleep after lunch today, you must be tired. Rest quickly, wait until it''s time for dinner and I''ll come over to keep you company. Your medicine has run out, I have to go and fetch some for you."


    Where should he go to fetch it? Qiankun Palace is the place to find it.


    There were so many servants in the palace, so there was no need for Yan Yuan to go there personally. Was he going to fetch the dragon scales, or was he using the opportunity of fetching the dragon scales to meet with Xuan Long?...


    Ning Zhiyu''s white onion-like hands circled around Yan Yuan''s waist, "I heard from Imperial Doctor Zong that there is a fertility pill in this world, after taking it... men will be able to conceive a child."


    Yan Yuan was surprised, "There is such a medicine?"


    Ning Zhiyu''s clear eyes looked at him, the tips of her ears flushed red: ¡°Mm. Do you want... to have a child with me."


    Yan Yuan raised his hand to cover Ning Zhiyu''s bloodless face, "With a body as weak as yours, how can you bear the pain of conceiving a child? You''re not like Xuan Long, who has ten thousand years of Taoism, so he''ll be fine no matter how he tosses and turns. Silly Ah Yu, we will wait until your body is well to talk about everything. I don''t want you to suffer."


    Ning Zhiyu''s lips quirked, "But..."


    "Good boy, rest now." Yan Yuan interrupted him gently, released Ning Zhiyu''s hand from around his waist, lifted the quilt next to him, and covered him up.


    Ning Zhiyu lay on the bed, looking at Yan Yuan''s departing back, his eyes gradually reddening.


    His grief was felt by the demon inhabiting his body.


    The mocking voice rang out mercilessly:


    "Look at you, you''re hopeless."


    "You''ve hinted so obviously and he''s still indifferent, you''re a failure."


    "As for what... you want this honourable one to say, you can just put this Empress in jail, it is foolish to hand over so much of your heart."


    Ning Zhiyu''s gaze was hollow: "You''ve never loved... how do you know what it''s like to love someone."


    "How do you know that this honourable one has never loved?!" The other party suddenly became a little furious.


    "...When this honourable one was alive, there were no less than a hundred demon concubines around him. It was always those demons who loved this honourable one to death, but this honourable one did not bother to love others. Only those who have no one to love need to go to such lengths to please others."


    Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes, not bothering to pay any further attention to him.


    When Yan Yuan went out, he bumped into Yan Huo Heng. The latter was dressed in a python robe, wearing a silver crown, his gaze was as unmoving as a deep pond, ¡°This minister sees Your Majesty."


    Yan Yuan looked down on him and said coldly, "What is it?"


    Yan Huo Heng''s back was straight, his head hung low, and his calm voice was unhurried, "I have reached an age where it is time for me to take a wife, so today I have come to ask Your Majesty to grant me a marriage."


    "Oh?" Yan Yuan hooked his lips and showed a bit of interest, "Which noble daughter do you have your eye on?"


    He would like to see which one of the court officials¡¯ daughters Yan Huo Heng is planning to marry now that he has millions of troops in his hands. The other party must be of high status in order to join forces with him and help him shake up the dynasty.


    Yan Huo Heng slowly raised his head and met Yan Yuan''s amused gaze without hesitation, "That night when we met for a few moments in the promenade of the Hall of Peace, I have been thinking about that person and cannot forget him."


    "I want to marry Han Po as the princess."


    Yan Yuan''s smile froze for a moment and his eyes became dangerous: "When did you meet him?"


    If I were to say in a previous life, would you believe me?


    Yan Huo Heng was silent for a moment, "A long time ago."


    Yan Yuan crouched down on one knee, gazed into those narrow black eyes, moved closer to Yan Huo Heng''s ear and said in a voice that only they could hear: "Do you know, Imperial Brother, that was my couch''s favorite pet... and that I fucked him from inside out over and over again?"


    Yan Huo Heng''s gaze darkened: "I know."


    Yan Yuan let out a sharp laugh and let go of him to stand up: "Since when does Imperial Brother have a taste for wearing broken shoes?"


    Yan Huo Heng: "If you meet a good man, the rest are just empty."


    Yan Yuan''s teeth were clenched and the violence under his eyes gradually leaked out, "Yan Huo Heng... you seek death. My broken shoes, even if I don''t want them... it''s not your turn to wear them."


    Yan Huo Heng lifted his dark. well-like eyes: "What about trading him for a million troops?"

 CH 74

    When Did You Ever Have a Home


    Angel: WARNING, this chapter includes a semi-explicit sex scene


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à


    The night was dark, and the moon was on the top of the willows.


    The door to Qiankun Palace was suddenly thrown open and Yan Yuan entered the inner hall with a horrible face, ignoring the eunuchs outside. The inside of the hall was dark and he could not see his fingers, as if no one was there. He went to the bed by feel, lifted the tent, and groped for a bulging figure on the bed.


    It was Xuan Long sleeping.


    Yan Yuan violently lifted the covers and the cold wind instantly poured into the thin profane clothes. The man on the bed gulped slightly, unconsciously curling himself into a ball, but did not wake up.


    "Someone."


    "Bring cold water."


    The Emperor was furious, and no one dared to ask why cold water was needed on an autumn night.


    Soon, an eunuch trotted in with a bucket full of water, occasionally spilling a few drops onto the dark brown floor, which turned into crystal droplets. At this point, the candles were already burning in the hall, and the dim light reflected Yan Yuan''s shadowy face.


    "Pour it on."


    "Your Majesty... this..." The new eunuch''s eyes widened in surprise, turning his head to look at the slim man on the bed, unable to do anything for a moment.


    Yan Yuan glanced sideways at him, and the man-eating look frightened Xiao Zhanzi, who trembled, the wooden barrel in his hand almost falling to the ground.


    Gritting his teeth, Xiao Zhanzi picked up the heavy wooden bucket and poured it over the bed.


    The moment the cold, stinging water fell, the man''s clothes were drenched and he woke up with a low cough, propped himself up on the bed, choking on the water and coughing heartily, his thin shoulders trembling, unable to stop. His long hair clung to the side of his face in a damp mess, the moisture casting a thin layer of light over his handsome, angular features, and his face was almost transparently pale.


    The palace staff quietly retreated amidst the tense atmosphere.


    Yan Yuan stepped forward, his strong fingers roughly pinching Xuan Long''s jaw and turning his face around, scrutinising his masked face, the corners of his lips curving slightly, but there was no smile in his eyes.


    "You''ve been lounging around all day, just sleeping, this place is really comfortable to live in, isn''t it?"


    The warm breaths of the two met. Xuan Long hid the blood on his palm in the bedding, suppressed the coughing that was welling up in his windpipe, and raised his gold-lined turquoise pupils to look at the other man: "... It''s not bad."


    The man''s breath was faint, clearly lacking in breath.


    However, Yan Yuan was in the midst of his anger, and the fire that was burning hot was directly added to the bucket of hot oil by his nonchalant attitude, and exploded with a loud bang.


    Yan Yuan''s peach blossom eyes flushed with red blood, and the hand on Xuan Long''s jaw moved to his neck, tightening a little.


    "You and Yan Huo Heng, what is your relationship?"


    Xuan Long turned his face away and closed his eyes, unwilling to look at him, "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    The restraint around his neck gradually deprived Xuan Long of his right to breathe, his pale face slowly reddening. A twinge of pain wracked through his abdomen, but he did not seek to work his way out of it, sitting there quietly, his pulse growing weaker and weaker.


    Yan Yuan realised what was happening and let go of him so violently that Xuan Long bent down uncontrollably, covering his sore throat and coughing. Yan Yuan grabbed the back of his collar and forced him to straighten up, then slapped him in the face, "You want to die!!!"


    Xuan Long was knocked over onto the bed, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth as Yan Yuan yanked him up by the arm, his hands pulling up his cold, wet collar, his eyes blazing with anger.


    "You''re a slut."


    "You lied to me."


    "You and Yan Huo Heng met a long time ago, didn''t you?"


    The crazy person in front of him did not look like Yan Yuan at all. Sometimes Xuan Long wondered if someone had taken on Yan Yuan''s form and replaced him, because otherwise why would that gentle human being have become what he was today?


    Then he thought, how could that be? If he had really changed, how could he not recognise him?


    Yan Yuan had always been gentle to Ning Zhiyu, it was only when he was dealing with him that he would shout like this, not treating him like a living creature.


    Xuan Long was dizzy from being shaken and didn''t want to care about him anymore, but Yan Yuan wouldn''t forgive or rest, refusing to leave him even a semblance of peace.


    ¡°Talk!!!"


    "Don''t ignore me!!!"


    "If you don''t speak, I will have that vixen''s tongue pulled out so that he can never call your name again!"


    Xuan Long was pushed back onto the bed, his abdomen was crushed by Yan Yuan and his breathing tightened up, "Well... don''t know each other."


    Yan Yuan pulled his collar out of shape: "Don''t know each other?..."


    "He came to me today to ask for a marriage, and offered to exchange a million troops for you, to take you as his concubine, and you tell me you don''t know him?"


    Cold sweat mixed with water droplets slipped from his pale neck onto the pillow, and Xuan Long''s lips squirmed, "Let go of me..."


    Only then did Yan Yuan realise he was pressing against his stomach. The foetus was nearly five months old and had grown considerably, especially now, with the white profane robe clinging wetly to his body, outlining the line of his bulging abdomen with an obscure and sensual beauty.


    The flames that had burned away his senses were extinguished for a few moments, and a thought appeared in Yan Yuan''s mind that pleased him ¡ª Xuan Long was carrying his own child, and he cared enough about it to have a tantrum with him over it, so that proved that he cared for him.


    The corners of his lips curled up.


    "Don''t try to change the subject."


    Yan Yuan avoided his stomach, and Xuan Long couldn''t help but raise his hand to touch the restless foetus.


    He needed a lot of sleep now to ease the pain and burden of his pregnancy. In reality, he only slept peacefully for a few hours a day, and after the soul-eating pain had struck in the late afternoon, he had hardly been able to fall asleep when Yan Yuan came to make such a scene.


    Xuan Long closed his eyes exhaustedly, "If you don''t believe me, I can''t either."


    Yan Yuan caught his little movement and became more and more sure of his suspicions, "Hmph, how do I know if you are telling the truth or not?"


    ¡°The other day you said you had a birthday gift for me, what you were talking about was actually the child in your womb, wasn''t it?"


    Xuan Long''s body stiffened and he pursed his lips without speaking.


    Yan Yuan smiled smugly, cupped his hands around Xuan Long''s face, and said, "I knew it."


    "If you love me so much, you must love the child in your womb."


    Xuan Long could guess the expression on Yan Yuan''s face at this moment with his eyes closed. No matter how clumsy a person was, he would not like to uncover his bloody wounds over and over again. He had fallen in love with Yan Yuan, a foolish and utterly defeating thing to do, even if he didn''t want to admit it.


    "I cherish him... because he is my blood, it has nothing to do with anyone else."


    Yan Yuan''s face hardened and he gritted his teeth, "Say that again."


    Xuan Long opened his eyes and looked at the person above him who was as handsome as the moon but as cold as winter. There was no longer the luster under his eyes: "I cherish him... because, he is my blood..."


    "Shut up!"


    Yan Yuan treated him like an animal, hitting and cursing when he wanted to, and he raised his hand to slap him.


    Xuan Long tilted his head, his ears buzzing, and he was in a trance, remembering that when he was young, his mother had treated him just as badly, scolding him as badly as she could, and the whip on his body was the only thing that hurt him to the bone. All the other little dragons who had accidentally fallen and hurt their paws would receive a lot of affection from their father and mother, but he was the only one who had been redundant since birth.


    He was and still is.


    He thought someone would be soft on him, but in fact, it was not true.


    The slap was not worth mentioning compared to the injuries he had received in the past. Perhaps because his time was getting shorter and shorter, he had become contentious, and after only a few slaps like that, he felt so much pain.


    The man on top of him suddenly and rudely began to tear at his clothes. Xuan Long had no strength to stop him, so he went along with Yan Yuan; there was always a way for this man to threaten him anyway, and with Hu Le in his hands, he could not even die without peace of mind.


    The road ahead was uncertain, and only despair remained.


    In his fury, Yan Yuan had no patience for putting ointment on him, so he charged inside, and Xuan Long''s bony hands clenched the bedding beneath him, his teeth clenched, his breath trembling with pain.


    Yan Yuan lowered his head to kiss him, but Xuan Long turned his head away. He had always believed that intercourse was something only a truly loving couple could do, and when Yan Yuan had once said he liked him and wanted to be with him as husband and wife, he had believed him and gladly suffered the unbearable pain, trying to taste the sweetness out of it.


    Only now did he realise that at that time, he was the stupidest creature in the world.


    It turns out that when you really love someone, you do not want to let them suffer even a little bit.


    Just like he did to Yan Yuan... just like Yan Yuan did to Ning Zhiyu.


    It turns out that it is not true that a husband and wife can blend with each other like water and milk. Just like Yan Yuan, although he did not love him, he could still use him as a vessel for venting. (Angel: Blending like water and milk is an idiom that means the relationship is very harmonious and closely combined.)


    Cold sweat dripped into his eyes, and the face of the man above him blurred. Xuan Long spoke in a nearly deflated voice: "Aren''t you afraid that... your A''Yu will be sad when he finds out what you''re doing...? "


    Yan Yuan curled his lips in disbelief, "Hmph. I don''t love you, I''m just using you to replace A''Yu for the time being. What¡¯s he got to be upset about?"


    "Although you''re not as soft as A''Yu and you''re stiff, you''re quite comfortable to use. Apart from the fact that your flesh and blood can be used in medicine, that''s the only good thing about you."


    Xuan Long smiled, ¡°Really?"


    ¡°That¡¯s right."


    "In fact, you are not too good-looking, that was just a trick to make you happy, and I think you know it very well. With this unattractive face, don''t think about seducing other men, okay?"


    "Don''t wear this mask anymore, this scar must be exposed so that people can take a good look at how ugly you are. After looking at you more, all the charm in their heart will be dispersed."


    Yan Yuan raised his hand and removed the dark gold mask from Xuan Long''s face, the dark burn mark the size of a fist was exposed to the air. Xuan Long looked away in embarrassment and tried to hide, but Yan Yuan cruelly pinched his face and turned it back.


    "I''d like to see, if you wore this unmasked face every day in front of Yan Huo Heng, would he still be willing to take you as his royal concubine?"


    Xuan Long couldn''t quite understand what Yan Yuan was talking about. Whether it was the royal concubine or the empress, he had never cared for them, all he had ever wanted was a little bit of sincerity and warmth. Even if the other party loved him far less than he loved him, it would be good to have some of that.


    But in the end, there was not even a little bit of it.


    He was still foolish enough to think that he would spend his last life with him, not caring about one life, one pair. As long as Yan Yuan treated him slightly better, he would be happy.


    Even if you don''t love, you don''t have to be so unmercifully humiliated.


    He was really¡­ really keen to leave.


    Near the end, Yan Yuan found Xuan Long beneath him murmuring something in a blur of consciousness, his turquoise eyes half dozed, his lips moving in small movements.


    "I want to... go home."


    Leaning over to hear the words coming out of Xuan Long''s mouth, Yan Yuan raised an eyebrow and grinned coldly as he lifted himself up.


    "Home? When have you ever had a home?"


    "Just that shitty pond counts as a home?"


    "You don''t have a home, your own mother dislikes you, and the rest of your life is destined to be spent by my side, this palace is your home."

 CH 75

    Hate You


    Angel: WARNING, this chapter includes the non-explicit end of the previous chapter''s sex scene.


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à


    "I hate you..." Xuan Long''s unfocused turquoise eyes seemed to be clouded with water.


    Yan Yuan''s iron-clamped palm choked him, and one by one, he ruthlessly disturbed him in the softest place, and said in a stern voice: "What did you say?"


    Xuan Long''s body kept creeping upwards, and he repeated without much consciousness, "Hate you... hmm, hate you..."


    Yan Yuan smiled coldly and loosened his grip slightly, but a certain part of him continued unambiguously, "Hmph, it''s useless for you to hate me, you still can''t leave me."


    "People say beating is kissing, and scolding is loving. A person of your level must like me very much, otherwise how could you willingly give birth to a child for me and still have to stay?"


    "Unfortunately, I don''t care..." Yan Yuan said with a smile as he moved to Xuan Long''s ear and breathed hot air into it. "I care even less about who your heart truly belongs to, but this body must be kept clean, if it is dirty, it is truly unappetizing."


    "And when that happens, I won''t want you."


    Had this threat been made in the past, Xuan Long might have been at a loss for words, pondering whether he had done something wrong to cause Yan Yuan to say such inexplicable words. Now he no longer had the energy to care what the other man was thinking, nor did he want to continue to care.


    The voice in his ears became distant, and later on, Xuan Long could not hear anything else Yan Yuan said. His eyelashes slowly lowered and did not lift again.


    Yan Yuan rather loved to talk to Xuan Long when he was making love to him, even if their conversation was not warm at all, and seeing that the man beneath him was not paying attention to him, the evil fire in his heart stirred up again, and he launched himself into a frenzy of rage.


    "If you don''t explain what happened with Yan Huo Heng tonight, this is not going to go away!"


    "He can''t just take you as his concubine for no reason."


    "Explain to me!


    "You explain!!!"


    No ordinary healthy person could have withstood such a brutal affair, let alone Xuan Long, who was nearly five months pregnant. In his unconsciousness, he felt a tightening pain in his abdomen, as if a knife was being twisted. He actually woke up in raw pain, the corners of his forehead wet with sweat, and he covered his stomach and tried to shrink up, "Uh..."


    Yan Yuan was happy to see him awake.


    "In the future, when you are with me, you are not allowed to sleep without my consent, you are not allowed to disregard me, and you are not allowed to say ugly things to displease me."


    "And especially... no more talk of hating me."


    Just now, he clearly took advantage of the situation with his mouth, but in reality, he was not much more comfortable in his heart. When he remembered that Xuan Long might have met Yan Huo Heng long ago, he could not control his emotions at all.


    The idea that his body belonged to him was all a lie. He wanted this dragon to belong to him physically and mentally.


    "... What''s wrong with you?"


    The blurry turquoise eyes opened not long before they closed, the pain so extreme that even his breathing was weak. The only thing that had been removed was the profane trousers, and the soaked profane robes were cold against Xuan Long''s body. Yan Yuan was so big that he wrapped himself around him, but he couldn''t even warm him back up.


    He used to not be too afraid of the cold. Demons with a high level of Taoism can regulate their own body temperature, but now he can''t do it when it''s cold, he can''t do it when it''s hot, and when it hurts, it''s even a little like dying.


    Not to mention the pain Yan Yuan caused him, which was never just a little bit, but was heart-breaking and painful to the bone.


    Whenever the foetus in the womb is injured, it will instinctively mend its wounds by drawing on the soul power of Xuan Long. This is why the child is still safe and sound after so many scares, and apart from the merits of the Healing Sage, the maintenance of the mother''s body is an indispensable factor - this means that the trauma and pain suffered by the child in the womb is ultimately doubled for the mother.


    As his soul power weakened, Xuan Long''s life span decreased dramatically. If one day his soul power was depleted by the burden of the child and the external trauma, he would be extinguished...


    The gods fall into the mortal world and can still rejoin the heavenly court and rank in the immortal class. A human being is also reincarnated after a tragic death and can be reborn. Regardless of whether it is a human or a god, if the soul is reduced to dust in the six realms, then that person will no longer exist in the world.


    The soul-eating pain and the abdominal pain were both torturous, and cold sweat rolled down Xuan Long''s face like rain, wetting his eyelashes. The pain caused his teeth to tremble involuntarily. Although he didn¡¯t feel pain, his curled body spasmed visibly to the naked eye.


    Yan Yuan awoke from his daze and panicked, picking up Xuan Long''s body and holding him half in his arms, "Does your stomach hurt again?"


    Xuan Long was so dazed by the pain that he ignored him.


    Remembering that there was medicine in the hidden compartment at the foot of the bed, Yan Yuan put him down and crawled over to find it. He opened the dark compartment and took out the bottle, only to find that it was empty.


    The medicine had already been consumed.


    Earlier, Yan Yuan had sent someone to Weihua Lane to look for abortion pills, but the house had long been empty. This was probably because she had exposed her whereabouts to the humans and was afraid of danger, so she had left to hide elsewhere.


    The medicine of the human race is useless to Xuan Long, which is why the child in his womb has survived until now. In contrast, the human medicine could not kill the child in his womb, nor could it stop the pain he was experiencing.


    The only way was to endure it.


    There was a door that connected the side hall to the main hall. Yan Yuan picked Xuan Long up and carried him towards the main hall, placed him on a dry bed, took off his cold wet clothes and covered him with a quilt, raising his hand to wipe the sweat from the corner of his forehead.


    "Is it very cold?..."


    Xuan Long kept shivering, his pale face lacking life. Yan Yuan burrowed naked into the bedding and hugged him, whispering softly behind his ear to comfort him:


    "It won''t be cold if I hold you."


    "Be good and listen."


    Xuan Long was not very obedient, even if it made him angry. He was still disobedient at this point, his teeth chattering and gurgling as he squeezed out faintly indistinct words deep in his throat, "Mother..."


    Yan Yuan went over and listened for half a day, thinking he was crying out in pain: ¡°It hurts? Stomach pain?"


    Tears slipped out of the corners of Xuan Long''s eyes, and when mixed with the cold sweat on his face, it didn''t quite look like crying, because he was still peaceful and quiet at this point, speaking in a muddled way:


    "Stop hitting...."


    "I know... it''s wrong..."


    "Mmmm..."


    ¡°Know... wrong..."


    In the dream, the gorgeous-looking woman carried a long whip in her hand and struck the young boy fiercely, cursing unpleasant obscenities with a twisted look on her face.


    At that time, the boy''s horns were still a pair, and he was wearing a black shirt that had been washed white. He crouched on the ground, holding his head and stifling the pain, and only when he was dying did he have the courage to reach out and grab his mother''s leg, begging her to stop, saying that he would be good from now on.


    He was often beaten, sometimes simply because his mother was in a bad mood, and sometimes because he was hungry and stole food from the kitchen.


    His mother was the matriarch of the dragon clan, and the clan dragons provided fresh prey every day, so there was never a shortage of food in the house. But from a very young age, he was ordered not to touch a single cent of the family''s wealth and had to go out hunting on his own.


    At that time, the deer in the mountains stood twice as tall as he did, and Xuan Long could only go to the river to catch some fish to feed himself. It was never easy, however, as the slightly older dragons in his clan often blatantly bullied him, deliberately playing tricks on him when he was catching fish, driving them away, or taking his hard-earned food away when he got his prey.


    No one would stand by him, no one would help him.


    Including his brothers and sisters.


    Children can''t stand hunger, and neither could you g dragons. He knew that if he was caught taking food from the kitchen, he would be beaten badly, but he was so hungry that after not eating for several days, he finally couldn''t resist.


    He thought he would at least be taught a lesson after he had eaten his fill, but to his surprise, while he was crouching in a corner, wolfing down food, his mother came with a whip, followed by his second sister.


    It was his second sister who had caught him stealing and had told his mother.


    When he was very young, Xuan Long did not quite understand why eating his own family''s food was called stealing, and why he was the only one treated like an outsider when he was also the child of a dragon in his family.


    Not for a moment in his short childhood did he feel warmth in that home, and even then, on the countless occasions when he was thrown out of the house covered in bruises and huddled shivering outside the door, he would still fantasise before the winter dawn that it could have been an all-too-real nightmare.


    That his mother actually loved him, that he wasn''t that annoying, that when he woke up, everything would be fine.


    But the sun that rose in the sky after each freezing night, radiating heat and warmth, never belonged to him. Only the long nights, the cold abuse, and the rejection of his kin kept reminding him that he was redundant, that it was a mistake for him to live in this world.


    It was a nightmare that lasted too long and from which he has yet to awaken.


    Shortly after leaving home, Xuan Long didn''t think much of the past. He lived alone in the thousand-year-old pond, and at first would try to blend in when he saw human children playing together in the nearby villages.


    However, when they saw the scars on his face and the pupils of his demonic eyes, they cried out in fear. Xuan Long gradually realised that not only the dragons, but also the outside world, the outside beings, could not tolerate him.


    So he spent his years hiding at the bottom of the dark pond, unwilling to disturb anyone, and no longer hoping to get warmth from this world.


    As it turns out, there is a terrible price to pay for coveting what does not belong to you.


    Xuan Long had often dreamt of his childhood recently, of his mother''s hideous face, of Yan Yuan laughing and sneering at him, and the faces of the two people closest to him fused together to become his deepest nightmare.


    There was no way to break free.


    Catching a few nonsensical words, Yan Yuan combined them with what had happened earlier and thought Xuan Long was apologising to him. Hugging him from behind, he raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat that continued to seep from the corner of his forehead and said softly:


    "It''s good to know that you were wrong."


    "Wouldn''t it have been better for you to behave earlier?"


    "If your stomach hurts, I''ll rub it for you, just like last time, it won''t hurt anymore." Yan Yuan raised his hand to cover Xuan Long''s bulging belly, his palm pressed against the cold skin as he rubbed.


    "Look, I''ve already told you that you can''t keep this child, but you still insist on keeping it. Torturing you to such a degree, you''re asking for it."


    Xuan Long''s mouth kept murmuring words that Yan Yuan could not hear. Yan Yuan quietly rubbed his stomach for a long time, and then spoke in a low voice:


    "I want to get along with you, too."


    "If you don''t make me angry, I won''t toss you around, okay?..."

 CH 76

    One Hundred Pieces


    By the latter part of the night, the man in his arms finally returned to silence and fell asleep.


    Yan Yuan smelled the cold fragrance of Xuan Long''s body and felt so comfortable that he couldn''t bear to take his arms off him. He had promised A''Yu that he would come to fetch the dragon scales and return, but he had come this far, so he thought A''Yu must have gone to sleep.


    Xuan Long was in so much pain just now, and when he had finally settled down, waking him up again to ask him to pull out the scales was something Yan Yuan could not quite bear to do. Although he had no love for him, he did not want to deliberately make things difficult for him either. If the two could live in peace, he would be willing to treat him better.


    As he thought about it, Yan Yuan fished him into his arms and fell into a peaceful sleep.


    Luanfeng Hall.


    Late at night, the candlelight was still burning, and Ning Zhiyu was sitting on the bed in a thin robe, with the bedding up to his waist, staring at the entrance of the inner hall.


    The sound of footsteps outside suddenly brought Ning Zhiyu back to his senses, and his eyes were filled with joy, but when he saw that the person who entered was Qingmei, his palace maid, his complexion slowly dimmed.


    Qingmei quietly walked to the bedside.


    "... Is he still coming?" Ning Zhiyu asked softly as he looked away.


    Qingmei shook her head and sighed quietly, "Your Majesty, it is past the fourth watch and it will be dawn in a few hours, so you should sleep soon while it is still dark."


    "His Majesty has been coming to see you every day for the last month, and this night he has suddenly broken his promise, so he must have something tedious to entangle him with. Don¡¯t think too much about it."


    "If you stay up like this, your body won''t hold up..."


    The fire of a candle leaping not far away was reflected in the eyes of Ning Zhiyu, whose face was pale because he had not taken the medicine mixed with dragon scales on time, and whose black hair was scattered in front of his body, which was elegant and not vulgar.


    Everyone thought that Yan Yuan loved him so much that he even moved his court affairs to Luanfeng Hall to deal with them, not wanting to take half a step away from him. Only he knows that it is all because of the demonic compulsion, if not for the demonic compulsion, Yan Yuan would have fallen in love with Xuan Long by now.


    Even after receiving the demonic compulsion, Yan Yuan subconsciously could not leave Xuan Long, and there were many nights where he heard Yan Yuan and Xuan Long making love in the next hall. He lay in bed with his eyes open, his fingertips almost digging into the mattress beneath him.


    Yan Yuan would rather be intertwined with Xuan Long than touch him. As the demon said, he had hinted so obviously, yet Yan Yuan was still indifferent, he was truly a failure.


    "Qingmei..."


    "Hm?"


    "You should go to the Clothing Bureau tomorrow and ask someone to make some basalt robes." Ning Zhiyu said softly.


    Qingmei froze and said, "Make basalt robes for what?..."


    He had always worn white clothes.


    Ning Zhiyu slowly lowered his eyes and did not say anything.


    Qingmei remembered that the man who was kept in Qiankun Palace wore a basalt robe, and she frowned: "Your Majesty..."


    "Go." Ning Zhiyu interrupted in a low voice.


    As Qingmei prepared to leave, she heard the man on the couch behind her murmur something to himself.


    "Do you think¡­ if I had A''Yuan''s child, would he love me more deeply?..."


    Qingmei stalled and turned back to see that Ning Zhiyu was smiling miserably and the corners of his eyes were red.


    "His Majesty must be sick and confused, His Majesty loves you as if his life depends on it, how could he look at you differently because of the child?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, "You don''t understand..."


    He originally thought that as long as Yan Yuan was by his side, he would be satisfied, but in reality, how can someone who really loves someone deeply have the slightest bit of gravel in their eyes?


    Qingmei indeed did not understand what Ning Zhiyu had in mind, so she stopped talking.


    After a long time, she heard the man say tiredly, "Go and ask Imperial Doctor Zong for some fertility pills and come back with Acacia"


    Qingmei raised her eyes in surprise and murmured, "Your Majesty..."


    Ning Zhiyu leaned the back of his head against the ancient carved bed frame and laughed softly, "Do you think I am very pathetic? This is the only way I can get closer to my beloved."


    "I also think that I am really pathetic..." Not only pathetic, but also lowly and shameless. If what the demon said is true, he is hogging what belongs to someone else, taking over the nest of a magpie, and after death, he will surely fall into the Infernal Hell.


    But so what, he could not turn back.


    Qingmei anxiously said, "That is because His Majesty loves you."


    Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes, his pale lips moving lightly, "I am tired, you should leave."


    Qingmei went out as quietly as she had come.


    As the hall fell silent, a familiar magical voice rang in his head.


    "Ridiculous, you don''t think that by imitating Xuan Long''s attire, you can become Xuan Long, do you?"


    Ning Zhiyu lifted his eyes and whispered back, "It''s none of your business."


    The demon snorted coldly, "Does it matter so much whether he touches you or not? Why are you such a bitch? You are such a nice man, why do you have to be submissive to another man and to give birth to his child? Are you sick in the head?"


    Ning Zhiyu repeated, "It''s none of your business."


    "Stupid human being." The low voice sounded a little annoyed. If the demon could show himself, he would probably come out and beat him up.


    "You are simply stupid... beyond redemption."


    Ning Zhiyu genuinely felt tired so he slowly lifted the quilt and laid down on his side, quietly about to sleep.


    The voice gruffly said.


    "This honourable one does not allow you to do this."


    "Do you hear this?!?!?!"


    Ning Zhiyu was baffled: "What does it matter to you?"


    The other party intensified his tone, "This honourable one is now possessing your body and does not have a hobby of watching live erotica."


    "You can leave my body temporarily." Ning Zhiyu said calmly.


    "You-"


    Ning Zhiyu could clearly feel the anger of the soul inside him. The demon was already so capricious, he had long since seen it, and his body was so weak that he fell into a deep sleep not long after.


    ......


    In the early morning, dark clouds were gathering outside the hall, and it looked like it was going to rain. Yan Yuan got up and was served by others to put on his dragon robe, and after putting on his jade bead imperial crown, he returned to the bedside and lifted the bright yellow tent.


    Xuan Long was still asleep, his face didn''t look much better than last night. Ning Zhiyu had run out of medicine last night, so he couldn''t put it off any longer. Yan Yuan thought for a moment and leaned over to shake his shoulder.


    "Wake up."


    A few breaths later, Xuan Long opened his eyes blankly.


    Yan Yuan coughed lightly and looked at the man''s cold face, "Does your belly still hurt."


    Xuan Long''s throat burned as if there was a fire burning in it, and a feeling of soreness and weakness came from all his limbs. He propped himself up on the bed and sat up, not really wanting to pay attention to the other man, but shaking his head anyway.


    He knew how uncomfortable it felt to be treated like air.


    Yan Yuan''s face was a little unnatural: ¡°A''Yu''s dragon scales are used up."


    Xuan Long''s eyes were downcast, his slim back slightly arched, his long hair half-covering his body, revealing his slim chest, and his bare skin was scattered with bruised and purple hickeys, and the bedding covered just the right spot to block his bulging belly. On his arm and at the back of his heart, he still had a large dark red scab from the last time he pulled scales, which had not yet healed.


    Ning Zhiyu had to take three dragon scales a day. Giving thirty at a time, they were gone in just ten days, and the speed of the wound healing was far slower than the speed of the scale plucking.


    Xuan Long''s voice was hoarse, "Hu Le is still in prison."


    Yan Yuan''s face changed and his anger surged, "You want to use him to negotiate with me again?"


    Xuan Long sullenly said, "It shouldn''t have been natural for me to save him."


    Once upon a time it was because he thought Yan Yuan and he were in love, and since he was in love, what was the point of pulling some dragon scales for a person he valued. Later, because he was dying anyway, he didn''t want to worry too much about it, as long as Yan Yuan was happy.


    When he was gone, Yan Yuan would have to work hard to raise their child, and the dragon scales would be his reward.


    But now...


    Yan Yuan nodded with a sneer, ¡°Okay, this time I want a hundred pieces, you give them to me once, and I will release him back to you."


    Xuan Long: "Okay."


    Not expecting the man to agree so calmly, Yan Yuan became more and more enraged. He had originally tried to show off his tongue, but now he could not take it back.


    "When I return from court, I want to see dragon scales!"


    Leaving a sentence behind, Yan Yuan slammed the door and left.


    Xuan Long went back to the side hall and found a clean set of profane clothes to put on.


    When the eunuch outside the door saw that Yan Yuan had left, he guiltily approached the door and asked Xuan Long if he was alright. Although it was not yet winter, the autumn nights in Chang''an were already cold enough, and a bucket of ice-cold water would have been unbearable for a strong man, let alone a pregnant one.


    The young eunuch knew more or less about Xuan Long''s condition. He was born with a round, fair face and looked very kind. Xuan Long replied that he was fine, and the eunuch asked him if he wanted to pass the breakfast. Xuan Long went to the door and asked in a low voice through the door, "... You are called Xiao Zhanzi?"


    The man outside the door paused and said with some unease, "This servant''s name is Xiao Zhanzi..."


    Xuan Long: "Please come in and do me a favour."


    There was a fluttering sound from outside the door, as if someone had knelt down.


    "Last night, last night it was the Emperor who ordered this servant to splash your water, if this servant did not obey, he would be disobeying the Emperor''s order and would be killed. This servant begs for forgiveness from Master Han, he did not want to¡­ this servant is begging for forgiveness from Master Han... "


    Xuan Long did not expect that the other party would be so frightened. If he opened the door to help him, the scars on his face might also scare him, so he could only speak through the door, "I know it''s not your fault. I just, I want to ask you to do something for me." He couldn''t do it himself.


    "What is it?..." Xiao Zhanzi dully lifted his teardrop-laden face and looked at the closed door.


    A moment later, Xiao Zhanzi gingerly pushed open the door of the side hall and entered the inner hall as instructed.


    There was a man in profane clothes sitting on the edge of the couch, his belly, nearly five months pregnant, was already somewhat visible, but his figure was slim. His eyes were downcast, and his long hair covered the scars on his face, revealing a high nose and heroic eyebrows.


    "Master Han..."


    Xuan Long closed his eyes and stood up, picking up the dagger at his side and handing it to Xiao Zhanzi, who was startled but took it anyway, "What is this for, Master Han..."


    Xuan Long turned around in silence, lifting the back of his garment to reveal the skin on his back. He bent down and propped his hands on the edge of the bed, revealing the wave-like patterns on his back, which gradually transformed into lustrous ink-coloured dragon scales. He spoke in a light voice:


    "I am a dragon, you know that."


    "Don''t be afraid, I won''t harm you."


    "Just pluck the dragon scales off my back for me."


    "This... this... won''t it hurt..." Xiao Zhanzi trembled in shock. He, like Xiao Dezi, was Chen Yan''s apprentice. When he was sent here, Chen Yan specifically explained Xuan Long''s situation to him, telling him to cover his mouth tightly and serve carefully, with no shortage of favours.


    He knew that there was a dragon living in this palace, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, it was still very strange, and most importantly, he could clearly see that a large section of the dragon scales was missing from around his heart.


    "It won''t hurt, you can do it."

 CH 77

    Who is the Loser


    The dragon scales were so hard that they could not be cut with a knife. The only way to pluck the scales was to insert the blade into the crevices where the scales were growing and pull them off along with the flesh and blood.


    According to what Xuan Long said, Xiao Zhanzi aimed the tip of the knife at the dragon scales on Xuan Long''s back and forced it in. The moment the blade entered the flesh, Xuan Long''s body tensed up and the cold-smelling blood flowed down the blade, falling between Xiao Zhanzi''s white and tender fingers that held the dagger.


    "Han... Master Han... is bleeding..."


    Cold sweat seeped from the corner of Xuan Long''s forehead and he said mutely, "Hmm. Continue."


    Xiao Zhanzi originally thought that plucking dragon scales was similar to clipping nails, after all, Xuan Long said it as lightly as that, who knew it would bleed. Plucking dragon scales was clearly similar to pulling nails, if all the dragon scales on his back were plucked, would he still be able to live?


    He spoke with a sobbing face:


    "This servant, this servant does not dare..."


    "If the Emperor knows about this, he will kill this servant."


    Xuan Long had risen early with a high fever and was weak and drained. After standing on the side of the bed for so long, he could not hold on any longer and only hoped that the young eunuch would do it quickly.


    "He won''t."


    "It was he himself, who said he wanted it."


    "Hurry up... I''m a little tired."


    Why is he this tired when he just woke up? Why did the Emperor have to pluck so many dragon scales? Even if it was to save the Empress, there was no need to pluck so many at once¡­ Xiao Zhanzi''s eyes were red, and his hands were shaking as he repositioned the knife.


    ¡°Master Han, if you can''t stand it anymore, just say so, so that this slave can be gentler..."


    He began to talk nonsense. Now that the knife has gone down, there''s no place for gentle or heavy. Xuan Long was in so much pain that his mind was blurred and he responded accordingly.


    "Mmm."


    The dragon scales were cut off piece by piece, gradually filling the palm-sized black lacquered wooden box prepared in advance. A hundred pieces were needed this time, so a larger box had to be used.


    The dragon scales protecting Xuan Long''s hindquarters had been plucked out, and the lack of scales exposed the tender red flesh of the skin in a blunt manner. The blood flowed endlessly through Xuan Long''s profane trousers, dripping down his trouser legs and pooling on the floor.


    Xuan Long was originally standing, but at the end, he couldn''t help but sit on his knees in the pool of blood on the floor. He didn''t make much noise the whole time, only breathing heavier, lying on the edge of the bed and asking very, very quietly, "How much more..."


    Xiao Zhanzi, whose hands were covered in blood as if he were the executioner, cried with tears on his face, "Master Han, only forty pieces have been plucked. Just forget it... that many should be enough..."


    Xuan Long''s cheek rested on his forearm. Perhaps because he had lost more blood, he was a little cold and wanted to sleep more and more, urging inaudibly, "... Hurry up, I can still hold out."


    "Master Han...¡± Xiao Zhanzi cried, twitching all over.


    When the hundred dragon scales were finished being plucked, Xuan Long was still conscious and he told Xiao Zhanzi to go find some gauze and wrap his back up for him. The gauze was wrapped layer after layer, but it didn''t take long for the warm liquid to soak through, and one by one, the piercing begonia blossoms formed a patch that filled the whole of his shriveled back.


    Xiao Zhanzi said he was going to seek the Imperial Doctor, but was stopped by Xuan Long, who said it would be useless to go. Xuan Long climbed into bed on his own, and was about to fall asleep when he reached the pillow. Xiao Zhanzi asked him if he wanted to have breakfast, and Xuan Long said he was not hungry.


    How could he eat after being so badly injured?


    He used to be able to sleep on his stomach, but now that he was pregnant, his belly was too big for him to lie on his stomach, so Xuan Long lay on his back on the bed, the bright yellow mattress beneath him blossoming a dark red.


    Xiao Zhanzi has been in the palace for so many years and has seen some eunuchs who were beaten to death with sticks after making mistakes, but never once did he feel so heartbroken. Getting more and more sad, he held Xuan Long''s pale wrist and shook it lightly, "Master Han, don''t scare this servant, don''t sleep..."


    When the pain became numb, there was nothing left to feel, he was just very tired. Very tired, very much wanting to just sleep and not wake up, leaving all those troublesome and painful things behind in the world and leaving lightly and easily.


    But now was not the right time.


    Xuan Long''s eyes were sunken and sleepy, his lips barely moving as he spoke, "Don''t worry... I won''t die..."


    At least not until the child is born and until Hu Le is safely sent out of the palace...


    Yan Yuan returned to Qiankun Palace after leaving the court, his face as foul as when he left, as if someone owed him hundreds of cities. As he was about to enter, the little eunuch came out from the door and knelt in front of him to block his way, saying in a hoarse voice, ¡°This servant sees Your Majesty, long live the Emperor."


    Yan Yuan cast a glance at him and said coldly, "Get up."


    With red eyes, Xiao Zhanzi took out a black lacquered wooden box from behind him, hung his head, raised it above his head and handed it to Yan Yuan, "Your Majesty, Master Han has asked this servant to hand this over to you."


    Chen Yan stepped forward to take the wooden box and presented it to Yan Yuan with both hands. Yan Yuan took Chen Yan''s hand and lifted the lid to take a look, and his pupils suddenly shrank.


    A strong cold fragrance permeated from the box, and ink-coloured dragon scales littered the wooden box, most of them with jagged flesh and blood attached to their roots.


    In the past, when Xuan Long handed scales over to Yan Yuan, they were all clean and tidy, but now that he had lost all his powers, he could no longer cast a spell to clean them up, so the bloody scales looked shocking.


    Yan Yuan was trying to be quick-witted, but he didn''t expect Xuan Long to pull out a hundred scales, so his anger was instantly replaced by anxiety.


    Xiao Zhanzi did not know where he got the courage, but he immediately moved his body to block him, "Your Majesty... Master Han says he doesn''t want to see you."


    Yan Yuan''s face darkened: "What did you say?"


    Xiao Zhanzi''s eyes were sore: "Master Han said... he didn''t want to see you, and told you not to come looking for him in the future if you don''t have any important matters. You already have an empress, and some things, after all, are inappropriate."


    "Master Han also said... the dragon scales have been handed over to you, please keep your promise."


    Yan Yuan sneered and nodded repeatedly, "Don''t want to see me? Good, good, good, good¡­ Don''t want to see me, I don''t even care to see him. If it wasn''t for A''Yu, I wouldn''t even bother to look at him. Such a cheap demon creature, given a few shades of colour, is now opening a dye house and sticking his nose in the air."


    Yan Yuan turned around and left, and Chen Yan trotted after him, "Your Majesty, don''t be angry..."


    "Go to Luanfeng Hall!¡± Anyway, the dragon scales were already in his hands, he didn''t bother to coax him.


    He really took himself seriously.


    When the footsteps were far away, Xiao Zhanzi lifted his red eyes and got up in a frenzy to enter through the door.


    When Xuan Long was awake, he was quiet, and when he fell asleep, his breathing was so weak that he seemed to be on the verge of dying. Xiao Zhanzi was crying beside the bed for fear that this person would leave quietly and that he would be in big trouble.


    But Xuan Long begged him like that, telling him to keep the Emperor out of the room, saying that he didn''t want him to see him in an undignified state.


    What''s the need for decency after all this? It was clear that he was so disillusioned that he never wanted to see him again.


    If Xuan Long died like this, it might be a good thing; at least before he died, he would not see the person who had hurt him so much, and he would go in peace and quiet.


    Yan Yuan turned through the palace wall and was about to reach the palace gate of Luanfeng Hall when a man with a shadowy face appeared at the opposite junction. It was none other than Yan Huo Heng. He was not wearing a python robe today, but a narrow-sleeved black suit worn by military generals, and was followed by his lieutenant.


    Although the eyebrows of the two brothers are somewhat similar, their appearance and temperament are very different, Yan Huo Heng¡¯s every move is cold, his dark eyes are long and narrow, and he looks deep-witted.


    Yan Yuan''s peach blossom eyes were gentle and watery, with thick eyelashes. If he smiled, even demons would be charmed. Now that he was in a tyrannical mood and his aura had sunk, he was a bit similar to Yan Huo Heng.


    Yan Yuan coldly glanced at him and ignored him, turning around to enter the palace door of Luanfeng Hall.


    Yan Huo Heng: "Your Majesty, please wait."


    Yan Yuan stopped, and Yan Huo Heng came over at a brisk pace, kneeling behind him on one knee and bowing. Yan Yuan did not ask him to get up, so he knelt, raised his head to look at Yan Yuan''s back, and spoke lightly, "One day has passed."


    Yan Yuan sneered and turned around, "I told you, don''t even think about it."


    "Millions of military power for one forbidden piece of property, ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains in your hands, resting on your laurels, Your Majesty, what reason is there to refuse?" Yan Huo Heng''s gaze was dark.


    ¡°Millions of military power is the glory that I have given to you, thousands of people are my people, if I don''t agree, do you really want to rebel?...¡± Yan Yuan''s mouth held a sneer as he spoke slowly, "Yan Huo Heng, do not forget that everything you have now is from me. The Empress Dowager is still in the palace and I will not treat her badly for the sake of nurturing me, but if you dare to have any more thoughts that you should not have, I can guarantee that I will do something that you will regret."


    Yan Huo Heng''s hands hanging at his side slowly tightened.


    As Yan Yuan turned to enter the door, he heard a question from behind him that was holding back some strong emotion.


    "You don''t care about him at all... why are you holding him prisoner?"


    Yan Yuan''s laugh was chilling: "This is not your business."


    After a long time, the lieutenant behind him rose and tugged at Yan Huo Heng''s sleeve: "Let''s go, Your Highness..."


    Three days passed in a flash.


    In the afternoon, Yan Kui summoned several ministers in the imperial study to discuss state affairs, and after that, he simply dealt with the day''s documents in the imperial study, preparing to wait for darkness before returning to Luanfeng Hall to accompany Ning Zhiyu for dinner.


    However, he was unable to concentrate on his work. The rets of the time, he was fine, but when he was alone, he was reminded of what had happened the other day - how dare Xuan Long turn him away from the door.


    It was the first time he had ever done that.


    When he thought about it, Yan Yuan became furious. He was supposed to call Xuan Long to the side hall of Luanfeng Hall every other night after Ning Zhiyu had gone to sleep to vent his frustration, but for the past few days, he had held back from seeing the dragon and deliberately left him alone, not to mention not releasing Hu Le as promised.


    He wanted to see. Xuan Long is so powerful, he said he did not want to see him, but in the end, he would still have to come to beg him.


    Who knew that there would be no movement from Qiankun Palace after three days. He didn''t ask anyone to inquire, after all, he was sulking and whoever couldn''t sit still first would lose.


    He would not be the one to lose.


    In this relationship, he had always been the winner.


    He had always been, and he would always be.


    When the sun was setting, Chen Yan came in from outside the hall with a cup of hot tea and gently placed it by Yan Yuan''s hand: "Your Majesty has been tired all afternoon, have a cup of tea and rest."


    Yan Yuan picked up the cup and took a sip, but immediately frowned and put the cup down: "It''s too hot, pour a cold one."


    In fact, the temperature of the tea was just right, not too hot, not too cold, but now he needed cold water to suppress the anger in his heart, otherwise he would not be able to hold back the heat.


    As the night wore on, Yan Yuan finally finished his business for the day and got up to return to his home. When he entered, the man was already sitting at the table waiting for him to have his dinner, and there was a generous spread of food on the table.


    The candle flame flickered, the air was filled with strange incense, and the atmosphere was charming. The man was sitting with his back to Yan Yuan, he was wearing a basalt robe and his long hair was scattered behind him. Because Xuan Long had lost a lot of weight in recent months, from the back, he looked very similar to Ning Zhiyu.


    Yan Yuan was in a trance for a moment, somewhat suspecting that he was in the wrong place, until the man heard footsteps and turned back to reveal a plain, elegant and clear face.


    ¡°A''Yuan, you''ve come."


    Yan Yuan smiled, "Why are you suddenly wearing black clothes today?"

 CH 78

    I Don''t Like Men


    "The white robes are plain, it is inevitable that you will get tired after looking at them for a long time. Qingmei said that the basalt robes show off your temperament, so I asked someone to make a few of them."


    ¡°¡­ They don''t look good?"


    From the time they met, Ning Zhiyu loved to wear white robes and only occasionally changed, but they were also light blue or light green. Since becoming Empress, Ning Zhiyu has not worn any colour other than white robes, except for the special fire-colored phoenix robes that he must wear at state banquets.


    It was the first time he had seen him wear such a heavy colour on a normal day, and it was basalt.


    Remembering the dragon that he had deliberately neglected, Yan Yuan shook his head and took a seat beside Ning Zhiyu with a bit of absentmindedness that he did not even notice: "Silly A''Yu, you look good in anything. No matter how you look, I will like you."


    Ning Zhiyu''s hands, hidden in his sleeves and robe, curled up nervously, with sadness hidden in his heart, and said with a forced smile, "It''s fine if it looks good to you."


    Yan Yuan picked up his chopsticks and put a crystal shrimp dumpling into a small bowl for him, "Eat, don''t wait for me, the food is getting cold."


    ¡°It''s not." Ning Zhiyu replied in a small voice, picking up his chopsticks.


    Yan Yuan took the hot chicken soup served by Qingmei and took a sip: "It will be your birthday in a few days, do you have anything in particular you want?"


    ¡°A''Yu?"


    Ning Zhiyu''s head was bowed in thought, his chopsticks were poking at the shrimp dumplings, the skin about to break, but he hadn''t picked them up yet. Yan Yuan called him several times before Ning Zhiyu turned his head to look at him.


    "... Ah?"


    Yan Yuan smiled and raised his hand to scratch the bridge of his nose: "What''s wrong with you today, why are you so inattentive even when eating a meal? Are you unwell again?"


    "No, I''ve taken dragon scales, I''m much better." Ning Zhiyu smiled.


    Yan Yuan repeated patiently, "I just said that your birthday is coming up next month. The birthday ceremony, which only comes once a year, must be well organized. At that time, we will invite all the officials to the palace to celebrate you, the country will be exempted from taxes for one month, and the prisoners who were imprisoned last month will be pardoned, so as to accumulate blessings for you."


    He had been neglected since he was a child in the Prime Minister''s residence, his father did not love him and his mother did not love him, and he had never celebrated his birthday. Looking at Yan Yuan''s smiling face, Ning Zhiyu was happy and sad at the same time.


    He was happy that he thought so much of him, that he remembered his birthday every year more carefully than he did.


    He was sad that all this goodness was something he had shamelessly stolen from others. He already has what he should have lost, and does not dare to be insatiable for more. He only wants the person in front of him to be with him in this life, and no matter what happens, he will live and die with him, and will never leave him.


    Ning Zhiyu''s eyes were red at the corners as he looked at Yan Yuan and smiled, "I just want to find that lost silver hairpin. There are birthdays every year, so don''t make a big deal out of it, it''s always bad to be wasteful."


    Yan Yuan put down his chopsticks, took Ning Zhiyu''s hand on his lap and said intimately, "This is easy, I will ask someone to go out to the palace tomorrow to buy a hundred identical silver hairpins, and put one on your bed, one on your body, one in front of the bronze mirror, one everywhere you can see. Even if you lose ten of them, there will still be ninety of them."


    Ning Zhiyu knew that Yan Yuan was coaxing him to be happy, and was amused by him, but the red in his eyes had not receded. Gazing at the other man, he said softly, "I only want that one, it''s unique, no mountain of gold or silver can replace it."


    Yan Yuan pinched his nose: "Silly A''Yu, how can you be so stubborn... Then, I promise you that I will try my best to help you find it, and if I really can''t find it, I can only send you a new one."


    "Mm." Ning Zhiyu said mutely.


    As he was not well, he was often depressed. Yan Yuan was aware of this and took extra care of him, asking Qingmei to step aside and personally serve Ning Zhiyu his food.


    After about half a stick of incense had passed, Ning Zhiyu put down his chopsticks, picked up the light green jade wine pot at his hand and poured a cup of wine into Yan Yuan''s cup, ¡°A''Yuan, this is the Daughter¡¯s Wine that Father sent the day before yesterday, it has been buried underground for twenty years and was brewed by his own hands, try it, see if it is to your liking..."


    Yan Yuan actually did not like wine, whether it was Daughter''s Wine or Drunken Chunlan, he felt that they were both too strong. Instead, the sweet fruit wine was more to his taste. However, Ning Zhiyu had some good intentions, so he could not refuse, and he picked up the wine cup, ¡°Okay, since it is made by the Prime Minister himself, I should try it."


    Yan Yuan took the cup and was about to take it, when Ning Zhiyu suddenly raised his hand and grabbed his arm, ¡°A''Yuan..."


    "Hm?" Yan Yuan turned his head to look.


    A basalt robe made Ning Zhiyu''s face too pale, and his smile was light, no different from his usual, but for no reason showed an indescribably strong emotion... like despair.


    "I love you."


    Xuan Long''s handsome face appeared in Yan Yuan''s mind at an inopportune moment, thinking that the silent dragon also loved him very much. But who told him to love Ning Zhiyu? He pushed down the distracting thoughts in his mind, then raised his hand and caressed Ning Zhiyu''s warm cheek, "Why are you talking about this all of a sudden? I love you too."


    Ning Zhiyu''s hand was on Yan Yuan''s against his cheek, and he had some courage in his heart: "If you want to say it, just say it."


    Yan Yuan smiled and drew back, raising his wine cup. Ning Zhiyu apprehensively stared at his movements, seeing that the wall of the cup was about to touch Yan Yuan''s lips, when an eunuch hurried in from outside the hall.


    "Your Majesty, it is not good..."


    Yan Yuan''s brows tightened and he put down the cup, "What''s wrong?"


    Chen Yan bowed to Yan Yuan''s ear and whispered, "News came from Qiankun Palace saying that Master Han is seriously ill and has not risen for three days, he may be close to death..."


    Yan Yuan stood up from the chair: "What did you say?!"


    Chen Yan''s face was grave as he said in a low voice, "It was Xiao Zhanzi who is serving at Master Han''s side who came to report this."


    "Damned servant, how dare he hide it until now, he even blocked the door that day and didn''t let me in!" Yan Yuan''s face sank and he was about to leave.


    Ning Zhiyu grabbed his wrist: ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan turned around and touched Ning Zhiyu''s face, softening his tone: "I have something to do, I have to go, I can''t accompany you for dinner tonight, I will come back for you tomorrow."


    "Good boy, rest early."


    Ning Zhiyu was always docile and obedient in the past, but this time, when Yan Yuan withdrew his hand, he grabbed it and didn''t let go, pressing it against his face, saying meekly, "What if I don''t let you go?"


    Looking at him like this, Yan Yuan finally could not bear it: "It is Xuan Long who is in trouble. If he dies, who will save you? I have to go and take a look quickly."


    Ning Zhiyu had tears in his eyes as he shook his head, "I don''t want him to save me... I just want to be alone at the moment, with you watching over me. To live long and prosper is all fate..."


    Yan Yuan''s pretty eyebrows wrinkled up: "If you say silly things again, I''m really going to get angry."


    Panicked in his heart, Yan Yuan gave Ning Zhiyu a few random words of comfort and left without looking back.


    Knowing full well that Xuan Long was Yan Yuan¡¯s true love and being abandoned by him, Ning Zhiyu felt at a loss. Looking down at his empty palms, tears fell silently down his cheeks.


    "Pathetic, lamentable, ridiculous."


    "Look at yourself, you''re still the empress, you''re afraid you''re not even as good as the little herdsmen in your human race''s kilna. That little herdsman has a thousand others collapse with a smile, how about you?..."


    "Fortunately, you didn''t take off your clothes and give yourself up directly, otherwise you would have been a disgrace."


    ¡°This honourable one advises you not to play these useless tricks, you should do the right thing by urging Yan Yuan to dig out Xuan Long''s heart. Once Xuan Long is dead, Yan Yuan will be yours for the rest of his life, so why do you have to cling to these useless trivialities? What does it matter if he loves you or not, it''s just as well that he is by your side."


    From the beginning, the demon had been talking to him, but Ning Zhiyu had not paid any attention to him. At this moment, he did not pay any attention either. He retreated from the palace and took up the cup of wine that Yan Yuan had not drunk, drinking it in one gulp. As he tilted his head, tears streaked across the corners of his eyes.


    The demon spoke in shock, "This wine has Acacia in it, are you crazy?"


    Ning Zhiyu was not a good drinker, and after just one glass, there was drunkenness in his eyes. He smiled and continued to fill himself up, pouring one glass after another into his mouth.


    It didn''t matter if there was Acacia or not.


    After about five or six cups had gone down, a shadow began to appear in front of him, and Ning Zhiyu stared lazily at the tiny wine cup between his fingers, muttering a soft laugh.


    "You''re right, I''m just cheap..."


    "There are some people who are born to be lowly... even if they sit in the position of empress, they will not change."


    "But why would I ever want to sit in that position... I just want someone who will treat me well..."


    "Someone who doesn''t mind that I''m lowly, that I''m not humble..."


    "He''s the only one who treats me well... After I met him, I felt I wasn''t just an animal to be trampled on, I was a living human being..."


    Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes and drank the wine in the cup, his wrist shook as he poured it again, tears streaming down his face, "But why did God even have to take back this little bit of goodness..."


    "Hey... you''re actually not that bad." The voice in his head said.


    Ning Zhiyu smiled indifferently, "Is that so? How could you ever look down on me..."


    The voice coughed twice, "If I looked down on you, I wouldn''t have taken up residence inside you."


    Ning Zhiyu laughed lowly, his body slumped over the wine table, knocking over the wine jug. He rested on his arm, squinting at the dim candle flame in the distance: "I don''t care what other people do... I''m satisfied as long as he alone treats me well."


    The demon: "Hmph, then you are really easy to satisfy."


    When the wine entered his stomach, he should have fallen asleep, but with the Acacia in it, it was a different story.


    An irresistible heat rose up in his body, and his throat felt like it had been swallowed by fire. With what little consciousness he had left, Ning Zhiyu staggered up and climbed into bed, curling himself up.


    But the heat intensified and he couldn''t help but tug at his collar, a suppressed whimper of pain escaping from his throat.


    After hearing that if you do not have intercourse with someone after taking Acacia, you will bleed to death, Ning Zhiyu was not afraid at all. He thought that if he died like this, he might still be able to leave an undying memory in Yan Yuan''s heart, and he would not have to struggle with love and conscience.


    The demon asked him anxiously in his head if he was alright. Ning Zhiyu found it noisy and told him not to speak, but the demon was probably guilty of being temperamental again and scolded him angrily, but finally quieted down.


    A tall figure gradually appeared beside the bed, turning from fiction to reality. The man had a black and red iron battle robe and long, fire-red hair that flowed without wind. He was born with an overly handsome and flamboyant face and the pupils of his eyes were a natural scarlet, with a cold fury.


    Ning Zhiyu''s clothes were half receding, the basalt robe hanging from his chest revealed his almost transparent white skin and deep collarbones, and his ink hair spread all over the bed underneath him. He vaguely felt that someone was watching him, and unconsciously looked towards the side of the bed, but it just so happened that cold sweat slipped into his eyes, so he couldn''t see the person''s face.


    ¡°A''Yuan..."


    The man''s expression changed slightly, his tragic white and powerful finger bones pinched Ning Zhiyu''s chin, and he said coldly, "Stupid human, open your eyes and see clearly, this honourable one¡¯s name is Mo Zun, not your A''Yuan."


    Ning Zhiyu was forced to tilt his head up, his eyelashes trembling: ¡°A''Yuan..."


    The demon looked at him, "Hmph, you look better in white. This basalt coloured robe doesn''t suit you, it''s an eyesore, so I''ll be merciful and take it off for you."


    After he said that, he raised his hand to pull Ning Zhiyu''s clothes, and the tough fabric was torn at once. Ning Zhiyu had long been delirious, so he easily let the demon take off his clothes. His skin was originally white, and at that moment, he seemed like a piece of white jade falling on the golden mattress. His slender legs curled up instinctively, and he grabbed that hand and wouldn''t let go, mumbling with tears on his face and moistening his eyelashes.


    Candlelight enveloped the dimly lit hall as the demon bent his tall body and cupped Ning Zhiyu''s cheeks, frowning in disgust, "This honourable one does not like men."

 CH 79

    Get Lost


    When Mo Zun was alive, he boasted of his flirtatiousness and had taken in thousands of demon concubines, there was no one he did not accept who came to his door of their own accord. Unfortunately, however, from birth to death, he became a resentful soul and is still a virgin demon.


    There is no other reason.


    Because he is sexually indifferent.


    No matter how beautiful, voluptuous and gorgeous the beauty delivered to his arms, it did not interest him, at most, he wrapped them in his arms and pretended to drink a few glasses of wine. Once the banquet was over, he did not even touch them.


    He took in baskets and baskets of concubines and let them compete in the harem to keep his brother''s mouth shut. When he did not take a wife, his elder brother said that he was a demon in vain, not taking a wife, not having a son, which was a treason.


    Later, when he had a harem full of women, his brothers urged him frantically to have children, but he was directly silenced when he said that he was infertile, perhaps because he was afraid of hurting his pride. The two brothers never said anything after that, and left him to his own devices.


    Mo Zun''s pride was not hurt, and those bewitching demon girls were the most vulgar things in the world, so if he didn''t have to, he wouldn''t have bothered. If it was not necessary, he wouldn¡¯t even bother to take care of them. His hobby was to cultivate his magic core and once he attacked the Nine Heavens, he would become the overlord of the Four Seas and the Eight Wastelands.


    On the day of the Battle of Gods and Demons, Xuan Long had already been defeated when he led the heavenly soldiers to resist the invasion of the demons, but when he was in decline, he consumed half of his soul power and washed away the Southern Ridge of God, desperately trying to hold back the demons, and finally died when his brother''s demon blade struck him in the heart.


    Both the gods and the demons were injured, General Xuan Long was killed in battle, and the Emperor of Heaven broke into the demon world and slaughtered nearly half of all living beings. All his family members were wiped out, except for him, whose remaining soul floated in the world for ten thousand years, and when he regained consciousness, he found himself inside a human.


    This human was Ning Zhiyu.


    Even Mo Zun himself did not know why his soul had picked Ning Zhiyu. It was probably as he had told Ning Zhiyu previously, that his body was clean enough to accommodate the spirit of all evils.


    But even so, his body was still decaying from carrying another soul that did not belong to him.


    Mo Zun could not leave him for too long, and if Ning Zhiyu died, his soul would also be destroyed shortly afterwards.


    Therefore, no matter what the reason, he had to ensure that this person lived.


    But... how should he help?


    When he was distracted, Ning Zhiyu got up from the bed and knelt down on it, hooked his slender and boneless arms around the demon''s neck, moved over, and kissed him on the lips. The cold temperature made him feel comfortable, so he hugged the demon tightly and refused to let go, his face buried in the nook of his neck, unconsciously rubbing against the cool skin.


    Mo Zun''s body froze and his eyes widened incredulously as he looked down.


    Ning Zhiyu''s long hair fell behind his back, covering his body full of spring. A few sweaty strands of hair were stuck to the corner of his forehead, and his sharp nose stirred in small increments because of the pain. He was born pure and his face was now tinged with cherry red, as clear as a hibiscus.


    He was having a reaction... to a man?


    The other side did not touch him at all, and Ning Zhiyu began to be dissatisfied with this. He thought that this person was Yan Yuan, opened his out-of-focus eyes, and went to take off his clothes, but the clothes on the demon''s body were basalt iron battle robes, complex and complicated, so it was not that easy to take them off. Ning Zhiyu was pulling at his body, but could not take them off. He couldn''t get it off, and was so aggrieved that he burst into tears, crying with a sniffle that was a major departure from his usual quiet demeanour.


    "You all bully me, even you bully me, disliking that I am not in good health..."


    "I just want to be closer to you, to be a real husband and wife, is that so hard..."


    "If he can give birth to a child for you, so can I. I will give you a child tonight..."


    Mo Zun looked at him with a blank stare, "You look quite ugly when you cry, so it''s better not to cry."


    Ning Zhiyu suddenly got quiet, lowered his head and murmured, "Originally, it was because you thought I was ugly that you didn''t touch me... I was born very different from Xuan Long, no wonder you always treat me coldly at this time..."


    Mo Zun recalled Xuan Long''s appearance and said, "This honourable one thinks that you were born slightly better looking."


    Ning Zhiyu raised his head happily and smiled, "You think I was born beautiful?¡­"


    Before Mo Zun could say anything, the man suddenly pulled his hand and fell backwards. Mo Zun was caught off guard as he pulled him down, pressing his body in front of him and bracing his arms against the bed.


    Ning Zhiyu lifted his legs and hooked them around Mo Zun''s waist, his arms circling his neck, his breath spilling onto his face. Mo Zun was breathless and heartless, yet he inexplicably felt a tightening in his heart, and the knot in his throat twitched slightly.


    "Then let''s have a child... okay?"


    "If there is a day when I am no longer here, there will be a child to keep you company..."


    Mo Zun: "......"


    The night of wine and drugs had deprived Ning Zhiyu of his senses, and at this point he was completely in the grip of another, very different Ning Zhiyu: the bold, spirited Ning Zhiyu that had been repressed deep in his soul for so long. It was different from the normally stoic, solitary person who resisted grief and pain alone. Whatever he thought at this time, he would say and do without fear.


    The intensified heat deep in his body and the other''s indifference made him feel doubly aggrieved and begged in a whisper, ¡°A''Yuan, just hug me... you don''t even hug me..."


    Mo Zun got up with a cold face. He did not have a hobby of being a stand-in.


    Ning Zhiyu grabbed his wrist and babbled, "Don''t leave, if you leave, I''ll never love you again..."


    Mo Zun was expressionless as he wiped away the tears at the corners of Ning Zhiyu''s eyes, rubbing the skin red: "Humph, think carefully, don''t turn your back on the demon when you wake up tomorrow."


    Ning Zhiyu didn''t know about the pain, and his hazy black eyes looked at him with fascination: "I''ll be happy if you don''t leave."


    Mo Zun''s body exuded a powerful aura, and with a wave of his hand, his black and red battle robes turned into dust and scattered. He pulled Ning Zhiyu''s legs away from his strong, thin waist and leaned in close to the delirious man beneath him, the tip of his nose almost touching his.


    "Don''t you dare regret it. This honourable one has no taste for forcing himself on others."


    Ning Zhiyu mumbled blankly, "Regret what..."


    Mo Zun sneered, "Hmph, you''re no different than those lecherous demon girls of the Demon Race."


    Ning Zhiyu held back the uncomfortable feeling and lifted a finger against Mo Zun''s lips, "Don''t compare me to others..."


    Mo Zun¡¯s cold-blooded eyes darkened, and a few breaths later, Ning Zhiyu shuddered and stifled a hum. He had been crying before, but now he was quiet. The corners of his forehead were cold and sweat stained, and he didn''t cry out in pain, he just talked a bit too much, looked at Mo Zun, and asked softly, "Do I look good in my basalt clothes..."


    Mo Zun''s hand pinched in his waist, fiercely applied force, and he spoke with a black face: ¡°Ugly."


    Ning Zhiyu was somewhat saddened and was quiet for a long time before asking, "What about Xuan Long?..."


    "Shut up, no more talking."


    Mo Zun worked hard to make it impossible for him to make another sound, and he managed to do so.


    The virgin demon''s skills were really not that good, not even for the entry, and the mattress beneath him was stained with dark red blood. Mo Zun was puzzled when he looked at it.


    Men have fallen flowers too?¡­ (Angel: Fallen flowers is the Chinese term that refers to the bleeding women experience from a ruptured hymen.)


    Such things had not been taught to him by his older brother.


    I suppose there is.


    The demon was quite happy to think that after all, he was Ning Zhiyu''s first man, and he was also his first... bah, what''s the point of thinking so much?


    The reason for this is because he had taken the Acacia powder by mistake, so it was just a matter of relieving him of the drug. When his spiritual body is rebuilt later, the bridge will return to the bridge and the road will return to the road, and no one will be in the way.


    The sky outside the window was gradually getting lighter, and Ning Zhiyu had long since passed out. This was the first time that Mo Zun had done this with someone, and he felt that it was not a bad experience. After a few times, he still had a taste for it, but when he saw that the flush on his body had receded and his face was pale again, he knew that the effects of the medicine had worn off.


    There was no need to continue.


    He had been away from his host''s body for too long, and his soul power had weakened, turning from his initial solid form to a slightly transparent one. Going back in immediately was obviously the best choice, but after all, it''s not a good idea to leave someone behind after something like this.


    So he laid down by Ning Zhiyu''s side, covered him with the blanket, and slept on the outside.


    Ning Zhiyu was breathing steadily. Mo Zun looked at his well-defined eyelashes and felt amazing; he had never imagined that he would one day share a bed with a human being.


    After a few moments, Mo Zun quietly lifted the quilt and moved closer to Ning Zhiyu, grabbed his hand and pillowed it under his face, closed his eyes and let the sleepiness overwhelm him.


    When his soul leaves his body, it makes him feel better to be closer to his host.


    Ning Zhiyu''s illness was recurring, and there was no precise time for him to sleep, so it was not uncommon for him to sleep until sunrise, so the palace staff on duty outside the palace did not notice anything unusual and waited outside for the Empress to summon them.


    When no movement came from inside the palace until midday, Qingmei became a bit anxious and started knocking on the door, thinking that something had happened.


    "Your Majesty..."


    Ning Zhiyu''s sleeping face was calm and he did not wake up. It was Mo Zun who woke up at the slightest movement of the wind. He looked at the person beside him, turned his head towards the outside of the hall, and imitated Ning Zhiyu''s voice and tone of voice and said, "Qingmei, I would like to lie down for a while, I will call you later."


    Qingmei had no doubts and withdrew with peace of mind.


    Mo Zun had just returned to Ning Zhiyu''s body for an hour, and by now, his body had turned into a solid body. He found that making love to this person seemed to have a stabilising effect on his soul, and the cracks in his soul had been repaired a little.


    As he was thinking, he saw the man who had been sleeping slowly open his eyes.


    When the demon and the human looked at each other, Mo Zun was the first to feel uncomfortable. Ning Zhiyu moved his body and let out a low hum as his eyebrows wrinkled in pain.


    "Are you alright?"


    This familiar voice caused Ning Zhiyu to freeze, his rationality completely coming back to him, his pupils slowly expanding, "It''s you..."


    The person in front of him had a head of fiery red hair, a handsome face, and a coldness inherent in his blood-red eyes, but at this moment he somehow looked a little apprehensive.


    It was an unfamiliar face, but the voice was incomparably familiar to Ning Zhiyu. Wasn''t this the demon who had taken up residence inside him? The sharp pain beneath his body made Ning Zhiyu''s face pale and he sat up bracing himself on the bed, hugging the blanket as he shrank back in bewilderment.


    Wasn''t it Yan Yuan last night?...


    Why was this demon lying beside him?


    What about A''Yuan?...


    He''s gone¡­ right... he''s gone...


    Mo Zun sat up next to him, "You didn''t sleep yourself silly, did you?"


    "... What happened to us?" Ning Zhiyu asked in a soft voice.


    Mo Zun hesitated for a moment, "You''ve been poisoned by the Acacia powder. This honourable one will..."


    Ning Zhiyu sat motionless and feebly spat out two words, ¡°Get lost."


    Mo Zun clenched his fist, "What did you say?"


    "I said, get lost."

 CH 80

    There was a momentary silence in the air.


    Mo Zun sneered, "I don''t know who was dying to badger this honourable man last night. You think this honourable one cares for you?"


    Ning Zhiyu transformed into a human sculpture, losing his life, and his onion-white fingers clenched the bedding over his body: "It''s all because of you... If you hadn''t appeared, he wouldn''t have gone to seek Xuan Long for me, and maybe in this life, if they hadn''t met, A''Yuan would have loved only me."


    "You are the broom star..."


    "You get... out of my body."


    A broom star?


    Isn''t that the one who sweeps the ground in the Nine Heavens?


    This damned human, how dare he call this dignified demon a broom star. Thanks to him, he was worried sick about this man, worked all night to cure the effects of the medicine for him and gave up his precious first time, only to have this man not only deny it, but also look as if he had been ruined.


    Was he that bad?


    "This honourable one is too lazy to bother with you."


    Mo Zun held his stifled breath and disappeared onto the bed, his soul turning into a wisp of black and red silk smoke that burrowed into Ning Zhiyu''s body.


    Ning Zhiyu grabbed the golden phoenix pillow behind him and threw it to the floor: "You get out..."


    "You get the hell out..."


    "Get out!!!"


    The person inside his body did not pay attention to him, instead, the palace people outside the hall were attracted to the commotion. Qingmei asked him nervously through the hall door what was wrong, Ning Zhiyu gradually calmed down, his face ashen.


    "Qingmei¡­ Prepare hot water, I want to bathe..."


    "Your Majesty, it will take some work to heat the hot water, why don''t we have lunch first?" Qingmei wondered.


    Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes, "Bathe first."


    ......


    A rich, cold scent filled the empty hall, and on a bed with a hanging tent lay a bloodless man, dressed in profane clothes, his face seemingly heroic, but the hideous scar on the right side of his face ruined all his beauty. The blue brocade quilt covered his chest, unable to conceal the high belly.


    Yan Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, occasionally reaching out with his index finger to probe for Xuan Long''s breath under his nose, and if it were not for the faint breath that remained, Yan Yuan would almost have thought the man was dead.


    Xuan Long''s hands were so cold that they could not be warmed up, so Yan Yuan asked someone to bring more quilts to cover him up, but he did not look any better.


    The sun was shining brightly outside, the noon hour had passed, and Yan Yuan''s eyes were crawling with cobwebs of red blood.


    "Someone!"


    Chen Yan quickly came through the door, bowed and asked, "What are Your Majesty''s orders?"


    Yan Yuan: "Has the man who went to seek the flower spirit returned?"


    Chen Yan sighed secretly and said, "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, no... If they had returned, they would have come straight over here."


    Yan Yuan''s voice was a little hoarse: "Send out more men to look for them, send ten imperial troops, five to ambush near Weihua Lane and five to patrol the city, we must find the flower spirit today."


    "This servant obeys the order."


    Chen Yan received the order and turned around, taking a step, then hesitantly turned back to look at the two people on the bed.


    Yan Yuan was so preoccupied with Xuan Long that he did not notice that he had not left.


    Chen Yan called to him softly, "Your Majesty..."


    Yan Yuan turned around, his face tense. The lack of sleep had caused a faint greenish tinge under his eyes, a strand of loose hair had fallen at the corner of his forehead from his crowned hair, and a prickly stubble had sprouted on his chin; he was handsome but could not hide his haggardness.


    He had not drunk or eaten since last night and had not even attended the morning court today.


    He must have been worried about Xuan Long, otherwise he would not have gotten himself into such a state.


    Chen Yan''s withered body was slightly hunched as he looked at him and spoke in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, what kind of existence is Master Han to you..."


    "Is he only to be used?..."


    Yan Yuan reflexively frowned, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"


    Chen Yan let out a long sigh and lowered his gaze: "This old slave is only an eunuch, and because he grew up watching the Emperor, he still has the guts to say a few words of knowledge. If there are any mistakes in what has been said, please do not blame Your Majesty."


    "There are some things, some people, that must be grasped in the moment, if you miss them... it will never be the same again."


    Yan Yuan''s eyebrows knitted deeply: "What do you mean?"


    Chen Yan lifted his cloudy, old eyes to meet Yan Yuan''s gaze: "Although Master Han is not human, he is also a living being in this world. His heart is also made of flesh and blood, it will hurt, he will be sad, he will be upset... If you care for him at all, then be kind to him."


    "If enough disappointment is saved up, there is no turning back..."


    There was no one to give him a way back.


    How can he go back? The dilemma of going back is a dead end.


    The more Yan Yuan listened, the more panicked he became, as if he was trapped in a dark chamber. The more he struggled the less he could find a way out, clenching his fist and saying, "I want to treat him well, but he insists on making me angry. He is so stubborn and does not know how to give in to me, so I cannot help but be angry..."


    "... If the Empress was angry with you, what would you do?" Chen Yan asked in a low voice.


    Yan Yuan said offhandedly, "I would coax him properly."


    Chen Yan was silent for a short while: "Your Majesty, if you share some of your great tolerance and patience for the Empress with Master Han, he will probably have a much better time... When he is in a better mood, he will not sulk at you, and you will be happy."


    Yan Yuan thought about it and thought it made sense, but there was something in his heart: "He is no match for A¡¯Yu. Besides, most of the time my joy is from A''Yu, not from him."


    Then why are you angry?


    Chen Yan did not dare to ask this, he just looked at the person on that bed and felt too bitter, too bitter. It was said that demons were the evil of evils, yet wasn''t it that dragon on the bed who had saved their Emperor''s life?


    That day, he had heard Yan Yuan say that he would treat Xuan Long well, but he did not know what had blinded him now.


    Chen Yan looked at him with anxiety, having held these words in his heart for a long time.


    "The Empress is a noble person, above all others, and few can match him. Xuan Long treats you with sincerity and willingly entered the palace as a demon to accompany you, so he should not be let down too much. He is pregnant, I don''t think he can withstand any more blows..."


    Yan Yuan''s face was cold: "Why do you speak for him like this?"


    Chen Yan said, ¡°This old slave is only afraid that one day, the Emperor will regret what he has done now..."


    "That''s enough." Yan Yuan interrupted him, "I know, I will restrain myself. You quickly go and send someone to bring the flower spirit here."


    Chen Yan walked to the door, turned back and asked, "Has Your Majesty ever thought of letting him go?..."


    Yan Yuan answered with a cold face, "No."


    Chen Yan said nothing more and quietly retreated, gently closing the door of the hall.


    Somehow, he always felt that this deep palace could not imprison Xuan Long.


    No matter how high the palace walls were, no matter how many imperial guards there were, they could not stop a living being who wanted to leave.


    That unsettling premonition became stronger and stronger as the man on the bed gradually faded...


    The palace painter drew a portrait of the flower spirit as Yan Yuan had dictated. The woman in a pink dress leapt off the paper, exquisitely lifelike. After passing the portrait around, hundreds of imperial troops were sent out to search and patrol the city. They finally found the flower spirit carrying a basket of vegetables at the marketplace at dusk the next day and took her into the palace.


    Xuan Long slept for five days, unable to eat, so Yan Yuan could only put warm water into his mouth every few hours.


    Xiao Zhanzi was taken to the prison for not reporting the incident. Before he was dragged away, he cried out to Yan Yuan to save Xuan Long. He had always listened to Xuan Long and kept quiet, but he could not bear to see him die.


    The consequences of tying a bandage without medicine to stop the bleeding were predictable - the flesh and blood would stick to the bandage. Xuan Long''s back was a bloody mess, and Yan Yuan only had to undo a little of the bandage to make the wound, which had already scabbed over, bloody again. He didn''t dare to continue touching it, so he changed him into clean clothes.


    He thought that Hua Niang would have a better solution when she arrived, but she also had to use her hands to separate the bandages from the flesh and blood, which was the same as asking Xuan Long to suffer the pain of pulling out his scales all over again.


    But he was so deep in a coma that he could not even feel the pain.


    Those who watched from the sidelines were horrified. Crimson blood slid down the deep red flesh from Xuan Long''s back, quickly soaking the bed, and Hua Niang shed tears in distress.


    ¡°A''Long¡­"


    "How could this happen..."


    Yan Yuan pursed his lips and frowned, unable to resist averting his gaze, "Such a large wound, will it leave a scar?"


    Hua Niang spoke with a sobbing voice, "This is a whole piece of skin that was plucked out raw, how could it not leave a scar."


    "Unless there is Immortal Muscle Powder, that kind of wound medicine is the finest wound medicine in the demon world, it can make bones white and give birth to new muscles. With this, I can at best only heal his wounds, leaving unsightly scars is a certainty."


    Yan Yuan felt unspeakable regret as he remembered Xuan Long''s formerly smooth skin, every inch of his muscle was beautiful in just the right way, in contrast to the way his skin was not even intact today.


    In a muffled voice, he said, "Hmm."


    "You''ve gone too far...¡± Hua Niang murmured as she carefully sprinkled the topical medicine that had stopped the bleeding on. "Do you know that he is now..."


    The words died on the edge of her tongue.


    She remembered that day when Hu Le had told her to never let Yan Yuan know that Xuan Long had lost all his Taoism, otherwise he would probably put Xuan Long in a more dangerous situation.


    This human was already bad enough for him, if he knew that his inner elixir was gone, he would probably just capture him and cut out his heart...


    "What did you just say?" Yan Yuan looked at her critically.


    "Nothing." Hua Niang shook her head and after sprinkling the wound medicine, she used a weak spell to neatly wrap the bandages around Xuan Long''s body.


    His entire back was wounded, and the bandage would inevitably wrap around his stomach, which would require a test of skill: it couldn''t be tied too loosely or too tightly, as it could strangle the baby.


    After the bandage was tied, Hua Niang deliberately poked her little finger into the bandage to test the tightness, making sure that it would not squeeze the child. Only then did she feel relieved and straightened up, conjuring up several packets of herbs wrapped in vellum in her palm and handing them to Yan Yuan.


    "The wound is bandaged. Take these medicines, twice a day, boil them for A''Long to drink on time after breakfast and dinner, they are for nourishing the blood and calming the foetus. It will be good for his recovery."


    Her magical skills were low, and she was used to carrying medicine when she went out to the clinic or to heal patients, but the rest of the time she was not very good at it and was not much different from an ordinary weak woman, so the imperial guards easily captured her.


    At this moment, she looked at Yan Yuan with some apprehension, "I have to go back... my daughter is still waiting for me."


    Yan Yuan took the medicine in her hand and asked indifferently, "Is there a foetal abortion medicine?"


    Hua Niang was surprised, "What?..."


    Yan Yuan raised his eyes to look at her, ¡°Abortion pills."


    Hua Niang murmured softly, ¡°A''Long didn''t say he didn''t want the baby..."


    "I don''t want it."


    ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    It was to be expected that the last chapter would produce such a serious polarisation


    To explain:


    I think people may have some misunderstanding, it is not that Mo Zun and Ning Zhiyu will become a cp and will be harmonious and beautiful, no, Ning Zhiyu loves Yan Yuan. No matter how good Mo Zun is, he will not feel happy, after sleeping with someone he does not like, he will only have extreme disgust, and that will only be painful for him.


    It is impossible to say what will happen afterwards. The two may change their minds and be together after many experiences, or they may be separated by their single-mindedness in the moment and come to their senses at the last moment and regret it.


    The main story will focus on the main plot, so you can rest assured that the subplots will mostly serve to move the plot along. Even if I have to write at great length, it will be placed in extras, which you can choose to read or not.


    Some readers say that I am Ning Zhiyu''s mother, so I treat him so well and should arrange such a good cp for him... Well, this kind of view does not exist in my philosophy, I always write the text how I enjoy writing.


    I think it''s very fragrant


    Ning Zhiyu, who is gentle in front of Yan Yuan, is cold-faced and ruthless to Mo Zun, and is still not touched by Mo Zun after many experiences, discovers his heart when Mo Zun is about to die, however it is too late... hahahahaha thinking about it I am so cool.


    So I wrote it


    Of course it''s just a thought at the moment, the plot may change later. I''m taking it one day at a time and I don''t know what new ideas will pop into my head tomorrow.


    The reason why I created this character is because I was tired of writing evil white lotuses and I wanted to write something different this time. There is no absolute good or evil in human nature. Every character has a motive and a purpose for doing something, and such motives and purposes make the character more fleshed out.


    Ning Zhiyu was born poor and unloved since childhood, and when he has someone to love, a former lover suddenly appears to steal his lover from him. In this case, he made such a choice, which was actually predictable and not abrupt.


    I think I''ve succeeded - in the portrayal of this character. Otherwise it wouldn''t have been so controversial, with some people being able to put themselves in his shoes and understand what he did, and others feeling so disgusted and unacceptable that they wanted him to die in a hurry.


    Personally, I don''t think he''s at the point where he has to die. Despite his wrongdoings, he still has good intentions. People will do things that are beyond the ordinary in order to stay alive and keep something important, some are completely dehumanised, some are hesitant and struggle between their conscience and falling. Ning Zhiyu belongs to the latter. If he could, he would not want to hurt others, but the path he was given was obviously too narrow.


    I don''t expect everyone to understand him, I just want everyone to read rationally and look at the characters and the plot rationally. After all, there are good and bad characters in every book, and not every good person can have a perfect ending. Life never goes smoothly, and this is especially true of dog-blood novels, the more dog-blooded the better.


    That''s it, I''m done, good night everyone?


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à

 CH 81

    Share12-16 minutes


    Accumulated Depression Leads to Illness


    Hua Niang took a few small steps back in horror, "No..."


    Yan Yuan approached her, "Take it out."


    Shrouded in shadow by the tall human, the flower spirit was so afraid that tears grew in her eyes and she shook her head, "If there is no child, A''Long will die."


    Yan Yuan frowned, "What?"


    "The child will be five months old soon... If he loses it, he will die.¡± Hua Niang didn''t lie, the child was something Xuan Long would lay down his life to keep. If the child was gone, would he still have any hope of living?


    There won''t be.


    Yan Yuan stared suspiciously at the woman''s small face, "Impossible, women have been known to induce labour after five or six months of pregnancy, don''t lie to me."


    "Human and dragon physiques are different...¡± Hua Niang retorted softly.


    Yan Yuan: "He has ten thousand years of Taoism, no matter how different his physique is, he should still be stronger, how could he die without this child?¡±


    Hua Niang held back her tears and straightened her neck: ¡°He¡¯ll just die."


    Yan Yuan pursed his lips and said nothing.


    Hua Niang took the opportunity to say, "If he dies, you won''t be able to save your empress!"


    "Shut up." Yan Yuan lowered his face.


    What death? He wanted Xuan Long to stay with him for the rest of his life, he was not allowed to go anywhere.


    He ordered Hua Niang to be sent out of the palace and built a residence for her outside the palace. After all, she was the only healer who could save Xuan Long at the moment, so Yan Yuan had to keep an eye on her. If anything happened to Xuan Long, she could be summoned at any time.


    After moving out of the house on Weihua Lane, Hua Niang took her daughter and hid in a ramshackle hut in the old forest on the outskirts of the city, and only went into the city every ten days to buy her necessities. No wonder Yan Yuan couldn''t find her at that time.


    This was a good thing, and Xuan Long would be happy when he wakes up.


    According to Hua Niang''s instructions, Yan Yuan ordered someone to make some medicine and bring it to him, and Yan Yuan personally fed it to Xuan Long. He didn¡¯t know if it was an illusion, but after Hua Niang came, Xuan Long¡¯s breathing because a little more steady, but his face was still very pale.


    Yan Yuan sat on the side of the bed and watched over him, his mind in a state of distraction. He guessed that the flower spirit was lying and that her words were full of loopholes, but it had to be said that the words ''he would die'' did make Yan Yuan feel disgusted.


    Now that Xuan Long''s body is weak like this, it would be better to let the child stay in his womb for the time being, and if he really did want to give birth, it wouldn''t be impossible... Wait, what was he thinking?


    If such a half human, half dragon monster is born, who in the world could tolerate them? If they were to be kept in the palace, there would probably be secretive ridicule from the palace maids and eunuchs.


    It would be impossible to explain to A''Yu... subconsciously, Yan Yuan did not want to think about this matter anymore.


    It is always easy to run away when faced with a dilemma: on the one hand, the world''s prejudice and the trust of your beloved, and on the other hand, the child that Xuan Long values most. Once upon a time, Yan Yuan would have chosen the former without hesitation, but now he inexplicably began to hesitate, perhaps because when he saw him willingly suffer for the sake of their child, which is difficult for ordinary people to endure, even the most ruthless heart would be moved and become soft.


    The demonic compulsion can control a person''s body and who is in their heart, but it cannot control the soul from unconsciously following the obsession it has been searching for for ten thousand years.


    The sun was setting over the hills in the west.


    The man in the bed woke up at the moment when the day turned to night. Yan Yuan grabbed his hand on the bedding: ¡°A''Po, you''re awake..."


    The sharp stinging pain in his back invaded Xuan Long''s nerves, and he weakly twisted his head to look at the person on the side of the bed. There was joy in Yan Yuan''s eyes, he was probably happy that he did not die, so he could continue to feed his empress with his flesh and blood.


    He wanted to pull his hand back, but Yan Yuan''s grip was too tight and Xuan Long had no strength and didn''t really want to talk, so he gave up.


    Yan Yuan ordered the palace staff outside to prepare a meal, then turned to speak to Xuan Long with a bit of coquetry, "You have been sleeping for days. It was the flower spirit that saved you.¡±


    "... I have released her from the palace, don''t worry."


    Xuan Long twisted his head to look up, still silent.


    Yan Yuan didn''t quite like the way he looked and couldn''t help but take credit for it, "I''ve set up a house for her, so if you''re unwell in the future, I''ll ask her to come and see you."


    "Hua Niang doesn''t like to mingle with the crowd, so you let her and Ying''er go." Xuan Long spoke hoarsely.


    The mention of other people made Xuan Long react, and Yan Yuan was a little upset: "What if you have a headache or fever in the future, it''s not like the doctors in the palace can treat you."


    Xuan Long closed his eyes, "I don''t need anyone to heal me."


    Yan Yuan frowned, "Don''t be angry, this time it''s my fault, I shouldn''t have told you to pull so many scales at once. You are really... you can''t even learn to be soft, you pulled them all out in one go when I told you to. If I tell you to die, will you really die?"


    Xuan Long murmured, "What is... softness."


    If he is soft, will he be able to stop pulling scales?


    If he is soft, will Yan Yuan be able to release Hu Le?


    "It is..." Yan Yuan paused and said with a straight face, ¡°when I am angry, you can say a few nice things to me, coax me, and when I am happy, I will treat you well."


    Xuan Long turned his face away and said sullenly, "I don''t need you to be kind to me."


    The gesture of total resistance caused Yan Yuan''s anger to rise up from the bottom of his heart and he changed his face, "You don''t know..."


    Xuan Long''s breathing suddenly became a little sharp. Yan Yuan looked down to see that he was holding his hand too tightly and that it was hurting him. In a flash, he came to his senses and loosened his grip a little, squeezing his palm and rubbing it gently.


    "Alright, I know you are sore and in a bad mood, so I won''t bother you."


    "Eat something first, it''s shrimp and corn porridge, it''s sweet and refreshing, you should like it."


    Yan Yuan picked up the bowl from the tray in the palace attendant''s hand. The congee had been ordered to be prepared by the palace attendant earlier and was kept hot in the kitchenette pot so that Xuan Long could eat it whenever he woke up.


    If he wanted to be good to people, he could be very good, and if he was bad to people, it would be extremely bad.


    Yan Yuan waved his hand to dismiss the palace staff, scooped up a small spoonful of porridge, put it to his lips and blew on it, then carefully passed it to Xuan Long''s lips: "Open your mouth."


    The wound on his back was too severe, and getting up would definitely strain the wound, so it would be more comfortable to eat while lying down.


    Xuan Long turned his head sideways and looked around the hall, but didn''t see anyone he wanted to see: "... Where is Hu Le?"


    Yan Yuan''s brow was slightly knitted, but quickly relaxed: "Still in prison."


    Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes slowly turned to him, "You said that you would release him once I pulled out the scales."


    In the evening Yan Yuan had bathed and freshened up, his face had been cleansed and he was still looking as handsome and at ease as ever.


    "Eat the porridge first."


    A spoon was passed to Xuan Long''s pursed lips, and some of the soup fell on the corner of his mouth and slid across his cheeks.


    Xuan Long strained to speak, "I want to see... Hu Le."


    Yan Yuan suppressed his heart''s displeasure, took out the handkerchief in his sleeve to wipe his face clean, then re-scooped a spoonful and handed it over.


    "Okay, I will release him immediately after you finish eating."


    Xuan Long stared at him for a moment, making sure he didn''t look like he was lying, before he slowly opened his mouth.


    As he had been in a coma for too long, his tongue was painful and he could not taste anything. Although Yan Yuan had blown on the porridge and put it into Xuan Long''s mouth, he was so impatient that the porridge was still hot when it entered his throat, making it difficult to swallow.


    Xuan Long did not make a sound and ate quietly, but the corners of his eyes were red and after taking a few bites, he choked and coughed violently, coughing up a handful of blood.


    The wound on his back seemed to have split open, and the pain caused him to break out in a cold sweat. Xuan Long wiped the blood from the corner of his lip with the back of his hand and closed his palm to hide his hand at his side, but Yan Yuan grabbed his wrist.


    "How can this be?..."


    Bright red liquid seeped out from Xuan Long''s fingers and dripped onto the brocade blue bedding. Yan Yuan placed the bowl on the wooden board beside the bed and forcefully spread out Xuan Long''s hand, and his whole body froze.


    "Why are you coughing up blood..."


    "Didn''t you suffer an external injury?"


    Xuan Long was lying flat on his back, his face turned towards the inner side of the bed. From Yan Yuan''s angle, all that could be seen was the hideous scar on the right side of his face, which could hardly be hidden from view in the candlelight.


    ¡°Speak!" Yan Yuan growled low.


    "The porridge, it''s too hot." Xuan Long returned in a faint voice.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes darkened: "Why didn''t you cry out that it was hot?"


    Xuan Long did not reply to him, he did not move, as if he was going to sleep again.


    Yan Yuan took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his palm, the snow-white handkerchief turned bright red, with a faint cold fragrance, and it was incredibly beautiful.


    After wiping it off, he put the handkerchief aside and picked up the bowl again, softening his tone a little, "Eat some more."


    Xuan Long did not respond. Yan Yuan stood up to look at him and found that his eyes were closed and he had fallen asleep.


    The overly quiet look frightened Yan Yuan.


    Hua Niang, who had just been sent out of the palace, was summoned back in the middle of the night.


    The guards barged into the house while Hua Niang was eating with her two-year-old daughter. The crowd of people scared the little girl and made her cry. When she arrived at Qiankun Palace, the child was already asleep in her arms, her skin pink and white, her eyelashes pale pink, her nose slightly inflamed, she was as delicate as a carefully carved work of art.


    Seeing Yan Yuan staring straight at the little person in her arms, Hua Niang tightened her grip on the child warily: "... What are you up to again?"


    Yan Yuan withdrew his gaze, "He coughed up blood today, you didn''t tell me that plucking scales would make him cough up blood. What''s wrong with him?"


    Glancing at the palace staff next to her, someone immediately stepped forward to take the child from Hua Niang''s hand.


    "Check on him first, I won''t hurt you or your daughter."


    After confirming that the child would not leave her sight, Hua Niang let go of her hand. She walked to the bedside and checked Xuan Long''s pulse with her spiritual sense, and after a few breaths, she withdrew her hand and said, "It is an illness caused by accumulated depression."


    Yan Yuan frowned: ¡°An illness caused by accumulated depression?"


    This kind of illness often happens to human beings¡­ Can demons also suffer from depression?


    Hua Niang lowered her eyes, looked at Xuan Long''s lifeless face and said softly, "Well... because A''Long is in a bad mood. If you are kinder to him, he will recover from it."


    In fact, there is no such thing as a pent-up illness, but because his soul power has declined so much that even his body has begun to weaken at an accelerated rate, he will not have more than a year left.


    If Yan Yuan treated him better, took good care of him, and didn''t always bully him and make him suffer in a way he shouldn''t, Xuan Long might be able to live longer, but no longer than a year.


    "You better not be lying or you''ll definitely regret it."


    "... I''m not lying." Hua Niang said in a low voice.


    Yan Yuan saw that she did not look different and believed her for the time being: "Should some medicine be prescribed?"


    Hua Niang shook her head: "No, you can just make him happier every day and he will be fine."


    Yan Yuan bent down and grabbed Xuan Long''s cold hand, putting it into the bedding, "I understand."


    As Hua Niang took her sleeping daughter from the palace attendant, she heard Yan Yuan ask from behind her, "Is this a child you had with a human?"


    Hua Niang froze: "No... her father is a snow wolf demon."


    Yan Yuan stared at her cute little face: "How come I don''t see wolf ears on her head."


    Hua Niang stroked her daughter''s fluffy little curly hair, her expression soft: "She is like me, her original body is a flower like mine, she has no ears."

 CH 82

    The next day, Xuan Long woke up to find himself in Yan Yuan''s arms, or to be more precise, the other man was wrapped around him like an octopus: his legs resting on him, his hands circling his neck, pressing his stomach with a vague pain.


    Xuan Long gasped with difficulty, and just as his hand pushed up against Yan Yuan''s chest, the latter opened his eyes. Yan Yuan withdrew his leg and, extremely naturally, lowered his head and kissed him on the corner of his forehead.


    "Awake?"


    "You coughed up blood yesterday and scared me."


    ¡°Hua Niang said that you were suffering from accumulated depression... If you feel bored staying in this palace, after your injuries get better, I will take you out of the palace for a while, it just so happens that there is a temple fair next month which is very lively."


    Xuan Long didn''t understand why Yan Yuan could still act as if he cared for him when they had both come to this point. Wasn''t it tiring to act like this?


    At least he, the audience, was already feeling tired.


    Xuan Long looked away, trying not to look at him as much as possible, "You should take your empress."


    It was overcast and gloomy outside the window, threatening to rain soon, and the hall was dark as well.


    Yan Yuan felt that Xuan Long was deliberately seeking displeasure, and his face darkened: "You think I treat you badly, and now that I''ve tried to be nice to you, you don''t appreciate it. Then tell me, what do you want to do?"


    He doesn''t want to do anything.


    He just wants to stay in peace and quiet and live out the last days of his life.


    Xuan Long: "I want... to go."


    Yan Yuan: "Impossible, don''t even think about it!"


    The cracked wall can''t be mended so easily, and a relationship that''s shaky when the wind blows won''t be restored to its original state by a cheap gesture of goodwill.


    The unreserved love and trust that had been squandered once was like a river flowing away, never to return.


    It''s just that Yan Yuan still doesn''t understand.


    He thought that Xuan Long was easy enough to coax, easy enough to deceive, and that he would be able to hold him peacefully until he grew old, and that a slap on the wrist and a sweet date would be a great gift. (Angel: Slap on the wrist and a sweet date means that after hurting someone, you will give them benefits.)


    Xuan Long knew it was useless to say more, so he stopped talking.


    After Yan Yuan yelled at him, he began to regret it. Hua Niang had already said that Xuan Long was in a bad mood and was coughing up blood because of his depression, so why should he bother with someone who was sick?


    "Alright, let''s not argue, okay?"


    "What do you want to eat for breakfast?"


    "You''ve been in a coma for so long and you ate so few mouthfuls of porridge last night, you must be starving, I''ll accompany you to have breakfast before going to court."


    Xuan Long looked inside at the snow-white walls, "Where is Hu Le?"


    The only thing he was worried about now was the child in his belly and the little fox.


    Yan Yuan''s brow wrinkled slightly, "He is already outside the door. From now on, he will only be allowed to be a gatekeeper outside the door, he will not be allowed to entangle himself with you too much in the hall, lest he say something that should not be said and lead you astray."


    Xuan Long: "His injury... is it healed?"


    Yan Yuan coldly lowered his face, "I don''t know."


    Xuan Long struggled to back away from Yan Yuan''s arms, wanting to go out and take a look, however he had little strength and was instantly pressed back into Yan Yuan''s arms. Yan Yuan leaned in and covered his body.


    "All you know is thinking about him, why don''t you care about whether I''m okay?"


    This was so uncalled for that Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes turned to him, seeing his face flushed and his skin glowing, and moved his lips, "Why do you need me to care?"


    Yan Yuan''s black face was unforgiving: "That is no reason for you to go against me."


    One moment it was Yan Huo Heng, the next it was Hu Le, just how many things was this dragon hiding behind his back?


    Xuan Long was not very articulate, so he was no match for Yan Yuan: "... Get out of my way."


    Yan Yuan snorted, "Unless you admit that you love me, I won''t allow you to go out and see him."


    "......" Xuan Long''s body stiffened and he turned his face away, closing his eyes.


    Yan Yuan twisted his face around, ¡°Say it."


    Xuan Long''s pale lips were pursed tightly, his expression stubborn.


    Yan Yuan stared at the man beneath him with his eyes closed for a moment, then leaned close to him and smiled softly, rubbing his thumb over the ugly scar: "They say it is difficult to open your mouth when you are deep in love. You are hesitating... then you must love me very, very much. Isn''t that right?"


    Xuan Long lowered his voice: "No..."


    Yan Yuan''s expression changed and his fingers pressed down heavily: "No?"


    Xuan Long felt the scar on his face that he was born with suddenly stinging sharply, as if a blazing fire was burning, and in a trance, a monstrous karmic fire appeared before his eyes, suffocating with red on all sides.


    When he was struck by the demon blade in his chest, he knew he was going to die, but he held on to his last breath and waited for the man to come and see him one last time. Fearing that the man would cry, he coaxed him saying that he was not in pain, when in fact it was very painful. The magic blade pierced his chest, and the pain of that wound would strike right through his soul, tugging at the fact that even breathing was painful.


    It was just as painful as it was now.


    He does not understand why he recalled such a nonsensical dream he had thousands of years ago, perhaps because of the deep despair that was no different from this moment. At that time, it was because of the knowledge that he was about to leave, and now it was because the man he had once thought to be his lover had cruelly revealed the scars of his heart over and over again, leaving him to bleed.


    ¡°... Never loved."


    Such an answer, could Yan Yuan be satisfied?


    Thinking about it, he was not very satisfied. The hand clinging to his face turned to move to his neck and suddenly applied force: "You are lying."


    Xuan Long always felt pain in Yan Yuan''s presence, but compared to the pain in his heart, any external injuries on his body, including the gruesome wound on his back, were practically insignificant.


    "Never... loved."


    Yan Yuan was so angry that his chest rose and fell violently, and the bruises on the back of his hand flared up as if he wanted to strangle him alive, but he actually kept his strength collected. He quickly loosened his strength and leaned close to the man beneath him, his lips touching Xuan Long''s from time to time as he spoke, smirking.


    "Hmph, you''re just lying to yourself with your mouth. If you didn''t love me, would you have picked me up and returned me to the thousand-year-old pond? Would you have plucked the inverse scale to heal my body and take care of me?"


    "Would you have willingly fallen beneath me, let me fuck you, and insisted on having my children?"


    "You clearly love me too much... and you still won''t admit it."


    Xuan Long was always stubborn. Yan Yuan was tired of it and was too lazy to dwell on it with him, anyway, such things can be known in one''s heart, and Xuan Long''s denial will not change the fact.


    "There are many people who care about me, indeed, you are not the only one."


    When he got out of bed and put on his shoes, Yan Yuan felt something under his buttocks that was particularly prickly. He got up and turned around to see a pointy tip under the mattress, which appeared to be some kind of silver jewellery.


    Yan Yuan pulled it out and looked at it, his pretty eyebrows wrinkling.


    "Why is this silver hairpin here with you?¡±


    Xuan Long twisted his head to look as an afterthought, and was also stunned to see the silver hairpin with cloud patterns in Yan Yuan''s hand. He had few things, and most of the cupboards and drawers in the hall were empty, so if he had put the silver hairpin in those places, it would have been easily discovered.


    This was just as embarrassing to him as Yan Yuan''s naked revelation of his thoughts. The Han Po who fell in love with Yan Yuan, the Han Po who was willing to pluck his scales to save someone for Yan Yuan, and the Han Po who bought this silver hairpin identical to Ning Zhiyu''s at the stall, were all pathetic jokes.


    Xuan Long strained to sit up, not even feeling the pain in his back at this point, and held out his hand towards Yan Yuan: "Give it back to me."


    Yan Yuan laughed: "Give it back?"


    "This is a gift I bought for A''Yu from a stall when I accompanied him out of the palace for the last Qixi Festival, why do you have it here?"


    "No wonder he lost that one and couldn''t find it, it was stolen by you."


    Xuan Long didn''t explain and stubbornly held up his hand, the movement tugging at the wound. Cold sweat seeped from the corner of his forehead, "... This is mine. Give it back to me."


    Yan Yuan held up the not-so-delicate silver hairpin in his hand with amusement, "Yours, where did you get it? I didn''t expect you to be so filthy, stealing the fish last time was enough, but you even want to take A''Yu''s silver hairpin. What are you thinking?"


    There wasn''t really much difference between admitting that he had done something as ridiculous as that and the other person thinking he had stolen something.


    Both would leave one ashamed of oneself.


    Xuan Long withdrew his hand in silence, no longer struggling in vain, and hung his eyes without saying anything.


    Yan Yuan was quite happy: ¡°A''Yu was upset for a long time when he lost this silver hairpin, I have to take it back to him and surprise him on the day of his birthday. If you want, there are plenty of treasures in the treasury, just let me know, there is no need to engage in such petty thievery."


    "I know you envy him, the good he gets from me, but you shouldn''t take what is his."


    "When I have finished my court work today, I will go and choose a new hairpin to give you, so don''t think too much about it."


    "......"


    When the time came, Chen Yan called Yan Yuan outside to go to court, and Yan Yuan left with the silver hairpin in his hands with great joy.


    Didn''t this prove that Xuan Long cared for him?


    When the silver hairpin was lost, Xuan Long''s spiritual power was still there and he knew the invisibility technique, it was not surprising that he could know that the silver hairpin was his gift to A''Yu for him for the Qixi Festival, which was an easy thing to do.


    It would have been even easier to take his belongings.


    Yan Yuan knew that Xuan Long himself did not care about such material things. That is why he was more and more pleased, and he was full of joy throughout the morning court without even knowing it.


    The moment the door of the palace closed, the large Qiankun Palace returned to silence. Xuan Long fished the Iris jade pendant out from under the couch and looked at it for a long time in a daze, his fingertips rubbing over it, it was so cold that it contained no warmth.


    Recalling all that had happened before and looking at it again, he closed his palm and tried to throw the jade pendant out, but his arm was too weak to lift it.


    Yan Yuan had not lied to him this time, Hu Le had indeed been released. He had fed him blood before leaving the dungeon that day, so his wounds were not infected and he had already recovered by now. It¡¯s just that the food in the prison was not good, so Hu Le lost a lot of weight.


    Xuan Long asked Xiao Zhanzi to bring food to him and asked Hu Le to come in to eat, but Hu Le refused, fearing that if he angered Yan Yuan, Yan Yuan would vent his anger on Xuan Long. It would be fine if it was him, but Xuan Long could never withstand it.


    He did not know what threat he had received from Yan Yuan, but Hu Le refused to even see Xuan Long for a prolonged period of time, so Xuan Long had to go inside and talk to Hu Le through the door.


    "Hu Le... there is something I would like to ask you."


    "Go ahead."


    "In a few months, the baby will be born¡­ then I will try to find a way to convince Yan Yuan to let you go, and you will raise him for me¡­ okay?"

 CH 83

    It''s Better To Not See Each Other


    "Not good, your child is naturally for you to raise yourself, what kind of thing would it be to leave little master to me?" Hu Le''s voice was hoarse. "Impossible... I will never agree. If you dare to die, I will never forgive you, much less raise your child for you."


    The reason Yan Yuan held him prisoner was to use him to hold Xuan Long at bay.


    If Xuan Long was alive, he would not let him go. If he was willing to let him go, it would be because Xuan Long was no longer alive. Xuan Long now had nothing, as his Tao was scattered, and all he could use as leverage was his heart.


    Hu Le knew this, and so did Xuan Long.


    One of them was outside the door in his eunuch''s clothes, the other inside the hall in his profane clothes. Xuan Long was leaning against the door, the bulk of his weight resting on it, supporting his failing body, "Hu Le... I do not have much time left..."


    "I don''t care, you''re not allowed to die." Hu Le''s lowered voice had a thick nasal note. "I will find a way... even if we are destined to be imprisoned here and unable to leave, I will stay with you until I die."


    Xuan Long knew that Hu Le had a hard mouth and a soft heart, and that if he was ever gone, he would never leave the child behind. There was no point in saying more, lest someone overheard and Yan Yuan found out, it would cause unnecessary trouble again.


    A moment later, the closed door of the hall was opened.


    The hand was pale but beautiful, with long, straight finger bones and a very clean look. In his hand he held large pieces of food wrapped in kraft paper, the aroma enticing.


    "... You like this."


    It was roast chicken.


    Looking along the hand. Behind the not-so-large open doorway was the man''s bloodless, handsome face, his long hair blocking the scar on the right side of his face, his golden-turquoise pupils upright and piercingly cold, but it made Hu Le feel warm. He smiled as he reached out to take it.


    "It''s been a long time since I''ve had chicken, it''s still A''Po who treats me well, unlike the smelly jailers in the prison who only know how to treat me to a whip."


    "......"


    Hu Le felt that he had said the wrong thing and looked up, only to see Xuan Long looking at him in silence. Although there was no expression on his face, Hu Le knew that the other party must be having a hard time in his heart.


    This dragon was cold on the outside and warm on the inside, seemingly unapproachable but actually more pure and gentle than anyone else.


    Hu Le grinned, "I have thick skin, it doesn''t hurt."


    Xuan Long gently closed the door, blocking the line of sight between the two sides, his icy turquoise eyes misting with water.


    Pregnant and sleepy, and with his injuries, Xuan Long rarely woke up every day and slept almost the whole day. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes and opened them later, it would be dark.


    His time was getting shorter and shorter.


    That day, Yan Yuan said he would give him a silver hairpin, and when he came back at night, he asked the palace staff to bring him a wooden tray with brocade pads on which were dozens of hairpins, each of which was more exquisite than the one bought at the stall. Even someone as illiterate as Xuan Long knew that they must be worth a lot of money.


    Yan Yuan did not ask him to pick them out, but gave them all to him and asked him to take them.


    Xuan Long refused to take them and returned the ''token of love'' to Yan Yuan, asking him to take it away with him. As a result, Yan Yuan was furious and did not come over for a few days, so Qiankun Palace was much quieter.


    The wound on his back was not fully healed and had to be medicated every day. Hu Le was mostly outside the palace, and would only come in when he had to, such as to medicate Xuan Long.


    He would cry every time he looked at the gruesome wounds, at first choking back tears of pain, but now he was much better, his eyes were red at best, and he held back his tears.


    The wound medicine left behind by Hua Niang was not as good as the Immortal Muscle Powder of the Dragon Healer, and it was very painful to pour the powder into the flesh and blood. Xuan Long was always half dead after each dose of medicine and would fall asleep when he touched the bed and closed his eyes.


    This day, after dinner, Hu Le and Xiao Zhanzi came in to remove the dishes, and Hu Le stayed behind to administer the medicine to Xuan Long as usual.


    Xuan Long sat on his knees on the bed, his back facing outwards, and removed his loose-fitting robe to reveal his scabbed back. At this point, there was actually no need for external medicine, just internal medicine. However, the wound was so large that when he got up every day, it would be stretched and cracked in several places, which made the healing process slower and slower.


    Hu Le approached with the vial of medicine and carefully sprinkled the powder over the scabbed cracks, which oozed blood from the deep cracks, stinging his eyes.


    The body beneath his hand shivered imperceptibly.


    "If you are in pain... then shout out, shout out and you will feel better."


    Xuan Long spoke in a hoarse voice, "It''s nothing, it''s not very painful."


    Hu Le didn''t speak anymore, afraid that if he spoke, his crying voice would leak out and upset Xuan Long. There was silence in the hall when the door suddenly opened outside and the sound of steady, strong footsteps approached, soon followed by a gloomy voice.


    "What are you doing?"


    Hu Le turned his head to look. Yan Yuan had stopped at a spot not far away, the dim candle light reflecting dangerously on his face, obviously misunderstanding something again.


    It was a funny question, who was the person who had done this to Xuan Long? He had the nerve to ask what they were doing. Subconsciously, he wanted to dislike him, but the only words that came out were two faint ones:


    ¡°Applying medicine."


    A good man will not eat his words. One day, this dog emperor will fall into his hands, and he will see how he will seek justice for A''Po.


    Yan Yuan frowned and went over to take a look. He was indeed applying medicine, but he was still uncomfortable when Xuan Long was taking off his clothes and belt in front of others like this. He held out his hand towards Hu Le, "Give it to me. Get out."


    A man and a fox stood at a standstill for a moment. Hu Le looked at Xuan Long''s back and finally relented, indignantly putting the medicine bottle into Yan Yuan''s hand and saying in a soft voice, ¡°A''Po, I''ll go out first, call me if you need anything."


    Xuan Long responded, and when Hu Le went out, Yan Yuan spoke as he wrapped his bandages, "From now on, I will be the one to help you change the medicine, or call Xiao Zhanzi to come, that fox is not allowed to be this close to you."


    Xuan Long had become accustomed to Yan Yuan''s overbearing despotism and incomprehensibility, and it was useless to resist, so he just kept silent.


    After half a column of incense had passed, Xuan Long picked up his clothes and tried to put them on, but Yan Yuan bent down and snatched the blood-stained robes: "It''s all dirty, change it."


    He then ordered Xiao Zhanzi to fetch clean robes.


    At his angle, he could see the front of Xuan Long''s body, his long, waterfall-like hair tucked to one side and hanging down on the bed. Looking from the top down, his nose was high and well-defined. Yan Yuan''s eyes fell on his round stomach and raised his hand to touch it, "It''s only been a few days since I''ve seen you, why does it feel like your belly has grown some more..."


    Xuan Long¡¯s boy froze, reflexively clasping Yan Yuan''s wrist, his eyebrows slightly wrinkled.


    Yan Yuan retracted his hand: "I just want to touch it. This little one is growing too fast."


    Xiao Zhanzi soon brought the robes. Xuan Long put them on quietly and lay down on the bed, face in and back out, with a lazy attitude towards Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan sat down on the side of the bed, fished out a silver hairpin from his lapel, climbed onto the bed and encircled Xuan Long from behind, holding the silver hairpin up in front of him.


    "Look, I had this specially made by a silversmith, it''s different from the one I gave you last time. The design was drawn by me personally, doesn''t it resemble your original form?"


    The silver hairpin was of old craftsmanship, with a ball-shaped tail and a living dragon coiled on a small silver ball, with one of its horns broken off. The shape truly resembled that of Xuan Long. The most novel feature was that an iris blossomed in the dragon''s curved body.


    "......" Xuan Long wondered what Yan Yuan was trying to do again.


    Did he want to tell him to take the silver pin and end the child... or were there not enough dragon scales again?


    Yan Yuan did not know what Xuan Long was thinking, he just felt that this dragon was ignoring him. It was very different from before and made him very uncomfortable, so he tried to cheer him up.


    His right arm went under Xuan Long''s neck and changed to hold the silver hairpin in his right hand, while his left hand encircled Xuan Long''s body and lightly covered his towering stomach, smiling as he explained, "The dragon is you and the iris represents me. I know you don''t like those things that are everywhere, so I had a unique one made. You¡¯ll always like it, right?"


    Xuan Long pushed Yan Yuan''s hand away from touching his stomach and whispered, "... I don''t like it."


    Yan Yuan cheekily put his hand back, "Why don''t you like it? Aren''t you just angry that I gave A''Yu a hairpin and didn''t give it to you? This hairpin was made by the imperial craftsman in the palace, it''s much better than A''Yu''s, and a hundred times better than those in the state treasury."


    Xuan Long murmured, "I don''t like any of the ones you gave me."


    What he wanted was not a silver hairpin, what he wanted was a unique bond, a heartfelt relationship, something he cherished. Yan Yuan could not give him that. He had once expected it, but now he did not want it.


    He didn''t want anything anymore.


    Yan Yuan suppressed the unhappiness rising up in his heart: "Then who will you be happy with receiving something from?"


    Xuan Long: "I will be happy with anyone''s gift. Only you¡­ it¡¯s better not to see each other. Seeing you, it¡¯s annoying."


    Doesn''t this mean that seeing him is annoying?


    Yan Yuan''s face instantly changed. He withdrew his hand and sat up, pulling Xuan Long''s arm to force him to turn around.


    "Do you want to be upset?"


    Rubbing his back across the bed, there was a sharp stabbing pain. Xuan Long''s face turned pale, his lips pursed and he quietly turned his face away, closing his eyes and ignoring him.


    "Fine, take it or leave it."


    There was a thunderous thud from his side, and Yan Yuan got up and got out of bed, throwing the hairpin heavily to the floor, the not-so-sharp end of the hairpin making a crater in the dark wood floor.


    "Looks like I''ve been treating you too well!"


    Yan Yuan''s habit of slamming doors had probably only come about after he met Xuan Long, and the door to the side hall was probably almost broken by him, but fortunately he was the emperor and could be capricious enough to repair ten thousand doors even if he broke them.


    The silver hairpin rolled under the bed with a plop, leaving a small pit in its place. Xuan Long stared at the missing piece of paint, as if he was thinking about something, but also as if he was thinking about nothing.


    Almost every time Yan Yuan came to Qiankun Palace, he left in a rage, and as soon as his back disappeared, Hu Le had to nervously enter the palace door to see if Xuan Long was alright.


    Only when he saw that the man was fine did Hu Le go out with relief.


    In fact, this was a good thing for Xuan Long. If Yan Yuan had stayed and asked Xuan Long to relieve his desires like a beast, Xuan Long would not have been able to bear it with his current body.


    With such a big belly, he could not afford to do it.


    He thought that tonight would be a night of hard-earned peace and quiet, but an hour after Yan Yuan left, he returned, wearing a different set of clothes.


    The original dragon robe was replaced with a silver robe of the highest quality, and his aura was icy cold, but he showed no signs of anger.


    Xiao Zhanzi bowed with trepidation and opened the hall door for Yan Yuan, and Hu Le stared intently at his back, his brow wrinkling.


    "Wait."


    The man paused in his tracks.


    Hu Le looked warily at his tall back, "Who are you?"


    Xiao Zhanzi shuddered and lowered his voice, "Xiao Hu Le, are you stupid, this is the Emperor, who else could..."

 CH 84

    Get Out of Here


    The man did not turn around, but stepped through the door a few breaths later, and Hu Le watched as Xiao Zhanzi stepped forward to close the door gently, his hands hanging at his side in a tight grip.


    The wax on the candlestick had burned down to a small flame, and the dim candlelight barely illuminated the scene in the hall. As Xuan Long drifted off to sleep, he heard footsteps approaching on his side of the bed, and he raised his eyes to see that the tall figure was somewhat indistinct.


    The man crouched down on the side of the bed.


    "... I''m late."


    The other person was wearing Yan Yuan''s face, but was not Yan Yuan. When you love someone deeply, no matter what the other person becomes, you will not mistakenly identify them.


    Xuan Long looked at the face that was identical to Yan Yuan''s, only colder, and asked wearily, "Who are you?"


    "An old friend." The man''s voice was low and hoarse, and it sounded familiar.


    Xuan Long murmured, "An old friend..." He never had any old friends.


    As Xuan Long watched, the other man moved his hand to the base of his ear and slowly removed a human skin mask from where his jaw met his neck, revealing his original face.


    Xuan Long remembered the night of the assassination in the Hall of Peace, remembered the day when he was being talked about in the palace, and how this man had relieved him and returned his mask.


    "It is you..."


    Yan Huo Heng looked deeply into the man''s pale face, "It''s me. I''ve come to take you away."


    Xuan Long didn''t quite understand why the other man would say such a thing. He had tried to kill him that night. Instead of taking it personally, he had gone to the trouble of disguising himself as Yan Yuan and appeared here. Why?


    If he wanted to take revenge, he figured he could succeed at this moment.


    "Why are we leaving?"


    There were emotions under Yan Huo Heng''s dark eyes that Xuan Long couldn''t understand: "Because you''ve had a bad time."


    Xuan Long sullenly said, "I am not familiar with you."


    Yan Huo Heng was silent for a long time, then lifted his right hand and lifted up his wide sleeve robe, revealing a large, hideous wound on his lower arm, which was the same as the burn marks on Xuan Long''s face, even the colour was similar in shade.


    "It''s something I was born with, the same as you. I have often seen you in my dreams... I know that your name is A¡¯Po... Do you believe in past lives and present lives? I do."


    Because the dream was too real. From the time he was a child, there was a little Xuan Long running behind him and his brother, who was naughty and always teased him and treated him like a slave. Later, when the little dragon grew up and became a popular general in the heavens, his brother inherited the throne and married the dragon as his empress.


    The face that his younger brother wore was that of Yan Yuan.


    Before he met Xuan Long in this life, Yan Huo Heng had always thought that it was just an illusory dream, until the three faces in his dream came together in reality.


    The moment he saw Xuan Long, his heart tossed up waves of shock. All of the excitement, happiness, was never fake... which included the silly feelings in his heart.


    The person who treated Xuan Long the best was clearly him, but Xuan Long eventually became Yan Yuan''s empress. Even in this life, at the time of their meeting, Xuan Long was already Yan Yuan''s pet.


    He could always get this dragon easily, but he had never cherished it...


    In his last life, he did not protect him properly until the last moment...


    "I don''t have a name." Xuan Long said calmly, looking upwards. ¡°Han Po... is the name Yan Yuan gave me."


    The hoarse voice pulled back Yan Huo Heng''s thoughts and he spoke in a low voice, "That''s not important. What''s important is the future. Out of this palace gate, the sky is high and the sea is wide, yet you are still circling."


    It sounded so beautiful that Xuan Long smiled in a daze, gently tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I no longer know how to fly."


    The person on the side of the bed was silent for a long time: "Then it is better to walk."


    Xuan Long seemed to be tired and his voice dropped significantly: "I can''t walk anymore."


    The cold, beady face of Yan Huo Heng showed some unseen tenderness under the dim candlelight: "There are many war horses at the border, they can carry you wherever you want to go. If you get tired of the bumps, we can continue in a carriage."


    He didn''t want to ride in the carriage, he just wanted to lie still, to sleep and not wake up again, so that he wouldn''t hurt or feel sad anymore.


    The man in the bed was sleepy and did not speak, so Yan Huo Heng told him about his past life. He did not remember everything, only a few scattered major events that he remembered clearly, and only the strong feelings in his heart which he remembered clearly.


    The scattered dreams of broken images over the years were enough to form a story that was not quite complete.


    Xuan Long listened, finding it interesting. He opened his turquoise eyes, twisted his head to look at him and asked in a low voice, "I am the General, then what are you?"


    Yan Huo Heng: "Like you, I was a divine general guarding the Heavenly Palace of the Nine Heavens. I guarded the south and you held the north, and there were times when we would go to war together."


    Xuan Long: "Is that so..."


    ¡°En."


    Other people always seem to be grand when they say such ethereal words, but when they came from Yan Huo Heng''s mouth, it seemed like it really happened.


    No matter whether it was true or not, there was no way to find out. Xuan Long was glad that he had come here to tell him this, no matter what the purpose was. At least in the last days of his life, he had felt a little more care and warmth.


    Seeing the man close his eyes to sleep, Yan Huo Heng spoke in a low voice:


    "The Empress'' birthday is in three days'' time, there will be many courtiers and emissaries from the foreign countries coming to the palace for the dinner. We can leave in the chaos when the dinner is over."


    "Come with me."


    "I''ll take you away from here."


    Xuan Long moved his lips slightly: "Where will we go?"


    Yan Huo Heng: ¡°Anywhere, not this abyss-like Imperial City anyway."


    Xuan Long half opened his turquoise eyes: "He is watching me very closely... If I leave, it will surely drag the palace staff down with me, I can''t leave... Take Hu Le away for me."


    Yan Huo Heng knew who Hu Le was. He had already checked out all the details of the people around Xuan Long during this period of time.


    "Then take the two young eunuchs with you. If you stay, you will have a hard time, and he will kill you. And the child in your womb... what will happen? Will he be able to tolerate it?"


    Hearing him talk about the child, Xuan Long finally reacted, the hand under the bedding slowly sliding to the small of the bulging belly.


    The child, Yan Yuan could not tolerate it.


    Silence fell over the hall, and suddenly the frightened voice of Xiao Zhanzi came from outside the door.


    "Your¡­  Your Majesty?"


    "You just¡­ were you not just..."


    "What happened just now?" Yan Yuan stopped his steps towards the hall and turned his head to look at the stammering little eunuch, a smell of unabated gunpowder in his words.


    "Just now you..."


    "You just left, why are you back again?" Hu Le snatched the words.


    Yan Yuan sneered, "I can leave if I want to, I can stay if I want to, do I need you, an eunuch, to care?"


    The naked humiliation made Hu Le''s face turn blue and he opened his arms in front of Yan Yuan before he could enter: ¡°A''Po is already asleep, you are not allowed to go in and disturb him!"


    "Get lost!"


    Listening to the commotion coming from outside, Yan Huo Heng said unhurriedly, "In the evening, three days from now, my carriage will be waiting for you at Willow Lane near the Cold Palace. During the dinner, Yan Yuan will certainly mobilise many guards to the Hall of Peace, and there will be no guards near the Cold Palace, so once the hour of the sun has passed, you should immediately take the two little eunuchs and set off."


    "I will wait for you."


    The moment Yan Yuan pushed the door in, Yan Huo Heng tumbled out of the window silently, and with one leap he was on the roof, quickly disappearing into the night.


    The man who came inside was filled with anger, even in his footsteps, as if he was afraid that no one in the palace knew he was coming. Xuan Long pretended to sleep with his eyes closed. Yan Yuan stopped in front of the bed, and the more he thought about it, the more angry he became. He was having such a hard time, but this dragon slept soundly.


    Sitting down on the side of the bed, he reached out and pushed Xuan Long''s shoulder.


    "Wake up."


    He pushed so hard that Xuan Long could not continue to pretend, and he opened his eyes gently, turning his bulky body sluggishly not to look at him.


    Yan Yuan became even more furious, wanting to pick him up and teach him a lesson so that he would know what the rules were.


    But after all, he was pregnant and had a problem with depression, and besides, there was no comparison between a dragon who knew what the rules were and Ning Zhiyu.


    "Lie down."


    Xuan Long turned his back to him and asked softly, "What do you want now?"


    Yan Yuan: "To sleep! This is my bedchamber, so what? Do I have to ask you to come back and sleep?"


    Xuan Long did not move, "There is plenty of room in the palace for you to sleep."


    Why did he have to come to him?


    "I will sleep here tonight." Yan Yuan stood up, undressed in a few seconds and climbed into bed. When Xuan Long did not move, he slept on the inside of the bed, laying down and pulling the man into his arms.


    Xuan Long''s body ached all over from his rough movements and his sweat stained hands lifted to push him, "Don''t touch me..."


    "Don''t move, then I will be gentle." Yan Yuan''s voice came from above his head.


    When Xuan Long stopped struggling, Yan Yuan really did loosen his grip a bit, and the hand circling his waist and abdomen shifted to rest on his hip, where there was no injury that would hurt him.


    "You silly dragon, what the hell do I have to do to get a good look from you? I''m tired of seeing you look like a sulking oil bottle."


    Xuan Long took a long time to reply, "If you''re tired of looking... don''t look at me."


    Yan Yuan''s face was black: "Shut up and go to sleep!"


    He had originally gone to Luanfeng Hall, but he turned back halfway to the entrance of the palace. This dragon said that he was annoyed by the sight of him, so he had to hang around in front of his eyes and make him look at him.


    The next day, Yan Yuan had breakfast at Qiankun Palace before leaving. As soon as he left, Hu Le hurried in and asked who the person who had come last night was.


    At that time, after the man entered, Hu Le distracted Xiao Zhanzi for a moment, then went around to the window near the inner hall and listened at the corner for a while, making sure that the man was not a threat to Xuan Long before leaving, which is why he stopped Yan Yuan when he was about to enter to buy time for the two in the hall.


    Xuan Long truthfully told Hu Le what had happened since Yan Huo Heng had arrived, and Hu Le frowned, "Is that man worth trusting?"


    In theory, there was no reason for Xuan Long to trust someone he had only met a few times, and after suffering Yan Yuan''s deception, he had become even more wary. But the other party gave him the impression that he was not as ruthless and dangerous as Yan Yuan had said, and what was more, he was a dragon who had lost all his Tao skills, so what reason did Yan Huo Heng have to lie to him?


    It was better to gamble than to spend time in this cold prison... Even if Yan Huo Heng approached him with an ulterior motive, whatever he wanted, he would give it to him, as long as he kept Hu Le and the child in his womb safe.


    "Supposedly, we can trust him."


    Hu Le asked, "Then shall we go?..."


    Xuan Long sat at the table, staring out the window at the overcast sky, his slim body shrouded in the shadows of the hall, permeated by an unspeakable loneliness.


    "Let''s go."


    "In the evening, three days from now¡­ we''ll leave this place."

 CH 85

    You Deserve to Fall into the Eighteenth Circle of Hell


    In the evening, when Yan Yuan returned from the imperial study, he went to see Ning Zhiyu in the Luanfeng Hall. He had been in very bad spirits recently and had repeatedly wandered off during meals, not even hearing what Yan Yuan was saying.


    ¡°A''Yu, what''s wrong with you? Tomorrow is your birthday, why don''t you seem very happy? Did someone provoke you?"


    Ning Zhiyu returned to his senses and said with a faint smile, "It''s nothing."


    Yan Yuan frowned worriedly, "Are you not feeling well?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and took a spoon to fiddle with the crystal cake in the bowl, "No."


    Yan Yuan raised his hand to tuck the long hair around his face behind his ears and sighed, "Xuan Long refused to hand over the inner elixir, saying that he had to wait for the child¡­ when we have the inner elixir, your illness will be cured, don''t think nonsense. If you are unhappy with anything, tell me, I will help you solve it. "


    Ning Zhiyu replied in a low voice: "Mmm."


    Yan Yuan waved his hand and told Qingmei to leave, then picked up a soup spoon, scooped up a spoonful of black chicken soup and put it in front of Ning Zhiyu: "If you really can''t eat, have a bowl of soup, it''s not good to be so hungry."


    "Okay."


    Ning Zhiyu picked up the bowl and took a sip from the side of the bowl. As soon as the fragrant chicken soup with its golden oil entered his throat, a feeling of nausea surged up in his stomach and rushed straight to his throat.


    Yan Yuan was startled and hurriedly raised his hand to massage his back: "What''s wrong?"


    Ning Zhiyu kept vomiting, and when Qingmei was summoned by Yan Yuan, she hurriedly brought in a spittoon. Ning Zhiyu was holding the spittoon and vomiting, his hair scattered and he vomited out the few bites of food he had just eaten.


    His face was already ugly, and at this moment there was no blood left at all. He took the cloth handed to him by Yan Yuan and wiped the corners of his lips, the corners of his eyes red.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes turned to the dishes on the table, "Is there something wrong with this chicken soup?"


    Qingmei cautiously replied, "The chicken soup was tested with a silver needle before it was brought up."


    Yan Yuan frowned, "Then how could A''Yu suddenly vomit more than once? He has never done so before. Call the Imperial Doctor."


    Qingmei was about to go out when Ning Zhiyu clutched Yan Yuan''s sleeve: "No need, perhaps it''s because I ate too much yesterday and my stomach got upset. I''m a little tired, A''Yuan, carry me to bed."


    Yan Yuan grabbed his hand and laughed, "You have an appetite like a bird, how can you eat too much?"


    Ning Zhiyu laughed along, "Hmm."


    Seeing that he was indeed fine, Yan Yuan told Qingmei to go out and wait for him, and that there was no need to call the Imperial Doctor for the time being. He then picked up Ning Zhiyu and walked towards the bed. Ning Zhiyu hooked Yan Yuan''s neck and leaned on his chest.


    ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan looked down at him, "Hmm?"


    Ning Zhiyu: "... Nothing, just wanted to call you."


    Yan Yuan smiled and placed Ning Zhiyu gently on the bed, pulling back the quilt and covering him with it: "Sleep when you are tired."


    "Mhm." Ning Zhiyu loved to talk to Yan Yuan before going to sleep, but today he was surprisingly quiet, he answered softly and then closed his eyes.


    Yan Yuan stayed by the side of the bed until the moon rose above the branches, and when he saw Ning Zhiyu breathing steadily, he relaxed and got up to leave.


    The person behind him, who should have been asleep, opened his eyes, and when the footsteps were far away, Ning Zhiyu sat up slowly, propped up on the bed, and called hoarsely.


    "Qingmei."


    Qingmei came in and bowed: "What are Your Majesty''s orders?"


    Ning Zhiyu looked wooden: "You go... and call Imperial Physician Zong to come."


    The vomiting had actually started a few days ago. Qingmei was so anxious that she said she wanted to call the doctor to come and have a look, but Ning Zhiyu refused and told her not to tell anyone, saying he was afraid Yan Yuan would worry.


    When Qingmei saw that he was finally willing to call a doctor, she took Ning Zhiyu''s badge and left the palace in the night to ask for help at Zong Hua''s house.


    About two hours later, Qingmei brought Zong Hua, who was carrying a medicine chest, into the hall. Before starting to check his pulse, Ning Zhiyu sent all the palace staff away, leaving the doctor and him alone in the hall.


    Zong Hua took out a brocade handkerchief and laid it on Ning Zhiyu''s wrist, asking, "What is wrong with the Empress?"


    Ning Zhiyu: "When I see greasy food... I vomit."


    Zong Hua moved a little, and put two fingers up to diagnose the problem, and after a few breaths, he bent down and bowed, "Congratulations, Empress, this is a joyful pulse. I think it''s because that fertility medicine has taken effect."


    Ning Zhiyu''s brain buzzed, the heat in his body instantly retreated clean, his hands and feet cold: "Joyful pulse..."


    It was really a joyful pulse...


    He is pregnant with the demon''s demonic foetus...


    Zong Hua: "Exactly."


    "Don''t tell anyone." Ning Zhiyu''s eyes were red and his expression was dull. "Prescribe a set of abortion medicine to remove the fetus cleanly... cleanly."


    Zong Hua looked up hesitantly, "Empress, the baby in your womb is stable and healthy, if the Emperor knew about it, he would be happy, why should it be aborted?"


    Joy?


    Where did the joy come from?


    Ning Zhiyu turned his head to look at him, his face as white as a ghost, and he said softly, "Don''t ask the reason... just do as you are told. This matter, do not tell anyone... if it leaks out, your scholarly lover, your scholarly lover will not live in this world."


    Zong Hua''s eyebrows tightened slowly and he hung his head, "... Yes."


    Ning Zhiyu bowed his head, his green silk covering his cheeks: "You personally go and get the medicine, it has to be thick, boil ten times the amount..." Otherwise it may not come out.


    Zong Hua was puzzled: "Empress, for an ordinary foetus, just one pair of saffron will be enough to cleanly remove it, taking more will be extremely draining on the body."


    "Do as I say."


    Zong Hua ambled away, no longer persuading, and turned to leave, personally going to the Imperial Hospital to get the medicine.


    Ning Zhiyu lost his strength and fell back onto the bed, curling up as a wisp of black and red smoke rose from the top of his head, condensing into a sturdy figure at the edge of the bed.


    The demon had heard the whole conversation just now, and his evil cold red eyes stared blankly at Ning Zhiyu''s thin back.


    "... You have this honourable one''s child?"


    "......" Ning Zhiyu treated him like air.


    The demon clenched his fists and whispered, "You''re going to kill him..."


    "Or what?" Ning Zhiyu asked gently in return, "Do I have to leave behind a child of a flower thief?"


    The demon pursed his lips and said reluctantly, "That night was your..."


    "That night I would rather have died than be touched by a demon." Ning Zhiyu always spoke to him softly, but it was as cold as a sharp sword condensed into solid form, enough to penetrate the heart of a demon.


    The man behind him was quiet for a long time.


    "What''s so good about him? He doesn''t love you."


    Ning Zhiyu hooked his lips, "That''s still a hundred times, a thousand times better than you, a demon..."


    The demon''s fingertips sank deep into his palm, his red eyes flickering as he whispered, "It''s just the position of the Empress. Once my flesh is reshaped and I revive the demon race, I will make you the Demon Queen. I can just have you alone... the child..."


    "Get lost." Ning Zhiyu interrupted him.


    The demon paused.


    Ning Zhiyu: "Don''t tell me that you''re in love with me."


    The demon laughed indifferently, "How is that possible, this honourable one merely looks at you with pity and wants to be responsible for you."


    Ning Zhiyu''s words were soft and clear: "I don''t care. The farther you get away, the happier I am, I can''t wait for your soul to fly away, I can''t wait for you to never be reborn..."


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes."


    "Then I''m afraid I''ll have to disappoint you."


    When Qingmei came in with the abortion medicine, it was already dawn outside the window. The abortion medicine that was boiled with ten times the amount of saffron looked bright red, like fresh blood.


    The demon stood by the side. Except for Ning Zhiyu, no one else could see him. He watched helplessly as Ning Zhiyu drank every last drop of the pungent soup, his crimson pupils faintly showing a bloodthirsty intent.


    When Qingmei took the empty bowl and withdrew, cold sweat broke out at the corners of Ning Zhiyu''s forehead. It was obvious that the abortion medicine had already started to work, and the child was inevitably stripped from the mother''s body, so the pain was inevitable.


    "A demon like you, how could you have a child?"


    "You only deserve to be sent to the eighteenth level of hell to suffer the burning fire. Your soul being in the world will dirty the air of the world."


    The demon''s throat bulged as if he wanted to glare a hole in Ning Zhiyu''s face, but in the end he said nothing and disappeared in his place.


    Ning Zhiyu weakened in pain and his consciousness quickly became blurred.


    ......


    Perhaps because they will be leaving tomorrow night, Hu Le was extraordinarily exuberant. He was young, and it was normal for him to be overjoyed. He did not leave immediately after the evening meal, and stayed at the bedside with Xuan Long.


    ¡°A''Po¡­ we¡¯re leaving tomorrow night, have you thought about where we are going?"


    Xuan Long: "Where do you want to go?"


    Hu Le thought for a moment, "Let''s go to the elder of the fox clan first, and ask him to see if there is any way to extend your life."


    Xuan Long obliged, "Okay."


    Hu Le was always uneasy about the human race, "I''m afraid that person is not helping us with good intentions, but has ulterior motives..."


    "I will protect you." Xuan Long said seriously.


    Hu Le took Xuan Long''s cold hand and rubbed it heartily: "No way, it''s my turn to protect you and the baby."


    It was late at night and he thought Yan Yuan would not come, so Xuan Long spoke to Hu Le with confidence, his heart warming at his words, his eyes unintentionally touching his hand, his brow wrinkling slightly: "Your hand..."


    Although Hu Le''s wound had healed, the finger that had been trampled on had not healed and was hanging limply. The originally beautiful and slender finger was broken in several places, the bone inside had probably broken.


    Hu Le lowered the injured hand so that Xuan Long would not see it: "It''s alright, the fox clan elders have a way to heal it."


    "When your body is well, we will find a place with good mountains and rivers to live in seclusion and never venture into the mortal world again, okay?..."


    Xuan Long: "Mmm, okay."


    Hu Le chatted with him for a while, and seeing Xuan Long''s tired face, he said, "I''ll go out first then, go to sleep and call me if you need anything."


    Xuan Long: "Hmm."


    As Hu Le left the hall, he bumped into Yan Yuan. Xiao Zhanzi was not on night duty that night, so there was no one outside the side hall to keep watch and therefore no news of any movement came in. Both the man and the fox were stunned, and Yan Yuan frowned at him.


    "I thought I told you not to enter the hall at will."


    Hu Le had a cold face and stepped aside, ignoring him.


    Yan Yuan was too lazy to bother with him and passed by him to enter the hall. It wasn''t long before the sound of bed limbs shaking and the man''s low, muffled grunting came from inside, as if he was deliberately making it heard by someone.

 CH 86

    Inside the closed tent, Xuan Long''s hair was tangled under his naked body and his legs were forced to rest on Yan Yuan''s waist. The man''s arms were resting on the nooks of his knees, and he was so close to him, so hot at every turn, as if he truly was born to be joined with him and could not be separated.


    Yan Yuan leaned in and kissed him. The foetus in Xuan Long''s belly was getting bigger, so it was a little inconvenient to kiss him, but he could still be kissed with a good posture. Slowing down his movements, he pressed his lips against his and asked gently, "Are you comfortable?"


    Xuan Long''s cheeks were tinged with a faint red, and his heroic face showed a bit of magnificence in the dimness. He turned his face sideways without looking at Yan Yuan, revealing the hideous scar on the right side of his face, which looked extremely ugly, but Yan Yuan became more and more enthusiastic, and when he hugged him, he felt the urge to rub him into his bones and blood.


    In what should have been an affectionate atmosphere, Xuan Long simply ignored him, his sword brows knitted together in a concealed manner, as if he was repulsed and embarrassed. Yan Yuan could not get the answer he wanted and said discontentedly, "Why do you have to act as if I''ve humiliated you? At the very beginning, weren''t you happy to be like this with me?"


    Yan Yuan was not as rough as he had been before. He had brought a fresh jar of cream with him when he arrived and had just forced most of it on Xuan Long, and there was obviously something in it to help him. Xuan Long didn¡¯t feel the pain very much, and the strange pleasure rushed to his limbs, causing his body to tremble with the manipulation of the other party.


    He tried desperately to suppress the out-of-control feeling, but the other man was, after all, someone he had loved dearly, and there was no way to be indifferent when being treated with tenderness.


    Such weakness and inability to hold himself together disgusted Xuan Long. His fingers were white as he dug into the mattress, biting through the flesh in his mouth to gain a brief moment of clarity, his chest rising and falling irregularly, his breathing heavy.


    Yan Yuan was patient at first, but after being left out for so long, he had to find some other way to regain his presence, his peach blossom eyes showing animalistic lust. Xuan Long let out a few muffled grunts as Yan Yuan cupped his face and kissed him fiercely. No longer seeking answers, he smothered himself in what he wanted to do, whispering lovingly.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Po..."


    Hearing him call him that, Xuan Long''s heart suddenly ached dully, and his icy turquoise eyes looked up without focus as he murmured, "The past and today... are always different."


    Yan Yuan bit down on the man''s neck, holding his entire body underneath him: "Where is the difference? You''re still you, I''m still me. It''s obviously the same."


    Xuan Long''s voice was hoarse: "The difference..."


    Yan Yuan: "When I say the same, it means the same!"


    Xuan Long''s breathing was clearly disturbed by the tossing, but he still stubbornly spoke in a low, muffled voice: "It''s different."


    Yan Yuan became more and more ruthless: "It''s the same!"


    When he was gentle, he was a stalking dog, circling around, making people feel warm and affectionate. When he was ruthless, he was a cold-blooded and ruthless lion, capable of tearing people apart, leaving no trace of joy for the next person.


    Xuan Long gradually felt the pain, but did not make a sound. He just thought in a daze about something that had long ceased to be important at this point, and looked up at the youth above him, still young and beautiful as ever...


    You have a great future ahead of you.


    I have only ten years left to live.


    How can it be the same?


    It won''t be the same¡­ A''Yuan, we were born different.


    You can stand at the top of the hierarchy and look down on the world, deceiving others with ease to get what you want, while he is destined to be a piece of grass or dust to be trampled underfoot.


    How can they be the same?


    No wonder they have come to where they are today...


    Xuan Long felt pain just from looking at Yan Yuan''s face alone, a pain that was a thousand times greater than the pain his flesh was enduring, so he closed his turquoise eyes, unwilling to watch any longer.


    The man on top of him suddenly stopped, stunned.


    ¡°A''Po... what are you crying for?"


    Crying...


    Did he cry?


    Xuan Long raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eyes, and indeed touched a smear of wetness. He silently looked away.


    "It''s not. It''s just a bead of sweat."


    A bead of sweat coming out of the corner of his eye?


    Yan Yuan would not believe it.


    A being as strong as Xuan Long would not shed tears, and if he cried, it would be really painful and sad. Yan Yuan did not know what that meant, but was more or less panicked when he suddenly made him cry.


    He dared not continue to act arrogantly and finished hastily, so he took the man in his arms and prepared to sleep.


    It was strange, but when he slept with Ning Zhiyu recently, he always dreamed a lot at night and had trouble sleeping, but when he was with Xuan Long, he closed his eyes and opened them comfortably at dawn. Perhaps it was because the cold incense on Xuan Long''s body had a calming effect on his mind.


    The wound on Xuan Long''s back was no longer bleeding and would probably heal completely in a few more days. Yan Yuan hugged him from behind and wrapped him in his arms. This position made him feel safe, as if he was hugging something very impotant.


    His big palm crossed Xuan Long''s waist and belly and pressed against his towering belly, touching it gently. Xuan Long was sure that Yan Yuan would not hurt the baby recklessly, so he let him have his way, for it was impossible to stop him anyway.


    He just didn''t quite understand why Yan Yuan would act in such a misleading way when he clearly hated their child.


    The six-month foetus was already moving a lot, punching and kicking in his belly, always making a fuss over Xuan Long and being half-restless. At first he wondered whether the child was a boy or a girl, but now he was vaguely certain that it was a mischievous boy.


    He was more like Yan Yuan in temperament.


    As the days went by, the more Xuan Long began to think, worrying about whether others would not be able to control the child if he was no longer alive, or whether the child would be naughty and annoying.


    Will he freeze, starve or be bullied...


    The more he thought about it, the sadder he became. If he could live, even if the child in his womb was clumsy, it would still be his most cherished baby, and he would never let him freeze or starve and follow his old path.


    However, the road that he had tried so hard to pave was ultimately in vain... Yan Yuan was as disgusted with this child as his mother was with him, and the hand on Xuan Long''s belly at the moment made him feel uncomfortable.


    He was very sleepy, but couldn¡¯t fall asleep. The child in his belly suddenly kicked him heavily, Xuan Long let out a low gasp, long used to it, but Yan Yuan was so shocked that he froze, nervous.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "The child... he moved." Xuan Long whispered back.


    Just as the kick hit Yan Yuan''s palm, he wondered, "How could he move?"


    This was a silly question, but Yan Yuan had never had a child, so it seemed logical.


    "Hmm. If he is alive, he can move."


    Yan Yuan put his hand back on Xuan Long''s belly and continued to touch it, "This little thing is quite strong..."


    Xuan Long did not say anything.


    Yan Yuan was a little excited for no reason, "The last time Hua Niang came to the palace to check your pulse, I saw her daughter, she was as cute as a marshmallow..."


    Xuan Long paused and said, "I don''t know."


    "Since it is my seed, it should be like me." Yan Yuan mused to himself and added. "Would you say it is a male or female?..."


    Xuan Long didn''t know what he wanted to do. When he first knew he was pregnant, he had forced him to abort the foetus, but now he was discussing such an insignificant matter with him. He never knew what Yan Yuan was thinking.


    "... It should be a boy."


    "Is that so?" Yan Yuan was momentarily a little lost. "I think it''s better to have a daughter, so soft, sticky and cute."


    "......" Xuan Long pursed his lips, instinctively wary, sensing that Yan Yuan was likely to use this as an excuse to force him to abort the baby.


    But then he thought about it again, he would be leaving tomorrow anyway, so whatever Yan Yuan wanted, it was none of his business.


    Yan Yuan circled his arms around his waist and said behind his ear, "But both genders are allowed, whatever comes out of your belly will be my seed either way."


    Xuan Long: "What exactly do you want..."


    "Stupid dragon, don''t you understand what I mean?" Yan Yuan nibbled on his ear as he embraced him in his arms and laughed. "If you really want to give birth to this child, you can keep it... If he is born like a normal human being, then everyone will be happy, if he really has two dragon horns on his head, as you said that day, there are so many halls in the palace, we can feed him well and keep him warm, he just cannot go out all the time like a normal human being."


    Xuan Long had never thought that Yan Yuan would say something like that and was frozen.


    A different emotion welled up in his heart, more than anything else, it was heartache, heartache that his child could not live in the sunlight like ordinary beings just because he was the offspring of a human and a dragon.


    This was the same whether in the imperial palace or in the mortal world.


    He wished that the child was purely human, or a dragon like him, so that it would be easier to survive in the world, but whether it was human or dragon, or half human and half dragon, was not for him to decide...


    Yan Yuan: "Are you happier now?"


    Xuan Long replied in a low voice: "I am happy."


    Yan Yuan frowned at his perfunctory response and turned Xuan Long around by his shoulders, "You are lying, why do I see no joy on your face..."


    Xuan Long did not meet Yan Yuan''s eyes: "Your Empress, how can he tolerate it?"


    Yan Yuan was silent for a moment and said, ¡°A''Yu and I are married, and I have an heir with you. He will be sad, but he has a good heart, if you are determined to keep it, he will not force you to abort it. It is just that the child, like you, cannot have a name, and if the people know that he is an heir born of a dragon, it will be more and more difficult for him to gain a foothold in the palace, and he will be talked about. If you are willing, let him call A''Yu mother."


    "......"


    Seeing that Xuan Long lowered his head and did not speak, Yan Yuan continued.


    "I know you are not willing. When the child is born, it will still be placed by your side for you to raise yourself, don''t worry. When he grows up, I will find a proper status for him, such as imperial guard or something, so that he can be close to you, and if he has talent, he can also join the court as an official. Okay?"


    Of course, all of this was based on the fact that the child would be a normal human being.


    If he gave birth to a pair of dragon horns, Yan Yuan would not be as eager as he was claiming now. When he was no longer alive and Yan Yuan threw the child into the palace at will... an unpopular royal son would be trampled on at will, not to mention an unnamed child of unknown origin.


    Xuan Long no longer trusted Yan Yuan.


    He could afford to lose, but his child, he had to live well¡­ Compared to Yan Yuan, he trusted Hu Le more.


    ¡°En."


    Yan Yuan felt that he had arranged it properly, and seeing that Xuan Long answered, he hugged him and slept peacefully.


    Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

 CH 87

    Block the Sword


    The next day Yan Yuan rose early to go to court as usual. Chen Yan came in to help him change, Yan Yuan opened his arms and let him put on his dragon robe, and said to the closed tent on his side, "Today is A''Yu''s birthday. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow there will be a visit from a delegation from a foreign country. These days are very busy and I should not have time to come and see you."


    "......" Xuan Long lay flat in his bed and did not say a word.


    The jade and beads of the imperial crown draped over the edge of his face clinked together.


    "If you miss me, send for me. If I''m in a good mood, I might make some time to come over."


    Xuan Long closed his eyes, "No need."


    Yan Yuan''s face darkened, and he got up angrily and left.


    Having tossed and turned until midnight last night, Xuan Long was physically and emotionally exhausted. After bracing himself to get up and have breakfast, he drifted off to sleep, and when he woke up again, it was already dark.


    The soul-eating pain flared up without warning. His vision blurred with pain, he was covered in cold sweat, and his turquoise eyes were laxly open. A hole had been gouged in the bedding beneath him, and his fingers were bloodied, but he felt no pain.


    Hu Le grabbed his hand to stop him from continuing to hurt himself. Xuan Long unconsciously tried to break free, and Hu Le clutched his wrist tightly, coaxing in a muffled voice.


    "Don''t move..."


    "Don''t move..."


    "Be good, A''Po, it won''t hurt in a while... it won''t hurt in a while..."


    Xuan Long did quiet down, his out-of-focus eyes struggling to gather on the stunningly beautiful face of the person beside the bed.


    "Hu Le..."


    ¡°En, it''s me." Hu Le''s eyes were bloodshot at the corners. "It won''t hurt in a while."


    So many times, Xuan Long had had attacks of illness and pain and had pulled through in this way. Apart from comforting him in this way, there was nothing Hu Le could do.


    There was nothing anyone could do to help him.


    Nothing could be done to help him, except to find the fox elders and give him a chance of survival.


    His attacks were getting longer and longer. At first it was only a quarter of an hour, a few cups of tea, and Xuan Long''s consciousness was still clear when he had an attack. But now it was hardly ever less than an hour each time, and he was in so much pain that he sometimes couldn''t even recognise himself. Today''s was a light one.


    Hu Le took a handkerchief and gently wiped the cold sweat from the corners of Xuan Long''s forehead, talking to him in a casual manner, not knowing if Xuan Long was listening or not.


    "We''ll be able to leave soon..."


    "Bear with it a little longer... it will be fine..."


    Xuan Long could vaguely hear him, but he didn''t have the strength to answer him. Closing his eyes made him feel better, but he couldn''t avoid the sharp pain that mingled with every breath, like a knife stabbing him repeatedly in the throat.


    Every inch of his veins hurt, not just the flesh on the surface, but the unbearable tearing from the depths of his soul.


    But he endured it all.


    If it were a normal person, they would have been so distressed by one attack that they would have committed suicide to relieve themselves. He had endured numerous attacks... and for the sake of his unfinished business, for the sake of his duty, he had to live.


    He had to live at least until the moment the child was born.


    Whether man or god, once the heart has faith, all the suffering of the outside world will become unimportant. Hu Le knew that Xuan Long was strong enough, and because of this, his heart went out to this man who could bear any suffering in silence.


    Is it true that those who do not cry out in pain do not suffer...


    About half an hour later, the man who was shivering from pain finally quieted down, his profane clothes drenched with cold sweat and chilled to the bone. Hu Le changed him into dry clothes and wrapped Xuan Long tightly in a quilt, revealing only a pale face.


    ¡°A''Po, you can sleep a little longer, there is still an hour left, I will call you when the time comes.¡±


    Xuan Long''s eyelids were too heavy to lift, and he responded in a trance, "Mmm..."


    Hu Le was distressed to the core: "Do you have anything to pack? I''ll go and put it away in advance."


    "... No." Xuan Long took a long time to move his lips.


    When he came, he was all alone, and when he left, he would not take anything with him. Although some things in this hall were given to him by Yan Yuan, they did not belong to him.


    For example, the gorgeous basalt robe in the wardrobe, or the silver hairpin Yan Yuan had forcibly left behind in front of the bronze mirror.


    "Okay." Hu Le said in a soft voice. "When we get out, I will support you, and I will feed you and the baby until you are plump and healthy."


    Although he had lost his Tao, his hunting skills had not diminished, and there were plenty of fish and fowl in the mountains, forests and streams, more than enough to feed two dragons.


    He could almost foresee that good life already...


    After they go to the fox clan for medical treatment, they will choose an untouched valley where the woods are lush and the water is clear, so they can build a hut by the stream. It doesn''t need to be spacious, just big enough for the three of them to live in.


    If Xuan Long gave birth to a son, he would teach him to shoot arrows and hunt, if he gave birth to a daughter... if he gave birth to a daughter, he would still teach her to shoot arrows and hunt, after all, he did not know how to do the female jobs.


    Thinking of this, the corners of Hu Le''s lips curled up and he looked at Xuan Long''s raised belly beneath the bedding and began to anticipate the birth of that little thing. Even if the little thing had human blood in it, he would treat it well once it came out of Xuan Long''s belly.


    A gust of wind swept past behind him and Hu Le felt a chill run down his back, shrinking back and not caring until a cold, sarcastic voice rang out from behind him.


    "You''ve got a good place to hide."


    The sound of footsteps slowly approached from behind, each step stepping on Hu Le''s heart as if insects were crawling across his skin, raising goosebumps. He stiffened, the demon who had always been unruffled by heaven and earth, at this moment, had panic appear in those beautiful fox eyes.


    After escaping from that hell, he would dream of the man who had mistreated him like a beast, who had used scissors to cut off his tongue when he was disobedient, who had said that fox demons were lascivious by nature, and that in order to prevent him from going out and harming good women, he had cut off his weapon and scalded the wound with fire so that he could not be a man. He said that he was unworthy of being a living being in the world, so he used a knife to carve the word ''skinny'' onto his heart, venting himself on his body and humiliating him wantonly...


    Two months had passed and most of the wounds on his body had healed, but the word ''skinny'' on his heart could not be removed unless the skin was cut away with a knife because of the special potion poured on it when it was carved.


    The small part of the tongue that had been cut off had grown back because of the blood from Xuan Long, but the fear at the bottom of his heart had become a permanent nightmare in Hu Le''s mind, like the broken artefact beneath him, and the fear that had been suppressed for months erupted at this moment like a volcano gushing out lava.


    Hu Le''s face was pale and he turned around slowly, very slowly, to meet a face with sword brows and starry eyes, his tall nose almost touching the tip of his nose, his cool hand gently climbing Hu Le''s face, sliding like a snake.


    "You have made this poor monk search so hard. Tell me, what would be the best way to punish you this time."


    There was no trace of warmth under his eyes as he said this, and his whole being radiated an ice-cold chill that chilled Hu Le straight to the core. The voice was a low and sensual tone that did not match his youthful appearance.


    Hu Le''s jaw was tightened by the man''s excessively long and strong fingers, and a bone-crushing pain came over him as he gasped for breath, "What the hell do you want..."


    Not to kill him, just to torture him...


    Before he escaped, he would have preferred to die in the temple''s meditation room than to have his limbs chained and be abused day and night. But now he could not die, he had to take Xuan Long to the fox clan for medical treatment, he had to see the baby born by Xuan Long and raise it together...


    "You''ve done all this to me..."


    "Isn''t that enough?..."


    "Enough?" The man fiddled with the skin at the corners of his mouth, "How can it be, it is a great gift and mercy for this poor monk to keep you alive. After being comfortable out here for so long, it''s time to go back and receive the punishment you deserve."


    Hu Le lifted both hands to clasp the hand containing his chin and struggled to push him away, "No... you won''t... I won''t go back to that place even if I die..."


    "Then die."


    The man shifted his large palm around Hu Le''s neck, forcing him to stand up. This was pretty much what happened to a pig about to be killed; the butcher would stab the pig in the neck with a long, finger-thick hook, drag it brutally towards the slaughterhouse, drain the blood from its neck, and then gut it.


    There is not much difference between the two; they are both treated like animals.


    Hu Le was being held by the neck by the man who was half a head taller than he was, strong and dangerous in his grey robe emblazoned with the fan mantra. As he let his guard down, Hu Le jerked the dagger hanging at the back of his waist and stabbed the man in the side of his waist. It was something he had prepared to use for defence when he left this evening, but he never thought it would come in handy here.


    The blade sliced through the air and the man''s ears twitched slightly as he let go of Hu Le''s neck and struck him hard in the heart with his palm laden with spiritual energy, all in one fluid motion.


    Hu Le flew back and hit the wall hard, landing on the floor with the dagger, his internal organs hurting so badly that he sat up on his feet, covering his heart and coughing up a large mouthful of blood, soiling the floor.


    The man looked down at him from above and said in a deep voice, "Seeking death."


    The man was a cultivator with a rare talent in the world, he was only in his twenties, but his cultivation was better than the centuries of Tao that Hu Le had cultivated. In the beginning, he had taken Hu Le back alive, and it was not easy to escape his watchful eyes.


    Being struck, Hu Le was not surprised and raised his head with a ragged gasp, letting blood drip from the corners of his mouth as he said with red eyes, "I don''t want to die..."


    "I told you... your people, I did not kill them."


    He has always only killed those disgusting humans who were not right-minded, how could he possibly have slaughtered his whole clan? But this stinking monk took a piece of rag and insisted that the rag was the clothing he wore when he slaughtered his clan fifteen years ago, and based on the smell on it that was similar to his, he insisted on putting a groundless charge on him.


    "Still arguing..." The man said with danger flowing from his eyes as he stepped closer to Hu Le.


    On the bed, Xuan Long heard the movement and woke up in a daze, sitting up and looking for Hu Le''s figure in the hall, wondering if he had heard the loud movement just now: "Hu Le..."


    The man''s footsteps stopped and he turned his head to look in the direction of the tent, "Is that your lover?"


    "......"


    "In that case, if I kill him, you will follow me back obediently, right?"


    As he spoke, Xuan Long had already gotten out of bed and was coming this way with weak footsteps, searching for the sound.


    A silver sword appeared in the man''s hand, and in a flash he was in front of Xuan Long. He had already lost his Tao and was no different from an ordinary person, and had just suffered a painful attack, so he couldn¡¯t escape.


    Before he could react, he heard a ''poof'' and the long sword entered flesh.


    It was not Xuan Long who was stabbed, but Hu Le who suddenly rushed over.

 CH 88

    No More Hu Le in This World


    The change in front of them froze both of them.


    The air in the hall fell silent for a moment.


    An eerie silence.


    Thick blood gushed from Hu Le''s lips, landing on the dark blue eunuch''s uniform and staining it a dark red. This sword was a spirit-piercing sword, and when it pierced into a demon, it would crush the demon''s soul as a way to stop a demon with a high level of Tao from resisting.


    Li Lianhuai had used this sword against Hu Le countless times, sometimes piercing his legs, sometimes piercing his arms, sometimes piercing his abdomen. None of the wounds were fatal, but no matter where he pierced, the cold and arrogant fox demon would be silenced by the pain of a broken soul and lose the ability to resist.


    He always said he wanted to kill him to compensate for his suffering, but he never actually did, probably because, as he said, the most painful thing in the world was to suffer worse than death, so he kept him half alive for the fun of torturing him.


    This time, the sword in his hand did not go astray, and he did not waste his strength on redundancy, but penetrated his heart steadily.


    Hu Le''s face was white with pain, but the smile on his lips was unrestrained. He looked down at the silver sword glowing in his heart, the blood falling on the hilt, adding a brilliant colour.


    The demon-killing sword really lives up to its name, it hurts everywhere, but it hurts the most in the heart.


    Li Lianhuai jerked the silver sword back, and for the first time in a long time, his face was cold and surprised as blood gushed out from Hu Le''s heart, splashing his face and eyes, even his eyelashes were red, and he blinked reflexively.


    "Li Lianhuai... are you satisfied..."


    ¡°I said... I will not let you get away with it, I will die, but I will not go back with you..."


    Hu Le''s body shook, his heart inexplicably filled with pleasure. With each word he said, a lot of blood gushed out of his mouth, but that did not prevent sarcasm from appearing in his jewel-like blue eyes.


    Unable to hold on, he fell backwards and landed in Xuan Long''s arms, who instinctively caught him and murmured, ¡°Hu Le..."


    Why was this happening?


    Wasn''t everything just fine? Hu Le said he was going to pack his things and that he would leave here with him when the time came...


    Why...


    Even with Xuan Long''s arms holding him up, Hu Le''s body slid downward without strength. Xuan Long lowered him gently to the ground, wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve, and said in a clumsy, low, soothing voice, "Don''t be afraid... I''ll go find Yan Yuan and ask him to ask Hua Niang to save you. It will be fine..."


    With that, Xuan Long got up, barefoot in his profane clothes, and was about to run out in a daze, when Hu Le raised his hand to grab his trouser leg and strained his voice: ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long''s body froze and he turned back to look at him.


    Hu Le smiled at Xuan Long. His smile was different from that of Li Lianhuai, his icy blue eyes were dotted with stars, he must have liked someone very much to have such a gentle look.


    "Don''t go..."


    "I have many... many things to say to you..."


    Xuan Long slowly bent down, his body unsteady, the only way was to kneel: "Wait until I go and find Hua Niang to come, then you can talk, there are still many days ahead."


    Hu Le grabbed the hem of his shirt, his eyes moist: "Don''t... wait until you find Hua Niang, it will be too late..."


    "... It''s too late." Xuan Long whispered back.


    Hu Le laughed: "It''s too late..."


    Everyone in the room knew it was too late.


    Dragon scales and dragon blood could save a seriously injured person, but they did not have the ability to make the heart heal itself.


    To change one''s fate against the heavens required a great price, a price that Xuan Long had already paid for Yan Yuan, and now he had nothing left but the child in his womb and Hu Le who accompanied him.


    He could not afford to lose either of them.


    Xuan Long bowed his head, held Hu Le''s hand, and spoke very low and muffled, "We agreed to go out together and live a life apart from the world."


    Hu Le held Xuan Long''s hand with all his might, but it was only a slight amount of force. At the last moment, he still struggled to smile, hoping to smile more beautifully and give his A''Po a good last impression.


    ¡°A''Po, I''m sorry... I''m afraid, I''ll have to break my word..."


    ¡°I can''t join you... to take care of the baby, growing up..."


    "... But I did it... I said I would protect you... until I die..."


    "......"


    What Yan Yuan has never done, Hu Le has done. Along the way, in fact, this world was not as cold as he thought, at least from the beginning to the end, this little fox was sincere in treating him with sincerity, never leaving him and staying with him.


    But why did the heavens treat him so cruelly, robbing him of his only remaining warmth... Is it true what the elders of his clan had said when he was young, that he was born as a lonely star, destined to die alone and miserable, and that if anyone came near him, they would be killed by him...


    If that was the case, he would have preferred that Hu Le had not known him in the first place, that Hu Le had treated him with the same cold eyes as the rest of the living creatures, that Hu Le had not treated him so well, had not blocked the sword for him, had not left him to live alone in the world.


    He would rather it had been himself who lay here.


    "...... No." Xuan Long''s throat twitched, a slight ''gurgle'' sound coming from deep in his throat, one that came only from the depths of grief, as if old broken bellows were wailing.


    "I''ll feed you my blood¡­ it will definitely save your life."


    He lowered his head, and the wrist that peeled back his lapel was shaking imperceptibly. He rawly gouged a freshly grown dragon scale off his heart, leaving an uneven hole, and a lot of blood gushed out of the wound in an instant...


    Hu Le breathed hard and watched Xuan Long''s actions, coughing furiously in anxiety. His entire chin was stained red with blood, and the place where he was hit by the sword was even more miserable.


    Xuan Long''s palm caught the blood from his own heart, clenched into a fist and brought it to Hu Le''s lips, the blood dripping out through the gap in his fist: ¡°Hu Le... drink it..."


    Hu Le frowned and weakly looked away, "If you hurt yourself again... I will be angry..."


    Xuan Long: "...... Don''t be angry."


    Hu Le, who could not afford to be cruel to him, immediately softened his heart and turned his head to look at him again. Seeing Xuan Long''s eyes blurred, he smiled, "Don''t cry... I am willingly¡­"


    "I''ll be fine if I die... as long as you and the baby are fine..."


    "Who told me to like you..."


    "To love a living being is to be willing to give everything for them... just like you did for Yan Yuan..."


    Xuan Long: "...... Stop it."


    Hu Le lay on his back, looking up at the void of air above him, his vision gradually becoming somewhat scattered: "What is to be said... it will be too late if I don''t say it."


    "In fact, I lied to you... nine tailed foxes do not have nine lives, that is all folklore, not to be taken seriously..."


    "Look... I have sacrificed my life to save you, isn''t it better than that dog emperor... I want to book you for the next life, can I?..." Hu Le looked at Xuan Long with hope.


    Xuan Long: "... Okay."


    As if relieved, Hu Le closed his eyes and smiled breathlessly, "Then I am satisfied..."


    "If there is another life... I will definitely find you before that dog emperor and not let you be cheated."


    Xuan Long: "... Okay."


    The blood that was lost was quickly taking away what little body heat Hu Le had left, and he was getting sleepy. It turned out that death was like this.


    It wasn''t really that scary, it was just that once he fell asleep, he would never see Xuan Long again, let alone have a chance to see how cute his baby was, and there was much resentment in his heart.


    But more than that, Xuan Long''s greatest wish was to live in peace.


    Holding on to his last breath, Hu Le lifted his thousand-pound eyelids and said, "When the time comes, you will take Xiao Zhanzi and hurry away, far away..."


    The hand hanging at his side moved and fished out a white paper butterfly from his simple belt and handed it to Xuan Long: "This is the guiding butterfly. When you get out, find a way to get a little spiritual power and use it to ignite the butterfly... It will lead you, to find the way to the fox clan..."


    "When you get to the fox clan... look for a granny named Barbara ...... you can say that I asked you to come for medical help... she is one of the elders of the fox clan and watched me grow up with my brother, she will help you..."


    "......" Xuan Long was silent as he wiped the flow of blood from the corner of Hu Le''s mouth.


    Hu Le gently clasped his wrist and laughed, "Don''t wipe it... it won''t get clean... take it."


    Xuan Long looked down in a daze at the bloodstained paper butterfly in his hand and reached out to take it.


    Hu Le relaxed, dropping his feeble hand, his voice lowered once more: "Don''t take revenge for me... you and the baby, living safely, is the best..."


    "I used to kill a lot of people and do a lot of evil... This may be the retribution, so consider it as returning a life to those dead souls..."


    Xuan Long: "... You are the best fox in the world."


    Hu Le was pleased to hear him praise him, and the smile at the corners of his mouth widened a few notches. Soon, it shrank to a limited size again, by a margin visible to the naked eye.


    He spoke softly:


    ¡°A''Po... I''ll go first."


    "Goodbye."


    "Hu Le..." Xuan Long called him softly.


    Hu Le just looked at Xuan Long and slowly closed his eyes, the smile on his lips completely dissipating with the closed blue eyes.


    He lay quietly on the ground, wearing the eunuch''s clothes that Yan Yuan had forced him to wear in order to humiliate him, and stopped breathing.


    From today onwards, there would be no more Hu Le in this world.


    All the things from their encounter replayed in his mind... the cold and arrogant fox demon who had first met him, the fox demon who had hurt him with a whip, the fox demon who had hugged him and rambled on all night about his sadness, the fox demon who had taken him to the radish spirit for medical treatment, the fox demon who had roasted chicken for him to eat, the fox demon who had stolen fish for him to eat, the fox demon who had defended him with all his might.


    The one who laughed, the one who made trouble, the one who was happy, the one who was sad, the one who shed tears, all eventually melted away into the lifeless man lying before him.


    He was still so young, having spent only 200 years in the world. He was so much younger than him, and when they were together, it was Hu Le who took care of him more.


    From this moment on, the only person in the world who had treated him well, from beginning to end, with all his heart, was no longer there.


    No matter whether it is a demon or a god, when they die, their bodies turn into countless tiny specks of fluorescent fire, some inky, some red, some purple. Hu Le was blue, as beautiful as his eyes.


    His body first became somewhat transparent and then rose up in a beam of blue specks of light. Xuan Long witnessed him disappearing in front of him, reaching out his hand and lightly touching the blue light that was actually untouchable, and tears dripped from his eyes.


    "Hu Le..."


    Those blue lights seemed to be alive as they circled around Xuan Long and finally dissipated into the air, never to be seen again.

 CH 89

    Fugitive


    Xuan Long knelt dumbly on the ground, not moving for a long time.


    When a demon dies, the three souls and seven spirits will disperse with the demise of the physical body, leaving only a wisp of the living soul to wander the land of the dead. With two souls and seven spirits missing, the memories of the living are no longer complete.


    The cool breeze rushed in through a gap in the window pane, and the hall was silent. Hu Le saw the man kneeling on the ground and felt an unspeakable sadness when he saw his back. He floated over with his mind, bent down, and carefully reached out to touch the man¡¯s face, trying to wipe the tears from his face, but his fingertips passed through his skin, barely making contact.


    Just as he was wondering where this was coming from, a gentle voice came from behind him.


    ¡°A''Le..."


    Hu Le froze and turned around, "Brother..."


    The person who came was dressed in elegant white robes and had a face identical to Hu Le¡¯s. His absolutely charming fox eyes were upturned and his eyebrows were slightly raised, but he was not as cold and open as Hu Le had been in life. His whole being was wrapped in a gentle aura and his icy blue eyes were full of laughter. Looking at Hu Le with a long sigh, he said, "Let''s go, Brother will take you home."


    "Going home..." Hu Le looked around blankly, knowing in his heart that this was not his home. Between lightning and fire, a blurred fragment suddenly appeared in his mind. His brother was bullied and killed by the human race for falling in love with them, and his eyes suddenly reddened with a trembling accusation, "You are so cruel hearted... just leaving me alone, leaving me, a fox, to live alone in the world..."


    When a person dies and becomes a spirit, they do not have tears. The same is true for demons, but Hu Le could feel the ultimate sadness.


    Hu Qi looked gloomy as he remembered his past in life: ¡°A''Le... I''m sorry..."


    Hu Le rushed over to hug him as he had done when he was a young boy, circling his arms around his waist and resting his head on his shoulder, saying hoarsely, "After this, if you don''t leave me, I will forgive you."


    Hu Qi lifted his hand to rub his back and smiled, "... Okay."


    As the two brothers left the hall, Hu Le strangely touched the five silver feathers adorning the front of the long vertical white hat on Hu Qi''s head, which was exquisitely crafted and embroidered with silver silk cloud patterns, "Brother, why are you wearing such a strange hat."


    "And, what is this?¡± Hu Le looked at the silver hook and chain in his hand.


    Hu Qi lifted the silver hook and chain in his hand and smiled, "This is a soul hook, and the one on my head is an impermanent hat."


    "Impermanent hat?..."


    Hu Qi: "Well, after I died, I didn''t go to reincarnate, but worked as a ghostly agent in the underworld."


    The events in his life were so tragic that he had no more attachment to the mortal world, and when the King of Hell saw that he, being a fox demon, had not done any evil and had done many good deeds, he was granted permission to stay in the Underworld as an impermanent, transcending the six realms and exempting him from reincarnation.


    "Oh..." said Hu Le, who seemed to understand.


    As he was about to exit the inner hall, Hu Le could not help but stop and turn back to look at the person in the hall, "Brother..."


    "Hmm?"


    "That man, he looks so sad... is it because I''m dead?"


    ¡°En."


    Hu Le stopped walking and refused to look back for a long time. Although the memories of his former life were gone, the reluctance in his heart was unmistakably real.


    Hu Qi gently tugged on his brother''s sleeve: "It''s getting late, let''s go."


    ¡°Your mortal life is over, it is time to forget all the things that happened in the past."


    Hu Le reluctantly withdrew his gaze and disappeared into the hall with Hu Qi.


    Li Lianhuai seemed to feel something and looked towards the exit in a daze.


    The candles in the hall had burned out and he was standing in complete darkness, easily overlooked, but Xuan Long could clearly sense Li Lianhuai''s breathing and knew he had not left.


    "You killed him."


    "You''re satisfied."


    Xuan Long''s voice was low and hoarse, as if he was so powerless that he couldn''t even pronounce it properly.


    Li Lianhuai''s body was stiff, his mind all at a loss and not understanding the scene that had just taken place. Shouldn''t this unforgivable fox demon be heartless?...


    He couldn''t even tame him after using such a cruel method.


    However, he was so sincere in his love for a dragon that he was even willing to give his life for this dragon...


    How could this be...


    Xuan Long tilted his head, tears silently welling up from his icy turquoise eyes and sliding down his cheeks, ¡°Hu Le spoke to me about what happened between you, and he said... he had not harmed your people."


    Li Lianhuai''s fists hanging at his side clenched, unable to accept that what he had done might have been an error in judgement: "This poor monk saw it with his own eyes back then."


    Fifteen years ago, on that quiet night, a huge fire ravaged the peaceful village in the valley where their people had lived for generations, living a self-sufficient and happy life.


    Then the fox demon appeared and became a nightmare for the whole clan. He watched through the tiny hole in the rice jar as his parents and his three-year-old sister were tragically killed by the fox demon''s claws slicing their throats, while he escaped death by hiding in the jar because of his playfulness.


    He was the only survivor of a clan of several hundred people.


    When the fox demon left, he left a piece of shredded fabric hanging on the wooden fence at the entrance. He shuddered and took the piece of fabric, which was shaking in the wind, and put it to his nose, sniffing it fiercely, and vowed that one day he would find the killer and avenge the death of his clan.


    After all these years, the killer''s face had become blurred, and the only thing he could be sure of was that the fox demon had a beautiful, charming face. The first time he saw Hu Le in Chang''an, the two faces blended together without a hitch. In addition, the special fragrance of his body was almost identical to the smell of the fox demon''s clothes, so he was sure that Hu Le was the killer.


    "Fifteen years ago, you were a child, how can you be sure that Hu Le was the one who killed your clan? With just a single piece of fabric..."


    "......" Li Lianhuai''s mind was in turmoil and he did not speak.


    Xuan Long thought he was funny. What was the point of talking about this with Hu Le''s murderer, would he feel guilty knowing the truth?


    No, he would not.


    For the human race, demons had never been any different from birds of prey that could be slaughtered at will. This was true of Yan Yuan, and it was also true of this man who called himself a poor monk.


    "You humans all say that demons are evil spirits and that you should try to get rid of them by all means... In fact, most of you are even more terrible than demons, wearing human skin and doing all kinds of ghostly things."


    "It was my fault..."


    He should have listened to Hu Le and stayed away from the human race, if he had taken Hu Le into seclusion earlier, he would not have been caught and tortured by this monk, he would not have died because of him.


    "It was my fault..."


    Xuan Long suddenly laughed lowly, his every word weeping blood. With his thin shoulders trembling uncontrollably, he crouched down and rested his forehead against the cold ground, allowing despair and sorrow to consume him.


    Li Lianhuai had been practising Taoism since he was a child in order to one day make the fox demon pay in blood. However, now that he had finally achieved his goal, he was not as happy as he thought he would be.


    Having killed countless demons and evil spirits, he had never seen such a scene.


    Could he really have been wrong...


    Li Lianhuai withdrew his eyes and quietly left the cold palace, his pitch-black eyes silent and determined.


    He must go and find the truth...


    The palace staff outside the hall beat a gong and hollered, and soon after, Xiao Zhanzi knocked lightly on the door of the hall.


    ¡°Master Han, midnight has come..."


    "......" The man in the hall did not answer.


    "Master Han?..."


    Xiao Zhanzi called out several times. Xuan Long staggered up from the floor and went over to open the door to the hall.


    The moonlight cast a shadow over the man''s body, unapologetically reflecting his erect pupils, gold and turquoise, demonic and indifferent. This was the first Xiao Zhanzi had seen Xuan Long''s eyes in such a straightforward manner, and he winced in fear and took a step back.


    Xiao Zhanzi reacted and hurriedly hung his head, "Master Han... please forgive this servant..."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes to hide his pupils and turned his back, "It''s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Your things, are they all packed?"


    Xiao Zhanzi''s fists clenched nervously, and he half bowed: ¡°This servant¡­ this servant has nothing to pack. This servant just made a trip to the residence, everything important, it''s all on this servant."


    Xuan Long did not notice anything unusual.


    ¡°En. Then let''s go. As soon as I''ve changed my clothes... we''ll leave."


    Xuan Long raised his feet and walked inside. Xiao Zhanzi looked up and called to him.


    "Master Han..."


    Xuan Long paused in his steps.


    Xiao Zhanzi looked at the thin back, hesitant: "Do you really want to go..."


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    He wanted to go.


    Hu Le had guarded him with his life, he could not let him down, he could not let him die in vain.


    He had to live.


    To live with the child.


    "......¡± Xiao Zhanzi bowed his head and said no more.


    Hu Le had already prepared a set of eunuch''s clothes to fit Xuan Long''s body shape and had hidden them in the cabinet. Xuan Long opened the cabinet and brushed his palm over the blue and silky material, which still seemed to have the warmth of Hu Le''s hands on it.


    He had always been so thoughtful. In addition to the eunuch''s uniform, he had also prepared a soft belly band. The eunuch''s uniform would make him less conspicuous when he walked around the palace, and the belly band would temporarily bind his stomach and make his body shape look normal.


    Xuan Long took out the belly band, lifted up his profane clothes, and wrapped the white band around his round stomach, carefully tightening it. Even if the material was soft, it was always uncomfortable to be bound like this. The child in his belly began to toss and turn restlessly, causing Xuan Long''s face to turn white and his lips to lose all blood.


    The tips of his fingers touched his stomach through the belly band, stroking it soothingly as he spoke in a low, mute voice, "Shui Shui... be good... Daddy will take you away from here. Soon, you won''t be uncomfortable..."


    The child in his belly seemed to understand, and bumped his palm aggressively before shrinking into a ball and not moving.


    Xuan Long smiled shyly and caressed him twice before he wrapped the belly band around him, tied it in a not so delicate knot, and put on his eunuch''s uniform.


    He could not tie his hair, so Xiao Zhanzi came in and tied his hair back. Xuan Long''s hair was long and voluminous, and it took some effort. As Xiao Zhanzi put the plain black eunuch''s cap on him, Xuan Long looked across the young, tender face in the bronze mirror and lowered his eyes.


    "I''m sorry... I caused this."


    He should have been able to continue to work peacefully in the palace as an attendant, but because of him, it was likely that his life would be bumpy in the future.


    Xiao Zhanzi froze, ¡°... Master Han, don''t say that."


    Xuan Long whispered, "As long as I am alive, I will not let you go hungry or freeze."


    Xiao Zhanzi''s eyes were red, and his hands shook for a long time without saying a word.


    When he left, Xuan Long only took two things with him. One was the red brocade bag that Hu Le had given him, which had been trampled on by Yan Yuan that day. After washing the dirt off the bag, he sewed it back together again. The stitching was crooked and not as delicate as before, but it was something he treasured.


    The other thing was the iris jade pendant.


    He had long since stopped expecting anything from Yan Yuan, but after all, Yan Yuan was the biological father of the child in his womb, and that was an undeniable fact. If the child ever asked about his biological father, he could take out this jade pendant and tell him, under false pretences, that his biological father loved him.


    If he died, he could also leave this jade pendant as a relic to the child in his womb. At least for a while, Yan Yuan really wanted him to be born safely and did not want to kill him.


    In contrast to the bright lights of the Hall of Peace, the city was as quiet as a sleeping lion. Xuan Long and Xiao Zhanzi were walking side by side along the palace wall, heading for the Cold Palace. The oil lamp in Xiao Zhanzi''s hand swayed as they walked, and the flame in the cover flickered on and off.


    Xuan Long was more than six months pregnant, his stomach was heavy and dropping, so it was not possible for him to walk too fast. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, his abdomen, which was tightened by the belly band, ached vaguely, and his breathing was low as he panted.


    Xiao Zhanzi sensed that something was wrong and supported his arm, whispering, "Master Han, are you all right..."


    Xuan Long dared not slow down his steps and returned in a dumb voice, "It''s nothing. Let''s hurry up."


    This palace was too big. They walked for an hour, turned down a deserted path and finally arrived at the alleyway Yan Huo Heng had mentioned.


    When they looked up, they saw a group of guards standing there in the darkness. The leader, who was wearing a black dragon robe and had a gloomy face, was not Yan Yuan, but someone else.

 CH 90

    Elopement


    The moonlight was bright enough tonight that the group of guards had not lit torches. Yan Yuan stood still at the front of the group. When he heard the faint sound of footsteps, he looked up and saw that it was Xuan Long, and the dark look on his face relaxed as he stepped forward and said, "You''re here."


    It was Yan Huo Heng.


    No matter how bright the moon was, it was no match for daylight, and as he wore Yan Yuan''s face and was not much different in stature from him, it was normal to mistake him for the other for a moment, but the difference between their voices could be heard at once.


    Yan Huo Heng¡¯s voice was more subdued, while Yan Yuan''s voice was magnetic and clear.


    Xuan Long tensed up for a moment before relaxing, ¡°En."


    Yan Huo Heng waved his hand and the team of guards stepped back to the left and right, revealing an ancient wooden carriage that was hidden behind them, which was low-key and not overly luxurious.


    Horse-drawn carriages were not allowed in the inner courtyard of the palace, and even the most distinguished first-rank ministers had to exchange their carriages for soft sedan chairs when they entered the Meridian Gate, while those of lower rank had to enter on foot.


    The only person who could bring a carriage into the palace with such grandeur was Yan Yuan, and it was much more convenient for Yan Huo Heng to act in the palace with Yan Yuan''s face.


    Today, for Ning Zhiyu''s birthday, several famous opera troupes came in from outside the palace. This group of guards came into the palace among those opera troupes, then changed into their pre-prepared outfits and swords, so they were no different from the imperial guards in the palace.


    "Get in, the night is long."


    Xuan Long avoided Xiao Zhanzi''s support and followed Yan Huo Heng towards the carriage. The guards at the end of the line consciously knelt down by the side of the carriage to make it easier for their master to get in.


    Xuan Long was not used to this kind of approach, stepping on other people''s bodies was like stepping on their dignity as well, so he hesitantly stood in front of the carriage without moving.


    What was once possible with a single leap had now become an impossible task.


    After a moment''s thought, Yan Huo Heng knew what he was thinking, so he went forward and picked him up in his arms, leapt sharply onto the carriage, ducked under the curtain and entered the carriage, and placed the man gently on the cushion.


    Xuan Long: "Many thanks."


    Yan Huo Heng sat down in the seat two people-sized places apart from him.


    "There is no need to be polite."


    "...... You were like this in the past, even though you were the Heavenly Empress, you still liked to do everything yourself."


    "You said that all beings are equal and there is no distinction between high and low."


    In fact, there was, otherwise how could his father have made him leave his own mother and suffer from torture since he was a child for the sake of Yan Yuan. But because Yan Yuan was the first born, the future crown prince, and he, Yan Huo Heng, was just a royal son born to a small magistrate''s daughter, both he and his mother had no choice and had to be at the mercy of others.


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes: "Different... some beings are born to be looked down upon."


    Yan Huo Heng responded in a low voice: "Mm."


    After Xiao Zhanzi climbed up, the carriage quickly moved forward and sped towards the palace gate.


    Xuan Long, who was usually a man of few words, sat there without saying a word, and it was unknown what he was thinking about. Yan Huo Heng looked at his chiseled face, ¡°You don¡¯t look very good, do you feel cold?"


    Xuan Long shook his head, "No."


    Even so, Yan Huo Heng draped the fox fur he had prepared on him. As autumn would soon be over and winter would soon begin, and since Xuan Long''s health was not good, he should be more careful.


    Yan Huo Heng asked in a low voice: "There is another little eunuch."


    Xuan Long''s lips twitched slightly: "He... won''t leave."


    Yan Huo Heng vaguely guessed what was going on, but did not ask the reason. When he got to the palace gate, he lifted the curtain of the carriage and showed his face. The general guarding the gate was newly promoted and had not seen the Holy Face before, but he had seen Yan Yuan''s portrait. The most beautiful man in Chang''an, who could forget it after seeing it.


    The general was surprised to see him.


    "Your Majesty... isn''t today the Empress'' birthday? It''s the middle of the night, why are you going out of the palace..."


    Yan Huo Heng glanced at him lightly, the curtain was blown by the wind, the texture of his voice like ice in the cool night, making people shiver: "Where I go, do I need to tell you?"


    "Since... since it is not necessary..."


    The general broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly released the carriage.


    As soon as the Meridian Gate opened, the carriage rushed out like an arrow and drove into an inconspicuous station in the city. When it came out again, the luxurious and spacious carriage was replaced by an inconspicuous small carriage, and all the people in the party changed into civilian clothes. The plain-clothed guards behind them rode the horses prepared in advance and sprinted after the carriage, rushing towards the city.


    Yan Yuan was busy celebrating Ning Zhiyu''s birthday, and by the time he realised that Xuan Long was not there, it would be tomorrow at the earliest, when they would have already been long gone from Chang''an.


    However, Yan Huo Heng did not dare to let his guard down and ordered the team to travel through the night, not slowing down even a little. Xiao Zhanzi sat on a small bench with short legs inside the carriage, looking out of the curtain that was being lifted by the wind from time to time. His eyes were filled with panic, not knowing what he was looking at.


    The carriage was so bumpy that Xuan Long covered his stomach and leaned against the wall of the cart, his eyes closed and drowsy.


    Yan Huo Heng frowned: "Where is the pain?"


    "Is it abdominal pain?"


    Xuan Long shook his head with his eyes closed. He didn''t feel uncomfortable, but the baby in his belly was not very peaceful and he was a bit dizzy.


    Yan Huo Heng lifted his hand to Xuan Long''s forehead and felt an unusual burning sensation as soon as he touched it.


    "You have a high fever."


    The girdle around Xuan Long''s belly had been removed and replaced with an unbuckled grey linen robe. There was black fox fur draped over his shoulders, his long hair hung loose and plastered to the side of his face, and his belly was bulging high.


    Blurring in consciousness, he replied, "It''s nothing, I¡¯ll bear with it and it will pass."


    Yan Huo Heng looked at the man''s heroic brow, wet with cold sweat, and said in a low, mute voice, "Is this how it is when you are around him?"


    Bear with it and it will pass.


    Xuan Long was in a trance and did not hear him clearly.


    Yan Huo Heng remembered those ethereal but very real dreams: "You used to indulge him like this..."


    After leaving Chang''an City and speeding along the official road for a few hours, passing through a small, secluded village, Xuan Long was burning up to the point of complete unconsciousness. If a pregnant human mother were to be bumped around like this with a high fever, she would surely die.


    Yan Huo Heng was in a panic and had to stop to look for a doctor. Fortunately, there was an old doctor in the village who prescribed a medicine to reduce the fever and boiled it down for Xuan Long, which took a whole hour.


    He did not know that human medicine would not work on Xuan Long.


    As they left the village, the day dawned, and the narrow carriage could not support Xuan Long. He curled up with difficulty on the cushion of the seat, leaning on Yan Huo Heng''s leg, feeling as if this scene had happened before.


    The more he came into contact with Yan Huo Heng, the more familiar he felt, and for no apparent reason he was sure he would not harm him.


    As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, the dust raised by the horses'' hooves flew in the golden air, and the sound of heavier hooves, like thunder, was faintly heard in the distance.


    Yan Huo Heng sensed something. His eyes left Xuan Long and looked up intently as the sound of a soldier''s urgent briefing came from outside the carriage.


    "Your Majesty, someone is coming after us!"


    Yan Huo Heng''s gaze darkened, "I didn''t expect him to come so quickly..."


    "Speed up."


    ¡°Yes Sir!!!"


    From the sound of it, it was estimated that Yan Yuan had brought no less than five thousand cavalry with him. The imperial army in the palace was only a few tens of thousand. For the sake of Xuan Long, he had gone to such lengths.


    No, to be precise, it was for his Empress...


    The carriage, which was already racing, accelerated to the point where it was almost ready to fly. Xuan Long was awakened and sat up with the cushion under him.


    The overly heavy sound of the horse''s hooves was also heard by him.


    "He''s coming after us." Xuan Long said calmly.


    "En." Yan Huo Heng replied.


    It was too easy to leave, it seemed unreal. Xuan Long asked in a low voice, "Can we go?"


    Yan Huo Heng: "I will take you and make a bloody path."


    In the vast wilderness, Yan Yuan rode his tall warhorse in front of the army. He received the news at the banquet, Xiao Zhanzi had informed Chen Yan of Xuan Long''s departure, and Chen Yan had whispered it to him.


    When he left the city, he didn''t even change out of his dragon robe. Leaving behind the astonished Ning Zhiyu and his courtiers, he moved his troops and rushed out of the city, the Emperor''s crown on his head long lost in the rush, his long raven black hair dancing in the wind, his stunning face pressed with a hostility that he couldn''t carry. The whip slammed on the horse¡¯s body and he roared angrily:


    "All soldiers, listen to the order! If you capture the man inside the carriage alive, you will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold and promoted to the third rank!!!"


    "The rest, kill them all!!!"


    "Charge!!!"


    "Charge!!!¨C" Behind him, the imperial guards listened to the order, and their blood instantly turned fervent as they spurred their horses past Yan Yuan and dashed with all their might towards the small, grey carriage, getting closer and closer...


    The plain-clothed guards behind the carriage had to stop and fight the imperial guards. The men under Yan Huo Heng''s command were able to fight a hundred to one, however, there were too many of them, and even if they were powerful, they were outnumbered.


    The imperial guards completely surrounded the carriage and it was forced to stop.


    Sitting on his high horse, Yan Yuan looked down with cold eyes at the cruel scene before him and had no more patience. He raised his hand, and the squad of imperial guards behind him immediately raised their bows and arrows, ready to fire.


    "Release the arrows!!!"


    At his command, countless feathered arrows flew towards the mass of plain-clothed guards. Yan Huo Heng broke out of his carriage at that moment, his long sword blocking the rain of arrows flying from all directions and joining the battle.


    Soon only a dozen or so of the plain-clothed guards remained to fight alongside Yan Huo Heng, but Yan Yuan''s imperial troops were a formidable force that could not be destroyed. In a matter of half an incense stick, the plain-clothed guards were slaughtered, and Yan Huo Heng fought alone. He was hit by several swords, but his movements did not slow down in the slightest, and so many men could not even get close to him for a while.


    He stubbornly guarded the entrance to the carriage, not allowing anyone to approach, and held back Xuan Long who wanted to come out. The sword had no eyes, who knew what Yan Yuan would do to him.


    The more Yan Yuan saw how Yan Huo Heng was acting, the angrier he became. With a cold smile on his lips, he raised his hand and took the bow and arrow handed to him by the general behind him, then narrowed his eyes and aimed at his body.


    The arrow was on the string and was about to be fired when Yan Huo Heng was suddenly struck by a sword at the side of his waist, and the moment he stopped, the imperial troops surrounding him took advantage of the situation to surge forward and put numerous long swords to his neck.


    Victory or defeat had been decided.


    Yan Yuan withdrew his bow and arrow from his hand.


    "Someone, take the man inside the carriage and drag him out for me!!!"


    Xiao Zhanzi trembled as he stood in front of Xuan Long, but was pushed away by the imperial guards. Xuan Long was dragged from his seat and yanked down. He fell to the ground, unable able to stand up, as the two imperial guards roughly pulled him up and dragged him in front of Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan looked down at Xuan Long for a moment, then sharply dismounted his horse and slowly walked towards him. Xuan Long looked up at the sound, but Yan Yuan raised his hand and slapped him across the face, causing blood to spill from the corner of Xuan Long''s mouth, and he turned his head away in silence.


    "You bitch!!!"


    "Have I treated you badly? I even allowed you to give birth to the demonic creature in your belly, what more do you want?!?!?!"


    "How dare you run away with someone else..."

 CH 91

    Death of the Heart


    Warning: This chapter includes mature content (Non-explicit sex)


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à


    With gritted teeth, Yan Yuan raised his hand and swung another slap at Xuan Long''s cheek with a loud ¡®pop¡¯. Xuan Long''s body swayed, and if it weren''t for the two guards escorting him on his left and right, he probably would have fallen over right away.


    Five clear finger marks were left on Xuan Long''s pale cheeks, blood fell from the corner of his lips to his jaw, and the unsettled dust filled the air with extreme silence.


    No one knew how much pain he was in.


    The man did not cry, nor did he make a fuss, he remained peaceful and quiet, as if he could feel nothing.


    Yan Yuan pinched Xuan Long''s jaw forcing him to turn his face, his eyes were furious: "You have trampled on my heart, like weeds underfoot, you have betrayed me..."


    "You bitch..."


    A few days ago, he was discussing the birth of the child in Xuan Long''s womb with him, and secretly even went through many poetry books to come up with a nice name for the child. Who knew that in the blink of an eye, Xuan Long would elope with someone else?


    How could he not be angry?


    Yan Yuan was so angry that he wanted to destroy the whole world.


    Xuan Long was forced to raise his head, but his eyelashes were lowered and he did not look at him.


    What bothered Yan Yuan the most was Xuan Long''s lifeless look, and his hostile aura was so strong that it could not be suppressed. Yan Huo Heng had his hands shackled by the imperial guards and his eyes were bloodshot as he looked over at them, saying one word at a time, "Yan Yuan, he is carrying your heir in his womb, you must not bully him too much."


    Yan Yuan scowled, looking down at Xuan Long''s towering abdomen, his eyes fixed on the spot that rose and fell slightly with his breathing, and narrowed his eyes.


    "My heir?"


    "If it is my heir, what are you so nervous about..."


    "This child, it''s not even mine, is it?..."


    With the position of holding Xuan Long''s neck, Yan Yuan leaned close to Xuan Long''s ear and whispered coaxingly, "Tell me, how far have the two of you gone, and this child... is really whose... hmm?"


    Xuan Long''s fever had not yet subsided and his voice was as muffled as if it had been burned by fire: "It is not yours..."


    The hand around his neck suddenly tightened, and Yan Yuan''s forehead was almost against Xuan Long''s, staring into his eyes: "What did you say?!"


    Xuan Long''s turquoise eyes half-closed as he murmured back, "... not yours."


    "It''s not yours..."


    The veins at the corners of Yan Yuan''s forehead flared up and he almost gritted his back teeth, "Everyone can be used as a partner¡­ sure enough, you are a beast, you are worse than even the lowest prostitute in a brothel..."


    Xuan Long couldn''t quite hear what he was saying, the two slaps from the other party had shaken his ears to the point where they became less than alert and he could only vaguely catch a few words, such as ''beast'' and ''lowly'', all of which were words of humiliation.


    It had been something he was used to.


    Having felt much more painful things, this little fight was nothing.


    "Return to the palace!"


    "Yan Huo Heng has entered the palace without permission and with the intention of misbehaving, and will be immediately sent to the Heavenly Prison upon return!"


    With a command, the troops reorganised.


    When he arrived, he came on horseback, but Xuan Long was too weak to sit on a horse, so Yan Yuan dragged him towards the dusty carriage, but he fell to the ground before he could take a few steps. Yan Yuan watched him with cold eyes and insisted that he get up by himself.


    Handcuffed and shackled and shamefully tethered to the back of a horse, Yan Huo Heng turned his head to look at the scene before him.


    "Yan Yuan, you must not regret what you have done today."


    Yan Yuan looked up and smiled coldly: "I have never regretted what I have done. The only thing I regret is leaving you alive, so that your wolf''s ambition has nowhere to go."


    Yan Huo Heng closed his eyes and turned back, unable to bear another look.


    "I have a clean slate with him. I wanted to take him away, but only because the dragon scales on him could heal the wounds on the lieutenant of my army. Please, Your Majesty, don''t misunderstand."


    "Oh?" Yan Yuan smiled amusedly, crouched down and whispered to the man on the ground.


    "Did you hear that... that''s the only thing you''re good for..."


    "No one will treat you with sincerity..."


    Xuan Long lowered his head, his long hair covering his cheeks, and did not speak. It was uncertain whether he had listened or not. When Yan Yuan saw that he was really useless and could not even stand up, he took him up in his arms and leapt onto the carriage with great mercy.


    Xiao Zhanzi followed, calling in a mute voice, "Your Majesty..."


    Before entering the carriage, Yan Yuan glanced at Xiao Zhanzi and smiled, "You have done a good job, I will reward you well when I return to the palace."


    Xiao Zhanzi was flattered and ambled away, not daring to look at him, his eyes red.


    "Look at this..." Yan Yuan hugged Xuan Long and sat down on the soft cushion, and said against the back of his ear. ¡°even that little eunuch betrayed you."


    The man in his arms seemed like a wooden man, not responding at all. Yan Yuan was not annoyed, and in the position of holding him in his arms, he pushed his hand through the hem of Xuan Long''s robe.


    The grey robe on his body was already loose enough to easily make a mess, and two large, strong hands gently roamed over Xuan Long''s body, one stopping at the high abdomen and one around his heart.


    "You are so disobedient... what should I do to punish you?"


    The carriage set off, not in the same hurry as when leaving the palace, but not too slow either, and between the flying hooves of the horses, it did a good job of masking the perverse sounds inside the carriage.


    Xuan Long''s clothes were undone and his trousers were down to his ankles, while Yan Yuan was fully clothed. He was holding Xuan Long''s buttocks from behind, and without too much effort, the bumps of the carriage brought them close together, back and forth to the depths.


    The two men''s loose hair was intertwined, inseparable, and Xuan Long''s body was so hot that Yan Yuan was obsessed and hated it. He deliberately tightened his grip on the man''s towering abdomen. Xuan Long let out a painful ''ho'' and looked down to free his hand.


    Yan Yuan''s strength did not let up at all and he sneered, "Painful?"


    "You know pain too?"


    "If you know it, how dare you betray me..."


    Before today, Yan Yuan could still be sure that this child was his own, and he was quite happy to see Xuan Long protecting the child like that.


    After today, he was not sure... Yan Huo Heng said that he and Xuan Long were innocent, so they were really innocent?


    Who knows if they are having an affair behind his back?


    Who knows if the child he was expecting could have been the result of Xuan Long''s affair with someone else...


    Xuan Long soon lost his strength and was slaughtered like a fish on a board. He fell limp on top of Yan Yuan, his hand on Yan Yuan''s arm gradually loosened, his breath faded, and a trickle of blood dripped from between his naked legs.


    Yan Yuan bit him on the back of the neck through his clothes, as if he was going to remove the baby from his body, but Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes were vacant, without any light.


    Perhaps it would be better to die like this.


    Then he can meet up with Hu Le...


    They would find an uninhabited valley and build a simple cottage where Hu Le, the baby, and he would all live together...


    They''ll find a deserted valley and build a simple cottage...


    The overly hot touch finally pulled Yan Yuan back to his senses, and he looked down to see that there was already a bloody mess underneath Xuan Long, soiling both of their bodies, and his heart panicked for a few moments.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long closed his eyes and did not reply.


    Yan Yuan changed his position and held him horizontally. Xuan Long had passed out, and the inertia of the carriage and horses lurching turned his face sideways.


    "Damn it..."


    If only the child could really die like this, but Hua Niang had once said that if the child was lost, Xuan Long''s body would not be able to withstand it and he would die.


    "Men!!!"


    "Speed back to the palace!!!"


    "Li Bei, hasten your horse and go to the city to summon the flower spirit!"


    "Yes."


    Yan Yuan tortured Xuan Long again, but in the end, he did not want to let Xuan Long die. He didn''t understand where his paranoid possessiveness came from. Whenever he touched matters relating to Xuan Long, he easily lost his mind and became violent and cold, he couldn''t control himself.


    All he knew was that he wanted to keep this dragon by his side and ask him not to go anywhere.


    For Ning Zhiyu''s sake, and for his own.


    Li Bei alone left on a fast horse, much faster than the thousands of imperial troops and Yan Yuan''s carriage, and by the time Yan Yuan returned to the palace, Hua Niang was already waiting at Qiankun Palace.


    Yan Yuan carried Xuan Long to the bed and watched as Hua Niang treated him as she had done last time. This time, however, Xuan Long was in a deep coma and did not respond to the Zhenling needles.


    When Hua Niang left, she wanted to say something, but in the end she did not say anything. If she told Yan Yuan that Xuan Long only had six months left to live, Yan Yuan, seeing that Xuan Long was no longer of use, might have immediately cut his heart out.


    "The child... if you don''t want it, you can hand it over to me when it''s born and I will raise it." Anyway, if one was being raised, two could be raised, and there would be a companion for her Ying''er.


    Yan Yuan was so preoccupied with Xuan Long that he didn''t pay attention to Hua Niang''s expression. When the child was born, Xuan Long would definitely want to raise it himself, so what was the point of giving it to someone else?


    If it was his child, everyone would be happy, but if it was not his, it would be born and drowned.


    "No need for you to meddle."


    Hua Niang looked at his back and asked in a small voice, "Would you like..."


    Yan Yuan''s face was expressionless as he stared at Xuan Long without moving, "Someone, send her out of the palace."


    "He might be... dying..."


    The first three words were still clear, the last word disappeared into her throat and could not be heard at all.


    Hua Niang was afraid to say it. If Yan Yuan did not want Xuan Long to die, he would have told her to save him, but how could she save him? She had a child, she did not dare to gamble.


    Whether she said it or not, Xuan Long would still die.


    It was only a matter of time.


    Hua Niang turned away with tears in her eyes.


    They were all just creatures who were not favoured by God. They were too busy to take care of themselves, how could they still have the ability to take care of others?


    Xuan Long was in a coma for nearly twenty days, and when he woke up at noon, he found his hands locked in a pair of shackles, one on the left and one on the right, attached to heavy chains that ended at the pillars of the sturdy bed frame.


    His body was covered with bedding but not clothed.


    This was Yan Yuan''s punishment, which Xuan Long knew very well.


    Xiao Zhanzi came in every two hours to check on him, so he soon found him awake. Xiao Zhanzi stood a short distance away, cautiously saying, "Master Han, you are awake..."


    Xuan Long slowly turned his head and gave him a glance before turning back and closing his eyes.


    With a ''poof'', Xiao Zhanzi knelt down and choked up, "Master Han¡­ this servant''s family is in Chang''an, if this servant went with you, they wouldn''t survive..."


    "This servant kowtows to you and begs for forgiveness from Master Han..."


    Xuan Long didn''t really want to talk to him. His heart was dead, he didn''t want to care about the gains or losses anymore.


    Seeing that he was not paying attention to him, Xiao Zhanzi wiped his tears and went out, probably to inform Yan Yuan, who came to Qiankun Palace not long after.


    Xuan Long looked up quietly, as if he had not heard the footsteps. Yan Yuan took the fish porridge from the tray in Xiao Zhanzi''s hand, scooped a small spoonful and fed it to Xuan Long''s lips.


    "Open your mouth."


    Xuan Long did not respond.


    "Don''t make such a dead face for me. If you behave yourself, I can treat you well and release you, otherwise you will be locked up here for the rest of your life."

 CH 92

    Can''t Fall


    Yan Yuan forcefully shoved the spoon into Xuan Long''s mouth. Xuan Long closed his lips and refused to open his mouth, the warm porridge dripping from the corner of his mouth to his cheeks, soiling the pillow. He ducked his head and lifted his shackled hand to block Yan Yuan''s, and when he moved, the chains clattered.


    The heavy chains hit the jade bowl in Yan Yuan''s left hand and the bowl tipped down, knocking the porridge onto Yan Yuan''s dragon robe.


    Yan Yuan''s face was gloomy as he raised his hand to strike him, but the hand stopped in the air and did not fall.


    After nearly 20 days in a coma, Xuan Long had lost so much weight that he had almost lost his face, and his already thin profile had become more and more defined, and he seemed to be covered in a layer of white frost. If he closed his eyes, he was no different from a dead person.


    He knew that Yan Yuan was going to hit him, but he didn''t dodge, as if nothing mattered anymore.


    Yan Yuan gritted his teeth and withdrew his hand, then stood up with a black face, handed the jade bowl to Xiao Zhanzi and took the handkerchief he handed him to wipe the dirt off his robe.


    Before long, the palace staff brought over a new bowl of porridge. Yan Yuan wanted to coax him, but when he thought of Xuan Long''s elopement, his words turned out to be barbed, "Do you want to starve yourself or the bastard in your belly to death?"


    Xuan Long''s eyes were closed, as if he was about to fall asleep again.


    Yan Yuan sat down on the edge of the bed and savagely opened Xuan Long''s eyes, but there was little focus in his icy turquoise eyes. When Yan Yuan saw that he was not listening, the porridge was eventually forced down his throat.


    Xuan Long choked several times, coughing up a lot of blood and soiling a snow-white handkerchief. Yan Yuan gently wiped the corners of Xuan Long''s mouth, his eyes bloodshot as he remembered his illness.


    "Being with me has caused you to become sick?"


    "That day, if you had left with Yan Huo Heng, would you have lived happily with him?"


    That day, if he had succeeded with Yan Huo Heng, Xuan Long might have had a chance to live, but now, there was no hope for him. He knew that being caught would end in a dead end. If it weren¡¯t for having a child in his womb, he would not have to suffer anymore.


    Death is an easy thing for a demon who has lost all his strength. He doesn''t even need a weapon, his soul can burn itself out of the world completely and disappear into ashes.


    He did not deliberately starve the child in his belly, but he did not like the food Yan Yuan handed over to him, he did not like Yan Yuan treating him with false affection, he did not like being face to face with Yan Yuan.


    He had fallen in love with the other man and the cold world along with him, but now he had nothing to look forward to, and when he looked around, there was no light at all, only grey.


    The corners of Xuan Long''s mouth were rubbed red with a handkerchief, and Yan Yuan was still wiping: "You want to get rid of me that badly..."


    "I''m telling you... it''s impossible, you''ll never get rid of me in your life..."


    Xuan Long didn''t feel much pain, and Yan Yuan''s voice was so distant and yet so close that he could more or less hear it.


    This life was too long, he had lived too long to walk any longer.


    When Yan Yuan left, the soul-eating pain in Xuan Long''s body flared up. He curled himself up, the chains on one side pressing into his body as he turned sideways, which was heavy. His body felt lighter as uncontrollable spasms drove the chains on his body to clank, and his fingertips sank deep into the bedding, so hard that blood seeped from his fingers.


    In a trance, he seemed to see Hu Le crying by the bedside, and he reached out his hand, clumsily telling the other man that he was not in pain and not to cry. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not touch the other man. He stubbornly straightened up and probed his hand across, and when he finally touched Hu Le''s face, the other man disappeared without warning.


    ¡°Hu Le..."


    Xuan Long was stunned for a long time, recovering a bit of reality from the sickness that had nearly destroyed his sanity.


    Hu Le was long gone.


    It was just an illusion...


    ¡­¡­


    Luanfeng Hall.


    Ning Zhiyu was sitting at the table, his hand on the table, a black handkerchief on his fair wrist, and Zong Hua standing beside him, bowing to check his pulse.


    After a short while, Zong Hua withdrew his hand, took a small step back and bowed with his eyes downcast.


    "Your Majesty, the twin children in your womb... are stable."


    The candle flame reflected Ning Zhiyu''s ghastly white face as he mumbled in a loose white robe, his waist untied, "Why is this so... I have taken so many abortion pills, how could it not have fallen, did you prescribe the wrong medicine?"


    "In reply to the Empress'' words, I have been practising medicine for several years, how could I even prescribe the wrong medicine to abort a foetus."


    "Perhaps... it is because the dragon child in your womb has the protection of an immortal and is not destined to die."


    What kind of immortal protection, it is clearly an evil demon. Ning Zhiyu''s right hand caressed the slightly bulging belly under his robe and slowly tightened. He had only been pregnant for a month, and this evil demon was already showing itself.


    "Do you have anything else, anything more potent?"


    Zong Hua: "Yes... but the Empress is weak, I''m afraid you can''t bear it."


    Ning Zhiyu: "Prescribe the medicine."


    Zong Hua: "Your Majesty..."


    The corners of Ning Zhiyu''s eyes were red and he did not look at him, not knowing where his god was going.


    Zong Hua had never heard or seen anything like this, but it was normal for the palace to have some strange secrets and he had people he needed to protect, so he had to keep his mouth shut and do his job.


    After the imperial doctor left, Ning Zhiyu got up and lay down on the bed, facing inwards, uncovered by the bedding. Mo Zun transformed into a solid form from within him and quietly landed behind him.


    "It''s useless."


    ¡°For the children of a demon, the mortal abortion medicine will not make the foetus fall away."


    Ning Zhiyu unsteadily propped himself up on the bed and sat up, grabbing the collar of Mo Zun''s battle robe, "Then tell me... how can I make them fall?"


    This is the first time Ning Zhiyu took the initiative to approach him. Mo Zun''s blood red pupils stared at the other party''s fading face and asked in a hoarse voice: "You hate them that much?"


    He hated them, and in addition to hating them, he was horrified. How could an ordinary human not be afraid when he woke up and found out he was carrying a demon''s child? What he feared even more was how disappointed Yan Yuan would be when he found out about it.


    Ning Zhiyu spoke in a trembling voice, "I am a human and you are a demon, how can you and I have an heir?"


    "I am Yan Yuan''s empress, and I love him..."


    "If I keep the child, how can I face him... Please, help me, okay?..."


    Mo Zun, whose tall form trembled slightly as he was shaken, brushed off Ning Zhiyu''s hand and turned sideways, "This honourable one has no body now and cannot move more than two feet away from you, so I cannot help you."


    "The children of the demon race need to take the Demon Fall Grass to fall, and that thing is only available to the demon race."


    "Even if you take it, with a mortal body, not only will the child in your womb die... but also you."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled, eyes moist: " All that talk... is perfunctory. Don''t you just want me to give birth to your child?..."


    Mo Zun turned his back on him: "This honourable one disdains lying."


    Ning Zhiyu hoarsely said, "I tell you... I will not give birth to your child even if I die."


    A little more than half an hour later, the palace attendant brought over the newly-prescribed abortion medicine, and the smell alone was more bitter and stronger than what he had drunk before. Ning Zhiyu drank it all without wrinkling his brows.


    He quietly waited for the imagined sharp pain to come, but there was no response from his abdomen. Ning Zhiyu leaned back on the bed and pressed his palm against his abdomen, pressing his hand down hard.


    "Why..."


    "Why are you doing this to me, why..."


    What he didn''t expect was that this action would actually work. The pain in his abdomen was sharp. After Ning Zhiyu was stunned, he squeezed his abdomen harder and harder, he felt some blood gushing out between his legs, his lips were white with pain, but his heart was very happy.


    Mo Zun appeared and took him by the wrist to stop him, "You are not allowed to do that..."


    Ning Zhiyu violently waved his hand away, "Don''t touch me!"


    "Get lost."


    "I don''t want to see you, demon... you''ve ruined my life."


    "You''re the one who ruined my life..."


    Ning Zhiyu seemed to have gone crazy, suddenly crying, using all his strength to desperately squeeze his abdomen, however, except for the initial flow of blood, there was no more movement.


    "How could this be..."


    "How could this be..."


    Seeing his panicked and bewildered appearance, Mo Zun whispered, "The foetus in your belly have inherited the magic power from my life, and will still protect itself in the mother''s womb. Ordinary people cannot hurt them, including you."


    Ning Zhiyu muttered, "Evil demons¡­ they really are really evil demons."


    "There are good and bad people, and the same goes for demons. If they are born and you teach them well, they may not choose evil.¡± Mo Zun gloomily said.


    Ning Zhiyu leapt back, "Don''t even think about it."


    The gentle, weak and timid person from the past could reveal such a cold and hard sidd. He was afraid that Ning Zhiyu was more pleasant to the servants in the palace than to him.


    In his heart, Mo Zun knew that he was different to this human, but as a demon lord, he could not allow himself to be at a disadvantage at any time.


    "When this honourable one revives the demon clan, there will be demon maidens who will be willing to breed heirs for this honourable one. Do you think this honourable one really cares for you?"


    "It''s just that I want to devour the children in your womb when they are born to strengthen my magic power."


    With a sneer, Mo Zun dropped a few sentences and disappeared into thin air.


    After tossing and turning alone for a long time, Ning Zhiyu was sure that he could not abort the child in this way, so he finally gave up and lay down on the bed exhausted and fell asleep.


    After he had fallen asleep, a man dressed in black and red battle robes appeared beside the bed. Mo Zun sat down quietly, his large palm slowly probing Ning Zhiyu''s slightly bulging abdomen, and his red pupils appeared to be filled with restrained joy and excitement, yet soon, all those emotions disappeared and were replaced by darkness.


    Humans and demons were different, and it was only normal for Ning Zhiyu to be disgusted with him and with their child. Once upon a time, he would never have cared what a tiny human thought of him, but he just couldn''t help but care now.


    He had been asleep for ten thousand years, and the moment his soul woke up from Ning Zhiyu''s body, he was destined to be inseparable from him. Since that day, he had watched how Ning Zhiyu lived, how he spent time with his beloved, how he was happy, sad and upset.


    At first, when he saw Ning Zhiyu grieving for Yan Yuan, he thought that this really was a foolish human being who can''t live without anyone, who can''t eat or sleep properly, and who was completely led by the nose by the other person. It was almost funny.


    Until one day, he suddenly began to care about Ning Zhiyu''s actions, about everything between him and Yan Yuan. He didn''t know when it started, probably after the day they had their lovemaking, or even earlier, when he saw Ning Zhiyu in tears, but he found this human being a little bit more appealing.

 CH 93

    Unless You Can Get the Heart of a Dragon


    Warning: This chapter includes a suicide attempt.


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à


    A demon child is born in six months, so he is already slightly pregnant in the first month. When he raised his hand to it, it felt soft and warm under his palm.


    In the past, Mo Zun hated those noisy children, but now that it was his own child, it was different. Maybe because his relatives were no longer there, he was looking forward to having children with blood ties to him in this world.


    Unfortunately...


    In the middle of the night, Mo Zun sat on the side of the bed, looking at the person on the bed for a long time, and the complexity in his eyes was beyond words. After a long time, he leaned over and pulled up the quilt, covering Ning Zhiyu.


    Early in the morning, rain fell outside the hall, and water droplets fell from the eaves of the hall. As Ning Zhiyu woke up, he heard the voice in his head say:


    "If you want to get rid of the child, there is only one way."


    "When my body is rebuilt, I can crush the child with my spiritual power before expelling it from your body."


    "Now, although I can temporarily leave your body, I cannot use my spiritual power."


    Mo Zun''s voice was hoarse and tired, as if he had not slept all night.


    Ning Zhiyu propped himself up on the bed and sat up slowly: "Once you have obtained the dragon heart... you will have the ability to kill Yan Yuan."


    "I won''t give you the chance to hurt him..."


    "I will not trust you again."


    Mo Zun sneered, "It is up to you whether you believe it or not."


    Today was no different from the usual daily routine. Ning Zhiyu got up and had a light breakfast. He loved to read poems and songs, but since the appearance of Xuan Long, he had not had the heart to read them for a long time, and asked Qingmei to find his favourite one in the afternoon. He flipped through a few pages, the words filled his eyes, but he did not have the heart to appreciate the beauty of it.


    The autumn rain had been drizzling for a whole day, and the days were getting shorter and shorter. When it was about to get dark, Qingmei came in and asked Ning Zhiyu if he wanted her to serve the evening meal, but he leaned on the small couch, looking out of the window at the hazy rain and mist, and said, "Qingmei, I would like to go to Yuqing Pavillion to look around."


    Qingmei paused: "Your Majesty, it is still raining and there is not even a moon tonight, what is there to see? Why don''t you ask the Emperor to go with you one day when he is free?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head, "I want to go by myself."


    Qingmei could not refuse him, so she took a fox fur and put it on Ning Zhiyu, and went out with him while holding an oil-paper umbrella.


    The night was cold, and Ning Zhiyu occasionally coughed twice, the skin at the end of his eyes flushed, and he looked pale but in a good mood, with a light smile in his eyes.


    Qingmei has not seen Ning Zhiyu this happy for a long time, it is a bit strange. Recently, the Emperor would visit Luanfeng Hall, but because of the busy political affairs, he was always discussing state affairs with the ministers in the imperial study. He would come and sit for half an hour and then leave, spending less time with the Empress than before, so she do not know why he was so happy.


    She muttered in her heart, but did not ask.


    After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at Yuqing Pavillion. It was the tallest pavilion in the palace, more than 10 stories tall, with a slightly more spacious appearance than a pagoda. It stood in the curtain of rain in an ancient way, and if you looked up, it was a bit hard to see.


    This pavilion was built for Ning Zhiyu when Yan Yuan was still a prince and he was still a student. Ning Zhiyu was born to a humble mother and did not have the same opportunities to go out and show his face as his siblings, so he had not been out of the house more than a few times since he was a child. Later, he entered the palace as the prince''s companion and he didn¡¯t have much of a chance to look at the outside world. Yan Yuan ordered someone to build this pavilion for him. Standing here, he could see the lights of the thousands of homes outside the imperial city.


    It was the most beautiful view in the world in Ning Zhiyu''s eyes.


    The two of them stopped in front of the pavilion. Qingmei looked at Ning Zhiyu worriedly: "Empress, there are thousands of steps in this pavilion, your body may not be able to bear it. Should this servant will find a stronger eunuch to carry you up?..."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled and shook his head, "I''ll walk by myself."


    When he came here before, Yan Yuan was afraid that he would get tired, so he always carried him up. Now that Yan Yuan was busy, he would come and walk up by himself.


    Qingmei had no choice but to comply.


    The stairs in the tower were narrow and the two of them walked side by side, leaving little room for manoeuvre. But halfway up, Ning Zhiyu started to move very slowly. Qingmei helped him to reach the terrace at the top of the building.


    The sky was already dark and there were a few small lamps burning around. Except for the pavilion, there was nothing to see except for the fog.


    But that did not stop Ning Zhiyu from having a smile in his eyes: "Once upon a time, A''Yuan and I used to come here. When I was in a bad mood, he would bring me here to see the lights outside the imperial city, to enjoy the moonlight and the stars in the sky."


    Qingmei: "But it''s raining today..."


    How can there be moonlight and starlight when it is raining?


    Ning Zhiyu''s smile remained the same: ¡°That¡¯s right, it''s raining today..."


    The thick fog blocked the lights outside the imperial city, as if the night was already dark and dense. In fact, what did it matter if it rained? There would be many, many more clear days ahead, and he and Yan Yuan had a long, long future ahead of them.


    A''Yuan had said that they would stand here and look at the scenery for the rest of their lives, and that when they were old and their hair was grey, they would hold hands and climb up together, enjoying the moon and watching the stars shine.


    But who knew that a lifetime was so long... and that there were too many unexpected variables in the middle of it, like the wind blowing the vows between them to bits and pieces, and now there is just a little bit left to try to hold on to in the palm of your hand.


    When he opened his hand, it flew away.


    Although Ning Zhiyu was smiling, there was a lingering sadness around him. Qingmei knew that he must have remembered something and softly spoke in a comforting voice, "It''s alright, next time when the sky is clear, the Empress can come again."


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and said softly, "I won''t come."


    Qingmei: "Why?..."


    Water misted in Ning Zhiyu''s eyes and his smile was light: "I won''t come..."


    "Things have long been different."


    "It''s only sad to be here more often."


    "I''m tired."


    Qingmei became more and more worried: "Your Majesty... should go back if you are tired, perhaps the Emperor is waiting for you to eat in Luanfeng Hall by now."


    Ning Zhiyu''s back was straight, his long hair, half tied and half fallen, danced with the wind, in a white robe, like a jade tree. He looked at the rain and mist beyond the pavilion and spoke in a soft voice:


    "The person he waited for was never me."


    Qingmei: "Your Majesty, don''t say that..."


    "Qingmei." Ning Zhiyu gently interrupted her.


    "This servant is here." Qingmei whispered.


    Ning Zhiyu didn''t look at her, "Go back, it''s time for dinner, don''t make him wait too long."


    Qingmei hesitated, "Your Majesty, this servant does not understand what you mean..."


    Ning Zhiyu''s voice trailed off and became a little hoarse: "You go back and tell the Emperor that I love him."


    "With a husband like him in this life, I have nothing more to ask for."


    "I just hope that in the next life, if we are still destined¡­ we can walk together... a little longer..."


    Ning Zhiyu lowered his head and mumbled, and Qingmei saw him cry, "Your Majesty..."


    Ning Zhiyu let the tears trickle down his face. Since this was the last time he was going to be sad, what was the harm in being reckless.


    "I am tired..."


    "I don''t want to fight anymore, for something that doesn''t belong to me..."


    Under Qingmei''s watchful eye, Ning Zhiyu slowly approached the wooden railing that was half a man''s height and looked down to the ground below, which was hidden by a thick fog. The height was more than ten stories, but it looked as if it was an abyss of ten thousand feet.


    "If I fall from here, I''m sure I''ll die a horrible death..."


    Qingmei vaguely sensed something and nervously said, "Your Majesty, don''t go over there, it''s slippery in the rain and it would be bad if you tumbled over the railing."


    Ning Zhiyu didn''t hear what Qingmei was saying. Immersed in his own world, he mumbled to himself, "If it''s ugly, it''s ugly... As long as he remembers how I look at my best, it''s fine... "


    "It''s a pity that I have not done anything for him as a married couple until now, so I guess I am a bit sorry for him... However, he has Xuan Long, so he doesn''t need me anymore."


    The two of them were two meters apart and Qingmei could not hear what Ning Zhiyu was saying. She was about to stop him from walking forward when she saw Ning Zhiyu put his hands on the railing and jump down.


    Qingmei''s eyes widened in horror as she rushed forward, "Your Majesty!!!"


    The sound of something heavy hitting the ground came from below.


    A 10-storey high building required a lot of strength to climb up. To jump down, however, only required a slight leap and everything would be liberated.


    The obsession of loving but not being able to, the grievances in the heart, the pain, it will all dissipate with death...


    There was a lot of blood gushing out from under Ning Zhiyu''s head, staining the snow-white fox fur red. His life was bitter, it was only after he met Yan Yuan that he tasted some sweetness of life.


    Now that the sweetness was gone, only bitterness remained.


    In fact, he was not very good at enduring hardship.


    When Yan Yuan received the news, he was in the imperial study, reading through the imperial documents, and preparing to go to Qiankun Palace to see Xuan Long afterwards. Chen Yan rushed into the hall in a panic, unable to even walk steadily, and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty... the Empress has fallen from Yuqing Pavillion..."


    Yan Yuan''s brain buzzed and the wolf-tail brush in his hand paused, a drop of ink falling on the document: "What did you say?"


    "The Empress..." Chen Yan repeated.


    Before he could finish his words, Yan Yuan leapt out of his seat and headed out, his eyes instantly red.


    The height of Yuqing Pavillion is such that if a person falls, he or she will be shattered to pieces. How could he or she survive?


    Yan Yuan did not dare to ask, but when he heard Chen Yan say that Ning Zhiyu had been carried back to Luanfeng Hall, he walked quickly in the rain and eventually dropped his appearance and ran wildly.


    The situation was better than he expected: he was still alive, but not much better. His breath was barely perceptible and blood was pouring out from underneath Ning Zhiyu, staining half of the bed red.


    The imperial doctors and palace staff in the hall were busy trying to stop Ning Zhiyu''s bleeding, but with so much blood, it was impossible to stop it.


    Yan Yuan could not get in for a while, and when he saw Zong Hua exit from the crowd, he went up and grabbed Zong Hua''s arm, "How¡­ how is A''Yu doing..."


    Zong Hua sighed, "Your Majesty... please take my condolences."


    Yan Yuan''s sanity was gone and he roared out of control, ¡°Your condolences... take what condolences, A''Yu is still alive, what condolences!!!"


    Zong Hua kept shaking his head, "Your Majesty, if you fall from such a high place, your internal organs will be shattered, if your internal organs are shattered, you will not be able to live..."


    Yan Yuan shook his head in disbelief, "Impossible..."


    "How could A''Yu leave me, it''s impossible... impossible..."


    He suddenly had to turn around and squeeze towards the bed, pushing away all the imperial doctors and palace staff who were in his way, "Get out!!! Get lost, all of you!!!"


    "I want to stay with A''Yu, all of you get out!!!"


    The imperial doctors and the palace staff trembled and retreated. Yan Yuan sat down at the edge of the bed and saw Ning Zhiyu''s face, and tears immediately fell down.


    When he came yesterday, he was still fine, how could he have become like this...


    Yan Yuan grabbed Ning Zhiyu''s cold hand and cried like a child: ¡°A¡¯Yu... don''t scare me, don''t scare me..."


    Zong Hua could not bear it in his heart: "Your Majesty... the facts have been set, there is no other way, unless we can get the dragon''s heart."

 CH 94

    Heart and Soul


    The door of Qiankun Palace''s side hall was suddenly pushed open, and the candle flame inside the hall swayed with the wind. Yan Yuan went straight into the inner hall, straight to the man on the bed, and grabbed Xuan Long''s shoulders and shook him frantically.


    "The inner elixir..."


    "Give me the inner elixir!!! Quickly!!!"


    The chains on Xuan Long''s body rattled dully for a long time before he woke up in a daze and opened his turquoise eyes to look at the person beside him. The silver crown on Yan Yuan''s head was nowhere to be seen, his black hair was dripping wet and knotted into wisps, water was dripping down his cheeks and his eyes were as scarlet as blood.


    He was shaking Xuan Long so hard that the chains inadvertently slammed into his bulging stomach, causing vague pain. He was used to Yan Yuan''s unpredictable moods, and when he had finished his rage, it would naturally pass, so Xuan Long endured his discomfort as he pursed his lips and turned his face away.


    The rain under the eaves was falling heavier and heavier, and the noise of the outside world was cut off by the walls. He was covered with heavy bedding, but Xuan Long still felt cold. The cold was not something he had ever been afraid of.


    In normal times, Yan Yuan would have allowed him to continue and just let it go, but this time it was different: Ning Zhiyu was dying, literally.


    Xuan Long had just turned his face when Yan Yuan grabbed his cheek and turned it back, slapping it.


    "I''m talking to you!!!"


    "Are you deaf?!?!?!"


    "I said, give me the inner elixir!!!"


    Yan Yuan was born tall and his palms were large. When his slap landed on Xuan Long''s face, not only did his ears experience a temporary ringing, but his temples also tingled with sudden pain.


    Xuan Long opened his mouth and spat out a weak and hoarse sentence, "¡­ I won''t give it to you."


    With so much force, his cheeks were slightly swollen and glowed a harsh red, making the other side of his face whiter and whiter. Xuan Long used to have a chilling coldness to his face, but now that coldness seemed to have receded a bit, perhaps because he was so weak that many times those deep turquoise eyes could not even focus.


    When a beast is dying, anyone can step on it.


    Yan Yuan''s palm was burning with pain that made him find some sense. He didn''t know how much pain Xuan Long was in, he only thought of his beloved dying and that if Ning Zhiyu died, he wouldn''t be able to live.


    The heartbreaking pain was so intense that it brought tears to Yan Yuan''s eyes. He bent down, crouched in front of Xuan Long''s chest and hissed, ¡°A''Yu is dying... is really dying..."


    ¡°Give me the inner elixir... I don''t want to cut out your heart..."


    ¡°A''Po... give it to me."


    Xuan Long was wearing a profane robe over his body, and Yan Yuan''s tears soon permeated the thin material. His tears that were so hot were shed for another person.


    Originally he thought that after the death of Hu Le, his heart had become a dry well and no more tears could well up in his eyes, but that was not the case. Since he was a body made of flesh and blood, he would have tears, he could not help it.


    Xuan Long''s indifferent turquoise eyes moved and a wetness slipped through the corner.


    Yan Yuan had begged him for a long time, and between the chaos, Xuan Long vaguely felt that such a scene had appeared before, that Yan Yuan had also begged him in such a sad manner. As for what he begged for, he couldn¡¯t remember.


    Perhaps it was all just a dream.


    The inner elixir was long gone, it was not that he would not hand it over, but how could he give him what had been already given to him long ago? What Yan Yuan thought of the dying dragon, who no longer even had the desire to confess the truth, was none of his business.


    For many ordinary people, if they ask for something but cannot get it, they forget about it, but when it comes to Yan Yuan, the person who tells him that he cannot get what he wants always pays a huge price.


    Xuan Long''s persistent silence caused Yan Yuan to completely lose his patience, roughly grabbing Xuan Long by the lapels and dragging half of his body up, ¡°I''ll say it again, hand over the inner elixir."


    "I have no more time to spend with you, if you remain silent like this, I will cut out your heart and the evil seed in your belly will not survive."


    Yan Yuan thought that this would be enough to threaten Xuan Long, but in reality, for those who were about to die, many of the things they once cared about and feared would become less important.


    Xuan Long''s neck was tightly strangled by the clenched up collar of his profane clothes, the long hair behind his back moved slightly with his swaying body, and his mute voice answered, "¡­ You are happy, that''s all."


    Yan Yuan clenched his teeth, and the force of his hand tightened slowly: "What did you say?"


    Xuan Long''s faint breathing intensified due to the other party''s brute force: "You are happy, that''s all."


    His face was expressionless as he said this, and he didn''t even look at Yan Yuan, his demonic turquoise pupils looking past Yan Yuan into the void behind him with no purpose.


    Yan Yuan hated the fact that Xuan Long was not looking at him, forcing him to squeeze his jaw painfully, demanding that he had to look at him, gritting his teeth with every word, "You''re provoking me."


    Provoking?


    What provocation?


    He had done everything he wanted, he had given him everything he wanted, and now he wanted his heart, he wanted him dead, and he had given it to him, so why was he still not satisfied. The human race was really much more complex than their demon counterparts, at least he had never understood it.


    Yan Yuan''s face darkened: "You are the one who is forcing me."


    "Someone!!! Han Po has repeatedly disobeyed the holy orders and does not know how to repent, so he will be immediately sent to the Heavenly Prison and will be sentenced to whipping!!!"


    As soon as Yan Yuan''s hand loosened, Xuan Long fell back onto the bed, and there was another muffled clanging of the chains. A few imperial guards quickly came in from outside the hall, used the key to unlock the shackles on Xuan Long''s hands, and dragged him off the bed.


    Prisoners were not allowed to wear shoes, and Xuan Long was only wearing a thin set of profane robes, so when he left the quilt, he felt the cold breeze entering his body, and it was quite cold. The guards in front of him didn¡¯t care about his inconvenience and just obeyed the imperial decree. Xuan Long staggered as he was dragged out, and he couldn¡¯t even straighten his back.


    Yan Yuan wanted to ask him to beg for mercy, but he did not look back at him until Xuan Long had disappeared from his sight, and he did not utter a single word.


    The robes he wore were made for Xuan Long a long time ago when Yan Yuan asked the clothing bureau to come and measure him, probably when Xuan Long had just entered the palace. Many pieces were made at once, and at that time they were just right for him to wear, but now that Xuan Long was pregnant, the robes looked much fuller. From the back there was only a thin silhouette, so it was impossible to see that he was pregnant.


    Xuan Long was dragged into the rain by two imperial guards and headed for the Heavenly Prison. He had suffered a lot of pain in the past and was not too scared; the whipping was just a punishment, he was used to being beaten ever since he was a child.


    The autumn rain fell on his body, and it was bone chilling. When he was brought to the Heavenly Prison, he could no longer feel his limbs. Inside the cramped and damp prison, Xuan Long''s hands were tied to a wooden cross and his soaked robes clung to his body, his abdomen protruding. No matter how you looked at him, he was pregnant.


    The prison officer in charge of the punishment was carrying a whip, but he was not sure how to proceed and asked the two imperial guards what was going on. The man who had been dragged out of Yan Yuan''s palace was pregnant with Yan Yuan''s child, but it was also Yan Yuan who had ordered Xuan Long to be dragged here, so the three men deliberated for a while before deciding to carry out the sentence.


    The man shackled to the cross had his head hanging down, his long hair covering his cheeks so that his face could not be seen, and with one stroke of the whip, his body was immediately split open, blood dripping down along with the water.


    Xuan Long''s breathing was inevitably a little rapid, he didn''t even have the strength to raise his head, and only begged in a low voice:


    "Don''t... hit the abdomen."


    As long as he lived, he wanted the child in his womb to be safe and alive, or at least not to leave before him. At least he had tried to do his duty as a father and had not been cruel enough to leave him.


    The whip had no eyes, and as he swung it out, he could not control it. The prison officer had punished thousands of prisoners here and did not know what it meant to be soft-hearted, but he was afraid of Xuan Long''s belly. If there really was Yan Yuan''s child inside, and if it was accidentally lost, Yan Yuan would blame him and he would not be able to withstand the chopping off of a hundred heads.


    The long whip in his hand broke through the air and swung at the man''s body, trying to avoid the bulging belly, but the whip was too long, even if the injury landed on the chest, the tail of the whip would still accidentally hit the stomach, and with each stroke, Xuan Long''s body would tremble. The child in his belly seemed to also suffer, squirming uneasily, so he didn''t dare to use too much force.


    "Don''t be afraid... soon, it will be fine, it won''t hurt."


    The prison officer saw the man murmur something inaudibly from his lips hidden under his long, messy hair. There was only an airy sound, and the content was inaudible.


    When Xuan Long was in his original form, he was covered in dragon scales that could withstand mortal swords and spears, but now that he was in human form, his Tao was completely gone and his scales were virtually useless, his fragile skin no different from that of a normal human.


    Gradually, his chest and lower limbs were filled with crisscrossing whip marks, and his profane robes could barely be seen in their original form. Yan Yuan only said that he would be whipped and tortured, but did not say exactly what would happen, whether he would simply be taught a lesson or whether he would never leave the prison again.


    As the Emperor did not give the order, no one else dared to make a decision. They were about to stop after a few more lashes when heavy, rapid footsteps came from the distance. The whip stopped in mid-air the moment the man entered the torture chamber. The prison officer turned his head and when he saw that is was Yan Yuan, he stopped immediately.


    Yan Yuan''s face was gloomy. Seeing the man covered in blood on the torture rack, his hands hanging in his robe suddenly tightened. He pursed his lips and walked over, and the prison officer and guards automatically backed away.


    "Are you done thinking?"


    "Do you want to be beaten to death like this, or do you want to obediently hand over the inner elixir?"


    Xuan Long''s head hung low, as if he had passed out. A pregnant man could not afford to suffer like this. Thanks to the fact that he was not a human being, but a dragon with ten thousand years of Taoism, Yan Yuan felt much more relaxed thinking this.


    It was better to suffer some pain than to lose one''s life.


    "Pour cold water and wake him up."


    Yan Yuan gave the order in a cold voice, and a guard immediately ran to bring water, pouring a whole bucket of cold water on him. Xuan Long straightened up and coughed twice before he stopped moving.


    The back of his head was leaning against the torture rack, his face sideways, his wet hair hiding most of his face, revealing his thin, pale jaw. Yan Yuan knew that he was awake.


    "Hand over the inner elixir."


    "Then I will ask Hua Niang to heal you, and the bastard in your womb, whether it is mine or not, will be born at full term, and I will send him out of the palace, leaving him just barely alive."


    "I thought you cherished this child? How about trading your inner elixir for his life?"


    It sounded like a good deal, but unfortunately he had run out of leverage. If he could not get the inner elixir, Yan Yuan would not let him go, nor would he let his child go. What¡¯s the use of talking too much, it¡¯s just a waste of energy.


    When Yan Yuan saw how stubborn he was, the anger in his eyes intensified, and his mind raced to think of other ways to make Xuan Long comply, but there was nothing he could do other than torture.


    Xuan Long was already in such a state, and if he continued to fight, there was no telling what the consequences would be, so he had him dragged into the cell and thrown into the hay, leaving him to fend for himself.


    Before leaving, Yan Yuan ordered someone to dig out a piece of Xuan Long''s heart with a knife. Without the inner elixir or the dragon''s heart, Ning Zhiyu''s breath could barely be held by his heart.

 CH 95

    Occasional Weakness


    Yan Yuan did not want to admit that he was being soft-hearted. Ning Zhiyu was his lover, and now that his lover was in danger, he was being soft-hearted towards Xuan Long.


    He hated himself for being soft-hearted.


    It was easy to get Xuan Long''s heart at this time, just take a dagger and penetrate Xuan Long''s skin, rip out the living heart, and Ning Zhiyu would be saved.


    But he was unwilling to let Xuan Long die, for no reason at all, he just wouldn''t let him leave his side. When he saw Xuan Long''s body covered with whip marks, it felt so unbearable that he wanted to reprimand the prison officer for beating him so hard, but then he thought that this would prove his determination to Xuan Long, so he held his tongue.


    If Xuan Long had been afraid, he might have handed over the inner elixir. What he didn''t expect was that this man would be so stubborn that he would endure such a heavy injury, yet he just wouldn''t hand over the item.


    He hated Xuan Long''s stubbornness, but there was nothing he could do about it. Digging out the flesh of his heart was just a temporary measure before he could get the inner elixir, and what was a curable wound compared to death?


    Even so, Yan Yuan could not do it himself. He stood in the passage outside the prison, ten metres from the cell where Xuan Long was being held, waiting for the two guards to come out and do their job.


    The eerie firelight jumped from the sconces on the walls, and the cell was cold and empty. Most of the prisoners held here were important prisoners of war or criminal courtiers from other countries, and after a few executions a few months ago, there was no one left.


    The imperial guards moved quickly, and not long after Xuan Long was dragged into the cell, they emerged, one of them presenting Yan Yuan with a plain black wooden box in his hands, containing what he wanted.


    Yan Yuan lifted his eyes to look at the wooden box, and when he raised his hand to touch it, his fingertips retracted and he withdrew his hand and dropped it to his side: "How is he?"


    "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, he has fainted, he did not struggle much when the knife was placed upon him, and only grunted twice."


    Yan Yuan: "Go and invite the flower spirit."


    The flesh of the heart was only a thin piece, the size of a woman''s hand, and after Yan Yuan returned to Luanfeng Hall, the palace staff immediately used it on Ning Zhiyu according to Zong Hua''s recipe.


    After a night of tossing and turning, the day was dawning. After taking the medicine, Ning Zhiyu''s breath was not as faint as before, but it was still very weak.


    When Yan Yuan heard that Ning Zhiyu had jumped on his own, he didn''t believe it and thought that Qingmei had lied in order to shirk her responsibility, so he ordered the court lady to be locked up and executed after the autumn.


    He and A''Yu were doing well, how could the other side suddenly want to leave him?


    Impossible...


    It must be because the floor was slippery in the rain, so he failed to stand firmly. He blamed himself for being too busy and not caring much for him lately. A''Yu must have missed him and went to see the scenery at Yuqing Pavilion alone.


    Silly A''Yu, there is no such thing as a good view on a rainy day.


    Yan Yuan''s teary eyes blurred as he held Ning Zhiyu''s pale hands: "... You said that you would hold hands with me and grow old together, are you going to go back on your word to me too?"


    ......


    The man lay motionless on the wet, cold straw, the blood on his body staining the straw an uneven shade of red, and the cramped space was filled with a strong, cold scent.


    Hua Niang was pushed into the cell and froze when she saw the man on the floor. She walked over in disbelief and slowly knelt down, her fingertips trembling as she lifted the man''s long, messy hair to reveal a cold, pale face.


    ¡°A''Long...¡± The moment she opened her mouth, tears poured down her face.


    She hardly dared to look at Xuan Long''s bloodstained body, unable to imagine how cruel it was to do such a thing to someone who was pregnant, let alone carrying that person''s child in their belly.


    With tears streaming down her face, Hua Niang conjured up a pair of scissors and cut the clothes that were attached to Xuan Long''s body, then sprinkled the wounds with the best medicine she could find. It was frightening enough when he was dressed, but when he was undressed, it was even worse. Apart from the wounds on his chest, the wounds on his lower limbs were the most serious, his two long legs were covered with whip marks, some of which were bone deep.


    The human race says that there is a deep kindness once married, but after having sex with Xuan Long and taking his body, how can he still do this to him...


    After the medicine was administered, Hua Niang used her spiritual power to manipulate the bandages to carefully wrap Xuan Long''s body, and then produced a clean set of clothes for him to put on. After this, there was not much of her meager spiritual power left.


    It was too cold in this prison and Xuan Long would not be able to withstand it if he was this weak, so she gritted her teeth, dried the straw on the ground, and made a thick bedding. The exhaustion of her spiritual energy made her pale and she had no choice but to walk towards the cell and look through the bars to the two guards waiting outside.


    "You... can you help me and carry him onto the bedding?"


    The two guards looked at her and then looked through the bars at the unconscious Xuan Long on the ground, frowning with difficulty. When one comes to this prison, they have to suffer, there is no reason for them to sleep on a mattress. If the Emperor knew about it, most of them would be punished.


    "No."


    "His Majesty has ordered to leave him with one breath and that''s it, and no good food or drink is allowed to be served."


    With tears in her eyes, Hua Niang watched the two iron-faced guards pause for a moment before turning away in disappointment and returning to Xuan Long''s side. She could not move Xuan Long, so she had to wrap him up in a quilt, and while the straw under him was barely dry, it was not as comfortable as a mattress.


    Xuan Long was so badly injured that external medicine was not enough, he had to take it internally. Hua Niang gently pinched Xuan Long''s cheeks and forced him to open his lips as she poured in the medicine from a small black porcelain vial.


    The medicine was poured in, but Xuan Long refused to swallow and it dribbled out down the corners of his mouth. Hua Niang knew that his time was getting short.


    ¡°A''Long..."


    ¡°Drink some... you don''t want to die..."


    Hua Niang sobbed quietly, holding Xuan Long''s upper body in her arms and whispering, "Think about the baby, okay?..."


    "He hasn''t come out to see this world yet..."


    She did not know if her words were heard, but after Hua Niang rambled a bit, when she tried to pour the medicine into Xuan Long''s mouth again, there was a slight movement in his throat and he swallowed a small portion.


    No more could be fed.


    Hua Niang''s daughter was waiting at home, so she could not stay forever and left at dawn.


    It was dawn outside, but the cell was still dark. The daylight filtered down through the square opening at the top, which did not bring much light.


    Xuan Long rarely woke up each day, and he was usually unconscious. Every time Yan Yuan came, he was asleep, huddled in a bed of grey cotton bedding, as if he was afraid of the cold.


    Yan Yuan had to force him awake, but Xuan Long''s mind was always unclear. He was in pain everywhere, and was always in a cold sweat when he was awake. It was better when he was asleep, he probably slept so deeply that he didn''t feel the pain.


    He sometimes recognises Yan Yuan, sometimes he sees him as Hu Le, but when he knows it is Yan Yuan, he doesn''t like to talk to him. Xuan Long''s temperament is not capable of saying harsh words. He just looks cold, but in reality he doesn''t even say curse words, at most he says he doesn''t want to see him and that he hates him.


    But that was all in the past. When one is really disheartened, one does not even want to talk to that person. Some people express their sadness and anger by cursing and fighting to the death, but when Xuan Long is sad, he has the habit of shutting himself up, as he did when he was a child.


    Except for the time when he was kicked out of the dragon clan, Xuan Long would not beg for mercy even if he was beaten up by his mother. What really scared him was that his mother would never want him again and he would never have a home again.


    After being abandoned by his clan, Xuan Long already knew that when his mother did not want him, it was useless to beg, and even if he died in front of his mother that day, she probably would not even shed half a tear.


    Some beings are born to be inferior to others, because even their closest relatives are unwilling to love them, unwilling to part with even a little bit of softness of heart, let alone other people.


    That is why he would not ask Yan Yuan for forgiveness, he would not tell Yan Yuan the truth. He was afraid that it did not matter to Yan Yuan where the inner elixir had gone. Yan Yuan only cared whether he could take out the inner elixir and save his beloved, if not, he would be no different from a beast that did not understand human feelings.


    As he once said... you are nothing more than a beast.


    Perhaps, because he was a demon, he could never understand why a person could be so hypocritical and eloquent, and could go to great lengths to deceive him for another person, to make love to him, just to deceive his heart.


    Yan Yuan did not understand Xuan Long''s desperation, all he knew was that Xuan Long was always distant and cold to him, and if he mistook him for Hu Le, Xuan Long would talk nonsense intermittently and occasionally laugh.


    He could actually laugh. He hadn''t laughed in a long time, not because of him, but because of a long-dead fox demon. Yan Yuan knew it was foolish to compete with a dead demon, but he just couldn''t help himself and didn''t like the way Xuan Long laughed when he was calling out the name of someone else under his breath and smiling so happily.


    It was a happiness that came from the bottom of his heart, and Yan Yuan could even imagine how relaxing it would be if Xuan Long and the fox demon could really live together.


    Xuan Long was willing to go with Yan Huo Heng and to live with Hu Le, but only tried desperately to run away from him. Before that, he had clearly allowed him to give birth to his child, was he still not satisfied with such a great gift?


    Yan Yuan was furious at the thought of this. He squeezed Xuan Long''s cheek and told him to shut up and not to call out Hu Le''s name again. Xuan Long never cried out in pain to Yan Yuan, but when he thought he was Hu Le, he would cry out in a fog of pain.


    Xuan Long''s unfocused turquoise eyes never met Yan Yuan''s face, his sword brows slightly wrinkled, his voice as small as a mosquito: "Hu Le¡­ it hurts..."


    Perhaps because Hu Le is one of the few people in the world who really cared about him, who didn''t mind him being a nuisance, who didn''t mind him being picky when he was pregnant, who would treat him well in any way possible, it was okay to show weakness once in a while.


    If Hu Le were still around, he would have asked him where he was hurting. He lifted the bedding from Xuan Long''s body and ordered him to be chained to the wall, demanding that he recognise him before he was released.

 CH 96

    If You Want to Kill, Kill


    When autumn passed, it was winter.


    This year, winter came earlier than usual, with a heavy snowfall at the end of the autumn. Ning Zhiyu was a kind-hearted man and would have been upset if he had woken up and found out that Qingmei had died because of him, so the maid was never executed.


    Even if one did not watch over their master, to make them fall from the pavilion is a capital offence.


    After Yan Yuan was infected with the demonic compulsion, his temperament changed drastically. Compared to his old self, he was so violent and unpredictable that people from other palaces would be dragged down and executed even if they did not provoke him. In contrast, he treated Ning Zhiyu and the people in Ning Zhiyu''s palace the same as before.


    The longer Ning Zhiyu was in a coma, the more irritable Yan Yuan became. Only when he returned to Luanfeng Hall could he find a little peace in his heart, but the palace staff hadn''t seen him smile for a long time.


    A month passed and Yan Yuan gradually became convinced that Ning Zhiyu had not lost his footing. He had not taken Qingmei''s words to heart before, thinking that they were excuses from the palace maid to avoid responsibility, but after he had calmed down, he wondered why A''Yu had braved the rain to go to the pavilion that day, and why he had not asked him to go with her.


    They had always gone together before.


    Yan Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and summoned Qingmei in, not taking his eyes off the man on the bed, who was dressed in white like snow and with eyebrows as clear as jade: ¡°That day¡­ what did A''Yu say? Say it again."


    Qingmei had repeated it to Yan Yuan many times, but Yan Yuan never seemed to get tired of hearing it, and often asked her to say what happened that day. Qingmei did not dare to disobey, and spoke with red eyes.


    "It was raining that day, and the Empress had been reading poetry in his bedchamber all afternoon. When the night was thick, he suddenly said he wanted to go to Yuqing Pavilion... This servant could not persuade him, so she gave him fox fur and went out with him."


    "There are many steps in Yuqing Pavillion. The Empress refused to let anyone carry him and insisted on going up by himself, so this servant followed him. It was so dark outside the pavilion that nothing could be seen, and the servant advised him to come back another day, but he said... he would not go."


    "Why wouldn''t he go?" Yan Yuan asked in a mute voice.


    Qingmei''s voice changed its tone a little: "The Empress said... that things have long since changed, so going more often would only be sad."


    Yan Yuan asked indifferently, "What else did he say?"


    Qingmei huffed, "He said... the person the Emperor waited for was never him. He doesn''t want to fight for something that doesn''t belong to him anymore."


    Yan Yuan continued self-mutilatingly, "And what else?"


    Qingmei choked up, "And... he asked this servant to tell His Majesty that he loves you. If there is a destiny in the next life, he hopes to walk with you longer and longer..."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were red and his throat was strained. He knew that Ning Zhiyu must have misunderstood something, perhaps he had heard some whispers about him and Xuan Long and assumed that the person he loved was Xuan Long.


    Qingmei told the secret she had kept for a long time: "When you and that young master from Qiankun Palace were... in the side hall of Luanfeng Hall, the Empress knew all about it. He just didn''t say it out loud and smiled daily when he was facing you, but he rarely smiled in private."


    The entire staff of Luanfeng Hall knew about the matter of Yan Yuan summoning Xuan Long to come to Luanfeng Hall to vent to his desire, there are no impermeable walls in the world, not to mention the things that happen in this little corner of the hall.


    In Yan Yuan''s view, he wanted Xuan Long''s body for the sake of lust alone, but in Ning Zhiyu''s view, he probably didn''t think that way.


    He must have thought he had changed his mind... how desperate must he have been to leap from such a high building...


    When he thought of the suffering that Ning Zhiyu was carrying alone behind his back, Yan Yuan''s heart ached with regret, hating himself for not taking more care of Ning Zhiyu''s emotions, hating himself for not caring enough for Ning Zhiyu, hating himself for wasting too much time with Xuan Long.


    He had given Xuan Long too much tolerance.


    After nightfall, Yan Yuan got drunk on the Daughter''s Wine made by Prime Minister Ning himself, which was served in a jade jug from the wine jar. He didn''t use a cup to drink, but took the jade jug and poured it into his mouth, as if he was not drinking strong wine but plain water.


    The palace staff were all dismissed and he was the only one at the table full of food. Yan Yuan was not a very good drinker, and after a pot of Daughter''s Wine, his cheeks were flushed and his eyebrows were hazy, making his already distinguished face even more beautiful.


    After drinking two jugs in a row and carrying one more in his hand, Yan Yuan wandered off to the Heavenly Prison. Chang''an is in the northwest of China, and the winter cold is bone-chilling. The prison is the coldest of all, and there is not even a fire pit for warmth.


    Xuan Long was lying in the old bedding that had come from nowhere, and his towering belly was the most conspicuous. The guards opened the cell door and retreated to a zone where their ears could not hear them. Yan Yuan entered with the wine jug, but when he let go of it, the empty jug fell to the ground and shattered.


    The man on the floor did not wake up because of the noise. Yan Yuan walked over to him, lifted the bedding from Xuan Long''s body, bullying him, and untied his clothes with his palm, revealing his stomach, which was more than seven months pregnant.


    The whip wounds he received a month ago had healed, leaving ugly scars that were an eyesore.


    Xuan Long was awakened by pain, as if a blade had forcibly split and torn his body apart, cold and painful, and he opened his turquoise eyes, his vision and hearing gradually clearing up.


    It was Yan Yuan, his kiss landed on Xuan Long''s ear, and he called a name desperately and hoarsely: ¡°A''Yu..."


    ¡°A''Yu..."


    Xuan Long was silent for a long time before speaking softly, "Don''t touch me."


    "... You don''t want to touch me."


    He raised his arms to push Yan Yuan''s tight, strong waist and stomach. The other party''s movements were unprecedentedly gentle, and it was because of this that Xuan Long collapsed.


    He had no strength and could not break free. The chains on his hands hit the ground as the other man moved, clanging loudly, and his wrists, unprotected, were worn through by the shackles, exposing the pink flesh.


    Xuan Long slowly tilted his head to avoid the kiss that fell from Yan Yuan, his handsome brow numb between his eyes.


    ¡°Go away."


    "You go away."


    It was so cold outside and Yan Yuan had sobered up much of his drunkenness from the cold breeze on the way here, so how could he possibly have recognized the wrong person.


    He had done it on purpose, his body needed to be released and the emotions in his heart needed to be released. If he held back any longer, he would really go crazy. Pretending that it was Ning Zhiyu underneath him, a living Ning Zhiyu, would make him feel better.


    That was what Yan Yuan thought.


    However, this was not the case.


    The scars on Xuan Long''s body were uneven and no longer as smooth as before. Yan Yuan felt even more uncomfortable when he touched his palm. He didn''t want this, he didn''t want this...


    This stupid dragon was to blame. Why didn''t he just hand over the inner elixir? If he had, he wouldn''t be in this situation, they wouldn''t have come to this point, and he wouldn''t be struggling so much.


    With this in mind, Yan Yuan became hateful and folded Xuan Long into various difficult positions, deliberately causing him pain.


    Xuan Long knew from then on that Yan Yuan had recognised who he was and was forced to bear the pain he was feeling, his hollow turquoise eyes like a sunken hole in which all the sorrows of the world were trapped.


    When it was over, Yan Yuan could not pretend any longer. When he got up and straightened his trousers, he resumed his neat and tidy appearance, and his eyes glowed as he lifted the damp bedding to casually cover Xuan Long''s unsightly body.


    "After tomorrow, if you don''t hand over the inner elixir, I will... come and cut your heart out myself."


    Xuan Long''s eyes were closed and there was no reaction.


    Yan Yuan knew that he had heard and that Xuan Long was still awake, so he lifted his foot and pushed his toe against his large stomach through the bedding, "This time, I am not joking with you."


    Xuan Long fell asleep.


    It was normal for a pregnant person to be sleepy, but no one was as sleepy as he was, often sleeping for the whole day and even missing meals.


    Yan Yuan did not like the child in his womb and suspected that it was someone else''s bastard, so he did not allow the guards to bring him too good food, only white rice and steamed buns. Sometimes he would think that if the little bastard just fell out of the womb, it would be a blessing for all and save him trouble in the future.


    How could he know that the source of the child''s sustenance was the power of Xuan Long''s soul, not much to do with food. Besides, even if he had asked someone to bring him rich food every day, Xuan Long would not be able to eat much.


    Most people die of hunger when they are terminally ill, because they are so ill that they have no desire to eat.


    No matter what kind of creature, there is little difference in this respect.


    Yan Yuan thought he was too sleepy and called him several times without waking him up, so he left Xuan Long covered in filth and went away without having anyone clean him up.


    Snowflakes drifted in through the hole in the ceiling, landing on the bloodless man''s body and bedding. As the moonlight lingered, the falling snowflakes blended with him into a bleak painting, as if to bid him farewell.


    No one knew how many days he had left to live.


    Even Hua Niang could not be sure of the time, but Yan Yuan thought that Xuan Long had a long, long life ahead of him, thinking that he would live as long as heaven and earth and could waste it as he pleased.


    Little did he know that the man in the prison was in no better condition than the golden and precious man lying in the Luanfeng Hall, being carefully cared for.


    He thought Xuan Long was made of iron and would be fine no matter how he was tossed around, so he could bully him all he wanted.


    Tomorrow came quickly.


    Yan Yuan was busy with state affairs during the day, but after nightfall he went to the Heavenly Prison, and this time Xuan Long was awake. He had put on the prison uniform that Yan Yuan had thrown back last night and sat with half a steamed bun in his hand, slowing eating while sitting under the bedding.


    The jailor opened the door and when Yan Yuan walked up to Xuan Long, he did not respond, treating him like air. Yan Yuan slowly bent over and brushed the steamed bun out of his hand with the back of his hand.


    "Yesterday you were asleep and did not hear what I said, today I will repeat it to you."


    "Today, if you don''t voluntarily hand over your inner elixir, I will cut your heart out. This time, it''s not a joke."


    The white steamed bun fell to the ground, rolled around a few times and was stained with ash, so it could no longer be eaten.


    Xuan Long''s dry lips moved slightly, and the voice that came out was hoarse: "If you want to kill, kill."


    Yan Yuan''s face sank, "Don''t act ignorantly again, it won''t do you any good. Would you rather die than save him?..."


    Xuan Long: "Yes."


    "He and I have never met, so why should I give up my inner elixir to save him.¡±


    Yan Yuan completely changed his face, "Someone! Fetch the demon chain and put it on him!"

 CH 97

    The demon chain was left behind by the Taoist priest who had come to the palace to try to get rid of him before. The chain is said to imprison the Tao in a demon¡¯s body, and they couldn¡¯t break free even if they had ten-thousand years of Tao. Yan Yuan was sure that Xuan Long''s Tao was sealed, so he never used it on him.


    The demon chain was black in colour, as thick as an adult man''s arm, and was divided into four strands, two long and two short. The two long strands could be connected to the wall, and the two short strands had two large sharp round hooks attached to the end, which were used to nail the demon''s body.


    It was kept in Yan Yuan''s armoury and he had never intended to use it in his life, but who knew that Xuan Long would be so ungrateful, so it was time to show him what he was capable of.


    Since he was not afraid of earthly punishments, he should try something that would scare him.


    The imperial guard outside the cell door received the order to take Yan Yuan''s badge and go to his armoury to find the demon chains. The reason for the existence of the weapons in the armoury was to deal with the enemy, but now he had to use those things to deal with his pillow man.


    The distance from the armoury to the cell was quite far, and it took quite a lot of effort to get there and back. The footsteps of the imperial guards were far away, and the dark room was terribly quiet.


    Yan Yuan knelt down on one knee and crouched in front of Xuan Long, the bottom of his foot stepping on the corner of his quilt: "You still have the chance to repent."


    "I know you are not stupid, don''t do something stupid that you will regret."


    In this cold weather, Xuan Long was wearing only a thin prison garment, his long hair hanging loose, the bedding half covering his high abdomen. His hair used to be shiny and beautiful, like ink falling down, but now it had somehow lost its colour and was as grey as the quilt covering his body.


    Xuan Long''s face and lips were pale, perhaps too cold, and he could not help but cover his lips and cough twice. His head bowed, his long hair covered the movement of wiping the blood from his lips with his hand very well.


    Yan Yuan saw that he was still silent at such a time, which was obviously a blatant provocation, and became angry. Standing up, he ordered condescendingly:


    "Someone."


    ¡°Let''s start with clamping torture first and let him have a taste of it."


    The so-called ''clamping torture'' is also called finger crushing. As the name implies, the fingers are clamped with a bamboo and rope press, which is often used in the palace to interrogate court officials who have committed crimes. Fingers are connected to the heart, and most of those who are tortured will confess soon.


    Outside the door, two tall guards opened the door and dragged Xuan Long out of the bedding, one on each side, and threw him against the wall, the chains scraping against the ground with an uncomfortable sound.


    Xuan Long sat on the floor against the wall, staring vacantly across the dark cell, allowing the two guards to slip the cold sticks over his ten fingers. The two jailors turned their heads and asked Yan Yuan, "Your Majesty..."


    Yan Yuan''s gaze was icy cold: "Execute the sentence."


    "Yes."


    The two guards each took one side of the thin hemp rope and pulled it. When the clamp was tightened, Xuan Long let out a muffled grunt, his sword brows wrinkled slightly, and he looked down at his shackled fingers. The pain was so intense that he could not bear it, and cold sweat immediately broke out.


    The two adult men used all their strength to force the clamp. If it were an ordinary palace eunuch, he would have rolled on the ground screaming in pain, but Xuan Long was so quiet and didn''t make a sound after the first one, except for his breathing.


    There was a muffled sound of bones cracking between the clamping, and Xuan Long''s towering abdomen rose and fell dramatically, his body weakening as he failed to hold on, perhaps because it was too tight, and the strain on his stomach was causing some pain.


    One of the jailors suddenly exclaimed, "Your Majesty, he''s bleeding from below..."


    The pure white trousers were particularly conspicuous when they were stained with blood, but it was not a lot, just a palm-sized patch on the fabric between the buttocks and legs. Yan Yuan looked at it intently, then frowned and waved to tell the jailors to leave.


    The jailors withdrew the clamp and Xuan Long''s hands hung helplessly on the ground, dripping with blood. His hands were beautiful, with long, clean bones, but now they had been squeezed to the point where they seemed to be somewhat deformed. Yan Yuan deliberately did not allow himself to see them, fearing that he might go soft, and lifted his hand to lift Xuan Long''s long, messy hair, revealing a face that was both ugly and handsome.


    "Painful?"


    "The demon chain hurts more than this."


    "It hurts more to have your heart cut out than to have demon chains on you."


    "Do you still need me to make a choice for you?"


    Xuan Long''s turquoise eyes were half dazed as he slowly tugged at the corners of his lips, "You too... are nothing special."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were slightly astonished: "What did you say?"


    Xuan Long: "I said... you too, are nothing special"


    Yan Yuan fiercely pinched his jaw and turned him around, ¡°You¡¯re seeking death."


    In the distance came the sound of footsteps, from far to near, it was the imperial guards who had fetched the demon chain returning. In just a few breaths, they arrived at the door of the cell.


    Yan Yuan let go of Xuan Long and stood up, and the two guards entered through the door.


    "Put the demon chain on him."


    "Yes."


    The man who had fallen to the ground was dragged up by the guards as if he were a dead animal, and two more people came in from outside, holding Xuan Long''s body while the other two aimed the round hook on the demon chain at Xuan Long''s shoulder and slowly stabbed it in.


    "Uh..."


    The round hook was actually a ring the size of a kick ball, and when the mechanism button was pressed and it was opened, it split in half into a round hook, the body of which was as thick as a finger. Xuan Long struggled weakly twice and was soon held down. His hands were already in heavy chains and there was no way to break free.


    The round hook pierced through Xuan Long''s front shoulder, and blood instantly dripped from his snow-white prison clothes. He trembled in pain but didn¡¯t beg for mercy. Cold sweat constantly fell from his cheeks, like it was raining.


    Yan Yuan''s fists were clenched tightly under his robe, and he spoke through clenched teeth, "Stop."


    The guards immediately stopped.


    Yan Yuan walked over and crouched low in front of Xuan Long, staring at him closely, "Have you thought about it?"


    "I''ll say it one last time, you still have the chance to repent."


    "If you repent at this point and hand over the inner elixir, I will let you go back to Qiankun Palace and allow you to give birth to the child."


    Xuan Long turned his face sideways and he exhaled almost nothing but a breath, "I don''t need¡­ don¡¯t need you to give me a chance."


    ¡°I don''t want your chance..."


    A fire rose up in Yan Yuan''s heart, melting a little bit of the softness of his heart: "You said this yourself. Don''t blame me for being ruthless."


    Yan Yuan was not very ruthless, he had always treated Ning Zhiyu with warmth and consideration, and his ruthlessness had mostly been directed to him. Even if Xuan Long was stupid, he knew what was genuine and what was not. He is not stupid, but he trusts others easily. He just doesn''t understand the world and has been alone for too long, so he is easily deceived by the smallest favours.


    He thinks that if someone is willing to be close to him and say nice things to him, then he will really grow old with him and stay with him until he dies.


    Yan Yuan got up and watched as the guards and the jailor worked together to nail the demon chain into Xuan Long''s body. The round hook went through the shoulder and extended out from behind Xuan Long''s back. Pressing the mechanism, the ring closed with a ¡®clang¡¯, and the guards fastened the chain to the wall along with the shackles and chains on Xuan Long''s wrists.


    In fact, he did not need to keep Xuan Long in this way, even without the shackles, he would not be able to walk out of the prison.


    If the aim was to cause Xuan Long pain alone, Yan Yuan had indeed done it. The blood had only stained the material on his shoulders, but after the round hooks had penetrated his body, Xuan Long''s entire front and back were wet and covered in blood.


    The colour was extremely beautiful and as it dripped out of his body, it was able to quickly wear away what little life Xuan Long had left.


    Xuan Long sat crooked and motionless, his face hidden by his long hair, revealing only a high nose and thin lips.


    Yan Yuan had done everything he could to force Xuan Long to give up his inner elixir, but how could he have imagined that after all this, he would still not beg for mercy, still not compromise?


    Why was he so uncompromising, why was he so annoying? Any wise man should know how to choose what is good for themselves, right?


    Ning Zhiyu''s time was running out... he could not delay any longer.


    Yan Yuan raised his hand and spoke to the guard behind him, "Bring the dagger."


    The guard pulled the dagger he had prepared earlier from his waist and placed it in Yan Yuan''s palm.


    Yan Yuan tightened his grip on the dagger and took one step towards the man leaning against the wall. Xuan Long seemed to have sensed something and slowly opened his demonic turquoise eyes, turning his head to look at him.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were scarlet as he crouched down in front of him, "Do you think that I really can''t bear to lay a hand on you?"


    Xuan Long looked at Yan Yuan quietly, and his face was expressionless, just like the first time he saw him. He always looked cold when he was expressionless, but because he was too weak, he was not very intimidating.


    "I know that you will not be intolerant."


    Yan Yuan yelled at him, "Then why are you still so stubborn with me?!"


    It was not stubbornness.


    It was that his heart was ashes and he had no more expectations.


    Xuan Long lowered his head and coughed a few times, blood pouring out of his lips. He had been living in this damp and cold place for so long without even a single piece of thick clothing, if he was a human, he would have died long ago.


    But Xuan Long was not much better, he often felt cold, often had a fever, and coughed up blood when he coughed. Even if Yan Yuan did not kill him at this time, he would not be able to last long.


    He might not be able to wait for the baby to be born.


    Even if he was born, there would be no one to hurt him, no one to love him, and with Hu Le gone, Yan Yuan would not accept the child. He had said that when he was born, he would drown him.


    This man was so cruel.


    As cruel as his mother.


    Xuan Long didn''t have the strength to wipe the blood from his lips, his body hurt too much and the chains were too heavy. He leaned the back of his head against the wall, ¡°Do it."


    Yan Yuan gritted his teeth and questioned, "You don''t even care about the sinful child in your womb?"


    Xuan Long''s nature was such that he would not take it personally if he was scolded a few times, but when Yan Yuan repeatedly said that his child was a sinful child, even the best-tempered person would be upset.


    Xuan Long said, "You''re the one who''s sinning."


    "You''re the one who''s sinful..."


    His child was not a sinner.


    Yan Yuan scowled creepily, "Fine, fine, since you want to die so badly, then I will make it happen for you."


    Xuan Long dragged the chains with difficulty, lifted his injured hand, covered his round abdomen and gently said, "Then thank you for making it happen."


    In fact, he was not as fearless as he appeared to be. He had been afraid of many things since he was a child, afraid that his mother would not want him, afraid that the Taoist priests outside would catch him and take him away, afraid that the children in the village near the thousand-year-old pond would not play with him because of his ugly appearance, but now he was not afraid of anything.


    He would take his child with him, so that he would not have to live alone in the world with no one to love or care for him. What if he was cheated, what if he ended up like him? It would be better to share the same fate and leave together. At least he could still protect him on Huangquan Road. (Angel: Huangquan Road is the road people take to report to the underworld after they die.)


    Yan Yuan uttered several words in quick succession, aimed the tip of the blade at Xuan Long''s heart and stabbed down.


    "It was you who forced me..."

 CH 98

    Time is Running Out


    Everything in front of him became unreal.


    Xuan Long suddenly remembered the day when they first met. The afternoon sun was extremely nice and warm, he was cultivating at the bottom of the pond when he heard the sound of a fight coming from the shore, and when the noise stopped he went up to the shore to see a white and beautiful human man who was badly injured and fainted on the shore.


    If he had not been saved, the human would have died.


    When he was very young, he had received kindness from a human who had saved his life, and the light that had come to him in his desperation had guided Xuan Long to live kindly like a little spark of fire in the night, but he couldn¡¯t see it through to the end.


    So he picked the unconscious human up from the shore.


    For the first time in nearly 10,000 years, Xuan Long was living with a human being, and he was not used to it. He was afraid that the human would be afraid of him, so he avoided him as much as possible, only appearing when delivering medicine or food, ready to send him back to the shore once he had recovered.


    Who knew that the human was not afraid, but even pestered him, pampering him and saying that he wanted to be married to him.


    Xuan Long knew what it meant to be husband and wife.


    To be husband and wife was to be inseparable for the rest of one''s life, until death.


    He really thought that person wanted to be married to him, and since he had moved his heart, he gave everything he had to him without reservation, and in the end, it was a crushing defeat.


    He had lost.


    It was his fault that he was so stupid that he couldn''t even tell the difference between true love and lies.


    Fortunately, it was all coming to an end.


    He was exhausted, and in his next life, he would never want to come back to the human world again...


    Xuan Long''s heart was calm as he watched Yan Yuan thrust the dagger at him, the tip of the blade piercing the blood-red prison garment and penetrating his heart. It was only a little bit, and he could not even feel the pain.


    Yan Yuan''s hand was shaking, he looked fierce, his jawbone clenched tightly, and a beastly roar came from his throat.


    Not knowing what Yan Yuan was hesitating about, Xuan Long reluctantly dragged the heavy chains, slowly lifted his blood-stained hand and reached for Yan Yuan''s wrist, holding his hand and helping him push the dagger in.


    "Like this, it won''t kill me."


    "It needs to be pushed harder."


    With a ''pshh'' sound, the dagger instantly penetrated nearly an inch of flesh and blood. Yan Yuan woke up as if from a dream and jerked the dagger back, falling to the ground. There was no emperor''s prestige left, but rather he looked like a panic-stricken child.


    "No..."


    "No...!!!"


    Xuan Long''s breathing was deep and slow, his eyes half-darkened and faintly watching him.


    Yan Yuan crawled back to Xuan Long, straightened up and raised his hand to slap him.


    "That''s what you''re after isn''t it!!!"


    "You don''t want to die."


    "Don''t even think about getting rid of me like that!!!"


    Xuan Long''s face turned sideways from the inertia, and after a long, quiet moment, he inaudibly said, "Don''t hit me again..."


    Don''t be as cruel as Mother.


    When Yan Yuan left, he could almost be described as running away. The gloomy prison full of rich cold fragrance made him feel suffocated, the dying Xuan Long made him feel suffocated, and the moment the dagger pierced into Xuan Long''s body, he almost drowned in a great fear.


    The emotions that burst from the depths of his soul caused his heart to ache and his blood to chill, as if he had sunk ten thousand feet into the sea with a boulder, accompanied by overwhelming despair.


    Xuan Long can''t die...


    Xuan Long can''t die...


    This thought filled Yan Yuan''s head densely like insects, causing him a sharp pain in his head and nearly driving him crazy.


    Mo Zun did not tell Ning Zhiyu that if a person who had been infected with the demonic compulsion moved on and fell in love with another person, his soul and body would both suffer from a rebounding addiction and gradually become abnormal.


    In the past, Yan Yuan was considered generous and benevolent, and clear about right and wrong. After all, he was a 19-year-old boy, so bright smiles were common, but now a gloomy hostile pressure was on him, and he was a completely different person. No one dared to approach him easily, even Chen Yan was more cautious than before when he accompanied Yan Yuan, like walking on thin ice.


    When Yan Yuan rushed out of the prison, Chen Yan, who was waiting outside, greeted him respectfully: "Your Majesty..."


    He burst into the night without a word, his peach blossom eyes scarlet as blood. Chen Yan was startled and hurried to follow him with his lantern.


    Day after day passed, and Yan Yuan''s mood became less and less normal. He suddenly developed a persistent headache overnight, and when he had an attack, the pain was so severe that he wanted to die immediately. It was impossible to find out what disease he was suffering from.


    Because of this, half of the eunuchs from the Imperial Hospital were dragged out and beheaded, while the rest trembled every day and had their wills prepared and stored at home, fearing that they might lose their lives one day.


    Ning Zhiyu was so gentle with the palace staff that the people in his palace were extremely loyal to him. The few people who knew he was pregnant would not reveal such unspeakable secrets. They all thought that if he fell from such a high pavilion, the baby would be lost, but after being in a coma for two months, Ning Zhiyu''s abdomen had gradually grown bigger, just like an ordinary pregnant woman''s fourth month of pregnancy.


    In the beginning, Zong Hua did not say anything in order to protect his lover''s safety. Since Ning Zhiyu was seriously injured and unconscious, there were many doctors who came to Luanfeng Hall to help, but he was the only one who handled the pulse diagnosis. The old hospital head retired a few months ago, and Zong Hua has become the new head of the hospital, so it was easy for him to take care of this matter.


    If Yan Yuan were to find out that Ning Zhiyu was carrying someone else''s child behind his back, not to mention what he would do to Ning Zhiyu, it would be a mortal sin for Zong Hua to have failed to inform Yan Yuan of the matter in the first place.


    Therefore, this matter must not be revealed.


    During this period of time, Zong Hua has thought of many ways and tried several newly prepared abortion pills to feed Ning Zhiyu, but to no avail. His belly grew bigger and bigger every day, and he could not hide it anymore.


    Ning Zhiyu''s body was so thin that he was like a piece of paper, and when his belly grew, it became more and more strange. He could barely cover it up with bedding before, but now the bedding couldn''t even cover it up.


    When Yan Yuan had a splitting headache, he loved to drink, and when he got drunk, he felt better and often came to see Ning Zhiyu in Luanfeng Hall. He found that Ning Zhiyu was abnormal. The pregnancy-like signs startled him and he thought it was some sort of disease, so he panicked and asked Qingmei to go find the imperial doctor.


    Qingmei, as one of the few people who knew, was nervous, and her eyes darted between Ning Zhiyu and Yan Yuan: "Your Majesty¡­ the Empress, is pregnant."


    Yan Yuan frowned, looking bewildered: "Pregnant?"


    He supported his vaguely painful forehead, and was so drunk that he didn''t hear anything wrong with it for a moment.


    Qingmei''s breath shuddered, "Yes, that day when you were drunk, you consummated your marriage with the Empress... have you forgotten?"


    Yan Yuan tried to recall, it seemed to be that there was a day when he invited several courtiers to the palace for deliberations, drank too much and went to Luanfeng Hall after nightfall, and everything after that was gone.


    When Qingmei saw that he looked uncertain, she bravely continued, "The Empress wanted to have an heir with you, so he took a fertility pill, and not long after that night, he was found to be pregnant. You don''t blame him for taking matters into his own hands, do you?..."


    Yan Yuan frowned and murmured, "Pregnant¡­ A''Yu is pregnant..."


    "How can he be pregnant with such a weak body, how can he give birth..."


    He had seen Xuan Long get pregnant, he knew how hard it was to get pregnant. Xuan Long had ten thousand years of Tao, but he was tossed a few times and nearly miscarried, not to mention Ning Zhiyu.


    Qingmei continued, "It is because of the unstable foetal pulse that the Empress did not tell the Emperor in time, fearing that if there was any accident to the son in his womb, it would, it would cause you grief..."


    "Falling from such a high place, the son in the Empress'' womb is still alive, so it must have been sheltered by heaven, Your Majesty, you must not blame the Empress..."


    Yan Yuan waved his hand and laughed, "How could I, how could I blame him, I am still too happy to be upset."


    "I am happy..."


    He lifted the wine jug in his hand, tilted his head and poured it into his mouth, the transparent wine was like nectar gyulu, making people intoxicated. (Angel: Nectar gyulu is a metaphor for delicious wine that comes from Journey to the West.)


    "Your Majesty, you should not drink... too much wine will hurt your body.¡±


    Chen Yan had previously discouraged Yan Yuan quite a few times, nagging at Yan Yuan enough for him to get annoyed, so he asked someone to drag Chen Yan down and reprimand him with twenty heavy sticks. Chen Yan was an old eunuch who had grown up with him for so many years and was punished for such a trivial matter, lying in bed for half a month and not being able to get up. Yan Yuan¡¯s actions were really cold.


    Chen Yan could not persuade him, so how could Qingmei? Luckily, Yan Yuan was so drunk that his temper was better.


    When he was drunk, he often went to the prison to seek out Xuan Long to vent his desire. He didn''t know whether it was an illusion or not, but after each time they had sex, his headache always eased, his body didn''t feel uncomfortable and his temper got better.


    People always like to find things that make them feel better, it''s completely instinctive.


    Since the unsuccessful extraction of his heart, Hua Niang has visited the prison several times to treat Xuan Long''s wounds, but no one dared to remove the demon chain from his body without Yan Yuan''s permission, and the round hook went through the bone in his shoulder, so there was no way for the wound to heal.


    As a result, his body remained bloody and unclean, but Yan Yuan enjoyed making love to him, taking off his trousers and then doing it, causing the chains on Xuan Long''s body to rattle incessantly and the hooks embedded in his shoulders to tug at the flesh and blood, gushing out more blood.


    He was more than eight months pregnant and Xuan Long''s belly had grown even larger, so it was not the right time to bear all that. Yan Yuan did not care about that, he only knew that he could find a moment of relief when he was buried in Xuan Long''s body. He embraced Xuan Long''s body, kissed the corners of his lips and said in a blur: "Do you know, A''Yu is pregnant..."


    "I''m going to be a father..."


    Xuan Long''s back was against the wall, his legs forced to bend up to rest on Yan Yuan''s waist, and with his towering belly blocking his view, he couldn''t see his lower body, he could only feel the pain all over his body and the blurring in front of his eyes.


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes, I am overjoyed..." Yan Yuan exhaled his drunken breath against his ear.


    Xuan Long''s voice was extremely low and unsteady: "Then... congratulations."


    Yan Yuan was so energetic that by the time he had finished, it was almost dawn. Feeling that Xuan Long''s body was too cold, he conscientiously asked someone to find a dry quilt to cover him with.


    There was straw underneath him, and even if the quilt on top was thicker, how warm could it be?


    The piece of flesh that had been plucked out of his heart was already the limit of what Ning Zhiyu could do to hold on to his life for two months.


    Ning Zhiyu''s time was running out, and so was Xuan Long''s.

 CH 99

    Delivery


    When the two guards changed shifts and returned from dinner, they passed by Xuan Long''s cell, and one of them, who was thin, looked inside and said, "Eh... Do you think that demon is really that good? The Emperor comes so often and doesn''t mind him being dirty..."


    Another tall, burly jailor followed his colleague''s gaze in:


    "Who knows, there must be something special about him. Haven¡¯t you noticed? He''s so bloody and yet he doesn''t smell of blood at all, instead there''s a cool scent, which smells pleasant."


    The lean jailor hemmed and hawed, "It smells good, but he''s got such a big scar on his face, it''s really ugly, how good must he be to make the Emperor come back for more..."


    "Why don''t we try it too?"


    The tall, burly jailor frowned.


    The lean jailor had a sharp face and a lecherous smile, "Since the Emperor has locked him up here and tortured him like this, can he still be released?"


    ¡°It''ll be fine... he is in a coma, how can he know who did it to him. If you don''t say anything, who will?"


    The tall, burly jailor frowned and didn''t say anything, but the lean jailor turned around and took the key from his waist and opened the cell door in a hurry: "I''ll go first, you watch for me, I''ll replace you when I''m done."


    Since Yan Yuan had left this morning, Xuan Long had not woken up from his coma until now.


    The man was leaning against the wall, covered with a light cyan quilt, a lot of dried blood stuck to his scattered black hair, and his face as pale as paper, looking like a dead man.


    The jailor knew the demon would not die so easily, so he gingerly walked over to him and knelt down in front of Xuan Long, carefully lifting the bedding from his body, his eyes lighting up as he swallowed his saliva.


    As the bedding lifted to the man''s elevated abdomen, the lean jailor felt a cold gaze shooting from above his head, and he held his breath as he looked up to meet a pair of erect, gold-lined turquoise pupils, as deep as an abyss.


    "Get out."


    The lean jailor was so shocked that he sat down on the ground, his heart beating like a drum. Having never looked closely at the demon''s eyes before, he had never thought they were actually very different from human ones.


    What kind of eyes are those...


    It was so cold that the mere sight of it sent shivers down one''s spine. As beautiful as an emerald, the man was supposed to be an extremely strong being, yet he was bound by a tiny human being, and his vulnerability was obvious.


    After the fear had passed, a fire burned up from his lower abdomen and the lean jailer rose to his feet, bravely raising his hand to touch Xuan Long''s face.


    Before he could touch it, his hand was clasped by the tall, burly jailer who came over quickly: "Are you crazy? He''s awake and you still want to..."


    The lean jailer pulled his hand back and rubbed his sore wrist, "It''s just a bit of fun, what''s all the fuss about? The Emperor loves the Empress, so who cares how a prisoner is treated?"


    If the Emperor had any regard for this demon, he would not have kept him here half dead.


    The lean jailer was burning with lust, wanting nothing more than to taste Xuan Long. He urged the tall, burly jailer to go out on guard duty and smiled evilly as he tugged at Xuan Long''s clothes, breathing heavily.


    Xuan Long felt a sickness in his chest and his chains struggled violently, his prison clothes fell loose and were soon untied, revealing his towering belly. The jailor then wanted to take off his pants. Xuan Long didn¡¯t know where the strength came from, but he bent his legs and kicked the person out with one kick.


    "Get lost."


    The lean jailor fell to the ground in disarray, screamed in pain, then got up and walked over with a fierce look on his face, raising his foot to kick Xuan Long''s body.


    "You''re fucking looking for death!"


    "Ugh..." The kick hit him squarely in the abdomen and Xuan Long instantly lost his strength, dragging his chains and covering his stomach as he leaned down.


    The lean jailer was about to move his foot when the tall, burly jailer ran over to stop him, "That''s enough, if you make a mess, the Emperor won''t spare us."


    The struggle had caused blood to gush from Xuan Long''s shoulder, and he was now lying motionless on the ground. If the demon were awake, it would be difficult to do anything about it, so the lean jailer cursed and followed his colleagues out.


    It was not long before he returned and crouched in front of Xuan Long.


    "If you don''t want me to do it, it''s okay for me to pluck one of your nails, right?"


    The jailer remembered his revenge for the kick, and grabbed Xuan Long''s limp hand, the tip of his knife aimed at his thumb and stabbed down sharply. The blade pulled off his fingernail with the blood and flesh in one crooked motion. Xuan Long whimpered lowly and drew his hand back, trying to hide, but the jailer squeezed it tightly and crushed it hard on the injured area.


    ¡°I have all the time in the world, when the Emperor is tired of playing with you, I will come back to pamper you..."


    The jailer laughed heatedly, exhaled, got up and went out.


    Xuan Long instinctively curled his hands up. Something seemed to be falling down in his belly, he tried to get up but didn''t have the strength.


    The Imperial City was shrouded in the moonlight, and snow was falling heavily in the sky.


    Chen Yan followed Yan Yuan with his umbrella. Seeing him coming out of Luanfeng Hall and going to the Heavenly Prison, he advised in a low voice, "Your Majesty... counting the months, it is time for Master Han to give birth..."


    "Take pity on him, don''t toss him around, wait until the baby is born..."


    Yan Yuan face was cold, and there was a lingering gloom coiled between his brows: "I''m waiting for him, who will save A''Yu?"


    "I''ve been waiting for him for a long time."


    "I want to see who will finally be the first one who cannot hold out and will surrender."


    Chen Yan, who had just received a slap on the wrist half a month ago and had been lying down for half a month before he recovered, did not dare to persuade him, even if he had a million words in his heart.


    Winter had arrived.


    When Yan Yuan went out, he wore a black cloak and a silvery white fox velvet brocade robe, which was extremely thick. Even so, the oncoming cold wind still made people feel the biting cold.


    When he was almost at the Heavenly Prison, Chen Yan spoke with caution: "Your Majesty... the days are cold, and it''s cold and gloomy in the prison. This servant is afraid it will be even harder to survive, so let this servant add two braziers for Master Han."


    Yan Yuan pursed his lips: "How can a prisoner be qualified to use a brazier? He is so ungrateful, having a quilt is already a gift."


    Without waiting for Chen Yan to say anything, he stepped out from under the umbrella and let the wind and snow fall on him. When the guards saw that Yan Yuan had arrived, they opened the door swiftly and Yan Yuan entered the prison with the cold air.


    If he wanted Ning Zhiyu to wake up, the only way was to obtain the inner elixir. In this prolonged battle, the underdog was obviously Xuan Long, and even though Yan Yuan was defeated, he was still determined to obtain the inner elixir.


    Before entering the cell, he saw Xuan Long lying motionless on the ground. After waiting patiently for the jailer to open the door, Yan Yuan walked towards Xuan Long and stood next to him, lifting his toe and kicking him in the shoulder not too gently but not too heavily.


    "Don''t play dead, get up for me."


    When Xuan Long didn''t respond, Yan Yuan just assumed he was sleeping again, so he called for someone to come in and set him up against the wall and poured a basin of snow water over him.


    This method always woke him up easily, and this time was no exception. Xuan Long slowly lifted his eyelids, and Yan Yuan crouched down to level with him, grabbing him around the neck.


    "What exactly will it take for you to compromise?"


    Xuan Long coughed, and a mouthful of blood splashed onto Yan Yuan''s cheek, it was hot and different from his cold body.


    Yan Yuan froze, withdrew his hand to wipe his face, and heard Xuan Long call down to him, ¡°A''Yuan..."


    It had been a long time since they had broken up, and Xuan Long''s voice was so soft that Yan Yuan thought he had heard him wrong: "What did you call me?"


    Xuan Long wasn''t looking at him, his eyes passed over him to look at the snowflakes falling in the middle of the prison cell. There was a square opening at the top, where the wind and snow could fall in.


    "It''s snowing outside..."


    Yan Yuan was momentarily confused as to what Xuan Long wanted and frowned, "En."


    Xuan Long''s eyes were empty: "It''s snowing again..."


    He had always hated rain and snow because the nights he was kicked out by his mother were too long, and squatting in front of the house was too cold, and it was even colder when the wind blew and snow fell.


    Yan Yuan pinched his cheek: "Do not change the subject, do not think that if you spit blood I will be soft-hearted. Hand over the inner elixir, or else I will pluck out another piece of your heart."


    "Uhn..." A muffled grunt spilled from Xuan Long''s throat, his eyes drooped, his abdomen suddenly trembled violently, his pale lips slightly opened, and he panted heavily, as if he was about to drown.


    His body was covered in blood and cold sweat soaked through his clothes, but Yan Yuan still sensed that something was wrong and said alertly, "What''s wrong with you?"


    "Don''t pretend."


    Xuan Long had previously heard Hua Niang talk about the symptoms of labour. When a child was about to be born, the amniotic fluid would first break, and he felt a lot of hot, puffy stuff gushing out from beneath him, but he didn''t know whether it was amniotic fluid or blood.


    The pain of contractions in his abdomen was intermittent, occasionally accompanied by the sensation of a heavy weight falling down, and his pubic bone seemed to be splitting open, which started after he had been kicked, so he was probably about to give birth.


    But the baby was not yet at term, only a little over eight months old.


    Xuan Long remembered what Hua Niang had explained, but he didn''t know how to deliver the baby, he had no more strength.


    "It''s... too cold here."


    Yan Yuan spoke impatiently, "Since you know it''s cold, why don''t you behave yourself and hand over the inner elixir, then I will allow you to live back in Qiankun Palace."


    Xuan Long leaned against the wall quietly, panting as sharply as he had before, he dragged his chains and grasped his hands into the straw beneath him, ¡°Hmm..."


    The cold fragrance in the prison was getting stronger and stronger. Yan Yuan looked at Xuan Long like this and lifted the quilt on him as an afterthought, finding that his white trousers were permeated with blood and the originally dry straw had become wet.


    In this situation, it was either a miscarriage or labour.


    Xuan Long had been pregnant for more than eight months, so it was impossible for the baby to have fallen, and there would not be that much blood shed in labour, so it must be a difficult delivery.


    Yan Yuan''s pupils tightened slightly: "... You are about to give birth?"


    Xuan Long''s body was too weak. A healthy woman giving birth to a child would have one foot in the door of the ghost, not to mention the fact that he had barely been properly nourished when he was pregnant, and he was fed and clothed in the worst way possible, there''s no way in hell he could have a safe delivery.


    His consciousness was in chaos, Xuan Long saw Yan Yuan''s lips moving, but he could not hear what he was saying, he only felt pain and coldness.


    The space around him twisted and shifted. He saw his mother walking hideously towards him with a whip, he saw Yan Yuan stabbing him in the heart with a knife, he saw Yan Yuan speaking coldly to him and saying bad words.


    Yan Yuan could not wake Xuan Long in any way, and only then did he become completely panicked: "Someone!!!"


    "Someone!!!"


    "Go and summon the flower spirit!!!"

 CH 100

    In Exchange for the Child''s Life


    A restrained moan of pain broke from Xuan Long''s throat, his huge stomach rose and fell, and cold sweat hung on his eyelashes, occasionally shedding a drop or two.


    "I don''t... I don''t dare..."


    The whip in the woman''s hand was hitting the boy''s young body with a strong blow, as if she wanted to beat him to death, and the boy huddled on the ground with his head in his hands, not daring to say a word, for if he screamed out in pain, he would be beaten even harder. The woman asked him if he still dared to steal food from the house, and the boy replied breathlessly: "I don''t dare¡­ Mother, this child doesn''t dare.


    He didn''t dare to be hungry anymore.


    When Yan Yuan saw that Xuan Long''s eyes were tinged with mist, he knew that he was confused by the pain, so he leaned over and patted his face: "Wake up. Hua Niang will be here soon."


    The blood was still pouring out from underneath. The normal process of birth should have been to follow the rhythm of the doctor and push the child down the birth canal after the water had broken. But Xuan Long had no strength, he couldn''t do this, and with no one around, he had no choice but to give birth by himself.


    Before Yan Yuan came, Xuan Long had already been having contractions for a while, and the baby had to come early because of the impact. It was difficult for him to come out without help, and he moved around in his belly in a disorderly manner.


    Xuan Long grunted in pain, probably because he was in severe pain. When he dragged his shackled hand over to cover his abdomen, Yan Yuan grabbed his wrist: "What''s wrong with your hand?"


    The man''s hand hung limply, the thumb of his right hand was missing its nail, and blood seeped from the soft, deep red flesh. The torture had been ordered by Yan Yuan himself, but he didn''t remember asking anyone to pluck Xuan Long''s nails.


    The wound on his hand was nothing compared to the pain of the demon chain through his shoulder and the growing pain in his abdomen, at best it was just adding insult to injury.


    Xuan Long''s mouth was still talking nonsense, low and muffled, and Yan Yuan could not quite hear it.


    Even if he rushed out of the palace to fetch Hua Niang, it would take at least half an hour to get there and back, and by then, Xuan Long would have bled out.


    Yan Yuan remembered that Hua Niang had said that a child could take away Xuan Long''s life, and he did not like the way Xuan Long looked now, completely out of his control.


    After ordering the imperial doctor on night duty to come over, Yan Yuan removed the demon chain from Xuan Long''s body and took off his trousers. After doing all of this, his hands were covered with Xuan Long¡¯s blood.


    The round hooks were removed, leaving two bloody holes in Xuan Long''s shoulders. Yan Yuan laid him down on a pile of straw, grabbed his ankles and helped him bend his legs, saying, "If you push hard enough to give birth to this bastard safely, I can settle my score with you more lightly."


    "If you do not obey, I will not spare you, nor will I spare this little bastard."


    Xuan Long was still unable to listen to human words, but this time he heard a little more, and his lips moved faintly: "No... not a bastard."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were a scarlet red that he hadn''t even noticed: "Yes, it is."


    "It is a bastard, unless you prove it to me. You will give birth to this bastard and confirm that this is my son and heir with his blood."


    Xuan Long''s ears vaguely echoed Yan Yuan''s remark of ''bastard'', and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes: "Uh... he... is not a bastard..."


    Seeing the man crying, Yan Yuan went along with his words, "Okay, not a bastard, you push, give birth to the child before speaking, I won¡¯t argue with you.¡± (Angel: Yan Yuan said Ò»°ã¼ûʶ, which means not to argue with people with lower knowledge and poor cultivation.)


    "Not... not a bastard..."


    Yan Yuan had never seen a woman give birth before. Taking off his trousers and spreading Xuan Long''s legs apart was all he could think of doing, but who knew that Xuan Long didn''t know how to push at all. Yan Yuan looked at his bloodied legs and found that Xuan Long was slowly ceasing to move. He crawled to Xuan Long''s side and shook his shoulders.


    ¡°Stay awake, don''t sleep, the doctor will be here soon, and Hua Niang will be here soon too..."


    "It''s going to be okay, it''s going to be okay."


    With a wound on his shoulder, Xuan Long felt pain and reluctantly opened his turquoise eyes, the shadows in front of him shifted and swayed, but he couldn''t see the person and couldn''t tell where he was.


    It seemed like he was in the thousand-year-old pond, and Yan Yuan was holding him from behind, sleeping with him on the couch, saying that he wanted to marry him.


    "A''Yuan..."


    "It''s snowing..."


    Yan Yuan replied to him in a whisper and grabbed his hand: "En, it''s snowing."


    Xuan Long: "It''s cold..."


    Yan Yuan turned his head towards the outside and yelled, "Someone, go and add two more braziers!!!"


    "No, make it ten!"


    "Ten braziers!!!"


    The palace not far from here was the residence of the imperial guard, and the prison officer led a team of men to transfer ten braziers and bring them into the cell, avoiding the wind and snow.


    The cramped cell was mostly taken up by the braziers, but Xuan Long still said it was cold.


    His hands were so cold that they could not be warmed up, and only then did Yan Yuan realise that Xuan Long was afraid of the cold.


    The old imperial doctor who was on night duty arrived not long after the braziers were delivered, and Yan Yuan urgently got up and went to the dimly lit tunnel to drag him inside: "Quickly, he is giving birth, you must quickly help him give birth to the child."


    The old imperial doctor was dragged and staggered forward, and was shocked to see Xuan Long''s blood-covered appearance: "Your Majesty... this... this... "


    Yan Yuan turned around abruptly: "Hurry up! Can''t you see how much blood he''s lost?"


    "Quickly stop his bleeding!!!"


    The firelight in the tunnel leapt, and Yan Yuan''s grim look startled the imperial doctor, who said yes repeatedly and cowered towards the man on the floor.


    When he arrived, he had already heard about the situation, and since there were fertility pills in the world, it was not unusual for a man to give birth, so the old doctor was not shocked. He put the medicine box on his shoulder on the ground and bent down to take a closer look at Xuan Long''s condition. Even though he had been prepared, he could not help but gasp when he saw the man''s miserable condition.


    "This is a difficult birth... so much blood has been shed, the amniotic fluid has long since drained, Your Majesty¡­ it can''t be done..."


    Yan Yuan heard himself ask, "What did you say?"


    The old imperial doctor straightened up with little finesse: "I''m afraid it''s going to be one corpse and two lives..."


    Before he could finish his words, his lapel was clutched by Yan Yuan: "Say it again!"


    The old imperial doctor trembled in fear: "Your Majesty, this gentleman is severely injured and is already in a state of exhaustion, coupled with the difficult birth and blood loss, I am afraid that even if the Great Gods come, they cannot save him..."


    "Shut up!!!" Yan Yuan pushed the person in his hand away. "You quack, do you know what he is?!"


    He is a dragon.


    A dragon with ten thousand years of Tao, how could he die so easily like this?


    Impossible.


    The old imperial doctor nearly fell into the brazier, but managed to steady himself and say in a trembling voice: "In reply to Your Majesty''s words, I do not know..."


    Yan Yuan: "This child, even if he cannot give birth, he must be born for me, if he dies, you will be buried with him tonight!"


    There was too much charcoal in the fire bowl. After being inside for a while, it was hot and sweaty. The old imperial doctor raised his sleeve to wipe the corner of his forehead and walked into Xuan Long with a weeping face.


    He took out a piece of ginseng from the medicine chest and knelt beside Xuan Long: ¡°Young Master, can you hear me?"


    Xuan Long''s eyes were dazed. Yan Yuan saw that the imperial doctor could not wake Xuan Long, so he shook Xuan Long''s shoulders as he had just done: ¡°A''Po... wake up, the imperial doctor is here, listen to the imperial doctor and you will be able to give birth to the child."


    Xuan Long''s turquoise eyes opened a little and he said blankly, "The child..."


    Yan Yuan couldn''t care about anything at the moment, he just thought of coaxing him and telling Xuan Long to listen: "Yes, the child, our child."


    "Don''t you like him a lot?..."


    "The Imperial Doctor said that if you don''t give birth to him, he will suffocate in your belly, so you can''t sleep anymore, you have to give birth to the baby as soon as possible."


    The imperial doctor took the opportunity to put a ginseng tablet under Xuan Long''s tongue and told him to hold it, and then gave Xuan Long the medicine to induce labour. Xuan Long couldn¡¯t swallow, so he coughed and coughed up a lot of blood.


    Yan Yuan used his sleeve to wipe the blood from the corner of Xuan Long''s lips, "Don''t give him the medicine, it''s useless to him. Help him give birth to the child."


    In this state, how could the baby be born?


    The old imperial doctor wanted to say something but stopped: "Your Majesty, if you want to save the child, take a knife at this time and cut open this gentleman''s abdomen, then you can still save his life..."


    Yan Yuan raised his bloodshot eyes, "I want him to live."


    The old imperial doctor''s back went cold: "Yes..."


    The amniotic fluid ran out, but the opening of the womb was only open two fingers. The old imperial doctor was right, in this case, it was impossible to give birth. But Yan Yuan''s order pressured him, and even a dead horse must be treated as a living horse.


    The old imperial doctor whispered to Xuan Long that he should use the abdominal pushing method and told him to bear the pain. Xuan Long was barely awake and responded.


    If it were not for the urgency of the situation, Yan Yuan would not have asked another man to approach Xuan Long, even if it was this old imperial doctor who was well past his prime. Yan Yuan personally untied Xuan Long''s robe and found a fist-sized bruise on the right side of his abdomen...


    Soon after, a pair of old hands pressed onto Xuan Long''s round belly, gradually applying force, and Xuan Long''s body tensed up violently. Yan Yuan listened to the doctor''s instructions to hold Xuan Long''s legs down to prevent him from moving, and listened to him painfully crying out, "Ugh he..."


    The blood that was already pouring out in an endless stream increased. Xuan Long initially made sounds, but then stopped calling out. Yan Yuan could not stand it anymore and pushed the sweaty old doctor down: "Be gentle!


    "Be gentle!"


    "Can''t you see he''s in pain?!"


    "Your Majesty, birth is supposed to be nine deaths and one life. Pushing the abdomen is even more painful, but other than that, there is no other..."


    "Shut up and get out!"


    The imperial doctor was eventually dragged out. Yan Yuan felt that he was just a quack, he couldn''t even help Xuan Long give birth to a child. In the past, he felt that the days were short, one day after another passed too quickly, but now he felt that time was too slow. Hua Niang was late, how could just half an hour still not have passed?


    Xuan Long''s body hurt when he was touched. Yan Yuan did not dare to move him too forcefully, and did not even dare to hold his hand, using his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from his face, and saying in a low, comforting voice, "Don''t be afraid... I won''t allow anything to happen to you... don''t be afraid."


    He didn''t know who was afraid.


    Xuan Long''s lips were moving, and Yan Yuan moved over to listen, hearing him say breathlessly, "... Bring a knife."


    It took several times to hear what Xuan Long was saying, and Yan Yuan asked him, ¡°What are you doing with a knife?"


    Xuan Long used all his strength to say, "Take the knife... and cut out the child...."


    Yan Yuan''s face was cold: ¡°Don''t even think about it."


    Xuan Long: "Don''t you want... my heart..."


    "Just take it."


    "Cut the child... out and take my heart..."


    "I will exchange it with you..."


    In exchange for the child''s life.

 CH 101

    His Time Has Come


    Yan Yuan felt that this man was so disobedient to even say such a thing.


    Straightening up, he stared at him.


    "When did I agree to exchange with you?"


    "I don''t want this child... I want you to live and stay by my side for the rest of your life, and you are not allowed to go anywhere."


    He was still so domineering up to this moment, yet the heavens and earth were so big, and as he was the supreme emperor, could he really control everything in the palm of his hand?


    Xuan Long''s hand on the ground slowly moved towards the corner of Yan Yuan''s coat, the chains rattling softly: "Please..."


    The corner of Yan Yuan''s coat was clutched very lightly and gently, he gritted his teeth and waved away the hand: "It''s useless to beg me, I won''t agree!"


    "Even if you die, I will not want this child."


    A breath sounded in Xuan Long''s throat, "Please..."


    He had not begged many people in his life: the first time was to beg his mother not to leave him, the second time was to beg Yan Yuan to let go of Hu Le, and this last time, he was begging for a way out for the child in his womb.


    He hoped that Yan Yuan would be merciful and let their child go for the sake of their previous relationship.


    But Yan Yuan''s heart was as ruthless as a thousand-year-old pond that had frozen over in winter, and Xuan Long could not break into it. Like his mother, he refused to go soft on him.


    "Don''t talk anymore, Hua Niang will come soon, cover yourself with the quilt and you won''t be cold anymore." Yan Yuan brought the blood-stained cotton bedding over to Xuan Long and covered him with it. "I forbid you from saying this again."


    His voice was cold, as if he was angry.


    In the past, when the two of them had been together, Xuan Long had often felt uneasy. He was outwardly calm, but inside he was always torn by the other''s emotions, afraid that he was too dull and uninteresting to please Yan Yuan, so he obeyed him in everything, hoping that he would be happy.


    Now he was no longer afraid of Yan Yuan''s anger, for when he became angry he would only beat him, scold him, humiliate him and torture him. Xuan Long was not afraid of that.


    The blanket was so heavy on him that Xuan Long''s breathing was becoming more and more difficult. People can feel when they run out of gas. Some people know that they are about to die, so they will clean out their house the day before and leave cleanly.


    Xuan Long could not be clean in this situation, and he did his best to say what he wanted to stay, but Yan Yuan thought he was too noisy and told him to keep quiet.


    He was a dragon who knew what was good for him and would have stopped talking in normal times, but today he was exceptionally disobedient and refused to stop talking even though he was clearly out of energy.


    He told Yan Yuan.


    "The inner elixir... is gone."


    ¡°What?"


    "The inner elixir... is... no more..."


    Yan Yuan didn''t understand what Xuan Long meant, and he didn''t want to go deeper: "Let''s not talk about this at this time, let''s wait until the child is born."


    When a demon dies, its body will dissipate into the world. Xuan Long was trying to tell him to cut out the child and dig out his heart before it was too late.


    If he waited until he was dead, it would be too late for anything.


    The murmurs from Xuan Long''s mouth weakened to the point where he could only see his lips moving and could no longer hear anything as he drew closer. Yan Yuan frantically asked the guard outside why Hua Niang had not come yet. When he was about to order someone to rush her, Hua Niang finally arrived.


    In fact, half an hour had not passed at all. Hua Niang followed the guards into the palace after receiving the edict, she didn''t even sit in the carriage. It seemed to take a long time because Xuan Long had lost to much blood.


    When Hua Niang saw Xuan Long''s appearance, her body swayed and she knelt down, ¡°A''Long..."


    She knew.


    It was today.


    Yan Yuan hated this tearful look of Hua Niang''s, as if Xuan Long was really going to die.


    "If you don''t hurry, the child will really suffocate."


    Hua Niang lifted her pink sleeve to wipe away her tears and struggled to lift Xuan Long''s upper body up in her arms, a movement that was bound to strain the wound. Xuan Long was in severe pain and let out a low grunt, opening his eyes in a daze.


    Hua Niang whispered softly in his ear, ¡°A''Long, it''s me... Hua Niang is here..."


    "I''ll help you... give birth to the baby..."


    Xuan Long: "...... trouble you."


    Hua Niang couldn''t hold back a sob, a small green bottle appeared in her palm, and she removed the stopper and brought it to Xuan Long''s lips, "Drink this medicine, and it won''t hurt anymore..."


    The medicine inside was a pain relieving elixir, although it could not wipe out all his pain, he could at least be more comfortable and could temporarily regain some strength.


    It takes a lot of strength to give birth to a child.


    Xuan Long barely swallowed the medicine and leaned against Hua Niang''s shoulder, drowsy.


    Yan Yuan frowned at them, wanting to take Xuan Long over and hold him, but he was so injured that it was inconvenient.


    Hua Niang looked up and said to Yan Yuan, "You, you go and ask someone to prepare some food. A''Long has no strength and needs to eat."


    He had deliberately treated him harshly, not even giving him a good meal, telling him to eat vegetarian food all day long, and it was Yan Yuan''s fault that he was in this situation. At this time, he was willing to treat Xuan Long well, so he said to the guard in the corridor: "He likes sashimi, go and prepare it, quickly."


    The guard took his orders and left.


    Hua Niang conjured up a pitch black pill and brought it to Xuan Long''s lips, ¡°A''Long... this is a labour-inducing pill, take it and the baby will soon come out to meet you."


    "Okay..." Xuan Long opened his mouth and took the medicine, a bitterness spread across his tongue and went straight to his heart. Not long after swallowing the medicine, the pain in his abdomen, which had stopped, suddenly returned, more violent than before.


    "En..." Xuan Long gasped out heavily, his hands unconsciously clasping beneath him.


    Beneath the thin straw was concrete, and Hua Niang grabbed his hands, afraid he would hurt himself, but she didn''t want to feel Xuan Long''s broken finger bones. Hua Niang''s tears barred down, and she turned to grab Xuan Long''s uninjured palms, giving him strength in her own way.


    ¡°A''Long¡­ use your strength and push the child out"


    Xuan Long bent his legs and instinctively followed Hua Niang''s instructions to push. The labour-inducing medicine was for the demon race and was very strong, and as the medicine grew stronger, the opening of the womb soon opened to five fingers, and it was obvious that he felt the baby plunging downwards, but it was still far from enough.


    He had lived for ten thousand years and had suffered many tribulations, large and small. Among which the most difficult was the the Nine Heavenly Thunderbolts, where nine thunderbolts struck at the same time, tearing apart the soul and causing pain, but he never imagined that the pain of childbirth would be no better than the Nine Heavenly Thunderbolts.


    Perhaps it was because his soul-eating pain coincidentally kicked in at this time, coupled with the pain of more than a dozen knives twisting in his abdomen at the same time, Xuan Long gradually couldn''t hold on any longer and his bent legs slid down.


    "I''m afraid... I won''t be able to give birth..."


    The bottom of Yan Yuan''s eyes reflected the red blood under Xuan Long''s body and asked Hua Niang, "Why hasn''t it moved? The blood is almost gone, why don''t you help him stop the bleeding first?"


    ¡°Hurry up and help him stop the bleeding."


    Hua Niang ignored Yan Yuan and spoke in Xuan Long''s ear with a suppressed sob, "He can be born... I am here, it will be fine."


    "I will keep the baby safe..."


    Xuan Long nodded reassuringly and said in a weak voice, "If I can''t give birth¡­ then you, help me... cut the baby out... okay. "


    Hua Niang choked out a sob.


    Yan Yuan looked at the two of them with a cold and hostile expression: "What are you talking about?"


    This was not the time to be upset. Hua Niang restrained her emotions and told Yan Yuan to help Xuan Long bend his legs and hold them still. Yan Yuan did as Hua Niang said, and saw that Hua Niang had produced another small medicine bottle for Xuan Long to drink.


    The medicine had a miraculous effect and if he drank it, Xuan Long would regain his strength. With Hua Niang around, Yan Yuan did not think anything would happen to Xuan Long, but he was still frightened by what happened next.


    "He eh..."


    The sound that came from deep in Xuan Long''s throat was like the struggle of a human before dying, Yan Yuan''s hands were easily able to hold Xuan Long''s feet down to stop him from moving about, he had strength, but only enough for a while. After a while, he had to lean on Hua Niang to rest before continuing. His entire body looked as if he had been fished out of the water, and his face was as pale as paper.


    The bloody prisoner uniform was wet against his body, and with his belly high, he appeared to have incredibly thin limbs; once upon a time his body was not like this, those legs were long but strong, and when they were taut they would appear as slim, with smooth lines. Now they were nowhere near half as strong as they had been, and they were so thin that they were almost bone.


    The cook of the imperial kitchen was grabbed in the middle of the night and sliced up a plate of raw fish.


    The order given by Yan Yuan could not have been more efficient. After about a column of incense, Chen Yan brought the sashimi over with the Emperor''s imperial food box, and even the chopsticks were gold and jade-encrusted, shiny and beautiful, which looked out of place in the dimly lit prison.


    Yet Xuan Long couldn''t eat a single bite, he was in too much pain. Every moment wasted was a moment less, so he said he wasn''t hungry and wanted to wait until the child came out before eating.


    The chopsticks holding the fish were brought to his lips, and Yan Yuan fed them himself. If it were normal, he definitely would have gotten angry, but today he didn¡¯t. He knew that Xuan Long really couldn¡¯t eat it, so he gave up.


    The sky outside grew brighter unknowingly, and the light came in through the four-sided opening above their heads. Yan Yuan did not allow others to look at Xuan Long''s body, and personally knelt down and held Xuan Long''s feet through the night. He stared at Xuan Long''s legs in a tense mood, and was suddenly struck by a moment of shock.


    "Saw... saw a foot..."


    "What?"


    Yan Yuan unconsciously laced his words with surprise: "Saw a foot."


    Hua Niang''s face turned white: "Come here, hold A''Long."


    Yan Yuan realised that something was wrong: "Why?"


    Hua Niang: "If the feet come out first, the baby will suffocate, the head needs to come out first."


    Yan Yuan took Xuan Long from Hua Niang''s arms, the cold scent in his nose was instantly stronger. By now the entrance to the womb was fully open, Hua Niang grabbed the child''s bloody little feet with both hands and pushed them back.


    The foetus was not in the right position and one had to reach into the belly and turn the baby around. The pain was no less than sticking a stick directly inside and stirring it up. Xuan Long, who had been weakly conscious, screamed out in pain and his upper body bounced up out of control as Yan Yuan hugged him tightly.


    "It will be over soon..."


    ¡°It will be over soon..."


    Xuan Long shouted once or twice and then stopped, he leaned into Yan Yuan''s arms, probably in a daze again, ¡°A''Yuan..."


    "En." Yan Yuan answered him.


    The edge of Xuan Long''s forehead rested against Yan Yuan''s shoulder, and his turquoise eyes lost focus: ¡°I... am in some pain..."


    Yan Yuan tightened his arm: "I know."


    "I told you before that I don''t want this little bastard, you insisted on giving birth to him, now you know how much it hurts."


    Xuan Long did not say anything. After Hua Niang had corrected the baby''s position, he exerted himself as hard as he had last night and used up his last bit of strength to push the baby out of the birth canal.


    Unlike his thin appearance, the child was white and tender after being cleaned, very healthy and pretty, with two short thick black dragon horns on his forehead, which was oddly cute.


    Hua Niang gave the child a pat on the buttocks and the child cried pitifully, making Yan Yuan''s heart flutter.


    Hua Niang looked at the child in her hand and said softly, "It''s a boy."


    "It was born to you by A''Long."


    Yan Yuan frowned and averted his eyes, remembering the man in his arms who had fallen into a coma, and said, "Heal him quickly and help him stop the bleeding."


    Hua Niang: "It''s not necessary."


    "What''s not necessary."


    Hua Niang lifted her head and said in a trembling voice, "It''s time for A''Long."

 CH 102

    Digging Out the Heart


    Yan Yuan lowered his face, "What are you talking about?"


    Hua Niang sobbed, her weak shoulders trembling, "It''s time for A''Long..."


    Yan Yuan gritted his teeth, "Tell me clearly. What do you mean it''s time?"


    The prison was quiet. The child stopped crying after a while, opening his turquoise eyes similar to Xuan Long''s and lying obediently in Hua Niang''s arms, babbling under his breath as if he wanted to speak.


    Clueless and ignorant, he had no idea that he was going to lose the person closest to him.


    ¡°A''Long can''t do it anymore..."


    The man in his arms was cold. Yan Yuan could feel the coldness through his clothes, and his hands and body were stained with Xuan Long''s blood...


    But he did not believe Hua Niang''s words.


    "You must not lie to me!"


    "Wasn''t the child born in good health! He is a dragon with ten thousand years of Tao, how could he die?!?!"


    Hua Niang was about to speak when the breath of the man in Yan Yuan''s arms changed slightly. Xuan Long had woken up.


    He opened his eyes slowly and Yan Yuan called out, ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long''s vision turned from blurred to clear, and when he saw the tiny white blob in Hua Niang''s arms, he knew it was his child and spoke with great effort, "Let me see..."


    Hua Niang cried as she approached Xuan Long and handed the child over. Only when he was closer did Xuan Long see the child''s face, and when he saw that he had the same dragon''s horns and eyes as himself, he felt a little sad.


    How would he be accepted in the world?


    Apart from the sadness, there was also much, much joy that this little creature had been in his belly for so long and that they had finally met.


    Unfortunately, the meeting was a farewell.


    "My son..." Xuan Long couldn''t help himself and reached out his hand to touch the child''s little dragon horns and snow-white face, yet his fingertips were about to touch when they stopped in mid-air.


    His hands were too dirty, all stained with blood, so it was better to forget about it, so as not to dirty him.


    Hua Niang broke into tears, ¡°A''Long..."


    Xuan Long ultimately did not touch the child, but raised his arm with difficulty and placed his palm over the child''s head, closing his eyes for a moment before a wave of green light flowing like water appeared in his palm and trickled into the child''s brow.


    The child''s forehead glowed with a dark green divine mark, and Xuan Long''s breathing became heavier to the naked eye as cold sweat rolled down his cheeks and onto his thin jaw, falling onto his blood-red prison clothes.


    Hua Niang''s eyes widened as she shook her head in disbelief, ¡°A''Long... Don''t! A''Long..."


    He was burning what little soul power he had left to condense an inner elixir for the child and transferring the soul power that had been converted into spiritual power into the child''s body.


    He was afraid that the child would be bullied on Earth in the future and wanted to give the child the power to defend itself.


    But the price... the price is...


    Hua Niang dared not think about it any further, she freed one hand and grabbed Xuan Long''s wrist: ¡°A''Long... don''t... I beg you, don''t... "


    Xuan Long: ¡°I want to... this is the last thing I can do for my child... "


    Yan Yuan frowned intensely and asked Hua Niang, "What is he doing?"


    Hua Niang did not say anything and kept crying.


    Yan Yuan was sure from their conversation that this was definitely not good, and he grabbed Xuan Long''s hand forcing him to withdraw it, "What are you trying to do?!"


    The divine lines on the child''s forehead faded away, and it was as bright as ever. The green light in Xuan Long''s palm disappeared with it, and his right hand hung down feebly.


    The inner elixir had been formed and a lot of spiritual energy had been transferred, enough for him to use.


    He leaned weakly in Yan Yuan''s arms, very sleepy.


    "Not doing... not doing anything."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were dark: "Not doing anything, why do you always say such inexplicable things?"


    "You honestly and clearly explain what you are hiding from me, why Hua Niang said you are dying. You better not play tricks, otherwise I will not let you go."


    Xuan Long''s turquoise eyes were half dozed: ¡°A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan looked at him, "What?"


    Xuan Long: "My son, he doesn''t have a name yet."


    Although he had a nickname, he still needed a real name.


    Yan Yuan: "You want me to give him a name?"


    "Yes." Xuan Long''s eyes closed and his voice became softer and softer.


    Yan Yuan: "No, it is not yet clear whether this child is mine or not, you are entangled with so many men, how do I know whose bloodline he is?"


    "Let''s talk about this later, you should hurry and ask Hua Niang to treat you, if you delay, it will be you who suffers."


    Xuan Long coughed twice and coughed out a large mouthful of blood, but did not have the strength to lift a hand to wipe it: ¡°... You are not even willing to name him."


    At this point, Yan Yuan panicked and fumbled, raising his hands to wipe the blood from Xuan Long''s lips, but his hands were already stained with blood, and the more he wiped, the less clean they became.


    Yan Yuan looked up and hysterically yelled at Hua Niang, "What are you still doing?! Hurry up and treat him!!"


    Hua Niang trembled with fear and cried even harder.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were red and frightening: "If you don''t do something, I will immediately send someone to bring your daughter here."


    Hua Niang choked back a sob, "He''s dying! It''s useless even if you capture both me and my daughter... It''s too late, everything is too late..."


    ¡°A''Long''s inner elixir is long gone, his life is as fragile as a human¡¯s. He was carrying a child and you were always beating him, torturing him, and cutting his flesh and blood to save your Empress. Now he''s finally dying, are you''re satisfied... are you''re satisfied..."


    Yan Yuan didn''t react: "The inner elixir is gone?"


    "Why is it gone? How could it be gone?"


    Now that the end of Xuan Long''s life was near, Hua Niang was no longer afraid of what Yan Yuan would do to Xuan Long and cried, "To save you! To save you, A''Long dispersed his ten thousand years of Tao and used his inner elixir on you. Since then, his life span has been the same as a mortal..."


    "But he was also pregnant with a child who needed to be nurtured by the power of his soul. He would have had three years to live, but it was you who tortured him little by little into this state, it was you..."


    Yan Yuan interrupted in a stern voice: "Impossible, he never told me that!!"


    Hua Niang''s eyes were blurred with tears, "What could you have done if he had told you? You never felt even the slightest bit of pain for him, you only treated him like an animal, asking him for what you wanted, not caring whether he was in pain or not, whether he was afraid or not..."


    "You human beings are wolf-hearted and dog-lunged, You human beings are wolf-hearted and dog-lunged..."


    Yan Yuan had a sharp pain in his head, "Shut up!!!"


    Hua Niang was silenced by his yelling and her sobs decreased.


    Yan Yuan looked down and asked the man in his arms, "Is what she said true?"


    "You gave me your inner elixir a long time ago?"


    "She lied to me, didn''t she? You''re not going to die, are you?"


    "You said you would stay with me through this life, you never go back on your word, and this time you won''t either, or else, or else I will..."


    He always threatened him, once with Hu Le, then the children, and now? If he really wants to leave, what else can he do to keep him?


    Xuan Long did not reply, his eyes drifting to the air: "¡­ A''Yuan."


    "Choose it now..."


    Yan Yuan hugged him tightly: "I said I won''t choose it. Such an important matter as choosing a name should be decided only after a good search of the classics, how can we be so hasty?"


    "Listen to me, when you are well, I will think about it together with you."


    Xuan Long: "If you don''t want to... then... forget it."


    "How can I forget it?" Yan Yuan hissed. "When did you become so indecisive? What is said is said, you cannot change it at will."


    It was clear that Yan Yuan is petty and that he is indecisive. Xuan Long no longer had the strength to say too much to him, so he could only choose something important to say.


    He grabbed Yan Yuan''s sleeve: "For the sake of the former... relationship, promise me one thing... please."


    Yan Yuan: "No promises!"


    "I don¡¯t promise, I won''t promise you a single thing!"


    "Unless you live well... anything is negotiable, otherwise nothing is promised!"


    Xuan Long''s lips quivered, "Spare Hua Niang... and Ying''er..."


    "The child... raise and nurture... he¡¯s yours, it''s your bloodline... For the sake of being your bloodline, you should not treat him harshly..."


    "I beg you..."


    "I will not raise it. You gave birth to the child, it is up to you to raise it, why are you throwing it to me?" Yan Yuan raised his hand and patted Xuan Long''s face. ¡°Stay awake, no sleeping! No sleeping..."


    The breath that Xuan Long exhaled was light and heavy: "I have something... for you, to exchange with you."


    Yan Yuan: " I don''t want anything!"


    "You want..." Xuan Long smiled in a rare manner. He slowly raised his right hand and placed his devastated hand over the location of his heart, sharp claws formed at his nails, and before Yan Yuan could react, he aimed at his heart and stabbed in.


    There was a ¡®psh'' and Yan Yuan froze.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long exerted the last of his soul power and turned it into spiritual power, his right hand went into his heart all at once, turning it, and Yan Yuan could even hear that tiny sound of blood and flesh tearing.


    The intact heart was still beating vividly in Xuan Long''s hand as he pulled it out, leaving a bloody hole where his heart had been, and thick blood spurted onto Yan Yuan''s face.


    His eyes widened and he called out breathlessly.


    ¡°A''Po... A''Po..."


    Blood gushed out rapidly from Xuan Long''s heart. Yan Yuan had never seen so much blood in his life... Perhaps he had seen it, but not from Xuan Long.


    People will die the moment they lose their hearts, and so will demons, but Xuan Long burned the power of his soul and his body was able to live temporarily in the world, sustaining him as he finished what he had to say.


    "Take it..."


    "Haven''t you wanted it for a long time... Inner elixir is good¡­ but not as good as a dragon heart."


    "Go and save him..."


    Xuan Long held the bloody heart and waited for Yan Yuan to pick it up. His eyes were closed and he didn''t have the strength to look at the world again.


    "I know... between you and me, there is no love."


    "You have never loved me... I... I know that."


    "Then... for the sake of this heart... spare Hua Niang, spare the children... and give them a way to live..."


    "Okay..."


    Yan Yuan shook his head, the sharp pain in his brain intensified, and his eyes were so wide that they almost split open: "No... no..."


    Something warm suddenly hit his cheek, and Xuan Long''s hand dropped weakly as the heart in his hand rolled to the ground, sticking to the sludge.


    "It only just snowed... how come it''s raining again..."


    Yan Yuan raised his hand to cover Xuan Long''s heart, but the heart was torn out, so how could he stop the blood: ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long: "Yan Yuan... you promise me."


    "Promise me..."

 CH 103

    Vanish in a Puff of Ashes


    "No... I don''t promise... I don''t promise, do you hear me, I don''t promise..." Yan Yuan''s voice trembled beyond recognition, and in an instant, tears were streaming down his face. "You are not allowed to die, you are not allowed to die..."


    "I forbid you from dying..."


    The voice in his ears was distant yet close, and the rain that pelted his face was increasing. This winter day was really strange, it was snowing and raining at the same time, and it was cold right down to his bones.


    Xuan Long lay in Yan Yuan''s arms, and those arms hugged him so tightly, yet he still felt cold, so cold that he couldn''t even speak smoothly: "I did all that I promised you... I did..."


    "You should also... do it."


    He had promised to spend the rest of his life with Yan Yuan, and he had done so.


    He said that when the child was born, he would give him the inner elixir, and he did that too. The inner elixir is no better than the dragon heart, and when Ning Zhiyu uses the dragon heart as a medicinal primer, he will be able to live a long life and accompany Yan Yuan until he is old.


    He has given him everything he wanted, but why has Yan Yuan not even agreed to such a small request from him so far...


    Could it be that he really loathed him so much... to the point where he could not even tolerate their child.


    Yan Yuan: "Don''t lie to me! You said you would accompany me hand in hand until old age, but how long has it been?"


    Xuan Long quietly closed his eyes, tears of blood welling up in the corners.


    "You were the one who lied to me first..."


    Yan Yuan raised his hand to caress the cold face of the man in his arms, his trembling fingertips wiping away the bloody tears at the corners of his eyes: "I do want your inner elixir, but I don''t want you to die, I still want you to stay by my side for the rest of your life¡­ A''Po, you are not allowed to die... you are not allowed to die..."


    ¡°A''Po... look at me, look at me."


    Xuan Long did not open his eyes. He did not know whether it was because he didn''t have the strength to open his eyes, or because he no longer wanted to look at him: "Yan Yuan... I am tired."


    "I don''t want to go on."


    "We... finally, it''s over..."


    Yan Yuan tightened his arms, squeezing the man to the point of near pain, his jaw pressed against the corner of his forehead, "No... no... no... "


    "I have not said it is over, how dare you say it is over! I won''t allow it, I won''t allow it!!!"


    Xuan Long''s time was up, and with each word, there was a lot of blood gushing out of his mouth: "You always... force me..."


    "This time... I can finally, not comply with you..."


    Yan Yuan lifted his hand to wipe his blood, which was hot and flowing like water. He softened his voice and coaxed him, "Then I won''t force you in the future, okay?"


    "Not okay..."


    "Not okay..."


    "There is no, future..."


    There is no more future.


    "There is... there is..." Yan Yuan was like a panicked child making futile struggles as he spoke tenderly in a hoarse voice to the man in his arms.


    ¡°A''Po... there is."


    "If you don''t sleep, then there is..."


    Xuan Long lay silently in his arms and never spoke again.


    The charcoal in the braziers burned all night, it was already dawn outside and the cell was warm, but Xuan Long''s body was so cold that ten brazier could not stop his body from getting colder.


    Yan Yuan had a splitting headache, he hugged Xuan Long blankly and whispered, ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Po... don''t you scare me, I know I''m wrong..."


    "Look at me¡­ look at me, okay?..."


    Hua Niang fell to her knees and cried out in pain, ¡°A''Long¡­ A''Long¡­ wu wu wu wu wu wu..."


    He was dead.


    Dead beings, how could they still speak?


    At the same time, the baby in Hua Niang''s arms cried along with her, crying out with a heartbreaking sob.


    The mournful cries rose and fell in the gloomy prison. Yan Yuan found it noisy, he frowned and held Xuan Long''s hand, calling him in a whisper, ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°Wake up..."


    ¡°Wake up..."


    The man''s face was blue and white, his blood-colored prison clothes were wet against his body, his long hair was scattered in all directions, his towering abdomen had deflated after he had given birth to a baby, and the whole man looked even thinner.


    Yan Yuan untied the basalt cloak he was wearing and carefully wrapped him up: "Aren''t you too cold here... then I will take you away and take you back to Qiankun Palace, where the underground dragon burns warm, you will surely like it..."


    "You sleep well, then wake up a little earlier, okay?"


    He stood up with Xuan Long in his arms and was ready to go when he noticed that the shackles on Xuan Long''s hands were still on, the long chains attached to brass rings on the walls, signalling the torture Xuan Long had been forced to suffer here.


    He called the jailer in to unlock Xuan Long''s shackles, but the jailer trembled in fear at the sight of Yan Yuan, as if he were terrifying. Impatient, Yan Yuan took the key from the jailer and unlocked Xuan Long himself.


    The shackles came off and Xuan Long''s wrists were worn down to a rather deep layer of skin, revealing pink flesh. Yan Yuan held his hand and kissed him on the corner of his forehead, "I know you are in pain..."


    "When we return to Qiankun Palace, I will ask Hua Niang to treat your wounds..."


    "Now that I know that you are no different from a mortal, I will treat you better and will not be angry with you for no reason..."


    In the past, although Xuan Long was angry with him and always deliberately avoided looking at him, he was at least awake, but now he didn¡¯t even open his eyes.


    How could he ignore him?


    Yan Yuan had been spoiled by him, so much so that he could not stand it anymore when Xuan Long ignored him for such a short while. Yan Yuan''s lips pressed against Xuan Long''s face and his teary eyes blurred as he said:


    ¡°A''Po... I seem... seem to be sick."


    "My head hurts... you always cared for me the most in the past, do you really refuse to care for me anymore?..."


    "I know I have a bad temper, you have a big heart and have been giving in to me, so in the future, I can also give in to you some, I don''t want the inner elixir, and I don''t want your heart, look at me... look at me..."


    Xuan Long kept ignoring him. Yan Yuan could only pick the man up again: "Then I will take you back to the palace first... I will wait until you have slept enough and then make a proper apology to you."


    "No matter how you want me to make up for it, I can give it to you..."


    Xuan Long has such a good temper, no matter how ruthless his heart is, he will not be able to be ruthless. When the time comes, he will make amends properly, treat him well from now on and not bully him, and after a long time, this dragon will surely forgive him.


    However, as soon as he picked the man up in his arms, the already thin weight suddenly became lighter. He looked down and saw that Xuan Long''s face, limbs, and hair had all begun to gradually become transparent.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long''s body turned into flying ashes at a speed visible to the naked eye, gradually disappearing into Yan Yuan''s arms as the cold wind poured in through the openings on the four corners of his head and scattered as soon as it blew.


    Yan Yuan instinctively stretched out his hand to grab it but failed to do so, he was at a loss for words and froze in place, not understanding how the man he had just held in his arms had disappeared.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Long¡­" Hua Niang cried in a trembling voice.


    The pale blue iris blossomed in Yan Yuan''s palm, and an intense flash of blue light was followed by a sharp pain like the deliberate burning of flesh and skin. He looked down at his palm, and the iris withered instantly, leaving a grey scar, as if signalling the disappearance of a certain life.


    The intense headache reached its peak and Yan Yuan''s headache felt like it was going to explode. His eyes were red and almost dripping blood as he turned around in place, not seeing the person he was looking for. He eventually walked over towards Hua Niang who was sitting paralyzed on the ground holding the child.


    "Where is A''Po?"


    "Did you hide him?"


    Hua Niang cried and shook her head.


    Yan Yuan bent down and clutched her lapel with both hands, "You give him back to me, you give him back to me!!!"


    "Did you use invisibility to hide him?! You want to take him away behind my back, don''t you?!"


    "I am telling you, don''t you ever think about it!!! He''s mine, he''s mine!!!"


    Hua Niang condensed her meagre spiritual energy into her palm and pushed Yan Yuan''s hand clenched on her lapel away as she cried hysterically, "He''s dead!!!"


    Yan Yuan was caught off guard for a moment and was really pushed back two steps by her. After stabilising himself, he looked at her with bloodshot eyes that did not move, as if he did not understand what she was saying.


    The child was coaxed by Hua Niang and was no longer crying. Hua Niang''s hand gently patted the child''s back and she whispered:


    "He''s dead."


    "Ashes to ashes."


    "From now on, in this world, there is no more Han Po."


    "Isn''t this what you wanted... you finally got your way, you should be happy."


    Yan Yuan chewed these words in his mouth in a daze: "Ashes to ashes..."


    Hua Niang shed tears silently: "After death, living beings in the six realms can fall into reincarnation and be reincarnated again. When ashes fly away, it means that the soul turns into dust and scatters in this world, there is no reincarnation, no more rebirth, there is nothing left..."


    "You forced him... you forced him to his doom..."


    "You have been forcing him..."


    Yan Yuan had seen similar remarks before in books, and he knew what ashes to ashes meant. But how could Xuan Long fall into ashes?


    "Impossible, I don''t believe it... I don''t believe he''s gone like that, it''s impossible..."


    "No way, no way... " Yan Yuan walked towards Hua Niang, flung himself down on his knees and sat in front of her, raising his hand to clutch her sleeve. "Aren''t you very powerful, if you bring him back, I will give you whatever reward you want..."


    "You save him..."


    Hua Niang choked back a sob and shook her head, "I can''t bring him back."


    "He was originally able to use the spiritual energy in his inner elixir to nourish the child in his womb, but who knew that you had suddenly lost your life. In order to save you, he had to give up his inner elixir and dissipate ten thousand years of Tao. You kept pushing him, forcing him to give you the inner elixir, when in fact he had already given it to you..."


    ¡°A''Long gave you everything... When you said you wanted to be husband and wife, he left the thousand year old pond to follow you back to the palace and spend time with you. You said you wanted dragon scales to save your friend, he plucked them for you despite his own pain, and he gave you as many as you wanted. Little did he know that it was all a conspiracy and a trick, all an act you put on to save your empress!"


    "But even so, when he knew you were going to die, he saved you without a second thought. What did you want that A''Long didn''t give you? It''s just that there were some things that you wanted that he couldn''t afford to give you..."


    "Now he''s finally given it to you, he''s given you his life, what do you have to be dissatisfied with?"


    "Ashes to ashes, there is nothing left. If you have a conscience, then for the sake of A''Long who tried to protect the child even to his death, let your child go. I will take him out of the palace, find a place where no one lives and raise him, and I will never get in your way."


    The pain in his head felt as if a drill was twisting into it, and Yan Yuan stared into her crimson eyes as a certain memory that had been deliberately ignored reappeared in his mind. On that day, he had left the palace in search of Xuan Long. On his way back he had been stabbed and hit by a poisoned arrow, and thought he was going to die. When he woke up, he found himself lying in Qiankun Palace safe and sound, with Xuan Long guarding him by his side.


    He knew that Xuan Long had cast a spell to save him, but he did not know that Xuan Long had dispersed his ten thousand years of Tao and used his inner elixir to save him. That dragon had never mentioned a single word about it to him.


    Yan Yuan''s throat ached, and large tears fell from his eyes, "Why didn''t you tell me?"


    "Why didn''t you tell me earlier?"


    Hua Niang cried, her pretty face scrunched up into a frown: ¡°A''Long would rather die than keep the child in his womb. If I told you, if you knew he had lost his inner elixir, wouldn''t you have immediately ripped out his heart?"


    "He has only survived so far because of the child in his belly. Although he has a good nature and is not as complicated as the human race, he is still someone with blood and bones, you humiliated him like that, tortured him and treated him worse than a dog. If it were not for the fact that he was pregnant and wanted to save his child, he would have died."


    "You held him captive and refused to let him go in order to use him to save your empress. Now that the dragon heart has finally been obtained, you should be overjoyed, what is the use of pursuing this..."


    "No... I didn''t, I didn''t want his heart, I didn''t want him to die..." Yan Yuan murmured and shook his head, covering his head in pain and bending down, his expression twisted and hideous as he fell to the ground and curled up in pain, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging.


    "I didn''t... I didn''t..."

 CH 104

    Past Life ¨C Part One


    Even a kind-hearted person like Hua Niang would not feel any pity for such an evil human being. If this human emperor hadn''t cheated A''Long''s body and mind, why would A''Long have ended up in this state?


    His ten thousand years of Tao had been scattered so easily, and he had spent his last days living in a place where no one could live, suffering from torture, and never recovering from his wounds.


    Now that A''Long was dead, he was crying. What was he crying for?


    "You obviously did!" Hua Niang was trembling, shedding tears and complaining vocally.


    "You were the one who plucked out A''Long''s heart."


    "It was you who plucked A''Long''s scales, it was you who locked A''Long in this cold cell, told the men to whip him, used a clamp to break his hand bones, it was you who embedded a hook into A''Long''s shoulder and left him covered in wounds."


    "He was pregnant with a child and you wouldn''t even let him go, you wouldn''t even be slightly kinder to him. Even if you were a little kinder to him, he wouldn''t have spontaneously combusted his soul and gone up in ashes..."


    "What are you crying about now?"


    "You''re the least qualified to cry."


    Anyone was qualified to cry for Xuan Long.


    The only one who wasn''t was Yan Yuan.


    The questioning voice was not strong, but it was like a sword piercing into Yan Yuan''s head and heart, causing him even more pain, all over his body.


    Why did it hurt so much?


    Xuan Long died, and the person he loved was A¡¯Yu. When he died, why did he cry? Why was it so painful... Why was the pain so bad that he wanted to die immediately...


    Yan Yuan covered his head with both hands in severe pain and rolled over on the ground, his silver white robe stained with ash, his hair scattered out from his silver crown, and tears kept pouring out of the corners of his eyes, "Uh..."


    "I didn''t know... I didn''t know he was going to die..."


    "I didn''t know..."


    "I thought... I thought..."


    Seeing that he was still making excuses, Hua Niang broke down and cried, "What did you think?"


    "You thought that a demon is invulnerable to swords and spears, water and fire, right? Didn''t you see him drenched in blood and in so much pain every day that he couldn''t even speak?"


    "It is the greatest misfortune in A''Long''s life that he met you..."


    "I knew his tribulation was near... but only now did I realise that you were his tribulation and that you were the most difficult one in his life!"


    The nine heavenly thunder tribulations, the flying sands of hell, and the sword spirit piercing his body... were all tribulations that even those great demons with profound Tao might not have survived, but Xuan Long had survived them all, except for this love tribulation, which he had not been able to overcome.


    Yan Yuan was so numbed by the pain that he knocked his forehead against the ground. He was so numb that he couldn''t even feel the bleeding from his forehead, but the blood dripped from his forehead across his nose bone and into his eyes. He got up, climbed over to Hua Niang and grabbed her robe, speaking hoarsely, ¡°It¡¯s my fault, it¡¯s my fault¡­"


    "You save him..."


    Hua Niang did not want to be touched by him at all, waving away his hand and crying, "I said I can''t save him!"


    "Dead is dead!!!"


    "Ashes to ashes means there is nothing left!!!"


    "Take the dragon''s heart and save your empress. The dragon''s heart will be preserved for one day at most, and when the time is up, it will turn into ashes like A''Long."


    Yan Yuan stubbornly grabbed Hua Niang''s pink sleeve and crouched on his knees, refusing to let go, his not very lucid mind more or less knowing that no one other than Hua Niang could help him get Xuan Long back.


    "Please..."


    "Please..."


    But now even Hua Niang couldn''t help him.


    He always did what he wanted, and when he got angry, he would yell at Xuan Long, but Hua Niang could save him and Xuan Long was so powerful that he would always recover from his wounds.


    He just wanted to force him to give up his inner elixir, he didn''t want to kill him.


    How come Xuan Long couldn''t survive after giving birth to a child? How could he die? How could he disappear into ashes...


    Yan Yuan still couldn''t figure out how that man had left him like that...


    He was clearly holding him just a moment ago.


    In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.


    Yan Yuan could not accept it, he desperately begged Hua Niang, even forgetting what dignity was. All he knew was that he was in pain, as if Xuan Long had taken his heart out with him when he ripped his out, leaving a hollow wound, every inch of his breath mixed with the pain of a knife cut.


    Hua Niang waved Yan Yuan''s hand away from her sleeve, stood up with the child in her arms and looked out into the dimness of the tunnel, "I''m leaving."


    ¡°A''Long left cleanly, leaving nothing behind, you can pretend that he never came and never gave birth to this child for you. You got a dragon''s heart for nothing, you can grow old with your empress in the future, congratulations."


    She had just opened the iron gate when she was stopped by two sword-wielding guards, who refused to let her go without Yan Yuan''s order.


    Hua Niang turned her back to Yan Yuan and said in a mute voice, "Let us go."


    "I know you don''t like him, and I promise that the boy will never be in your sight in the future, and no one will ever know of your connection."


    Yan Yuan crouched on his knees and raised his head from the ground, his vision a blur as he barely met the delicate pink back: "Leave the child..."


    Propping himself up on the ground, he wobbled to his feet and walked over towards Hua Niang.


    As the sound of footsteps approached, Hua Niang turned around warily, tightened her grip on the sleeping child into her arms, and stepped back: "What do you want?"


    "This child is mixed with your bloodline, his flesh and blood have no healing power, it''s useless for you to keep him..." Hua Niang said. Seeing Yan Yuan reaching out towards the child, her eyes instantly filled with tears, "It''s not enough that you killed A¡¯Long, but now you won''t even spare the child?"


    "Please... don''t..."


    "Don''t hurt him..."


    Yan Yuan''s fingertips fell on the swaddle by the child''s white face, his scarlet eyes were filled with creepy obstinacy, and that cloaked look was set against the blood on his miserable white face, like a ghost.


    "This is my child... he gave birth to for me..."


    "No one... can take him away..."


    As the words fell, Yan Yuan''s body took an unbalanced step backwards and collapsed straight into the pile of damp straw as Hua Niang watched in surprise.


    Xuan Long was dead, his body gone, and along with it the rich, cold fragrance in the air had dispersed, and the large puddle of blood left behind was nowhere to be seen.


    "Your Majesty!!!"


    "Your Majesty!!!"


    The jailer at the cell door immediately noticed Yan Yuan''s condition and opened the cell door to help him. Yan Yuan''s eyes were tightly closed, the blood dripping wet half of his face, and he was already unconscious.


    ......


    Above the Nine Heavens, in a palace of immortal aura and jade buildings, a man in black clothes sat behind a jade table, holding a blue book in his hand and reading it. Yan Yuan saw that his eyebrows were slightly furrowed. He was so focused on what he was reading that he didn¡¯t even notice that he was back. He walked over, bent down and wrapped the man''s slim body into his arms from behind, ¡°A¡¯Po¡­ what are you looking at? Did you miss me today?"


    Only then did the man in black return to his senses and close the book up, ¡°Hmm... nothing."


    He didn''t have much expression on his face, but Yan Yuan could immediately detect his shortness of breath, and raised his hand to clasp his wrist: "Hm?"


    The man in black frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "It''s the ''Nei Jing? Su Wen'', which contains contents related to pregnancy, which was sent to me by Mother."


    "Oh." Yan Yuan let go, his hands slowly moving down to land on his still-flat waist and stomach, his large palms caressing it lovingly through the clothing. "Can you learn anything from that?


    Xuan Long was once wounded in battle, wounding his abdomen. They had been together for ten thousand years and had finally gotten such a precious baby, which had to be loved and cared for properly, and it was normal for the mother to be concerned.


    The man in black was silent for a moment: "It says here that it is not feasible to have sex for 300 years after conception."


    Yan Yuan''s hand stalled as he touched his stomach, his pretty eyebrows wrinkling as he stared at the man''s cold profile, "Tch, there''s still such a statement?"


    The knot in the man''s throat twitched slightly: ¡°En."


    Yan Yuan wilfully buried his face into his neck, sniffing the nice cold fragrance, "Fine, then I''ll just put up with it for another 100 years, the little thing in your belly is important."


    Because of the pregnancy effect, Xuan Long had not been feeling well since he found out he was pregnant, he could not even eat his favourite sashimi, and the two of them had not been close to each other for 100 years.


    It would take at least 900 years for the baby in his belly to be born.


    Perhaps sensing Yan Yuan''s low mood, the man in black put down his book and spoke with downcast eyes, "If you really want to, be careful... it should be fine."


    His voice was low and gentle, a gentleness that did not match his cold appearance. Yan Yuan''s heart was as soft as water as he listened, and he said against his ear, "No, what if it hurts you and the child?¡±


    "Don''t worry... I can hold it back, at night, you can touch me like you did before... and it will be fine..." The end of his speech became more and more ambiguous, hot air entered the man''s ears, and his body gradually stiffened. Yan Yuan took advantage of his unpreparedness to grab the man''s legs and pick him up, successfully catching the blush that had not receded under the man''s icy turquoise eyes.


    "... For what?"


    Yan Yuan''s smile was like a painting, and in the blink of an eye, he had already appeared above the clouds in the Nine Heavens with the man in black clothes in his arms: "Counting the hours, it should be dark on earth at this time. Today is the Qixi Festival on earth, it must be very lively to go there at this time."


    ¡°Qixi Festival?"


    ¡°En. I want to spend it with you." Yan Yuan''s kiss fell on the corner of the man''s forehead. "And buy some trinkets for the child to play with."


    "... The baby isn''t due for another 700 years. Buy it then."


    Yan Yuan took him to the earth without saying a word, and a cool breeze passed by his ears. The man in black wanted to come down, but Yan Yuan held him and refused to let him go, so he couldn''t argue. In the end, he had to give up and eventually fell asleep on his chest.


    A loud noise woke the man up and he opened his turquoise eyes to see that the place was brightly lit and crowded with people, and that they had already arrived in the mortal world.


    Yan Yuan unapologetically held the man''s hand as they walked through the crowd. They stopped in front of a small stall, and Yan Yuan picked up a red rattle and shook it, asking the man with a smile, "How about this?"


    "Very good." The man had always gone along with him.


    "Then this is it."


    After paying the merchant, Yan Yuan used his spiritual power to put the rattle away, and the two of them stopped in front of another stall, which was filled with all kinds of brocade pouches, red, yellow, green and blue. Yan Yuan picked up a red gold silk brocade pouch and looked at it, and the stall owner greeted him warmly.


    "My lord, this is a brocade pouch of blessings."


    "Make a wish on a brocade pouch and then give it to your beloved, you will be able to have a long and loving relationship with each other for a hundred lifetimes..."


    Yan Yuan smiled as his peach blossom eyes curved up, "Really?"


    The stall owner: "Naturally."


    "Then I''ll take everything you have at this stall."


    The man in black clothes was stunned: ¡°A''Yuan..."


    When they went back, the two of them brought a sack of brocade pouches, which were stored with spiritual power without hindrance, and Yan Yuan hugged the man in his arms as he had done when he arrived, whispering, "Love for a hundred lifetimes is not enough, we want eternity... eternity."


    ¡°¡­ En."


    Mortals worship the heavenly gods, burning incense and praying for shelter, which is understandable.


    As a celestial god, one is not supposed to believe in mortal superstitions, but Yan Yuan just wanted to believe. He prayed to the heavens to let their love and affection live forever and ever, making wishes with the most devout faith, and the various coloured brocade pouches were eventually hung in various corners of the bedchamber.


    A hundred years later, the demons came rampantly, intending to break through the divine South Ridge, the junction between the gods and the demons, and invade the Nine Heavens. The gods sent there were defeated one after another, and as the Heavenly Emperor, he could no longer sit quietly in the Heavenly Court. As Yan Yuan was about to go on his own expedition, the man in black took off his black robe and appeared before him in a silver and white battle robe.


    "I''ll go."


    Yan Yuan immediately objected: "No, you are pregnant now, you must not go to battle."


    ¡°A''Yuan... trust me."


    "I can protect you."

 CH 105

    Past Life ¨C Part Two


    The battle was so monstrous that fire was everywhere... Karma fire burned half the sky red and scorched the air hot. Yan Yuan was walking among the dense smoke when he heard miserable cries coming from the distance.


    He suddenly became a little panicky and moved through the pungent fog, looking for the sound of the cries, and saw a group of celestial soldiers dressed in silver armour kneeling on the ground, gathered around a man and crying.


    The man''s long hair was spread out beneath him, and he was lying quietly and soundlessly on the charred ground. His face was so blurred by blood that he could not see his original appearance, a hole was pierced in his heart, and a steady stream of blood was staining his silver and white battle robe red.


    Although he couldn''t see his face, Yan Yuan knew that this was the man he was looking for. He stiffly walked over to him, and the celestial soldiers surrounding the man made way for him.


    Yan Yuan knelt down at the man''s side, lifted his upper body up and gently held him in his arms, covering the wound on his heart where the magic blade had stabbed him, and called out hoarsely, ¡°A''Po¡­"


    The man ignored him.


    Yan Yuan''s voice grew even more shaky as tears poured down uncontrollably, ¡°A''Po¡­ don''t scare me."


    The man was always reluctant to make him wait too long, and this time it should be the same. After a moment, he slowly lifted his blood-stained dark red eyelashes, his out-of-focus turquoise eyes met Yan Yuan''s face and only half recognized him, as if he were someone else.


    "... You''re here."


    Yan Yuan spoke to the man in the softest of tones, tightening his arms, ¡°En, I''m here... I''m here..."


    "I''ve come to take you home..."


    The man''s turquoise eyes were half-dark, and he said, ¡°A''Yuan, the child... should be gone."


    In addition to the large and small wounds on his body and the wound on his heart, the man had also shed a lot of blood under his body and his trousers were soaked through. Yan Yuan knew that he was sad and must be blaming himself.


    Yan Yuan pressed his lips to the corner of the man''s forehead and closed his eyes in pain, tears rolling down his cheeks: "If it''s gone, it''s gone, we can have another one later. Don¡¯t think too much about it... there''s still a long time ahead."


    The man looked at the fiery red sky: "The demons... have been defeated..."


    Yan Yuan whispered back: ¡°En, I know you are powerful, General Xuan Long has always been victorious in battle, you are the most heroic in my heart."


    The man''s thin lips pursed, and he smiled as he spoke dyingly: ¡°A''Yuan... I will not go back with you this time..."


    Yan Yuan suppressed his sobs and asked, "Then where are you going?"


    The man spoke with difficulty, "Perhaps... to walk on earth."


    "You''re leaving me?" Yan Yuan could not hold back a choked sob. "I won''t allow it... We agreed to spend ten thousand lifetimes together, you can''t go back on your word."


    "Don''t go back on your word... If you go back on your word, I will be angry with you."


    The man consoled him, "Don''t cry... I''m not going to disappear in ashes, you''ll come and find me when I fall into reincarnation..."


    Yan Yuan cried harder and harder, as if his heart had been hollowed out. He raised his hand to wipe away the blood gushing from the man''s mouth: "The four seas and eight deserts are so big, how can I find... you are not allowed to die, if you die and leave me alone, how can I bear it?"


    "See the wound on my face... the marks left by the karmic fire will be engraved on my soul and will be carried with me in my reincarnation... The next time you see me, you will be able to recognize me at a glance..."


    If you enter reincarnation, you will inevitably have to drink Mengpo soup, even the heavenly emperor is not spared, this is the rule set by the Heavenly Path. As a heavenly deity, one could not go down to earth to find a mortal to be a couple, for anything that went against the Heavenly Path would be condemned by Heaven.


    Yan Yuan knew that Xuan Long was trying to cheer him up, so he was reluctant, crying and shaking: "I don''t want... I don''t want another life, I just want the present, I want you to stay with me forever..."


    The man''s heart was pierced by a magic blade, the most powerful healer in the Nine Heavens could not save him, and it was certain that he would leave, which they all knew.


    But Yan Yuan was unwilling to accept it. He picked up the man and rushed to the Heavenly Palace, telling him to wait a little longer, there must be a way to save him.


    But before he got halfway home, the man died. His breath growing weaker and weaker, and the man who was not good at smiling, in his last moments, was smiling as he died in Yan Yuan''s arms.


    He said:


    "Foolish A''Yuan, I am willing to be your general."


    "I would cut through the thorns for you... to protect you for all eternity."


    He was gone.


    Taking their child with him, he disappeared from Yan Yuan''s world.


    ......


    Inside Qiankun Palace, the sleeping man on the dragon couch seemed to be caught in a nightmare. His forehead wrapped in gauze, faintly seeping with blood, his handsome young face stained with tears, even the pillow beneath him was soaked.


    He murmured, almost pleadingly.


    "Don''t¡­ A''Po... don''t go..."


    "Look at me... please, look at me..."


    "We said we... would cross the ten thousand lifetimes..."


    "We said we would..."


    "Don''t you go..."


    "Don''t go..."


    Chen Yan, who had entered the inner hall carrying the soup and medicine, saw this and hurriedly put the wooden tray on the table and ran to the bedside to call him lowly, "Your Majesty..."


    "Your Majesty..."


    After calling out a dozen times, the man on the bed quieted down and slowly opened his reddish peach blossom eyes.


    Yan Yuan propped himself up on the bed and sat up, as if he had not yet recovered from his nightmare. The candle flame reflected on his tense face, looking rather terrifying.


    Chen Yan turned to bring the medicine from the table and whispered, "Your Majesty, you are finally awake, you have been unconscious for three whole days. This is medicine for your wounds, you..."


    Yan Yuan didn''t listen to what Chen Yan was saying at all and asked in a hoarse voice, "Where is Xuan Long?"


    Chen Yan froze and looked at Yan Yuan without squeaking.


    When Yan Yuan saw that he did not speak, he lifted the covers and was about to get out of bed, "I am going to go to the prison to see him."


    Bring him back.


    "Your Majesty..." Chen Yan called out to him sharply.


    Yan Yuan''s feet landed right on his boots and he lifted his scarlet eyes to look at the eunuch''s increasingly aged face.


    "Have you forgotten, Master Han disappeared three days ago."


    "The flower essence said that his heart could only be preserved for one day, so this old servant personally delivered the dragon heart to Luanfeng Hall, and by late afternoon today, the Empress had awakened." Chen Yan''s voice had taken on a sobbing tone when he reached the end of his sentence.


    Yan Yuan murmured, "Gone?"


    Chen Yan: "Yes."


    The pain in Yan Yuan''s head was so bad and he remembered then that Xuan Long had died.


    He had died in his arms.


    He had dug his own dragon heart out for him before he died, leaving nothing behind when he left.


    Nothing was left behind.


    Exactly the same as in the dream...


    "Your Majesty, you, what is wrong with you?..."


    "Don''t you scare this old servant..."


    Tears fell from Yan Yuan''s eyes, he sat dully on the edge of the bed, looking at the empty hall, and said softly, "I had a long, long dream... In the dream, I was in love with Xuan Long, and he had my child... I was very happy with him, and before the child was born, we prepared many, many things for him to wear, use, and play with..."


    Chen Yan asked, "And then what happened..."


    "Later... later the child was not born, he fought for me and died in battle on a sacred mountain... he died in my arms, and after his death his body turned into ashes... just like that day..." Large drops of tears rolled down one after another, Yan Yuan covered his head in pain and bowed up his body.


    "Just like that day..."


    Chen Yan looked at him worriedly, his eyes mournful: "Your Majesty, that was just a dream..."


    "Since Master Han is dead, you should not think too much about it... Go and see the Empress."


    "Uh... he... he..." A gasp of suppressed pain escaped Yan Yuan''s throat as he covered his head and struggled, hoarsely saying, "He''s dead... "


    "He''s dead... I don''t want him to die..."


    "Chen Yan, I''m in so much pain..."


    "I am in pain..."


    Chen Yan went over to support him, and his old tears flowed: "Your Majesty, why are you in such pain? The deceased has passed away, you did not care about him when he was alive, now that he is no longer here, you need not think much about him."


    "Since Master Han has left so decisively... he must not want you to think of him."


    When Xuan Long was alive, he suffered a lot, but he did not get any good from Yan Yuan, so his late regret was extremely cheap and useless. Even if it was because Xuan Long had saved Yan Yuan''s life, Yan Yuan should not have done that to him in the first place. Chen Yan, as a servant, was soft spoken and that was all he could say.


    "Your Majesty, you should drink the medicine, it will be unpalatable if it gets cold."


    Chen Yan handed the bowl of medicine to Yan Yuan, but Yan Yuan raised his hand and brushed away the bowl, splashing the medicine in all directions and shattering it.


    "I don''t want to drink it! You go and invite Taoist Master Shi here, I have something to ask him, now."


    Since that Taoist Master Shi could subdue demons, he must have a way to save them.


    Just because Hua Niang doesn''t have a solution doesn''t mean that the other people don''t...


    It was late at night, and even if someone was to be summoned to the palace, it would have to wait until tomorrow. Yan Yuan decided to summon him overnight, so Chen Yan had to send someone to invite him.


    When Taoist Master Shi arrived at the palace, Yan Yuan asked him how he could bring back a demon that had gone up in ashes. Humans can¡¯t come back to life after death, not to mention a demon that has vanished into ashes. Even the most illiterate of men knew this common sense, and the answer Yan Yuan received was predictable.


    He knew that he was crazy, but he couldn''t stop, so he had Taoist Master Shi arrested and tortured him to force him to find a way to bring Xuan Long back. It was only after a night of questioning that he found out that this Taoist Master Shi was just a simple journeyman who could drive away a kid, but not a demon with ten thousand years of experience.


    The demon chain that Taoist Master Shi had left in the palace was in fact a chain made of ordinary material, but it was much thicker and heavier. Therefore, Hua Niang''s words were true, Xuan Long''s Tao had long been gone, and a chain made by a human could take away half of his life.


    But Xuan Long had suffered so much pain and had never told him that his Tao was gone... his inner elixir was gone...


    No... It seems that it had been said, only he didn''t believe it, he thought it was all an excuse for Xuan Long to pass the blame and refuse to offer his inner elixir to save Ning Zhiyu...


    He didn''t believe it, so he used all kinds of vicious torture on him to force him to hand over what he had given him long ago.


    He also said that Xuan Long was stingy and could not give up his Tao to grow old with him.


    In fact, he was not stingy, the dragon treated him most generously...


    The demon chain was offered by Taoist Master Shi, but he was the one who ordered the torture.


    Damn, it was only right that he should die too.


    He had seen Xuan Long''s injuries and knew that someone had tortured him, so he made the jailer ask questions and had the man arrested the next day.


    When Yan Yuan went to the prison, the lean jailer was already beaten to death and covered in blood. Suddenly Yan Yuan remembered that Xuan Long had also been tied to this wooden cross that day, beaten to the point of dripping blood.


    Yan Yuan did not quite understand how he could have done that to Xuan Long. Since he woke up, he felt as if he was in a dream and was in a daze all day, dreaming when he fell asleep that Xuan Long was lying in his arms, telling him not to cry.


    The face that was once hidden in a mist became clear. It turned out that the man in the dream was not Ning Zhiyu, but Xuan Long. The pupils of his eyes were the same icy turquoise colour as Xuan Long''s, and his voice was the same low and gentle tone.


    He didn''t know whether he had mistaken the man or whether it was because he missed Xuan Long so much that he dreamed of him all night long and always woke up in tears.


    A bucket of water was poured on him and the jailer barely opened his beady eyes.


    "Who gave you permission to bully him like that?" Yan Yuan asked in a hoarse voice, his fingertips embedded in his palm. It was as if he was asking him, but also as if he was asking himself.


    "Your Majesty, you said... as long as he is left alive, it will be fine..."

 CH 106

    I Regret It


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were stinging with blood, staring at the man on the torture rack, and he spoke softly, "Tell me how you treated him, and I will spare your wife and daughter from death."


    The jailer had no idea that violating a prisoner would bring about his own demise, not to mention that it didn''t even happen. He begged for mercy as he hung on his deathbed.


    "I will never dare to do it again... Your Majesty spare my life..."


    "Spare your life..."


    Yan Yuan took the fire poker handed to him by the prison officer and pressed the red-hot triangular head against the jailer''s chest, the poker scalding through the prisoner''s clothes and sticking to the flesh, making a ¡®zi zi'' sound in exchange for the jailer''s heart-rending screams.


    The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.


    "Speak."


    "What did you do to him?"


    Yan Yuan was surprisingly calm.


    The poker sizzled three or four times, and the jailer''s chest was almost cooked, he passed out several times and was awakened by cool water each time. Perhaps knowing that he would not escape, he finally agreed to speak.


    "I wanted to make love to him... and he did not comply, so I pulled his nail and kicked him in the abdomen..."


    His heart seemed to be pinched by an invisible giant palm, slowly tightening and pinching until it was deformed. The more Yan Yuan listened the more red the corners of his eyes became, blood dripped out from under his sleeve and landed on the dusty ground.


    "... Your Majesty spare my life."


    "Your Majesty... spare my life..." The half-dead jailer was still begging for mercy.


    The prison officer beside him saw the blood dripping out from under Yan Yuan''s sleeve and said in a panic, "Your Majesty, you are injured..."


    Yan Yuan did not feel the pain. He did not want to stay in this place any longer, so he turned around and said hoarsely, "Pull out his nails, chop them up and feed them to the dogs."


    "Yes..."


    Passing by the cell where Xuan Long had been held, Yan Yuan stopped. He turned sideways and looked in, it was empty and dark, nothing was left. The straw that Xuan Long had once slept on, the bedding, had all been packed away.


    A human being cannot come back to life from the dead.


    The same was true of demons.


    Even if Yan Yuan could not accept this fact, he had to accept it.


    He lingered for a moment before continuing down the dimly lit tunnel, the cold wind burrowing through his pores and into his bare neck, causing a shiver to run down his spine.


    Yan Yuan remembered that Xuan Long was afraid of the cold. He had always thought that because he liked water, he was not too afraid of the cold.


    It turned out that there were many things he did not know.


    It wasn''t that the dragon wouldn''t tell him, it was that he had never given him the chance to speak freely.


    Xuan Long didn''t say anything when he suffered, and he wouldn''t tell him when he suffered at the hands of others, because the one who caused that situation, who put him in a situation where he would never recover, was him, was Yan Yuan himself.


    When he came out of the iron gate of the Heavenly Prison, the warm light outside made Yan Yuan''s eyes sway, and he stumbled and was about to fall down.


    Yan Yuan allowed Chen Yan to support him and walked blankly into the daylight, wondering how the sun could be so strong in the middle of winter, and even more so, why his heart was so cold when the sun was clearly so strong.


    "Chen Yan..."


    "Ei, Your Majesty, this servant is here." Chen Yan answered in a soft voice.


    Yan Yuan''s pale lips moved slightly: "I am the most stingy..."


    "I am the most stingy..."


    "... I was so stingy, I refused to give him the slightest bit of kindness, I refused to give him the slightest bit of comfort, and when he was tired, he left..."


    "Never coming back..."


    Since Xuan Long''s departure, Yan Yuan became even more ill. When the headaches flared up, he would roll over and over in bed, and when the pain became extreme, he would knock his forehead against something hard, and the palace staff could not stop him.


    After he had calmed down and fallen asleep, he would dream, calling Xuan Long''s name over and over again, sometimes giggling, sometimes crying bitterly and begging him not to leave.


    The wine could no longer suppress Yan Yuan''s headaches, and after just ten days, he had lost a lot of weight. Chen Yan looked at Yan Yuan and found that there were a few strands of silver hair at his temples.


    New Year''s Eve was approaching, and Yan Yuan would only be 20 years old after New Year''s Eve.


    Chen Yan did not understand why his remorse was born. Was it because of guilt? If there was any guilt, then when Xuan Long was alive, he shouldn''t have been in such a miserable state.


    It was because he loved but didn''t know, and was so used to being arrogant and willful that he thought everyone in the world would always be around him.


    "He won''t come back."


    "Your Majesty, there are some things, some things, that cannot be reversed." Chen Yan looked into the distant sky, the cage built by the high vermilion walls blocking the world outside. Perhaps Xuan Long''s departure would be good for him instead.


    At least he was free.


    "But Chen Yan, I regret it..." Yan Yuan''s words were already tinged with tears, and his absolutely handsome face was covered with tears. "I regret it..."


    Chen Yan sighed: "The deceased is gone, Your Majesty, look at the people around you."


    "Since the Empress woke up, you have not met him, would you like to go have dinner with him today?"


    All of this was for Ning Zhiyu.


    Without regard for his safety, he dove into the thousand-year-old pond, tricked that simple-minded stupid dragon back into the palace, coaxed him into pulling out the inverse scale, and forced him to hand over his inner elixir, all for the sake of Ning Zhiyu and to save his beloved''s life.


    Now his purpose has finally been achieved, Ning Zhiyu has won the dragon''s heart and can live a long life afterwards and grow old with him.


    Hua Niang was right, what could he not be satisfied with?


    He should have pardoned the whole world and rejoiced with the whole nation, asking the people of Darong to experience this joy together, but in fact, the longer Xuan Long was gone, the emptier Yan Yuan became. It was as if his soul had left with him.


    He never even thought of Ning Zhiyu in his spare time, because he always had a headache, and the more he thought of Xuan Long, the more it hurt, so much so that he had to numb himself with liquor, and the vicious cycle persisted.


    He repeatedly had that dream of Xuan Long lying in his arms with a smile on his lips, dying and saying:


    "Don''t cry... The scars left by the burning of karma will be engraved on my soul and carried with me in reincarnation... When I fall into reincarnation, you will come to find me..."


    "When you see me, you will be able to recognize me at once..."


    Yan Yuan gradually became certain that he probably recognized the wrong person.


    Otherwise, how could he and Xuan Long have been so in love in the dream, even the details were clear, otherwise how could the pain of losing his lover be so engraved in his bones, causing his heart to break every time he tasted it...


    And he never dreamed of Ning Zhiyu.


    He knew that Ning Zhiyu was innocent, and that he had blocked Xuan Long''s escape and sent him into the abyss with his own hands.


    But that did not stop him from remembering how he had bullied, coaxed and tortured Xuan Long along the way more vividly when he saw Ning Zhiyu.


    He was deliberately avoiding that.


    For a very long time, Yan Yuan did not even dare to enter the side hall where Xuan Long had lived, there were too many memories there, most of them bad ones.


    Xuan Long had given him everything, but he had never given him even a little warmth, so it was no wonder that in his final moments, he lay in his arms crying out incessantly that he was cold.


    Hua Niang was released from the palace by Yan Yuan, and the child was left behind. That child, whom he had once called a sinful child, was the only memory Xuan Long had left for him.


    It was Xuan Long who fought to the death to give birth to him.


    Yan Yuan didn''t understand why he had felt so repulsed and disgusted by his former self, when it was clear that their child had been born so lovingly, with the same beautiful turquoise pupils and dragon horns as Xuan Long, and his fair little face was so soft and lovely.


    His character was really like Xuan Long''s in infancy; he hardly cried, only when he was hungry did he cry out in anguish. Yan Yuan kept him in his palace and had yet to give him a name.


    He had promised Xuan Long that he would look through the books and think of the most appropriate name, but every time he saw the child''s eyes, which resembled Xuan Long''s, he would cry.


    When he cried, he couldn''t think of anything else.


    Notices were posted in the streets and alleys which were ordered by the Emperor himself to search for monks throughout the country, whose role would not be to subdue demons, but to save them.


    Whoever could bring back the disembodied Xuan Long would be promoted to a higher rank and rewarded with a million taels of gold, or, if any competent person asked, the Emperor would meet any request.


    As long as Xuan Long could be brought back.


    Everyone said that Yan Yuan was crazy.


    Only Yan Yuan himself knew that he was not crazy, he was sober and doing what he should be doing, and he would only be crazy if the dragon did not return.


    On the 20th day after the departure of Xuan Long, he could no longer resist and stepped into the side hall of Qiankun Palace. He missed him so much, missed his scent, missed his embrace, missed the way he clumsily followed his orders in a vain attempt to please him, missed the way he pursed his lips when he was angry, but all of that was gone.


    There was no trace of Xuan Long''s scent left in the air, the only thing that gave Yan Yuan any comfort was that the side hall was still furnished as it was, and the mattress that Xuan Long had slept on was still there.


    The brocade blue bedding and soft pillows of the same colour were neatly laid out on the bed. He didn''t like to be too far away from Xuan Long, even in bed, and had to sleep close to that dragon all the time, sharing a pillow between them.


    Yan Yuan buried himself between the soft bedding, grabbing the quilt Xuan Long had once used and sniffing hard under his nose. It seemed that he could vaguely smell a clear, cold fragrance, so faint and indistinct that he could not tell if it was an illusion or real.


    He inhaled the pleasurable scent as if he were a drug addict who had taken opium, but there was only bitterness and pain in his heart as he bit his hand and wept, calling out obsessively.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Po..."


    After a drowsy night''s sleep, Yan Yuan woke up with a headache. After he came here, he did not want to leave and asked someone to bring breakfast. There were few fond memories between him and Xuan Long, they had never even eaten a peaceful meal together, they always seemed to be arguing.


    No, no, to be precise, it was Yan Yuan''s unilateral tantrum, he would flip out if Xuan Long did not hand over the inner elixir. That dragon spoke very little, he would not quarrel with him, and even if his words were harsh, he would not say a word when he heard them.


    As the palace staff came in and put the exquisite breakfast on the table. Yan Yuan froze when a soft peach cake appeared in his sight; he had used this pastry to coax Xuan Long into handing over his inner elixir.


    Yan Yuan sat at the table, his hands hanging in his lap tightened.


    "I''m suddenly not hungry anymore... everyone withdraw."


    Next to him, Chen Yan stepped forward, "Your Majesty, this¡­ eat as much as you can."


    Yan Yuan refused. Chen Yan waved his hand and told the palace staff to remove the breakfast that had just been brought up, and retreated along with the palace staff, leaving Yan Yuan alone in the room.


    When it was quiet, the bone-thirsty thoughts became more and more frequent. Yan Yuan got up and walked to the inner room, his palm caressing the bronze mirror Xuan Long had used, the dressing table, and on it the silver hairpin he had given Xuan Long, which Xuan Long did not want, but he had insisted on keeping.


    In the wardrobe were Xuan Long''s clothes.


    Everything was in good condition.


    Only the owner of these things was no longer there.


    Just as he was about to close the door behind him, he suddenly realised that there seemed to be something hidden underneath the folded black robes. Yan Yuan lifted the robes to reveal a brown wooden box.


    When he opened it, he found more than ten wooden figures, similar in size, all carved to look like the same person, wearing dragon robes and an imperial crown. Some of them were rough, others were delicate and carefully painted.

 CH 107

    Reunion


    This was the birthday present that Xuan Long had wanted to give him.


    He didn''t want it.


    He thought the wooden figure was too shabby to look at.


    When he had not taken the dragon into his heart, he would not even care about the dragon itself, let alone a wooden figure carved by his hands.


    He would not have cared how much thought and care he had put into preparing this gift.


    The clumsy dragon, in order to please him, had secretly practised carving the wooden figure over and over again, finally carving a decent one and carefully colouring it, but he didn''t want it.


    Not only did he not want it, he even trampled on his heart and said it was a useless thing.


    Yan Yuan remembered that there was a time when Xuan Long always had small cuts on his hands, which did not get better for a long time. When he asked him why, Xuan Long refused to say, so he didn''t bother to pursue the matter.


    Now that he recalled it, it dawned on him that it was for his birthday present.


    What he had disdained and scorned was perhaps the best gift Xuan Long could have thought of to give him.


    Xuan Long was like that, not good with words, but always good with actions... like taking good care of him at the thousand-year-old pond, like pulling scales for Yan Yuan when he asked for them after returning to the palace, and reassuring him that he was born with a dull sense of pain when he saw him feel guilty.


    How could he have suspected him of having an affair with someone else?


    He had clearly treated him with such dedication... that he had given him everything he wanted and nothing he didn''t want.


    A tear fell on the painted eyebrows of the wooden man in his hand. Yan Yuan returned to his senses and rubbed the wooden man against his chest to clean it. Fortunately, the paint was of good quality and would not be easily smudged. He burst into warm tears and sobbed out at the wooden man.


    His body slid down dejectedly and slumped to the floor. Yan Yuan held the box of wooden figures in his arms, cupping the most delicate one in his right hand, and murmured as he cried.


    ¡°A''Po...I am happy with this gift"


    "I am happy..."


    No one replied to him any more.


    When Xuan Long had carved these wooden figures, his heart should have been full of anticipation, expecting how Yan Yuan would look delighted when he received this gift.


    But the truth was the opposite of what he had imagined. Yan Yuan didn''t care for them at all, he was too tired to even look at them.


    Xuan Long left in disappointment.


    Yan Yuan''s happiness came too late. It was too late.


    There was no room for regret.


    He missed that dragon so much, and when he thought of it deep down, his head began to ache. Yan Yuan''s whole body fell to the ground and curled up, his hands holding the wooden man against his heart, and he cried so hard that his eyes were red and swollen.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "I am happy..."


    "Did you hear that..."


    "I am happy..."


    If Xuan Long was still alive, looking at him like this, he might be soft-hearted, but dead is dead, and there is no coming back even if he cries again.


    Yan Yuan knew that.


    He cried a lot and gradually couldn''t shed any more tears.


    He lay on the ground with the cold wooden figure in his arms, his expression hollow.


    The palace staff reported that Ning Zhiyu was here and wanted to see Yan Yuan, but Yan Yuan did not want to see anyone, so he locked himself up in this side hall where he had lived with Xuan Long, dismissed the morning court and even handed over the administration of the court to the Prime Minister in his stead.


    He knew that he was very ill and that the imperial physicians in the palace could not cure him, and that even the famous doctors from outside the palace could not do anything for him.


    The only one who could cure him was Xuan Long, but with that dragon gone, he could only suffer. Although his mother had died early, his father valued him and found him a gentle stepmother. He rose through the ranks from crown prince to emperor, and that half of his life could be described as smooth as can be.


    Hua Niang said that he had robbed Xuan Long, and Xuan Long was not his. Otherwise, how could he have fallen into such a deep hole, being tormented by that illness in his head and still thinking about him, thinking that sometimes the thought of ''why don''t we just end it'' would come to him. If he died, wouldn''t he be able to meet Xuan Long?


    Such thoughts would appear for a moment before they were ruthlessly erased by Yan Yuan, for he had promised Xuan Long that he would raise their child. If he was not the emperor, it would have been very difficult for the child to survive if it was left to ordinary people.


    So... that''s why when Xuan Long was dying, he begged him like that without any regard for dignity...


    He wanted to live well and fulfil Xuan Long''s last wish.


    However, many times, doing so is often much more difficult than imagining it...


    Yan Yuan spent a few days personally cleaning the side hall, keeping all the items in their original positions to create the illusion that Xuan Long was still living there. Even when it was time to eat, he would have two sets of bowls and chopsticks prepared, with sashimi and fresh shrimp, Xuan Long''s favourite foods, at every meal.


    ¡°A''Po... eat."


    "Your favourite."


    Yan Yuan sat at the purple and gold heather table, his ink-coloured hair draped over his body. He hadn''t been out for a long time and was wearing only loose white profane clothes. He chucked a meaty slice of raw fish into the empty bowl positioned at his side and smiled.


    "This fish is barbless... and good to eat, try it."


    He waited a moment, not seeing the food in that bowl diminish, and remarked frostily into the air, "Don''t you like it?"


    Then he took his chopsticks and reached for another food to pass over, "Then try this fresh shrimp."


    "Shrimp is good... it''s very good for the body."


    ¡°Eat it..."


    "Why aren''t you eating..."


    After that bowl was piled up with food, it was still properly placed there. Yan Yuan''s eyes gradually reddened and he asked in a small voice why he wasn''t eating.


    This kind of scene was almost a daily occurrence, if there was an exception, it was because Yan Yuan was suffering from a flare-up of headaches and could not get up from bed.


    Chen Yan, who was beside him, could not bear to look at this and went forward with red eyes, "Your Majesty, why are you suffering..."


    "You should stop torturing yourself... Master Han is no longer here. He left long ago."


    Yan Yuan frowned and rebuked, "Chen Yan, what are you talking about?"


    ¡°A''Po promised to accompany me through this life, how could he go back on his word?"


    "He is a man of his word..."


    "He is a man of his word..."


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    "He said in my dream that he would love me for ten thousand lifetimes... how could he leave?"


    "Chen Yan, doesn''t A''Po love these things the most?" Yan Yuan looked blankly at the old eunuch and asked in a hoarse voice. "Why doesn''t he eat them?..."


    Tears dripped from Chen Yan''s cloudy eyes, "A sin..."


    Seeing that the other party did not reply to him, Yan Yuan stood up holding the table and turned around weakly towards the bed: ¡°A''Po is not eating... then I am not eating either... I am tired and need to sleep..."


    Yan Yuan lay down on the bed, but could not sleep, his headache tortured him to a maximum of two or three hours of sleep a day. He hugged the blue brocade quilt and tossed and turned on the bed, the pain was so bad that he could not speak clearly.


    "Chen Yan, bring wine... I have a headache, bring wine quickly."


    "Hurry up... bring wine."


    Chen Yan heard the voice and went over, pulling out the usual porcelain bottle from his sleeve: "Your Majesty, you should not drink wine, the more you drink, the more it hurts."


    "You should take some medicine, this is the pain relief medicine prescribed by the Imperial Doctor..."


    The small black elixir was placed into the palm of his hand. Chen Yan had just handed it over when Yan Yuan slapped it away, and it fell to the ground and rolled out of sight.


    "I told you to bring wine!!!"


    Although strong wine cannot cure stubborn diseases, when drunk, he could fall asleep and sleep for a longer period of time. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he would dream that he was in love with Xuan Long in the Heavenly Palace, dreaming that he and Xuan Long were in harmony, living like a normal couple, eating, bathing, sleeping and waking up together.


    Doing the most ordinary things, the happiness obtained is nothing ordinary.


    Most of the time the dreams were just fragments, but the ultimate happiness was enough to envelop Yan Yuan, making him feel as if he was floating on clouds.


    Throughout his dreams, Yan Yuan could feel how important the man in his dreams was to him. When he held him in his arms, it was as if he was holding the whole world, full and content.


    The more blissful he was, the more painful it was to wake up. The extreme despair was so painful that Yan Yuan could not breathe, but he still desperately pursued this dream because it was the only way he could see Xuan Long.


    In fact, he was so sober that he just wanted to pretend, to pretend that Xuan Long was still alive, to pretend that Xuan Long was still with him, to pretend that Xuan Long had never left.


    The people around him always had to be cruel and unravel his lies, unable to even let him pretend and fool himself.


    When he was unlucky, he would have recurring nightmares that Xuan Long was angry with him and wanted to leave him behind and make peace with him. He dreamt that Xuan Long was stabbed through the heart by his enemies and died in his arms.


    As for Yan Yuan''s orders, Chen Yan had to obey them, and five or six pots of strong wine were eventually brought to the bedside on a tray. Yan Yuan got up and casually lifted a jade jug and poured it into his mouth. He drank in a hurry as if it was not wine but plain water.


    As he tilted his head to pour the wine, tears trickled down from the corners of his eyes.


    He immersed himself in the wine, and when the ministers occasionally came to visit him to discuss state affairs, Yan Yuan was so drunk that he fell asleep crying out Xuan Long''s name.


    As time went on, rumours spread in court that the emperor had been bewitched by a demon and that a mysterious dragon had been imprisoned in the palace and died a horrible death.


    A minister suggested that a monk should be invited to exorcise the evil spirits, saying that Yan Yuan''s illness was caused by the spirit of the dragon, and that the dragon was taking revenge. If all the items used by the dragon in the palace were burned and a ritual was performed, Yan Yuan would recover.


    Yan Yuan wished that it was the spirit of Xuan Long that was haunting him, that it meant that Xuan Long was accompanying him in a different way, but he knew better than anyone that the dragon was gone.


    Later, he even stopped entering his dreams.


    Yan Yuan kept the relics of Xuan Long as if they were precious, and any person who burned them would be taking his life. It was impossible for Yan Yuan to destroy them, so the minister who led the campaign was dragged out and beheaded.


    On the night of New Year''s Eve, there should have been a banquet to welcome the New Year, but Yan Yuan didn''t feel like it, and as his head disease was getting worse, he cancelled it.


    On this day, he did not drink and he sent a New Year''s gift to the Empress Dowager''s palace. He set up a table in the side hall and sat at the table alone, holding his and Xuan Long''s child, while all the palace staff were dismissed by him.


    As usual, there were empty bowls and chopsticks at his side. The child was sleeping soundly in the crook of Yan Yuan''s arm, and Yan Yuan placed a fish fillet into Xuan Long''s bowl and smiled into the air.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "Happy New Year''s Eve."


    This way, the three of them, as a family, were reunited.

 CH 108

    Father, Don''t Leave A''Zhi


    In the years before he met Xuan Long, Yan Yuan spent New Year''s Eve with Ning Zhiyu, and after the palace banquet, he would celebrate New Year''s Eve with Ning Zhiyu.


    He thought that he was his love from his previous life and he had given up everything to treat him well, even his own life and the life of Xuan Long, only to find out that he had loved the wrong person.


    He was filled with bitterness and hatred that had no place to go. He hated himself for having identified the wrong person, for having been blinded, and for having ruined the lives of two people.


    Ning Zhiyu was innocent after all. On the day he went into labour, Yan Yuan went to see him at Luanfeng Hall. The child was born with fiery red pupils, demonic and evil, and he was not the heir of a human being.


    The palace staff were all terrified.


    Yan Yuan was calm, not only was he not angry, but he felt a vague sense of relief and liberation in his heart. This is how it is when you don''t care about the other person, no matter what they do, it doesn''t stir up any emotions in him.


    ¡°A''Yuan... I''m sorry."


    "I betrayed you." With his long hair spread wetly beneath him, Ning Zhiyu lay weakly on the bed, his smile clear, with a calm look of waiting to be disposed of.


    His pale, thin face no longer aroused Yan Yuan''s affection, the love of the past dissipating like a passing wind.


    Yan Yuan did not ask who the child belonged to, Yan Yuan was not interested at all. He calmly gave the order that when Ning Zhiyu''s body recovered, he would stay in the cold palace by himself.


    As for the child, he could keep it and it did not need to be executed.


    His A''Zhi was not a pure human, but had turquoise eyes and dragon horns similar to those of Xuan Long, so it didn''t make sense that someone couldn''t live if they weren''t human.


    Even if the product of adultery didn¡¯t deserve to die, it would not be excessive to execute the whole family, but he did not want to kill them all for old time''s sake.


    The most important reason was that he wanted to bring good fortune to his child.


    A''Zhi is the name Yan Yuan has given to his child.


    A''Zhi, A''Zhi.


    To hold the hand of his son and grow old with him.


    That was his unfulfilled long-cherished wish in this life. It was his remembrance of Xuan Long and his dedication to him. A''Zhi''s existence is proof that Xuan Long had been here.


    If there is another life, he will take this obsession with him to seek his forgiveness and start over with him.


    As the formerly favoured empress was sent to the cold palace, Luanfeng Hall was filled with weeping and mourning. Yan Yuan turned and walked out, leaving the words of mercy behind.


    Ning Zhiyu, who was the protagonist, was just as calm as Yan Yuan, and did not mourn his fate in the slightest. He fished out two identical silver hairpins from under his pillow and called out to him with a faint smile.


    ¡°A''Yuan."


    Yan Yuan paused in his tracks and kept his back to him without turning around.


    They had nothing more to say to each other now.


    Ning Zhiyu didn''t mind that he didn''t look at him, his pale fingers held the silver hairpin, the tip of one finger caressing the not-so-delicate cloud pattern on the end of the pin.


    "Look, this is the silver hairpin I was given on the day of the Qixi Festival."


    "The first one was lost... and you found an identical one to give to me." Hearing him say this, Yan Yuan slowly turned around and looked at the man on the bed.


    "The one that was lost, I later found it under the bed. The palace staff had accidentally caused the hairpin that was under the pillow to fall into the crack of the bed when they were cleaning."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled at Yan Yuan, the ends of his eyes red.


    "You have a heart."


    "Husband and wife, I''ve never regretted it."


    Yan Yuan walked over stiffly and looked at the two silver hairpins with the same pattern in Ning Zhiyu''s hand, "... Which one was given to you later?"


    After a moment, Ning Zhiyu handed over the silver hairpin in his right hand, and Yan Yuan raised his hand to gently take it, his vision blurred by the hot mist.


    Afterwards, Yan Yuan did not pay attention to what Ning Zhiyu said, he took the hairpin back to Qiankun Palace and did not say a word on the way.


    He could imagine Xuan Long''s feelings when he bought this hairpin.


    He must have seen something, seen him give this hairpin to Ning Zhiyu, and then went to buy an identical one.


    That day, the Qixi Festival was really lively... when he thought about it now, he still felt that it was lively, but when he looked around, it was cold and clear. Xuan Long must have been in the same state of mind as he is now.


    He used Xuan Long''s deep love and remorse as a mockery, and imposed the stigma of jealousy on him, not knowing that the dragon was actually trying to hide the heart that loved him in secret, so that it would not be trampled on by him.


    But he was so awful that he had to embarrass him, to shatter his dignity.


    Yan Yuan looked up at the white sky.


    It had snowed again today.


    It was cold.


    ......


    Luanfeng Hall.


    "In half a month, this honourable one''s physical body will be able to reappear on Earth, are you really not going to follow this honourable one?"


    The palace staff in the hall retired, and from the time the child was born, Ning Zhiyu did not look at it. He was lying on the bed, his expression was one of calmness that transcended sorrow.


    "I will not go."


    "You''d rather live in a cold palace than go with this honourable man?" The voice in his head grumped.


    "This is my home." Ning Zhiyu said softly.


    "You are really ruthless... not even willing to look at your own child."


    Ning Zhiyu looked at the air above him, "When I see him, I think of you and feel sick."


    These words managed to make Mo Zun shut his mouth.


    After a while, Ning Zhiyu asked, "How do you break the demonic compulsion?"


    Mo Zun''s low voice had a hidden hostility in it, "It cannot be broken."


    Ning Zhiyu''s hands clenched the bedding on his body: "You said that the demonic compulsion would not cause harm to his body, you lied to me..."


    Mo Zun sneered: ¡°That¡¯s right, originally it would indeed not cause harm. Who told him to fall in love with Xuan Long again and suffer from a backlash since he shifted his love."


    "Shouldn''t you be happy?"


    Yan Yuan''s head ailment was getting worse by the day, and if it continued like this, he feared that he would die from the sickness. Ning Zhiyu gritted his teeth and said, "... If you help him remove the compulsion, I will go with you."


    "What a love that moves heaven and earth."


    "This honourable one is in tears hearing it."


    ......


    Three years later.


    The sun was setting in the west, the moon was at the top of the trees, and a small child sat alone on the steps outside the Qiankun Palace, with his hands on his knees, staring up at the bright jade disc above.


    He was dressed in a little green brocade robe, his face white and tender, with two short thick black horns on the top of his head, and his turquoise pupils reflecting the moonlight in an eerie and beautiful way.


    An eunuch ran over next to him, bent over and asked, "Young Highness, what is wrong with you?"


    "Why do you have to sit here in the middle of the night? Quickly go in with this servant, be careful of catching a cold..."


    The small child froze and hung his head, "Father is drunk again."


    Whenever his father was drunk, he would hug him and cry, shouting his mother''s name at him and crying in a heartbreaking way.


    He didn''t want to make his father sad.


    "This..." The eunuch hesitated for a moment and said. "Then Young Highness should go and persuade the Emperor and tell him to drink less, too much wine hurts his body."


    "The Emperor won''t listen to the words of others, but he will listen to Young Highness."


    Yan Zhi whispered: "But when he sees me, he will be even sadder..." His little hand was picking at the weeds growing in the cracks of the steps, and he looked up at the eunuch, his eyes red at the corners: "When will Mother come back... does he not want A''Zhi and Father anymore?..."


    Eunuch: ¡°That¡¯s right, Young Highness is so cute, how could the Empress not want you, he''s just gone for now. When Young Highness grows up, he will return."


    After Ning Zhiyu was dethroned, Yan Yuan posthumously crowned a new Empress, and that new Empress was the Crown Prince''s birth mother, Han Po.


    Everyone knew that the Crown Prince was born to the Emperor and a dragon. In the past, the demons cried out wickedly, so Yan Yuan sent someone to ask the storytellers in the market to compile a book about Xuan Long who gave up his life to save him, and every day, the book was widely publicised in the teahouses and brothels. The Crown Prince born of this demon became the reincarnation of the Son of Heaven, and the turquoise pupils and dragon horns were the best proof of this.


    The story of how the emperor and the dragon met and fell in love, and how they had a son, gradually became a good story. No one laughed at A''Zhi for being born differently, he was loved by Yan Yuan like a treasure and lived a happy and innocent life in the palace, his only worry being the delay in his mother''s return.


    When his mother returned, they would be reunited, his father would not be in tears all the time, and he would not have to hide under the covers and miss his mother, not daring to let his father know.


    ¡°Really?..."


    "Then A¡¯Zhi must grow up quickly."


    The eunuch squatted beside the young child, smiling with a creased face, "It is true."


    "Then Young Highness, will you now follow this servant into the house?"


    Yan Zhi nodded, "Mm..."


    The eunuch leaned over and picked up the young child, escorting him into the hall door.


    "Father... you promised A''Zhi that you would drink less wine."


    The inner hall was dim, the tent was high, and the man with long hair was leaning sideways on the bed, holding a jade pot in his hand and tilting his head to pour wine into his mouth. His fair face was sickly pale and his eyes were flushed at the end. At the sound of his voice, his drunken eyes twisted to look over, his arm holding the jug dropped to the edge of the bed and he reached out towards the small child, vaguely exhaling the wine.


    ¡°A''Zhi....."


    "Where have you been, making Father search so much."


    The small child walked over towards Yan Yuan, stopped at the edge of the bed, lifted his small hand to wipe the tears from the corner of Yan Yuan''s eyes, and whispered back, ¡°A¡¯Zhi was sitting just outside the door."


    ¡°A''Zhi doesn''t like Father drinking."


    "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival and Father is happy." Yan Yuan smiled and picked the small child up from the bed, seemingly wobbly but actually extraordinarily stable.


    A''Zhi knew that the Mid-Autumn Festival was a reunion festival, and he had heard the palace staff say that a reunion festival was a time for families to eat together happily. A''Zhi turned around in Yan Yuan''s arms and wrapped his little arms around Yan Yuan''s neck, saying sullenly, "Father, don''t cry."


    ¡°En, Father will not cry." Yan Yuan''s large palm covered his young back and he buried his face in the crook of his neck. "Father will not cry..."


    He said he would not cry, but A''Zhi felt hot, wet tears on his neck, and his body trembled as he wrapped his arms around him.


    When A''Zhi saw him crying, he couldn''t help but cry as well. Father and son hugged each other and cried together as Yan Yuan said something he couldn''t understand:


    "Father is sorry for you..."


    ¡°A''Zhi... Father is sorry for you."


    The eldest eunuch said that when he grew up, his mother would return to reunite with their family. But before he could grow up, his father fell ill.


    Yan Yuan''s head ailment had been attacking him day after day for five years, and he appeared to be alive, but in reality he was a walking corpse. He held on for five years, but finally he could not hold on.


    On the day his father left, A¡¯Zhi was at his bedside, holding his big hand and crying his heart out: "Father, don''t leave A''Zhi..."


    "Don''t leave A''Zhi..."


    Even though Yan Yuan had done many wrong things in the past, in Xiao A''Zhi''s eyes, his father was the pillar that held up heaven and earth for him. He had never seen his mother, but only his father.


    His father''s hands were so big and strong that he could easily pick him up and lift him up, and they were so warm that he felt at ease. But why had his father''s hands become so cold, so cold that he was afraid?


    The man on the bed was withered and thin, his eyes without light, and the title of the most beautiful man in the capital no longer applied to Yan Yuan. He was only twenty-five years old, but he was as old as an old man in his twilight years, with no life left in him.


    Yan Yuan looked at the young child on the edge of the bed with half-dozed eyes. His A''Zhi was not much taller than the edge of the bed and was crying pitifully, which was heartbreaking.


    ¡°A''Zhi... Father, is going to look for your mother, do not cry..."


    The young child cried and shook his head, his hands gripping Yan Yuan''s big palm hard: "Then Father, take A¡¯Zhi with you, A¡¯Zhi wants to go too..."


    Yan Yuan smiled breathlessly, ¡°A''Zhi is a good boy... go with your Aunt Hua out of the palace, she will accompany you."


    "When A¡¯Zhi grows up... Father will come back with Mother to see you..."

 CH 109

    Restoration of the Heavenly Emperor


    Although A''Zhi was young and born early, he vaguely knew that his father was coaxing him. If his mother could really come back so easily, he would not have asked him and his father to wait so long.


    His father was just leaving him behind and didn''t want him anymore.


    "Don''t¡­ A¡¯Zhi will be good, Father, don''t leave A''Zhi behind..."


    The young child, who had always been good and quiet, cried so hard that he couldn''t catch his breath, and bean-sized teardrops slammed down his face, smashing into Yan Yuan''s heart and causing it to hurt.


    He raised his thin, meatless hand from the bed and touched A¡¯Zhi''s little face with difficulty, smiling.


    "Father knows... that A''Zhi is the best behaved."


    ¡°A''Zhi''s nature follows that of his mother, not making any noise¡­ it''s a pleasing nature."


    A¡¯Zhi¡¯s nose was red from crying, and his hands grasped Yan Yuan''s wrist: "Then why does Father still have to leave..."


    The pale fingertips wiped away the tears on the young child''s face and withdrew feebly. Yan Yuan turned his eyes and looked upwards, murmuring softly, "Because Father is tired¡­ I need to go and see your mother to get better."


    A''Zhi did not understand why he had to be left behind in order to see his mother and why he couldn''t take him with him. He begged his father desperately not to leave him behind, but all he said was that he should listen to Aunt Hua.


    As he spoke, his father''s voice became softer and softer to the point where he could not be heard, and no matter how much he begged, his father ignored him.


    "Father... Father..."


    A''Zhi held Yan Yuan''s cold hand and gently shook it, expecting that his father would roll over and lift him up high to make him laugh, as he had done before, but the man in the bed lay quietly and silently, sleeping heavily.


    Three years ago, Yan Huo Heng was relegated to a commoner and exiled to the border for the crime of pretending to be the emperor and breaking into the palace. Somehow, he managed to get his hands on the royal family of a bordering country and borrowed an army to invade Darong.


    In the past few years, Yan Yuan had been suffering from illness and was not interested in state affairs. His power in the court had been gradually eroded, and when the ministers saw that he had been overcome by the lust for wine and was dwindling, they were tempted to embrace a new emperor.


    The year after Ning Zhiyu was sent to the cold palace, he disappeared inexplicably. To the Prime Minister, he would not have been upset if his son, who had been deposed for adultery, had died, but he would have been upset if Yan Yuan, as an emperor, who sat on ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains and was supposed to be the protector of the people, had fallen to this state because of love.


    Even though the story of the emperor and the dragon was a beautiful one, he still felt that Yan Yuan had been possessed by a demon.


    The Prime Minister, who was originally loyal to the Emperor, became disillusioned as Yan Yuan fell from grace day after day, so nearly a hundred officials, led by the Prime Minister, secretly began to campaign to support a new Emperor. Yan Huo Heng took this opportunity to befriend the Prime Minister, collaborating with him from both inside and outside, and fighting his way through the border with borrowed troops, taking half a year to reach the foot of the Imperial City.


    It looked as though they were about to fight their way into the palace.


    The servants in Qiankun Palace were dismissed a few days ago. Since the death of Chen Yan last winter, Yan Yuan had no one to talk to, so he had to swallow all his bitterness in his belly, and when he was drunk, he could only hug A''Zhi and reveal a few things.


    The palace was empty and desolate, except for A''Zhi on his side of the bed, and only Hua Niang, who was not far away, kept Yan Yuan company.


    A''Zhi''s physique is different from that of the human race, so when he is ill, he needs to be treated with demon medicine. Over the years, when A''Zhi occasionally suffered from minor pains and wind chills, Hua Niang would come into the palace to see A''Zhi, and often brought in some trinkets from outside the palace to give to him, so A''Zhi was no stranger to Hua Niang and knew that she was a good friend of his mother.


    But even if she was a good friend, she was no match for his own father, so when A''Zhi saw that his father was not paying attention to him, he used his small arms and legs to climb up on the bed and threw himself on Yan Yuan''s chest to call out to him.


    The child had lost his mother at such a young age, and now he was losing his father too, which was pitiful to see. Hearing him cry, Hua Niang followed suit and went up to take A''Zhi''s hand.


    ¡°A''Zhi¡­ let¡¯s go, Aunt Hua will take you to eat delicious food outside the palace."


    "Don''t you like the beef buns on Guilan Street the most? Aunt Hua will take you to buy them, the freshly baked buns are much better than the ones brought into the palace."


    A¡¯Zhi clung to Yan Yuan''s body, refusing to let go, and his tears drenched Yan Yuan''s profane clothes: "A''Zhi doesn''t want baked buns, A''Zhi wants Father... Aunt Hua, tell Father to pay attention to me, A''Zhi is afraid... "


    ¡°A''Zhi is so scared..."


    ¡°Wu wu wu wu wu wu wu wu..."


    He cried for a long time, but when he was tired of crying, he stopped crying and quietly lay on Yan Yuan''s chest, talking to him, saying that he had recited the poems in the morning, and that he had recited them all correctly, so should Father kiss him as he had done before.


    Why didn''t Father kiss him?


    Hua Niang could not bear to tell A''Zhi the meaning of death, he was too young.


    When A''Zhi was not paying attention, Hua Niang quietly approached him and used a sleeping spell that she had just recently learned. A pink beam of light penetrated A''Zhi''s body from the back of his neck and his long eyelashes drooped uncontrollably as he fell asleep.


    Hua Niang gently picked the young child up and wiped away the remaining tear stains on his cheeks.


    "Don''t be afraid... Auntie Hua is here."


    Half an incense stick later, a small, inconspicuous carriage drove out of the Lunar Gate, taking A''Zhi away from the place where he was born. The carriage broke into the bustling market, moving further and further away from the imperial city behind it.


    As night fell, fire danced around the entire imperial palace as Yan Huo Heng led hundreds of thousands of troops to the gates, and before they could fight, the imperial troops stationed at the palace surrendered their weapons.


    The victory was already decided.


    Yan Huo Heng took the largest group of soldiers to Qiankun Palace, where he kicked open the door to the main hall. The candles were unlit and there was no one inside, but he finally found Yan Yuan in the side hall.


    Half of the nine candles on the dark gold Nine Dragons Candelabra had been extinguished by the cold wind as Yan Huo Heng barged in.


    Dressed in basalt iron battle armour and holding a cold heavenly sword, Yan Huo Heng approached the person on the bed with every step.


    The person on the bed was dressed in a white robe, covered with a brocade blue silk quilt that had been washed to the point of being torn, his face was pale and thin, with a deadly aura, as if he had already died.


    As Yan Huo Heng tightened his grip on the sword in his hand and stopped at the edge of the bed, the person on the couch slowly opened his eyes.


    "You''re here..."


    The long sword abruptly cut through the air, the tip of the sword against Yan Yuan''s throat. The end of Yan Huo Heng''s eyes were red and bloodthirsty, and he asked in a deep voice: "Where is A''Po?"


    Yan Yuan looked at Yan Huo Heng for a moment, then calmly looked back upwards and smiled, "Don''t you know all about it..."


    "Did you really kill him? You cut his heart out..." Yan Huo Heng''s eyes were wide open, his body full of hostility that nearly broke through the roof of the hall. The tip of his sword trembling out of control, it cut through Yan Yuan''s skin, causing a stream of fresh blood to seep out.


    "You came too late." Yan Yuan sighed softly, "If only you could have taken him away in the first place... it would have been good."


    "Unfortunately, you came too late..."


    The wrist of the hand that Yan Huo Heng held the sword with could not stop trembling. Just one more minute of force and the person on the bed would completely disappear from this world. But he was unwilling, unwilling to let this person die so easily.


    "You prevented me from taking him away in any possible way and tortured him to death, Yan Yuan, have you ever regretted coming to this point?"


    Yan Yuan''s out-of-focus eyes misted with water: "Regret... I regret it."


    "But what''s the use... regrets are most useless." He said, slowly twisting his head to look at Yan Huo Heng, and smiled. "On the contrary, you, once upon a time, coveted this throne, and now that you have finally obtained it, you can live happily in the future, right?"


    Yan Huo Heng gritted his teeth: "I never coveted your throne, you forced me to."


    "I gained power so that I could protect the people I wanted to protect."


    "Is that so?" In fact, he had already known about Yan Huo Heng''s collusion with the Prime Minister. Although most of the officials in the court had turned against him, there were still a few loyal subjects who remained loyal to him, such as General Chen, who held military power.


    If General Chen had been informed in time and troops were brought in from the northwest, Yan Huo Heng might not have won.


    Yet he did not.


    Knowing that his days were numbered and that there was no point in occupying the throne, and that it was too cold in the palace and that he did not want A''Zhi to live alone, facing the world from the high walls, he decided to send him to be raised by Hua Niang.


    At the age of two, A''Zhi was able to transform into a dragon like Xuan Long. The palace should not hold him captive, instead, the vast world outside should be his home.


    Looking at the royal sons, the princes who were stationed in their own fiefdoms were either brave or weak and did not have the ability to control the world. Although Yan Huo Heng was ambitious, it must be said that he was capable of sitting on the throne.


    So Yan Yuan released him into the Imperial City.


    "Yes." Yan Huo Heng''s dark eyes gazed at Yan Yuan without averting.


    There might be a misunderstanding, but it didn''t matter anymore. What mattered was that soon, he would be able to go in search of his A''Po.


    Yan Yuan''s hand feebly grasped the tip of Yan Huo Heng''s sword and grabbed it.


    "You can have the throne, but not A''Po."


    "Yan Huo Heng... you''ll never beat me in that respect."


    "He can only be mine..."


    Yan Yuan smiled leisurely, and before Yan Huo Heng could react, he grabbed the sword and pressed it downwards, raising his upper body slightly as his neck was slashed fiercely against the sharp blade, and blood splattered in an instant.


    Yan Yuan''s body fell back onto the bed, blood gushing out rapidly from the several inch long wound on his neck, drenching his profane clothes and the bedding beneath him, making his face whiter than the walls.


    He closed his eyes and lost his breath.


    A few drops of blood splashed on Yan Huo Heng''s face, and he froze. When he reacted, he threw away his sword, clutched Yan Yuan''s collar with both hands and dragged it to his eyes, his eyes scarlet, and said, word by word: "How could you die so easily?"


    "You should have suffered all the humiliation he suffered before you died..."


    After finally avenging Xuan Long, Yan Huo Heng was not as happy as he thought he would be, he just felt an endless void and loneliness. The condition for borrowing troops from the enemy was to marry the Emperor''s favourite young prince as his empress. After ascending to the throne, Yan Huo Heng got married and had an empress, but he never forgot for a moment about the dragon that had entered his dreams night after night.


    ......


    Above the Nine Heavens, immortals in various colours of robes passed by at the edge of the Jade Pond, some carrying immortal peaches, some cakes, some fish and meat.


    By a jade pillar at the edge of the pond, an immortal in a pink gown smiled cheerfully and waved at the immortals carrying food.


    "Hurry up, the Heavenly Emperor is returning from the mortal world today and will soon be resuming his duties, everybody, be quick in your work and get everything ready before he returns."

 CH 110

    Never See Him Again


    There is a celestial river above the Nine Heavens, which winds its way down the clouds, connecting the Nine Heavens to the First Heaven and nurturing the millions of beings in the Heavenly Realm.


    The silver nine-cornered immortal pavilion sits at the end of the river, with cranes sweeping by in the distance, their song lilting as they arrive. The white veil covering the pavilion was lifted by a light breeze, and inside the pavilion, on a ten-foot bed of ice, lay a heavenly god who had slept for ten thousand years.


    He was dressed in silvery white robes, his long raven black hair spread out beneath him, his face as beautiful as the moon and his skin porcelain white. His thick eyelashes trembled slightly before his light brown eyes opened.


    ¡°Yuan''er, you''re back..."


    A clear male voice came from his side, pulling Yan Yuan back from his trance to reality. He sat up and looked at the person standing on the side of the bed. The person was dressed in a black silk robe and had a warm smile.


    "Mother..."


    The man''s smile froze, his long eyebrows raised. He stepped forward and embraced Yan Yuan, his hand patting him ''gently'' on the back: "You''ve finally come back, you bastard, you''ve made me and your father wait so long. How many times have I told you to call me father, father, father? See if I can''t hammer you to death.¡± The palm of his hand slapped him and clenched into a fist.


    Yan Yuan stifled a grunt and frowned without speaking. Noticing that his son was not in the right mood, Ye Ling Shenjun nodded, refrained from speaking, and slowly released him.


    "Past lives and present lives, you''ve remembered them all, haven''t you?"


    Yan Yuan''s soul had returned, but his heart had not, having been lost along with Xuan Long''s departure. The ends of his eyes were crimson, and he murmured with his eyes downcast.


    "How could I... I have done that to him..."


    The traces left by the burning of the karmic fire would be engraved on the soul. Before he fell into reincarnation, he asked the Immortal Astrologer to tell his fortune: within ten thousand years, he would meet Xuan Long in the mortal world.


    He and Xuan Long were an immortal couple and had formed an emotional bond. Even after drinking Mengpo Soup, he had an emotional bond with Xuan Long to serve as a tether, and it was impossible for him to recognize the wrong person.


    Seeing the scar on Xuan Long''s face, he would have recovered the memories of his past life.


    But he simply got it wrong... not only did he get it wrong, he also killed his A''Po with his own hands. It was not until that dragon died that he remembered bits and pieces.


    When Ye Ling Shenjun saw his son''s tearful and dishevelled appearance, his heart tightened and his expression was unusually solemn.


    "Because you and he were never meant to be."


    "Father told you this long ago, have you forgotten?"


    "From the moment he left you, the fate that you forcibly seized was over."


    "What you should have done was forget him, not chase him to the mortal world. Everything has its cause and effect, and you have been so reckless as to repeatedly take him for yourself, and you have ultimately ruined his luck."


    Yue Lao is in charge of the marriage book of the mortal world, while the marriage book of the immortals is in the hands of Si Shen.


    The marriage book in the hands of Si Shen is not written by himself, the contents are determined by the Heavenly Path. Every time an immortal is born, a page will be created in the marriage book, in which the marriage of the newly born immortal is written.


    Even the Heavenly Emperor does not have the power to change this book at will.


    On the page of Yan Yuan''s marriage, it was clearly written that he was destined to be married to the immortal monarch who was in charge of the birds in the Heavenly Realm, but Yan Yuan fell in love with Xuan Long and refused to obey Heaven''s command. In spite of the objections of everyone, he used his divine power to obtain and change the marriage book, erasing the name of that immortal monarch from next to his own and adding Xuan Long''s.


    Yan Yuan spoke hoarsely: "I never believed in fate... If fate was really predetermined from birth, then why did I fall in love with Xuan Long? The Heavenly Path should have made me fall in love with the immortal monarch who is in charge of the birds."


    Ye Ling sighed, ¡°A''Yuan, what is the point of talking about this now?"


    "Xuan Long is dead, you should forget about him."


    Yan Yuan looked at Ye Ling and raised his hand to clutch his sleeve, his eyes pained and determined: "No... Mother, I want to save him, tell me how I can save him."


    Ye Ling calmly asked in return, "Ashes to ashes, how can you still save him?"


    "He is just an unwanted little dragon that your father picked up from the West Sea back then, his qi was weak and being able to be a heavenly general guarding the Heavenly Realm was already his greatest fortune in that life. But you wanted to marry him to be the Heavenly Empress, and by doing so, you destroyed not only Xuan Long''s fate, but also the fate of the entire Nine Heavens. The demons tried to take this opportunity to attack, but Xuan Long gave his life to prevent that disaster. If you stopped there, then so be it, he would reincarnate and live well in the mortal world, and you would continue to be the Heavenly Emperor in the Nine Heavens. The two of you would be at peace with each other, and in a few tens of thousands of years, perhaps he could have rejoined the immortal ranks.¡±


    ¡°A''Yuan, it was you who harmed him."


    "The karma you have sown in two lives, he has paid for you with his life, and now he is gone, and there is no afterlife. What you should do is to go to the mortal world and get your child back, bring him up properly so that it is not a waste of his devotion to you. He obviously does not remember anything, but he still gave his life to you.


    Yan Yuan fell from the ice bed to the floor, knelt in front of Ye Ling Shenjun, stretched out his hands and grabbed the hem of Ye Ling''s clothes, and cried out in pain: "Mother... Mother..."


    "You are the God of Trailing Spirits, in charge of the scattered souls outside the six realms, you must have a solution, right?..."


    "I can''t live without him, if I don''t have him, I won''t be able to live either..."


    Ye Ling looked at him with downcast eyes: "So what if I am the God of Trailing Spirits? If the soul had been scattered, it could have been condensed again with the Soul Gathering Lamp, but Xuan Long was reduced to ashes and not even a wisp of soul remains."


    ¡°Yuan''er, there is nothing I can do."


    Yan Yuan knelt on the ground and cried uncontrollably, his long hair was scattered all over his body. Ye Ling looked pained and bent down to embrace him, but just as his fingertips touched Yan Yuan''s shoulder, Yan Yuan braced himself on the ground and crawled up, muttering hoarsely under his breath, "Then I will go and find Father, who will surely have a solution, and if even Father does not have a solution, then I will go to the underworld to find Yan Wang..." Above the Nine Heavens, all the gods were gathered, and he did not believe that none of them could save his A''Po.


    Yan Yuan took a step outside and disappeared into the Immortal Pavilion. Ye Ling Shenjun raised his hand and grabbed at his wrist, but his grasp was empty, so he immediately cast a spell to chase after him and blocked Yan Yuan''s path before the Temple of Clouds: "Don''t you want to know why you recognized the wrong person in the mortal world?"


    Yan Yuan looked at the man who was half a head shorter than him in a daze: "Why?


    Ye Ling: "Because that Empress was the reincarnation of the Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, who is in charge of the birds in the Heavenly Realm. Your marriage with him was not fulfilled in your previous life, so it was extended to the next life."


    "Ten thousand years ago, in the battle between the gods and the demons, the demons divided their troops into two and attacked the South Ridge while attacking the North Ridge with great force. The situation was so urgent that Xuan Long and you took the Heavenly Soldiers to the north and south ridges respectively. In reality, the demon tribe was trying to sound east and west, only a small number of demon soldiers were sent to the North Ridge to scatter the forces of the Heavenly Realm. When you returned and rushed to the South Ridge, the demon tribe had already been defeated by Xuan Long, and you watched him die in your arms. This matter... do you still remember?" (Angel: Sound east and west is an idiom for a military strategy where you confuse the enemy and win by surprise.)


    "... Remember." Even after falling into reincarnation and losing his memory, Yan Yuan would constantly keep dreaming of that cruel image. The pain of losing his wife, how could he possibly forget? He clenched his fists, not understanding what Ye Ling was trying to say.


    Under Yan Yuan''s murky gaze, Ye Ling slowly said, "The person who died that day was not only Xuan Long the God of War, but also Immortal Monarch Zhiyu."


    ¡°So what?"


    Yan Yuan was not interested in anyone other than Xuan Long.


    Ye Ling: "Immortal Monarch Zhiyu lived in the Valley of the Divine Birds for many years. You had never met him, but he met you at a banquet and thought a lot about you ever since. On the day of the Great War of Gods and Demons, when he heard that you were going on a personal expedition, he feared for your safety, so he became a heavenly soldier and blended into your army. The heavenly soldier who saved you from a sword and died in the battle was Immortal Monarch Zhiyu."


    "It was him..." Yan Yuan frowned.


    At that time, the situation did not allow for distraction, and by the time he returned to his senses, the flesh of the heavenly soldier who had blocked the demonic blade for him had already perished, and he could not even see his face clearly. Later, when he found out that Xuan Long had died, he went mad and barged into the demon realm alone to take revenge, not bothering to look into the rest of the matter.


    Ye Ling: ¡°En."


    "Xuan Long and Immortal Monarch Zhiyu fell into reincarnation together, and you followed not long after. Although it was to find Xuan Long, you and Zhiyu were already destined to be together, and the Heavenly Path worked, so the love contract you made with Xuan Long became invalid."


    The love contract was no longer valid... No wonder... no wonder he could not recognize A''Po and fell in love with Ning Zhiyu at first sight, thinking that Ning Zhiyu was his love in his previous life.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were hot and his throat was so sore, he raised his right hand, and his vision blurred as he looked into his empty palm.


    The pale blue iris was the love contract he had made with Xuan Long in front of the Three Life Stone. Both of them had it in their hands, and it would appear as a warning of burning pain when the other was about to die, or when they were extremely sad.


    When the other dies, the iris will wither in his palm.


    He hadn''t understood what it meant when he was in the mortal world... It meant that Xuan Long was in pain, that Xuan Long was going to leave him. He just watched Xuan Long die in his arms, twice exactly...


    "When you were in the mortal world, you could remember one or two of the previous affairs with Xuan Long, all because of an overly deep obsession. But how can a deep obsession be more powerful than the Heavenly Path?"


    "At this time, if you go to the Hall of Gods and look at the marriage book, the word ''Han Po'' that you wrote down with your own hands tens of thousands of years ago has long since faded with time. What is engraved next to you is still the three words ¡®Immortal Monarch Zhiyu¡¯."


    Yan Yuan lowered his hand and slowly tightened it: "So what? If I can change it once, I can change it a second time and a third time... I have decided on him, so I will always want him alone."


    His son''s stubbornness wasobviously a reflection of his own. If he hadn''t chased after Yan Jing back then and never repented, he wouldn''t have gotten what he wanted. But very often, stubbornness was not a good thing, it could be painful and bitter.


    Ye Ling spoke truthfully:


    "Xuan Long was born as a lonely star and should have been the one to grasp his relatives. As you are the Purple Heavenly Star, you are the Heavenly Emperor and your luck is far stronger than his, so he cannot grasp you, and you have become the one to grasp him."


    "Yuan''er, let him go, he has lived a hard enough life."


    This sounded fishy. Yan Yuan''s heart slightly moved. He raised his hands to clasp Ye Ling Shenjun''s arms and carefully observed his expression: "Mother... you have a solution, don''t you?..."


    Ye Ling moved to break away his hands that were wrapped around his arms: "There is no way."


    Yan Yuan''s hand had just been broken away and he grabbed Ye Ling''s sleeve again, looking excited: "You must have a solution... don''t lie to me..."


    The father and son were so familiar with each other that they knew what they were thinking with a single look. It was not easy to restore the soul of a dead person, let alone a dragon that had gone up in ashes.


    Yan Yuan clutched the Ye Ling Shenjun tightly: "Mother... I''m not afraid of pain, and I''m not afraid of dying... I want him to live..."


    "Please... I just want him to live..."


    Ye Ling looked deeply at Yan Yuan, his son''s personality followed him as well as his appearance, especially his peach blossom eyes, even the colour of his pupils was the same as his, light brown. He was silent for a long time before letting out a long sigh, "... There is indeed a method that may save him, but only if you promise me three things."


    His grip on Ye Ling Shenjun''s arms tightened as Yan Yuan''s eyes lit up, "What is it?"


    " I will promise you anything..."


    Ye Ling: "One, if Xuan Long returns, you must not see him again, you must give him back his peace and quiet."


    "Two, go to the Demon Clan, bring back Immortal Monarch Zhiyu and marry him as the Heavenly Empress."


    "Thirdly, you are not allowed to call me Mother anymore, you must call me Father."


    Yan Yuan''s hand gradually slid down from Ye Ling Shenjun''s sleeve: "Why... why do you want to marry Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, I don''t love him at all."


    An imperceptible heartache was suppressed under Ye Ling''s eyes, "Because that is what you owe him, and you have to follow the Heavenly Path in order to remove the karma, otherwise heavenly punishment will come down and you cannot afford to suffer."


    "Yuan''er, you must know that the further you stay away from Xuan Long, the better off he will be."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes dropped mournfully, and a tear rolled down from his eyes.


    "... Okay."


    "I promise you."


    I will never see him again.

 CH 111

    Since their son had succeeded the throne of Heaven, Yan Jing and his husband had gone on a trip to the four corners of the world. When they learnt of the turmoil in the Heavenly Realm ten thousand years ago, they had to rush back to take over the mess and reign over the Heavenly Realm for their son.


    When Yan Yuan returned from the mortal world to resume his position as Emperor of Heaven, he had to host a banquet at the Heavenly Palace to celebrate with all the gods. Ye Ling Shenjun had personally arranged for the immortal eunuchs to begin preparations a few days earlier, so Yan Yuan could not afford to disappoint his mother.


    Atop the Purple Sky Cloud Palace, Yan Yuan was dressed in a silver and white imperial robe, wearing a platinum dragon crown. He sat in the high hall, looking down on the immortals and gods below him, happily enjoying peaches and bear paws, drinking jelly and wine, all of them celebrating his return from the mortal world, but not mentioning why he had gone there.


    It was as if the name Xuan Long had been forgotten.


    The hall was lively, but Yan Yuan''s heart was cold. He turned his head to look at the empty throne beside him. He had gone to the mortal world for ten thousand years, but not only had he failed to bring back his A''Po, he had also completely lost that stupid dragon.


    All the gods rose to offer Yan Yuan a toast, and he did not refuse, raising his cup and drinking from it each and every time. His divine body could drink very well, and although he drank a lot, he did not get drunk at all, not even a trace of alcohol on his face.


    Neither Yan Jing nor Ye Ling Shenjun appeared, and it was not clear what they were doing. Ye Ling Shenjun only said that when the banquet was over, Yan Yuan should go to the Temple of Clouds to find him and he would tell him how to save Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan did not feel like sitting still for long, so after the banquet was half over, he left the Purple Sky Cloud Palace, leaving all the immortal gods behind. He performed a teleportation technique and arrived outside the Temple of Clouds in the blink of an eye, and was about to knock on the door when he heard a strange sound coming from inside.


    ¡°En..."


    "Hurry up¡­ Yuan''er will come looking for me soon." Suppressing a sweet, hoarse gasp, it was the voice of Ye Ling Shenjun, his mother.


    Yan Yuan''s hand that was about to knock on the door halted mid-air.


    Then he heard his father speak hoarsely.


    "How can it be done quickly?"


    "If this is done quickly, you may not be able to hold on to your lute one day."


    The circular jade bed in the hall was covered by several layers of light white veil. Inside the tent, Ye Ling Shenjun''s long black hair was scattered behind him, covering his back, which was cold and white. His body was embraced by a pair of muscular arms, and he was sitting on Yan Jing''s lap, holding Yan Jing''s neck and resting his forehead on Yan Jing''s shoulder, panting lowly.


    "Yan Jing, it''s been so many years, why do you still hold a grudge?"


    One hundred thousand years ago, Ye Ling Shenjun, who had been in charge of the scattered souls that had transcended the Six Realms, mended the hole at the edge of the Six Realms by himself and prevented the spirits of grievances from invading the Six Realms in time, was promoted from an upper immortal in the Eighth Heaven to a superior god in the Ninth Heaven.


    In the Purple Cloud Sky Palace, he fell in love at first sight with the cold Heavenly Emperor in the high court. Ye Ling was without burden in life, and after that, he appeared in front of Yan Jing in many different ways. When he failed to chase after him, he simply jumped on him and seduced him.


    On that day, when Ye Ling was a bit drunk, he shamelessly chased away the immortal eunuchs and fell into Yan Jing''s arms as he was serving him tea and water. Yan Jing tried to push him away, but Ye Ling pulled him by the neck and refused to get off of him, his peach blossom eyes smiling with a glistening smile. He came up to his ear and said he liked him, and asked him what was wrong with himself and why he was so cold.


    A spark drifted up inside Yan Jing, landing on dry firewood and burning into a prairie fire which doomed the man.


    Both of them


    The first time, as we all know, it is easy for the first time to be short.


    Ye Ling thought he wasn''t charming enough and was quite aggravated when he exclaimed:


    "That''s it?"


    As a result, this bridge was made, and Yan Jing instantly stood up and did it again.


    The second time, he made him faint.


    Later on, they did get together, but even though Yan Jing''s body was with him, his heart was still cold, and the only thing that was hot was the sex, so over time there would be disagreements and Ye Ling was troubled.


    The two of them had no reason to be at odds, so he grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.


    The first time he said that Yan Jing couldn''t do it, not only could he not do it, but he had a dead face all day long, it was no fun. From beginning to end, it was the same, he wanted to find someone who was hot in bed and hot out of bed.


    This was outrageous.


    This grudge lasted for a hundred thousand years. To prove that he was not ''just this'', Ye Ling had never had a problem in bed since. From time to time, Yan Jing would sourly mention the incident with a cold face.


    Ye Ling just regretted it. Regret.


    "Hiss... gently."


    "Lighter."


    Yan Jing''s lust-stained black eyes hid a fierce intent, and Ye Ling was carried over and pressed down on the bed. He knew that something was wrong, so he hurriedly wrapped his arms around Yan Jing''s neck and used his strength to lift his body up to kiss him on the lips, smiling and saying, "Husband... I was wrong, wrong."


    "Shout it again."


    "Husband."


    "Want to hear it again."


    "Husband..."


    "Continue."


    Ye Ling''s meek smile gradually twisted as he pushed against the man''s sturdy chest, "Come on, Yan Jing! You want to open a dye house just because you were given some colour, don''t you? There are immortals in the Heavenly Realm who specialise in weaving cloth, they don''t need a dye house!" He said, getting up and running away.


    His white ankle was grabbed by a large palm, and he was dragged back and pressed down underneath him again. The fierce look in Yan Jing''s eyes faded and his black eyes looked at him quietly, similar to a large dog that had been abandoned, and he spoke in a dark voice, ¡°A''Ye, you are so impatient with me nowadays."


    "You really don''t¡­" The fluffy head nestled into Ye Ling''s neck, making a muffled sound, "don''t love me anymore, do you?"


    Ye Ling lifted his hand to cover Yan Jing''s smooth hair and softened his tone: "What are you thinking about? You''re the one who''s getting ahead of yourself, and you don''t know how to restrain yourself even though you''ve been told your son is coming."


    "But you haven''t paid any attention to me for several days..." His head rubbed against Ye Ling''s neck.


    "Not yet..." Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Yan Jing''s sudden movement, "Mmmm..."


    There was another moan from inside.


    It was not that the soundproofing of the Heavenly Palace''s halls was bad, it was just that the five senses of the gods were too keen and their hearing was too good.


    Yan Yuan withdrew his hand and stepped aside in silence, ready to wait until the sound inside stopped before knocking on the door.


    An hour later, the door of the palace was opened from the inside, and Ye Ling Shenjun, fixing his collar with a long frown, stepped out of the threshold with his front foot. When he raised his eyes, he saw Yan Yuan standing by the jade pillar, and his figure stopped.


    When Yan Yuan heard the sound, he turned to look at Ye Ling and bowed: "Mother... Father."


    Ye Ling laughed dryly: "How long have you been here?"


    Yan Yuan spoke indifferently, "Not long."


    "Let''s go to the Dongji Hall and talk about it.¡± Ye Ling''s smile remained unchanged, but he cursed Yan Jing for being so old and lecherous. This son has just lost the love of his life, and he was called to listen by this wall.


    Yan Yuan paused, ¡°En."


    Dongji Hall was his and Xuan Long''s bedchamber. He had been away for ten thousand years and had not been back since returning to the Heavenly Palace.


    The two of them teleported and appeared outside the Immortal Palace. Yan Yuan raised his hand to touch the jade door and gently pushed it in. Not far away, he saw a neat bookcase with a brush bath on the table, a row of delicate wolf-hair brushes hanging from the brush stand, and a conspicuous red gold silk brocade bag.


    Memories of the past surged before his eyes, and he saw, in a trance, that he was sitting behind the desk with Xuan Long and holding a book in one hand as he encircled his waist and read poems to the child in Xuan Long''s womb.


    His A''Po became sleepy as he listened, nestling on his chest and sleeping so soundly that he didn''t even wake up when he was kissed.


    ¡°Yuan''er?"


    Ye Ling called out to Yan Yuan several times, and Yan Yuan snapped back to his senses, turning his head to look at Ye Ling, the ends of his eyes already red.


    "Father, how can I save him..."


    Ye Ling knew that Yan Yuan must have remembered something, and did not say anything. After raising his sleeve and reaching inside, he unfolded his palm. A white light flashed, and a dark gold hexagonal soul gathering box appeared in his palm. The body of the box was hollowed out, a large black gemstone was embedded in the centre, and next to the gemstone were two vivid candle dragons carved. (Angel: A candle dragon is a dragon with a human face and a red snake body.)


    It didn''t look like a magic weapon, but rather a beautiful jewellery box.


    "Shortly after you and Xuan Long fell into reincarnation, I calculated that in ten thousand years he would have a calamity because of you. This is a soul gathering box, it took me ten thousand years to forge it, if you use it, you may be able to save Xuan Long.¡± Ye Ling Shenjun handed Yan Yuan the magic instrument.


    Yan Yuan carefully took the soul gathering box and murmured, ¡°May?..."


    That is to say, he may not be able to save it.


    Ye Ling: ¡°En, this soul gathering box contains the spirit essence of your father and I. It is enough to reforge Xuan Long''s soul, but if he is not willing to come back with you, there will be no next chances."


    "Because the soul gathering box can only be used once, once it fails, the only way is to reforge it. In another ten thousand years, I am afraid that not even Xuan Long''s flying ashes will remain in this world."


    Yan Yuan''s fingers gripping the soul gathering box could not stop tightening: "What should this son do?"


    "Although his soul has turned into thousands of shattered ashes, most of the soul''s ashes wandering in this world have joy and anger. You have to coax him and make him happy so that he can enter this soul gathering box. Once his soul is collected and complete, you will be able to bring him back."


    Yan Yuan looked down at the small dark gold box in his hand and said in a mute voice, "How can I coax him?..."


    A''Po didn''t believe his words anymore.


    Ye Ling laughed, "Coax with your heart."


    "He has always trusted you, it should be easy for you to coax him."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were sour and he was silent.


    It was easy, otherwise how could he have so easily tricked that dragon to his side in both lifetimes.


    But he had destroyed all his trust in him.


    "... How do I know where he is?" Yan Yuan asked, looking up with red eyes.


    Ye Ling''s palm covered the small dark gold box in Yan Yuan''s hand, and the lid was lifted up with his divine power. He gestured for Yan Yuan to look at it while saying:


    "The lid on the soul gathering box can be opened. Put Xuan Long''s favourite things in it, and when you arrive in the mortal world, first go to the place where he died and cast a soul summoning spell. The soul gathering box will absorb all the ashes of his unconscious spirit, and the rest, the conscious ones, will need you to find them yourself."


    "Shortly after a person dies, their soul will linger in the place where they left their obsession, and the same goes for the soul''s ashes. Go to Xuan Long''s favourite place in life, and if you find it, the black gem on the soul gathering box will glow and become blue."


    "At this point, you will then perform the sleeping technique to put yourself to sleep, and the soul gathering box will bring you into Xuan Long''s consciousness, allowing you to meet him in your dreams. No matter what you see him doing, all you have to do is coax him and ask him to enter the soul gathering box."


    "When the ashes of his soul are completely collected, the gem on the soul gathering box will glow green. At that time, you will bring him back to the Nine Heavens and Father will tell you how to reshape his physical body."


    "Do you remember everything?"


    Yan Yuan nodded and whispered, "I remember."


    Looking at his son''s distraught appearance, Ye Ling urged uneasily, "His soul is shattered and his memory is fragmented and incomplete, the many bad things that happened in the past will likely make him even more stubborn than usual. Father knows that you have been spoiled by him and always try to bully him, but this time, you must give in to him, understand?"


    ¡°En..." Yan Yuan''s chest ached and his eyes filled with hot tears. He wanted to say that when he returned, he would let him do everything, but when he thought that there was no future for them, he changed his mind. "I know that... I will not bully him again."


    Ye Ling''s gaze was deep and gentle as he looked at Yan Yuan, and he raised his hand to pat him on the shoulder: "Go and get him back."

 CH 112

    The Road to Collecting the Soul


    One day in Heaven, one year on Earth.


    When he entered Chang''an City again, it seemed that not much had changed, yet everything seemed to have changed. With the constant flow of people and horses in the streets, it was like a lifetime ago. The blazing sun overhead made Yan Yuan''s eyes swell with pain, and the thousands of scenes in front of him were so blurred that he could no longer see...


    He had no memory and was under the compulsion of the Heavenly Way. He had never shown any interest in Xuan Long in his life, never took him to the streets to see the prosperity of the world, rather he often took Ning Zhiyu out to the palace to play, giving tenderness and consideration to Ning Zhiyu and asking Xuan Long to bear all the irritability and impatience.


    The dragon did not complain even when he was aggrieved.


    Thinking about his previous life, Yan Yuan knew better than anyone else how patient Xuan Long was. He was able to say ''I''m tired¡­ and don''t want to go on'' before he went up in ashes, which really meant he was disheartened and left with determination and resolve, with no room for manoeuvre.


    Mother said that Xuan Long was easy to coax, but Yan Yuan was worried that he would never be able to coax the dragon back.


    It was he who had killed him with his own hands, wiped out his hopes little by little and drove him to his death... Would he still be willing to go home with him?


    Yan Yuan did not know.


    Even if he didn''t know, he had to do it, do it with all his strength. Even if he lost his life along the way, he had to get his A''Po back.


    The place where Xuan Long died was the dark prison cell in the palace, where he had to go in order to cast a soul summoning spell. Yan Yuan went back to the palace, searched for Xuan Long''s aura and found his belongings.


    A brown lacquered wooden box containing a dozen wooden figures carved by Xuan Long, an iris jade pendant, a worn red brocade bag with obvious signs of mending, and a silver hairpin with a cloud pattern.


    Before he died, Yan Yuan had packed everything related to Xuan Long in the box and placed it in a hidden cabinet in the side hall of Qiankun Palace. After Yan Huo Heng ascended to the throne as emperor, he lived in the main hall, and although the side halls had been cleaned out, the contents of this concealed cabinet had not been discovered.


    Yan Yuan took the chest with him to the Heavenly Prison.


    He concealed himself so that he could not be seen by the naked eye.


    The firelight coming through the tunnel barely illuminated the scene in the cell, and Yan Yuan suddenly saw a scarred man curled up on a straw bale, sleeping as if he was very cold, his body had almost turned into a boiled shrimp, but he couldn''t shrink himself any tighter because of the large bulge in his abdomen.


    Yan Yuan''s heart suddenly ached, and he walked over in a daze to take the man into his arms, but before he could take a few steps, everything before him disappeared. The ground was clean, except for the dusty dirt, not even half a blade of straw, and there was no one there.


    There was no one there.


    Yan Yuan shook his hand and summoned the soul gathering box, knowing that he had lost his mind and was hallucinating. What he should do now was to cast a soul summoning spell to collect the ashes of Xuan Long''s unconscious soul, and then go and find the ashes of his soul that contained his emotions such as anger, sadness and joy.


    When he was in Heaven, Xuan Long loved reading military books, the fairy flowers and birds that Yan Yuan gave him, his divine martial sword, and if there was one thing he loved the most, it was the jade pendant with an iris that Yan Yuan had carved for him.


    The jade pendant was cut from the Three Life Stone outside the Hall of Gods. The stone was pure white, a huge egg-shaped jade. He not only changed it, but also chiselled the Three Lives Stone and carved it into a jade pendant for his lover.


    The jade pendant has a warming effect in winter and a cooling effect in summer, and because Yan Yuan had taken great care to make it, Xuan Long was so fond of it that he wore it even to the battlefield


    On the day he died, his bloodstained hand fished out the iris tail pendant from his pocket and returned it to Yan Yuan, saying that when he returned, Yan Yuan would give it to him personally and that he would keep it for him for the time being.


    There is no doubt that in his last life he treasured that jade pendant the most.


    However, in this life, Xuan Long did not have the memories of his previous life, so the object to be put into the soul gathering box had to be Xuan Long''s favourite item in this life.


    In his life, Yan Yuan had never given Xuan Long anything nice, even the jade pendant was given to him at random from the treasury, and he lied to him claiming that it was a ''token of love'', which made the dragon so happy that he plucked all his scales for him.


    If those later events had not happened, he was certain that the iris jade pendant he had given him in the mortal world would have been Xuan Long''s most treasured possession in this life, but what happened was what happened, and after Xuan Long found out the truth about his deception, he wanted to return the jade pendant to him, refusing to keep it any longer, and it was only when he shamelessly forced it on him that he reluctantly took it.


    On the contrary, the red brocade bag that Hu Le gave to Xuan Long seemed to be very precious to him, and he even picked it up and sewed it back together again after it was trampled on...


    Thinking of this made Yan Yuan feel sour; he was the one who pushed his lover further and further away, and now he didn''t even have the qualifications to be jealous.


    He conjured up the wooden box, took out the sewn red pouch from the box, opened the lid of the soul gathering box and put the pouch inside.


    It was not too big, not too small, just big enough to fit.


    Closing the lid of the soul gathering box, Yan Yuan closed his eyes. As his lips moved slightly and he silently recited the summoning incantation, the box slowly rose from his palm into mid-air, the black jewel in the centre emitting an ethereal blue light that drew the soul back.


    Yan Yuan''s heart was pounding and he knew that the pouch was working. He recited the incantation faster and faster, but halfway through the recitation, the blue light suddenly went out and the box fell to the ground with a snap. The pouch rolled out of the box, gathering dust.


    Yan Yuan froze on the spot and instantly felt like he had fallen into an ice cave, his blood chilled to the bone.


    Why was this happening?¡­


    Could there be a problem with the soul gathering box?...


    No... no, the soul box given to him by his mother would not be faulty...


    Then it must be for another reason...


    He bent down and picked up the soul box and the pouch, hesitated for a moment, then put the pouch away and put the gold-encrusted iris jade pendant inside. It is not that he was confident in himself and felt that Xuan Long would still consider what he had given him important even today, but at the moment there were only a few relics left behind by Xuan Long, so he could only try it with a prayer in his heart.


    Closing the lid again, Yan Yuan used the same divine power as before and recited the spirit invocation incantation silently. The soul gathering box rose into mid-air and emitted an even stronger blue light, illuminating the entire cell as bright as day.


    After half a column of incense, the blue light gradually faded, Yan Yuan opened his eyes and caught the box in his palm, only to see the blue light completely extinguished, replaced by a flash of green light.


    Success...


    Every time the soul ash was collected, a green aura would flash on the soul gathering box to alert the spell caster of its success or lack thereof. When all of the soul is collected, the jewel will emit a long lasting green light.


    Although it was only the beginning, Yan Yuan was still excited. He had no idea that Xuan Long''s favourite object was really the jade pendant he had given him.


    Whether in his previous life or in this one, it was the same, it had never changed.


    But he had failed him for two whole lives, in the first life, he had failed to protect him, and in the second life, he had cut off his life with his own hands, making him unable to even enter reincarnation.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    "Wait for me... I will come to find you soon and take you home."


    Tears smashed on the soul gathering box, Yan Yuan hurriedly wiped it away with his sleeve and hugged it into his arms like a treasure.


    After collecting Xuan Long''s unconscious soul ash, the soul gathering box will be able to help him find the conscious and happy ones, but the exact place will only be hinted at by the soul gathering box after he goes there.


    Yan Yuan was unsure where Xuan Long''s favourite place was in this life; he knew very little about the Xuan Long of this life, only that he had been abandoned by his clan and that even his mother did not like him.


    He also knew that he had been expelled from the Dragon Clan by his mother when he was very young, and that the Dragon Realm must not have held many warm memories for him.


    The Imperial Palace was even worse, Xuan Long would not have liked it because he had never had a good day there, did not have enough to eat, did not have warm clothes, and was bullied by him when he was pregnant with his child.


    Yan Yuan did not expect to find the rest of Xuan Long''s soul in this palace, but since he had come here, he would not feel at ease if he did not take a walk and look around.


    He took the soul gathering box and walked around the palace, floating mid-air in the clouds, which didn''t take much time. If the consciousness of Xuan Long''s soul passed by, his box would be able to sense it within a hundred metres.


    However, after walking almost everywhere, the box did not respond. He really hated this place so much that he did not even want the consciousness of his soul to come here after his death.


    Yan Yuan gave up and was ready to take the box away to look elsewhere when the black jewel at the top of the box suddenly turned blue and emitted a beam of light.


    The cloud beneath Yan Yuan''s feet stopped and he looked down at the palace below, which was Weiyang Palace, located not far from Qiankun Palace. When he went to Qiankun Palace, the soul gathering box was clearly not responding.


    Since the jewel was lit up, there was no mistake. Yan Yuan circled around and found that the closer he got to Qiankun Palace, the stronger the blue light became. It suddenly occurred to him that the soul consciousness would wander around and was not fixed, and since he was not there just now, perhaps Xuan Long had now gone to Qiankun Palace?


    Thinking this way, Yan Yuan''s heart trembled as he landed in front of Qiankun Palace on his cloud, where the unstable blue light on the soul gathering box that had been flickering just now was fixed.


    He was here.


    Xuan Long had come.


    Yan Yuan stood at the door, his eyes flushed with excitement, and he raised his hand to push the door open, but then stopped.


    He was separated from Xuan Long by yin and yang, and if he went in like this, he would not be able to see the dragon.


    He withdrew his hand, raised his hand and executed a sleeping technique on himself. A white light entered Yan Yuan''s brow, and while he stood there, his soul stepped out of his body.


    The scene around him changed from day to night, with a curved moon hanging over the branches and an occasional crisp bird song. It was late summer and the night was slightly cool.


    This was no longer reality, but within the consciousness of Xuan Long''s soul.


    Yan Yuan raised his hand again to cover the doorway, and after a few moments of calmness, he gently pushed it open. There was a welcome presence in the empty hall and the inner room was lit by a dim candle flame, which could be seen from the outer hall. He slowly walked into the inner hall, not even daring to breathe too hard for fear of disturbing the person inside.


    It took him a long time to reach the place that could be reached in a few seconds. Yan Yuan stopped at the entrance of the inner room, and through his blurred vision, he saw a half-burned candle on the golden purple heather round table, and the candle flame reflected the lowered eyebrows of the man in black clothes, who was sitting at the table, holding a carving knife and wood in his hands, carving a wooden figure.


    ¡°A''Po..."

 CH 113

    The Road to Collecting the Soul, The Carved Wooden Man


    The memory of a broken soul consciousness is incomplete, each wisp of consciousness has its own sorrows and joys, and will linger for some time in the places where its obsessions remain, doing the things it loved to do in life or falling into the nightmares it feared most in life, unable to extricate itself.


    The Xuan Long in front of him was only a soul ash loaded with a small piece of memory, his personality was not complete, and he was obviously more sluggish than before. He carved too seriously, only when he heard Yan Yuan''s hoarse and trembling call did he raise his head towards the visitor as an afterthought, with a slightly bewildered and confused look.


    ¡°A''Yuan..."


    The man in black sat there unmoving with his wooden man in his hand. His obsession was with this wooden man, and thus he only knew how to keep carving it, and the rest of things, for him, were very vague.


    Every step Yan Yuan took towards Xuan Long was like stepping on the tip of a knife, the pain spread from his heart to his whole body, and it took all his strength not to let the tears flow down his face, he didn''t want to scare this piece of his soul.


    As he slowly crouched down in front of Xuan Long, Yan Yuan smiled up at him, his scarlet eyes full of tenderness: "What are you doing?..."


    The man was momentarily confused and looked down at the wooden figure and carving knife in his hands before he remembered what he was doing and replied seriously, "Carving a wooden figure."


    The sourness in Yan Yuan''s nose was unbearable and his voice grew hoarse as he smiled and asked, "What is the purpose of carving a wooden figure?"


    If he were in a normal state, Xuan Long would be ashamed to show Yan Yuan the unfinished and shoddy wooden man, but the wisp of his soul in such a state was less convoluted, simpler and more honest than the complete Xuan Long, and would say everything he normally kept to himself.


    It''s just that his brain wasn''t very good and it took a lot of effort to think of anything. Luckily, Yan Yuan was more patient than ever, waiting for him to come up with an answer and listening to him stumble over his words.


    ¡°... Give A''Yuan.¡±


    Yan Yuan could not help but raise his hand to hold Xuan Long''s hand that was resting on his knee. Because he was inside the consciousness of Xuan Long''s soul, the touch felt as if it was really a living person.


    With his eyes downcast, he saw that the man''s hands were covered with tiny wounds, old wounds added to new ones, and it was as if they were carved into Yan Yuan''s heart, causing him to shed tears and ask in a hissing voice:


    "What is the point of sending A''Yuan a wooden man?"


    "He did not treat you well..."


    Xuan Long did not answer, but raised his hand and gently touched Yan Yuan''s face, his fingertips wiping away the traces of tears on his face as he clumsily said, ¡°A''Yuan... don''t cry."


    Yan Yuan grabbed Xuan Long''s hand and pressed it against his face, burying his face between his legs, crying and trembling. All the pain and loneliness he had been holding back exploded at this moment.


    Xuan Long was at a loss for words as he looked at the man who was crying like a child on his lap, and touched the back of his head with his fingertips: ¡°A''Yuan... don''t cry."


    The more gentle he was, the more Yan Yuan cried, crying until he was completely unable to help himself.


    Up until the last moment, this man had never said a single harsh word to him, so how could he be so cruel as to treat him like that? Even if he was blinded by Heaven, he should not have been cruel to his beloved.


    This was his A''Po...


    They had agreed to spend ten thousand years together, and he had ruined it all...


    He couldn''t defeat the Heavenly Way, he couldn''t protect his lover, and he aided and abetted the enemy, helping the Heavenly Way to cut off his lover''s life with his own hands.


    ¡°A''Po... I''m sorry, I''m sorry..."


    "I''m really, really sorry..."


    Xuan Long''s fingertips moved gently through Yan Yuan''s hair, pausing at the words, bewilderment surfacing in his lowered turquoise eyes, "Why, do you want to apologise?"


    Yan Yuan lifted his head from between his legs, his beautiful peach blossom eyes swelling into walnuts, "Because... I did something wrong."


    At this time, the memories that Xuan Long possessed were stuck in the time shortly after he entered the palace, and in his mind at this time, Yan Yuan was the person who treated him the best in the whole world, even if Yan Yuan had made the biggest mistake, he could be forgiven.


    Subconsciously, he trusted Yan Yuan unconditionally and never thought that Yan Yuan would really harm him.


    So without even asking why, he raised his hand to wipe his tears and said, "Don''t be sad, I don''t blame you."


    Yan Yuan''s face showed pain and he choked out a sob: "But I blame myself..."


    ¡°A''Po, I blame myself..."


    Seeing that nothing could be done to coax him, Xuan Long was really in a difficult position. After thinking for a while, he put the wooden figure and the carving knife in his hands on the table, then leaned down, dropped both knees to the ground, and slowly hugged Yan Yuan''s body with his arms.


    "Don''t be afraid... it will pass."


    The warmth of the man''s palm reached Yan Yuan''s back through the thin clothing, and his low, gentle voice was like a pool of hot spring water that flowed unhurriedly through Yan Yuan''s heart, making him feel increasingly desolate.


    It''s not going to pass, it''s not going to pass.


    Now that they have come to this point, there will be no future between them.


    Xuan Long was born with the fate of the Lonely Heavenly Star, destined to be alone for the rest of his life, but he didn''t believe in fate. He was the Heavenly Emperor and had the destiny of the Purple Heavenly Star. Even Xuan Long, the Lonely Heavenly Star, could not do anything to him, so the two of them should have been able to love each other forever. What Yan Yuan never expected was that Xuan Long would perish because his destiny was too strong.


    The evil that should have been suffered by Yan Yuan was blocked by Xuan Long. Perhaps this was a punishment and a warning from the Heavens to him. He was once so bent on his own way that he thought he could defeat the Heavenly Way, but now it seems that he, being the Heavenly Emperor, is no different from a tiny speck of dust among all living beings.


    His mother was right, the closer he was to Xuan Long... the more painful his life would be.


    Because the Heavenly Way will not make it easy for either of them.


    Even if he saved Xuan Long this time, if he continued to pursue him in the future, Xuan Long would probably still die... If not seeing this dragon would allow him to live in peace and tranquillity, then he would be willing to endure it alone.


    Endure the loneliness and pain of millions of lifetimes to come, and say goodbye to him and never see each other again.


    There would be no future for them.


    Yan Yuan thought to himself that there would be no future, but his body could not help but continue to enjoy Xuan Long''s embrace, smiling with red eyes.


    ¡°En, it will pass."


    "I''ll take you home."


    In Xuan Long''s consciousness, this palace was Yan Yuan''s home, and he murmured and repeated his words, ¡°Home?¡­"


    Yan Yuan stepped back some distance from the man in his arms and touched the unmasked half of Xuan Long''s handsome face.


    "Mmm."


    "Back to our home."


    Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes gazed at him as he said slowly and quietly, ¡°Where is it?"


    Yan Yuan''s heart inevitably felt apprehensive, fearing that Xuan Long would not want to go with him, but his face smiled as usual.


    "You will know when I take you there."


    "Are you willing to go with me?"


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, then he said, ¡°En."


    As far as he was concerned, it was the same wherever he went, and where Yan Yuan was, that was home.


    With that, he stood up, took the wooden figure from the table and handed it to Yan Yuan.


    ¡°Wooden figure... for you."


    "In the future, don''t be upset."


    Yan Yuan froze on the spot before he could rejoice.


    There was no need to ask carefully, from Xuan Long''s words he could know the cause and the effect. When he was in the mortal world, he was angry with Xuan Long, usually because Xuan Long refused to give him his inner elixir, and he would become furious and say all sorts of nasty things to him.


    When he was in the Heavenly Realm, Xuan Long was such a stuffy person, he didn''t know how to explain when he was misunderstood and would only do things behind his back in an attempt to please him and beg for his forgiveness.


    In his previous life, Yan Yuan was so soft-hearted that he couldn''t bear to see Xuan Long upset, and always forgave him before long, but in this life, Yan Yuan was so ruthless that he threw the wooden figures that Xuan Long had carved with his own hands to the ground, telling him not to spend his time on such useless things.


    At that time, the man looked disappointed and sad, but he was so angry that he didn''t even bother to look at it.


    Thinking about it made his vision blur.


    When Xuan Long saw that Yan Yuan was hesitant to take it, he was stunned and took back the wooden man in his hand, "Don''t you like it?"


    "Then forget it... I will carve a better one for you later."


    Yan Yuan returned to his senses, hastily holding Xuan Long''s hand and taking the wooden figure away.


    "Like it."


    "I like everything you give me."


    Seeing Yan Yuan smile, Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes followed suit, the corners of his lips curving up in small arcs, his handsome eyebrows haloed by the candle flame in a dream-like manner. He whispered:


    "As long as you are happy."


    As long as you are happy.


    This sentence, again, caused Yan Yuan''s heart to ache.


    "Happy... when I am with you, I am happy."


    At this stage, Xuan Long was easy to deceive, he believed whatever Yan Yuan said, not to mention that he was slow to think and even more obedient at this time. Since he had promised to go with Yan Yuan, Yan Yuan was not worried about the rest.


    With a wave of his sleeve, a small box with a black gemstone and a dark gold carved dragon appeared on the table, and Yan Yuan told Xuan Long to get into it. Xuan Long turned sideways to look at the table, his eyes showing doubt.


    "What is this?"


    Yan Yuan did not want to take his eyes off Xuan Long''s face for a moment, he wanted to stay within this soul consciousness. The Xuan Long in front of him had not yet experienced the humiliations and pains that came later, the Xuan Long in front of him would still gift him wooden figures and smile at him¡­ he wanted to stay here, to stay in this hall with Xuan Long and not go anywhere, to live out a million lifetimes like this, he wouldn''t get tired of it.


    Regrettably, he could not. Once the soul gathering box was activated, all of the broken souls had to be collected within a month, otherwise the box would fail, and once it failed, the collected souls would be scattered again and the effort would be lost.


    A''Zhi was still waiting for him to pick him up.


    He had to bring Xuan Long back quickly.


    This meant that the final parting was getting closer and closer. Therefore he cherished every moment he had with Xuan Long, and every time he looked at him, he lost one glance.


    Although he would soon be able to meet the rest of Xuan Long''s soul, who knew whether the memories of the other soul consciousnesses were good or bad, whether they were love or hate?


    Yan Yuan suppressed the sadness in his heart and tried his best to look gentle and calm with a smile.


    "This is the soul gathering box, it can take you home."


    "The soul gathering box..." Xuan Long mumbled confusedly. His sole soul consciousness prevented him from thinking too much, and he would not find out that he was actually dead and was now just a grain of soul ash floating in the world.


    Yan Yuan: ¡°En."


    If he could no longer think about it, then he did not want to think about it. He was about to turn a little bit and go inside, but then he hesitantly stopped and turned back to look at Yan Yuan: "What about you?"


    Yan Yuan smiled and his vision blurred: "The soul gathering box carries you, and I carry the box with me."


    Xuan Long nodded with seeming understanding, "... Okay."


    Then he turned into flying ash and burrowed in.

 CH 114

    The Road to Collecting the Soul, Prison ¨C Part One


    When he emerged from the realm of the soul consciousness, the sky turned to daylight again and the golden crows were hidden by grey clouds as rain fell.


    As his soul consciousness was wandering around, Yan Yuan was worried that he might have left something behind, so he repeatedly searched the palace several times in the clouds and mist. With his white robe edged in silver silk, he passed through the rain, his clothes and hair dry as usual.


    The third time he passed above the Heavenly Prison, a strong blue light shot out from the soul gathering box in his hand without warning. Yan Yuan''s thoughts turned back from his trance, his eyes fell on the eaves and tiles below, and his heart instantly tightened.


    What kind of place could the Heavenly Prison be... Xuan Long suffered whipping, squeezing and being pierced through his shoulder bone with chains, and died after giving birth to a child. He left so sadly, what obsessions could remain here?


    It was not an obsession... it was a nightmare.


    The Yan Yuan who had lost his true identity on Earth was able to hit Xuan Long hard, but the Yan Yuan who had regained his consciousness and had memories of two lives could never do that.


    When the knife fell on Xuan Long, it cut him twice as hard. After his rebirth, he had been avoiding thinking about those things, intentionally or unintentionally.


    Because he felt pain when he thought about it.


    Many times, there is still room for recovery if you are wrong, but there are things that have happened already, and there is no room for regret.


    Yan Yuan was suddenly too timid to enter the prison that he had been to countless times before. No matter how strong a person was, once he was poked in a soft spot, he would be like a swimming snake being struck in the seventh inch and would instantly lose his ability to resist.


    Xuan Long was his soft spot, the heart that he should have protected under his ribs, and if anyone touched him he would have gone hysterical. But he was so stupid that he couldn''t even recognise the love of his life and gloated that he would win when he stabbed Xuan Long with the knife, when in fact the blade was clearly aimed at his own heart.


    The pain did not come quickly, but one day it would come, it would explode, it would make him miserable.


    Like this moment for example.


    Despite knowing that what existed in that prison cell was most likely something he could not face, he still had to go. Because that was what he had to do, and he could not afford to be half-hearted.


    Yan Yuan closed his eyes, performed a teleportation technique and appeared in the cramped cell where Xuan Long had been held. The blue light on the soul gathering box, which had not been very stable, became solid in an instant, proving that he had come to the right place.


    Rainwater dripped in through the four-sided opening above his head, turning the dust on the floor into damp mud and water. Xuan Long was kept here for almost the entire winter, but he did not make it through, leaving permanently at the end of the winter.


    Forcing himself to stop thinking about that, Yan Yuan raised his hand to cast the sleeping technique to put himself into the realm of the soul consciousness, and a white light rose from between his fingers and drilled into his brow.


    The moment his soul broke away from his body, the cold and silent cell became darker in a flash, the dim light of the fire jumped on the walls of the tunnel and the sound of a whip tearing at skin was heard in the distance.


    ¡°Pa!"


    ¡°Pa!"


    ¡°Pa--!"


    One was heavier than the other, and one was harder than the other.


    Apart from the sound of the whip, there were no other sounds. The person being tortured seemed to be very tolerant, not even screaming out from being beaten in this way, or perhaps he had already been knocked unconscious, so he could not make a sound.


    Yan Yuan''s throat was being squeezed tighter and tighter by an invisible hand, and as he listened to the sound, he stared with scarlet eyes, holding the soul gathering box as he walked through the prison door and towards the torture chamber at the end of the tunnel, one step at a time.


    The closer he got, the clearer the sound of skin being snapped and the more he could hear the man''s muffled grunts. The iron door of the torture chamber was slightly open, revealing a narrow gap. Yan Yuan lifted his trembling fingertips to push the door open and saw what he expected to see.


    The man''s hands were chained to the ends of a wooden cross, his hip-length hair was damp and dishevelled, hiding his face, and his prison clothes had been soaked through by the rain on the way to the cell by the imperial guards. With blood mixed with water plastered to his body, he appeared to have slim limbs and that bulging stomach was alarmingly large.


    When the whip lashed against his body, his body trembled uncontrollably and a low groan escaped his throat.


    Yan Yuan was familiar with this scene, for he was the one responsible for all this. Knowing that what was happening before him was not reality, but only Xuan Long''s nightmare, he could hardly control his emotions. He opened his mouth wide to breathe, wanting to stop them, but he could only make a faint, mosquito-like sound.


    "Stop..."


    "Stop..."


    His vocal cords were so hoarse that they seemed to have been cut.


    His presence did not disturb anyone present; the jailer was still doing his best to whip Xuan Long''s body, the blood marks crisscrossing Xuan Long''s body grew denser and denser, and Yan Yuan heard the man with his head hanging low mutter something under his breath.


    "Don''t... hit the abdomen."


    "Don''t...... hit the abdomen."


    "Please..."


    So helpless and desperate.


    For a moment, Yan Yuan almost lost his hearing, all the sounds in the world disappeared, his throat tightened to the point of pain, and his eyes, wide to the point of filling with hot tears, stared at the scene in front of him as he shook his head uncontrollably.


    "Stop...."


    "Stop..."


    "I told you to stop, don''t you hear me!!!"


    He dashed forward violently, trying to push the jailer who was carrying out the punishment out of the way, only to pass through the jailer''s body.


    Yan Yuan froze on the spot -


    The jailers couldn''t see him.


    It was Xuan Long''s nightmare, everything was illusionary, only the master could see him, the rest, those imagined by Xuan Long, could not see him.


    The man on the rack had been beaten into unconsciousness, and the guards stopped hesitantly, debating with their colleagues on whether to continue the punishment, and Yan Yuan shouted at them tearfully.


    "That''s enough!!"


    "That''s enough!!!"


    "No more!!! Please, don''t go on... Let him go, let him go."


    But they could not hear him.


    Soon after, Yan Yuan saw ''himself'' in a dark black dragon robe come through the door with a grim face, ordering someone to bring cold water and pour it over the unconscious Xuan Long.


    He saw the man with a face identical to his own pinching Xuan Long''s jaws and forcing him to give up his inner elixir, shouting that the child in Xuan Long''s womb was a bastard and that he would only be allowed to give birth to the child if he gave up his inner elixir.


    As if it was some kind of heavenly gift.


    Xuan Long''s inner elixir was long gone, and since he couldn''t give it, he was stubborn. After giving it all away and being hurt to this extent by his beloved, even if it killed him, he would not give in for his own good.


    So ''he'' became angry, a storm surged under his dusky eyes and he fought the man on the torture rack in a silent standoff, refusing to give way in the slightest.


    That was the former Yan Yuan, and Yan Yuan knew better than anyone what he wanted. He lunged up like a madman, his palm condensing divine power to strike the Emperor''s chest.


    "Get out!!!"


    The strong wave of divine power that could have destroyed this prison disappeared in mid-air the moment the blow was struck.


    This was Xuan Long''s nightmare, his divine power could not be used here to save him.


    Strangely enough, even Xuan Long, who should have been able to see him, did not notice that he had come.


    Yan Yuan had never felt so powerless before, he cried out in pain as he stepped forward and repeatedly waved his sleeve at the Emperor''s body in an attempt to break it apart.


    "Get out!!!"


    "You get out!!!"


    "Don''t do that to him, I''ll kill you, I''ll kill you!!! --"


    There was no use.


    He was like a madman raging at the air.


    ¡°You don''t know what''s good for you."


    "Drag him back and cut out his heart."


    A deep, cold voice rang out in the torture chamber.


    It was that ''Yan Yuan'' who spoke.


    Yan Yuan''s legs went limp and he fell to his knees, he raised his hand to grab the hem of ''Yan Yuan''s¡¯ black dragon robe, but he caught nothing, "Don''t...


    "Please... don''t be so cruel..."


    "Please..."


    He cried that miserable cry, and after begging ''Yan Yuan'', he crawled over to beg the jailer, yet no one listened to him. Probably just like Xuan Long in the past, no matter how much pain he was in or how hard it was, no one listened to him.


    The chains holding his wrists were loosened from the wooden frame and Xuan Long''s whole body fell to the ground, where he lay on his back as if he were dead, not moving at all.


    The two imperial guards who had followed ''Yan Yuan'' here grabbed Xuan Long''s wrists from either side and dragged him back to his cell like a dead thing, throwing him on the pile of straw.


    There was hardly any part of Xuan Long''s body left intact, his prison clothes were torn in many places, and blood soon stained the straw beneath him red. One of the imperial guards pulled a dagger from inside his boots and peeled back Xuan Long''s lapels.


    His scales had just been plucked from around his heart and his wounds had not yet healed, coupled with the whipping he had received, the wounds looked horrible, the pink flesh was missing and he was exposed to the air, dripping blood.


    The imperial guard probably found it unbearable as well, and the tip of his blade stopped two inches from Xuan Long''s heart for a moment before he was urged by his colleague to lower it.


    Yan Yuan had never wished for a god to appear in the world, for he himself was the supreme being in the Nine Heavens, in charge of millions of immortal gods and goddesses in the Heavenly Realm, and he could seemingly do whatever he wanted to do and behave as he wished, but at this moment, he could not even stop Xuan Long''s nightmare.


    He watched helplessly as the imperial guard thrust his dagger down, the tip of the blade drawing a circle around Xuan Long''s heart and plucking off a palm-sized piece of the flesh of his heart, and blood dripped over the silver-white blade.


    "Ugh..."


    The unconscious man clearly felt pain, his bloodied hands clenching unconsciously into the straw beneath him, his turquoise eyes blankly opening a slit and staring upwards without focus.


    The imperial guard put the flesh of his heart into a wooden box prepared in advance and left Xuan Long behind as he left the prison, and soon the sound of the imperial guard returning to ''Yan Yuan'' was heard from outside.


    Xuan Long woke up for a while with his eyes open, then fell asleep again. He lay motionless on the damp straw, without the strength to turn over and without anyone to cover him with bedding.


    However, he was so badly wounded that it hurt when he touched it, and he was probably uncomfortable even when covered with a blanket.


    Yan Yuan cried hoarsely. After the people outside had left, he touched Xuan Long''s face and suddenly found that he could actually touch him.


    It was probably because the nightmare had come to an end, and anyone coming in from the outside world would then be able to communicate with their soul consciousness.


    Yan Yuan had no time to think about it and grabbed Xuan Long''s hand, regardless of the dirt and blood stained on that hand. He pressed it to his cheek and looked at Xuan Long''s pale face as tears poured down his own face.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°Wake up..."


    "I''ve come to take you home... When you come home, it won''t hurt anymore."


    "It won''t hurt anymore¡­"

 CH 115

    The Road to Collecting the Soul, Prison ¨C Part Two


    The Xuan Long in the last realm of soul consciousness was easy to coax, but this time it was not so easy.


    That Xuan Long still had fond memories of being in love with Yan Yuan, but this one, after the truth and lies had been revealed, and after he had been humiliated in prison, the little goodness he had had long since been wiped away, and he was so despondent that he didn''t even want to look at Yan Yuan.


    No matter how much Yan Yuan begged him, he would not open his eyes.


    Not long afterwards, Hua Niang came, sent by ''Yan Yuan'' to heal Xuan Long, and after a small jar of elixir, Xuan Long woke up in a daze.


    This nightmare was derived from reality, and what happened in the realm of the soul consciousness was what had actually been experienced in reality. Yan Yuan saw the man lying quietly, still having his wounds treated by Hua Niang, and not making a sound even when he was in pain.


    After treating his wounds, Hua Niang conjured up a quilted blanket and covered Xuan Long with it. Hua Niang had her daughter at home and would not stay long before having to leave, so Xuan Long was left alone again in the cold prison.


    Yan Yuan found that when there were other people around, he could not touch Xuan Long''s body and Xuan Long could not see him, probably because he was a foreign intruder and did not belong to the same time as the people in Xuan Long''s dream world, so he could not appear at the same time; only when he was alone could Xuan Long see him.


    The dream world was illusory and changeable: originally in one scene, then changing in the next.


    The space gradually distorted. Xuan Long, lying asleep on the ground, disappeared, and the four-sided opening above him stopped bringing rain and instead brought falling snowflakes.


    The man on the wall was shackled by thick, heavy chains around his hands, his shoulder bone pierced by a round hook, his prison garment bloodied and stained against his body, dark red in most places, the fabric around his shoulder bone bright red. He leaned sideways against the wall, his long, messy hair hiding the ugly scars on his cheeks, and from Yan Yuan''s angle, he could see his high nose and thin, pale lips.


    Xuan Long, who had lost his Tao and was pregnant, was even more fragile than a human, and no one knew how much it hurt to be treated like this, but Yan Yuan felt his heart being crushed as he looked at him now.


    He hurriedly got up from the ground, stumbled a few steps over and knelt down in front of Xuan Long with a ''poof'', ¡°A''Po..."


    Slowly lifting his fingertips, he was about to lift Xuan Long''s long hair that hid his face when footsteps suddenly came from somewhere nearby in the tunnel.


    "Hey... do you think that demon is really that comfortable? The Emperor comes so often and doesn''t mind him being dirty..."


    The two sword-wearing jailers stopped outside the door of this cell, the leaner one of them gazing searingly at Xuan Long through the bars. Talking about it, he got a bad idea and opened the cell door with the key in a feverish hurry.


    "I''ll go first, and then I''ll replace you when I''ve finished enjoying myself."


    The tall, burly jailer grabbed the lean jailer''s arm to stop him, but the lean jailer waved away the former''s hand in disbelief and turned back with a smile.


    "Don''t worry, it will be fine, he''s just a prisoner, would the Emperor really kill us over him?... Besides, if you don''t say anything and I don''t say anything, who will know¡­"


    "The Emperor''s man, don''t you want to taste what he''s like?"


    Then the lean jailer slowly approached the man at the wall, his bean-sized eyes glowing with excitement, and his breathing even slowed down.


    Yan Yuan had personally interrogated this jailer, forcing out how he had bullied Xuan Long, but hearing was one thing, and seeing was another.


    It was precisely because he knew exactly what was going to happen next that he was all the more frightened and unable to accept it.


    Yan Yuan braced himself on the ground and stood up, blocking in front of Xuan Long. If his gaze could lynch people, the jailer in front of him would have been cut into a million pieces in an instant.


    "Don''t come over..."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were burning with anger as he shook his head slowly, and he murmured almost beggingly, "Don''t come over..."


    The jailer did not hear his voice and continued forward.


    Yan Yuan''s sanity was crushed by the endless heartache as he raised his hands to deliver a succession of divine power surges.


    "Get out!!!"


    The transparent torrents of divine power struck the jailer, but only caused his body to sway like a shadow. He was an illusory being, how could he be defeated by the divine power?


    The jailer laughed and passed through Yan Yuan''s body...


    Yan Yuan saw the jailer peel away Xuan Long''s clothes, his palms lingering ambiguously on Xuan Long''s body.


    "No... don''t..."


    "Don''t..."


    The sleeping man woke up at the approach of the strange scent, his turquoise eyes looked coldly at the jailer, and he bent his leg and kicked the jailer out, a breathless but still strong ''get out'' came out of his pale lips.


    If Xuan Long did not want to, he would not submit even if he killed him. It was his willingness to commit himself to Yan Yuan, and no other being would do other than Yan Yuan.


    Before Yan Yuan could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the jailer rise from the ground with a fierce expression and kick Xuan Long in the stomach. Immediately, Xuan Long covered his stomach in pain and bent down, causing the chains on his hands to make a muffled sound.


    The jailer went out to find a dagger and came back. The jailer grabbed Xuan Long''s hand, which was hanging on the ground, and without saying a word, he pried the thumb nail off with his knife.


    Blood cascaded to the floor and Xuan Long grunted in pain, unable to even shout. He seemed to have other places that hurt more, and crouched on the floor covering his stomach and was unable to get up.


    He was supposed to be a mystical dragon who flew 10,000 feet in the air, his life was so long that it was almost eternal, and there were not many beings on this earth who could do anything to him, but right now, even a small jailer could trample him underfoot.


    The jailer crouched in front of Xuan Long, mocking him.


    "You don''t even look at your situation today. Who the hell are you? It''s your good fortune that I can look at you. It''s better to sleep with me than to sleep with the Emperor. I can at least bring you some chicken, duck and fish to eat, what does the Emperor give you?"


    "He won''t give you anything and will take your life."


    "... Humph, wait until the Emperor has played with you thoroughly, then I will come back to pamper you."


    After saying that the jailer got up and went out, and the cell door was locked again.


    Xuan Long, who was lying on the floor with his slender back rising and falling dramatically with his breathing, did not speak and it was unclear how many of those words he had taken in.


    All he had to do was lift himself up to see Yan Yuan and notice his presence. The onlookers had disappeared, and at that moment they could touch and communicate with each other.


    But Yan Yuan had suddenly lost the courage to face Xuan Long.


    The reason for the shameless jailer''s arrogance was the result of Yan Yuan''s indulgence. If he had been a little more lenient with Xuan Long in the past, those people would not have dared to treat him like that.


    Moreover, what he had done to Xuan Long was far more excessive than the jailer.


    At this time, the last person Xuan Long wanted to see was him...


    Yan Yuan could not change anything in this nightmare, but he could change himself. He raised his hand and executed a spell, and his face and body instantly took on the appearance of Hu Le.


    He gingerly walked over, lifted Xuan Long from the ground and half-embraced his upper body in his arms.


    Xuan Long was as limp as if his bones had been extracted, his forehead rested feebly on Yan Yuan''s shoulder, and his eyes were blurred with cold sweat, making it difficult to see the man.


    Hua Niang''s chest was not as broad, Yan Yuan would not have treated him so tenderly, and Hu Le was no longer there. For a moment, Xuan Long could not think of who was holding him, he was so confused by the pain that his head was not clear, and on instinct he asked in a weak voice.


    "Hu Le... is that you?"


    A burst of sourness rushed to his head and Yan Yuan almost couldn''t hold back his tears. He tilted his head and inhaled hard, his lips fell on Xuan Long''s hair and he said hoarsely, ¡°En, it''s me."


    Xuan Long''s towering stomach rose and fell irregularly, and as he seemed to be about to go into labour, he couldn''t speak well: "You''ve come... to see me..."


    "Hmm." Yan Yuan dared not say too much for fear that he would hear the flaws.


    Xuan Long was happy just to be held by ¡®Hu Le'', and his whole body was much lighter. He quietly leaned against this warm body and said after a while, "Hu Le... I want to go now. "


    "With you..."


    Yan Yuan choked back a sob and quickly stopped it, replying in a mute voice: "Okay... I will take you away."


    A warm wetness fell on Xuan Long''s cheek, and he opened his lax turquoise eyes, ¡°Hu Le... why are you crying..."


    "Don''t cry..."


    "Okay, I''ll listen to you for everything." Yan Yuan struggled to make his trembling voice sound normal.


    A ragged, sluggish gasp escaped Xuan Long''s throat and his thin lips quivered slightly, "I don''t like it here... I want to go back, to the thousand-year-old pond..."


    "Or with you, go find a deserted valley... and build a hut..."


    "You, me, and the child... all three of us, in one place."


    "As long as it''s not here... then it''s all good."


    Yan Yuan tightened his embrace of the person in his arms a bit, and his breath trembled: "Okay¡­ we¡¯ll do whatever you want."


    "Wherever you want to go, we can go."


    Xuan Long''s voice grew softer and softer, his turquoise eyes half-closed, ¡°Hu Le, you have been gone for a long time¡­ I miss you a lot."


    In the past, Yan Yuan had always fought against Hu Le, seeing Hu Le as a love rival and hating Xuan Long for protecting Hu Le at every turn. Such a stubborn person, someone who refused to bow down even after suffering so much, had begged him three times for Hu Le, even going so far as to use his body in exchange for Hu Le''s freedom.


    He looked back and realised that in such a situation, Hu Le was probably the only warmth Xuan Long could perceive in his heart, and people need love to live.


    Although Xuan Long was lonely, it did not mean that he was as insensitive as a stone. He knows how to repay kindness better than anyone else, and he will return the favour if others treat him well.


    It must be because Hu Le has treated him so well that he thinks of Hu Le all the time.


    As the old saying goes, a melon that is broken by force is not sweet. To possess is to like, to love is to let go.


    There was a time when Yan Yuan did not believe in such things, thinking that only when he loved someone deeply would he take possession of them, taking possession of their body, filling their whole heart, and not allowing half a grain of sand to be mixed in.


    After all those twists and turns, he now believes in that saying.


    Right now, for example, he was willing to turn into the most annoying fox demon he had ever seen to make his A''Po happy.


    As long as his A''Po was happy.


    Even if the current Xuan Long was just a wisp of a soul, it didn''t matter, he felt content when he held him in his arms.


    "I know you miss me, so I have come back to see you."


    "You can be happy."


    Yan Yuan spoke in the gentlest tone of his life.


    Xuan Long''s thin lips curved slightly, "Happy..."


    "I haven''t been... this happy for a long time." He was always in pain.


    Yan Yuan smiled, ¡°En, then, how about we go home?"


    "Okay..."

 CH 116

    The Road to Collecting the Soul, Jing Yu Lou


    The words that Xuan Long loved to hear most in his life should be the words ''going home''.


    Because he has no home.


    If someone was willing to take him home, he would be very happy.


    In the past, Yan Yuan had said he would take him home, but he had left him in this uninhabitable prison to be humiliated. Fortunately, he still had Hu Le to trust.


    It was good that he was still willing to believe in Hu Le, and Yan Yuan was able to coax this wisp of ashes of his dead soul into the soul gathering box as Hu Le.


    After leaving the palace, Yan Yuan held the soul gathering box and slowly passed through the streets and alleys of Chang''an City. There was almost no memory of him and Xuan Long existing among this market, but there was no guarantee that Xuan Long''s scattered soul consciousness would not pass through here.


    The rain had stopped and the night was dark.


    Because it had been raining all day, the market was quite miserable and cold tonight, with no vendors out and no pedestrians on the street, and it was dark everywhere.


    On the contrary, the two brothels and restaurants up ahead were decorated with red lanterns, bringing some lustre to the market.


    From a distance, he could hear the sound of the zither flowing from the brothel, and the song ''Spring River and Moonlit Night'' was gracefully intoned and flowing.


    In contrast, the quiet restaurant opposite the brothel was like a gentleman standing in the darkness of the night, courteous and silent.


    There were people who were looking for fun, people who were drunk and dreaming of death, and people who, with their spirit-gathering artefacts, were wandering the world day and night in search of their longed-for dead wives.


    When he passed by the restaurant, Yan Yuan inadvertently raised his eyes and saw the three big words ''Jing Yu Lou'' on the door plaque, and his body was instantly nailed in place, unable to move his arms and legs...


    He and Xuan Long, in this place, are not completely without memories...


    In the past, he dove into the thousand-year-old pond by mistake... Xuan Long took good care of him day after day, and had to run to the marketplace three times a day to buy his favourite food.


    He has a picky mouth, does not like raw and cold food, does not like simple food, and the noodle porridge he bought from the stalls and vendors was too bland for him to eat. Since then, Xuan Long decided on Jing Yu Lou, the largest restaurant in the capital, and the chef''s skills were as good as those of the imperial chefs in the palace. When Yan Yuan found the taste refreshing, he ate quite a lot. Seeing that he liked it, Xuan Long bought different kinds of food from here every time he went back.


    His injuries healed so quickly, not only because Xuan Long pulled out his scales to save him, but also because of Xuan Long''s careful care. The dragon seemed insensitive on the surface, but in fact his heart was finer than a needle''s eye, and before long he remembered exactly what he liked. He knew that he hated onions, so there would never be any onions on the table.


    For two lifetimes, he had loved him like this... but he had lost Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, every wisp of sweet memory turned into a sharp knife that stabbed into his soft, hot heart, causing so much pain that he couldn''t stop his breath from shaking, and clear liquid rolled down his cheeks.


    If there was a future, how wonderful it would be... He would spend the rest of his life, which was close to an eternity, making amends and returning the kindness that Xuan Long had shown him, a thousand times over.


    Unfortunately, there was no such thing.


    His start with Xuan Long was a mistake.


    It was his stubbornness and arrogance that had cost him two lifetimes.


    If not for his own proximity, Xuan Long might have been alone, but he could have lived a good life, could have been the God of War, seen by millions, living forever on the clouds.


    It was his self-righteous love that bound Xuan Long, ripped his soul apart and made him fall into hell...


    The cold water droplets hit his face without warning. Yan Yuan opened his blurry eyes, and more and more water droplets fell; it was raining again.


    After casting a boundary to block the rain, Yan Yuan raised his sleeve to gently rub the water droplets off the soul gathering box. He was about to leave when he suddenly saw the jewel on the centre of the box emitting a blue glow.


    Xuan Long was here...


    To the left was a brothel and to the right was a restaurant.


    Xuan Long could not have gone to a brothel, that is....


    Yan Yuan raised his hand and executed a technique, allowing his soul to detach from his body and enter the realm of Xuan Long''s soul consciousness.


    The dark rainy night was transformed into daylight in a flash. The blazing sun was high in the sky and the market was flowing with people, vendors selling fruits, vegetables, buns and knife-cut noodles lined up on the roadside, enthusiastically shouting, and there was an endless stream of people buying hot buns and eating beef noodles.


    Even the cold Jing Yu Lou in front of him became a lively and prosperous scene.


    Jing Yu Lou not only serves drinks and dinner, but in the morning they also sell the owner''s secret steamed buns and lotus leaf congee, which are expensive but delicious. Even though they are limited to 1,000 portions a day, there are still queues to get them. Many of the servants from the rich and famous families come to the queue before dawn, afraid that they might not be able to buy them if they come late.


    At the end of the queue, two young men dressed as servants were whispering.


    "Hey, my master loves the buns here, I came before dawn today, but who knew that the people in front of me were faster than me. This queue is already outside, I don''t know if I can buy them..."


    "Hai, I heard that the reputation of the buns of this Jing Yu Lou has spread outside the city, many ladies from the neighbouring cities come to Chang''an to visit, just to have a bite of the buns."


    "They have come a long way to get a bun, they may have asked their servants to squat at the door in the middle of the night, how can we compete with them..."


    "If we can''t buy them, we''ll be scolded by the master again..."


    Yan Yuan also likes to eat the lotus leaf congee and buns here. He tasted them once and couldn''t forget them, he wanted to eat them every day after that, so Xuan Long bought them for him every day.


    It turns out that the food here is so difficult to buy...


    Whenever he woke up in the morning, he would see that Xuan Long had already returned, and the buns and lotus leaf congee were placed on the stone table in a food box, so he could eat them after getting up and washing up.


    The curling steam wafted out of the tavern, clouding Yan Yuan''s vision. He passed a crowd of people queuing outside the door and walked inside, each step taken was solemn and slow.


    There was someone inside speaking, 1 bun for 1 tael of silver, 3 buns for 2 taels of silver, plus a lotus leaf congee for exactly 5 taels.


    Yan Yuan saw Xuan Long at the head of the queue. The man stood among the curling steam, his head bowed as he watched the boy fetch the buns from the steamer, the steam tinting his cold silhouette with warmth, making him look quite gentle.


    The fact that Xuan Long was first in line to buy the first freshly baked breakfast was proof that he was earlier than everyone else present.


    During the time he had lived with this dragon in the thousand-year-old pond, Yan Yuan hadn''t even noticed that the man beside him got up that early every day just to buy him a beloved breakfast meal.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    Yan Yuan wanted to cry when he saw the way he treated him so seriously, but he held back his tears; he should smile because the time he had to spend with Xuan Long would become less and less.


    His call made Xuan Long turn his head sluggishly, and when he saw Yan Yuan, a little confusion came out of his turquoise eyes.


    "Why are you here?"


    At this time, Yan Yuan should be sleeping in the thousand-year-old pond...


    Yan Yuan also did not expect Xuan Long to hear his voice, he just couldn''t help but shout out. There were clearly many illusory people in the nightmare around him, so Xuan Long should not be able to see him... Perhaps it was because those people were not important, so this time he could easily invade Xuan Long''s soul consciousness and talk to him.


    "I came to find you."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were red at the ends, and there was a smile on his face.


    Xuan Long''s personality was incomplete at this time, and his brain was rather slow to think, so he didn''t find anything wrong with him being able to come out of the thousand-year-old pond as a human.


    ¡°Why are you looking for me... are you hungry?" He would go back later.


    Yan Yuan shook his head and said hoarsely, "Not really."


    "It''s just that I miss you."


    Xuan Long frowned slightly and pursed his lips. This was a sign that he was at a loss for words. He had never had anyone miss him, and when someone suddenly said they missed him, he was uncomfortable.


    By this time, they had already been intimate, and Xuan Long''s ears were particularly prone to blushing as he had just experienced sexual relations, but he didn''t want to appear young and awkward in front of Yan Yuan, so he didn''t like to talk much.


    The waiter urged Xuan Long to get his breakfast, so Xuan Long paid for it, took the food box and left Jing Yu Lou with Yan Yuan.


    The two of them walked slowly through the market, with Yan Yuan holding the food box in one hand and Xuan Long''s hand in the other. When Xuan Long saw that the street was crowded, he lowered his head to break away, but Yan Yuan held his hand tightly and refused to let go, pouting at him. Xuan Long had no choice but to take him.


    He said, ¡°A''Po... do you think it''s shameful to be seen holding hands with me?"


    Xuan Long immediately argued, "I have no such intention..."


    Yan Yuan naturally knew that Xuan Long would not think that way; Xuan Long would only have low self-esteem and feel that he was not a match for him, and would not want to hold hands most likely because he was afraid that he would be talked about.


    Unconsciously, his eyes blurred. Yan Yuan opened his eyes wide to look at the heroic profile of the man beside him and whispered, "Then hold it, hold it forever, and don''t let go."


    "Okay?..." The moment the words left his mouth, tears flowed down his cheeks.


    Xuan Long did not understand why Yan Yuan was suddenly crying. He did not know how to coax, so he nodded, "Okay." At the same time, he stopped, went around to Yan Yuan and raised his hand to wipe away his tears: "... You must not cry."


    The thoughts that had built up excessively were like hot lava erupting from a volcano, devouring Yan Yuan to the point where his bones were gone, and he violently took the man in front of him and swept him into his arms, melting him away so that he could become one with himself, and nothing could ever separate them.


    ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°A''Po..."


    ¡°Hug me."


    He hugged him so tightly, but it wasn''t enough, he had to cry and beg Xuan Long to hug him. Xuan Long listened to his pain and pleading, raising his hand over Yan Yuan''s back in disbelief and patting it gently, feeling sad in his heart as well.


    He had never asked Yan Yuan about his affairs. If he wanted to tell him, Yan Yuan would certainly take the initiative to tell him, but if he didn''t want to, it was useless to ask.


    But to make Yan Yuan sad like this, apart from one reason, Xuan Long could not think of anything else.


    "If you want to go home... I can send you back now." He spoke in a low voice.


    Yan Yuan''s face was buried in his shoulder, and he did not say anything for a long time. There was a steady stream of pedestrians all around, none of whom stopped at the sight of their embrace.


    When Xuan Long thought he would not answer, Yan Yuan spoke mutely:


    "Where you are, that''s my home."


    "Let''s go to the market, I want to buy some things."


    Previously, Yan Yuan had never had the opportunity to spend time with Xuan Long like this... To be precise, it wasn''t that he didn''t have it, but he didn''t value it. He didn''t want to even spend too much time with Xuan Long, thinking it would be a waste.


    But now he wanted to.


    He wanted to be with Xuan Long as an ordinary couple would be, to spend time with each other, to watch the sun go down together, to hold the hand of his son, to grow old with his son.


    It was hard to be pregnant, but they already had A''Zhi, so that was enough. A family of three living in peace and tranquillity was a blessing.


    However, he does not even have that kind of blessing...


    "This hairpin is for you."


    "It''s an early gift for you for the Qixi Festival."


    The two of them stopped at a stall while holding hands. Yan Yuan picked up a silver hairpin with a cloud pattern and handed it to Xuan Long, smiling at him.

 CH 117

    The Road to Collecting the Soul, Thousand Year Old Pond


    Xuan Long looked down at the hairpin in Yan Yuan''s hand: ¡°Why?"


    Under the blazing golden sun, Yan Yuan''s silvery-white robe swayed in the wind, and he smiled as warmly as spring, but there were too many emotions in his eyes that Xuan Long couldn''t see, like regret, like sadness, like reluctance.


    "The Qixi Festival is a festival for the human race to celebrate love, and those who love each other will give each other gifts on that day to commit to each other for life."


    ¡°A''Po... are you willing to be betrothed to me for life."


    From the moment their spirit and bodies met, Xuan Long had decided that he wanted to be with Yan Yuan as husband and wife for the rest of his life, and he was willing to be betrothed to Yan Yuan for the rest of his life.


    "But I don''t know how to tie my hair." He said in a low, sullen voice.


    Yan Yuan smiled, "I''ll teach you."


    Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly: "Hm."


    He raised his hand and took the silver hairpin from Yan Yuan''s fingers with an imperceptible caution. This was the first time someone had given him a gift, and it felt so heavy in his hand that he wanted to put it away immediately, but he felt reluctant to part with it because he hadn''t seen enough.


    There were so many delicious and interesting places in Chang''an that the day passed in a flash after a morning of shopping at the market, an afternoon of shadow puppet shows and juggling at a street corner in the east of the city, and an evening of dinner at a restaurant.


    On the way back, the two of them interlocked their fingers and walked slowly in the sunset.


    Xuan Long intended to transform into his original body and fly back with Yan Yuan, but Yan Yuan refused. He took Xuan Long''s hand and walked from the bustling marketplace to the quiet forest path, wishing time would slow down and the road would grow a little longer.


    After passing through these woods, they would arrive at the thousand-year-old pond.


    The two silently enjoyed the intimacy and comfort of the moment.


    Xuan Long vaguely felt that Yan Yuan seemed to be different somewhere, yet how could he, an ash of a shattered soul, figure out exactly where.


    "Why, give it early?"


    He asked for no reason.


    Yan Yuan looked at him sideways, and after being stunned for a moment, he realised that Xuan Long was talking about the silver hairpin he had given him, so he curled his lips and said hoarsely.


    "Because I wanted to give it to you."


    "I don''t want to make you unhappy."


    Did not want to ask him to foolishly covet a gift.


    Even if this nightmare was illusory, he still wanted to finish what he should have done before.


    To offer up his heart as a gift ¨C even if the reborn Xuan Long never bothered to ask for it again.


    But whether he did it or not, and whether Xuan Long wanted it or not, were two different things.


    The man at his side was silent for a moment, lifting his untethered left hand to the back of his neck. Before Yan Yuan could understand what he was up to, Xuan Long suddenly applied force and plucked off an ink-coloured dragon scale in the shape of a crescent moon.


    With a stifled grunt, he pursed his lips and handed the dragon scale to Yan Yuan, as blood dripped down between his fingers and his face turned pale to the naked eye.


    "I''ll give it to you in advance too."


    Even though it was a dream, Xuan Long''s action, which was no different from reality, still caused Yan Yuan to lose control. A hot mist welled up in his eyes and he gently pulled the man into his arms and embraced him, his large palm clasping the back of his head as his voice became more hoarse.


    "Don''t be so foolish in the future... don''t hand over everything so easily."


    "You also have to see who the other person is and if it''s worth it... do you understand?"


    It was not handed over easily, but rather the most precious thing on his body was given to the other party only after he had identified them. Xuan Long''s mouth was clumsy. Before he met Yan Yuan, almost no one spoke to him, so he would not say smooth and nice words. His heart wanted to explain, but what came out was just one sentence:


    "I know you treat me well."


    Not well.


    Not well.


    I have not treated you well at all.


    If I had treated you well, you, me, A''Zhi, our family would have lived happily ever after, and you would not have become a thousand ashes of a broken soul, tormented by obsessions and nightmares even after death.


    Yan Yuan roared and cried out in his heart, hating himself and regretting his death, both of which swept up his body like a ferocious tornado and completely tore him apart.


    However, he could not tell Xuan Long those things. His heart tumbled in waves, his bloodshot scarlet eyes stung, but he opened his mouth with a calmness that was full of belated and extreme tenderness.


    ¡°En."


    "... I treat you well"


    I will treat you well from now on.


    As long as there is still a chance.


    Xuan Long raised his hand and patted Yan Yuan''s back, "Let''s go."


    "Go home."


    "... Okay." Yan Yuan continued to hug him for a moment before slowly releasing Xuan Long''s body and looking at him as he repeated those two words. "Go home..."


    Go home.


    Go home...


    The simple two-word phrase had become a luxury.


    The thousand-year-old pond was still the same as it had been at the beginning, the simple stone bed, the simple stone table, the simple stone chairs, the soft bedding and delicate food boxes added because of Yan Yuan''s arrival, the fruit on the stone table that was always fresh...


    The experience that he once disdained became the warmth that Yan Yuan craved today. He did not want to leave like this, so he did not coax Xuan Long into the soul gathering box at the first opportunity, but stayed in the pond.


    Living like husband and wife, more sticky than ordinary couples, he no longer let Xuan Long go out alone to buy food and supplies and he followed him everywhere he went, not missing a single moment with Xuan Long, not wasting a single moment of time.


    The previous Yan Yuan had to pester Xuan Long for sex night after night, but these days Yan Yuan suddenly stopped touching him and just cuddled up to him and slept, which Xuan Long found strange.


    He had never been confident in himself and thought that Yan Yuan had lost interest in his body after such a short period of time, and was always thinking about what was going on.


    Of course, he just thought about it, he could not say it. Yan Yuan was not seeking him for intercourse, he was better off down there and would not be hurting all the time, but he could not figure out what Yan Yuan really liked about him, he was not born good looking and his body was solidly manly, and he was not very comfortable to hold.


    He''s heard that all men of the human race love beautiful women...


    The majority of new things begin interesting and lose their excitement after they are touched.


    It was not until the third day, when Yan Yuan was kissing Xuan Long in his arms before going to bed, that he did not restrain his reaction, and they parted with a panting breath. But Yan Yuan did nothing, just cupped his face with one hand, his fingertips gently rubbing his skin, and he looked at him as if he was remembering someone.


    Xuan Long vaguely sensed that Yan Yuan was sad, but not knowing why he was sad, he comforted him in a clumsy way, "If you need to vent, just do it, you don''t need to worry about me."


    Every time they made love, Yan Yuan was so impatient and happy that Xuan Long thought he would be happy this time too.


    But it was not the case.


    Yan Yuan rubbed his face, and his warm lips fell on his forehead: "I will take you again when you become my legitimate wife."


    "In the past, I have treated you lightly... but now I want to change."


    He was more gentle than before.


    Xuan Long thought this in his heart.


    The two of them slept together, and the moment the sun''s rays cast their light on the water on the next day, Yan Yuan woke up leisurely.


    He had been in this realm of soul consciousness for three days, and the three days had passed so quickly that he had to peel himself away from his hard-won happiness before he could even taste the sweetness.


    He still had to go and find the rest of the soul ash, and could not spend any more time here.


    The man in her arms was sleeping. Yan Yuan estimated the time of their first encounter, and by this time, Xuan Long should have had a child in his womb. No wonder he always slept for so long. He pressed his palm against Xuan Long''s still-flat stomach. He thought of the child he had lost with Xuan Long''s death in battle in the Heavenly Realm, and the thought made his heart twinge.


    Xuan Long woke up in the middle of his daze and raised his hand to touch Yan Yuan''s face, pulling him back to reality.


    Yan Yuan obediently grabbed the man''s hand and kissed it, smiling as he asked, "Did you sleep well?"


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    "How are you?"


    Yan Yuan looked deeply at him and softly said, word for word, "With you, I am good.¡± Then, without waiting for Xuan Long''s reaction, he took his whole body into his arms including his head and said dumbly, ¡°A''Po, I will take you to a place, will you come with me?"


    ¡°Where?" A muffled voice came from his chest.


    Yan Yuan paused: "A place where I will always be in the future."


    Xuan Long: "The Imperial Palace?"


    Yan Yuan didn''t know how to say it for a moment, and fearing that he would suffocate, he loosened the force in his arm and said, "Not the palace, but somewhere else."


    Xuan Long lifted his head, his icy turquoise eyes gazing at him, "Okay."


    Yan Yuan knew that Xuan Long, who loved him, had always been easy to coax, but every time he felt his partner''s unconditional trust, he still felt his heart fluttering, especially after all the bastardly things he had done.


    "You won''t ask where?"


    Xuan Long shook his head.


    "It is good to have you there."


    If only that were true.


    Yan Yuan coaxed Xuan Long into the soul gathering box without much effort. The moment his soul consciousness was collected in the box, the scene around him instantly changed back to the same ice-cold darkness of the night three days ago.


    He stood in front of the Jing Yu Lou with the soul gathering box, his tall, upright figure standing alone, almost swallowed by the night.


    Those three days were like a big stolen dream.


    When the time came, it was time to return it...


    Yan Yuan tightened the soul gathering box in his arms, as if he was holding Xuan Long in his arms. After a long time, he turned around, his desolate back gradually disappearing into the night.


    For the next month, Yan Yuan wandered the world in search of Xuan Long''s broken soul consciousness. Using his instant teleportation technique, he could easily reach the places he wanted to go, so the journey did not take much time. The more soul consciousnesses he found, the stronger the soul gathering box became in pulling him to find the rest.


    Later on, for every soul consciousness he collected, the jewel in the centre of the soul gathering box would produce a blue thread-like halo of light that would float in the air and lead him directly to the next realm.


    Along the way, Yan Yuan found that within Xuan Long''s soul consciousness, whether it was an obsession or a nightmare, almost all of them were related to him, and only a few involved unrelated strangers.


    For example, the young Xuan Long, who had wandered all the way to the thousand-year-old pond when he was a child, thought that the human race would not hate him as much as his own people did, and tried to play with the young human children, only to scare the timid ones into tears when he approached them.


    Xuan Long was helpless and tried to explain that he would not harm anyone, but before he could say anything, the parents of the children ran out at the sound of the cries, and he fled, hiding in the shadows, and heard the human children call him a demon.


    He was indeed a demon, and even if he did not harm people, it would not change that fact. Understanding that he was not welcome, the young Xuan Long stopped trying to get close to them, and he lived on his own, a small dragon, raising himself with difficulty, and then meeting Yan Yuan.

 CH 118

    The Road to Collecting the Soul, The Dragon Realm ¨C Part One


    In the sky, Yan Yuan was flying with his feet on the cloud, following the long, thin blue thread floating in the air in front of him. He was flying very quickly, standing still, his robe fluttering, his long hair, half tied and half draped, dancing in the wind.


    Suddenly, the blue thread twisted and turned like a snake and flew rapidly downwards, followed by Yan Yuan, who broke through the clouds to reveal a lush, quiet valley below.


    The fresh air of the valley was cool after the rain, and a huge stone monument stood to the right of the entrance to the valley, with the words ''Dragon Realm'' chiselled on it in a powerful manner.


    The moment Yan Yuan landed, the cloud disappeared from beneath his feet, and he gazed deeply at the name of the realm painted in red on the stone tablet, his heart tightening.


    This was the place where Xuan Long had been born in this life.


    Once he had entered the realm of the soul consciousness, he should be able to see more of it, of Xuan Long''s past.


    And having come all the way to this place meant that it was getting closer and closer to the rebirth of Xuan Long... Soon, he would be able to see that dragon standing alive in front of him.


    Without staying too long, Yan Yuan manifested the soul gathering box from his spiritual sea and held it in his hand. With a wave of his raised sleeve, his body vanished in its place and he followed the guidance of the blue thread of the soul gathering box into the valley. When he reappeared, he was in front of a small, elegant bamboo building.


    The blue thread burrowed back into the jewel of the soul gathering box from mid-air, and the jewel continued to glow blue, proving that he had found the right place.


    The moment he stepped into the realm of the soul consciousness, lightning flashed in the sky and the rain poured down in torrents, with coils of lightning tearing the grey sky into countless pieces.


    The rain poured down heavily, but Yan Yuan was as dry as ever. His soul was not from this world, and no amount of rain or snow could help him, but the same could not be said of those who were from this world.


    He turned around as if he was aware of something and saw a man in black clothes, soaked to the skin, coming this way. The man in black clothes was carrying a man in his arms, who was very tall and must have weighed a lot. Xuan Long was slim and carrying such a grown man, each step was difficult and the footprints on the ground were sometimes light and sometimes shallow, and he was liable to fall at any moment.


    The man being held was badly wounded, with an arrow feather sticking out of his heart, the white robe on his chest stained red with blood, and his face pale from the rain. Xuan Long would occasionally hug the man in his arms, rubbing his cheek against his forehead and murmuring something.


    Yan Yuan could not hear him.


    But through the rain and mist, he could feel Xuan Long''s fear and helplessness at the moment.


    It seemed as if the person in his arms was someone who was very important to him, someone he absolutely could not lose.


    As Xuan Long carried the unconscious man through Yan Yuan''s body, Yan Yuan saw clearly the face of the person in Xuan Long''s arms, and the person being held was himself.


    After experiencing Xuan Long''s various realms of soul consciousness, Yan Yuan was no longer as prone to losing control as he had been at first. He was gradually able to remain calm and face all this with the mindset of a bystander, telling himself that all of that was behind him, and that from now on, his A''Po would not live such a miserable life again.


    However, there were times when it was impossible to remain calm.


    Like this moment, for example.


    Yan Yuan saw the stubborn dragon, who had hugged him and knelt down in the pouring rain in order to beg the healer to save his life, bow his head.


    "Please..."


    "Please save him..."


    Hoarse, trembling, humble, begging.


    "Are you leaving or not? If you don''t go, I''ll go."


    "Stay here on your knees, kneel until tomorrow for all I care." The healer would not lend him a hand, and the door of the bamboo building was slammed shut


    Xuan Long knelt as if he had not heard, not moving, as if he would kneel until tomorrow, or the day after, or forever, if the healer did not say yes.


    Because he wanted to save his lover''s life.


    But what kind of lover was he? He had been deceiving him from the start. When the ugly truth was revealed, a normal person would have gone far away. No one would go out of his way to save someone who had betrayed him.


    Such stupidity and foolishness, Xuan Long was probably the only one.


    Yan Yuan fell to his knees beside Xuan Long, screaming at him, telling him to go away, to leave him alone, that the man in his arms was an ungrateful bastard, that he should not torture himself for him.


    Xuan Long couldn''t hear him.


    What had happened long ago would not change just because Yan Yuan regretted it.


    He saw Xuan Long hugging him and kneeling in the rain for nearly two hours before the healer finally softened his heart, opened the door and came out, saying he was willing to save this human being, but on one condition.


    The condition was that Xuan Long''s remaining dragon horn was to be taken.


    Xuan Long agreed without even thinking about it.


    He had clearly said that having a pair of beautiful dragon horns was a matter of pride for their dragon clan. There was only one left, so how could he just give it to someone else?


    He was so determined to give it away.


    It was as if Yan Yuan''s existence was more important than anything else that Xuan Long had.


    The dragon horn was given as payment for the healer to save the person, but to truly save him, one thing was needed.


    The dragon''s inner elixir.


    Inside the bamboo building, in front of the bed, the healer asked Xuan Long.


    "Think about it, if you give him this inner elixir, your ten thousand years of Tao will be scattered. You are pregnant now, without the inner elixir, the foetus will eat away at your soul power and grow. By then, you will live at most three years."


    "Do you really want to destroy ten thousand years of Taoism for him? Is it worth it?"


    Not worth it.


    Yan Yuan answered for him in his heart.


    It''s not worth it, it''s not worth it, it''s not worth it at all¡­ A''Po, don''t be so soft-hearted.


    Yan Yuan shook his head with red eyes and prayed, prayed that that answer would not come out of Xuan Long''s mouth, so that he could feel better.


    "I''ve thought it over."


    "Please help me, Senior." Xuan Long''s low, warm, slow voice rang through the room.


    He was firm but indifferent, as if he was buying some insignificant commodity rather than offering up his inner elixir and sacrificing his life. His gaze remained glued to the unconscious man on the bed for a moment.


    Next, Yan Yuan witnessed the process of his own rescue and healing.


    Witnessed how the inner elixir was forced out of Xuan Long''s body and how it was incorporated into his own body by the healer.


    He cut off the dragon''s horn for him.


    The healer advised Xuan Long to remove the child from his womb so that he would still have a hundred years of life, like an ordinary human being.


    Xuan Long said, "... I don''t want to part with it."


    He was so full of hope that Yan Yuan would love the child as much as he did that he sent Yan Yuan back to the palace, and promised Yan Yuan that he would stay, deciding to forget the past and the fact that he had been deceived and used, and to live out his remaining three years by Yan Yuan''s side.


    He thought that Yan Yuan would protect the child.


    But Yan Yuan did not. Yan Yuan forced him, tortured him, and used up his three years so quickly that he did not even make it through one year.


    At the end of the dream, the scene shifted to the palace, where he pestered Xuan Long for intercourse, after which Xuan Long hesitantly said that there was something he wanted to ask him.


    It was rare to see the man so apprehensive, so Yan Yuan was curious, but before Xuan Long could finish, someone outside announced that Ning Zhiyu was seriously ill, so Yan Yuan left Xuan Long behind without thinking.


    That dragon sat on the bed in a daze, looking out of the window for a long time.


    The ''Yan Yuan'' in the realm of soul consciousness disappeared, so the Yan Yuan in reality could appear in front of Xuan Long.


    He was so upset that he deliberately went around to the door, made it look as if he had gone out and returned, and pushed the door in.


    Hearing the movement, Xuan Long turned his head to look, saw that it was Yan Yuan returned, and was a bit overwhelmed: "How did you come back... he..." He wanted to ask how Ning Zhiyu was, the words came to his mouth, but he didn¡¯t ask. After all, he was not so generous that he could not care about the health of his beloved''s lover in a calm manner, so he turned his head to the side and hung his eyes without saying anything.


    Yan Yuan slowly walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, gently grabbed Xuan Long''s hand and held it, smiling softly, "Don''t you have something to say to me? I have to listen carefully to all your words."


    Xuan Long raised his icy turquoise eyes to look at Yan Yuan, the knot in his throat bulging: "I..."


    If he had been this inquisitive before, Yan Yuan would have been impatient, but not now. From now on, his patience would be given to his lover and child. ¡°Mhmm, say it."


    Xuan Long was a little embarrassed and lowered his eyes to mull it over for a long time before he spoke arduously.


    "... I''m pregnant."


    The two words were soft, but clearly heard.


    Yan Yuan thought of his own shocked performance at that time when he was told the news, it really broke the dragon''s heart. That bastard had even asked Xuan Long to abort the child that he had barely managed to have. Fortunately, their baby was now doing well.


    "Oh, if you are pregnant, then let''s have it." He said with a smile as the ends of his eyes reddened slightly.


    How good it would have been if that was how he had responded to him in the first place...


    Xuan Long''s hand hanging on the bedding unconsciously tightened and he asked, pretending to be bashful, "Do you really think so?"


    Yan Yuan sensed his uneasiness and shook his hand firmly, looking at him frankly: "Why do you have such an expression? I am happy with you and will love our child properly."


    ¡°En." Certain that Yan Yuan did not seem to be lying, Xuan Long''s entire body relaxed, lowering his eyes to hide the joy rising in his turquoise eyes as he murmured. "Then I am relieved..."


    "Relieved about what?" Yan Yuan asked knowingly, as if he had a lump in his throat.


    Xuan Long shook his head, "Nothing."


    He would not tell Yan Yuan about the matter of him leaving, no matter what. This was something Yan Yuan knew very well, because Xuan Long was afraid that he would be upset.


    Yan Yuan did not poke at it, weaving a beautiful dream of his own in the dream world: ¡°A''Po, I won''t be the emperor anymore, I''ll take you away."


    Xuan Long turned his head in surprise: "... Where are we going?"


    "Wherever you want to go, we will go. From now on it will be just you, me, and the child, the three of us living together, okay?..."


    Xuan Long was silent for a moment, "What about your empress?"


    Yan Yuan smiled, "I will let him out of the palace and give him his freedom."


    "It is enough for me to have you."


    Xuan Long frowned, "But..."


    But I don''t have much time left to live.


    Yan Yuan did not speak, waiting for Xuan Long to answer. After a while, Xuan Long spoke indifferently, "You have married the Empress, you should treat him well."


    Yan Yuan looked at the man''s silent, cold profile and said dully, "But I don''t love him."


    Xuan Long''s eyes were puzzled as he murmured, "... You don''t love him?"


    Earlier, Yan Yuan clearly did not say that.


    Yan Yuan said that Ning Zhiyu was his beloved, and if Ning Zhiyu died, he would die too.


    "I love you." Yan Yuan said to Xuan Long hoarsely, ¡°A''Po... I love you."


    If he did not say it today, he might not have the chance later.


    "... You must have had too much to drink today." Xuan Long instinctively drew his hand back.


    He had long since become confused and did not want to fall back into the swamp and lose himself.


    Yan Yuan grabbed Xuan Long''s hand and pulled him into his arms, his arm wrapped around Xuan Long''s waist, and before Xuan Long could react, he cupped his face with his other hand and leaned in to kiss him on the lips.


    The two men''s breaths met and burned hotly. Xuan Long forgot to struggle as Yan Yuan''s loving kisses fell on his eyelids and between his brows, and he asked huskily:


    "Don''t you like that I love you?"


    "......"


    He liked it.


    Liked it so much that it would kill him.

 CH 119

    The Road to Collecting the Soul, The Dragon Realm ¨C Part Two


    The Dragon Realm matriarch''s residence was an eight-storey courtyard, with two imposing stone statues of blue dragons at the entrance, one on the left and one on the right, and a vermillion gate inlaid with dark gold bronze rings.


    Yan Yuan had just come out of the last realm of soul awareness when he was drawn here by the soul gathering box. Xuan Long didn''t tell him much about his family, only mentioning that his mother didn''t like him very much.


    If she could ruthlessly cut off one of her own son''s horns and then expel him from the Dragon Realm, that was more than dislike, it must have been a blood feud.


    He had never asked Xuan Long why, but now he had to find out why his mother had treated him so cruelly. Had the young dragon really made some unforgivable mistake when he was young?


    Without stopping outside, Yan Yuan raised his hand and cast a spell on himself, and in a few moments he entered the realm of soul consciousness.


    After passing through the closed doorway, he saw a small bridge and a harmonious scene of flowers and birds in the courtyard. After passing through some stone arches, he reached the backyard.


    Inside the hall, the family was gathered around the table, having their meal.


    The beautiful woman at the main seat must be Xuan Long''s mother, dressed in a red silk dress with two thick and slender dragon horns extending from her hair, smiling gently as she brought chopsticks up to feed the children and said a few trivial homely words, telling them not to play around and to practise well.


    The oldest of them looked close to eighteen years old, while the youngest looked like a human of seven or eight years old.


    Yan Yuan had seen him as a child in Xuan Long''s nightmares. He should have been the youngest child in the family, and when he was expelled he looked about the same as a human at four or five years old, very skinny and small.


    Among the six children at the table, Xuan Long was the only one missing.


    The family was eating happily together, and it should have been easy to notice that someone was missing, but no one at the dinner table mentioned Xuan Long, as if his presence in the family was equivalent to air.


    As Yan Yuan was lost in thought, soft, almost cautious footsteps came from behind him, as well as a tender young child''s voice.


    "... Mother."


    Yan Yuan reflexively turned to look and saw the young Xuan Long standing outside the doorway, his icy turquoise eyes gazing silently at the woman in the middle of the main table. Even though his face was expressionless, Yan Yuan could see the longing in his heart, the longing for his mother to allow him to eat with his family, or to hug him and smile at him.


    Yet there was neither.


    The woman''s originally loving expression turned icy cold the moment her gaze touched the young dragon''s appearance, and she threw the chopsticks in her hand at him in a fury.


    "Get lost, don''t call me mother, I don''t have a son like you!"


    The chopsticks struck Xiao Long''s cheek with spiritual energy embedded in them. Xiao Long ducked his head to the side but failed to avoid it, the tip of the chopsticks leaving a deep and long bloody slash on his cheek.


    He seemed to be used to being treated like this, he didn''t make a fuss when he was hurt, he didn''t even raise his hand to wipe the blood dripping from the wound, he just stood there with his head to the side, seemingly frozen in time.


    "Get lost, you ugly bastard."


    "Don''t interfere with our meal."


    "Lonely Heavenly Star."


    "The sight of you makes me sick to my stomach."


    Words of rejection from the siblings clamoured out of their mouths.


    As if he hadn''t heard, Xiao Long stared at the ground and said, "Mother, I''m hungry."


    The woman sneered, "Go find your own food if you are hungry."


    "It is already a great gift to give birth to you and to allow you to live. It is better for evil creatures like you to starve to death."


    The people closest to him were expecting him to die.


    Xiao Long obviously didn''t understand what he had done wrong. No matter how strong he was, he was still just a child. He stood there, his knees not yet as high as the threshold, and whispered with his head bowed, ¡°Mother... I know I was wrong."


    The woman''s face was grim: "What did you do wrong?"


    "The mistake was that you should not have been born."


    "Get out!"


    The woman was so disgusted with him that she slammed the bowl in front of her, shattering it with a crash on the floor. If he didn''t leave, the woman would probably have tipped the table over.


    Yan Yuan clenched his fists, almost wanting to rush over and clutch the woman''s collar and question her about why she was treating Xuan Long like this. He was so young, what mistake could he have made? Are the rest of the children heavenly gifts, while he was born lowly?


    Yet no one present could see him.


    Knowing full well that his family would not accept him, Xiao Long slowly turned and left the spot. Yan Yuan followed behind him quietly, watching him walk through the long corridor and through the round archway to a huge lake not far from his home.


    It was a harsh winter and the lake was thick with ice. Xiao Long tried, with little skill, to cut through the ice, but failed every time.


    With no one to teach him how to cultivate, there was no way to cut through the ice with his weak self-taught power, so he could not catch the fish underneath to satisfy his hunger.


    Most of the animals on the mountain hibernated and there was not even a shadow to be found, so he was hungry for days before he went to beg his mother.


    It didn''t take long to exhaust his spiritual energy and he sat down exhausted on the shore, bending his legs and resting his chin. He looked at the sun meeting the horizon in the distance, its golden rays reflecting beautifully on the ice in sparkling waves...


    It was lunchtime, and the dragon children who had been playing outside earlier were called back by their parents to eat.


    Every little dragon had a home that belonged to them, and parents who loved them and would do anything to defend their young if they were wronged outside.


    Why was he the only one who didn''t have a home...


    His mother had said that it was not his home, and that the reason she was willing to give him a utility room to sleep in was because it was where he was born. But being born here did not mean that it was his home, nor did it mean that his brothers and sisters were his kin.


    So where were his relatives... and where was his home...


    Xiao Long couldn''t figure it out.


    From a very young age, he didn''t cry much. A child who falls and cries in pain and is picked up anxiously by his family to comfort him will have the ability to express his grief, and a child who falls and bleeds without anyone looking at him will gradually lose the ability to shed tears.


    No one will care if he cries as loudly as he can, so it would be a waste of the little energy he had.


    He just sat there quietly on the shore. The blood on his face had already dried, the wound was two inches long and the flesh was hideously turned out, but he didn''t know how to treat it himself.


    How could such a young child dress his own wounds? He probably just endured the pain all the time, and as he endured it, it healed.


    Yan Yuan knew that Xuan Long had had a hard time as a child, but he never expected him to suffer to such an extent.


    No wonder... no wonder he was so easily deceived. A few sweet words and intimate intercourse tricked him into handing over his inner elixir and paying with his life.


    Because no one has ever treated him well.


    Thinking about his former self, he treated Xuan Long worse than his family did. His A''Po, who had never had a good life, thought he had finally found someone to rely on, but actually had a foot in hell...


    Yan Yuan''s heart ached beyond his control. He adjusted his complexion and was about to show himself in front of the young Xuan Long when he suddenly heard several sharp dragon roars in the distance and five or six small dragons of different colours rushed down from the sky, landing in the blink of an eye and taking human form.


    A group of dragons walked towards Xiao Long who was sitting on the ground. One of them, a white dragon boy who looked about ten years old in human age, put his hands together on his lips and shouted at Xiao Long in mock surprise.


    "Yo, the little bastard has come out to make a fool of himself again!"


    The green dragon boy next to him scoffed as he walked away, "He must have been kicked out by his mother again, he''s always sleeping outside his house in the middle of the night."


    "It''s so pitiful, not having a father is not enough, but even his mother doesn''t love him, hahaha."


    The silver dragon boy: "He deserves it, who told him to kill his father?"


    The white dragon looked at him in surprise, "Who did you hear that from?"


    The silver dragon lowered his voice: "My mother said that a hundred years ago, when the matriarch had a difficult birth, the matriarch''s husband went to Meimeng Mountain to find the Heavenly Fruit to save her, and was bitten to death by the divine beast guarding the Heavenly Fruit, and there was not even a corpse remaining. It was this ugly monster that killed his father."


    "If this ugly monster hadn''t existed, his father would still be in good health with the matriarch''s family. He is a disaster."


    This matter has always been a taboo in the dragon clan, an eternal pain in the matriarch''s heart, and no dragon is allowed to mention it. The silver dragon boy, who had overheard his parents, didn''t dare to make too much noise and told his playmate to keep it a secret, so he continued to bully the young Xiao Long, going over to him and kicking him in the back with his foot.


    "Hear that, ugly, you''re a disaster."


    A dusty footprint was left on his young back, which stood out on his black linen tunic. They were more than a year older than Xiao Long, who was no match for them, so he stood up silently and tried to leave, but these dragons saw that he was unprotected and pushed him back to the ground.


    "Did we let you leave?!"


    His small body rolled on the ground, his back hitting a sharp stone and cutting a hole in his tunic, and he was in too much pain to speak. The more silent he was, the harder the onlookers bullied him, teasing him by lifting their legs and running over him like monkeys, and Xiao Long curled up his body to protect his head.


    "Ugly, ugly, slightly slightly slightly~"


    "Cut the icy lake open and throw him in."


    A black dragon boy suddenly appeared in the sight of the dragons.


    The dragons froze.


    "This... is not good."


    Dragons like to play in the water, but if the water temperature is too low, it is very uncomfortable. In past years, there were young dragons who froze to death while playing in the lake. The lake suddenly froze over and the little dragons couldn''t break through the ice, so they froze to death over time and the parents cried so hard.


    "If he lives, sooner or later he will kill the whole clan." The black dragon boy stared at Xiao Long on the ground with an expressionless face, as if he were looking at a dead thing.


    "This is your own brother...¡± The silver dragon who was gloating earlier was afraid.


    The black dragon boy swept his eyes across the knife, and the silver dragon restrained his voice.


    In the end, however bold they were, they did not dare to kill the dragon openly, and left Xiao Long on the ground.


    When Xiao Long got up from the ground with difficulty, Yan Yuan wanted to hug him... A heavy rain suddenly fell from the sky, the sky became darker to the naked eye, and the originally frozen lake turned into a lush forest.


    Yan Yuan understood that it was Xuan Long''s nightmare that had transformed the scene.


    As he walked in the pouring rain, he heard the sound of a whip cracking in the distance...


    The woman in red was soaked to the skin, her hair plastered woefully to her face, and she carried a long whip in her hand, whipping viciously at Xiao Long who had fallen limp in the mud.


    "You god-damned lone star..."


    "It''s not enough that you killed my husband! Now you want to kill my son!! I''ll beat you to death, I''ll beat you to death!!!"


    Xiao Long was whipped to the bone, blood and muddy water mixed together in dark streams as he struggled to crawl over and grab the hem of the woman''s coat.


    "Mother... I know I was wrong."


    "I was wrong..."


    Where had he been wrong?


    If his birth had been a mistake, if he had been born to bear all this pain, then he would rather never have lived.

 CH 120

    The Road to Collecting Souls, The Deepest Obsession


    "If you know you are wrong, you should have died earlier!!!" The woman kicked Xiao Long away from her and he flew out of control, hitting his back hard against a thick tree trunk and falling into the mud, unable to move for a long time.


    He struggled to lift his head and saw the woman''s red boots approaching. He tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth, a lot of blood came up from the back of his throat, making his weak voice even more muffled.


    "Mo¡­ther..."


    Even if the woman treated him badly, she was still his mother, the one person in this world that he had a strong connection with, his family.


    He longed for his family to be soft on him. They didn''t have to be too nice, just not treat him so badly and allow him to stay in a corner where he could reach them.


    Yet they would not satisfy even this small desire... they were so stingy.


    Suddenly, an unbearable sharp pain came from the top of his head, a harsh sword light flashed, and his undeveloped little dragon horn fell into the mud. Blood dripped down from his forehead and into his eyes...


    "Today, with the broken horn as proof, I sever the ties between mother and son, from now on you are no longer a child of my Dragon Realm."


    The one he called his mother stood before him with her longsword, pouring all her coldness on him, blood sliding along the silver blade to the tip, drop by drop, falling into the mud...


    Xiao Long saw his mother turn, her figure getting farther and farther away, blurred almost beyond recognition in the rain and mist. He panicked completely and struggled through the pain to crawl forward, yet how could the one who had deliberately left him behind allow him to catch up?


    Soon he ran out of strength, his tiny body curled up on the ground, and his eyes closed wearily as he murmured.


    "Mother... don''t leave me..."


    "I''ll do as I''m told¡­ A''Long will do as he''s told."


    "Mother..."


    He should have cried, but the rain was so heavy that it washed his tears away.


    He knew he was probably going to die. Before he did, he thought, in a daze, of many thoughts, of his mother''s fair and beautiful skin, of those gentle hands that would serve food to his brothers and sisters, that would sew their spiritual robes, but would treat him harshly, would beat him, whip him, and would use those hands to hold the sword and cut off his dragon''s horn.


    His mother had clearly told her children that dragon horns were as important to dragons as having a handsome face, and that if they had a pair of beautiful horns, they would be respected by the people and could find a good spouse, so they had to take good care of their horns... He took this to heart, and when he was bullied, he protected them well, leaving not even half a scratch.


    How come his mother had to chop off his horn...


    Why, it was his mother...


    The rain that fell on him suddenly disappeared as his consciousness grew drowsy and he was about to fall into a deep sleep. Thinking it had stopped raining, Xiao Long opened his eyes with difficulty to see that the storm was still raging outside, and that a boundary had been cast around him.


    A beautiful looking human man knelt down in front of him and said to him, "Don''t be afraid... I''ll take you away."


    The man wore an elegant white robe, his long hair was half tied, and he looked like an exiled immortal. Xiao Long looked at him in a daze, not understanding why his eyes were so red, not understanding where the sadness under his eyes came from.


    Is he sad...


    Was he sad for him... was someone actually sad for him?


    "... Why, take me away?"


    Even his mother didn''t want him.


    "Because I like you." The man smiled, and looked like he was about to cry.


    "Like me..." The young dragon murmured and repeated, weakly. "No one has ever liked me..."


    Yan Yuan tenderly stroked the hideous burn mark on the little dragon''s pale face, and, trying his best to hold back the desire to shed tears, smiled, "Then there is now."


    "Will you come with me?"


    "I will treat you well and not bully you."


    Strangely, Xiao Long did not reject the approach of this man, he even had a great desire to be close to him. No one had ever said such a thing to him before, so he wanted to believe even the words of a stranger.


    Take him away, no matter who it was.


    "Will you... leave me behind... as Mother did?" Xiao Long asked breathlessly.


    Yan Yuan gazed into his disorganised turquoise eyes, raised three fingers to the sky, and said solemnly and hoarsely, "I will not, I swear."


    Never again.


    Xiao Long''s blood-stained hand slowly explored the hem of Yan Yuan''s shirt and gently grabbed it, "Then you... can take me away."


    "I can... do everything for you."


    Yan Yuan picked Xiao Long up from the ground with the gentlest of touches and stood up.


    Often empty and hungry, for a long time, the body of the young dragon in his arms was so light that it was almost weightless. He was clearly childlike, but his icy turquoise pupils did not have the innocence that a child should have, instead looking like a pair of dead wooden beads.


    Because no one will allow him to act spoiled, no one will be soft on him, Xiao Long was only four or five years old and was already trying to learn to be an adult.


    Although A¡¯Zhi was sensible and obedient, he often pestered Yan Yuan to pamper him and asked for new and exotic pastries from outside the palace. Unlike his A''Po, who had suffered so much from a young age.


    "I don''t want you to do everything, I just want you by my side."


    "From now on.. I''ll do everything for you" As if he had made up his mind, Yan Yuan looked steadily at the mud-stained face of Xiao Long in his arms and promised hoarsely.


    Then, he carried the young Xuan Long deeper into the jungle, his back disappearing into the rain.


    ......


    After collecting the two wisps of soul consciousness from the Dragon Realm into the soul gathering box, the jewel in the centre of the box suddenly flashed a not-so-strong green aura. Yan Yuan''s heart suddenly throbbed, thinking that all of the wisps of Xuan Long''s soul had been collected, however, the green aura passed in a flash and was extinguished in the blink of an eye...


    Ye Ling Shenjun used a voice transmission paper crane to tell him that when the collection of the soul was complete, the green aura that appeared on the soul gathering box would stay on for a long time, and if it went out in a flash, it meant that the collection of the soul was about to be completed, but there was still an important wisp or two of soul consciousness left that he needed to find.


    It would be more difficult to find this remaining one than the previous one.


    At first, Yan Yuan did not feel anxious. With the soul gathering box guiding him, he could find Xuan Long at the end of the earth, but soon, he found that the box was no longer responsive.


    Over the next few days, Yan Yuan searched everywhere Xuan Long could have gone, even looking again at the realms he had already travelled before, but found nothing...


    Yan Yuan did not understand why this was the case. Could it be that Xuan Long knew that his soul was being gathered and did not want to live again, so he was resisting him and avoiding him?...


    Once the deadline has passed, the divine power in the soul gathering box will collapse, and without the divine power to bind Xuan Long''s soul, it will be scattered, and then everything will be lost.


    And it would take ten thousand years to make another soul gathering box.


    Yan Yuan was so anxious that he could only turn to Ye Ling Shenjun again, who replied with a voice transmission paper crane, telling him to think carefully about what other long-cherished wishes Xuan Long had not been able to fulfil in his life, what his deepest obsessions were, and where he was most likely to stay.


    This was the same as saying nothing. Yan Yuan had searched all the places he could think of that were important to Xuan Long, what else could there be?


    Could it be... Hu Le?


    During that last period where Xuan Long was in pain and delirious, he used to talk about going to find a deserted valley with Hu Le and the child, and living together.


    That must have been the life he longed for most...


    Is that his deepest obsession?


    When Yan Yuan thought about it, he felt a pain in his heart, but when he thought about it more carefully, he felt that it was not right. In the realm of Xuan Long''s soul consciousness, the figure of Hu Le had appeared a few times, but it was far less frequent than his own.


    It should not be Hu Le.


    Then what could it be?...


    The lotus leaf porridge on the table was already cold, and the stack of buns in his hand hadn''t moved. The congee that he once loved the most now tasted like chewing wax, and he put the spoon down after a few bites.


    A golden light fell on Yan Yuan through the open window as he sat in the elegant hall on the first floor of Jing Yu Lou, his eyes drawn to the bustle of people downstairs.


    An old man with a straw stand filled with sweet and sour candied hawthorns, both large and small, kept shouting as he passed by.


    Yan Yuan forbade A''Zhi from eating too many sweet things, as they were bad for his teeth. He once took A¡¯Zhi out of the palace to the temple to pray for blessings. When A''Zhi saw the candied hawthorns, he couldn''t take his eyes off them. When he saw that his father was in a bad mood, he didn''t say anything even if he wanted to eat them. He lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out for a while, and when he couldn''t see them anymore, he lowered the curtain and obediently sat still.


    When they returned, Yan Yuan specially asked the palace staff to buy two bunches, and A''Zhi was overjoyed.


    It was the first time he had ever eaten candied hawthorns, and children are always excited to find something new and exciting.


    A''Zhi knew that his father didn''t like him to eat too many sweet things. Later, when he saw that Yan Yuan was always drunk, he hugged Yan Yuan''s neck and said that he would never eat candied hawthorns again, so could his father stop drinking too? A''Zhi was worried about his father.


    When Yan Yuan thought of that little boy, the corners of his lips curled up. When he brought A''Zhi back, he would buy him some candied hawthorns to coax him, so that he would not be angry with his father for leaving him behind for too long.


    In a blink of an eye, Yan Yuan suddenly felt blessed and his smile froze at the corners of his mouth.


    A¡¯Zhi.


    A¡¯Zhi.


    A¡¯Zhi...


    When Xuan Long left, the person he was most worried about was the child he had given birth to¡­ In the end, he even gave up his dignity just to beg him to let the child live.


    A''Zhi is Xuan Long''s deepest obsession.


    Xuan Long''s previous obsessions and nightmares were all scenes that he had experienced before, and when A''Zhi was born, Xuan Long did not even hold the child properly, so he did not think about it.


    How could it not have occurred to him?


    The child that Xuan Long had given up his life to protect, how could he be willing to leave him like that?


    Yan Yuan sprang up from his seat, the legs of his stool scraping against the floor with an ear-splitting sound, startling the guests in the room and causing them to look over. He laughed so hard that the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears, and leapt out of the window. A white light flashed in mid-air and he was gone in an instant, leaving the crowd dumbfounded.


    He had not seen his A''Zhi for more than a month, and had lost his A''Po for five whole years, and he was already missing them to the bone... Soon, they would be reunited.

 CH 121

    In the Future, You Will Be Taught by Father Himself


    When Hua Niang''s husband, the Snow Wolf Demon, was captured by the monks, she always felt that he would return and refused to leave the small house on Weihua Lane, the place where they had made their love contract and had children.


    It was only when Yan Yuan decided to give her A''Zhi, after her husband had already been missing for seven or eight years, that she went back to Flower Mountain, as it was not safe for her to be alone with two young children on Earth.


    Flower Mountain is the home of the Flower Spirit clan, and is also Hua Niang''s hometown, located in an uncontested corner of the Demon Realm, which Yan Yuan heard Hua Niang mention before he died. Now that he was the Emperor of Heaven, when he arrived at a place, he could knock on the ground at will and a land lord would come out to show him the way, and in no time at all, he could determine the way.


    When he was close enough, he could find them by their scent.


    It had just rained and the mountain was full of cherry blossoms in full bloom, filling every breath of air with a sweet fragrance. An unassuming wooden house is surrounded by a sea of flowers, small but exquisite, surrounded by a small courtyard with a half-human-tall wooden fence and a well made of pebbles.


    There was a little boy, about five years old, dressed in a clean little black robe, nestled by the well, fetching water. Half of his body was hanging down, and he was frowning as he struggled to lift the bucket full of water on the rope, his face slightly red and his breath uneven.


    A human five year old was rolling around in the mud, not able to do any work, it was just good enough if they behaved. The little boy, however, was already able to help the adults. He had inherited some of Xuan Long''s spiritual energy and had been stronger than his peers since he was a child, but the bucket filled with water was heavier than his whole body, so it was impossible to lift it without straining.


    When the bucket was lifted out of the well, it spilled a bit because he couldn''t hold it steady. He put the bucket on the ground, untwisted the rope wrapped around the handle little by little, and stood there for a while before lifting the handle with both hands and wobbling towards the house, the water sloshing out and wetting the little boy''s clothes.


    ¡°A''Zhi..."


    A hoarse, muffled call scattered through the air.


    The little boy froze at the sound and turned around with difficulty, while holding the bucket of water, to see a man standing outside the half-human-tall wooden fence. The man was dressed in white robes, the fiery red sunset in the background, the hem of his garment dancing in the wind, his smile so gentle with the sadness of a long separation and the joy of a reunion that A''Zhi felt it was surreal.


    "Father?..."


    At a young age, A''Zhi has a calmness beyond his age, but at this moment, his eyes were uncontrollably growing red. He looked at Yan Yuan, his voice was mute, and he was about to cry.


    "Father... when will you and Mother come to fetch me."


    ¡°A''Zhi misses you so much..."


    Yan Yuan shrunk an inch and appeared in front of A''Zhi in a flash. He slowly squatted down and raised his hand to caress A''Zhi''s face, smiling, "Father is here to pick you up now."


    A''Zhi looked at Yan Yuan in a daze. When Yan Yuan was about to touch him, he suddenly took a step back, and the cold well water spilled over half of his body without him even noticing.


    A''Zhi held back his tears. No matter how strong he was, he was only a five year old child.


    "Don''t lie to me..."


    ¡°A''Zhi dreams of Father every night, and Father says every time that it''s soon, soon... but when is soon, and when exactly will A''Zhi grow up."


    "The demons in the academy say that growing up takes a long, long time, and that to die is to die and there is nothing left. Father said that when A''Zhi grows up he will come back for A¡¯Zhi, but in fact it was all a lie, right?" As he said that, tears fell down the little boy''s face.


    Yan Yuan''s hand froze mid-air, his heart felt like a knife was twisting inside: "It''s not..."


    A''Zhi was so aggrieved that he choked up with emotion: ¡°A''Zhi dreams of Father every night, and every time he tries to touch him, he disappears immediately... This time it must be a lie too, Father doesn''t want A''Zhi anymore, so he left him alone, so A''Zhi doesn''t want to see Father anymore either...¡± Even though he said this, he was reluctant to leave.


    Even if he was dreaming, he wanted to see his father more and stay with him longer.


    Yan Yuan was heartbroken and entertained at the same time, because this little boy thought he was dreaming. He lifted his hand and executed a spell, and the bucket in A''Zhi''s hand fell to the ground, leaving no weight in his hand. A¡¯Zhi slowly looked down to see.


    Yan Yuan opened his arms and took the little boy in front of him into his arms, looking at his turquoise pupils, similar to those of Xuan Long, and said in a soft voice, "Silly A''Zhi, Father has never lied to you."


    "If you touch Father''s face, you will know whether it is true or not."


    In his dream, his father would only smile at him from afar and say something ethereal, and it was impossible for him to touch it. Only then did A''Zhi gradually realise that he might not be dreaming.


    But isn''t Father dead? They all said that his father was dead and that he was a fatherless, motherless child.


    A''Zhi lifted his small hand very slowly and touched Yan Yuan''s cheek, fearing that his dream would be shattered. After feeling that real, warm touch, a sourness rushed up in his nose and instantly filled his eyes with hot tears as he softly called out, "Father..."


    Ever since A¡¯Zhi was born, he had not left Yan Yuan''s side. At first, after being separated for so long, Yan Yuan''s heart was also filled with mixed feelings, and he was extremely sad.


    The end of Yan Yuan''s eyes were red, and he used his fingertips to wipe away the tears on A''Zhi''s face, smiling, "You are Father and Mother''s baby, how could Father not want you."


    "Don''t listen to the nonsense of others."


    A''Zhi stopped talking and suddenly jumped into Yan Yuan''s arms, his little arms tightly wrapped around Yan Yuan''s neck and he called out sullenly for his father.


    Yan Yuan raised his hand and patted his back. As if some mechanism had been triggered, A¡¯Zhi cried out uncontrollably, his voice rising from small to loud as Yan Yuan comforted him.


    "Father... Father..."


    ¡°A¡¯Zhi misses you so much..."


    ¡°A''Zhi thought you really didn''t want me anymore¡­ wu wu wu wu wu..."


    Yan Yuan knew he was sad and knew he needed to vent his frustrations, so he hugged him and let him cry, patting his back over and over again. His shoulders became soaked with warm tears, and while his heart ached, he thought, if Xuan Long knew he had caused their child such grief, he would surely hate him even more.


    Yan Yuan sighed softly in his heart and said, ¡°A''Zhi don''t cry anymore, Father will go buy you candied haws to make up for your sins, okay?"


    A''Zhi slightly loosened his hand around Yan Yuan''s neck, his red eyes looked at him and said seriously, ¡°A''Zhi doesn''t want candied haws, as long as Father comes back, that''s enough."


    Yan Yuan laughed and scratched his small nose with his fingers, "How can A¡¯Zhi be so generous?" He really is just like his mother.


    A''Zhi leaned his face onto Yan Yuan''s shoulder and said softly, "Because Father treats A''Zhi the best."


    Yan Yuan: "Is Aunt Hua treating you badly?"


    A¡¯Zhi shook his head and explained in a small voice, "Aunt Hua treats A''Zhi well, but Father is the best and the most important."


    Yan Yuan''s palm stroked the back of A''Zhi''s head, unconsciously thinking of something, his gaze turned dark: "Father is not as good as you think... your mother is the one who treated you the best. When he gave birth to you, he suffered a lot and endured a lot of pain, so when you see him in the future, you must treat him well and not make him sad. Do you understand?"


    A¡¯Zhi nodded obediently, indicating that he had understood, and then asked with some anticipation, "Has Father gotten Mother back yet?... When can A''Zhi see Mother?"


    "... Soon."


    "Soon, you will be able to meet him."


    "He is definitely looking forward to seeing you too." Yan Yuan said with a smile.


    The location of the last wisp of soul ash scattered on Earth had already been determined. Just as he stepped into Flower Mountain, the soul gathering box had reacted, proving that Xuan Long was here.


    Once the last wisp of soul consciousness was collected, he would be able to take Xuan Long back to the Nine Heavens and ask his mother to rebuild his body, and Xuan Long would be able to live again.


    ¡°A''Zhi has to hurry and fill the water jar, Aunt Hua will be back soon." The little boy in his arms suddenly let go of Yan Yuan and prepared to lift the bucket of water on the ground.


    Yan Yuan furrowed his long eyebrows and clasped A''Zhi''s small body, his heart aching: "Why do you have to do this?"


    A''Zhi paused, "Aunt Hua goes to the deep mountains every morning to collect spiritual medicine in exchange for demon coins for A''Zhi and Ying¡¯er Jie Jie to eat, dress and study. It¡¯s very hard work, and when she comes back at night she has to cook and clean. A''Zhi doesn''t want to make Aunt Hua so tired."


    "... If she were to see A''Zhi working, she would be angry, so I have to get everything done that I can before Aunt Hua returns."


    A small demon with a low cultivation level like Hua Niang was not well off anywhere. For a powerful demon, cooking and washing were just a matter of snapping one''s fingers, but for Hua Niang, it was not easy, and she had to do one thing at a time, just like a human, which was naturally tiring.


    When Yan Yuan died, he left Hua Niang a lot of money, but the human currency was not the same as the demon currency, so when she took the children back to Mount Hua, the gold and silver treasures were useless.


    "I''m sorry, it''s Father''s fault for not thinking¡­ for making you all suffer."


    A¡¯Zhi lifted his little hand and touched Yan Yuan''s cheek, his icy turquoise eyes clear as water, "A''Zhi is not suffering, he just misses Father sometimes."


    "It''s Aunt Hua who is suffering."


    "Good A''Zhi" Yan Yuan gently took the little boy into his arms, and his nose was filled with a faint cold scent; he had Xuan Long''s blood in him, and had the same scent as Xuan Long.


    After a few sniffs, Yan Yuan picked the little boy up and walked towards the house, ready to take a look at the interior.


    The house was simply furnished, with every piece of furniture showing its age, but it was neat and tidy. In the centre of the house stood a four-sided table, with wooden stools grouped under it and a pale pink tablecloth covering the top, adding a lot of warmth to the house, in the style of the flower maidens.


    The outer room contained the stove and the dining room, while the inner room was the bedroom.


    At this time of the day, A''Zhi and Ying¡¯er are usually at the Goblin Academy, but today they are off. Hua Niang has gone out to collect herbs as usual, and Ying''er went with her. A''Zhi wanted to stay at home and do some chores for her, so he deliberately pretended to sleep.


    Yan Yuan carried A''Zhi around the house, listening to him talk about what he had experienced over the past month, his heart as soft as water. He saw a water jar placed next to the stove, and lifted his sleeve and waved, immediately filling the water jar.


    When A''Zhi saw this, he was puzzled, "Father... are you not a mortal?"


    Yan Yuan smiled lightly and did not say much: "Once I was, but now I''m not."


    His mother was a powerful dragon, so the fact that his father suddenly had spiritual power was not particularly strange to A''Zhi. He paused for a moment and whispered, ¡°¡­A''Zhi studied spells at the Goblin Academy and has yet to learn how to manipulate his spiritual power, so Master and my peers say that A¡¯Zhi is stupid."


    Seeing the little boy''s downcast look and not knowing how much grievance he had secretly swallowed, Yan Yuan suppressed his heartache and stroked his little dragon horn.


    ¡°A''Zhi is not stupid, you were born a dragon and a phoenix among men, and you could recite three thousand ancient poems at the age of three. It must be because those demons cultivate a method that clashes with your spiritual core. It¡¯s because they don''t know how to teach you, later on, Father will teach you personally."


    "When your mother returns... he will also teach you."

 CH 122

    Going Home


    As the evening sun faded and the sky darkened, Hua Niang, carrying a bamboo basket full of elixirs and holding a little girl of seven or eight years old, entered the courtyard with a smile, pushing open the wooden fence.


    Both mother and daughter were wearing pink dresses and had pink ribbons tied in their hair, like a pair of sisters.


    ¡°A''Zhi, come out quickly, Aunt Hua has brought you..." The moment she raised her head and saw Yan Yuan, who was holding A''Zhi in front of the wooden house, Hua Niang froze in place.


    "You..."


    "You''re not..."


    Yan Yuan smiled, "I''ve come to take A¡¯Zhi home."


    His body was surrounded by strong divine energy, and without much explanation, Hua Niang soon understood the reason. After dying on Earth and ascending to become an immortal, he could stand in front of her properly.


    Hua Niang was still a bit overwhelmed by the suddenness of his appearance. She looked at the man in the white robe and said, "Don''t they say that all immortals are cut off from love... you still remember mortal affairs and remembered to come to fetch A''Zhi?"


    Yan Yuan smiled lightly and replied, "I remember."


    "The immortals are not cut off from love, immortals also seek immortal partners... to form love contracts and have children with their lovers."


    ¡°Really?" Hua Niang thought of something, despairingly dropping her eyes.


    The atmosphere became a bit depressed for a moment. A''Zhi did not know why Hua Niang was suddenly so sad, and could not help but call her in a small voice: "Aunt Hua..."


    ¡°Hey," The moment Hua Niang raised her head, her face showed a smile that contained the aura of heaven and earth, and she walked over with her daughter in tow, looking at A''Zhi. "Aunt Hua will make shrimp cakes for you to eat."


    "You guys stay and have dinner before you go."


    "Okay." Yan Yuan knew that Hua Niang must have something to say.


    Afterwards, they went inside, and Hua Niang greeted Yan Yuan and invited him to sit at the table, put down the bamboo basket on her back and began to prepare dinner. She and her daughter were flower spirits, so they only needed to drink the dew from flower petals to survive, and they ate lotus seeds and flower petal porridge. A''Zhi is different, he is the son of a human and a dragon and must have a good balance of meat and vegetables to be healthy. Hua Niang lived alone with her two children and although life was not easy, she never treated him harshly and the family prepared fresh ingredients every day. There was a guest today, but there were enough ingredients.


    Her husband is a snow wolf demon and is fond of human food, which Hua Niang has learnt to cook.


    She was chopping vegetables at the stove, and the little girl of seven or eight was crouched low on the floor helping her mother build the fire. Hua Niang was worried that her daughter would get burned, so she took the torch from her hand and stuffed it into the stove, stroked her head and told her to sit next to her, but the little girl blinked her pretty pink eyes and timidly glanced at Yan Yuan and A¡®Zhi every now and then, relying on her mother and refusing to go.


    In fact, Ying¡¯er and A''Zhi were not too close. A¡¯Zhi did not like to talk too much, he was always sullen, only when Hua Niang took the initiative to communicate with him was A''Zhi willing to say a few words. After all, such a young child, without a father and in a completely unfamiliar environment, no one would be able to get used to it right away.


    Once his father arrived, A''Zhi''s whole body came to life, wrapping himself around his father''s neck like a little octopus and burying his face in his shoulder, refusing to get off of him.


    When the food was served, Yan Yuan coaxed A¡¯Zhi to sit on a stool by him, while Hua Niang and her daughter took their respective seats at the table. Eight dishes and a soup were placed on the table, and the red candle in the centre was the only source of light in the room, but the dimness of the candle did not dispel the strange atmosphere in the room.


    Time could not wash away the past. Hua Niang deeply remembered how Xuan Long had died by Yan Yuan''s hand, and even if Yan Yuan had been a good father later, that was no reason for him to be forgiven, and she was in no position to forgive anything for Xuan Long.


    But A''Zhi needed his father, so they would have to sit here and have a good talk.


    "It''s a simple meal, so I hope the divine ruler won''t mind." Hua Niang spoke in a soft voice.


    Yan Yuan paused, "This time, it has been hard for you, thank you for taking care of my child for me."


    Hua Niang shook her head and gave a piece of shrimp cake to A''Zhi, and gave her daughter a bowl of flower petal porridge: "I did it for A''Long."


    Yan Yuan''s throat tightened, "Thank you anyway."


    The meal was very quiet. The children''s appetites were small and they were soon full, Hua Niang asked Ying''er to take A''Zhi out to the swing. A''Zhi looked at Yan Yuan and knew from the look in his eyes that his father also wanted him to go out for a while, so he took one step back and went to the courtyard with Ying''er.


    The only people left in the house were Hua Niang and Yan Yuan, who sat facing each other, and Hua Niang was the first to speak, ¡°A¡¯Zhi is very happy that you have returned."


    Yan Yuan: ¡°En, he has been with me since he was a child, so he will rely on me."


    Hua Niang was silent for a while and clenched her chopsticks in her hand: "You said that you immortals also get married and have children, so you will certainly get married in the future... Once you get married and have other children, can you still be good to A''Long''s child?"


    Yan Yuan slowly met Hua Niang''s gaze and laughed lightly, "I will not take a wife."


    "If I want to marry, I will only marry him."


    Hua Niang: "... What does that mean?"


    "He''ll be back soon." Yan Yuan whispered.


    Hua Niang''s eyes widened and she forgot to breathe for a moment, "You mean A''Long..."


    ¡°En."


    "I''ll use the soul gathering box to condense his soul and reshape his physical body, and he''ll be able to live again."


    "Don''t worry, A''Zhi won''t be bullied by anyone, and when his mother returns, no one will be able to bully him." Including myself, his own father.


    With Yan Yuan''s ability, if he wanted to take A''Zhi away by force, Hua Niang would not be able to stop him. There was no need for him to coax her, so it was all true... Hua Niang''s eyes were misted over as she murmured in disbelief, "You mean, A''Long¡­ A''Long can be reborn?"


    ¡°That ashes to ashes..."


    Xuan Long died in Yan Yuan''s arms, leaving with such sorrow and despair, they all saw it.


    ¡°En, I know, it was ashes to ashes." Yan Yuan''s voice was mute.


    "It''s good that the Heavens are still willing to give me the chance to redeem myself."


    Hua Niang smiled and cried, "That''s great... that''s great..."


    The two children outside were preoccupied with their own thoughts, and the swing was no longer interesting, so they both moved to the door and peeked into the house. Seeing her mother crying, Ying¡¯er quickly ran inside and threw herself into her mother¡¯s arms and hugged her waist.


    Seeing this, A''Zhi also entered the house and went to his father''s side. Yan Yuan lifted his arm and embraced A''Zhi''s small body, smiling at Hua Niang and saying, "You will have the chance to meet each other later."


    Before leaving, Hua Niang took her daughter''s hand and sent Yan Yuan and A''Zhi to the door. She hesitated to speak, but finally could not help but say, "When he returns, you must not rely on him being so kind... you may break his heart."


    "I know." Yan Yuan turned back and smiled.


    The woman watched his eyes, her heart was really worried that Xuan Long would be fooled by this very bewitching face again. She walked to A''Zhi, squatted and took A''Zhi''s hand, and instructed in a low voice, "From now on, A''Zhi should protect his mother, your mother is the most kind-hearted, do not let him be bullied by evil people."


    A''Zhi had not seen his mother since he was born, but he had heard his father tell him many things about him. If anyone dared to bully his mother, A''Zhi would fight to the death, so nodded immediately.


    "Don''t worry, Auntie Hua, A¡¯Zhi will."


    "Good boy...¡± It was not in vain for Xuan Long to fight to the death to give birth to him.


    Hearing what Hua Niang meant, Yan Yuan did not get angry and rubbed A''Zhi''s little head, saying in a warm voice, "Say goodbye to Aunt Hua."


    A¡¯Zhi lifted his hand and waved it, saying softly, "Goodbye, Auntie Hua, thank you for treating A''Zhi so well."


    ¡°A''Zhi will remember to miss you."


    Auntie Hua''s eyes were red at the end and she said yes repeatedly.


    A''Zhi waved his little hand again and said goodbye to the little girl in the courtyard, who waved back to him, whispering, ¡°Good bye A¡¯Zhi Di Di."


    When Yan Yuan was away, A''Zhi thought of his father day and night, but when he really had to leave, A''Zhi felt some reluctance in his heart. He turned his head towards the small courtyard behind him, which was caged in the moonlight, and kept looking at it. He was very affectionate, just like Xuan Long, and Yan Yuan promised him that he would soon be able to meet Hua Niang and her daughter again.


    Only then did A¡¯Zhi turn his head back and ask Yan Yuan, "Father, are we going back to the palace?"


    Yan Yuan took A''Zhi''s hand and walked deeper into the cherry blossom forest, answering in a soft voice: "Not to the palace, but to Father and Mother''s hometown."


    A''Zhi: "Where is home? Isn''t Chang''an Father''s hometown..."


    "In the sky."


    "But before we go back, we still have to pick up your mother first."


    As he spoke, the soul gathering box in Yan Yuan''s palm suddenly burst with blue light. He raised his hand and executed a technique, and a white light rose from his fingertips into mid-air and split in two, drilling into his and A''Zhi''s eyebrows at the same time.


    In an instant, the sky and the earth were brightly lit, the breeze blew, and cherry blossoms flew in the sky, as beautiful as a wonderland.


    Not far away there was a thin, dark figure walking among the cherry trees. The man was walking slowly, looking around as if he was looking for something, but he couldn''t find it, and panic showed in his icy turquoise eyes.


    "Shui Shui..."


    The man called out blankly, his soft voice drifting into Yan Yuan''s ears with the wind, causing Yan Yuan''s heart to explode with pain, and it took several calls from A¡¯Zhi before he came back to his senses.


    A''Zhi asked him why the sky had suddenly brightened, but Yan Yuan did not say anything, squatting down and hugging him, looking not far away and saying hoarsely, "A''Zhi, that is your mother."


    A''Zhi froze and looked straight over, "Mother?..."


    "Yes."


    "It is a wisp of your mother''s soul, if we bring him back, you will soon be able to truly meet your mother."


    Seeing the man in black clothes coming closer and closer towards them, A¡¯Zhi stared intently at the other man''s eyes which were the same colour as his own and tried to leave Yan Yuan''s arms to take the initiative to walk towards the man, but he was held by Yan Yuan.


    ¡°A¡¯Zhi, wait here for Father, Father will go over first."


    A¡¯Zhi: "Why?"


    "Doesn''t Mother like A''Zhi a lot..."


    At the moment, Xuan Long''s soul consciousness was incomplete, so he might not be able to recognize the grown-up A''Zhi. Yan Yuan was afraid that A''Zhi would be sad, so he made up a reason to coax him over. A''Zhi was always obedient, so he stayed where he was and waited.


    Yan Yuan got up and walked away.


    Xuan Long was searching too hard and only when Yan Yuan was in front of him did he look up as an afterthought, ¡°... A¡¯Zhi?"


    "What are you looking for?" Yan Yuan asked him.


    "I..." Xuan Long mumbled breathlessly as he looked down, "I seem to... have lost the child."


    "I have been searching for a long time..."


    "Why can''t I find him..."


    Yan Yuan grabbed his hand and held it hard, saying with red eyes, "No, you didn''t lose him."


    "You gave him to me after you gave birth to him, have you forgotten?"


    Xuan Long looked up at him in a daze, "... I gave him to you?"


    Yan Yuan nodded, ¡°En."


    "You said you didn''t want the child..." Xuan Long''s memory was clearly confused as he frowned and whispered a little sadly as if he was upset.


    ¡°Want, I want both you and the child." Yan Yuan hurriedly explained, raising his hand to cast his spiritual power not far away, and A''Zhi instantly changed from a five-year-old child to a baby in swaddling clothes, appearing in his arms.


    In fact, it was a cover-up technique.


    Yan Yuan handed A''Zhi over carefully.


    "Look, this is our child, I listened to your words and carefully named him A¡¯Zhi."


    The child in the swaddling clothes looked too small, Xuan Long had never held him before and didn''t quite dare to take him, his fingertips gently touched his soft little face, his eyes gradually moistened: ¡°A''Zhi..."


    ¡°En, you can be happy." Yan Yuan said with a smile.


    Xuan Long nodded his head and curled his lips, "I am happy."


    ¡°A''Zhi and I have come to take you home."

 CH 123

    Not a Dream


    The reason why the last wisp of soul consciousness was not pulled by the soul gathering box was because of the deep obsession it had during its life.


    The memory of this shattered wisp of soul consciousness was so badly mutilated that it only had a vague outline of what had happened in the past. Xuan Long only clearly remembered that he and Yan Yuan had a child, but the child disappeared before he could hug him.


    He did not know that it was not the child who disappeared, but that he had died, so naturally he could not see the child.


    When Yan Yuan entered his soul consciousness and showed him the child, Xuan Long''s wish was fulfilled and he was willing to listen to Yan Yuan and go home with him.


    The soul consciousness was obediently turned into ashes and burrowed into the small dark gold box with a dragon carving, and the realm of soul consciousness disappeared in a flash. The world was plunged back into darkness, the wind was blowing hard all around, and it was about to rain. When the soul gathering box in Yan Yuan''s hand shone with an indestructible green light in the cherry blossom forest, it reflected the red at the end of his eyes and his flying black hair.


    The soul gathering has succeeded...


    His A''Po, soon, will be back...


    The hem of his robe was tugged by the small child at his side, and A''Zhi''s childish voice came from the ground.


    "Father..."


    "Why is it dark again? Where is Mother?"


    Yan Yuan looked down at him and bent down to pick A''Zhi up, smiling, "Mother is sleeping in the soul gathering box."


    A¡¯Zhi followed Yan Yuan''s line of sight to look at the small dark gold box with a dragon carving in his hand, and stretched out his little hand to touch it reverently.


    "Come on, let''s go home." Yan Yuan smiled at A''Zhi''s tender white face, then raised his sleeve and waved it into the air. White light flashed, and father and son disappeared in an instant.


    One day in Heaven, one year on Earth.


    Yan Yuan had been walking on Earth for a month, but it was only an hour after he had spied his mother''s aura in the Nine Heavens, so he led A''Zhi back to the Dongji Palace.


    Behind the white gold bookcase, Ye Ling Shenjun was sitting on the ground, twirling a tea bowl in his hand, slowly sipping tea and reading a book, it looked like he hadn''t left Dongji Hall since Yan Yuan had left.


    "Moth... Father."


    "Back?"


    Two people, one large and one small, appeared out of nowhere in front of him. Ye Ling did not raise his head, finishing the page of the book before he looked up with a sense of satisfaction, "Where did you find this book of words, it is so intentional..." His smiling gaze touched the tender young person in Yan Yuan''s arms, and his breath paused, ¡°This is..."


    ¡°A''Zhi, my child with A''Po." Yan Yuan answered.


    Ye Ling put down his tea bowl and his book and stood up, walked to Yan Yuan, looked at the little boy for a moment, then smiled and concluded:


    "Like you."


    A''Zhi''s pupils and horns were like those of Xuan Long, but his face was more like Yan Yuan''s. His face was white and tender, his eyebrows were almost carved in Yan Yuan''s likeness, and his peach blossom eyes evoked a feeling of pity.


    Yan Yuan did not refute, A''Zhi did look like him.


    ¡°A''Zhi, this is Ye Ling Shenjun, who is your grandmother."


    A''Zhi was brought up as a crown prince, he understood the etiquette and greeted Ye Ling at once: "A''Zhi has met Shenjun..."


    "Good boy." Ye Ling happily stroked A''Zhi''s dragon horn, thinking that this little boy was more intelligent than Yan Yuan, and knew to call him Shenjun, if he called him grandmother, wouldn''t he be calling him old and... clearly telling everyone that he could give birth.


    Yan Yuan opened his palm and the soul gathering box suddenly appeared: "Father, I have brought A''Po back."


    Ye Ling Shenjun looked down and smiled happily: "I knew you would be able to do it."


    "Please help me, Father, and cast a spell to bring him back to life as soon as possible." During the past month, Yan Yuan had been travelling around the world with little rest, and his spirit had been tense for a long time, so it was inevitable that his eyes showed fatigue and his voice was hoarse.


    Looking at his appearance, Ye Ling Shenjun''s long eyebrows wrinkled slightly: "We still need one more thing before we can cast the spell."


    "What is it?" Yan Yuan was already impatient, no matter what it was, he was determined to get it. "Father, please tell me."


    Ye Ling hesitated to speak and sighed, "This journey will be more difficult and dangerous than the road to collecting the soul, you are not in the right state now, so go and rest for a day. I will lock up the soul gathering box to ensure that Xuan Long''s soul remains for a while longer, and we will discuss it after you have rested."


    ¡°Otherwise, if anything goes wrong along the way.. both you and Xuan Long will be broken."


    Ye Ling stepped forward to leave, but Yan Yuan grabbed his wrist as he passed him and whispered, "For his sake, I will go through mountains of sword and seas of fire, I will go through them all."


    "As long as A''Po doesn''t come back, I won''t be able to rest in peace."


    "Father, tell me."


    "I can do it."


    After a moment of silence, Ye Ling spoke with difficulty, "The heavenly fruits... are needed to reshape Xuan Long''s divine body, six heavenly fruits are needed."


    "Heavenly fruits?..." Yan Yuan murmured and repeated, vaguely thinking that it sounded familiar.


    ¡°En."


    "Mei Meng Mountain, also known as Nuwa''s Realm. Ten thousand thousand years ago, Nuwa''s immortal body was transformed into the six immortal trees on the Mei Meng Mountain after her death, and the fruit borne from those trees can make the dead souls who have transcended the six realms reshape their physical bodies. Regardless of whether they are human, demon, immortal or divine, as long as their hearts are sincere, one can enter Nuwa''s Realm to pick the immortal fruit, but after ten thousand thousand years, almost no one has ever succeeded."


    Yan Yuan instantly understood where Ye Ling''s heaviness came from: "... Why?"


    "Because regardless of the gods and demons, once they enter Nuwa''s Realm, they will lose all their spiritual power. Moreover, each immortal tree is surrounded by ancient divine beasts, which must be defeated in order to pick the immortal fruit."


    "For tens of thousands of years, how many living beings have been gnawed to death by those divine beasts... Only one person has ever succeeded."


    "Who is it?" Yan Yuan spoke with difficulty.


    The trailing spirit''s eyes were filled with regret: "Immortal Monarch Youran."


    "A thousand years ago, in order to save his immortal wife who had died in childbirth, Immortal Monarch Youran broke into Nuwa''s Realm alone and obtained six immortal fruits despite losing all his spiritual power, saving his wife''s life."


    Yan Yuan smiled with joy when he heard those words; since the other man could do it, he could do it too.


    "Later, although his wife survived, his spiritual body was too heavily damaged, and he died not long afterwards. In the end, his soul was separated from his body, leaving a pair of orphans and widows... eh."


    A pot of cold water poured down upon his head, extinguishing Yan Yuan''s elation. After a long silence, he smiled, pretending to be relaxed and said, "To be able to keep his wife and son alive... must have been a relief to that immortal monarch when he left."


    "Anyway, A''Po will never forgive me... if I die, he and A''Zhi will be able to have some peace of mind."


    Just now, A¡¯Zhi was arranged to follow the fairy eunuchs outside to go out and play. Fortunately, the child was not allowed to hear these words, and Ye Ling Shenjun slapped Yan Yuan''s head and spoke with a cold face:


    "Brat, what nonsense are you talking about."


    "If you die, won''t your father and I feel sad?"


    "I am saying this because I am telling you that you must not take things lightly when you enter Nuwa''s Realm, not that you should go with the intention of certain death. If you dare to die, as soon as Xuan Long returns to life, I will immediately arrange for the rest of the immortal gods to arrange a second marriage for him."


    "Father..." Yan Yuan frowned, his eyes reddening a little.


    In the end, Ye Ling was not angry with his son and soon softened his tone, raising his hand to his arm and squeezing it: "You live well, although you are not destined to be together, you can still look at him from afar when you want to see him."


    "You still have A''Zhi... can you bear to leave A¡¯Zhi without a mother and a father?"


    Yan Yuan couldn''t bear it.


    A''Zhi was obedient and was intentionally excused by the adults. He was willing to follow the immortal sister out to play, but after all, he had just returned to Yan Yuan''s side. He lacked security, and not long after he went out, he said he missed his father, and the immortal had to bring the little boy back.


    The conversation in the hall had already ended, and outside the door came the sound of the immortal''s announcement. Yan Yuan himself went over to open the door and picked up the little boy on the floor. A¡¯Zhi leaned over and wrapped his arms around Yan Yuan¡¯s neck, and spoke in a muffled voice, ¡°Father¡­"


    Yan Yuan''s big palm caressed A''Zhi''s young back, and he asked with a smile, "Why are you back so soon? Wasn''t it fun outside?"


    "It was fun, but A''Zhi wanted to be with Father more.¡± A''Zhi''s face was pressed against Yan Yuan''s neck and his arms were hugging tightly.


    Yan Yuan''s hand on A''Zhi''s back stopped, and he exchanged a glance with Ye Ling before speaking with difficulty, "... A''Zhi, Father will be away for a few days, so you can follow Ye Ling Shenjun for a few days, okay?"


    A''Zhi froze at his words and slowly loosened his arms, the ends of his eyes reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye: "Where is Father going?..."


    "Father is going to do some important things." Yan Yuan smiled, even though he had a million things in his heart, he would not cry in front of the child in his sober state.


    A''Zhi''s lips stammered and there was a faint cry in his childish voice: "Do you not want me again?"


    When Yan Yuan explained it, A''Zhi was finally willing to follow Ye Ling Shenjun for the time being. When Yan Yuan went out, he did not look back, the door of the hall was closed by the fairy eunuchs guarding him, and the sound of A''Zhi''s crying was heard from inside the hall, which he was trying to restrain.


    He was crying out for his father.


    Yan Yuan paused in his steps, his hands hanging at his side tightened little by little, and he tilted his head and took a deep breath.


    The only thing he could do was go forward, go forward, and not look back...


    Mei Meng Mountain is an existence that transcends the six realms, so if one is sincere, one can find it. Yan Yuan found the entrance un less than half a day following the information from Ye Ling Shenjun.


    When Yan Yuan was about to go up the mountain, he heard a dragon roar in the distance, and an ancient dragon with a black body came hovering through the clouds, stopping in mid-air and looking at Yan Yuan arrogantly.


    "Who is coming?"


    His voice was thick and low, echoing ethereally through the mountains.


    Unexpectedly, he encountered a divine beast just after entering Mei Meng Mountain. Yan Yuan could clearly feel his divine power fading at an extremely rapid pace, and he slowly pulled out the divine sword he wore at his waist, his face expressionless: "Purple Heavenly Monarch."


    The great black dragon was slightly surprised, "The Emperor of the Nine Heavens?" He soon regained his arrogance from earlier. "What is your purpose for entering Nuwa''s Realm."


    Yan Yuan gripped the sword in his hand: "To find the heavenly fruit and save my wife."


    "You don''t know your own strength." The giant dragon scoffed.


    "To get to the mountain, you need to sacrifice two of the seven emotions and six desires."


    "To obtain the six heavenly fruits, you also have to defeat the six divine beasts. For tens of thousands of years there have been countless dead bodies in this Nuwa''s Realm, so think before you make your decision..."


    The seven emotions are joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred and desire, and the six desires are hearing, sight, taste, smell, touch and intention.


    Losing any one of them would mean that one would no longer be complete.


    "I''ve made up my mind."


    ......


    One month later.


    The man on the couch slowly opened his icy turquoise pupils to the silvery white tent above him, and the air was filled with the familiar scent of iris flowers. He woke up and lay still for a long time, in a trance, convinced that he had had a long nightmare in which the man who said he would spend a million lifetimes with him had deceived him, lied to him and humiliated him...


    Sitting up slowly from the couch, Xuan Long raised his hand to the right side of his face and felt a hideous scar.


    It was not a dream.

 CH 124

    Divorce Letter


    The door of the hall was pushed open and a fairy eunuch in a white dress entered with a silver tray. She inadvertently raised her eyes and met those of the man on the bed. At first she was stunned, then a sad yet happy smile bloomed on her lips and her eyes quickly reddened.


    "General, you are finally awake..."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes: "Have I been sleeping for a long time?"


    The fairy was the head of the fairy eunuchs of General Xuan Hall, named Lian Bi, who had been with Xuan Long since he was first promoted to the rank of divine general.


    "You have been away from the Heavenly Realm for ten thousand years, indeed it has been a long time..." Lian Bi said as she slowly walked to the bedside with a tray. She picked up the jade bowl on the tray, and when her palm was closed, the tray disappeared and she handed the bowl of medicine to Xuan Long with both hands.


    "Your divine body has only recently been reshaped, your soul is still cracked and still weak, this is the elixir prescribed by the Medicine Immortal."


    Xuan Long''s long hair hung loose and he lowered his head without taking it. He looked lost in thought and muttered under his breath, "... It was him who saved me."


    Xuan Long remembered all the things that happened during the soul collecting process. At that time, his soul consciousness was shattered and his brain was confused, so he could not distinguish between the nightmare and reality. Now that his soul has been repaired, he could distinguish real from fake.


    It was Yan Yuan who broke into his realm of soul consciousness and brought him back to the Heavenly Realm.


    But why...


    "General..." Lian Bi wanted to speak but stopped, looking at Xuan Long with worry in her eyes.


    Xuan Long: "Just say what you have to say."


    The end of Lian Bi''s eyes were red and she spoke in a mute voice: "The Heavenly Emperor is getting married."


    "He is going to marry Immortal Monarch Zhiyu as the Heavenly Empress."


    Xuan Long was slightly stunned at her words, but then he calmly took the bowl of medicine from Lian Bi''s hand as if he had heard nothing: ¡°En, I understand."


    He tilted his head and drank the dark medicine in one gulp, raising his hand to wipe away the residual stains on his lips. Lian Bi took the medicine bowl back, clasped the side of the bowl tightly, and comforted him hoarsely:


    "There are many gentle and handsome divine monarchs in the Heavenly Realm. In fact, the Heavenly Emperor is not much better, he is only good looking, but what is the use of good looking? People who are unfaithful are not wanted in the end."


    ¡°Born with a good-looking face in vain, so blind in reality that he can''t even recognize his own lover..."


    "Lian Bi," Xuan Long interrupted in a soft voice, "it''s because we are no match for the fate of Heaven."


    Yan Yuan was not the only one who had seen the marriage book in the Hall of Gods.


    Xuan Long had known since he was a child that he was a Lonely Heavenly Star. When Yan Jing picked him up from the West Sea, he had often spoken to Ye Ling Shenjun, saying that this child had a bad fate and was destined to be lonely and miserable.


    He knew that Yan Yuan''s destiny was not him. Several tens of thousands of years ago, when Yan Yuan said that he wanted to form a love contract with him, he secretly went to the Hall of the Gods and saw that in the marriage book, Yan Yuan''s name was engraved alongside another person.


    He had searched through the marriage book but could not find his own name in it.


    He had always believed in fate, but when he met Yan Yuan, he didn''t want to believe in it anymore, for that person loved him with such passion and sincerity that even if the love he received was short-lived, he was unwilling to let go of it.


    So he was willing to defy the Heavenly Way, hoping to dream a dream that he would never wake up from... However, he woke up from that dream completely, and everything went back to the original path.


    In the end, Yan Yuan had to marry his Immortal Monarch Zhiyu.


    A walk through the mortal world made it clear who that person loved dearly.


    Lian Bi fought back the desire to cry out in pain: "Heavenly Way... Fuck the Heavenly Way!"


    "In the past, the Heavenly Emperor insisted on marrying you as the Heavenly Empress despite the opposition of the gods, and now he wants to marry someone else even before you have broken your contract. He has no regard for you! The gods and immortals are waiting to laugh at you!"


    "Look, if you love someone deeply enough, even the Heavenly Way can''t stop you!


    Perhaps, if they loved each other enough, they might not have been stopped by the Heavenly Way, but the truth is, they lost.


    No, to be precise, he lost.


    Having tasted the suffering of being tortured to death by the hands of the one he loved, how could he have the courage to fight against the Heavenly Way... He was tired.


    Xuan Long was spoken to by Lian Bi, but remained silent.


    Tears fell on Lian Bi''s beautiful face, and she choked on her words: "You have such a non-competitive nature that you let people bully you all the time, and it was clearly him who caused you to suffer, so how can you blame everything on the Heavenly Way! In my opinion, you should go to the Heavenly Emperor and ask him to give you justice!"


    Justice? What justice?


    If you are in love, and you have suffered in love, do you want the other party to return the favour?


    Return it, then what...


    He didn''t know whether to blame himself for loving him too much or Yan Yuan for loving him too shallowly. He had fallen into the mortal world and lost his memory, but he treated him with his heart, but that person deceived him and insulted his sincerity.


    Xuan Long would rather lie to himself that it was because they couldn''t escape the tricks of Heaven, not because Yan Yuan was cruel, and it made him feel better to think that way.


    At least there were good times, and now it was time to separate happily, so as not to make the scene too ugly.


    "What is not your own cannot be taken by force." Xuan Long''s turquoise eyes lowered as he spoke indifferently. Compared to Lian Bi''s outburst, the man was as calm as if he was not involved in the situation.


    Lian Bi knew that he must be very sad; Xuan Long was like this when he was sad, he could sit still for a long time and not say anything.


    "General..."


    "Go and find a pen and paper." After a while, Xuan Long''s low and gentle voice rang out in the hall.


    Lian Bi was puzzled, "What do you want the pen and paper for?"


    Xuan Long did not answer, but Lian Bi responded by lifting her light white sleeve and waving it, and a small silver table appeared on the couch in front of Xuan Long, on which were neatly arranged rice paper, a wolf hair brush, an inkstand, and a paperweight.


    Xuan Long slowly lifted the wolf hair brush and pondered over the blank rice paper for a long time before he dipped it into the ink and lightly lowered his brush.


    The three characters ¡®he li shu'', gradually took shape on the paper...


    Lian Bi stared at it, her eyes slightly widened: "General..."


    Xuan Long seemed to have a lot to say. After writing the three characters, he paused for a long time to think about it, but what actually appeared on the paper was just a few short vertical lines.


    He put the wolf hair brush on the brush rest, rolled up the rice paper with both hands, and when the ink had dried, folded it into two and handed it to the fairy eunuch in white at the edge of the bed, "Lian Bi, please take care of this."


    She did not want her master to be involved with the Heavenly Emperor again, but when she saw how decisive Xuan Long was, she felt that it was too cheap for Yan Yuan, and was angry and heartbroken.


    "General, do you really want to make peace with him..."


    Xuan Long: ¡°Mhmm."


    Lian Bi was aggrieved and said, "I think that you don''t need to write this divorce letter at all, even if you don''t write it, the Heavenly Emperor will still take a wife, and he will probably have his divorce letter sent to us before long."


    She spoke bluntly, poking Xuan Long where it hurt, but it was the truth.


    Xuan Long raised his eyes and looked out of the window, where layered clouds lay in the sky and the occasional immortal crane swept by.


    "On the day of our marriage, he made an agreement with me in front of the Three Lives Stone, gave me an iris pendant as a token of love, and made me the Heavenly Empress... Now that we have to part ways, we should write a divorce letter to make it clear, so that we can make a clean break."


    "He will write what he will write, I will write what I will write."


    "Go ahead."


    Lian Bi thought it was reasonable, so she took the divorce letter and went to Dongji Hall to look for Yan Yuan.

 CH 125

    How to be at Peace


    Dongji Hall was the bedchamber of the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Empress. After Yan Yuan and Xuan Long were married, they lived there until Xuan Long perished in the battle between the gods and the demons.


    General Xuan Hall was Xuan Long''s residence when he was a general. Now that they had separated, it was only natural for them to sleep in separate halls.


    As soon as Lian Bi reached Dongji Hall, she was stopped by two tall divine soldiers guarding the door with their lances. She took out the divorce letter and slapped one of them on the chest, saying angrily, "No, this is the divorce letter from my General to the Heavenly Emperor. The General said that the Heavenly Emperor should leave him alone in the future, and that the General never wanted to see him again..."


    Lian Bi spoke loudly on purpose, the person inside should have heard it, and suddenly there was a muffled coughing sound.


    The divine soldier''s face darkened and he told her not to make any noise, but Lian Bi finished her explanation of Xuan Long''s words and went back to the hall to resume her duties.


    In the past, when the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Empress were on good terms, Lian Bi was also on good terms with Yan Yuan''s two trusted servants, but now that her master was dismissed, she had nothing good to say to these two.


    The two divine soldiers looked at each other and both saw concern in the other''s eyes. The one holding the divorce letter had his eyebrows knitted tightly together.


    "What should we do?"


    "The Emperor has been seriously injured and unconscious for a month, and only woke up last night, so I''m afraid that telling him at this time would be..." the divine soldier on the left said hesitantly.


    "Sooner or later, he will have to know." The divine soldier on the right interrupted in a low voice.


    The door of the hall was gently pushed open, the divine soldier dissipated his lance and marched to the hall. He knelt down on one knee, lowered his eyes and clasped his fist, "Emperor... General Xuan Long is awake."


    The man behind the white gold table had ink hair draped over his body and was wearing only profane clothes, which made his beautiful face paler and paler. He had rice paper laid out in front of him and was drawing something intermittently on the paper with his wolf hair brush. His right hand covered his lips and every now and then he would cough, with blood seeping out from his fingers without care, and the back of his hand casually wiped across the corner of his mouth, leaving a thick crimson streak.


    Since returning from Nuwa''s Realm, Yan Yuan had fallen deaf, and was so absorbed in his drawing that he didn''t even notice anyone entering.


    No one around Yan Yuan could quite accept this fact, so everyone was deliberately forgetting, even the divine soldier only remembered this heart-wrenching matter after he had not received a reply for a long time.


    He used his voice transmission technique to repeat what he had just said.


    The sound transmission technique reached directly to the other party''s brain without the need to be heard. Yan Yuan indeed raised his head, and after controlling a few stifled coughs, his eyes showed delight: "... He''s awake?"


    Receiving an affirmative yes from the divine soldier, the corners of Yan Yuan''s mouth bloomed into a smile: "It''s good that he''s awake... It''s good that he''s awake."


    "General Xuan Long... has sent a divorce letter over." The divine soldier told him the heavy truth.


    Yan Yuan did not have time to rejoice for long before his smile froze at the corners of his mouth, and he suddenly lost his soul, even his voice lowered: "Is that so?"


    "He''s going to divorce me..."


    The wolf hair brush in his hand fell onto the paper and rolled around a few times, the thick ink staining the man''s heroic eyebrows on the painting. Yan Yuan hurriedly took the brush away, but it was already too late.


    Just like what has happened, it was too late to regret it...


    Gently lifting the scroll, his blood-soaked fingertips brushed over the man''s blurred face. Yan Yuan smiled fondly, and as he laughed, tears fell from his eyes.


    "... He doesn''t want me after all."


    The divine soldier looked up and said worriedly, "Emperor... you have not yet recovered from your serious injuries, it is better to rest in bed."


    Yan Yuan acted as if he had not heard, and after a long time, he said, "Bei Chi, do you believe in fate..."


    "I believe." The divine soldier answered, "Being a god, starting in the Heavenly Realm, you should obey the Heavenly Way."


    "Is that so..." Yan Yuan was fascinated by the person in the painting, and just as the divine soldier was pondering what to say, Yan Yuan put down the scroll and looked at him.


    "Where is the divorce letter... show it to me."


    With a flick of the divine soldier''s fingertips, the divorce letter appeared in front of Yan Yuan and floated down from mid-air.


    Yan Yuan raised his hand to catch it. He unfolded the rice paper, saw the familiar handwriting on it, and his vision quickly became blurred as he read it word by word.


    "In love for fifty thousand years... the fate of this life is over, I hope you will be well forever, after this, we''ll say goodbye, we don''t owe each other anything..."


    "Forever at peace... how to be at peace..."


    How can he be at peace after losing Xuan Long?

 CH 126

    "General Xuan Long said that he will be waiting for you tomorrow morning in front of the Hall of the Gods and by the Three Lives Stone."


    "Waiting for you to dissolve the contract."


    The contract is the love contract.


    A god can only make a contract with one person in his or her lifetime. When the contract is made, a drop of blood from the other person''s heart is added to his or her palm in front of the Three Lives Stone, with Si Shen as the witness and the blood from his or her heart as the guide. After the contract is successfully formed, when the other party encounters danger or is extremely sad, their palm will produce a burning pain in the appearance of a love flower.


    They will feel the other''s joy and the other''s pain.


    Once the contract is dissolved, even that meagre connection between them will be lost.


    Yan Yuan knew that this day would come, but he did not expect it to come so soon.


    Before returning to Heaven, in those last years on earth, he always thought that if there was another life, he would definitely do everything he could to make amends and ask for Xuan Long''s forgiveness.


    In reality, he was not even in a position to do so.


    What was the point of asking for forgiveness? His fate was incompatible with that of Xuan Long, and to continue to pester the stupid dragon would only cause him to fall into the abyss once more.


    Mother was right, Heaven would not make it easy for them...


    He could have a hard time, but he could not let Xuan Long suffer any more.


    The next morning, Yan Yuan went to the meeting on time. He went early and Xuan Long was not yet there when he arrived. In front of the majestic Hall of Gods stood a warm egg-shaped jade taller than a man, warm and pure white; that was the Three Lives Stone.


    Next to the Three Lives Stone stood a huge tree with many silver and white divine tablets hanging from its top, at different heights.


    For tens of thousands of years, each of the immortal couples who made a love contract here would each carve a divine tablet and hang it on the tree in pairs, tied up with red string. The content could be a vow or a wish related to their lover, and they would hang it in plain sight without fear of being seen by others, as only the lovers who had made a love contract with each other could see what was written on the other''s tablet.


    It is said that the sacred tree has stood here since the beginning of time and is protected by the Heavenly Way, so if you tie a marriage tablet to the tree, you will also be blessed by the Heavenly Way.


    When Yan Yuan and Xuan Long made a contract that year, they also carved such a divine tablet... His wish was simple: he wanted his beloved to be safe and happy, to love him forever, and not to leave him.


    The loss of a loved one is like having your bones ripped from your flesh and blood. Yan Yuan never felt he could afford that kind of pain, but in fact, he could bear it far better than he thought he could. After losing Xuan Long and getting him back with much difficulty, he still had the strength to stand here, waiting for the person to come to their appointment, waiting for the person to come and dissolve the contract with him and separate.


    It was just after the hour when Yan Yuan''s eyes retracted from the trees, turning inadvertently to look, and his gaze stopped.


    He saw a man in black clothes walking up the white jade-paved stairs, the first rays of gold in the morning falling on the corners of his eyes and eyebrows, so indifferent and handsome.


    The night before the contract was made, he was so excited that he couldn''t sleep, so he went to General Xuan Hall and tossed Xuan Long around too much, so Xuan Long got up late and asked Yan Yuan to wait for him for two hours, and he nearly ran to his bed to capture him.


    The man had come late that day and had walked towards him in the same unhurried manner, probably because they had a long life to waste and there was no harm in delaying an hour or two.


    But now they had no more time to waste.


    Everything in front of him was the same as it had been fifty thousand years ago. The man''s face hadn''t changed a bit, save for the dark golden mask, and he seemed to be the same Xuan Long, the Xuan Long who loved himself without a care in the world.


    Yan Yuan smiled, pretending he was having a nightmare that was hard to wake up from: "You''re here."


    Xuan Long stopped not far from Yan Yuan and raised his eyes to look at him, ¡°En."


    The two looked at each other.


    Yan Yuan remembered the day they had formed their contract. In front of the Hall of Gods, they had smiled at each other, confided in each other, and made an eternal vow, but now, after only fifty thousand years, they had come to the point of going their separate ways.


    Yan Yuan''s heart twisted in pain. He tried his best to maintain his composure, yet he still blinked back tears and said in a trembling voice, ¡°A''Po..."


    "You must hate me."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes.


    "Hate."


    I hate that you are so shallow in your love for me, that I lost out because I loved you too much.


    I hate the fact that you are so deeply in love with Ning Zhiyu that you can put me in an unforgiving and unjust place in order to save his life.


    I hate you for being too cruel, for giving all your cruelty to me alone, and for not caring whether I could bear it...


    If you want to count the bad things about Yan Yuan, Xuan Long could stand here and name many of them, perhaps it would take a day and a night to finish. In fact, he did not hate him as much as he said he did, there was some resentment, but more sadness and grief.


    It was sad that they had worked so hard, but still lost to fate.


    He could barely distinguish the shape of Xuan Long''s mouth when he spoke, and with just one word, Yan Yuan''s heart was torn into countless pieces.


    The feeling of being severely wounded by his lover was so painful, but what about the lonely Xuan Long on earth? How reckless Yan Yuan was at that time, every word he spat out was able to shoot Xuan Long''s heart into a sieve, but had he ever cried out in pain?


    So how could he be qualified to cry out in pain now? The pain should be endured, and he should not go begging for forgiveness ignorantly.


    "It''s better if you hate me¡­ if you hate me, at least you will still remember me."


    "You must always, always hate me..."


    Trembling and hoarse words were spat out, each word dripping with droplets of blood.


    Yan Yuan smiled with his peach blossom eyes slightly curved. He approached Xuan Long with his teary eyes and lifted his hand to touch his face, wanting to touch his face as he did before.


    Xuan Long tilted his head in silence and avoided it.


    Yan Yuan''s hand froze in mid-air, and after a moment it slowly descended.


    It was as if the world without the sense of hearing had also cut out things other than sound, and apart from the excessive silence, there was an endless loneliness and coldness.


    That loneliness was most vivid when he was alone, and most intense when he stood in front of his lover and was coldly rejected. Because he cannot hear a sound, the only way to experience the world is with his eyes.


    His A¡¯Po really hated him...


    He desperately wanted to take the man in front of him into his arms and hug him with all his strength, but he could not. If they cannot be husband and wife again in the future, they should withdraw to a proper position and say suitable words.


    Yan Yuan used the greatest amount of willpower in his life to restrain his actions, hoping that when the two parted, his presence in Xuan Long''s mind would be less awful.


    "I''m sorry... It was because my heart was not strong enough to resist the Heavenly Way¡­ It was me who betrayed you and caused you to suffer all that for nothing."


    "From now on, I will not bother you anymore, you can be the general again in peace. If you want anything, tell me, whatever it is, I will try to help you to do it."


    Yan Yuan had been laughing and crying. It was as if his tears would never stop flowing.


    Xuan Long did not understand why he was sad and why he was crying.


    Soon he would be marrying his destined Immortal Empress as the Heavenly Empress, and at last he would be able to make peace with the person he loathed from the past, which should be something for him to rejoice about.


    Why was he crying?


    Apart from his guilt, Xuan Long could think of no other reason. After all, they had truly loved each other for forty thousand years, though those forty thousand years were worth no more than a few years on Earth.


    Yan Yuan and Ning Zhiyu met, got to know each other on Earth and fell in love in just a few years, but they had spent more than 14.6 million days and nights together.


    It is impossible not to feel sad if your heart is not made of stone...


    Xuan Long did not want to think back to the cruel past on Earth, and spoke in a low voice:


    "I want to see A''Zhi."


    In the realm of soul consciousness, he saw a baby in swaddling clothes. Five years have passed, he should be able to run and jump now...


    Yan Yuan was not able to distinguish what Xuan Long had said for a moment. Only after Xuan Long repeated his words did he catch the word ¡®A''Zhi'' from his mouth shape, and with a little thought he knew the general content of his words.


    "Okay."


    ¡°A''Zhi is at Mother''s, so I will ask someone to send him to General Xuan Hall to see you later."


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    The two lovers, who once shared the same heart, had gone through a journey on Earth, but they had nothing to say to each other when they met face to face.


    The sky was filled with clouds and mist, and in front of the Hall of Gods, next to the Three Lives Stone, the two of them looked at each other, but only sadness remained.


    Yan Yuan actually had a thousand words to say; he wanted to tell Xuan Long how much he regretted and how much he hated his inability to do anything, he wanted to tell him how much he had missed and suffered for the past five years, he wanted to beg for Xuan Long''s forgiveness. He did not want to make up, he did not want to break the contract, he did not want to let go of his hand.


    But he couldn''t.


    His greed would kill his A''Po.


    He had had him for forty thousand years, had the lovely child he had conceived with him, and he should be content.


    So Yan Yuan smiled and spoke:


    "It''s time to dissolve the contract."


    ¡°En."


    Xuan Long looked calm throughout the whole process, he didn''t seem the least bit sad or distressed.


    That was a good thing, Yan Yuan thought.


    This way his A''Po wouldn''t have to be sad or upset anymore.


    He could be completely free of him and live a calm and peaceful life.


    While the presence of the gods was needed as a witness when the contract was made, there was no need when the contract was dissolved; all that was needed was for both parties to go to the Three Lives Stone.


    The reason why two immortals are able to bond is that when they form a contract, they plant the blood from each other''s hearts into their palms. As time goes by, the drops of blood from the heart will gradually enter their own hearts through the veins.


    When the other person is happy or sad, there is no need to guess, they will sense each other.


    The bond between Yan Yuan and Xuan Long, who were not each other''s destined lovers, had long since faded in the flow of time, to the point where they could no longer feel each other''s happiness, anger or sadness.


    Even so, as Xuan Long slashed the sharp dagger against his palm, Yan Yuan''s eyes became wet and he called out in a voice, ¡°A''Po..."


    Xuan Long paused his movement for a moment, and didn''t turn his head to look at him. The blade cut through his palm and before the blood flowed out, he pressed his palm to the Three Lives Stone.


    He waited quietly for a moment, and after feeling Yan Yuan press his hand to it, he opened his lips and chanted in a low voice.


    "Heaven''s Way is above... Today, Han Po and Yan Yuan are here to dissolve their contract, henceforth, they will part and live happily apart..."


    "Heaven''s Way is above... Today Yan Yuan and Han Po are here to dissolve their contract, and from now on, they will say goodbye to each other... and be happy." Yan Yuan closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek.


    Gradually, crisscrossing veins of blood spread within the warm egg-shaped white jade ¨C the Three Lives Stone would remove the blood that did not belong to them from their bodies, taking their past with it.


    A few breaths passed and the Three Lives Stone returned to its original form, the dissolving of the contract complete.


    Xuan Long withdrew his hand, leaving an inch-long wound on his palm.


    They had nothing more to say. Xuan Long stayed where he was for a moment before turning around in silence. Yan Yuan looked at his distant, thin back, his vision blurred and could not help but speak in a mute voice:


    ¡°A''Po... leaving me, can you really be happy?"


    Xuan Long paused in his steps and did not turn around.


    ¡°En, I''m happy."

 CH 127

    Reluctant to Remarry


    Xuan Long''s back disappeared from view, and a silver-clad god appeared at Yan Yuan''s side. The jade steps connected to the sky and, minus the clouds, were clearly out of sight, but Yan Yuan was still watching, and he asked the man beside him.


    "What did he say?"


    "He said that he was happy." Bei Chi told him using his voice transmission technique.


    Yan Yuan did not say anything for a long time, and just when Bei Chi thought he would not speak again, Yan Yuan mumbled with a smile, "It is good if he is happy... It is good if he is happy."


    "If he is happy... I will also be happy."


    Isn''t this the best ending?


    Without warning, Yan Yuan spewed out a large mouthful of blood, and his body trembled slightly. He habitually covered his lips with the back of his hand and tried his best to suppress his cough, yet he simply could not control it.


    Just like his love for Xuan Long and his hatred for himself, he could not control it.


    Beads of blood fell in bunches onto the jade floor, Yan Yuan''s hands were stained red from the blood dripping from his mouth, and even his pale eyebrows were splattered with spots of blood.


    "Emperor!" Bei Chi held his faltering body.


    The wound that spanned from his chest to his abdomen clearly split open in front of him, and large clouds of bright red seeped out in front of his white lapel. Yan Yuan felt both a great deal of pain and a great deal of pleasure.


    When Xuan Long was pregnant, he was tortured by him in a prison cell with whips and his ten fingers squeezed... it must have been much more painful than his.


    The more pain his body felt, the more pain Yan Yuan felt in his heart.


    ¡°It''s nothing..." Relieved, Yan Yuan gently pushed away the divine soldier''s support and walked forward vainly.


    "He said he wants to see A''Zhi, I''ll send A''Zhi to see him..."


    "Emperor, let''s go back to the palace." Bei Chi dodged and blocked in front of Yan Yuan, worried.


    "On the 15th of next month, you will marry your new empress, and if the demons refuse to surrender their men by then, there will be a great battle between the gods and demons, you need to recuperate your health."


    "Your injuries..."


    Yan Yuan was confused when he heard that: "When did I say I was marrying a new empress?"


    Bei Chi was silent for a short while: ¡°Ye Ling Shenjun has been preparing for the big wedding recently."


    Yan Yuan slowly raised his long eyebrows. After he returned from Nuwa''s Realm, he handed over the six heavenly fruits to Ye Ling and fell into a coma, only waking up last night. No one had told him about this at all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Temple of Clouds."


    There were heavenly soldiers guarding the hall outside, Yan Yuan ordered them to stand down and went straight into the hall door.


    Behind the white-gold desk, Ye Ling Shenjun was dressed in a light blue robe, his long, half-tied hair falling to the side in front of him, his left hand propped up on the corner of his forehead, and his right hand holding a cowhide book, which he was reading. He didn''t know what he had seen, but his face was grave, and his two long eyebrows, similar to Yan Yuan''s, were furrowed tightly.


    Hearing the movement, Ye Ling Shenjun looked up at the visitor and dismissed the book in his hand: "... Yuan''er?"


    "Why are you up?" His eyes moved down from Yan Yuan''s pale face and met several large clusters of scarlet on his white clothes, his long eyebrows that had just been relaxed instantly wrinkled up, and he scolded, "Nonsense."


    Ye Ling moved to Yan Yuan''s body and lifted his hand to check his injury, but Yan Yuan clasped his thin wrist and his voice was extremely mute.


    "Mother."


    Ye Ling sensed that something was wrong and looked up at him.


    "I have just dissolved the contract with A''Po."


    Yan Yuan lowered his eyes, blocking out his emotions, but the sorrow that permeated his body was obvious. The two people who originally loved each other had to miss out on eternity because of a single life''s mistake and the unforgiving nature of heaven. How could it not hurt...


    Ye Ling was bewildered: "It was so quick."


    "I set him free."


    "I want to set myself free too."


    "Mother, I will not marry a new empress, I cannot do it." Yan Yuan raised his eyelids, revealing a pair of reddened peach blossom eyes.


    Ye Ling immediately understood where Yan Yuan was coming from.


    He knew that Yan Yuan was already in enough pain, so he did not get angry about it and looked at the other man calmly.


    "Before going to the mortal world to collect souls, we agreed that you would marry Immortal Monarch Zhiyu after bringing Xuan Long back."


    This was indeed what Yan Yuan thought at first; as long as Xuan Long could come back, he would be willing to do whatever he was told to do. But when Xuan Long really appeared in front of him alive, he found that he had no way to go against his heart.


    Even if he is now long unqualified to be with Xuan Long...


    "I thought I could do it, but letting him go is the limit of what I can do... I can''t afford to love anyone else."


    "Mother, you love Father dearly, you understand me, don''t you?"


    "If Father were to be gone, would you make a contract with someone else?"


    "Naturally not.¡± Ye Ling frowned. "How can you compare these two things?"


    Yan Yuan was silent for a long time.


    "In my opinion, they are the same."


    "How can they be the same?" There was anger in Ye Ling''s eyes, "Before you went to the mortal world to collect his soul, I looked at the sky at night to read your horoscope and fortune. The Purple Heavenly Star is getting dimmer and dimmer, it is a sign of the coming heavenly punishment. If you don''t marry Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, how can you overcome the heavenly punishment?"


    "You will die!"


    Yan Yuan was unmoved and laughed quietly with his beautiful eyebrows downcast: "If that is really the will of Heaven... then let me fall here."


    "I owe A''Po too much... the Heavenly Way should punish me, I am willing to suffer."


    Ye Ling loved Yan Yuan since childhood, he took him around to play, getting along not like father and son, but like they were the same age, how could he spare to scold him? However, at this time, he could not hold back. Out of anger, he raised his hand and smacked him.


    "Bastard!"


    Yan Yuan''s head was thrown back from the blow, and his overly white skin quickly flushed red, leaving clear fingerprints. He covered his lips and coughed twice, coughing up a lot of blood.


    Ye Ling was furious with Yan Yuan for putting his life at risk, and only then did he remember that he was still seriously injured. The numbness in his palm tugged at his heart and weakened his energy.


    ¡°Yuan''er... Father did not do it on purpose."


    He mumbled, his trembling fingers touching Yan Yuan''s face, "Does it hurt badly... I''ll ask the Healing Immortal to come."


    Yan Yuan let Ye Ling touch it and smiled, "¡­ I''m sorry."


    "If anything does happen in the future, A''Zhi will trouble you and Father... If he wants to follow A''Po, ask A''Po to keep him with him."


    "That is the child he fought so hard to give birth to, he must be very happy to be able to keep him by his side."

 CH 128

    What''s Wrong With Father?


    "How can you say such things?¡± Ye Ling was overcome with grief and slowly withdrew his hand from Yan Yuan''s face.


    ¡°Yuan''er, Father knows how hard it is for you, but is there nothing more in front of you than love?"


    "As the Emperor of Heaven, you carry a heavy burden, and it has been your duty to guard this Heavenly Realm since you were born. Even though Xuan Long has now returned and A''Zhi has a mother, will he not sense it in his heart when he loses you?"


    "Your father and I have only had one child, and we have held you in our hearts since you were a child, and we have placed high hopes on you..." At the end of his sentence, Ye Ling''s eyes were already red at the corners, and his voice was hoarse.


    For parents, they want their children to live well, it''s too hard to be trapped by love. But there are some things that are completely out of one''s control and impossible to control.


    It was too painful to live like this... Every day when he lost that person, every moment when he opened his eyes and thought of Xuan Long, even breathing was painful. That pain far outweighed all the damage done to his physical body.


    In such a condition, it was difficult for him to live properly and he had to fight with all his might to convince himself to let the other person go. He could try to let them go, but he couldn''t let himself go.


    There was no way he could live as if nothing had happened, marry someone he didn''t even love, so that he could resolve the so-called heavenly punishment and continue to live in the world.


    If the heavens insisted on his death, he could accept it in peace... but he would never give in to fate.


    "It is I who have failed you."


    "It is I who am selfish and self-serving. Losing him... will make me unable to do anything." Yan Yuan tilted his head, barely keeping the tears in his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked at Ye Ling with a smile.


    ¡°This son is unfilial, Father, let''s pretend that you never gave birth to me, I am currently too preoccupied with myself to care about anything else..."


    ¡°A''Zhi is a good child, in the future, let him pay respect to you on my behalf... He is intelligent by nature, he will be able to manage this Heavenly Realm well and will do a better job than me."


    Ye Ling''s lips trembled, and clear liquid rolled down his cheeks: ¡°Yuan''er..."


    Yan Yuan dropped both knees to the ground, and quietly knelt down to kowtow before him three times.


    "Mother, I''m sorry..."


    "Forgive me..."


    Ye Ling was such a strong person, Yan Yuan had never seen him shed tears since he was a child; even when his mother and father were in conflict, the one who cried and admitted his fault was never Ye Ling.


    When he looked up at that moment, he saw that Ye Ling had tears streaming down his face. Yan Yuan felt a sharp pain in his heart and wiped away his tears with his fingertips, comforting him with a smile, "Don''t cry, if Father sees that I have made Mother cry, he will definitely scold me."


    Some people are always smiling on the outside, but in reality there is a gaping hole in their hearts, leaking wind and dripping blood, and their wounds are so long-lasting that they can''t even warm themselves, so how can they have the energy to warm others?


    Ye Ling had also fought for love and suffered a lot because he was too stubborn, but he was far more fortunate than Yan Yuan.


    Although Yan Jing did not like him at first, it was no match for what was written in the marriage book; he and Yan Jing were destined to be an immortal couple, even through all the twists and turns and hardships, they would eventually be together.


    That was the reason he vowed not to turn back...


    However, Yan Yuan and Xuan Long were different. If two people who were destined to be fruitless were forced together, it would only be a lose-lose situation, and no one could stand by and watch their child die for a love affair that had no future.


    How could he bear it?


    ¡°Yuan''er, you can''t do that..." Ye Ling grabbed the wrist of Yan Yuan¡¯s hand that was touching his face and shook his head slowly.


    "I don''t want to either... it''s fate that is too cruel."


    So cruel that there was not even room for him to resist.


    Just now, when he asked where A''Zhi had gone, Ye Ling said that Yan Jing had taken A''Zhi to the Third Heaven to buy snacks.


    The immortal gods in the Fourth Heaven and above don''t need to eat, they can survive by sucking in the essence of the day and night, but they do enjoy their favourite foods on a regular basis.


    In the Third Heaven, there is a lively marketplace of snacks, just like in the mortal world, selling many fun things.


    These days, Yan Yuan had been in a coma, so A''Zhi was kept in the Temple of Clouds with Ye Ling and Yan Jing to look after him. He couldn''t see his father and always missed him, and Ye Ling and Yan Jing didn''t dare tell A''Zhi that his father was seriously injured, so they kept it to themselves. When A''Zhi was unhappy, they took him out to play and diverted his attention.


    It had been a month since the father and son had seen each other, and Yan Yuan missed him very much.


    It was getting late, so he should go and fetch A¡¯Zhi and bring the young boy to see his mother, from whom he has been forcibly separated from since birth.


    After wiping Ye Ling''s tears, Yan Yuan withdrew his hand and turned around, his smile gradually fading away, leaving only dead silence.


    ¡°Yuan''er, you are too cruel..." Ye Ling whispered to his back.


    Yan Yuan''s body paused, looking at the endless sea of clouds outside the door: "Perhaps I was born with a cruel heart, otherwise how could I have given all my cruelty to him alone..."


    ¡°If Mother loses me, he still has Father. I am different, if I lose him, I have nothing left... I cut out my heart with my own hands... How can a person live well after losing his heart."


    "Mother... I wanted to, but I couldn''t... do it," He choked up uncontrollably between his words. "... Ten thousand years ago, he died fighting for me to protect my Heavenly Realm territory. Ten thousand years later, he gave his life to me again and died to raise a son for me. He treated me with love stronger than gold and thoughts deeper than the sea, I owe him so much..."


    He owed Xuan Long more than he could ever repay, and there was no way to erase the pain and guilt from his heart and start a new life.


    It was too painful to live like this...


    The mother and son are linked by a heart. Apart from Yan Yuan himself, no one can feel Yan Yuan''s pain better than Ye Ling, but he is unwilling to give up his heart, unable to accept that his own child is walking ahead of him. Once the heavenly punishment comes down, there is no way out.


    Even as a divine ruler, he could not resist it, and no one could save Yan Yuan.


    "What you owe him, you will have the chance to pay back later, ah. As the Heavenly Emperor, you cannot give Xuan Long what he wants, ah. Apart from love, you can give him anything."


    Ye Ling shrunk down and appeared beside Yan Yuan, clasping his wrist.


    "You listen to your father''s words, don''t take the bull by the horns... Father knows that you don''t love Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, but in order to overcome the heavenly punishment, you can marry him for the time being. If you can''t be a loving couple, it''s better to respect each other."


    "No one is forcing you to fall in love with him..."


    Yan Yuan could not see his mother''s tearful appearance, and did not look at him, shaking his head, "I have already missed one life, I can''t make another mistake."


    "Excluding love¡­ A''Po has never coveted anything else from me, but even this love, I have given it so shallowly and stingy..."


    "Mother, please stop persuading..." Gently but firmly, he broke away from Ye Ling''s hand, and Yan Yuan stepped outside, "...... I don''t want anyone except him."


    ¡°Yuan''er..."


    Ten thousand years ago, Yan Yuan insisted on abdicating his throne and falling into the mortal world to find Xuan Long, and Ye Ling was unable to stop him. Ten thousand years later, Yan Yuan insisted on going against the Heavenly Way, against the Heavens, and Ye Ling was equally unable to stop him.


    Yan Yuan and Xuan Long, in the end, who is the calamity of whom and who is the curse of whom?


    Misfortune and blessing go hand in hand. Neither of them can escape the mercy of the Heavens... Is this fate?


    Ye Ling''s feet went weak and he fell to the ground.


    As soon as Yan Yuan left the Temple of Clouds, he saw a flash of white light in mid-air, and Yan Jing, who was holding A''Zhi, appeared at the foot of the hundred jade steps.


    Just back from the Third Heaven, A''Zhi was holding a string of candy figures in the shape of a willow with one hand, and holding Yan Jing''s neck with the other. He was leaning against Yan Jing''s shoulder with a small candy figure in his mouth, his eyelids drooping weekly.


    Yan Jing usually wore black robes, and when his face was expressionless, he looked very cold and solemn, but at this moment, when he looked at his grandson in his arms, his handsome eyebrows were quite soft, and he asked A''Zhi in a low voice if he is sleepy.


    Hearing this, A''Zhi took the candy figure out of his mouth, propped himself up on Yan Jing''s broad shoulders and straightened his little body to look at him, "Grandfather, why hasn''t Father come to see A''Zhi ah..."


    The icy turquoise pupils were bleary-eyed and the voice was muffled and soft, anyone who heard it would have a soft heart.


    Yan Jing looked over towards the person at the top of the steps, lifting his jaw slightly and saying, ¡°A¡¯Zhi, look who it is."


    A''Zhi turned his head in confusion, and with a blur before his eyes, he saw Yan Yuan appearing close to him.


    "Father..."


    "Father!"


    In response, he joyfully tried to lean over and jump into Yan Yuan''s arms, but suddenly saw a large bloodstain on his lapel and froze: "Father, why are you bleeding..."


    "Hug Father." Yan Yuan opened his arms and smiled at him, not answering, as if he hadn''t heard.


    Yan Jing looked slightly dark: ¡°A¡¯Zhi, try using voice transmission to speak to Father."


    A''Zhi looked at Yan Yuan and then at Yan Jing, "Why do I need to use voice transmission?"


    ¡°A''Zhi learned a new technique last night, so you need to show Father the results, that way he can praise A''Zhi." Yan Jing''s low, mellow voice was gentle.


    A''Zhi felt that it was reasonable, so he used his voice transmission technique to repeat what he had just said, and asked Yan Yuan where he had been these days, before Yan Yuan smiled lightly and replied to him:


    "It''s not blood, Father accidentally spilled the paint when he was painting and soiled his clothes, he didn''t have time to change."


    ¡°A''Zhi''s mother is back, does A''Zhi want to go see him?"


    Of course he did, and A''Zhi nodded, leaning into Yan Yuan''s open arms and moving into his arms. The moment he touched his father''s chest, he clearly felt his father''s body stiffen and his breathing tighten.


    But soon A''Zhi was held tightly.


    "Father, I will take A''Zhi to see his mother."


    ¡°En."


    After saying goodbye to Yan Jing, Yan Yuan carried A''Zhi to General Xuan''s Hall. Compared to Yan Yuan''s silence, A''Zhi talked quite a lot on the way.


    Although he had often heard Yan Yuan say that his mother liked him very much and had met him briefly in the realm of the soul consciousness, this was the first time he had seen him formally. He was not only happy, but also a little apprehensive, fearing that if he did not behave well, his mother would not like him.


    Yan Yuan smiled and told him that no matter what A''Zhi became, the person who loved him most in the world would be his mother. All A''Zhi had to do was to be himself.


    A''Zhi relaxed a little.


    He was smart enough to notice that something was wrong with Yan Yuan, but he couldn''t say exactly what was wrong.


    As he was being carried up the steps of General Xuan Hall, A¡¯Zhi looked at Yan Yuan''s profile and stopped using used his voice transmission technique to call out in a tentative whisper, "Father..."


    Yan Yuan did not respond.


    A''Zhi''s heart tightened and he called out again, "Father..."


    Still no response.


    His father could not hear him.


    Yan Yuan sent A''Zhi to the door and did not go in. A''Zhi asked him why he was not going in with him to see his mother, and Yan Yuan smiled and bent down to touch his little head, saying:


    "Father still has things to attend to. If you want to return to the Dongji Palace, ask your mother to use the sound transmission paper crane to tell Father, and Father will come to pick you up later."


    "If you can''t leave your mother, you can stay here as well, it''s up to A''Zhi''s own will."


    A''Zhi did not understand why they had to live separately, "What about Father..."


    "Go in quickly." Yan Yuan urged in a soft voice.


    A''Zhi noticed that Yan Yuan''s face was very pale and remembered how Yan Yuan looked when he was about to die on earth, and his eyes reddened involuntarily, "Father, what is wrong with you..."


    Why can''t you hear me anymore?


    Yan Yuan forced down the cough in his throat, afraid that if he couldn''t help coughing up blood he would scare A''Zhi, and gently pushed the little boy''s shoulders a few steps forward.


    "Father is fine, go in quickly, your mother must have waited a long time."

 CH 129

    Mother Doesn''t Want Father Anymore


    The door to the hall was opened from the inside, and a thin man in black appeared in sight, his long hair cascading down the side of his body, the right side of his face covered in a half mask made of dark gold, with the same turquoise eyes as his own, deep and cold, but A''Zhi did not feel alienated.


    He had only met his mother in a hurry, but when he saw him standing in front of him, A''Zhi felt a strong urge to weep.


    He had missed his mother for too long.


    When he was on Earth, he had wanted his mother to appear as soon as possible so that his father wouldn''t be so sad, wouldn''t be drunkenly hugging him and crying all the time, and so that he could have his own mother, like the other children.


    "Mother...¡± A''Zhi looked up at Xuan Long and called in a very small voice.


    The little boy was dressed in a light green brocade robe, his hair was neatly tied up in a jade crown, and his soft little face was white and red. Although he had the same icy turquoise pupils and dragon horns as Xuan Long, his eyebrows were like Yan Yuan''s, delicate and beautiful, and he looked very well-behaved.


    When he thought of how he had died after giving birth to the child in the prison, without even hugging him properly, and how the child was already so old and he hadn''t done his part in raising him, Xuan Long''s heart was inevitably sad.


    It was his first time as a parent, he was inexperienced and he had been away for too long, so he was worried that he would not be able to make his child happy, but he was a calm and steady person, so no matter how much emotion he was feeling, he would not lose control and scare the child.


    Releasing the door, he slowly squatted down in front of the little boy and smiled stiffly.


    "¡­ A''Zhi."


    "How have you been all these years?"


    A''Zhi nodded, and shook his head with red eyes.


    Xuan Long''s heart tightened and he was about to ask why he shook his head when A''Zhi stepped forward and buried his entire small body into his arms, hugging his waist, "Mother¡­ A''Zhi and Father both miss you."


    "Father is always crying."


    A muffled voice came from the embrace. Xuan Long''s body stiffened slightly, then he gently wrapped his arms around the little boy''s body.


    It looked like A''Zhi had been raised well by Yan Yuan, clean and well-groomed, and should not have been treated harshly, but when A''Zhi was still in his womb, Yan Yuan had scolded him every time for being a sinner, and there was no way for Xuan Long not to worry.


    "... He treats you well?"


    A''Zhi withdrew from Xuan Long''s arms blankly: "Did Mother mean Father?"


    "En."


    A''Zhi thought for a moment, sadness surfacing in his icy turquoise pupils, "Father is the person who treats A''Zhi the best in the world, but he is always very unhappy."


    Xuan Long was lost in thought: ¡°Why?"


    The dragon heart had been given to Yan Yuan so Ning Zhiyu could be saved, so what could he not be happy about?


    Could it be that the dragon heart was ineffective?...


    "Because Father misses you.¡± A''Zhi said hoarsely.


    Xuan Long took it as childish nonsense and did not take it to heart. He and Yan Yuan might have had a love affair once, but it had all been ruined by the realities of the mortal world, and Yan Yuan had been given a true lover, so how could he miss him?


    Parental disharmony is a very traumatic experience for a child, and Xuan Long was reluctant to expose it, so he changed the subject and led A''Zhi into the hall, asking Lian Bi to take out the snacks he had already prepared.


    A''Zhi sat on Xuan Long''s lap and took a piece of peach blossom cake from the plate on the table, held out his short arm and brought it to Xuan Long''s lips: "Mother, eat."


    Xuan Long lifted his hand and took it, smiling lightly and said, "Okay."


    When Xuan Long opened the door just now, Yan Yuan had already left. A¡¯Zhi was so worried about his father''s health that he didn''t even bother to ask why Xuan Long had left them. After taking a few bites of the soft cake, he said, "Mother, Father said that when you came back, we would be reunited as a family, so why do you and Father have to live separately now?"


    When he was in the mortal world, his father had said that the side hall where he lived was where his mother used to live. His father clearly did not want to leave it for a moment, leaving the luxurious Qiankun Palace main hall behind and taking him to live with him in the side hall.


    "He and I were meant to live separately."


    It was difficult for Xuan Long to explain the complexities of this to A¡¯Zhi, he thought that such a young child wouldn''t understand anything.


    A''Zhi looked at him with those red, peach blossom eyes and asked in a low voice, "Do you not like him anymore?..."


    "Father just dropped me off at the door and left, he didn''t even dare to come in to see Mother."


    Xuan Long''s throat moved slightly and he said dryly, ¡°A''Zhi, no matter what happens between me and your father, you are still my child."


    "Is that so...¡± A''Zhi twisted his small body, becoming visibly frustrated.


    Xuan Long was the worst at coaxing people, and he wasn''t even very good at coaxing children. When he saw that the little boy was unhappy, his heart clenched up along with him, and he could only tell him to eat more pastries.


    A''Zhi had something in his heart, and did not have much appetite, he stayed at General Xuan Hall after lunch and then said he wanted to go back. Xuan Long wanted to keep him, but could not find a reason, so he had to personally send him back to Dongji Hall.


    When he arrived outside Yan Yuan''s bedchamber, A''Zhi did not go in first, but turned to look at Xuan Long, wanting to say something: "Mother... Father he..."


    "What''s wrong?" Xuan Long asked in a low voice.


    A''Zhi met his eyes for a moment, lost in thought, and shook his head, "It''s nothing."


    Xuan Long could only remain silent.


    The heavenly soldiers outside the hall had all withdrawn for some reason. A''Zhi turned around, slowly raising his hand to touch the doorway, ready to enter, but hesitated to do so. He turned his head with red eyes, ready to cry.


    "Mother..."


    "Father seems to be ill... would you like to go in with A¡¯Zhi and see him."


    Xuan Long: "... Someone will take care of him."


    As the Heavenly Emperor, Yan Yuan''s fortune was strong, and his illness should only be minor, not to mention that he had plenty of people around him to serve him, so there was no need for him to see him.


    It would be superfluous for him to go.


    "But no one is more important than Mother..." No one knows better than A''Zhi how much Yan Yuan suffered after losing Xuan Long. His father''s desire to see his mother must be no less than his own, but he didn''t even dare to meet his mother.


    A''Zhi did not understand why.


    His mother''s silence made him feel sad, but he did not have a difficult temperament, so after saying that he would go in first, he turned and entered the hall.


    When the little boy''s figure disappeared from sight, Xuan Long stood quietly in place for a long time, dropping his eyes forlornly and leaving stealthily.


    The hall was silent. A¡¯Zhi tried to use his voice transmission technique to call out to his father twice to tell Yan Yuan that he was back, but no one answered.


    Clearly sensing his father''s presence, A''Zhi ran into the inner hall in a panic and saw his father, dressed in white, lying peacefully on the bed. His heart was about to drop when he suddenly coughed out a mouthful of blood. Yan Yuan opened his bloodshot eyes and propped himself up on the bed, covering his lips and coughing as he trembled.


    Blood dripped from between his fingers, and more blood splattered on his white lapel as the wound on his chest cracked. Yan Yuan thought that A¡¯Zhi would not return today, but when he raised his head in his drowsiness, he was confronted by a small pale face.


    ¡°A''Zhi...?" Yan Yuan was still a bit overwhelmed by the situation.


    "Why are you back so soon... where is your mother?"


    A''Zhi climbed up the edge of the bed and lifted his sleeve to wipe the blood from Yan Yuan''s lips, his eyes welling up with tears: "Father... what''s wrong with you, don''t scare A''Zhi, A''Zhi is afraid."


    "Are you sick again like before?..."


    After returning from General Xuan Hall in the morning, Yan Yuan fainted as soon as she returned to his bedchamber, and did not even have the time to ask the Healing Immortal to come and treat his wounds.


    Yan Yuan was annoyed in his heart, but his face was calm. He smiled and pulled away A''Zhi''s hand, and raised his sleeve to wipe his lips: "No, A''Zhi, don''t worry, it''s just a small wound, just ask the healer to treat it, Father will be fine."


    "Then¡­ A''Zhi will go and ask the Healing Immortal for Father.¡± A''Zhi said as he was about to climb out of bed, but Yan Yuan held his little body to stop him, "Father, just use sound transmission."


    A''Zhi was indeed worried about leaving Yan Yuan alone in his bedchamber, which was why he was in a hurry to return.


    Seeing that Yan Yuan had used sound transmission, A''Zhi relaxed for the time being and used his phantom technique to produce a basin of water and a soft cloth, wringing it out and then holding it in his small hands to gently wipe the dried blood stains on Yan Yuan''s face.


    A''Zhi was so well behaved that Yan Yuan felt uncomfortable watching him. If he really failed to survive the Heavenly Punishment, what would A''Zhi do?


    "Why don''t you stay with Mother for a while longer?"


    A''Zhi was silent for a moment and met Yan Yuan''s eyes, "Father, did you and Mother have a fight?..."


    "No." Yan Yuan smiled.


    "Then why didn''t Mother come to see you?¡­ A''Zhi told Mother that Father is sick.¡± A''Zhi''s soft voice was hoarse, he was good by nature and would always suffer from the pain and suffering of others.


    Yan Yuan: "It is not that Father and Mother have quarrelled, it is that Father has done something wrong... and made your Mother angry."


    "What kind of wrong thing?...¡± A''Zhi could not read the bitterness in Yan Yuan''s eyes.


    Yan Yuan lowered his eyes, "Something unforgivable."


    A''Zhi touched Yan Yuan''s face and said comfortingly, "Then A''Zhi will go and apologise for Father, okay?..."


    Yan Yuan shook his head with a bitter smile, "It''s useless..."


    ¡°A¡¯Zhi just needs to remember that no matter what choice your mother made, it was the right one. A''Zhi must not blame him or resent him, for it was Mother who fought to the death to give birth to A''Zhi, to bring A''Zhi safely into the world, to let A''Zhi live well..."


    "The one who is wrong is Father..."


    Even though Yan Yuan hated his former self to the core, he was unable to reveal his evil deeds to A''Zhi without reservation.


    He was afraid that A''Zhi, who was immersed in the illusion of his parents'' love, would be hurt, afraid that A''Zhi, who trusted him, would become bitter and hate him, and look at him with eyes of utter disappointment, questioning how he could do such a cruel thing.


    Even he did not know... how he could do such a cruel thing to Xuan Long.


    If death could take away the bitterness, that would be a good thing.


    ¡°A''Zhi understands¡­ Father, don''t cry.¡± A''Zhi could not see his father upset and raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes. ¡°A''Zhi will listen."


    Yan Yuan gently stroked the little boy''s dragon horns and smiled, "Good A''Zhi."


    "In the future, when Father is not by your side... you must listen to Mother, be filial, be as understanding of Mother as you are of Father, and love Mother more than you love Father."


    A''Zhi froze and said, "Why would Father be away from A''Zhi?..."


    "Because Father, as the Heavenly Emperor, has many things to attend to, and there will certainly be times when he is not by A''Zhi''s side in the future." Yan Yuan''s smile showed no sign of breaking.


    "Okay, A''Zhi promises Father."


    At the same time.


    Xuan Long appeared in front of the General Xuan Hall and looked up to see a person standing by the door of the hall.


    That person was dressed in a light blue spiritual robe, with excellent posture and a clear appearance; it was none other than Ye Ling Shenjun


    "General, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

 CH 130

    You Are the Only Way He Can Live


    Xuan Long was picked up from the West Sea by Yan Jing when he was young and taken in as his adopted son. He was several hundred years older than Yan Yuan and grew up with him, and Yan Jing and Ye Ling had treated him with kindness.


    Yan Yuan was not happy to be given an older brother for no reason. He often bullied Xuan Long when he was young, but Xuan Long had been obedient since he was a child, giving in to Yan Yuan and obeying him, so he was accepted over time.


    Yan Jing valued him very much, taught him magic and urged him to learn the art of war, which led to Xuan Long becoming the divine general.


    It was only reasonable that he should have paid his respects to Yan Jing and Ye Ling when he returned to the Nine Heavens.


    Fifty thousand years ago, Yan Yuan decided to marry Xuan Long as the Heavenly Empress, but their destinies were incompatible and their names were not in line with each other, so they were bound to suffer heavenly punishment if they insisted on being together. Yan Jing and Ye Ling were very angry because of this.


    Yan Yuan wanted to marry Xuan Long, but if Xuan Long did not want to, the former could not do anything about it; it was not Yan Yuan''s will, but Xuan Long''s willingness.


    When two people are in love, no one can stop them.


    For a long time after the marriage, Ye Ling refused to give Xuan Long face. It was not until he heard that Xuan Long was pregnant that their relationship eased up a little, and he sent a book about pregnancy to him to read.


    Later, before he could gain understanding from Ye Ling, Xuan Long was killed in battle at the Southern Ridge.


    When he was reborn, he recalled all the things he had done in the past and knew that he had disappointed Yan Jing and Ye Ling so much. After hearing that they were doing well, he was relieved and did not want to get in their way. Unexpectedly, Ye Ling took the initiative to find him.


    Reacting, Xuan Long bowed and addressed the man on the steps.


    "Greetings, Shenjun."


    "No need to be polite.¡± Ye Ling smiled lightly, as if he no longer cared about the past. "General, your flesh has not long been reshaped, how is the soul fracture recovering?"


    Xuan Long: ¡°Thank you for your concern, Shenjun... It is good."


    The two of them were silent for a moment before Ye Ling said bluntly, "I have something I would like to ask the General."


    In the past, Ye Ling had always called him Xiao Han Po, but now he was calling him General, obviously distant. When he was young, if Ye Ling found something new to eat, Yan Yuan would have it and so would Xuan Long. Yan Yuan was not happy about his parents'' love being shared with others and would always huff and puff and hog Xuan Long''s share, and Ye Ling would reprimand Yan Yuan for this.


    They had indeed treated him well, and he had failed them.


    Xuan Long straightened up and guided Ye Ling into the bedchamber. He went to the table, conjured up a green tea set, lifted the teapot and poured a cup of hot tea, gently placing it in front of Ye Ling.


    "Please speak, Shenjun, whatever it is, I will do my best."


    Ye Ling: ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and talk."


    Xuan Long nodded and sat down on the stool beside Ye Ling.


    Ye Ling looked deeply into his handsome face and stared at the half dark gold mask, sighing softly, "Do you know why I have come?"


    Xuan Long shook his head. He indeed did not know.


    "For Yuan¡¯er." Ye Ling said.


    Xuan Long couldn''t help but look up and meet Ye Ling''s eyes, "He and I... have already dissolved the contract."


    "Well, but this matter, it is not over." Ye Ling lowered his eyes to hide the sorrow in them. He twirled the bowl of tea on the table and blew the heat off the water, then pursed his lips and took a small sip.


    "The karma you have planted has not yet been removed."


    Xuan Long did not know what Ye Ling wanted to say and waited patiently, remaining silent.


    "Fifty thousand years ago, Yan Jing and I learned that Yuan¡¯er was going to marry you and were therefore furious, do you still remember?"


    "Yes." Xuan Long answered with downcast eyes.


    Ye Ling smiled bitterly, "We had predicted this day."


    "You are a lonely star, and your qi is too weak compared to Yuan¡¯er''s. If you are with him, you are destined to be overcome by him and plunged into an abyss of doom."


    "General, you are the child that Yan Jing and I raised, we have spent no less effort on you than Yuan''er, yet you have put yourself in prison for love, how can we not be angry?"


    "On the day before the wedding, I told you the truth and advised you not to take this path. You said that you were not afraid of heavenly punishment and that as long as you could be with him, you would have nothing to fear... Now, do you regret it?"


    Regret?


    Has he ever regretted?...


    Xuan Long had never thought about this question.


    When Yan Yuan was young and naughty, he took pleasure in bullying him, but when he was really laughed at by others because of his orphan status, it was the same man who defiantly rushed up and beat up that royal son of the Empress Mother of the West, and from then on no one dared to look down on him again.


    On the day he became an adult, he went to war for the first time and was struck by a sword in the abdomen. Fearing that Ye Ling and Yan Jing would be worried if they found out, he endured the pain and dared not consult a doctor. However, the wound festered so badly that it was discovered by Yan Yuan, who scolded him and then went to the healer''s house to fetch some medicine and treated his wound personally.


    There were so many things like this. Some people looked bad on the surface, but in reality, they had a hidden tenderness.


    If you were to ask him if he regretted it...


    "I... don''t regret it." Xuan Long said in a low, but firm voice.


    Even if he did not spend ten thousand lifetimes with that person, the love he had once had was not fake.


    How could he regret it?


    "Having come this far, you still have no regrets?..." Ye Ling raised one long eyebrow.


    ¡°En."


    Ye Ling smiled ruefully, "No wonder... no wonder..."


    "No wonder Yuan''er is so bewitched by you, it is because you are more bewitched than he is."


    Bewitched or mad, that was all in the past, it was no longer relevant to talk about, there was no point in talking about it anymore.


    Xuan Long had a feeling that Ye Ling would soon reveal his true intentions, and indeed, in the next breath, he heard him say.


    "But you must regret it."


    "General, you must regret it."


    Xuan Long looked up, only to see Ye Ling staring at him, his eyes red with grief and anguish.


    "If you do not repent¡­ Yuan''er will die."


    "Do you want him to die?"


    Yan Yuan is A''Zhi''s father, even if he failed him, it was not his fate, how could he want him to die? When he said one goodbye and each would be happy, he was hoping that he would really be happy.


    "... Why did Shenjun say that?"


    Ye Ling closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and only after he had calmed down did he open his eyes and speak:


    ¡°When he first went to the mortal world to look for you, Yuan¡¯er was blinded and identified the wrong person. He regretted what he had done, and after you gave birth to A''Zhi and left, he survived until A¡¯Zhi was five years old, and then went with you."


    "After he regained his position as Emperor of the Nine Heavens, he knew that you had perished in ashes, so he sought a way to gather your soul. When he saw that your physical body had perished, he broke into Nuwa''s realm alone to obtain six heavenly fruits for you to rebuild your physical body, so that you could live again."


    Previously, Xuan Long did not think deeply about how he was reborn, he thought that as Yan Yuan was the Heavenly Emperor, he must have had the help of all the immortal gods in the Heavenly Realm. Even if the process was difficult, it would not be too much effort for Yan Yuan. Hearing what Ye Ling said at that moment, he realised that something was wrong.


    "Nuwa''s Realm..." Xuan Long murmured, his eyebrows gradually wrinkling up deeply.


    He knew about Nuwa''s Realm. When he fell into the mortal world, his father had died in order to save his mother who was in childbirth and went to Nuwa''s Realm to look for the Heavenly Fruit. It is said that after entering Nuwa''s Realm, all gods, demons and evils will lose their spiritual power and become like mortals.


    To defeat the ancient beasts with a mortal body is as difficult as ascending to Heaven.


    Otherwise, why would his father have been gnawed to the bone... If not, his mother would not have hated him to the bone.


    ¡°En, Nuwa''s realm." Ye Ling''s voice was tinged with huskiness.


    ¡°Yaun¡¯er managed to obtain the heavenly fruit for you, and at the same time lost his two emotions, malice and anger, as well as his sense of hearing, smell and taste, and three desires. He was in a coma for a whole month after his return before he woke up, and his serious injuries have not yet healed."


    "His soul... was no longer intact after that."


    Xuan Long was completely stunned, his breathing became laboured, his mind went blank and he briefly lost the ability to think.


    "How could this be..."


    "Why did he do this..."


    Why should he care when he has already gained what he truly loved? Just because of guilt?


    Guilt worth Yan Yuan tearing his soul apart just to save his life?...


    Ye Ling quickly gave him the answer.


    "Because it is you he has loved since the beginning."


    "Fifty thousand years ago it was you, and fifty thousand years later it is still you. Even when he fell in love with someone else in the mortal world, it was because he mistakenly imposed all of his obsessions for you onto Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, and thus mistakenly recognized the wrong person. He loved you with all his might, but Heaven forbade him from loving you."


    "The more he loved you and the closer he came to you, the greater the repercussions of the Heavenly Way on you. Having watched you die twice, how could he dare?"


    "So he was willing to let you go and return your freedom... but he was not willing to let himself go."


    "You know, he is not willing to let himself go..." Speaking with a crying voice, Ye Ling tilted his head slightly.


    Xuan Long stared blankly at the man in front of him whose appearance resembled Yan Yuan, feeling that it was all too unreal. The so-called truth was dumped on him all at once, and he simply could not digest it.


    So Yan Yuan wasn''t transferring... but had recognized the wrong person?...


    ¡°Yuan¡¯er is so bent on going against the grain that he has finally angered the Heavenly Way. If he marries Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, he will be able to settle the heavenly punishment, but he is not willing to do so, he would rather die."


    "General, tell me, do you hate him?..."


    ¡°I¡­¡± Perhaps I hated him when I was in the mortal world, hated him for being ruthless, hated him for being cruel, compared to the whips that fell on my body, compared to the demon chains that pierced into my shoulder, what hurt more was my heart.


    Now Ye Ling was telling him that it was because Yan Yuan had misplaced his obsession with him on Ning Zhiyu, so his craziness and cruelty was all because of himself?


    Xuan Long momentarily did not know whether to be happy or sad, and the hands hidden in the sleeves of his coat involuntarily tightened.


    "It''s all in the past... it doesn''t matter whether you hate it or not."


    Ye Ling knew Xuan Long''s temperament, and since he had come here to tell the truth, he was not afraid that Xuan Long would continue to be entangled with Yan Yuan.


    If the heavenly punishment only befell Xuan Long himself, he might have gone all the way and never looked back, but if Yan Yuan would die as a result of the heavenly punishment, Xuan Long would definitely stay away from Yan Yuan.


    How could he not understand the child he had watched grow up? Xuan Long grew up with a good temperament and would think of the people around him.


    "Your destinies are incompatible and you are not destined to be together, this is the will of God."


    "The Emperor''s star is getting dimmer and dimmer, and the heavenly punishment is imminent. Once it comes down, there will be no way for him to live. Yuan¡¯er is stubborn, I can not persuade him, now it¡¯s only your words that he may still listen to. For the sake of Yan Jing and I who have raised you, General, persuade him for me, okay?...¡± Ye Ling was a proud man, but now his tone was almost begging.


    He was just a mother who was afraid of losing his beloved son.


    ¡°I will persuade him?..." Murmured Xuan Long.


    ¡°En, you go and persuade him to marry Immortal Monarch Zhiyu. Persuade him to resign himself to his fate and persuade him to live well."


    "Let him completely give up on you, once and for all."


    "General, you are now the only way for Yuan¡¯er to live, will you save him?..."

 CH 131

    He''s the Only One Standing Still


    Even if Xuan Long hated Yan Yuan, just because Yan Yuan was the Heavenly Emperor and A''Zhi''s father, he would not stand by and watch Yan Yuan go down the road to death.


    Moreover, he had no deep-seated hatred for Yan Yuan, just hard feelings about his past.


    However, Ye Ling Shenjun told him that Yan Yuan had entered Nuwa''s Realm alone in order to save him, thus losing his two emotions and three desires, which surprised him and made him feel a sense of loss at the same time.


    It turned out that he was not the only one who had lost himself in this love affair; Yan Yuan also struggled, worked and suffered in a way he could not see.


    Before Ye Ling left, he conjured up a mirror of the past and asked Xuan Long to look at it. The scene that appeared in the mirror was the scene of Yan Yuan being infected with the demonic compulsion on earth, and his paranoia, madness and cruelty suddenly had an explanation.


    Then he saw that after his death, Yan Yuan had come to his senses and spent five years in the mortal world as a human being for self-punishment, and Xuan Long''s heart was clogged.


    He knew that the Heavenly Way was merciless, but he did not want it to be so cruel that it did not let any of them have a good time.


    The past, whether painful or grumbling, was suddenly relieved, and since they were not destined to spend ten thousand lifetimes together, he hoped that Yan Yuan would be able to live forever in peace, forgetting the past and starting over.


    ... At least they had walked together for forty thousand years.


    Neither had ever let go of the other''s hand on that journey; it was death that separated them.


    Xuan Long agreed to Ye Ling''s request.


    The matter was not resolved, so Ye Ling did not feel like sitting still for long, and left after telling Xuan Long to take care of his body.


    After all, his soul had been reshaped and his divine power was much weaker than before, he would probably have to recuperate for ten thousand years before the cracks in his soul could be completely healed.


    Early the next morning, Xuan Long asked Lian Bi to send a message to the Dongji Hall. To persuade Yan Yuan to marry a new empress and avoid heavenly punishment, he must meet with that person before he can say anything.


    He and Yan Yuan arranged to meet at the usual place.


    It was a deserted pavilion in the Immortal Realm. As there was no one around to guard it, Yan Yuan used to coax him to this place before they were married, to do something unseemly.


    At that time, Yan Yuan was so young and exuberant that he was always embarrassed by his strong desires and lack of discipline, and he was always worried that people would see a flaw in the way he walked.


    He knew that it was impossible for him to be with Yan Yuan, perhaps it was because Yan Yuan had suddenly seen Yan Huo Heng confess his feelings for him and found it strange that someone like him could be liked, or because he was worried that the stupid dragon that had been running behind him since he was a child would be taken away from him and become someone else''s follower, and felt resentful, so he made some small, irrelevant jokes with him. After his anger, he found that he could not stop Yan Huo Heng, so he followed Yan Huo Heng''s example and said that he liked him.


    A long time ago, he realised that he could not refuse any of Yan Yuan''s requests, including the courtship. He knew it was a joke, but he still pushed back while leaning closer, acquiescing to his partner''s outlandish behaviour.


    He listened to everything Yan Yuan said, but would not take it seriously. He waited quietly, and when Yan Yuan got tired of him, he returned to his old position. He was still the general guarding the Heavenly Realm and the Crown Prince, and had no business thinking of anything that did not belong to him.


    But there were also many times when Yan Yuan did nothing but take his hand, interlock their fingers and sit snugly with each other in that little gazebo, looking at the cranes that swept by in the distance, saying that he wanted to be married to him.


    He asked if he was willing.


    It was rare to see such an apprehensive look on Yan Yuan''s face. If he had been late in answering, Yan Yuan would have been furious, saying that he had not been true to his heart, and would have been angry enough to leave. He caught up with him and said that he was happy as long as the Crown Prince was happy. Yan Yuan knew that he was willing, so he became happy again, jumping up and down like a child.


    He knew in his heart that Yan Jing and Ye Ling would never let them be together, that each god had their own destined marriage, and that he was the Lonely Heavenly Star, destined to grow old alone.


    He had never thought that Yan Yuan would be willing to defy Heaven''s destiny for him.


    Accustomed to being at the mercy of fate, he had never had the intention of defying the Heavenly Way; it was Yan Yuan''s determination that gave him the courage to go forward.


    It''s a pity that if you go in the wrong direction, no matter how hard you try, you''ll make the same mistake again and again... Returning to his hometown, he inevitably remembered all the things he used to do, and his memories of the past came flooding back to him like sea water, causing Xuan Long to be a bit disoriented.


    "¡­ A''Po."


    When Yan Yuan called out from behind him, Xuan Long''s body paused slightly before slowly turning around.


    They had an appointment in the morning, but Yan Yuan had been delayed for some reason and had come a little late.


    He was dressed in a silver and white imperial robe, his black hair was neatly tied up in a jade crown, which had been specially groomed, and his appearance was as charming as ever, except that he looked pale.


    "I had some business to attend to in the morning, so I came a little late. You wanted to see me about something..."


    Seeing him smiling like that, Xuan Long recalled Ye Ling''s words and felt uncomfortable, withdrawing his gaze lightly,¡°En."


    Yan Yuan couldn''t hear this ¡®en¡¯ and couldn''t read it from his lips. He didn''t know what Xuan Long was thinking, but anyway, whatever the reason, he was happy that Xuan Long was still willing to see him, and racked his brains to find a topic to talk to the man in the pavilion.


    "Have you... had breakfast yet?"


    "Not yet."


    "Why not?" Yan Yuan smiled and asked softly.


    "......"


    Immortals don''t need to eat meals in the first place, so this was pure nonsense. Xuan Long hesitated on how to cut to the chase and wandered off without answering. Yan Yuan was worried that he was annoying him like this, so he didn''t continue on.


    The buildings in the Heavenly Realm were mostly silvery white, and so was the pavilion here. It had a light white gauze tent hanging from the top, which was gently blown by the wind, and Xuan Long''s figure appeared and disappeared in the pavilion.


    "I know everything."


    The words were spoken using his voice transmission technique.


    Yan Yuan did not react.


    Xuan Long stood to the side, his eyes downcast and not looking at him: ¡°Ye Ling Shenjun came to see me today."


    Yan Yuan immediately understood that Xuan Long probably knew, but to what extent, he was not sure, so he tentatively asked, "Oh... what did Mother tell you?"


    "He said that you were badly wounded and lost your two emotions and three desires in order to save me."


    ¡°It''s true."


    Yan Yuan did not intend to let Xuan Long know about this, he and Xuan Long were no longer possible, so saying this would just cause the other side to carry more burden, but if Xuan Long already knew about it, there was no way to hide it.


    He walked into the pavilion, looked at the man''s profile, and pretended to be relaxed and smiled.


    "It''s just a small injury, not as serious as Mother said, but I''ve lost something unimportant. As you can see, I''m still alive and well even though I can''t hear."


    "You don''t have to feel sad for me."


    Xuan Long frowned slightly, as if he was not very happy, and he said in a low voice: "I have never been sad."


    If he was sad for him, Yan Yuan would definitely be sad with him, but if he was not sad for him, Yan Yuan still felt bitterness in his heart. Love is such a complicated thing, it becomes addictive when it is tainted, and it is impossible to quit.


    The only thing left to do was to live with it.


    ¡°En."


    "That''s good."


    "I owe you this."


    Xuan Long didn''t want to talk to him about this. It was impossible to tell who owed more to whom between them. Even if it was clear, it was still meaningless. He did not want to see Yan Yuan smile again, so he turned his back.


    ¡°A¡¯Zhi needs his father, and the Heavenly Realm needs its monarch, you should live well, you should not let your selfish desires... put millions of immortal gods at risk."


    "Immortal Monarch Zhiyu is the one you are destined to marry, you should marry him and follow the Heavenly Way."


    To be pushed aside by the one you love without a care in the world would be an extremely cruel thing for anyone, and it meant that Xuan Long had completely let go of their past.


    He was the only one left standing.


    Yan Yuan knew he should be happy, it meant that Xuan Long would have a good life ahead of him.


    He tried his best to maintain a smile, yet still, somewhat embarrassingly, his eyes reddened, "You asked me to meet you here today, just to talk to me about this..."


    A hoarse voice came from behind him.


    Xuan Long''s throat throbbed, and he pursed his lips without speaking.


    People always like to think of whimsical things or to argue for something that they know the answer to. Yan Yuan was tempted to ask Xuan Long if he still cared for him even a little bit, and if so, even a little bit, he could have the courage to fight against the Heavenly Way.


    Heavenly punishment was nothing, as long as he held on to his last breath, he would survive.


    As long as his A''Po was happy.


    He really wanted to hear the answer so much, so he asked:


    "If I live... will you be happy?"


    Xuan Long was still as calm as ever: "If you live, the thousands of immortal gods and goddesses will have a leader, A¡¯Zhi will have his father to keep him company, and Emperor Yan Jing and Ye Ling Shenjun will enjoy the happiness of family."


    "You being alive, is good for all the gods."


    Yan Yuan pursued with hope, "What about you... would you be okay?"


    "If there is a future for us, can you... can..." Look, he was thinking whimsical thoughts again.


    "We are already over." Xuan Long interrupted indifferently.


    Yan Yuan''s words got stuck in his throat, unable to speak or swallow, and Xuan Long''s figure became a blur.


    "I understand."


    He was alive, it was good for everyone, except for Xuan Long.


    His intention was clearly expressed, and Yan Yuan no longer struggled in vain.


    He suddenly felt relieved; most people become relieved like this when they let go of all their obsessions, and the pain on their souls briefly lifted.


    There was a clear sky lake in the Nine Heavens, which could be seen from afar from the gazebo here. The lake was in an irregular circle, surrounded by a sea of pure white irises.


    Yan Yuan''s gaze was distant as he looked over and spoke softly to the man beside him.


    ¡°A''Po... look."


    "When we were little, we always played in that lake. Then when you grew up, that lake became smaller, and when you transformed into your original body it became a bit narrow, so you didn''t really want to go there anymore."


    "After we got married, you said you wanted to go to the Eight Wastelands to see the sea, but I knew you didn''t want to see the sea, but wanted to go into the deep sea to play in the water. At that time, I had just assumed the position of Emperor, I was busy with all the big and small things in the Heavenly Realm and I had no time to accompany you.


    ¡°When I was able to do so, you were pregnant and I didn''t want to let you go and play at will, so I didn''t take you."


    "Later..." Later, before he could fulfil Xuan Long''s little wish, Xuan Long died in battle at the border of the gods and demons, and lost their first child along with him.


    Yan Yuan hid his sorrow and laughed.


    "In the future, if you have free time, I''ll take you to see the sea in the Eight Wastelands, okay?..."


    "Do you want to go to the East Sea, or the West Sea?"


    "The North Sea is also good, the climate there is pleasant. If you want to stay longer, you can borrow a temple from the Dragon King of the North Sea and stay for a while."


    "No need." Xuan Long said.


    "In the future, if I want to see the sea, I will go by myself."


    Yan Yuan was thinking that what he had promised once should be fulfilled somehow, but since Xuan Long did not need it, there was no need to force it. He nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s also good... we have dissolved the contract after all, it is indeed not good to get too close."


    "......" Xuan Long did not say anything.


    His eyes were hot and the wind blew over, making it so cool that it produced a stinging pain. Yan Yuan only thought that he did not want to talk to him, so he took the initiative to find a step for himself.


    "I''ve got some things to finish, so I''ll go back first."


    ¡°En."


    Xuan Long turned his head and saw Yan Yuan''s back fading away.


    "The 15th of next month..."


    Yan Yuan sniffed, paused his steps and hung his head.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll try to avoid you, I won''t get in your way in the future."


    Xuan Long frowned, that was not what he meant. But Yan Yuan disappeared in front of him without giving him the chance to continue speaking.


    Explanations were most useless to them these days anyway. Xuan Long thought of Yan Yuan''s ''I understand'' and felt that he should have figured it out.


    If he married that person, he could live well and continue to be the ruler of the Nine Heavens above the millions of immortal gods, what was wrong with that?


    There was no reason for Yan Yuan not to let him go.

 CH 132

    Hope


    The door of the Immortal Hall, which sits between the clouds, was open, and there was a sad-faced little boy sitting on the door barrier. When he saw Yan Yuan''s figure appear at the bottom of the jade steps, A¡¯Zhi immediately got up and ran down, jumping into Yan Yuan''s arms, who was crouching low, and wrapped his arms around his neck.


    "Father... you and Mother have gone to a good place and did not take A''Zhi with you."


    Yan Yuan smiled as he picked A''Zhi up and gently evaded, "I''ll take you there next time."


    The injuries he had sustained were so severe that Yan Yuan was still asleep this morning when Lian Bi came to deliver the message. When he heard that Xuan Long had asked him to meet him at his usual place, he got up in a hurry and asked the immortal eunuch to come in and dress him and tie his hair. A''Zhi was so happy to see him leave, but he seemed to have lost his soul when he returned. Even though he was smiling, the father and son knew each other so well that it was impossible for A''Zhi not to see that Yan Yuan was in a depressed mood.


    He knew that his father was in pain and did not want him to hold him, so he told him that he wanted to get down and walk on his own, but Yan Yuan was still smiling, looking at him with a look that A''Zhi did not quite understand, and said in a soft voice, "Father wants to hold A''Zhi more."


    There would be plenty of opportunities for him to do so in the future, and he wouldn''t grow up so quickly that he couldn''t be held by his father. But since Yan Yuan had said so, A''Zhi could not bear to refuse him, so he nestled in his arms and did not move, asking in a small voice:


    "Has Mother forgiven Father?"


    "Not yet."


    "Then when will Mother forgive Father?..."


    In A''Zhi''s perception, there was no such thing as a hurdle that a family could not overcome; Father was so good, even if he had made a mistake, how wrong could he be?


    He did not know how complicated the world of adults was, and Yan Yuan was not prepared to explain it to him.


    "Maybe it will be soon."


    A''Zhi looked worriedly at Yan Yuan''s bloodless face and lifted his small hand to touch it gently, "Father, don''t be sad, A''Zhi will always be with you."


    Yan Yuan stepped through the door and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead, ¡°En, Father is not sad."


    A''Zhi was still young, and having grown up in the mortal world, he had not changed his habit of eating his meals on time every day. He was so worried about the injuries on his father''s body that he could not eat his meals, but when he saw that Yan Yuan had returned safely, he was relieved.


    The breakfast was nicely laid out on the table, the bowls and chopsticks untouched. Yan Yuan knew that A''Zhi was waiting for him, so he carried the little boy and placed him on a chair at the table, then sat down next to A''Zhi. He picked up a white jade spoon and gave him a small bowl of porridge from the larger container.


    "In future, if Father is not here, A''Zhi should not wait."


    "Remember to eat well so that you can grow taller quickly and protect your mother."


    As for why his father would not be here, Yan Yuan had already explained that as the Heavenly Emperor, he would have many things to do. A''Zhi did not have any doubts, and holding the porridge handed over by his father, he softly answered:


    "A''Zhi understands."


    "A''Zhi will grow up quickly so that he can protect Father and Mother."


    Only when Yan Yuan had finished serving the congee to him, did A''Zhi pick up the spoon with his little hand and put a mouthful into his mouth.


    "Father, this fish congee smells so good, will Mother like it?"


    The soft fish congee melted in his mouth, with a mellow fragrance and umami flavour. The fish was from Yao Chi, so it was much tastier than the fish in the mortal world. A handful of spring onions garnished the congee with colour, fragrance and flavour.


    Yan Yuan suddenly remembered that when he was in the mortal world, he was so obsessed with Ning Zhiyu that he did not care about Xuan Long, and even transferred the competent palace staff at the dragon''s side, causing him to be bullied by the evil servants, so he could only eat rancid steamed buns and white rice every day. It was only when Hu Le had the guts to steal a fresh fish that Xuan Long could eat one.


    For the sake of the two carp that Ning Zhiyu had raised, he put the dragon in the heavenly prison and told him to suffer the pain of imprisonment while pregnant...


    "Father, what''s wrong with you... why are your eyes red?"


    Yan Yuan returned to his senses, conscious of his lapse, and did not move to stifle the sourness in his eyes. Lifting his chopsticks, he served A''Zhi some small dishes and smiled.


    "You love fish, just like your mother."


    "When A''Zhi has finished his breakfast, bring some fish congee to your mother, and you can ask him yourself if he likes it."


    A''Zhi nodded and said okay, and later looked at his father with his spoon in his hand, "Perhaps Mother has already had his breakfast."


    "It''s alright, even if your mother has had breakfast, he will be happy to see you." Yan Yuan looked at the little boy beside him and raised his hand to touch his dragon''s horn.


    A''Zhi was concerned about his mother, otherwise he would not have thought of Xuan Long when he ate a bowl of delicious porridge, but the state Yan Yuan was in now made him feel uneasy for no reason, and he did not want to leave him. He asked in a whisper, "Then shall Father and A''Zhi go together?"


    ¡°En." Yan Yuan said in a low voice. "Father will see you off."


    Father will see you off.


    The same as last time, not entering the door.


    A''Zhi wanted to ask another question, but for fear of upsetting his father, he held back, squeezing his spoon and stuffing his mouth with congee.


    Yan Yuan asked the immortal eunuch to prepare another hot fish congee in a white jade box, and after the meal, he took A''Zhi to General Xuan Hall.


    The doors of the hall were closed and there were two immortal eunuchs outside the door watering two white trees, one on the left and one on the right. Yan Yuan appeared outside the hall with A''Zhi in his arms, just in time to bump into Xuan Long who had returned from an unknown location.


    The three of them appeared at the same time and their eyes met unexpectedly, and they all froze. It was Yan Yuan who reacted first, smiling unhurriedly at the man in black clothes in front of him, his expression all soft and serene.


    "This morning''s fish congee was good, A''Zhi missed you and insisted that I bring you some."


    The two of them had met not long ago. After Xuan Long had asked him to marry a new empress, he had promised Xuan Long that he would never appear in front of him again, but he had never expected to see him again so soon.


    After all, there was little A''Zhi in their lives, and it was impossible not to see him forever. Yan Yuan cherished every chance he had to see Xuan Long again, and even though his heart was churning with waves that were strong enough to drown him, he exchanged pleasantries with him as if he had not seen him for a long time, a familiarity with a touch of distance.


    After all, they could not go back.


    Xuan Long stood a few feet away from the father and son, watching them in silence.


    Yan Yuan bent down and placed A''Zhi firmly on the ground, manifested a white jade carrying box and handed it to A''Zhi, then finally stroked A''Zhi''s head and said with curved lips, "Go."


    A''Zhi took a step forward with the white jade food box, then turned back and looked at his father for a few good moments before slowly walking towards Xuan Long, lifting the box with both hands and handing it to him, "Mother... have you had breakfast yet?"


    Xuan Long took the white jade box and curved his lips, "Not yet."


    "Thank you, A''Zhi."


    A''Zhi was happy to see his mother, his eyes shining brightly as he whispered, "This porridge is delicious, A''Zhi ate two bowls this morning."


    "Mmm." Xuan Long''s heart softened.


    A''Zhi went to Xuan Long''s side and took his empty left hand, and the two of them stood together, the morning sun falling on them, coated them with a thin layer of golden light.


    A''Zhi looked at Yan Yuan, who was not far away, and felt that his father was standing there alone, which made him very sad. With red eyes, he tilted his head and said to Xuan Long, "Mother, it is actually Father who misses you..."


    "Mother, don''t be angry with Father, okay?..."


    Xuan Long did not say anything, seemingly indifferent.


    Yan Yuan knew he was sad to see A''Zhi, and his heart would certainly not feel better. Originally, he wanted to see him, so he was a bit reluctant to leave and wanted to wait for Xuan Long to take the child inside before he left.


    Now that the child was making things difficult for him, Yan Yuan was not very happy in his heart.


    This was the person he had loved for tens of thousands of years. Before he fell into the mortal world, he had fought against the Heavenly Way in order to love and hold on to Xuan Long. Once he got him, he loved and cherished him like a treasure, not wanting to let him suffer even a little.


    Who would have thought that after a life spent in the mortal world, he would have gone blind and not recognised the person next to him, forcing Xuan Long to the brink of extinction.


    Anyone who has caused a loved one to die in front of his or her eyes would not be able to accept it after sobering up. Yan Yuan was still unable to reconcile with himself, and could not bear to see Xuan Long feel any more sad.


    "A''Zhi, don''t speak of this anymore, don''t make things difficult for your mother."


    "Father has things to do, so I''ll leave now. Be good and listen to your mother, say something cheerful, and don''t mention anything that upsets your mother, okay?"


    After Xuan Long''s departure, A''Zhi became Yan Yuan''s only concern, the most precious thing in his heart that even a heavy word would cause pain to him, so Yan Yuan was never angry with A''Zhi. At this time, he still explained his words without any haste, and with a gentle smile.


    A''Zhi held back his tears: ¡°En... I know."


    "A''Zhi is the most obedient." Yan Yuan coaxed him.


    "Later, Father will reward you."


    "How about candied haws? Father will go to Earth to buy them, so you can eat them when you return."


    A''Zhi didn''t really want candied haws, he wanted his father, his mother and him, all three of them to be happy together; that was the wish he shared with his father on earth.


    But his father''s smile caused him a lot of heartache. He had no choice, and he couldn''t bear to refuse, ¡°En,  okay..."


    A few breaths later, Yan Yuan turned around. No more words were spoken with Xuan Long.


    A''Zhi looked at his father''s distant back. The morning sun was vibrant, clearly revealing the sadness. He thought of the way his father took his hand before he died in the mortal world to tell him how much he missed his mother, and now that he saw it, he had to pretend it didn''t matter.


    "Father..." A''Zhi called in a small voice.


    His father was not busy with anything, his wounds had not yet healed and he was mostly bedridden these days, so when he said he was busy, it was just an excuse not to talk to his mother.


    When he had gone farther, Yan Yuan conjured up a jade pendant with an iris in his hand, held it over his heart and looked at it carefully, then put it to his heart.


    As a god himself, he could sense when his fortune was about to fall and when heavenly punishment was about to come, his time was running out.


    His vision was blurred and his throat itched. Yan Yuan lifted his sleeve to cover his lips and coughed, and a large splash of blood spread on his snow-white sleeve. He had been poisoned by the ancient divine beast and his wounds were slow to heal as a result, but none of that mattered.


    When he returned to Dongji Hall, his consciousness was already blurred, and he was about to collapse as he held onto the doorway. His eyes went dark and he was about to collapse when he was suddenly held by a pair of arms.


    Yan Yuan twisted his head sluggishly to see the other party, who was dressed in black, and murmured joyfully, ¡°A''Po..."


    "Look at who I am clearly." Ye Ling said with his voice transmission technique.


    A stern voice bore into his mind and Yan Yuan came to his senses afterwards, "¡­ Mother."


    Ye Ling assisted Yan Yuan into the hall and helped him lie down on the bed.


    "You will be marrying a new empress on the 15th of next month, so cheer up."


    "Drink the medicine." A white jade bottle appeared in his palm and he handed it to Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were closed and he did not move.


    Ye Ling knew that his heart was dead, and that he needed something to motivate him to live.


    "The demon bewitched you with demonic compulsions, causing you to lose your mind and forcing Xuan Long to die. Before your great revenge could be fulfilled and before you could get your wife back, are you really willing to degenerate like this?"


    Yan Yuan did not respond at first, but after a long time, he slowly opened his bloodshot eyes and twisted his head to look at Ye Ling: "Demonic compulsion?..."


    Ye Ling pondered for a moment and conjured up the Mirror of the Past.


    "The reason you were able to do this to Xuan Long was because you were confused by the demonic compulsion. Whether you say it was arranged by Heaven or fate, the demon is ultimately to blame for this matter. I did not tell you earlier because the time was not yet right."


    "Now that the Xuan Long has been resurrected, it is time for you to know the truth."


    The palm-sized round mirror was thrown into the air by Ye Ling and instantly became a thousand times bigger. The image of the demon compelling Ning Zhiyu to plant the demonic compulsion in Yan Yuan''s past life appeared in the mirror.


    Yan Yuan saw that he had fallen in love with Xuan Long all over again, and after being infected by the demonic compulsion, he had changed his heart overnight, becoming iron-hearted and tyrannical.


    The more he loved Ning Zhiyu, the crueller he became to Xuan Long.


    With his fingertips dug deep into the bed, Yan Yuan stared at the nightmarish scene in the Mirror of the Past, as tears of blood flowed from his eyes.


    People have seven emotions and six desires, but Yan Yuan had lost his desire for evil and anger in Nuwa''s realm, as well as his senses of hearing, smell and taste, these two emotions and three senses, his soul and body were no longer intact. Even after the greatest torture, he was unable to feel anger again, and what he felt instead was the ultimate sadness.


    The question that once eluded him became clear.


    It turned out... that he had been struck by a demonic compulsion... no wonder... no wonder...


    "Do not blame Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, he is destined to love you, he is also a victim of the demonic compulsion. If you want to avenge Xuan Long, then go and kill the demon."


    "Bring back Immortal Monarch Zhiyu."


    "Save your life first, and later, perhaps you and Xuan Long will still have a chance."


    Ye Ling bent down and wiped the bloody tears off Yan Yuan''s face with her fingertips, "If you live... there is hope."

 CH 133

    The War of Gods and Demons ¨C Part 1


    Warning: This chapter includes mature content (Non-explicit sex)


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à


    The whole demon city was shrouded in darkness, the air filled with a black and red demonic aura. From above, one could faintly see the scattered yellow lanterns, glowing with an eerie light.


    On a circular black jade bed, a human''s hands and feet were shackled and attached to long chains, secured to the bedposts in each of the four corners. His thin body was slightly curled into a ball, and his eyes were closed as if he were asleep.


    Because each shackle was wrapped in soft cowhide, his hands and feet were unharmed, and his slender ankles were like heavenly jade, warm and beautiful.


    The door was pushed open from the outside, and the Demon Lord lingered at the entrance for a few moments before gingerly closing it and walking towards the man on the bed. He stopped at the edge of the bed and looked quietly at the man''s serene profile, unable to resist bending his tall body to kiss the corner of his forehead.


    Just then, the man suddenly woke up and lifted his shackled hand to slap the demon''s face, and the room resounded with a crisp slap accompanied by a muffled clang of chains.


    "Get lost!"


    Mo Zun''s red pupils darkened and a creepy hostile aura emanated from his body. Ning Zhiyu had seen the look of Mo Zun''s anger many times, and each time he thought the other party would kill him, yet it did not.


    Mo Zun appeared on the bed in a flash, pinned Ning Zhiyu''s hands to the head of the bed and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. The kiss was tinged with murderous intent and the strong smell of alcohol, so fierce that it looked like he wanted to swallow Ning Zhiyu alive. Ning Zhiyu had nowhere to run, but he would not let him take advantage of him, and bit down hard on the demon''s tongue.


    Mo Zun grunted, and the fishy sweet taste of blood spread through their mouths. His blood was poisonous to the human race, and when Ning Zhiyu touched a bit of it, he felt paralysed and had no strength to resist.


    Mo Zun licked the blood from his mouth, his rough kiss gradually grew gentle, and his palms slid up Ning Zhiyu''s naked legs, gently parting them.


    Ning Zhiyu was wearing a thin white robe, with nothing underneath, making it easy for Mo Zun to do those disgusting things.


    He used to like to say disgusting things in bed, but in recent years, knowing that Ning Zhiyu was unlikely to change, he had stopped making a fool of himself and mostly just kept his head down and let Ning Zhiyu beat and scold him.


    As their bodies mingled, Ning Zhiyu''s robes were already dishevelled, revealing his deep collarbones. Mo Zun bit down on Ning Zhiyu''s shoulder, moving very slowly and with restraint to avoid hurting him.


    Ning Zhiyu''s breath trembled as his dark eyes looked up at the man above him with full hatred, his palm pinching Mo Zun''s neck, "Go away, beast... beast..."


    His strength was completely unthreatening to Mo Zun, who allowed him to pinch him. He raised his hand to cover Ning Zhiyu''s eyes and lowered his head to kiss his lips, "Don''t say anything... don''t say anything."


    The dim firelight swayed on a candlestick not far away, reflecting the young, flamboyant face of Mo Zun, the right side of his face slightly swollen and looking quite a bit worse for wear.


    No one in the entire Demon Realm dared to lay a hand on the Demon Lord, except for the man on his bed, and every time he came out of his bedchamber, it was not uncommon to have more than a few scratch marks or slap imprints on his neck or face.


    Ning Zhiyu knew that Mo Zun was drunk, because when Mo Zun came back for lunch today at noon, he told him to die.


    Most people who gave their feelings would turn into a fool in front of the one they loved, including this demon. Knowing how much he hated him, he still had to do something completely unnecessary again and again to try to change his mind.


    For four years, Ning Zhiyu had tried countless ways to provoke Mo Zun, hoping that the other side would kill him. He had long wanted to end his filthy, unpleasant life, but no matter what he did, it was to no avail; Mo Zun''s way of venting his anger was always to violate and possess, which made Ning Zhiyu feel humiliated.


    Yan Yuan was dead, but Mo Zun was still alive; when Ning Zhiyu thought of this, all that remained in his heart was monstrous hatred and despair.


    The hand around Mo Zun''s neck grew weaker and weaker, eventually dropping to the edge of the pillow. Ning Zhiyu looked upwards in a daze and said, "Why don''t you die..."


    Mo Zun''s movements stopped in response, and he was quiet for a moment: "You want me to die that badly?"


    Ning Zhiyu rolled his eyes to meet his demonic red pupils and said softly, "Yes, I want you to perish, your soul to be scattered, to disappear from my sight and from this world forever."


    Mo Zun was drunk but not too profoundly. His eyes were slightly chaotic, and he looked at Ning Zhiyu wordlessly for a moment, then stopped looking and went on with what he had not finished doing.


    However, even if the souls are not compatible with each other, after four or five years of mingling, there will inevitably be pleasure on both sides. Ning Zhiyu''s cheeks gradually flushed a thin red, and the corners of his forehead were wet with sweat. He gritted his teeth and did not allow himself to make a sound, panting intermittently, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.


    "Go to hell... go to hell, all of you demons in the entire Demon Realm, deserve to die..."


    "You don''t deserve to live in this world..."


    The sound of chains shaking kept ringing in the room as Mo Zun''s palm touched Ning Zhiyu''s face and he lowered his head to kiss away the tears at the corners of his eyes.


    "Don''t cry."


    "Don''t cry..."


    When he was sober, Mo Zun would not have put his dignity on the ground for Ning Zhiyu to trample on without reservation, and the two of them were more at war.


    Although Ning Zhiyu was imprisoned, he was never the one who was at a disadvantage, because Mo Zun cared about him, about everything about him, about who his eyes were looking at and who he was thinking about.


    The reason why he was imprisoned here was to prevent Ning Zhiyu from escaping and being torn apart by the lower demons outside, but also to prevent him from killing himself.


    When it was all over, Mo Zun briefly removed the restraints from Ning Zhiyu''s hands and feet. Ning Zhiyu was so tired that he no longer had the strength to lift his fingers, and he was wrapped in Mo Zun''s arms from behind. He looked at the wavering candle flame not far away, and his eyes were filled with dead silence.


    ¡°Mo San, kill me."


    ¡°Kill me."


    Mo San was Mo Zun''s name; he was the third in his family, with two older siblings above him, named by his parents as Mo Yi and Mo Er respectively, and he was naturally called Mo San.


    Demons are divided into elementary, intermediate and advanced. The elementary demons are the least intelligent and most tyrannical, with strange and ugly looks; the intermediate demons are ugly and have some brains; and the advanced demons are those that can take on human form at will, like Mo Zun.


    The more handsome and beautiful the demon, the stronger its spiritual power.


    When he was born, Mo Zun was the strongest of the three brothers, but ever since he was a child, he did not like to read and he had a headache when he read a book, so he could not read very many words. His two elder brothers, however, were well educated and knew astronomy and geography. When they came of age, they discussed changing Mo Zun''s name to something nice, but they did not want to reject their parents'' original intention, so they chose to use a character with the same phonetic sound, Mo San. (Angel: The first Mo San and this Mo San used two different San characters.)


    His parents were killed in a battle between the gods and the demons 100,000 years ago, and that is why Mo Zun later had to break through the heavens.


    Because he wanted to take revenge.


    However, before he could take his revenge, his two elder brothers were slaughtered in the second battle between the gods and the demons. Half of the people of the Demon Realm were slaughtered, along with his two sister-in-laws and several nieces and nephews. Therefore, the blood feud between the gods and the demons will never disappear.


    Unless one of them perishes forever.


    "What if I tell you that Yan Yuan is not dead?¡± Mo Zun spoke slightly hoarsely in Ning Zhiyu''s ear.


    Ning Zhiyu was silent at first, then turned around stiffly and grabbed Mo Zun''s collar, "... What did you say?"


    Mo Zun''s palm slid from Ning Zhiyu''s back to the back of his waist, and he closed his eyes, "It''s nothing, go to sleep."


    Ning Zhiyu put his hands against his chest and tried to push him away, however the difference in their sizes was too great to do so. In his exasperation he slapped Mo Zun across the face, his chest heaving as he coldly said, "Don''t touch me, I feel sick."


    Mo Zun grabbed Ning Zhiyu''s wrist, opened his red pupils to look at the man in his arms, and said quietly, "You only know how to scold me, if Yan Yuan were to hold you like this, would you not be rejoicing in your heart?"


    He asked with extra seriousness, as if he was really hurt.


    Ning Zhiyu''s heart was greatly pleased. He stared expressionlessly at Mo Zun''s handsome face, which was almost demonic, and slowly came up to his ear to say, "You can''t even compare to half a strand of his black silky hair."


    Mo Zun''s body stiffened, "What if I wasn''t a demon..."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled faintly and asked lightly in return, "Do you think I loathe you because you are a demon?"


    "If you want me not to hate you, that''s fine¡­ if you kill yourself, I will not hate you."


    As if Mo Zun could not understand his words, he calmly raised his hand to straighten the messy hair at the corner of Ning Zhiyu''s forehead and said, ¡°A''Ning, teach me to write your name."


    "You''re not worthy." Ning Zhiyu waved away his hand.


    Yan Yuan used to call Ning Zhiyu ¡®A''Yu'', and Mo Zun didn''t like being like his love rival, so he took it upon himself to call Ning Zhiyu ''A''Ning'', but Ning Zhiyu wouldn''t answer most of the time.


    It was all just his own one-man show.


    Ning Zhiyu was lying with his back turned and was about to fall asleep when he heard Mo Zun, who was hugging him from behind him, say, "The war between gods and demons is imminent, if I win, you will be my queen, okay?"


    It seemed he was really drunk and confused.


    "I hope you die."


    Mo Zun was silent for a long time before he slowly said.


    "I won''t die, if I die, you will be taken back by Yan Yuan, and there is still A''Lie between us, the gods can''t tolerate him."


    A¡¯Lie was the child that Ning Zhiyu was forced to give birth to.


    He had the same red pupils as Mo Zun.


    Ning Zhiyu hated Mo Zun, hated this cruel world, and couldn''t muster up any love for that disgusting little bastard.


    He whispered, "Then you''ll die together."


    Mo Zun wordlessly circled Ning Zhiyu''s waist and stomach, their bodies fitting closely together. His forehead rested against the back of Ning Zhiyu''s snow-white neck, and he closed his eyes and spoke no more.


    The day the gods came in, Ning Zhiyu was imprisoned on the bed in the Demon Lord''s bedchamber, when he heard a strange, loud sound. A wave of intense red light exploded over the Demon Realm, and countless low-level demons were torn apart on the spot, screaming heartbreakingly.


    The Demon Realm''s boundary shattered.


    Ning Zhiyu jerked awake from the bed, propping himself up in cold sweat and sitting up, the chains connecting his hands and feet to the bedposts shaking continuously. He dreamt of Yan Yuan''s tragic death on Earth at the hands of the Demon Lord, and sat in shock for a long time.


    Ning Zhiyu looked back and saw that the door had been carefully pushed open and then a little head peeked in, crying out in a delicate voice for his mother.


    He didn''t know if it was because he was tossed around too much when he was in his womb, or if it was because he inherited his demon father''s stupidity, but this child was not very clever. He knew that Ning Zhiyu hated him, but he still came up to him like his father, shamelessly and annoyingly.


    The little dumpling was oblivious, holding a large bowl of beef noodles that didn''t match his own size, and walked to the bedside, struggling to raise his hand to hand it to Ning Zhiyu.


    "Mother, eat the noodles..."


    The noodles were fresh out of the pot, with steaming rising from the top, and the little dumpling''s fingertips were a little red from the heat.


    His upbringing was taken care of by Mo Zun himself. Today, perhaps Mo Zun was busy and had not dressed him, so the little dumpling had his waist-length ink hair draped down, and the little black brocade robe he was wearing was not very neat, with a messy collar, just like a child without a mother to take care of him.


    He had a mother, but he didn''t love him.


    Ning Zhiyu withdrew his gaze, not even looking at that tender little face.


    "Go out."


    "Mother, eat..." The little dumpling held the bowl and came closer, looking at him expectantly.


    The voice was thin and soft, like the tip of a needle gently tickling Ning Zhiyu''s heart. Ning Zhiyu abruptly raised his finger towards the door, his tone was heavy: "I told you to get out!"


    The thick chain attached to his wrist knocked over the bowl that the little dumpling was holding up, spilling the hot noodles all over his face. He let out a short cry of pain, wiping his face with his small hands in panic. His whole face soon turned red, and his hands were shaking reflexively.


    Ning Zhiyu didn''t expect such a result, and for a moment looked blankly at the little dumpling by the bed.


    The little dumpling rubbed the soup stains off his hands on his clothes, it was so painful that he couldn''t control the force and rubbed off a layer of skin. His pupils were originally red, but the redness in the corners of his eyes was not very obvious.


    "... Mother doesn''t like noodles."


    He looked down at the mess on the floor and waved his little hand, and the broken bowl and food residue disappeared.


    "Then A''Lie will go ask the cook to make something else..."


    After saying that, without waiting for Ning Zhiyu to answer, he turned and headed outside, poking his head in before closing the door and whispering for his mother to wait for him.


    He did not know that it was not that his mother did not like the noodles, but that he did not like him.

 CH 134

    The War of Gods and Demons ¨C Part 2 (M)


    Warning: This chapter includes mention of rape


    ?¦à?¦à?????????? ????????¦à?¦à


    Because of Ning Zhiyu''s existence, Mo Zun had gone to the mortal world and kidnapped a cook to take care of his food. When Ning Zhiyu found out about this, he went on a hunger strike and refused to eat, so Mo Zun had no choice but to release the cook and sent his demon maid to a restaurant in Chang''an in the form of a mortal to learn how to cook.


    The little dumpling soon brought in food again. Thinking that Ning Zhiyu did not want to eat noodles, he asked the cook to prepare three dishes and one soup, including Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, five flavoured steamed chicken, mushroom and broccoli, as well as a first-class beef tendon soup, which were arranged neatly on a light-coloured wooden tray, making it very appetising to look at.


    Demons are born with the ability to heal themselves, and the more gifted they are, the faster they recover from their injuries. The little dumpling had the blood of the Demon Lord flowing in his body, and his abilities were not bad. When he entered the door, the burns on his face and hands had almost recovered, leaving him with a faint red discoloration. His soiled clothes had not been changed yet, and a few bits of pasta were hanging from his half-wet head, making him look quite ridiculous.


    The little dumpling himself didn''t feel anything, but carried the food towards Ning Zhiyu on the bed and asked his mother in a milky voice if he wanted to eat.


    Apart from his blood-red pupils, he was actually no different from a human child; his snow-white face had a little baby fat on it, he was not noisy, and he listened to people well, so he should be very likeable.


    If he were a child born to Ning Zhiyu and Yan Yuan, Ning Zhiyu would have loved him, spoken to him gently, taken good care of him, told him how to behave, and taught him to read and write.


    Unfortunately, he was a demon.


    He was the child that Ning Zhiyu was forced to give birth to after being raped by Mo Zun, a stain and shame on his life.


    Since the birth of the little dumpling, Ning Zhiyu had not held him once, not even to take a good look at him, and he could not wait for this little bastard to disappear from before him forever.


    Ning Zhiyu lay on the bed with his back to the little dumpling, his hands slightly clenched in front of him, as if he hadn''t heard his words.


    The little dumpling had to go up and gently place the tray on the edge of the bed, looking at his mother''s back and whispering, "Then A''Lie will put the food here, Mother must remember to eat it."


    Ning Zhiyu still ignored him.


    The little dumpling knew that his mother was awake, and he could sense that he was not breathing evenly.


    Maybe he just didn''t want to pay attention to him.


    As for why he was ignoring him, the little dumpling thought that it was probably because his mother was always locked inside his father''s bedchamber and couldn''t go anywhere, so he was in a bad mood.


    His father said that if the chains were loosened, his mother would leave them.


    He knew that his mother was in a bad mood, so no matter how he treated him, he would not be angry, only a little sad in his heart.


    Before going out and closing the door, the little dumpling poked his head in and said to the man on the bed.


    "Mother, A''Lie is going out first."


    "... When A''Lie''s magic is stronger, he will be able to unlock the demon chain on Mother''s body, then A¡¯Lie will secretly take Mother out to play, and Mother will not be unhappy."


    Soon, the door was silently closed and silence returned to the hall. Ning Zhiyu sat up on his bed and stared at the food beside him in a trance.


    The war between the gods and the demons began with three days and three nights of bloodshed, but the demon palace was enveloped by a boundary set up by the Demon Lord, so that the bloodshed and killings from outside did not penetrate into the palace, and everything was calm and quiet for Ning Zhiyu.


    The difference was that Mo Zun had previously pestered him every night, but after that night, Mo Zun did not come again, and there was no one else in the palace except for the occasional attendant and A¡¯Lie. It was a lot lighter on his ears


    It was probably because his words were vicious enough that Mo Zun finally gave up his heart. Ning Zhiyu''s heart was devoid of sorrow or joy, and there were no ripples.


    In the first two years, in order to get his attention, Mo Zun pretended to flirt with a demon girl in front of him, hugging her and saying that he wanted to marry her as the queen. However, when Ning Zhiyu saw this, he did not react, and even calmly wished him and the new queen to have a son soon and grow old together, which made Mo Zun torment him that night, and he was in a coma for five days afterwards.


    Later on, Mo Zun didn''t dare to treat him that way again, but he had done many things that seemed foolish to Ning Zhiyu, and he didn''t know what he was trying to do this time.


    At night, when his mind was quiet, Ning Zhiyu would think of his past with Yan Yuan in the mortal world.


    He had grown up alone and unloved, but Yan Yuan was the only one who treated him well, caring whether he was hot or cold, happy or sad, and would not force him to do things he did not like, like others did.


    This is something that Mo Zun couldn''t compete with. Just like how when he didn''t like being locked up here, Mo Zun still wanted to lock him up, when he didn''t like staying in the Demon Realm, Mo Zun wouldn''t let him go, and even when he didn''t want to stay alive, Mo Zun wouldn''t grant him such a small wish.


    In the first year of his captivity in the Demon Realm, Ning Zhiyu attempted to commit suicide no less than five times, banging his head against the wall, biting his tongue, and slitting his throat with a broken porcelain tile he had secretly hidden... Each time, he was found and saved just as it was about to happen, or shortly after it happened.


    Before his sixth attempt at suicide, Mo Zun chained him up and cast some kind of spell on him so that he could not even bite his tongue to kill himself.


    Now Ning Zhiyu is alive, but he is just a walking corpse.


    The candle flame in the bedchamber flickered, extinguished for a moment as the door was pushed open, and then quickly reignited. Ning Zhiyu was lying on the bed with his back to the door, his eyes closed and unmoving, when the sound of slow, heavy footsteps came from behind him.


    As Mo Zun approached, Ning Zhiyu smelt the strong, pungent smell of blood and could not help but wrinkle his eyebrows.


    "Get out."


    The footsteps paused and finally stopped at the edge of the bed


    Mo Zun was wearing a basalt war robe with two large holes torn on his waist and chest, and the blood that gushed out was almost dried up. He aimed his palm at himself and cast a spell to remove his battle robe, which was soiled with dust and blood.


    A short time later, Ning Zhiyu was embraced from behind by a sturdy arm and felt Mo Zun''s body press up against him. He instantly struggled and slammed his elbow into Mo Zun''s chest.


    That blow must have cracked his wound, as blood instantly seeped through Ning Zhiyu''s white sleeves and clung wetly to the skin of his elbow.


    The breathing in his ears became ragged, but instead of letting go of him, Mo Zun held him tighter, as if that would ease the pain in his body.


    Ning Zhiyu was not the least bit interested in the cause of Mo Zun''s injury, and he hit the wound on his chest hard a few times before the strength of Mo Zun''s embrace finally relaxed.


    Ning Zhiyu took the opportunity to move his body forward and out of Mo Zun''s embrace, pulling at the chains for a moment.


    "Don''t touch me, you stink."


    The smell of blood was already bad, and a demon''s blood smelled even a little heavier.


    But the stench should not be that bad.


    Perhaps because he was injured, Mo Zun didn''t have the strength to touch him again. This was Mo Zun''s territory, so Ning Zhiyu said that he should get out, but in his heart he knew that his will was useless, so he did not continue to waste his energy on useless things.


    The two of them lay in peace with each other, and Mo Zun''s low, muffled voice rang out from behind him:


    "The gods and demons are at war."


    With this, the reason for his injury was explained.


    Ning Zhiyu didn''t make a sound.


    His heart was like stagnant water, he was not interested in this. No matter who won or lost, it did not matter, the person he cared about had died long ago.


    Mo Zun came up from behind and put his arm around Ning Zhiyu''s waist to hold his hand, saying in a low voice, "Don''t be afraid, I will protect you."


    Ning Zhiyu felt amused, "What am I afraid of?"


    Was he afraid that he would be treated as a demon and be wiped out by the gods in one fell swoop?


    If that was the case, it would be a good thing.


    This time, no matter how hard Ning Zhiyu tried to resist Mo Zun''s body, the latter held him tightly and didn''t let go of him, and Ning Zhiyu felt his back was soaked with Mo Zun''s blood.


    This time, it was Yan Yuan himself who led the troops in the war. Yan Yuan most likely already knew about the demonic compulsion, he had recovered his memory and realised that he was framed for the death of his lover, so he would definitely want to take revenge. Ning Zhiyu, as one of the people involved in the incident, would have difficulty escaping from it.


    If the demons lose, there will be no one left to protect Ning Zhiyu.


    So he had to win.


    For Ning Zhiyu''s sake, for A''Lie''s sake, and for the sake of the people of the Demon Clan.


    "It''s nothing, just remember that no matter what happens, I will protect you.¡± Mo Zun said firmly, word by word, phrase by phrase.¡°Pretentious." Ning Zhiyu snorted.


    The next day, Mo Zun left before dawn. Before he got up to leave, he hugged Ning Zhiyu and said, "¡­ A''Ning, if I win, teach me to write your name."


    Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes and replied lightly, "You are not worthy of it even in your next life."


    Mo Zun was silent for a few moments and did not press the issue any further.


    After he left, Ning Zhiyu no longer felt like sleeping, and stared numbly upwards with his eyes open, motionless.


    Before Mo Zun left, he had changed his clothes and the blood-soiled mattress, so the smell of blood in the air was so faint that it could barely be smelled.


    There was a pile of books beside the pillow on the inner side of the bed, containing poems, songs, ancient stories and love stories, all kinds of books, which Mo Zun had asked his men to obtain from the mortal world, but now Ning Zhiyu did not even have the desire to open them.


    After about half a stick of incense, the dark red boundary outside the demon palace shifted a little and the door to Ning Zhiyu''s bedchamber was slowly pushed open. He thought it was a demon attendant and didn''t bother.


    "Long time no see."


    When the calm, magnetic, familiar voice rang out, Ning Zhiyu thought he was hallucinating. He turned his head in a daze to look over and see the person he had been thinking about for so long.


    Dragging his chains to sit up, he looked at the person without moving, opened his mouth, and with great effort, managed to make a bit of a laboured sound.


    ¡°A''Yuan......"


    Yan Yuan saw him cry, and was not as anxious and worried as before, but only smiled lightly.


    "From now on, don''t call me A''Yuan, you know I already have a sweetheart, if he knows, he will misunderstand me."


    "Call me Yan Yuan."


    Ning Zhiyu''s eyes were filled with tears, causing the figure in front of him to blur. He had many things he wanted to say to Yan Yuan, he wanted to ask him how he survived and why he came here, but when he heard Yan Yuan say that, he swallowed his words and pulled out a smile.


    "... Okay."


    In the past, Mo Zun had told him about the previous lives of the Heavenly Emperor and Xuan Long in the mortal world. When he calmed down a bit and thought about it, he knew that since Yan Yuan could break into the Demon Realm, he must not be a mortal anymore.


    It seems that what Mo Zun said was true.


    "I know about the demonic compulsion." Yan Yuan spoke indifferently.


    Ning Zhiyu was stunned for a moment before returning to his senses and smiling, "Have you come to take revenge today?"


    Yan Yuan shook his head: "I have come to save you."


    "I will not hold a grudge against you, but I will not let Mo Zun and the Demon Clan go."


    "Since the last war between the gods and the demons, the demon race has been greatly wounded. After killing the demon lord, the demon army has no leader, and it is inevitable that the momentum will disappear. I need you to help me."


    "... Are you willing?"


    What past life kindness, Ning Zhiyu has no memories before being a mortal, but he understood the latter words.


    Mo Zun had forced him to have a child and imprisoned him here for four whole years. He hated Mo Zun, he had no reason to refuse.


    But why was he hesitating?...


    Perhaps it was because of cowardice, never having killed anyone before.


    "......"


    "If you don''t want to, it doesn''t matter, I will still take you out of here." Seeing Ning Zhiyu''s limbs imprisoned in chains, Yan Yuan knew he was not doing well.


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and murmured, "No... I am willing."


    There was no reason for him not to be willing.

 CH 135

    The War of Gods and Demons ¨C Part 3


    ¡®Rumble-''


    After a muffled thunder clap, lightning cut through the sky, the coiled veins tearing the dark sky into countless pieces. The blood mist formed by the death of the demons remained for a long time, and half of the sky was dyed blood red, just as tragic as the battle between the gods and demons ten thousand years ago.


    Beneath the Demon City, the demons and the heavenly soldiers were killing each other. The claws of the demons cut through the armour of the heavenly soldiers and their internal organs flowed all over the ground, while the lances of the heavenly soldiers pierced into the eyes and bellies of the demons, and their harsh cries resounded through the sky...


    Mo Zun wielded a demonic blade that glowed with black air, exchanging blows with Xuan Long''s silver longsword in mid-air. A chilling light flashed, reflecting Mo Zun''s icy red eyes.


    He snorted.


    "A dog of the Gods."


    "Have you forgotten how Yan Yuan treated you?"


    "He plucked your scales and gouged out your flesh, yet you forgave him like this and are still foolishly working for him, you are truly the most foolish dragon in the world."


    The two had already exchanged no less than a hundred strikes between them. Xuan Long dodged a dark slash from Mo Zun, and his murderous blade stabbed at Mo Zun''s chest, which was blocked horizontally by the blade in Mo Zun''s hand.


    The god and the demon stopped in mid-air, two figures, one silver and one black, their long hair dancing in the wind, their clothes fluttering.


    "Your flesh has not been reshaped for long, so I suppose your soul is still weak, right? Yet he sent you out into the battlefield like this?"


    "Look, he doesn''t love you at all, how about falling into the demonic path and coming to my Demon Clan as a great general?..."


    Ning Zhiyu was so devoted to Yan Yuan that it made Mo Zun jealous. If Xuan Long had really fallen into the demonic path, Yan Yuan would have died of anger.


    It''s a pity that this dragon has a face that no one wants to approach, but in fact, it had a one-track mind and did not change course at all.


    Xuan Long''s lips were pursed and he didn''t say a word the whole time, but his movements became more and more aggressive, and his strikes were aimed at Mo Zun''s face.


    As a general of the Gods, it was his honour and mission to fight for the Gods, and he could not allow anyone else to have an opinion.


    Although the Demon Realm was not as powerful as it used to be, it was not something that the Gods could easily take down. More and more heavenly soldiers and demons fell, and one after another, both Mo Zun and Xuan Long suffered external wounds.


    In this battle between the gods and the demons, Yan Yuan personally led the fight, and the wound to Mo Zun''s heart was thanks to Yan Yuan. He didn''t want to rest for the night, and there was no sign of Yan Yuan today.


    Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Mo Zun slashed at Xuan Long''s neck with the curved blade in his hand. Xuan Long tilted his head and back-flipped to avoid it, leaving a faint bloody mark on his neck. The moment he landed, he raised his leg and struck at Mo Zun''s face.


    "Where is Yan Yuan?


    "He just left you alone, as he did ten thousand years ago?"


    It was impossible for Xuan Long to answer his obvious provocation. He leapt up and kicked the boundary with one leg, breaking it and scattering the red light in all directions.


    The two were once again entangled, moving so fast that they were barely visible to onlookers. Mo Zun never forgetting to sneer, "He, the Emperor of Heaven, has done a really considerate job, thrusting you into battle ten thousand years ago and causing you to die a horrible death, and it is still the same ten thousand years later."


    "Tsk, such an immortal couple, I''m afraid, is the worst in the Immortal Realm."


    The cold wind whistled in his ears, scraping his cheeks. Just as Mo Zun had said, Xuan Long had been destroyed and his soul reshaped, his body was still weak, his spiritual power had not fully recovered, and even though he was facing this battle with all his might, he was still gradually at a disadvantage.


    It was as if the cracks in his soul had been torn open even more, and the pain gradually corroded his flesh, becoming somewhat unbearable.


    His breath was disorganised and his movements slowed down.


    Mo Zun forced him to retreat and found the right moment to control the demonic blade to stab him in the heart with such speed that Xuan Long had no time to dodge.


    Time became very long in this moment.


    It was like this ten thousand years ago; after defeating the demon generals one after another, Xuan Long, already exhausted, was forced to confront Mo Zun, and the moment the demonic blade stabbed him in the heart, he thought of Yan Yuan.


    There might not be a way to go see the sea with him.


    That wish, after ten thousand years, had still not been fulfilled.


    Neither would there be any more possibilities for the next ten thousand thousand lifetimes.


    Perhaps his life had always been ridiculous. He had been born as a lonely star, not qualified to have love, and even if it was found, it was useless, the love he had stolen would eventually have to be returned, and he would be punished for it in the most cruel way.


    He had been alone in the world for a long time, and he did not know why. It was good that A''Zhi had someone who really loved him and would not suffer as much as he had.


    When he left ten thousand years ago, Xuan Long felt reluctant to leave, but at this moment he was at peace.


    Perhaps he was relieved and no longer looked forward to anything.


    Spiritual energy rushed through his body, Xuan Long''s throat itched, and blood gushed out of his mouth without restraint. The demonic blade cut through the air and was about to pierce Xuan Long''s chest when it was suddenly struck down to the ground by a powerful burst of spiritual energy.


    Mo Zun recalled the blade and looked soberly at the person who had come, only to see Yan Yuan dropping his hand which was exerting spiritual power. His long hair was half-tied, and he was dressed in a light white robe with a warm smile on his lips, but his right hand was clasped tightly around Ning Zhiyu''s neck like an eagle''s claw. With just a little force, Ning Zhiyu, a mortal, would be returned to the ground by his hand.


    Inside the demon palace, there was a boundary set by Mo Zun, so it was warm in winter and cool in summer, so there was no need to wear extra clothes. In this cold weather, Ning Zhiyu was wearing a thin white robe, and his calves and feet were exposed to the air.


    The wind made his clothes bulge and then deflate. Compared to Yan Yuan''s tall figure, he looked so thin and frail, as if he would shatter if he bent hard enough.


    ¡°A''Ning...¡± Mo Zun never expected to see Ning Zhiyu on the battlefield, and a brief moment of dismay swept across his handsome young face.


    Xuan Long was equally stunned, not understanding what Yan Yuan was doing.


    Soon, Mo Zun came back to his senses and tightened his grip on the demonic blade in his hand, his red eyes, suppressed with anger, fixed on Ning Zhiyu''s pale face, "... Let go of him."


    The subtle reaction was taken in by Yan Yuan, who smiled without moving, "Want to save him?... Then how about using your life, and the lives of the entire demon race, to exchange for his life alone?"


    ¡°Don''t even think about it.¡± Mo Zun gritted his teeth and wanted to rush up and take Ning Zhiyu back, but he didn''t dare risk it, the lives of the human race were too fragile, if he lost him, he wouldn''t be able to get him back.


    "There is a blood feud between the gods and demons, between you and me, and there is hatred for killing my wife. Ning Zhiyu was involved in your plot to put a demonic compulsion into me, causing my wife to be separated from me. I will not spare any of you."


    "I originally thought that if you were willing to trade yourself and your entire demon clan for him, I could let him go and let him live on, but I didn''t know that you would refuse so simply.  What a pity, what a pity..." Yan Yuan shook his head with a soft sigh, and a dagger with a cold glow appeared in his palm, which was clamped around Ning Zhiyu''s neck, and pressed against his flesh.


    Yan Yuan lowered his head and said to the hostage in his arms in a voice that was not too loud and not too quiet, and that could be heard by several people floating in mid-air, "Didn''t you say he cared about you, how come he was indifferent even when he saw you dying..."


    "Since that''s the case, I''ll kill you..."


    As his words fell, Ning Zhiyu felt a sharp pain in the middle of his neck, and he gently drew a cold breath as his face grew paler and paler.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Mo Zun''s red pupils tightened violently, staring at the line of blood on Ning Zhiyu''s neck, almost unable to hold back. He was not faster than the knife in Yan Yuan''s hand, and if the blade went any further in, Ning Zhiyu would die.


    He had lived for so long but had never really liked anyone. Ning Zhiyu was the first person for whom he had been able to feel the desire to hold in his arms and treat properly.


    Even if the other person had never given him the slightest chance.


    All he knew was that he liked this person very much, so much so that he was going crazy, so much so that he could secretly rejoice for a long time even if Ning Zhiyu looked at him one more time. He liked him so much that he knew that he was disgusted with him, but he still wanted to bind him to his side in a way that Ning Zhiyu did not like, because he did not know how else he could keep him.


    He loved to see Ning Zhiyu smile, he smiled so gently, like a breeze in early spring. But Ning Zhiyu never smiled at him like that, and even when he did smile, it was cold. He was gentle to everyone, the palace maids, the eunuchs, even an unknown cook he had taken from Earth, but he was cold and cruel to him and A''Lie, and never treated them with kindness.


    He knew that Ning Zhiyu hated him for being a demon, but it was an innate identity that could not be changed. He knew that Ning Zhiyu would never like him, and no matter how hard he tried, everything he did would still be a joke in the other''s eyes.


    But he was just so stubborn that he wouldn''t let go.


    "Heartbroken?" Yan Yuan lifted his head and smiled. "Ten thousand years ago, when you killed my immortal partner, you had no idea how much it hurt me. Ten thousand years later, when you planted the demonic compulsion in me and made me kill the love of my life with my own hands, did you know how much it hurt...¡± As he murmured, the corners of his eyes reddened silently...


    ¡°Now, with just this, you are heartbroken?"


    "In that case, you can suffer for him, okay?..."


    Killing, killing, killing, never-ending killing, blood mist tumbled and shrouded the sky. The demons and heavenly soldiers below repeated the increasingly frantic killing, the scene unbearable.


    Ning Zhiyu was bewildered by what was happening.


    He had never told Yan Yuan that Mo Zun cared for him, and he did not want to mention a word of this filthy past.


    Before Yan Yuan pretended to abduct him, he only said that he should accompany him in a scene, a scene that would allow the gods to win without fighting.


    At first he did not understand what Yan Yuan wanted to do, but now he finally understood. Yan Yuan wanted to use his life as a bargaining chip to force the Demon Lord to give up his people and put an end to himself.


    This was a ridiculous thing in Ning Zhiyu''s view. A demon like that could not die because of a small human being. Mo Zun might try to please him in any way he could, but the price was definitely based on having nothing to lose, just as someone would be willing to please a puppy, but no one would ever be willing to die for a dog.


    True love should be to like what the other person likes and to feel the other person''s pain. Mo Zun had kept him here for four whole years, never really taking into account his feelings; he was no different from a dog with no dignity.


    "It''s useless... he won''t compromise because of me..." Ning Zhiyu''s lips were blue and purple from the cold, and he was trembling slightly as he spoke, his thin body shivering.


    His body was so weak, how could he stand such cold? Mo Zun knew that he must be very cold and must be very scared. He did not know that as long as Ning Zhiyu was in Yan Yuan''s arms, even if he was being held against a brightly shining knife, it was a hundred times better in Ning Zhiyu''s heart than being by his side.


    He couldn''t think of anything else, but remembered his words that night, when he had said very seriously that no matter what happened, he would protect him, even if it meant with his life.


    So he said:


    "Okay¡­ I''ll suffer for him."

 CH 136

    You Are Free


    Mo Zun''s expression was as resolute as he was when he drunkenly confessed his love to Ning Zhiyu. A long time ago, he had heard from his subordinates that it was fashionable for the human race to die for love, and that if they could not have each other, then they would die together and go to the underworld as lovebirds.


    He had always scoffed at that kind of foolishness; they were not like that, demons seemed to have been born with a thin temperament, with an addiction to killing, and love was a rare thing for them, existing only among a few of the higher demons. Even if they had it, it would not be more important than their own lives.


    When he was young, he happened to overhear a conversation between his father and mother. Ten thousand years ago, the first demon king married a human as his queen. The family probably carried the bloodline of that human, so there was always some kind of infatuation in their bones.


    His father was devoted to his mother, and his two brothers were devoted to their wives, unlike the rest of the higher demons who had many concubines in their backyard.


    Mo Zun originally thought that he was the only demon who had not inherited the affectionate nature, but he later realised that this was not the case; he simply had not yet met someone he truly loved, and if he did, he would lose his life.


    Just like the elder brother who died defending his wife and daughter from a sword in the battle between the gods and demons ten thousand years ago.


    They were a family after all.


    ¡°Okay, stab the demon blade in your hand into your own heart, and I will release him." After being slightly surprised, Yan Yuan smiled lightly.


    He was not sure what kind of existence Ning Zhiyu was to Mo Zun, and he was gambling; gambling that Mo Zun liked Ning Zhiyu.


    It was a strange thing in itself to have survived intact at the hands of a demon until now. Although Ning Zhiyu''s hands and feet were bound by demonic chains when he saw him, each of the shackles that bound him was meticulously wrapped in cowhide, proving that Mo Zun did not want Ning Zhiyu to get hurt, not even with the slightest wound.


    As it turned out, he had bet correctly.


    Equally surprised was Ning Zhiyu, who was being held in Yan Yuan''s arms with a dagger. He looked at Mo Zun''s cold face and murmured softly, "It can''t be... he can''t possibly die for me..."


    "Beware of deception..."


    "No, he will." Yan Yuan observed Mo Zun''s expression and spoke with certainty.


    Several of the demon generals below who were tearing at the gods raised their heads and yelled anxiously at the Demon Lord, telling him not to get carried away, but they failed to stop him from slowly raising the demon blade in his hand as he whispered:


    "Okay."


    As if sensing its master''s intentions, the demon blade buzzed and trembled uneasily. A black and red demonic aura wrapped around the half-curved blade, thickening and fading at times. Mo Zun looked at the demon blade in his hand for a moment and suddenly laughed.


    The demon generals, entangled with the gods and unable to break away, could only roar frantically at the Demon Lord, intent on stopping their king from destroying himself for the sake of a human.


    "King- don''t-"


    "He doesn''t love you at all-!!!"


    Whoever was roaring like this from below, Mo Zun heard it. He knew Ning Zhiyu did not love him, he knew it better than anyone.


    Not only did his A''Ning not love him, he hated him.


    According to reason, he shouldn''t have to die for someone who didn''t love him and would only treat him coldly, but the truth was that just seeing Ning Zhiyu being held with a knife to his neck and bleeding so much made him feel as if a knife had been stabbed into his own heart, and he was shaking with fear of even breathing.


    That was even worse than letting him die himself.


    His subordinates were right, he might be crazy. Or perhaps he has been infected with a curse called A''Ning, which is even more powerful than the demonic compulsion.


    He didn''t know when he had started to fall deeper and deeper into it. At first, he seemed to resent the fact that Ning Zhiyu treated everyone gently and politely, but when he saw him, he was like a stinking maggot in a cesspit. When had a demon ever been spat upon like this by anyone around him? The more he disliked him, the more he wanted to see the way Ning Zhiyu would smile at him.


    But he had never liked anyone before, and he could not do such things as coaxing people, after all, as a demon lord, he had always been the one to be flattered by others.


    However, he had devoted himself to learning from his subordinates about how to please people. He remembered that Ning Zhiyu liked to read books, so he went to the mortal world and bought a lot of them, along with four literary treasures. One day, when Ning Zhiyu was in a good mood, he might want to recite poetry and write a poem. He was afraid that if he gave them to Ning Zhiyu personally, they would be thrown out, so he asked his subordinates to send them to him every time.


    The other party should not have sensed his feelings, or if he did, he still did not care about it. In fact, it was clear that it was the latter, but he did not want to think about it too much. Even though Ning Zhiyu''s words were as vicious as they were, he was still delusional enough to think that one day this human would be moved by him.


    Unfortunately, he was too stupid to learn how to really make him laugh until now.


    The heart-rending roars of his subordinates were completely discarded from the world of the Demon Lord, and he raised his blood-coloured pupils to look at Ning Zhiyu, as usual, saying:


    ¡°A''Ning... teach me to write your name."


    The voice was low and rustling, scattered in the wind.


    Probably sensing something, Ning Zhiyu forgot to say any of those snide remarks, and stared blankly at Mo Zun with bewilderment between his brows.


    Seeing that he didn''t say anything, Mo Zun lowered his eyes and laughed a little.


    "Look, I''m talking nonsense again."


    "I know you don''t like to hear it, but I still have to upset you... No wonder you loathe me so much."


    "... I know that you are not doing well beside me, but I do not want to let you go, nor do I want you to die, so I can only keep you prisoner. I thought, you are so kind, even stepping on an ant would make you sad for a long time, maybe one day you will also be soft to me and A''Lie, and then our family can be happy."


    Ning Zhiyu''s brain was so sluggish from the freezing cold that he could barely find his voice: "Why should I be soft on you... It''s all because you are self-absorbed, I hate you."


    Mo Zun was silent for a moment: ¡°En, you have no reason to be soft on me." He raised his head as he said: "Didn''t you always say that you wanted me to die?"


    "Finally, I can do what you want."


    Ning Zhiyu didn''t quite understand what Mo Zun wanted, and up until this moment, he still didn''t think Mo Zun would die for him.


    It was too absurd.


    He must have some kind of scheme...


    Amidst Ning Zhiyu''s disordered thoughts, the blade in Mo Zun''s hand was raised to a position flush with his heart. His eyes did not leave Ning Zhiyu''s face for a moment, but the words from his mouth were for Yan Yuan to hear.


    "At the cost of my soul''s demise, I swear to the Heavenly Way... that I will die in exchange for my beloved wife''s life. If you do not respect this oath, the nine heavenly thunderbolts will descend, the Way will perish, my body will be destroyed, and I will never be reborn."


    At the same time his last word fell, the blade in Mo Zun''s hand pierced his heart. Through the cold wind, Ning Zhiyu could hear a ''pfft'' sound, his whole body was numb, and he stared dumbly at the demon, unable to react.


    "King-!!!!" The demon soldiers and generals roared in despair.


    Mo Zun''s body trembled, and a lot of blood gushed out of his lips all at once, so much that it turned his handsome face very beautiful.


    Mo Zun was originally a very distinguished person, and his appearance was by no means inferior to Yan Yuan''s. Because Ning Zhiyu did not like him, and disliked him for being disgusting and vicious, he never looked at him directly.


    But today, Mo Zun''s behaviour was so unbelievable that Ning Zhiyu had to look at him more and was unable to take his eyes off him. He had always felt that demons were inhuman, so he had always despised him, but now he couldn''t understand.


    No matter how powerful a demon is, if they were to have their heart pierced by a demon blade, it would be impossible for them to live, and their unbelievable self-healing ability would become a mere illusion. More blood dripped from Mo Zun''s mouth, and when he saw Ning Zhiyu staring at him like this, he couldn''t help but smile at him in a breathless manner.


    ¡°A''Ning..."


    "¡­ A''Ning..."


    He knew Ning Zhiyu wouldn''t answer him, he just wanted to call out more; if he didn''t, he would no longer have the chance.


    He hadn''t been able to learn how to write his lover''s name in the end.


    Because the person he loved wouldn''t teach him.


    "I know you hate me... but A''Lie was always born to you, you must not treat him too heartlessly."


    "Being born a demon... was not his choice. If you are willing to teach him... perhaps, A''Lie can also grow up to be as humble as you..."


    When he was pregnant, Ning Zhiyu was carrying twins in his womb. As a human, he could not bear such a large amount of demonic energy, and there was not enough nutrients to nourish the children, so there was only one left when he gave birth.


    Mo Zun could not read or write, so he could not think of a meaningful name. On the day the child was born, the snow was falling and the wind was cold, so he was named A''Lie.


    Ning Zhiyu knew all of this.


    Soon after the birth of the child, he was sent to the cold palace. There was no one around him, but Mo Zun, who had disappeared for a long time, appeared out of nowhere. When he didn''t want to talk, Mo Zun wouldn''t say anything, he just stayed with him quietly and asked him if he wanted to go with him.


    He didn''t want to go, he just wanted to be left alone to die, but the demon was so annoying; bowl after bowl of medicine was poured down his throat, bringing him back from the brink of death.


    From that moment on, Ning Zhiyu hated him, hated him for forcing him to live in such misery; how could he not hate him when the appearance of the Demon Lord had caused him to lose everything?


    A little more than half a month after the baby was born, the snow stopped and the sun was shining in the late afternoon that day. Mo Zun carried him to a reclining chair in the courtyard to bask in the sun, and then took the swaddled child out and asked him: would it be alright if our child was called A''Lie?


    At that time, Mo Zun seemed to be a little embarrassed to say such things. He couldn''t possibly be bothered by it, as how would someone who was going to die care what a little bastard''s name was? Although Mo Zun was gloomy, he didn''t pester him further.


    Ning Zhiyu felt strange, how could he remember those memories that had long since fallen into dust, so clearly that he could even remember all those days in vivid detail.


    Mo Zun brought chicken soup to him to feed him, but he waved his hand and knocked it to the ground. Mo Zun wiped his face, but he turned his head away from him and told him to get lost, but not only did Mo Zun refuse to get lost, he was even slapped across the face for it. When Mo Zun coaxed him to drink the medicine, he did not want to drink it, so Mo Zun told him some interesting stories from the teahouse to amuse him. He cried as he listened to them, because Yan Yuan used to do the same thing to lull him to sleep when he was not well.


    Ning Zhiyu suddenly understood that this demon might really like him, not just regarding him as a dispensable plaything, otherwise how could he be willing to die for him?


    Mo Zun''s body became transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye amidst the wailing of the demon soldiers and generals. Yan Yuan let go of Ning Zhiyu and they stood together in mid-air with an auspicious cloud under their feet.


    ¡°A''Ning... you are free."


    It all happened so fast, so fast that Ning Zhiyu had no time to react, he didn''t even have time to answer Mo Zun, to say those words that were enough to pierce the other side, before Mo Zun''s body turned into a blood mist and scattered in all directions.


    ¨C His lover was gentle, but treated him cruelly and never offered him a smile.

 CH 137

    Don''t Look Back


    Mo Zun was right, Ning Zhiyu was free from this moment on.


    But he felt as though there was a piece of his heart that was left empty. He was not as happy as he expected to be when Mo Zun died, he just felt the suddenness. He was just a floating duckweed in this world, having lost his place of origin and having no place to return to, there was no place for him in the whole world.


    Yan Yuan said he wanted to take him away, but what could he do if he left with him, they could not go back to the past. When he thought about it, the only living creature in this world with whom he had an unbreakable bond was the soft dumpling that he repeatedly called a little bastard.


    With the death of the Demon Lord, the demon soldiers and generals lost their backbone and were soon defeated and sealed by the gods beneath the Divine South Ridge, plunging the demon city into the darkness of the earth with a deafening noise that stirred sand up into the sky.


    Ning Zhiyu''s heart ached intensely as he remembered that tiny figure standing by his bedside, calling out to his mother in a milky voice. He stumbled over to Yan Yuan and knelt down, the rough sand and stones grinding into his knees, but he could not feel the pain.


    The knife in Yan Yuan''s palm faded away, and he withdrew his hand to look at Ning Zhiyu, who knelt on the ground, with his frozen, blue hand touching the hem of Yan Yuan''s white coat, tugging it gently as he smiled softly:


    "Yan Yuan, I was born humble, to meet you has been a lifelong blessing. I know I have done wrong and am not qualified to ask for anything more, but I still want to ask you for one thing today. If you agree, I would give my life to repent for the mistakes I have made."


    Yan Yuan was silent for a moment.


    "Say it."


    "Spare my child."


    Yan Yuan frowned slightly, "He is a demon."


    "Although he is a demon, he has been obedient since he was a child, and if you tell him not to do something, he will not do anything that would make people unhappy." Finishing without haste, Ning Zhiyu dropped to his knees and kowtowed.


    "Please..."


    The winter was harsh. Ning Zhiyu''s thin white robe was blowing and ballooning in the cold wind, and his skin felt like it was being cut by countless sharp blades at the same time; he had been in a state of confusion for four years, and had never been as awake as he was now.


    Many things that had been deliberately ignored in the past came back to him. He remembered that the day A''Lie was born was as cold as it was today. He was very sick, muttering about being cold, and soon a human-shaped stove entered the cold bedding. He unconsciously leaned over, and when he came to his senses, he realised that it was not the person he wanted to see, and he had been crazy for a long time.


    Speaking of which, he was gentle and courteous before everyone, and knew how to advance and retreat. Only in front of Mo Zun did he act like a hysterical madman, saying anything bad and hurtful outwardly with no restraint, hoping that Mo Zun would go mad and kill him so that he could be done with it, but he never thought that one day Mo Zun would die for him.


    Having seen all his ugliness, his wretchedness, his madness and his undignified demons, he was actually the one being who truly accepted him and was willing to accompany him to the end.


    Unfortunately they were both too stubborn and not meant to be. If they had met earlier, in some other simpler way, perhaps he would not have minded that he was a demon.


    So what if he was a demon? Treating him well would have been good enough.


    But there are no what-ifs in this world, and what has happened will not change. From the moment of Mo Zun¡¯s death, no one on Heaven or Earth would be able to condone Ning Zhiyu''s capriciousness in this way.


    If he had to name one, it would be the soft dumpling he was forced to give birth to.


    That soft dumpling had been a very good boy ever since he understood how to behave, and he used to love to jump into Ning Zhiyu''s arms. After being reprimanded by Ning Zhiyu a few times, he stopped being so petulant with him and approached him in an extremely measured manner every time, knowing how to behave like a little adult.


    At that time, he did not look into the matter, but now that he thought about it, A''Lie''s good manners and knowledge of advance and retreat should have been taught behind the scenes by Mo Zun. He could even imagine the tone of voice in which Mo Zun coaxed the child, telling him how to get along with his mother in order to please him, and how A''Lie carefully followed his father''s words, not knowing that, in fact, his father was a complete failure and had never been able to please his mother in any way, therefore, his father''s methods naturally did not work well.


    However, like his father, he had the advantage of not giving up easily. No matter how many times he had received a cold face from Ning Zhiyu, when they met again, it was as if nothing had happened, and he would softly call out to his mother.


    It was obvious that he was only four years old.


    Apart from giving birth to him, Ning Zhiyu had never done his duty as a parent for a single day and had never given him a moment''s kindness. The occasional softness in his heart would be cruelly curbed by him, when he remembered the heinous hatred between him and Mo Zun, and how he was forced to give birth to that little bastard, he would be able to ruthlessly turn a cold face to him.


    Only those who are showered with love have extra love to give to others. How can he nourish others when he himself is a dry sea?


    Ning Zhiyu could not hear Yan Yuan''s reply, so he kowtowed at his feet over and over again, so much so that his forehead bled and it trickled down between his eyebrows.


    Seeing his pitiful condition, Yan Yuan remembered how Xuan Long had begged him to keep his child alive in the mortal world. For reasons of love, as a mother, it was only right that he should protect his child. However, A''Lie, that child had the blood of the demons in his body, and if he was not sealed, there would be endless problems in the future.


    The gods and generals behind him all advised Yan Yuan not to do so. As he was taking Ning Zhiyu back to Heaven to be the Heavenly Empress, there was no way he could bring an illegitimate child back with him, and furthermore, this illegitimate child was a demon.


    Yan Yuan raised his hand and the gods silenced. He turned his head to look at Xuan Long beside him and asked, ¡°A''... General, what do you think?"


    Xuan Long paused slightly: "If there is goodness in your heart, you can be redeemed and ascend to become a god."


    That is naturally not an easy task.


    However, it would not be impossible if someone led him to be benevolent with all his heart. If he failed in the future, he could be eliminated. Yan Yuan made up his mind and sighed.


    ¡°All right, even though that child is a demon, half of the blood within him is divine after all, just bring him back to the Heavenly Realm to remove the demon''s blood and rehabilitate him properly."


    Ning Zhiyu lifted his limp body, sighed in relief and smiled, "Thank you..."


    His complexion was so pale that he was blue, and he was bleeding, so he didn''t look too good, and he would probably scare the child.


    Yan Yuan took out a white handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Ning Zhiyu with a short bow. He did not have the habit of carrying a handkerchief with him, but after he had A''Zhi, he often had to wipe the child''s mouth and hands, so he would always keep one on him.


    "You and I will go to the barrier and bring the child out."


    The demons were suppressed underground by the divine power of the Heavenly Emperor, their magic power was gone and they were no threat. When Yan Yuan brought Ning Zhiyu into the demon palace, the demon attendants outside were lying on their backs sleeping, and A''Lie was lying in the middle of the big bed dressed in his robes, with his long hair carefully braided into hundreds of pigtails and spread out at his side.


    Previously, Ning Zhiyu had never looked at his child properly, and it was only then that he noticed a tiny tear drop mole at the bottom corner of his eye, growing next to his drooping eyelashes like a bit of ash, which could not be seen unless he looked closely.


    Tentatively, he reached out to gently touch the little dumpling''s soft face, but stopped when he was about to make contact and withdrew.


    Seeing him lost in thought, Yan Yuan explained, "The divine suppression will cause the demons to fall into a deep sleep, he will be fine once we get out."


    ¡°En." Ning Zhiyu softly replied, bending down and picking up the little dumpling from the bed.


    The little dumpling looked small but was actually heavier than expected and very soft. This was the first time Ning Zhiyu had carried him, so he was a bit clumsy and with his weak body, cold sweat broke out on the corners of his forehead after just a few moments.


    Yan Yuan looked at him and said, "Do you want me to help you?"


    Ning Zhiyu shook his head and smiled.


    Yan Yuan didn''t persist, he turned around and walked outside, and when he reached the courtyard, the three of them were on the ground in an instant.


    Soon, the little dumpling in Ning Zhiyu''s arms woke up gradually. He initially thought he was dreaming and stretched out his little hand to touch his mother''s face, which was cold and not warm at all, and asked worriedly, "Mother, why is your face so cold..."


    Ning Zhiyu smiled at him, "You''re awake."


    The little dumpling still did not feel that this was reality, for only in his dreams did his mother smile at him so gently.


    He was a little embarrassed to be treated like this by his mother, and nodded with a red face, ¡°En."


    There was a light in Ning Zhiyu''s eyes as he spoke softly, ¡°A¡¯Lie is a good boy, I was wrong to lose my temper with you in the past, I will apologise to you today. I am sorry."


    The wind blew Ning Zhiyu''s long hair, and with his white clothes, he looked like an immortal who could not stand the wind. The little dumpling always thought his mother was very beautiful.


    His father always said that his mother was weak, so A''Lie had to be gentle with him and not make him sad, and he remembered that when he saw his mother crying, he would use his little hand to wipe the tears from his face.


    ¡°A''Lie is not angry with Mother, don¡¯t cry, Mother."


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Mother..."


    Although he knew it was a dream, A''Lie still followed his mother and his eyes became wet. It is said that mother and son are linked by heart; even though his mother has never loved him, he can be happy with what his mother likes and sad about what she is sad about.


    Ning Zhiyu could not hold the little boy in his arms any longer and was afraid of dropping him, so he lowered him to the ground and squatted down to hug his little body, smiling and saying, "You are just like your father, you are very magnanimous..."


    In fact, Mo Zun was never magnanimous, he was always vengeful, he only treated Ning Zhiyu with leniency; he never really got angry when he was being insulted, and even when he did become angry, he didn''t really want to hurt him.


    The little dumpling learned all this from his father.


    There was an emotion in Ning Zhiyu''s eyes that A''Lie could not understand; no matter how intelligent he was and how well he had been taught by Mo Zun, he was still too young.


    "A¡¯Lie, do you see that uncle in white?" Ning Zhiyu looked at Yan Yuan''s back in the distance and spoke.


    When they came out from below, he said he wanted to have a few words with the child alone before he went back, so Yan Yuan avoided them and was talking about something with a few gods at the moment.


    A''Lie looked over following Ning Zhiyu''s gaze and nodded, "Mother, A¡¯Lie saw them."


    Ning Zhiyu lifted his hand and touched his face, smiling, "From now on, A¡¯Lie must be good and obedient, and follow this uncle to learn the immortal arts. Forget about the past."


    A¡¯Lie turned his head in confusion and looked at his mother, "Why should the past be forgotten?..." And why should he learn spells from another uncle? He had his own father who would teach him.


    "The past is the past. Living in this world, you have to look forward, you can¡¯t always think about the past.¡± Ning Zhiyu stroked A¡¯Lie¡¯s forehead and spoke ambiguously.


    A¡¯Lie nodded with seeming understanding, "... What about Mother and Father?"


    Ning Zhiyu: "Mother and Father... are going somewhere."


    He was usually either cold-faced or hysterical towards Mo Zun and the child, and rarely had such a calm moment. The mother in A¡¯Lie¡¯s dreams did smile a lot, but never like this, this was a smile with a kind of unspeakable emotion that made A''Lie inexplicably uncomfortable.


    He whispered, "Where? A¡¯Lie will also go, can I..."


    Ning Zhiyu was about to answer when a divine general came over and reminded him that it was getting late and that it was time to return to the Heavenly Realm, and that it would not be too late to say anything on the road.


    The divine general''s face was icy cold, as he was disgusted with Ning Zhiyu''s appearance, and he left after finishing his speech.


    The little dumpling formed a demonic blade in his hand and was about to go after him, and his cold, demonic red eyes were just like his father''s. Ning Zhiyu grabbed him before he could scamper off.


    A¡¯Lie turned around, his hostility dissipating, and mumbled, "Mother..."


    Ning Zhiyu sighed: "Didn''t I tell you to be obedient in the future, you must not do evil and hurt others, and you must learn immortal arts and do good deeds."


    A''Lie knew he had made a mistake and hung his head, "But Father said that no one in this world could bully Mother, and if anyone did, they would be killed."


    Ning Zhiyu was stunned, and his eyes reddened a little as he looked at the yellow sand raised by the wind in the distance, "People will always make mistakes in life. Just because they make a mistake, you can''t refuse to forgive them.... We must learn to be forgiving to others and forgiving to ourselves."


    "Give others a chance, why not give yourself a chance..."


    What his mother said, his father had never taught him. A''Lie did not understand much, but since it was taught by his mother, it was right, and he took it seriously to heart.


    His mother''s face was so gentle, he wished he could never wake up from his dream...


    "A''Lie, give your demonic blade to Mother." Ning Zhiyu smiled and extended his hand towards the little dumpling.


    A''Lie returned to his senses, looked down at his mother''s palm, "Why?..."


    "Mother will keep it for you. When you perform well in the future, Mother will return it to you."


    The trust that Ah Ling had in his mother was never less than that of his father, and he did not doubt him as he gently placed the black and red demonic blade, which was glowing with black and red demonic energy, into Ning Zhiyu''s palm. It was exactly the same as Mo Zun''s, only smaller in size.


    "Then Mother has to keep it well for A''Lie..." The little body snuggled into his mother''s arms.


    "Mmm." Ning Zhiyu stroked his back and then pushed him away gently.


    "It''s getting late, A''Lie should go and find your Uncle Yan."


    It was not always possible for him to dream of his mother. A''Lie refused to go with a stranger, but Ning Zhiyu coaxed him, saying that he was going to look for his father and that he would catch up with him once he found him.


    A''Lie was obedient as always and took one step back. He did not want to leave such a gentle mother, and stopped to look back for a long time after taking one step.


    Ning Zhiyu looked at his small back with a smile and said:


    "A''Lie."


    "Don''t turn around."


    When his mother told him not to turn back, he held back and didn''t turn back. After walking for a while, he couldn''t resist the urge to turn back, and he heard his mother speak again:


    "Remember, no matter what happens, don''t look back, if you do, Mother will be angry with you and never speak to you again."


    It was really his mother, he knew what A''Lie was afraid of.


    A''Lie did as he was told and didn''t turn around until he heard the sound of brocade ripping.


    Everyone''s movements stopped and they looked behind A''Lie with an astonished expression.


    The demonic blade was bloodthirsty and complemented its master. Whenever it drank blood, its master would instantly feel the magical power rise in his body.


    A''Lie hesitantly stopped in place, and with an extremely slow speed, little by little, bit by bit, he turned around and looked towards Ning Zhiyu.


    "Mother..."


    His mother looked no different from before, except that there was a demonic blade sticking out of his left chest, and blood was staining his white clothes with large red flowers, which were so beautiful that they were blinding.


    It was the one he had handed to his mother.

 CH 138

    Nothing About Me


    The dream was terrible.


    For the first time in his life, his mother was holding him, only to leave him behind in the blink of an eye.


    A''Lie was too young to truly understand the meaning of death, he just looked at his mother like that and felt scared, so scared that he could barely move.


    As Ning Zhiyu collapsed in front of everyone''s eyes, A''Lie mumbled something to his mother and stumbled towards him, only to fall and feel pain on his cheek, realising that it was not a dream.


    His mother had really hugged him.


    He even apologized to him and said he was sorry.


    But why did... Mother want to leave him after he had just gotten close to her?


    He wasn''t angry with his mother.


    A''Lie couldn''t figure it out.


    He knelt down beside Ning Zhiyu and called out lowly in fear and helplessness, "Mother... Mother..."


    Ning Zhiyu opened his eyes and looked slackly at the soft dumpling beside him. He opened his mouth to speak and coughed up a lot of blood, splashing a lot on the soft dumpling''s white face.


    A''Lie shook his little hand to wipe the blood dripping from Ning Zhiyu''s lips, as big bean-sized tears fell from his eyes: "Mother... Mother..."


    This was the first time that Ning Zhiyu had ever seen A''Lie cry. No matter how coldly he treated the child, A''Lie seemed to be unresponsive. He had thought that the child was foolish, but now he thought that was not the case.


    He sighed in his heart and spoke with a breathless voice:


    "I told you... not to turn back... how could you be so disobedient..."


    A''Lie whimpered and cried, grabbing Ning Zhiyu''s hand and pressing it to his face with his blood-stained hand, "A''Lie knows he was wrong, A''Lie will be good and listen to Mother from now on, Mother, don''t be angry with A''Lie..."


    The demonic blade hurt not only the flesh, but also tore at Ning Zhiyu''s soul. He was a mortal, how could he bear this pain? His consciousness became heavier and heavier, and every word he spoke was so difficult that he had to use all his strength.


    The blood mist in the sky cleared as the battle between the gods and demons ended, revealing a serene blue sky. Ning Zhiyu seemed to have gained his freedom, but in reality, his life had long since been dulled, and there was no longer a bright path for him to walk peacefully.


    As he was dying, he looked back on his wasted and futile life and regretted that he had come to this world.


    He had been hurt and had hurt others, and now he had atoned for his sins with his life. The only thing he was sorry for was this soft little dumpling beside him. He was innocent, but was hated by his mother for no reason from birth, and had never received a single sliver of warmth from him.


    Ning Zhiyu was ashamed of A''Lie, but he couldn''t take care of himself, all he could do right now was to try his best to smile at the child and try to lift his hand to wipe away his tears, but he didn''t have the strength.


    "A''Lie, don''t cry... Mother... is not angry with you..."


    "Then why is Mother leaving A''Lie..." The little boy was crying more and more. "A''Lie knows that Mother is often in a bad mood and doesn''t want to see A''Lie, A''Lie can endure not seeing Mother. Mother, don''t leave A''Lie..."


    "A''Lie will listen... Mother... A''Lie will listen..."


    Ning Zhiyu could not bear to look at him again and closed his eyes, a line of tears escaping from the corner of his eyes: "... I''m sorry."


    "A''Lie doesn''t want an apology, A''Lie wants Mother to stay by A''Lie''s side..."


    Ning Zhiyu''s breathing was getting weaker and weaker. A''Lie moved over and hugged his neck, pressing against his face like a puppy, calling hoarsely, "Mother... Mother..."


    Hot tears flowed into the nook of Ning Zhiyu''s neck, but they could not warm his body again. He didn''t live a full life, but he left in a decent way, with a child by his side and someone grieving for him.


    "A''Lie is a good boy... from now on you should listen to Uncle Yan''s... words..." The faint sound of his breath poured into A''Lie''s ears, this kind of advice only made A''Lie feel endlessly afraid.


    "No... A''Lie has a mother and a father, why should he listen to anyone else..."


    "A''Lie doesn''t want anyone, A''Lie only wants his own father and mother..."


    Ning Zhiyu was running out of time, there was no way to continue coaxing him. His eyes were closed and he didn''t even have the strength to open them: "A''Lie doesn''t listen... Mother... won''t like you anymore..."


    The soft dumpling was immediately afraid: "Mother, don''t dislike A''Lie, A''Lie will listen, A''Lie will listen..."


    "Then Mother, don''t leave A''Lie, okay?..."


    Ning Zhiyu curved the corners of his mouth and coaxed him, "Okay..."


    Then he turned his head slightly, "Yan Yuan... I have done everything I promised¡­ what you promised me... must... do it..."


    Yan Yuan and Xuan Long watched all this in silence from the side.


    No one had expected that Ning Zhiyu would suddenly kill himself.


    Ten thousand years ago, Xuan Long was stabbed in the heart with a demonic blade and died, and ten thousand years later, the Demon Lord used a demonic blade to kill himself. Gods and demons were unable to live after being pierced by a demonic blade, let alone Ning Zhiyu''s mortal body.


    There was no way back.


    "... Okay." Yan Yuan replied to him.


    Ning Zhiyu smiled in relief, "Then I''ll... be at ease..."


    The fierce wind had stopped at some point, and the surroundings were quiet, without any sound at all. It was eerily silent.


    A''Lie was stunned for a moment, then propped himself up to look at his mother''s pale face, put his hand gently over his cheek, and cried out tentatively:


    "Mother... Mother..."


    No one responded.


    "Didn''t you promise A''Lie that you wouldn''t leave..."


    "Don''t ignore A''Lie..."


    "Mother... look at A''Lie, look at A''Lie..."


    "A''Lie promised to take Mother to play in the mortal world, A''Lie will take Mother to play in the mortal world today... Mother look at A''Lie, okay?..." No matter how sensible he was, he was just a four-year-old boy who didn''t know what to do when it came to such things.


    No matter how much he shouted, how much he admitted his fault, how much he pouted, Ning Zhiyu ignored him as coldly as before.


    A''Lie did not understand what he had done wrong.


    Why did his mother treat him so badly?


    He had only just started to love him, yet suddenly he was backtracking.


    Ning Zhiyu''s body would not dissipate after death like the gods and demons. A''Lie could not accept that his mother, who was alive and well, had suddenly become a cold corpse.


    He cried out from his heart, like he wanted to vent out all the grievances he had suffered from his mother since he could remember.


    He had never cried in front of his mother before because he did not like him and if he made any noise, he would annoy him even more, so if he had any grievances, he would always talk to his father and cry as he secretly hugged him from behind.


    Now he cried out in front of his mother, but she could not hear him. His mother had always treated him coldly, and when he saw him crying, he might not feel truly sorry for him, but that didn''t matter, he only wanted his mother back. If he came back, it wouldn''t matter if he treated him as badly as before.


    But his mother would not come back.


    When people die, they don''t come back...


    He would never have a mother again.


    A''Lie did not know how to tell his father the news, but if he knew, he would cry too.


    After a long time, the wind suddenly began to howl, laced with the cries of a child''s heart and soul, like the wailing of Heaven and Earth. Such a small child, even smaller than A''Zhi, reminded Yan Yuan of the way he had left A''Zhi in the mortal world, when A''Zhi had also taken his hand and begged him not to leave.


    Even though Ning Zhiyu was at fault, the child was innocent. He promised Ning Zhiyu that he would take care of the child for him, and would give the child a place to live.


    Walking forward, he knelt down and patted A''Lie''s young shoulder from behind: "The deceased has passed away, your mother would not want to see you grieve like this."


    The elderly couldn''t bear the pain of bereavement, so how could A''Lie hear such words? He hugged his mother''s neck and cried so hard that he almost fainted, mumbling that he wanted to take his mother to his father, who might be able to save him.


    The war between the gods and demons, the battle between the two clans, Yan Yuan had no way to explain to A''Lie what was at stake, let alone tell him that he no longer had a father.


    It was too cruel for a four-year-old child to lose both of his beloved parents on the same day.


    As a last resort, Yan Yuan had no choice but to perform the sleeping technique, pick up A''Lie and take him back to the Nine Heavens. Ning Zhiyu''s body was buried on a monument in a quiet place in the mortal world, and a monument was erected. He was born in the mortal world, so he should return to where he came from after his death. He same cleanly and left cleanly.


    On this trip, apart from seeking revenge on the demons, another purpose was to bring Ning Zhiyu back to marry and resolve the heavenly punishment. Now that Ning Zhiyu has killed himself, the original plan had gone awry, and all the immortal gods and goddesses were preoccupied on the way back, feeling no joy at having defeated the demons.


    Yan Yuan rode an auspicious cloud at the front. He deliberately slowed down and travelled side by side with Xuan Long: "Don''t worry about me, as the Emperor of Heaven, I can''t die so easily. If I die, I won''t see you again, and I can''t afford to leave."


    Xuan Long was indeed lost in thought, he didn''t even notice when Yan Yuan reached his side. Hearing this, he looked towards Yan Yuan and saw him smiling lightly at him, and could not help but frown slightly.


    Heavenly punishment, if it was really that easy to endure, why would it be called heavenly punishment?


    Tens of thousands of years ago, there was a god who defied the will of Heaven and died as a result of the heavenly punishment, not even leaving a complete body behind...


    "One day in Heaven, one year underground, if we can find the reincarnated Immortal Monarch Zhiyu before the 15th of next month, it shouldn''t be too late." Xuan Long used his voice transmission technique to speak.


    Yan Yuan could not maintain the smile on his lips and asked in a soft voice, "Do you want me to marry someone else so badly?"


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and did not look at him, "You and Immortal Monarch Zhiyu are destined by the Heavenly Way, it is not something that can be controlled by others if they want to."


    Yan Yuan couldn''t help but raise his hand and grab Xuan Long''s wrist, and the ends of his eyes flushed red: "If you say one thing, that you don''t want me to get married to someone else, I won''t get married..." I will live for you even if I die.


    Xuan Long calmly drew his hand back: "Whoever you marry, it has nothing to do with me."


    As far as the eye could see, there was a boundless sea of clouds. Yan Yuan''s eyes were filled with despair: "That''s right... Whoever I marry, it has nothing to do with you."


    In the mortal world, the moment Xuan Long lay in his arms covered in blood and died giving birth to A''Zhi, he was completely disqualified from having him.


    Even if the Heavenly Way had played a part in that, had he not been so weak-minded, he would not have allowed it to play such a trick on him.


    He and Xuan Long were incompatible, so what if he had the ability to survive? The closer he got to Xuan Long, the worse it would be for him, so it was best to stay away.


    After returning to the Heavenly Realm, Yan Yuan ordered someone to house A''Lie and sent a healer to Xuan Long''s bedchamber. Xuan Long had been wounded in the battle, and if he didn''t take care of him, perhaps he wouldn''t even know to hire a healer.


    He waited stealthily outside General Xuan Hall and waited for the Healing Immortal to come out and confirm that Xuan Long''s injuries were nothing to worry about and that he would be fine after taking medicine for a few days before he left.


    On that day, to celebrate the victory of the gods, the Purple Cloud Sky Palace hosted a banquet where all the gods gathered. Yan Yuan was dressed in a silver imperial robe and wore a crown of twelve white jade beaded curtains. When he was seated, he suddenly saw a white-clothed immortal sitting behind the first platinum table on the left side of the hall. That immortal looked like a breeze, and his bones were slim; it was Ning Zhiyu.

 CH 139

    Give It All to You


    "Mother... Mother." The little dumpling on the bed had his eyebrows knitted tightly, and tears kept tracing out from the corners of his tightly closed eyes, obviously caught in a nightmare.


    Seeing him so sad, A''Zhi''s heart involuntarily seized. He reached out his small hand to wipe his brother''s tears, but unexpectedly the drowsy little dumpling violently opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.


    "Mother!!!"


    "You... you''re awake?" A''Zhi was taken aback and stared at him in a daze. "Father asked me to look after you..."


    He couldn''t see it when he was sleeping, only now did he realise that his brother was born with a pair of blood red pupils, demonically beautiful beyond words. It was just that those beautiful eyes were filled with sadness at the moment, and tears were pouring down like an endless stream of thin water.


    He looked around, but didn''t find the person he was looking for, so he jumped out of bed and ran for the door. The edge of the bed was too high for a four-year-old and he inevitably fell hard to the ground with a muffled thud. A''Zhi panicked and tried to help him, but before he could reach his arm, he got up on his own and ran towards the door on his feet, mumbling something about his mother.


    A''Zhi chased him out and followed him down the steps of the hall, watching him search around like a headless fly, but after a long time, perhaps knowing that his mother could not be here, he gradually stopped.


    This was Dongji Hall, and apart from the hall behind him and the jade bricks beneath his feet, there was only a boundless sea of clouds in front of him, there was no way his mother could be here.


    A''Zhi went to the little dumpling, who was slightly shorter than him, and asked, "Where did your mother go?..."


    The little dumpling did not answer, staring vacantly at the sea of clouds in the distance, tears flowing silently.


    In the past, A''Zhi also did not have a mother, and had even lost his father for a long period of time; he knew what missing someone was like, so he could empathise with him.


    "Don''t worry... no matter where your mother has gone, I will accompany you in your search for him, and I will stay with you until you find him." A''Zhi said and took the little dumpling''s hand.


    The little dumpling turned his head to look at him and met a small, sincere face.


    In the long years to come, it was this little warmth that was left that would keep him alive and happy in this world, until the day when his warmth no longer belonged to him...


    ¡ª


    After the banquet was over, Yan Yuan ordered someone to summon Immortal Monarch Zhiyu to see him alone.


    Since his return from the Divine South Ridge, he had not heard from Ye Ling Shenjun that Ning Zhiyu had re-ascended, so when he first saw him at the banquet, although it was unexpected, he was not surprised.


    Ten thousand years ago, Immortal Monarch Zhiyu had died for him and had fallen into the mortal world before him. It was normal for him to return now, and Yan Yuan''s heart was at peace, but he was only happy for A''Lie, who finally had his mother again.


    After the divine attendant outside the hall had sent word, the door was opened and the white-clothed immortal entered. He stopped ten feet away from Yan Yuan and knelt on the ground: "Greetings, Emperor."


    Yan Yuan: "No need to be polite, get up."


    "Thank you, Emperor." Immortal Monarch Zhiyu rose unhurriedly.


    Yan Yuan sat behind the silver table and looked at him, thinking that the immortal in front of him did not look any different from Ning Zhiyu in the mortal world, but something else seemed different.


    Ning Zhiyu looked as gentle as water, with a smile on his face, while Immortal Monarch Zhiyu was cool and calm, with an indifferent appearance.


    Since they were both the same person, Yan Yuan did not look deeper: "Since you are back, take A''Lie back to your side."


    The white-clothed immortal was slightly stunned, his hands were clasped in front of him and his eyes were downcast as he asked, "What does the Emperor mean?"


    Only then did Yan Yuan realise that something was wrong and frowned, "Don''t you remember?"


    The immortal in white raised his head and met Yan Yuan''s eyes: "Dare I ask, Emperor, what should this immortal remember?"


    Yan Yuan''s brows knitted deeply: "Mortal matters."


    The white-clothed immortal showed some confusion in his eyes and shook his head.


    Seeing that he did not look like he was pretending, Yan Yuan sighed.


    "That''s all, you can withdraw."


    It was reasonable to say that those who had ascended would not forget the events of their past lives unless someone intervened. It was not difficult to guess the reason for this, and Yan Yuan quickly came to a conclusion in his mind.


    "Yes." Immortal Monarch Zhiyu had been summoned in a daze and then withdrawn in a daze. The Emperor''s heart was unfathomable and it was not something he could understand just by thinking about it.


    He turned around and was about to go out when he heard the person behind him ask indifferently:


    "Do you know about the Empress Crowning Ceremony on the 15th of next month?"


    The immortal monarch stopped in his tracks, and a thin, inconspicuous red tinged behind his ears: "I''ve heard Ye Ling Shenjun mention it."


    He had fallen deeply in love with the emperor ten thousand years ago and was willing to die for him. Now that he has returned, he was willing to marry him as an immortal couple and be his heavenly empress.


    Yan Yuan: "I already have a sweetheart, and I can''t tolerate anyone else in my eyes."


    "It is true that you and I are destined by Heaven, but 50,000 years ago, I had my heart set on him and I married him as an immortal couple. He fought to the death to bear me an heir, so I cannot let him down."


    "Marrying you is only to follow the will of Heaven and avoid Heaven''s punishment. If you are wise, you should not want to."


    Immortal Monarch Zhiyu was silent for a long time: "I am willing to do so."


    Yan Yuan did not expect him to answer in this way.


    "It is a blessing for me to be able to help the Emperor avoid the heavenly punishment." Immortal Monarch Zhiyu said in a low voice.


    Yan Yuan was dumbfounded for a moment, and when he opened his mouth to say something else, Immortal Monarch Zhiyu had already taken a step and gone out.


    The heavenly realm was like the mortal world where there was day and night. It was already late at night, and after crying for the whole day, A''Lie fell asleep early in the side hall. In his dream, he was running after his mother in a daze, knowing that his mother was smiling gently at him from not far away, but he could not catch up with him, and his eyes were turning red with anxiety.


    When Immortal Monarch Zhiyu came out of Dongji Hall, A''Lie seemed to have sensed something and suddenly opened his eyes, lifted the blanket and ran out.


    A bright moon was hanging in the darkness of the night. Under the bright moonlight, a thin figure was walking down the jade steps in front of Dongji Hall. A''Lie murmured and ran over, but before he could get close, the man turned hesitantly to look at him.


    "Demon?..."


    The closer he got, the more certain A''Lie was that this was his mother; the familiar scent of him, there was no way he could be mistaken. The only thing he wasn''t sure of was whether he had woken up from his dream.


    "Mother..." The closer he got, the more cautious he became. He looked steadily at his mother, afraid that if he blinked he would disappear. The moisture in his eyes made it hard for him to see his mother''s face clearly, so naturally he could not see the hatred that flashed in the eyes of the person in front of him.


    Before A''Lie could react, the other party suddenly raised his hand and struck him. A''Lie was caught unprepared and his young body was sent flying by the powerful magic force. The back of his head hit the jade pillar that towered into the clouds, and he fell heavily to the ground.


    He trembled and coughed up blood, not understanding what he had done wrong again for his mother to punish him like this. But it didn''t matter, as long as his mother was back, as long as he still wanted him, it didn''t matter.


    He reached out and searched for the unstained white boots that stopped in front of him, blood and tears mixing together and smashing onto the white jade tiles beneath him: "Mother... they said... Father is dead... A''Lie¡­ has no father¡­"


    Before his dirty little hands could touch his white boots, Immortal Monarch Zhiyu took a step back and bellowed coldly, "Bold demon, how dare you trespass in the Heavenly Realm." Raising his palm, he struck the little demonic creature''s head with a palm strike.


    A''Lie let out a stifled grunt and his little hand dropped to the ground. After the blow, he couldn''t move much, but his mouth continued to bleed and he muttered silently.


    "Mother... Mother..."


    The Heavenly Realm was heavily guarded, yet a demon was able to blend in, such a big matter must be reported to the emperor for strict investigation. Fortunately, the demonic creature was still young enough not to cause a big disaster.


    Gods and demons are incompatible. Over the past ten million years, many divine soldiers and generals have fallen into the hands of the demons, and Immortal Monarch Zhiyu also lost his life at the hands of the demons ten thousand years ago, so he naturally hated the demons. His eyes were icy cold, and he condensed ten percent of his magical power in his right palm to give this little demon a final blow.


    "Stop!"


    In a flash of lightning, Yan Yuan stepped in front of A''Lie and blocked the palm, and his face was cold as he said, "Do you know what you are doing?


    From the perspective of Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, what Yan Yuan was doing at that moment was unbelievable. He knelt down on one knee: "In reply to the Emperor''s words, I am eliminating a demon."


    "You..." Yan Yuan swallowed back the words that were on his lips. Now that Immortal Monarch Zhiyu had no memory of his past, if he were to tell him that he had given birth to a little demon with the Demon Lord, he would certainly not be able to accept it. "Forget it, you can leave, go and ask a healer to come."


    Immortal Monarch Zhiyu got up and saw Yan Yuan picking up the little devil creature on the ground. The little demon was clearly unable to open its eyes, yet it still stubbornly looked towards him like this, mumbling inaudible words, its half-closed red pupils filled with unspeakable sadness, which caused his heart to ache like it was being struck by a dull object.


    Immortal Monarch Zhiyu frowned, obeyed Yan Yuan''s words and left.


    A''Lie saw his mother''s back getting smaller and smaller, and he cried sadly, but no matter how hard he tried, his only words came out in a breathless whisper:


    "Mother..."


    "Cough... cough¡­ doesn''t want A''Lie..."


    "Mo... ther..."


    After that day, the already lifeless little dumpling became more and more silent, knowing that his mother was still alive, but that he didn''t want him.


    In the past, he hated him and detested him, but now, he was no longer wanted.


    The healing immortal invited by Immortal Monarch Zhiyu did not help, as gods and demons have different paths and do not share the same medical skills. A''Lie lay in bed for ten days, gradually recovering from his injuries through his innate ability to heal himself.


    While he was unconscious, Yan Yuan removed his demon bone, a blood bone formed in his spine, around an inch long, which controls a demon''s mind. Although removing the demon bone could not completely wash away A''Lie''s demonic nature, being in the Heavenly Realm and being imbued with immortal energy, with more discipline, it is not impossible for him to become an immortal, or even a god.


    At that time, he will be truly renewed.


    The demonic energy is inherently cloudy, and when innate demons are imbued with immortal energy, the initial discomfort is unavoidable. After just ten days in the Heavenly Realm, A''Lie had lost a lot of weight, his small round face, which was still somewhat baby-fat, had become a melon face, and his face was as pale as paper.


    He spent his days sitting on the threshold of Dongji Hall, looking at the endless sea of clouds. Occasionally, when immortals dressed in white with a figure similar to that of Immortal Monarch Zhiyu passed by, he thought they were his mother and watched them walk by from afar, softly calling out to his mother under his breath, but would not go after them.


    Because he knew that it was useless to go after him. If he was not wanted, he was not wanted, and that would not change just because he cried and begged.


    Yan Yuan originally suspected that it was Ye Ling Shenjun who had done the manipulation, washing away Immortal Monarch Zhiyu''s memories in order to make him willingly become the heavenly empress. After checking, he found out that this was not the case. The reason why Immortal Monarch Zhiyu had forgotten all about his past was because his consciousness did not want to remember the unpleasant past.


    Since he wanted to start all over, no one else was in a position to make decisions for him and forcefully awaken his memory.


    "A''Lie, look, this is a paper windmill bought from the mortal world, isn''t it beautiful?"


    A''Lie looked at the sound of the voice. The little dragon with the icy turquoise pupils sat down on the door threshold beside him, holding a colourful windmill in his hand and smiling at him, the paper windmill spinning in the breeze.


    When his father had taken him to the mortal world, he had bought him paper windmills like this, three or four at a time. He held them majestically in his hands as he sat on his father''s shoulders.


    He wanted to amuse his younger brother, but he made him cry instead. A''Zhi panicked and wiped his tears with his free hand: "Don''t¡­ don''t cry. If you like it, I will give it to you, I have many more fun things, I will give them all to you."

 CH 140

    It''s All in the Past


    As the 15th approached, the whole Heavenly Realm was busy with preparations for the Emperor''s wedding, but Yan Yuan himself stayed in his bedchamber all day, not worrying about anything.


    In the afternoon, the weaver fairy brought over the wedding clothes, which were bright red and embroidered with golden threads and auspicious clouds, and neatly folded on a jade tray.


    In his long life, he had been married twice, once fifty thousand years ago to his beloved, and once when he fell into the mortal world and misidentified his lover, destroying his beloved with his own hands.


    After going round and round, what he wanted most was the stupid dragon that had followed him since he was a child, but unfortunately he was not lucky enough. He had promised to spend ten thousand lifetimes together, but failed to do so, and could no longer hold Xuan Long''s hand and live out his long life.


    He had no choice but to let go.


    And he himself had to let go.


    The wedding dress was beautiful; it was the same dress he had worn fifty thousand years ago when he married Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan rose from behind the silver desk and walked to the fairy''s side, his fingertips slowly falling on the delicate gold threads of the wedding robe.


    When he found the wedding robe a few days ago, he noticed that the gold threads were tangled in a few places, so he asked the weaver fairy to fix it.


    Yan Yuan still remembered the scene on that day when he and Xuan Long first made their love contract in front of the Three Lives Stone, and then made an eternal vow to the Heavenly Way in front of the gods at the Purple Cloud Sky Palace.


    Who knew that only fifty thousand short years had passed and things were already very different.


    "Emperor? Emperor?..."


    The fairy used her voice transmission technique to call Yan Yuan several times before Yan Yuan returned to his senses.


    "Emperor, you wore this wedding robe when you were married to General Xuan Long, now that you are marrying a new empress, is it not inappropriate to wear this old robe?..."


    Yan Yuan smiled, rubbing his fingertips on the wedding robe: "There is nothing inappropriate... he should, not mind."


    He was clearly smiling, but it did not look like he was in a good mood. The fairy saw him say so and did not say any more. After a while, Yan Yuan took the jade tray from the fairy and ordered everyone to leave.


    The door was gently closed and the only two people left in the hall were the father and son. Yan Yuan took his seat behind the silver desk and A''Zhi sat beside him, staring at the wedding robe on the table.


    "Father..."


    Yan Yuan twisted his head to look at the little boy.


    "They say you''re going to take a wife."


    "En."


    "What about Mother?..."


    Seeing the little boy with a tearful expression, Yan Yuan felt amused and reached out to take him into his arms, "Mother will have a better time alone."


    "Father won''t coax Mother?" A''Zhi asked with his little face resting on Yan Yuan''s shoulder.


    Yan Yuan: "Mm."


    A''Zhi: "Why?..."


    Yan Yuan smiled, "Father is useless, he can''t coax him back."


    A''Zhi became anxious and let go of Yan Yuan''s neck to look at him, "Father has only been coaxing for a few days, how can you give up? What if one day Mother is not angry anymore? What if Father marries someone else, what should Mother do..."


    Yan Yuan softly asked, "A''Zhi, tell me what I should do."


    The little boy spoke with red eyes, "A''Zhi does not want Father to marry someone else..."


    Yan Yuan said softly but solemnly, "Okay."


    "Father will only marry your mother."


    A''Zhi: "Really?"


    "Mm."


    "Then Father must continue to coax Mother and get his forgiveness quickly."


    "Okay."


    "I''ll listen to A''Zhi."


    Having received Father''s affirmative answer, A''Zhi relaxed a little and wrapped his arms around Father''s neck, leaning on his shoulder and talking about how he had recently learnt several new techniques, trying to make his father happy.


    After returning from the Divine South Ridge that day, Yan Yuan and Xuan Long had not seen each other again. He promised Xuan Long that he would try to avoid him, so he followed through with his promise and did not want to disturb his peace and quiet.


    It was natural to miss him to the bone, but he restrained himself, only getting little bits of news about Xuan Long from A''Zhi, such as what style of clothing he was wearing, what kind of breakfast he had, and how his appetite was.


    If it was destined that they would never see each other again, it was already a luxury for Yan Yuan to receive such sporadic and unimportant news.


    However, the feelings that could truly be suppressed could not be called feelings. On the night before the wedding, Yan Yuan could not resist going to General Xuan Hall.


    He wanted to see him, even if it was for the last time.


    If he could leave some memories in Xuan Long''s heart that counted as good, and wash away some of those unpleasant pasts, then it would be good. It didn''t matter if he was unable to, he just wanted to see him.


    Outside the silver and white hall were two immortal eunuchs who, upon seeing Yan Yuan appear, bowed respectfully to him. Yan Yuan looked in through the doorway, which was pure silver and couldn''t see anything.


    "Has he... gone to sleep."


    "In reply to the Emperor''s words, the General went to bed early this evening after bathing."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes retracted from the door, "Sleeping ah..."


    "The General''s health has been much worse since his return from the mortal world. The cracks in his soul have not healed for a long time, and he often suffers from attacks of illness and pain. He was wounded in the last battle, so he has been sleeping early recently."


    The corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes were red and he said hoarsely, "Does he often have attacks of illness and pain..."


    "From time to time, his face is pale and he sweats all over, but the General is able to endure it and does not allow others to watch him when he has an attack. Only when the pain has passed does he order the fairies to prepare hot water for bathing..."


    As the immortal eunuch was speaking, the door behind her was suddenly opened and Lian Bi came out from inside with a cold face, reprimanding the immortal eunuch, "Why are you talking to the Emperor about this? The Emperor has a lot of things to do everyday, how can he have time to listen to this?" The words were addressed to the immortal eunuch, and her eyes were fixed on Yan Yuan.


    "The General has gone to bed early, please go back, Emperor, our General does not need pretentious people coming here..."


    "Lian Bi."


    A man''s faint voice came from inside the hall, and Lian Bi forced her mouth to stop before she could finish her sneering, looking resentful.


    No matter how low the people around Xuan Long might be to Yan Yuan, he couldn''t make a fuss and just stood there letting Lian Bi talk.


    Yan Yuan could not hear Xuan Long''s words because he had not used his voice transmission technique. It was not until Xuan Long asked him what was wrong that Yan Yuan reacted and stepped forward, calling down to the door, "A''Po..."


    Xuan Long did not answer.


    Yan Yuan knew that he was waiting for him to speak. However, at such a time, he could not say too many nice words, he just wanted to see him.


    Close to the door, with tears in his eyes, he said, "I have released nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine floating lanterns over the East Sea, I will take you to see them, okay?..."


    The floating lanterns were bought from the mortal world. One by one, they were lit by hand, then placed in the sky and fueled by divine power to maintain the candles overnight without falling.


    They still had one more night.


    "The Emperor is getting married tomorrow, he should properly prepare for the marriage and not waste his energy by doing irrelevant things." Said the man in the hall.


    "Go away."


    "I don''t want to marry anyone else, I only want to marry you, A''Po... these days, I miss you very much." There are some words that, if he did not say them, it would be too late, but even if he did, they would be meaningless. At least at this moment, Yan Yuan was happy.


    Xuan Long: "Please be careful with your words and actions, Emperor, don''t say things that will cause misunderstanding."


    Once close to each other, sharing the same bed, now distant to such an extent, even if there was half of the love left, it would be sad, not to mention that Yan Yuan''s love was so deep that it hurt to the core of his heart.


    With tears in his eyes, he smiled, "Okay, if you don''t like to hear it... I won''t say anything."


    "Then let''s talk about something happy, okay?..."


    "I was happy to be with you as husband and wife, and I am happy to have A''Zhi with you. I was wrong about everything in the past, and it seems that I have not properly said sorry to you since you returned from the mortal world... Today I am saying to you that I was wrong, and I am sorry."


    "A''Po¡­ I''m sorry."


    Xuan Long was dressed in profane clothes, his long hair cascading down his side as he sat leaning against the bed. He and Yan Yuan were separated by a door, Yan Yuan could not see him, and he could not see Yan Yuan, and the candlelight in the hall was shadowy, and it was empty and silent.


    "¡­ It''s all in the past."


    He said it''s all in the past.


    How could it be in the past?


    In Yan Yuan''s opinion, this life could not pass unless he died. When he died and knew nothing more, it will be in the past.


    That night, Yan Yuan rambled on for a long time with Xuan Long, who, though he did not drive him away, did not want to see him. If he used the power of the Heavenly Emperor, there was no corner of the Nine Heavens he could not go to, he just did not want to force him like that again.


    Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine floating lanterns finally fell into the East Sea at the break of dawn, and Yan Yuan''s fingertips touched the closed doorway as he said goodbye to the person inside.


    "A''Po... I''m leaving."


    "You have to learn to take care of yourself. If your body is not comfortable, ask the healer to come over, don''t hold back. If you have any illness or pain, let A''Zhi know, he will cry."


    He didn''t know whether Xuan Long was asleep or just didn''t want to bother with him anymore and didn''t reply.


    "A''Po..." Yan Yuan called out to him quietly, as if he had lost something.


    Xuan Long finally answered him, "Please speak, Emperor."


    "It''s nothing... I just want to call out to you." Yan Yuan smiled. "If you answer me, I will be happy."

 CH 141

    Grand Wedding


    According to the Lunar Elder, an auspicious time had been chosen for the Emperor''s wedding. It was said that if the love contract could be made and the wedding held on the 15th day of the month, the Emperor would not only successfully resolve the heavenly punishment, but would also be able to hold hands with his new empress and grow old together, loving each other until the end of time.


    Yan Yuan returned from General Xuan Hall and stayed awake all night. In the shadow of the candlelight, he sat before the mirror, looking at his bloodless face in the mirror. There was no light in his pupils, just like a puppet whose soul had been sucked out.


    "Emperor, it''s time to change into your auspicious clothes." The fairy in pink said from behind him, carrying a white jade tray.


    Yan Yuan did not seem to hear her, and only after a long time when she whispered again did he raise his hand and wave his hand. The auspicious clothes on the tray in her hand were instantly donned on Yan Yuan''s body. His eyes were bright red, and he lifted his fingertips and slowly touched the golden thread embedded in the front of his chest.


    "Would he like the way I look today..."


    The fairy laughed and smiled:


    "Answering the Emperor''s words, you are one of the most handsome in the Heavenly Realm, and the Heavenly Empress has been pleased with you for a long time, so no matter how you are dressed, he will be happy to see you today. Moreover, these red wedding robes are even more beautiful than ordinary clothes, and it makes even the fairies'' hearts palpitate when they see you."


    Yan Yuan did not feel pleased at her praise, but the corners of his eyes reddened a little: "Liar."


    "He won''t even look at me anymore, how can he still like me..."


    "He would be happy if I disappeared from his sight forever..."


    The last thing Yan Yuan said was something that the fairy didn''t hear, she only vaguely heard him say something about ''finally getting what he wants''.


    The sky was gradually growing lighter, and daylight was pouring through the thick silver tent into Dongji Hall; it was an auspicious time that could not be missed.


    "Emperor, it''s getting late, let this immortal eunuch tie your hair."


    The fairy was specially sent by Ye Ling Shenjun to attend to Yan Yuan as he was getting dressed. Her hands were very skillful, and in no time, she had combed Yan Yuan''s waist-length hair smoothly. She was about to put the crown on when she suddenly saw a strand of pale snow-like white appear among the long hair that had slipped out of the silver comb.


    The fate of a heavenly god is close to eternity. If there are no accidents, they will live for at least tens of thousands years, but Yan Yuan, a young man, who is only 200,000 years old, already had a white hair on his head.


    The fairy eunuch''s hand shook in shock: "Emperor..."


    Yan Yuan was oblivious, only saying, "I don''t like this golden crown, go and get a more exquisite one."


    The white jade tray on the mirror table held a gold and jade crown, designed and made by the immortal craftsmen of the Nine Heavens for this wedding, and it was in a pair with the one for Immortal Monarch Zhiyu.


    "But... if it is changed, it will not match the one of the Heavenly Empress." The fairy was worried.


    "It doesn''t matter, he won''t mind." Yan Yuan smiled more and more gently.


    "He and I were betrothed to each other with an iris, and I love irises. I happen to have an iris jade crown in my private treasury, which I bought when I went wandering with him in the mortal world that year. I have not worn it so far, but today is a good day, go and fetch it for me."


    The fairy was surprised to hear this, as rumour had it that the Emperor was still in love with General Xuan Long and that he had been forced to marry Immortal Monarch Zhiyu by the Heavenly Way, but now it seems that the rumour was not credible.


    The Emperor is obviously deeply in love with Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, otherwise he would not have been so meticulous, even down to picking out the crown and hair.


    The fairy received her orders and took the token given by Yan Yuan to go to the Emperor''s private treasury. It was a quick trip, but there were so many treasures in the treasury that it took some effort to find the tiny crown, so she asked some guards to help her search. After half a stick of incense, she finally found it.


    She returned to Dongji Hall, holding the crown in her hands, and said to the man in front of the mirror: "Emperor, look at this..."


    Her words came to an abrupt halt.


    The hall was empty, the wind was blowing the silver tent from outside, the sky was darkening for no reason, and the whole chamber was plunged into darkness; where was Yan Yuan''s figure that was in front of the mirror table?


    "Emperor?"


    The fairy searched inside and outside, but could not find him, so she ran out to ask the divine soldier outside the door, who looked bewildered and said that the Emperor had not left Dongji Hall.


    As the auspicious time was approaching and there was no time to lose, the fairy had to go and report to Ye Ling Shenjun.


    Inside the Temple of Clouds, Ye Ling was sitting behind a silver cabinet, holding an ancient book in his hand and reading it in a daze; it described the process of defusing heavenly punishment.


    The marriage between Yan Yuan and Immortal Monarch Zhiyu was one of the steps, in addition to which, the wedding night had to take place, and only then would the true union of flesh and spirit be fulfilled in accordance with Heaven''s will.


    It was hard enough to convince Yan Yuan to get married, but forcing him to have a wedding night with Immortal Monarch Zhiyu would be even harder...


    The door was suddenly pushed open and the pink-clothed fairy barged into the hall in a panic.


    "Shenjun, it''s not good¡­ the Emperor is missing..."


    Ye Ling Shenjun abruptly stood up and urgently said, "How could he be missing?"


    As soon as the fairy had finished telling her story, there was a sudden ''boom'' outside. There was lightning and thunder, and heavy rain poured down. The open door was swung back and forth by the fierce wind.


    Just now, reading the ancient books, Ye Ling did not notice the sky outside, and only then did he realise that it was raining.


    It never rained in the Heavenly Realm...


    He didn''t know what had occurred to him, but his face turned pale and the ancient book in his hand fell to the ground.


    The fairy saw his shaky appearance and hurriedly got up to help him: "Shenjun!"


    Ye Ling Shenjun drew his hand back and his lips trembled: "Quickly... go and inform the immortal gods that Yuan''er must be found before the hour dawns..." His voice grew quieter and quieter, and at the end of his sentence, he pressed his abdomen and bent over.


    "A''Ye!"


    A man in black clothes appeared at the right time and lifted Ye Ling Shenjun into his arms.


    Ye Ling''s bony hand clung to Yan Jing''s lapel and clenched tightly, sweating coldly in pain: "Yuan''er is gone, go and find him... The sky is showing a vision, it''s a heavenly punishment¡­ a heavenly punishment is coming... Go and find Yuan''er, leave me here..."


    "Go quickly..."


    The wedding should have been handled by Ye Ling, but since he was not well enough, Yan Jing had taken over, and it was because of this vision that Yan Jing rushed back.


    He carried Ye Ling into the inner hall and placed him on the round bed, then put his palm on his flat belly and injected some divine energy to soothe the foetus: "Your foetal breath is unstable, don''t get agitated, I will bring Yuan''er back, don''t worry."


    The baby had come suddenly. Ye Ling''s abdomen had been wounded by Yan Jing and he had almost died during the birth of Yan Yuan, so it should have been impossible for him to have a baby again, but he did, and it came at such a bad time.


    Ye Ling closed his eyes and leaned against the bed, pushing away Yan Jing''s hand that was pressed against his abdomen, while tears welled up in the corners of his eyes: "You go¡­ go now..."


    Yan Jing was heartbroken. He leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, wiped away his tears, and ordered the fairies to take good care of Ye Ling before he got up and disappeared from the hall.


    The gods received his orders and turned the Nine Heavens upside down, but there was no sign of Yan Yuan. As an emperor, it would be very easy for him to hide and not be found.

 CH 142

    Heavenly Punishment ¨C Part One


    The heavens were furious and not even the mortal world could escape.


    The sky, which had been clear at first, changed its face in an instant; the clouds rolled over the sky, bringing blackness down on Chang''an City, and the wind raged, as if it wanted to swallow up the land.


    The streets were in chaos and crowded with people as the vendors closed their stalls in a frenzy to find shelter from the rain.


    Everyone wanted to spread their wings and leave immediately, except for a man in red with long hair, who walked slowly against the flow of people...


    The rain soaked him to the bone and lashed his face coldly, but he didn''t reach out to block it like the others did.


    There was a sudden ''ouch'' at his feet, and when he looked down, he saw that a little chubby boy had fallen over, a fleshy blob that looked as old as A''Zhi.


    He froze for a moment and bent down to help him.


    The grandmother of the chubby little boy helped her grandson up first, scolding him for running too fast, but with a pained expression on her face, she was relieved to see that he was not hurt. With a sigh of relief, holding an umbrella with a basket of vegetables in one hand and holding her grandson in the other, she straightened up and smiled at Yan Yuan.


    "This brat is so naughty, even taking him out to buy vegetables can lead to a scene."


    "Young Master is all wet, hurry home, the rain probably won''t stop for a while. If you catch a cold, I''m afraid your family will be worried."


    Yan Yuan remained silent.


    "Today is the day of Young Master''s wedding, isn''t it? What can''t you say to your sweetheart? Even if you''re throwing a tantrum, it''s not right to run away from the wedding."


    After the grandmother finished speaking, she led her grandson into the rain.


    Yan Yuan could barely tell what the other person was saying by reading her lips. He was dressed in a brightly coloured wedding dress, with dishevelled hair, and did not look like a peddler or a shopper, so it was inevitable that people would mistake him for a wedding escapee.


    Today was not his wedding day, he just wanted to dress nicely and visit the places where he had once walked with his beloved.


    He deliberately walked slowly, so that he could slowly recall what he had said, done and bought with Xuan Long here. The memory of ten thousand years ago was as clear as if it had just happened yesterday, and he remembered the day he had held Xuan Long''s hand and bought a rattle from the stall on the corner.


    The afterglow fell on Xuan Long''s handsome face, rendering the corners of his eyes and eyebrows very soft. His beloved was so beautiful that Yan Yuan could not help but want to kiss him, stealing a kiss from Xuan Long''s cheek when the vendor and other customers were not looking.


    Xuan Long was so thin-skinned that he tended to stiffen up at times like this. Yan Yuan smiled and clasped his five fingers, twirled a rattle at random, then came close to his ear and asked him if he liked it.


    As for what he liked, it was up to Xuan Long to figure out for himself.


    Yan Yuan knew that Xuan Long liked it, and when he loved someone deeply, he would love them along with everything about them. But Yan Yuan liked to tease him, wanting to see him blush because of him. At that time, Xuan Long was very spoiled by him, and as long as he was happy, Xuan Long was willing to follow him in everything.


    But he had lost such a good Xuan Long.


    The heavy rain showered Yan Yuan''s face over and over again, taking the useless tears away. The streets were quickly emptied of pedestrians, leaving the streets deserted.


    People were going home.


    But he had no home.


    What was once there was destroyed by his own hands.


    The sky darkened with a speed visible to the naked eye, the tribulation clouds pressed closer and closer, Heaven and Earth almost merged into one, and at the moment when the darkness was complete, a thunderclap rang through the clouds and lightning tore through the sky and flew towards Yan Yuan as if it had grown roots and feet, landing on him in a matter of moments.


    Yan Yuan did not avoid it; since he had made the choice to defy the will of Heaven, he would not, and could not, hide.


    The first strike only shook his body, and a little bit of blood spilled from the corner of his lips, but he was still able to stand. With the second strike, half of his tendons and veins were broken, and he fell to his knees, spurting out a large mouthful of blood. Fortunately, he could still move his right hand, so he reached into his lapel and fished an iris jade pendant out of the hidden pocket over the left side of his chest.


    The third thunderbolt followed, and Yan Yuan''s wedding robe was already in tatters and drenched in blood. He slumped to the ground, his hand holding the iris jade pendant closer to his heart, blood dripping from his mouth and nose, and tears of blood welling up in his eyes.


    After the fourth, fifth and sixth thunderbolts had struck, Yan Yuan''s mind was no longer clear and he had a vision of Xuan Long, dressed in the same red robe as him, walking towards him.


    His heart rejoiced and he smiled at the man who stopped in front of him.


    "A''Po... we¡­ are getting married today..."


    "Never again¡­ separated... okay..."


    This Xuan Long was originally created because of Yan Yuan''s state of mind, it was a fake, so naturally, he would answer with whatever Yan Yuan wanted to hear.


    Yan Yuan heard Xuan Long say yes, and the happier his heart, the happier he was, the more he wanted to shed tears. Blood tears stained his face, which was one of the most handsome in the Heavenly Realm, and it was ghostly, not good at all. But he remembered that Xuan Long loved to see him smile and loved his pampering, so he didn''t dare to relax.


    "Then you... wait for me... okay... I am a little sleepy right now¡­ When I wake up from my sleep... I''ll marry you..."


    "This time... I will hold your hand... and I will never let go of it... Don''t worry..."


    Xuan Long agreed.


    When the tenth thunderbolt fell, Yan Yuan could barely speak. The blood under his body had accumulated into such a large pool and he didn''t even have the strength to support his eyelids.


    He was very sad.


    "After the marriage¡­ I will accompany you to see the sea... okay..."

 CH 143

    The rain that day almost flooded the entire Heavenly Realm.


    Sitting up from his bed, Xuan Long thought he was in a dream, the wind and rain outside giving him the illusion that he was still in the mortal world.


    But when he saw the silver and white bedding, it was obvious that he was in the Heavenly Realm. His heart tightened and he felt a twinge of pain for no apparent reason.


    "... Lian Bi."


    When Lian Bi heard his call, she appeared in the hall in an instant. Seeing Xuan Long''s right hand pressed against his heart and his sword brows knitted slightly, she tensed up nervously and stepped forward: "General, what is wrong with you? Is your soul hurting again?"


    Xuan Long shook his head and hoarsely asked, "What time is it now?"


    Lian Bi: "General, it''s eight o''clock."


    "You had only been asleep for a short time before you woke up."


    Xuan Long was in an awkward position, and it was inappropriate for him to go to Yan Yuan''s wedding; he had not received an invitation and was not prepared to go. Last night, Yan Yuan had spent the night chattering outside his hall, and as his soul was still healing, he had fallen asleep not long after Yan Yuan had left.


    The time had come for the wedding ceremony to take place.


    A thunderclap pulled Xuan Long back from his thoughts and he turned his head to look out the door, "What is happening outside... how can it be raining in the Heavenly Realm."


    Lian Bi pursed her lips, wanting to speak but stopping.


    Xuan Long did not hear a reply and turned his icy turquoise eyes to look at him.


    Lian Bi laughed dryly in an attempt to muddle through: "General, what''s so strange about rain in the Heavenly Realm? Didn''t Yan Luo Hall flood ten thousand years ago..."


    Xuan Long sensed that she was not acting right and interrupted with a slight frown, "Lian Bi."


    Lian Bi stubbornly bit her lips, but refused to say.


    Xuan Long waited for a moment and did not force the issue, lifting the blanket and getting out of bed.


    Lian Bi opened her arms indignantly to stop him, but she spoke with little force: "It''s the Heavenly¡­ the Heavenly Emperor has disappeared."


    Xuan Long raised his eyes to look at her: "What do you mean by disappeared."


    Lian Bi squirmed: "... Perhaps he thinks that Immortal Monarch Zhiyu is not as good looking as General, so he is not happy to marry him! If he''s not happy to marry him, he''ll run away from the marriage."


    This was something Xuan Long never expected.


    Thinking about the violent storm outside, it didn''t take Xuan Long a moment to understand what was going on. His eyebrows knitted deeply and he disappeared from the hall in a white light.


    Lian Bi took a few steps to stop him and made Xuan Long take his real form: "General! Where are you going?


    "He has committed such an unforgivable transgression, and today''s punishment from Heaven is his retribution! Do you still want to be soft on him now?!"


    Xuan Long spoke in a low voice: "Get out of the way."


    Lian Bi spoke with red eyes, "All the gods of the Heavenly Realm have gone down to look for him, you are the only one missing!"


    "Your soul is not yet healed, and he kept you up all night last night, so you couldn''t even get a good night''s sleep. He''s a plague! Only when he''s dead will we be happy!"


    "Lian Bi!" The words were so treacherous that if anyone else had heard them, Lian Bi would have been executed, and Xuan Long showed a rare moment of anger.


    Lian Bi was so frightened that she forgot to shed a tear.


    Xuan Long quickly regained his composure: "He is A''Zhi''s father."


    It was not clear whether he was talking to Lian Bi or to himself.


    The mortal world was so vast that finding a god who had deliberately concealed his spirit was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and no one knew where Yan Yuan might be hiding. Xuan Long, in his true form, weaved through the rain and clouds, as if he had been pulled by a mysterious force. When he saw a thunderbolt descending in the direction of Chang''an, he flew in that direction.


    As the heavy rain fell, Chang''an was reduced to an empty city. The sky, as dark as night, was lit up by lightning as nine heavenly thunderbolts descended and were about to fall on the man in red who had passed out on the street before Xuan Long suddenly spiralled down from the sky and transformed into his human form to block the thunderbolts for him.


    The twelve heavenly punishments fell on him and he was sure to die, but Xuan Long arrived just in time to block two of them for Yan Yuan. The clouds cleared, the sky became brighter and the storm subsided.


    Xuan Long dropped to his knees and coughed out a mouthful of blood. He pressed his palm against Yan Yuan''s chest and gave him most of his divine energy. Yan Yuan''s originally weak divine breath gradually regained some life and the wounds on his body stopped bleeding.


    His handsome face was so stained with blood that he could not see his original face, and his silver hair was scattered messily on his side, as white as the cold river snow, never to return to its former state. Xuan Long raised his hand in a daze and touched Yan Yuan''s face, wanting to wipe away the blood, but the more he rubbed, the more muddled it became, so he had to withdraw his hand.


    His divine power was only half-holding Yan Yuan''s breath, and the injuries caused by the Heavenly Punishment had to be healed by the Healing Immortal as soon as possible.


    Xuan Long could not carry Yan Yuan, so he dragged Yan Yuan''s upper body up from the ground and placed it on his back. He slowly stood up with him on his back, and a series of droplets of blood fell from his mouth as he took a few difficult steps forward and transformed into his true body, carrying Yan Yuan to the sky.


    He had never felt that the mortal world was so far from the Heavenly Realm. The long road ahead seemed to have no end, just like the relationship between them that had a beginning but no end. No matter how hard they tried to walk, they could not walk into the future.

 CH 144

    As Xuan Long sailed along the Heavenly River, he was about to reach the Nine Heavens when a white light flashed in front of him, followed by a magnificent immortal in white who appeared before him.


    That man was none other than Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, who was supposed to marry Yan Yuan. He had just been to the mortal world and had not found Yan Yuan, so he had returned to the Heavenly Realm to take a look, but by coincidence he had met him here.


    "Emperor!"


    Immortal Monarch Zhiyu had loved Yan Yuan for tens of thousands of years and valued him more than his own life, how could he imagine seeing Yan Yuan suffer like this? He frowned and could not hide his anxiety.


    Xuan Long was forced to stop and take human form.


    When Immortal Monarch Zhiyu saw the tragic state of Yan Yuan on Xuan Long''s back, the corners of his eyes reddened: "Is this what you wanted?"


    "You have to let him die for you to be satisfied?"


    Having blocked two heavenly punishments just now, Xuan Long''s internal injuries were not light, he had a scratch in his throat and resisted the urge to cough, remaining silent.


    Seeing that Xuan Long was not moving, Immortal Monarch Zhiyu became more and more furious: "If you really want what is best for him, you should stay as far away from him as possible, don''t give him unnecessary hope."


    "Leave the Emperor to me."


    It was not unusual for Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, as Yan Yuan''s new empress, to make such a request. Xuan Long lowered Yan Yuan from his back and handed him over to the other party.


    "Don''t tell him that I went looking for him."


    Unexpectedly, Xuan Long''s first words were this. Immortal Monarch Zhiyu was slightly surprised, but after supporting Yan Yuan, he replied indifferently and flew away in the clouds and mist.


    When he returned to the Heavenly Realm, the rain had cleared up and Lian Bi greeted him outside of Dongji Hall. She noticed at first glance that Xuan Long''s face did not look right. If Xuan Long had seemed to be in a bad state before he left, at this point he could be described as being as white as a sheet.


    "General? What''s wrong with you?!"


    "¡­ Nothing"


    Xuan Long''s steps were weak as he walked towards the hall. As he stepped over the door barrier, his body swayed and he spurted out a large mouthful of blood while holding onto the door frame. He braced himself and continued to walk inside, but before he could take a few steps, he collapsed.


    "General!!"


    Xuan Long had left a trail of blood-stained footprints on the path he had walked, and because he was dressed in basalt clothes, his injuries and bleeding were not easily visible.


    ......


    After Yan Yuan suffered the heavenly punishment, his tendons and veins were severed. All of the most capable healers in the Heavenly Realm were invited, and it took three days and nights to repair his tendons and veins, but it was impossible to return to the same flexibility as before within ten thousand years.


    The heavenly punishment came down, and it was almost impossible for him to escape, but he was shielded by someone. Despite this, Yan Yuan was still in a coma for a whole month before he woke up.


    Unexpectedly, when he woke up, he was blind in both eyes.


    When he went to Mei Meng Mountain to look for the heavenly fruit, he lost two emotions and three desires, as well as his senses of hearing, smell and taste, and now his eyes were blind. He became completely and utterly useless.


    Trauma can be healed, but illnesses of the heart are difficult to cure. If a person lives without hope, it is worse than death. To leave him alive and let him live on is the most vicious punishment.


    Yan Yuan did not want to live like this.


    Since he woke up, he had been lying still in bed, unwilling to eat or take medicine, letting his injuries deteriorate day by day. He was unable to hear, unable to see, and while he was able to communicate with others using voice transmission, he would not listen to anyone who tried to persuade him.


    A''Zhi was temporarily placed in the Temple of Clouds, under the care of Ye Ling Shenjun. If the child were to see how sick his father was, he would most likely cry.


    Even the most powerful of gods could not withstand such self-destruction.


    Yan Yuan slept most of the time, sometimes not waking up for days. If he continued like this, his soul would disperse on its own, scattering to the mortal world without the need for a heavenly punishment to kill him.


    Although he was rarely awake, his mind was clear and he knew what would happen to him. When his soul disperses, it will turn into ten thousand wisps of dust and will drift through the world, transcending the six realms and not entering the cycle of reincarnation, without ever meeting Xuan Long again.


    It is too painful to love without being allowed to love, he has suffered once and that is enough, he could not bear the pain, he could not bear the burden of repeated suffering. He had finally lost to the Heavenly Way.


    The bed was concealed by a heavy curtain, not letting in any light. An eloquent hand lifted the silver tent from the outside, and Ye Ling Shenjun slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.


    Yan Yuan was lying on his back, tears falling from the corners of his closed eyes and into his snow-white hair. Knowing that he must be thinking of Xuan Long again, Ye Ling produced a white handkerchief in his hand and wiped away Yan Yuan''s tears with a soft sigh.


    "Father knows you miss him, listen to my words and drink the medicine, then I will ask him to come and see you, okay?"


    Even if Xuan Long was disgusted with Yan Yuan, he would be willing to make a trip for the sake of Ye Ling''s dignity.


    But what would happen after he came?


    There was nothing after that.


    Yan Yuan didn''t want to disturb him anymore.


    He just wanted to leave quietly, to save himself some dignity, hoping that when Xuan Long thought of him in the future, he would not find him annoying.


    Unable to wait for Yan Yuan''s answer, Ye Ling gave up and lifted his fingertips, tenderly touching Yan Yuan''s silver-white hair, almost choking up, "Yuan''er, what exactly do you want from Father..."


    "As long as you ask... Father can do it, I will do everything for you, okay..."


    "You must not torture yourself like this again..."


    A wound on a child''s body, a pain in a parent''s heart. Ever since Yan Yuan woke up, Ye Ling had tried everything he could say and do to give him hope for life, but Yan Yuan just didn''t respond.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he could sense Yan Yuan''s weak breath, Ye Ling would almost have thought he was dead.


    He lay there quietly, like a noble and gloomy statue, obviously still so young, yet forced to suffer a trauma he should not have to endure, and his body and mind were decaying to the core.


    Ye Ling did not know who else could save his child.


    He thought that today, Yan Yuan would be reluctant to speak as usual, but after a few moments, Yan Yuan''s bloodless lips moved. Ye Ling moved closer to listen and heard him say:


    "Father... I am in pain..."


    As his words fell, tears appeared in the corners of his eyes.

 CH 145

    The Way to Change Fate Against Heaven ¨C Part One


    "The heavenly punishment is so powerful, do you know why you survived?"


    "Xuan Long blocked two thunderbolts for you."


    When Ye Ling Shenjun left Dongji Hall that day, he left two sentences for Yan Yuan. With just those two soft sentences, Yan Yuan was brought back to life and was willing to eat and take medicine.


    He knew that Xuan Long still cared for him and did not hate him as much as he seemed to. If he died, it would be a waste of Xuan Long''s suffering, and he could not bear to let that happen.


    He wanted to get well quickly and go to see how Xuan Long was doing in person.


    He drank his medicine and ate carefully every day, and after half a month of recuperating in bed, he was finally able to step on the ground. He heard from the immortal healer who treated Xuan Long''s injuries that Xuan Long had not left his chambers since the heavenly punishment, and although his injuries were not as serious as his, his soul was re-injured because his soul had been previously dispersed, and it was even more difficult for him to heal than Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan''s heart was filled with anxiety and pain, and he wanted to see Xuan Long immediately, but now that he was blind, he couldn''t even look at the man.


    He would invite the immortal healer over every day to inquire about Xuan Long''s condition. When he heard from the immortal healer that Xuan Long''s injuries had worsened, he would tell him over and over again that he must use the best medicine for Xuan Long, and when he heard from the immortal healer that Xuan Long''s appetite had improved, he was so happy that his eyes were red and he would chatter about it, and he insisted on going to the kitchen and cooking fish soup himself.


    Yan Yuan knew nothing else but this fish soup, which was so delicious that no one who had tasted it could say it was bad.


    Fetch a fish from Yao Chi, clean it, remove the head, slice it into two pieces along its back, remove the spine and empty the abdominal cavity, place the fish skin side down in a basin, add sliced onion, ginger, Shaoxing wine and refined salt and marinate it slightly...


    He stood in front of the stove, his wide sleeves slightly rolled up to reveal his pale wrists. As he could not see with his eyes, his movements were not as sharp as before and he had to feel his way slowly. The salt shaker, fish sauce, pepper and other seasonings were within reach, and he did everything himself, rather than leave it to others.


    His delicate white fingers were stained with fish, and the hot mist rising from the pot blurred his handsome face. His eyes were vacant as he stared ahead, but a gentle smile could be seen at the corners of his mouth.


    "He used to love the fish soup I made..."


    "When he was pregnant, he couldn''t eat anything but this fish soup. After it was cooked, I added a little vinegar to it, and he never got tired of it..." Fumbling with the spices in his hand, he tried to add some fish sauce to the plate, but he accidentally touched the hot rim of the pot and burned his fingers.


    When Yan Yuan retracted his hand, the fairy next to him cried out in alarm and saw a blood blister appear on his right ring finger, so she panicked and went to ask the immortal healer for help.


    "It''s nothing to worry about, don''t make a fuss."


    This was nothing compared to the suffering Xuan Long had endured. It was almost five o''clock, he had to make the fish soup before dinner and have it delivered.


    Fish soup is good for the body, Xuan Long loved it when he was pregnant, and when his appetite is poor, he should eat more than normal.


    After calculating the time and waiting for the fish to marinate to taste, Yan Yuan carefully held the plate and put it into the steamer, asking the fairy to light an incense stick. When a third of the incense had burned off, he took out the fish, picked out the onion and ginger pieces, and drained the marinade into a bowl.


    His movements were very slow, and he was burned several times in the process, leaving his beautiful hands with an unsightly wound that was unbearable to see.


    The fish soup was complicated and this was just the beginning. Next, the fish must be chopped up, the skin and bones removed, and returned to the original bowl of marinade, then the cooked ham, bamboo shoots and mushrooms must be cut into even julienne strips and stir-fried in lard before the fish is cooked and thickened to form the soup.


    After Yan Yuan cut his finger for the second time, the fairy couldn''t resist coming forward and wanted to do it for him, but Yan Yuan still refused and cast a clotting spell at random, then continued to cut the ingredients.


    The fish soup, which was supposed to be ready in half an hour, took an hour to make. The fresh and fragrant smell permeated the hot and humid kitchen, Yan Yuan served some in a small bowl and turned towards the direction where he felt the fairy, saying:


    "I can''t taste it, you taste it for me, is it salty or bland..."


    It''s been ten thousand years since he had made this soup. His eyes were blind, so he had to rely on his instincts when seasoning it. Yan Yuan was somewhat nervous, afraid of making it badly and wasting his efforts.


    The fairy went forward and took the bowl with both hands, tasted it and said, "In reply to the Emperor''s words, it is moderately salty, fresh and fragrant, General Xuan Long will definitely like it."


    The fairy was in charge of the kitchen and cooked delicious food. If she said it was good, then it was really good, so Yan Yuan was relieved and smiled.


    "That''s good..." Yan Yuan turned around, stumbled to find the jar of vinegar, added some to the pot, then used a soup spoon to serve the fish soup into a clear jade bowl, put it into the food box prepared earlier, closed the lid and handed it to the fairy. "Give it to him quickly, don''t let him know that I made it."


    The fairy was puzzled, "Why?... Won''t the Emperor go?"


    After going to such great lengths and hurting himself, just for the other party to be able to eat the fish soup he made with his own hands, the longing should be very intense.


    "I¡­ I won''t go." Yan Yuan''s voice grew mute, showing a rare hint of restraint. "If he knows that I made it, he will probably lose his appetite."


    Xuan Long''s willingness to save him didn''t mean that their problems in the past had been resolved. He cared about his life and death, probably because he was the Heavenly Emperor, or because he was A''Zhi''s father.


    Moreover, his eyes are now blind and white, and he is not as good-looking as he used to be. He does not want Xuan Long to see his current appearance, and was also too timid to be seen by him.


    It was better for him to care for Xuan Long from afar. If he got too close and restrained Xuan Long, he would rather die of lovesickness himself.


    The fairy went to General Xuan Hall, and when she returned, Yan Yuan was still waiting in the kitchen. He could not hear with his ears or see with his eyes, but the rest of his senses were sharp. When the fairy entered, Yan Yuan felt a light breeze on his face and knew it was the fairy who had returned.


    "Has he eaten?..."


    The fairy used her voice transmission technique to say, "In reply to the Emperor, when this fairy went over, the General was leaning against his bed reading a book. He originally said he had no appetite and asked this fairy to take the food box back, but later, when he heard this fairy say that tonight''s meal was fish soup, he asked Fairy Lian Bi to bring it to the bedside, and the General took a look at it and ate it."


    "It looked like he enjoyed it."


    Yan Yuan clearly felt delighted, but his eyes were red: "How did he look?"


    "It was too dark in the hall, so this fairy couldn''t see clearly. But he should be in good spirits. When this fairy went to bring the evening meal a few days ago, the General was sleeping, but today he has the strength to sit up and read."


    Although he could learn about Xuan Long from the Healing Immortal, it was always different from seeing it with his own eyes, so he could not help but ask about it when he met someone who had seen him.


    "Well... I can rest easy knowing that."


    "He didn''t sense anything, did he?"


    "No, the General didn''t ask anything."


    The three meals a day in General Xuan Hall are all taken care of by this fairy. Xuan Long is not fussy about food and eats whatever is served to him, so today''s serving of fish soup as the evening meal was not out of the ordinary.


    Yan Yuan nodded: "If he likes it, I will come back tomorrow to make it..."


    The fairy could not bear the thought of Yan Yuan having to do such a chore when he had difficulty moving, so she said as she sent him out, "Emperor, this fairy can also make this fish soup, so if the General still wants to eat it, this fairy will make it."


    Yan Yuan said in a low voice: "It''s not the same..."


    There was so little he could do for Xuan Long.


    The heavenly punishment had passed and he was still alive, the Heavenly Way would probably not let him off the hook, and he did not know how much time he had left. Until then, he wanted to do more for Xuan Long.


    When he did these things, his heart was full of joy.


    Bei Chi waited outside the kitchen, and when he saw Yan Yuan coming out, he immediately went forward to support him, "Emperor, are you going back to Dongji Hall?"


    The night was dark, and the bright moon was floating close by, like a huge jade plate, adding to the coolness. The pale moonlight reflected on Yan Yuan''s unfocused eyes, as if the beauty had been sucked out of his soul, leaving only an empty shell like a walking corpse.


    When he is smiling, his peach blossom eyes are at their brightest, but now that he is blind, it is always sad for those around him to see him. But Yan Yuan didn''t care, it was only when he thought that he would never be able to see Xuan Long''s appearance again that he would feel a little sad.


    He really missed him.


    "Go¡­ let''s go to General Xuan Hall."


    Not to go in, just to stay outside for a while.


    Bei Chi did not feel good in his heart, but sullenly agreed, and silently assisted Yan Yuan to Xuan Long''s residence. When they went down the steps, Yan Yuan stumbled and almost fell down.


    Bei Chi hurriedly supported him, and when he stood up straight, he finally could not help but speak: "... Why did the Emperor make such a mess of himself?"


    Bei Chi and Nan Chi were twin brothers, and they had been Yan Yuan''s trusted confidants since they were young.


    Yan Yuan sensed his sadness and smiled, saying, "You don''t understand... When you have a beloved you can''t part with, you will know what it means to be unique and irreplaceable. A person''s heart is too small, too small, so small that it can only hold one person. Once you fall in love, you will become petty, and you will not be able to tolerate any gravel in your eyes, let alone betrayal."


    "If it were to happen to you one day, you will make the same choice as I did."


    "Indeed, Bei Chi does not understand." Bei Chi said stiffly. "All Bei Chi knows is that there is only a future if he lives."


    It was clear that if he married Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, he would be able to live, so why did he have to fight against Heaven and make himself look like a ghost so that he could be with that person?


    Yan Yuan smiled calmly: "To me, he is air. Without anything else, one can live well, but without air, one will die."


    Bei Chi said dumbly, "But the Emperor is the master of the Heavenly Realm, the supreme God."


    "Once a god is in love... he is as weak and useless as a human." Yan Yuan sighed softly.


    They walked a little way and after performing a teleportation technique, they reached the divine tree not far outside of General Xuan Hall. Yan Yuan struggled to open his empty eyes wide and tried to see something, yet it was all in vain.


    He stood here, very close to Xuan Long, but his heart was even emptier, and his voice was unconsciously tinged with a few hoarse nasal tones: "Is there a candle burning in the hall?...."


    Bei Chi looked towards the hall. A dim candle flame reflected on the window paper, faintly wavering, but other than that nothing could be seen.


    "It''s burning."


    "Does the Emperor want to go in?"


    "No... I''ll just stay here for a while and then leave."


    Bei Chi couldn''t understand Yan Yuan. He clearly wanted to see him, but he couldn''t see him, he was holding back, torturing himself. Love was too strange, too torturous, and he never wanted to get involved in it.


    He said he would stay for a while, but he only stayed for half an hour. When the candle flame inside was extinguished, Yan Yuan was about to leave, but instead of appearing happy, he was even more distraught than when he came, which made people feel uneasy.


    As they passed by the Hall of the Gods, they heard the sound of laughter coming from under the sacred tree. There were two gods sitting at the white jade table under the tree, one in black and the other in red, and they were none other than Si Shen and Yue Lao. They were holding moonlight cups in their hands and drinking grape wine with great joy, and they were probably so drunk that they didn''t even notice anyone approaching. They were chatting about the sky and the sea, and suddenly the conversation turned to Yan Yuan.


    "Hey, Si Shen, tell me, how did the Emperor fall in love with General Xuan Long? It''s clearly written in the marriage book that the Emperor and Immortal Monarch Zhiyu are a couple... how did the Emperor... eh... Now that it''s like this, how will it end..."


    Si Shen is famous for his beauty in the Heavenly Realm. At this moment, his cheeks were bright red, and he had a flirtatious look in the corners of his eyes. He sighed, held up his wine glass and slumped limply on the table, "It''s impossible to say. Wasn''t there a god who did the same thing as the Emperor many thousands of years ago? But that god wasn''t as lucky as the Emperor, there was no one to stop the lightning tribulation, and when he died, he didn''t even leave his body intact¡­"


    "The Emperor is not willing to marry Immortal Zhiyu, if he keeps going like this, he will be even more miserable in the future... Why can''t lovers be happy together in the end... The Emperor and General Xuan Long, is there really no way for them to be together?..." Yue Lao raised his head and drank the wine in his cup, his handsome face covered with despair: "It''s useless for me to be the Moon God, in charge of earthly marriages, without being able to help the Emperor..."


    "Hai, the Emperor''s marriage is controlled by the Heavenly Way, it is not something that you and I can influence..." Si Shen narrowed his eyes and said in a drunken daze. "However, if the Emperor insists on being with General Xuan Long, it''s not completely out of the question, it''s just..."


    "Just what?"


    The conversation between the two was suddenly interrupted as Yan Yuan, supported by Bei Chi, stepped out from behind the divine tree.

 CH 146

    The Way to Change Fate Against Heaven ¨C Part Two


    When he saw who was coming, Si Shen sobered up in an instant and pretended to be calm as he got up and bowed to Yan Yuan. Yue Lao sat there dumbfounded, staring at him for a long time, but when he heard Si Shen address the Emperor, he sprang to his feet and bowed after him.


    Yan Yuan''s throat seemed to be gripped by something, his nose was sour and unbearable, and he said mutely: "What did you mean when you said that it was not impossible for Xuan Long and I to be together?"


    When Bei Chi saw Si Shen and Yue Lao drinking, he used his voice transmission technique to tell Yan Yuan. Yan Yuan did not want to disturb them, so he intended to leave straight after hiding his form, but Bei Chi told him that the two gods were talking about him, so Yan Yuan asked Bei Chi to repeat the conversation to him word for word using his voice transmission technique, and he heard this.


    Si Shen, who was still standing with his hands raised, straightened up and knelt down at the sound of the words, hanging his head and saying, "This little god has been drinking today, and after drinking, he spoke nonsense and said what he shouldn''t, please forgive him, Emperor."


    Yan Yuan could not see anything, it was pitch black in front of him, but he clearly sensed the tension in Si Shen''s words; Si Shen was lying, he must be trying to conceal something.


    Was it really possible for him and Xuan Long to still be together?... What lay between them was a gap that could never be crossed, a distance between life and death. As long as he lived, it was impossible for him to be with Xuan Long, and the closer he was to Xuan Long, the worse it would be for Xuan Long.


    So he endured the pain of longing and stripped himself away from Xuan Long''s life, not wanting to disturb his tranquillity.


    But Si Shen said that it was not impossible for him and Xuan Long to be together.


    Was there really a way to change fate and overcome the Heavenly Way against all odds? If there was, he was willing to do whatever it took to change it, to reunite with Xuan Long and love him for an eternity.


    He did not ask for tens of thousands of years, just a hundred lives would be enough. He knew that was something he could not ask for, so he did not dare to be too greedy.


    Yan Yuan withdrew his arm from Bei Chi''s support and stumbled in the direction where Si Shen was by feel. As Si Shen saw his opponent approaching, his heart was tense with remorse and his mind was racing with excuses before Yan Yuan suddenly fell.


    He landed on his knees and let out a muffled grunt, which startled the three people present. Si Shen was the closest to Yan Yuan and rushed over to help him with a single step.


    "Emperor!"


    The fall was so hard that Yan Yuan couldn''t stand up for a while, but as if he couldn''t feel the pain, he fumbled around and grabbed Si Shen''s arm, asking in a murmur:


    "There is a way, isn''t there?"


    "Tell me... what the method is, no matter what it is, as long as it allows me to be with him, I am willing to do anything..."


    Si Shen lightly but firmly drew back his hand and lowered his eyes, "All that this little god said was the truth. Everything else was just nonsense. If the Emperor is unhappy, this little god is willing to be punished."


    Yan Yuan opened his lifeless eyes, and after a moment of silence, he said, "What am I punishing you for... if I punish you, will he be able to come back to me..."


    Perhaps Si Shen was really drunk and talking out of his ass.


    Yan Yuan put his palms on the ground, avoiding the support of the crowd, and sluggishly climbed up, the white robe in front of his knees fell with a tear, and it was dusty; there was no trace of the Emperor''s nobility.


    He turned his back on the moonlight and walked into the darkness.


    Yue Lao, who had not had the chance to speak out, looked at his noticeably diminished back and his eyes reddened.


    Before Yue Lao became the Moon Elder, he was just an unknown immortal in the Third Heaven. His real body was a white bellflower, and because of his weak character and low spiritual power, he was often bullied by the other clans.


    One day, ten thousand years ago, when Yan Yuan and Xuan Long were visiting the Second Heaven, they passed by his thatched hut and saw him being blocked by some butterfly clansmen who wanted to strip him of his clothes. They were bullying him for no reason other than that they had nothing better to do all day. They were deliberately teasing him, wanting to see his self-esteem trampled on and his face humiliated.


    He grew up at the foot of a mountain in the mortal world and had ascended to immortality by mistake by absorbing the spirits of the sun and moon. Without having gone through the proper training and without a clan behind him to rely on, he could only put up with the bullying and endure it.


    He endured it day after day, thinking it would be the same as every other day, but when the butterfly clan was about to do something evil one day, Yan Yuan and Xuan Long suddenly appeared and subdued them with a single move.


    Some people are born immortal, but if they behave badly, they will be stripped of their immortal bones and sent to the mortal world to taste the pain of reincarnation.


    At that time, the young bellflower had not yet seen anything in the world, so when he was saved, he wanted to follow them to repay their kindness, and it just so happened that Yan Yuan had not brought anyone to attend to him when he came out. Thinking that Xuan Long was pregnant and needed someone to run errands and buy food, he allowed him to follow him all the way to the mortal world. After a trip to the mortal world, he returned to the Heavenly Realm only to learn that the people who saved him were the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress.


    Soon afterwards, the previous Moon Master was relegated to the mortal world for making a mistake and the position of deity became vacant. Seeing that he was good and attentive, Yan Yuan asked him to take over the position of the Moon Master and be in charge of the marriage of mortals.


    The little bellflower became the Moon Master of the Nine Heavens, and no one dared to bully him anymore. The little bellflower always remembered the Emperor''s kindness and wanted to repay it when he had the chance. However, before he could find the chance, the Battle of Gods and Demons suddenly broke out and Xuan Long died at the Divine South Ridge, followed by Yan Yuan who fell into the mortal world.


    For ten thousand years, the Emperor and Empress suffered the pain of reincarnation and finally returned, but he was still trapped by love, struggling and suffering, and he could not do anything about it as he watched.


    After the man had gone far away, Yue Lao was still standing in the same place. When Si Shen called for him to go back, he did not respond and looked foolishly in the direction where Yan Yuan had left, asking softly:


    "You have a solution, don''t you? Why didn''t you tell the truth to the Emperor?..."


    Si Shen frowned, "No."


    Yue Lao turned to look at him, "You''re lying, you''ve always been a good drinker and you don''t talk nonsense when you''re drunk. If you say you have a solution, then you really have a solution. You must be hiding something from me! If you''re not helping the Emperor and General Xuan Long, are you trying to help Immortal Monarch Zhiyu?"


    "What nonsense." Si Shen raised his hand to shake his arm. "Stop making a fuss and go back to rest."


    Yue Lao shook off his hand, his eyes red: "Am I talking nonsense? That night when I was drunk and confessed my feelings to you, you played the fool and woke up the next day as if nothing had happened. I know you don''t like me, and if you don''t, so be it, but I am so disappointed that you watched the Emperor and General Xuan Long get trapped in love and were unwilling to lend a helping hand."


    "Today, I will sever my ties with you. You will go back to your Si Shen Hall, and I will go back to my Yue Lao Hall, and we will never speak to each other again. I will find a way to help the Emperor and General Xuan Long on my own, and find another husband of my choice."


    Normally, he would not have dared to say such heavy words to his beloved, but he was so drunk and upset that he spat them out under the influence of the wine.


    He turned around shakily and said he was leaving, but Si Shen chased after him and grabbed his wrist, his eyebrows knitted together, "I''m not looking down on you."


    Yue Lao stopped in his tracks and heard the man behind him whisper:


    "You and I are not mentioned in the divine list of marriages, I am afraid that if you stay with me, you will follow in the footsteps of General Xuan Long. I dare not take that gamble."


    Yue Lao froze, not expecting such a reason: "Then... then do you also like me?"


    "Mhmm, I do"


    As his wrist was gripped a little tighter, Yue Lao''s eyes became moist and hot, and he turned around and hugged Si Shen''s waist: "Then we don''t have to get married, we can just be with each other like this, that''s fine."


    "Mhmm." Si Shen lifted his hand and pressed it against the thin back of the person in his arms, and after a long time, he said:


    "Xuan Long is a Lonely Heavenly Star. With a fate like that, no one will end up in a good situation with him. However, the Emperor is the Purple Heavenly Star, and as the Emperor''s Star, his fate is stronger than any other god in the Heavenly Realm. As a result, Xuan Long has been countered by the Emperor, and when the two are forced together, Xuan Long will surely suffer and die. Unless..."


    "Unless what?"


    "Unless the Emperor''s qi of the Purple Heavenly Star is mostly destroyed so that his destiny is weaker than Xuan Long''s, naturally he will not restrain Xuan Long, but then it is the Emperor who will be restrained..."


    "Even if he can be with Xuan Long, he won''t be able to live long..."


    After hearing what Si Shen said, Yue Lao''s hands and feet went cold, his lips were open and he could not speak for a long time, even his breath was trembling.


    How could this approach be called a solution? One life for another... how could it be a solution?


    "No wonder you don''t want to say it no matter what..."


    Si Shen sighed: "I only mentioned it casually, but who knew that by coincidence, the Emperor would run across it."


    "If the Emperor knew about it, the consequences would be unthinkable."


    When people are desperate, even the faintest glimpse of hope can be as reckless as a starving traveller in the desert who sees a mirage, as reckless as a moth to a flame, and will eventually lead to destruction.


    "The Emperor must not know..." Yue Lao''s voice trembled.


    No one noticed that there was an unusual aura lurking in the air, and that aura belonged to Yan Yuan''s confidant ¨C the divine general Nan Chi.


    His intuition told Yan Yuan that things were definitely not as simple as they appeared, so upon returning to Dongji Hall, he immediately ordered Nan Chi to find out what was going on.


    At first, Nan Chi was reluctant to tell Yan Yuan what he had heard; he was loyal to his Emperor and could not stand by and watch him go to ruin, but at the same time, he could not disobey the Emperor''s orders.


    And so Yan Yuan learned it in the end.


    He leaned back against the bed, his face suddenly alive, a long-lost light even appearing in his hollow eyes, and his pale fingers draped over the brocade quilt tightened slightly, like an opium addict, excited and expectant. Sometimes joyful, sometimes sad.


    "If I do that, how much time do I have left to live?..."


    "A hundred years."


    "A hundred years..."


    One hundred years was a long lifespan for a mortal, but for a god, it was just a snap of a finger.


    Yan Yuan would not even be able to see A''Zhi grow up.


    But he had a hundred years to beg for Xuan Long''s forgiveness.


    "A hundred years is enough..." for him to atone for his sins to Xuan Long.


    It was not easy to learn such a secretive method, but the method of destroying one''s qi and destiny was something Yan Yuan already knew.


    There is a forbidden place in the Ninth Heaven, which is located in the Land of Eternal Night, and when you enter, you will see a huge purple star floating like a golden crow in the sky, draped with mysterious waves of light.


    That is the Emperor''s Star.


    The forbidden land has been firmly guarded by the ten divine beasts for many years, so it is not easy for anyone to enter, but Yan Yuan can easily enter because it is his destiny that is guarded by the divine beasts.

 CH 147

    Finally Qualified to Stand by His Side


    That night, in the dead of night, Yan Yuan fumbled out of bed, walked to an empty place in the hall, raised his sleeve and waved it. A black hole of adult height immediately appeared in front of him, and it seemed that if he stepped inside, he would be devoured without any bones or blood left.


    Standing outside and looking in, one could not see anything, but once inside, one could see thousands of stars in the sky, all clustered around the huge Purple Heavenly Star.


    When Yan Yuan was very young, he had been led into the forbidden place by his father. Yan Jing told him that each star in the sky represented a god in the Nine Heavens, and the higher the god''s position, the brighter the star would shine. The purple star was at the highest position, and was as warm as a golden crow, representing the qi of the current emperor.


    The stronger the qi, the brighter the purple light.


    Holding a high position and possessing supreme power, he carried an innate mission on his shoulders, and when necessary, for the sake of the divine people of the Heavenly Realm, he had to give up something, even if that something was important.


    Maybe it''s life, maybe it''s feelings...


    When Yan Yuan was young, he did not feel that there was anything wrong with what his father said; since he would be an emperor in the future, he would naturally have to put the gods and people first. But when it really came to this step, he found that he simply could not do it. Once a person loses the faith that sustains them, there is no hope, and without hope, every day of living is torture.


    Perhaps he just had no talent and could not look after the bigger picture. There will be a new emperor in the Heavenly Realm without a loser like him as the emperor, so in reality it doesn''t matter to the Gods whether he lives or dies.


    He just wanted¡­ just wanted to do something he really wanted to do before he left.


    When he stepped into the black hole, he immediately felt the air around him become much warmer. In the distance, a few long warning-like roars cut through the silent sky, and the five great divine beasts, the Blue Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, the Xuanwu, and the Teng Snake all came rushing towards him in an aggressive manner, and in a moment were three feet away from Yan Yuan.


    Recognising his aura, the five divine beasts stopped abruptly and fell to the ground in unison, dropping their huge heads and emitting a delicate whimpering sound.


    It was absolute submission.


    "Stand down."


    In addition to these five great divine beasts, there were also Zhuzhao, Taiyin You Ying, Yinglong, Huanglong and Gou Chen, the five great divine beasts guarding the northern side. Yan Yuan ordered the divine beasts in front of him to send orders to their companions to retreat immediately to a distance of 100 miles away, and that no matter what happened, they were not allowed to approach.


    The five great divine beasts retreated without a sound and soon disappeared into the purple glowing sky. Yan Yuan walked slowly in the direction of the Emperor''s Star using his senses. The closer he got, the stronger the purple light that fell on his face, his godless eyes bursting with an almost maniacal desire, and he walked faster and faster, faster and faster.


    As long as he destroyed his own qi, he would truly have the qualifications to pursue the Xuan Long... Yan Yuan was not afraid of death, he just wanted that dragon to smile at him the same way it did ten thousand years ago.


    For this, he was willing to give everything.


    When he struck, Yan Yuan did not hesitate. He stopped under the Purple Heavenly Star, condensed ten percent of his divine power in his palm and struck at the Emperor''s Star. The intense white light slammed into the Emperor''s Star fiercely and the powerful divine power bounced back, knocking Yan Yuan on the ground, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.


    A crack appeared in the centre of the Emperor''s Star, and the originally stable purple light flickered in and out, shaking the earth and mountains in the Nine Heavens for a while.


    What he was destroying was his own destiny, and when the Emperor''s Star was damaged, Yan Yuan''s own body would be affected. His whole body was in pain, as if he was being burned by a raging fire, and against the blood on his lips, his face was as pale as a ghost.


    He only heard that if his fate was weaker than Xuan Long''s, he could be with him and would not be able to control him, but he didn''t know what exactly was weaker than Xuan Long. With such a big commotion, someone must be coming soon, so Yan Yuan didn''t dare to delay. He got up off the ground, and struck a second and third time despite the pain...


    The blood that dripped from his mouth gradually soaked through his snow-white lapel.


    The ten great divine beasts were supposed to guard the Emperor''s Star until they died, but they could not go against their master''s orders. When Yan Yuan told them not to come near, it was as if they were under a compulsion, unable to move even half a step closer.


    The first Heavenly Emperor who created them never imagined that one day a descendant would want to weaken his innate supreme destiny with his own hands.


    After the fifth blow, the Emperor''s Star, almost in tatters, was already crumbling. Yan Yuan was in pain, so, so much pain. He remembered the extreme torture Xuan Long had suffered in the mortal world, at that time, he was in the same pain as he is now...


    The moment he collapsed, Ye Ling Shenjun stepped out of the void and rushed forward to catch Yan Yuan.


    "Yuan''er!!!"


    The gods that followed him out of the void were shocked to see the dim Emperor''s Star that had almost fallen.


    Ye Ling''s face was filled with tears, which fell on Yan Yuan''s cold face.


    "Yuan''er¡­ Yuan''er... you must not scare Father..."


    Yan Yuan opened his lax eyes and spoke with a smile:


    "Father¡­ this child, finally... finally qualified, stand next to him..."

 CH 148

    I''m Not Afraid of Being Overcome by Him


    That night, the eighteen gods joined forces and did their utmost to mend the crack in the Emperor''s Star, so that it would not fall and kill Yan Yuan on the spot.


    He had destroyed his strong qi with his own hands, and half of what he had before was gone.


    Yan Yuan was in a coma for three months, and when he woke up it was dusk, he could not see, so the fairy serving him told him. He was told that Xuan Long was much better and had gone out last month to personally fetch A''Zhi from Ye Ling Shenjun at the Temple of the Clouds.


    Yan Yuan had not seen A''Zhi for a long time and missed him so much. As soon as he woke up, he got out of bed and wanted to go to General Xuan Hall. He knew in his heart that apart from seeing A''Zhi, he also wanted to take this opportunity to see Xuan Long, who, in front of children, would not show it even if he did not like him.


    He asked the fairy to find a dye, then carefully dyed his long hair black, and put on a jade crown and a silver robe. When the fairy had finished his clothes and crown, Yan Yuan was apprehensively sitting in front of the mirror, looking at himself in the mirror with unfocused eyes, and said unconfidently:


    "Do I look the same as before..."


    The fairy took a closer look at Yan Yuan. Although his hair was dyed as black as before, there was no lustre to it, and his handsome face was pale with a sickly look that could not be hidden. Even his eyes, which once smiled enough to make everything lose colour, were now like a pool of stagnant water, so how could he look the same as before?


    But the fairy couldn''t bear to be too blunt and said in a soft, reassuring voice, "In reply to the Emperor''s words, the Emperor is still as handsome as before, only his face is a little paler."


    Yan Yuan could not see the fairy''s hesitation.


    He did not want Xuan Long to think that he was deliberately pretending to be pitiful to gain his sympathy, so he was silent for a moment before asking, "Is there any way to make my complexion look better?"


    The fairy thought for a moment, "Yes, a thin layer of light pink powder will change your complexion."


    Hearing this, Yan Yuan thought it was good, and asked the fairy to fetch the powder.


    After the fairy brought it, she stuck the powder on her fingers and smeared a little across his cheekbones. Yan Yuan''s skin was as white as porcelain, and no pores could be seen, so with the fairy''s skill, the naked eye could not tell that anything had been applied to his face, but his complexion was noticeably better.


    After repeatedly checking with the fairy to make sure his attire was fine, Yan Yuan got up and was assisted by the fairy as he walked out the door. Before he reached the door, the fairy suddenly used her voice transmission technique to call out to him.


    "Emperor..."


    "Hm?" Yan Yuan subconsciously answered.


    "Huo, General Huo has returned from the mortal world..." The fairy stumbled over her words.


    Ten thousand years ago, Yan Huo Heng had died in battle with Xuan Long, and after ten thousand years in reincarnation, he and Xuan Long had returned, so it was indeed time for Yan Huo Heng to return.


    Yan Yuan stopped in his tracks, "... When did he come back?"


    "He came back not long after you fell into a coma... I heard that General Xuan Long was seriously injured and bedridden during these days, and it was General Huo who was taking care of him. It has been rumoured that General Xuan Long was touched by General Huo''s devotion and fell in love with him, and the lovers have finally become a couple."


    "Impossible!" Yan Yuan''s eyes suddenly reddened and he broke away from the fairy''s support.


    The fairy was startled by his roar and looked at him worriedly: "Emperor..."


    Yan Yuan''s whole body staggered, as if he was suffering from a disembodied soul, and he muttered, "No, no, the person he loves is me..."


    "Emperor, don''t be like this, your body should not be overly stimulated..." The fairy was afraid he would fall and stepped forward to help him.


    Yan Yuan grabbed her wrist, and tears dripped from his hollow eyes: "The person he loves is me, isn''t it?..."


    "He is just angry with me, not in love... not in love..." Not really looking for answers from the fairy in the first place, after mumbling for a while, Yan Yuan let go of her hand and stumbled towards the door, saying that he wanted to ask Xuan Long for an answer, but he fell down midway and got up again on his own.


    In the end, he could not even enter the door of Xuan Long''s chambers.


    He refused to see him.


    Lian Bi blocked the door, with her usual burning satire and freezing irony. Yan Yuan did not care how the people other than Xuan Long treated him. He leaned on the door with one hand and knocked on the door with the other, his carefully groomed hair had long been disordered, the jade crown on his head had fallen somewhere, and he was cloaked, like a madman.


    "A''Po... look at me... look at me okay... I have something I want to say to you... please..."


    "Please..."


    His eyes were swollen, his tears seemed to flow endlessly, and what was left of his dignity was lost.


    Lian Bi looked at him coldly: "Ten thousand years ago, the General died in battle and you failed to protect him. Ten thousand years later, when the General died for you in the mortal world, you didn''t know how to cherish him. Pushing him to the end of his life again and again, isn''t that enough?"


    "Emperor, please give up, there is no way to reset a broken mirror. The General and General Huo have already decided to live together for the rest of their lives. If you insist on getting involved, you will only make things difficult for the General."


    Yan Yuan''s hand was still pressed against the door, but his body slid down and fell limply to the ground: "I don''t believe it... I want him to tell me himself... cough cough cough... " He covered his lips, but blood still spilled out of his fingers and dripped onto his silver and white robe.


    Lian Bi sneered: "Do you think what you are doing now is enough to move Heaven and Earth? You have destroyed your own fortune and have only a hundred years left to live, yet you still have the face to come and stalk the General, who has always been cruel to you. The General should just be cruel to you. If he really does go soft on you, you can live comfortably for a hundred years, and when the time comes, you will leave the General alone in the world. Have you ever thought about how he will spend his long life?"


    "From the beginning to the end, you only think of yourself. When you didn''t love him, you used every possible means to humiliate him, but when you did love him, you didn''t hesitate to destroy yourself in exchange for his heart. He was foolish, and you were able to coax him into your hands with a few kind words. After being betrayed and let down by you, he still risked his life to save you and shield you from the heavenly punishment. If you had any semblance of conscience, you should not have come back to haunt him!"


    "I didn''t... I didn''t mean to... I just... just..."Just want to be with my beloved in my last moments.


    Yan Yuan indeed had a selfish heart. When he heard about Xuan Long and Yan Huo Heng, the most immediate feeling he had was pain, the kind of pain that tore his heart and soul apart and made him lose his mind.


    "He is the Lonely Heavenly Star, he cannot have feelings, he cannot be close to people, I can... I am not afraid to be overcome by him. You go tell him, let me meet him, okay... I really, really miss him..." Yan Yuan stretched out his blood-stained hand to grab Lian Bi''s sleeve.

 CH 149

    His Soft Heart Would Kill the Other Man


    "Emperor still doesn''t understand, it''s not that this small immortal won''t let you see the General, it''s that the General doesn''t want to see you." Lian Bi raised her hand to avoid Yan Yuan''s hand.


    "You have come this far, there was no turning back long ago. Those wounds, you cannot erase them from the General''s heart by enduring them all over again. If you were more unrestrained, perhaps the General would still look at you a little higher."


    "Please go back, Emperor."


    Yan Yuan''s hand dropped and he fell back to the ground.


    He had come to this point, not by choice, but because Heaven was pushing him from behind, towards a path from which there was no turning back. At the end of that road was a fork, dividing it into two, one leading to life and the other to death, and he chose the latter because he saw hope in the road to death.


    A man who is not even afraid of death does not care about decency. He didn''t want Xuan Long to think highly of him; stripped of his heavenly god''s shell, he himself was an ordinary, common man, and he had no way to be unrestrained by such deep feelings.


    "I won''t go¡­ If I go, I won''t be able to see him." Yan Yuan bent his legs, resting his arms on his knees, his sightless eyes gazing ahead, and he murmured. "I''ll wait here... If he doesn''t see me, I won''t leave."


    "You!" Lian Bi gasped.


    Unable to see, Yan Yuan let her stare, sitting motionless on the ground like a wooden statue.


    "As you wish." Although Lian Bi had never looked kindly at Yan Yuan, there was no way for her, an ordinary immortal, to drive the Emperor away, so she simply went through the door and entered the house.


    The tent was drawn up and hung on both sides, and the man sitting on the edge of the bed was wearing a robe, his icy turquoise pupils lost in thought as he gazed at the sleeping face of the little one on the bed.


    A''Zhi was tired from playing this afternoon and had not woken up after sleeping for a long time. Xuan Long did not want him to hear the argument between the adults, so he set up a boundary to prevent him from being woken up by the people outside.


    Hearing the sound of footsteps, Xuan Long turned back.


    "Has he gone?"


    "No." Lian Bi shook her head, not as arrogant as she had been a moment ago, and her eyes contained a bit of worry. "Lian Bi is useless, I''ve said everything I need to say, but the Emperor still refuses to go."


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes and was silent.


    The candlelight painted a faint shadow on the man''s lowered eyelashes. He had lost a lot of weight these days, and his body was getting thinner and thinner beneath his basalt robe, which made Lian Bi very sad to see.


    How could the General not be upset when he found out that Yan Yuan had abused his body like that? Why didn''t his pig-headed man realise that the General would even risk his own life to save him? How could the General accept his confession and enjoy his company for over a hundred years with peace of mind and then watch him die?


    Those who leave are able to walk away with both hands, but what are those left alive going to do?


    The mere fact that Yan Yuan would be restrained if he came near the General was enough to make the General ruthlessly hide away. The relationship he wanted was never based on the other person''s pain.


    "General, what should we do?..." Lian Bi asked.


    Xuan Long shook his head.


    It would be great if he knew what to do.


    Why must Yan Yuan be so stubborn, preferring to make things difficult for both sides? Wouldn''t it be good to spare himself and spare him...


    "Lord Yan Jing has personally gone to seek the method to repair the Emperor''s Star. Don¡¯t worry General, he is the Emperor of the Heavenly Realm after all, he won''t die so easily. He wants to wait, let him wait, he will naturally give up after waiting for a long time." Lian Bi said.


    Xuan Long knew that Lian Bi was reassuring him. If Yan Yuan had made it this far, how could he give up? If he didn''t do something, Yan Yuan would definitely continue to pester the immortals and stand outside all night like he did last time.


    This was not the right solution.


    In the end, he decided to go out and see for himself.


    When the door was opened, he saw the man sitting on the ground with his back to him. Yan Yuan''s ears were completely deaf and he did not react at all when Xuan Long walked out, it was only after he reached him, probably because he felt a little wind blowing against his cheeks, that he had a slight reaction and tilted his head towards Xuan Long, saying uncertainly, "A''Po...?"


    "Is that you..." Yan Yuan reached out and grabbed, catching a cold piece of clothing, and his pale face was tinged with some delight.


    Originally, he was able to sense the other party''s divine breath, but his qi was so damaged that now he was no different from a useless person.


    Xuan Long saw Yan Yuan sitting on the ground with his hair dishevelled, and his lips were covered in dried blood which he did not know to wipe, just like a wild beast. He had managed to save Yan Yuan from the blades of the Heavenly Way, and this was how he had trampled on his own body.


    Heartache, disappointment, sadness, multiple emotions swelled in Xuan Long''s chest, tightening his throat so that he could not speak. When he managed to squeeze out a sentence, it was hoarse and incomparable:


    "I told you to leave, why didn''t you listen?"


    The voice transmission technique landed in Yan Yuan''s head and he staggered up from the ground, smiling with red eyes, "I miss you... I won''t be able to see you when I leave."


    Xuan Long: "...... You always go back on your word, both before and now. You said you would stay away from me and never appear in front of me again. Yan Yuan, have you ever done any of the things you promised me?"


    Yan Yuan became anxious and bent down to grasp Xuan Long''s hand, the real touch reassured him, but also cut his heart like a knife: "What I failed to do before, I will try my best to do in the future. A¡¯Po, you must believe me¡­ It''s different from before. The Heavenly Way can no longer influence me... If you stay with me, you won''t be grasped by me... It''s different from before. The Heavenly Way no longer has the power to influence me, you are with me, you will not be restrained if you are with me. My fate is weaker than yours now, if you want restraint, it will be you who restrains me. Don''t you hate me? It is good, the closer you are to me, the worse it will be for me, so you should be relieved..."


    "If you want to go see the sea, I will accompany you. I can accompany you wherever you want to go. As long as you still want to see me, I can do anything... I am fine with dying. Don''t worry, I will die, I will live for a hundred years at most, and I will die when I have done all the things I promised you before. You mustn''t miss me..."


    At the end of the speech, Yan Yuan no longer knew what he was saying, and he expressed himself in an incoherent manner. He had previously thought that he must not lose his composure in front of Xuan Long, but he had burst into tears without realising it.


    The longing was driving him mad.


    What frightened Yan Yuan even more was that he could not see Xuan Long''s expression and could only feel the hand that he was holding in his palm pulling away a little. No matter how hard he tried, he could not hold it.


    "A''Po..."


    "Don''t call me that, you don''t deserve to." Xuan Long''s low, hoarse voice rang out in Yan Yuan''s head.


    "You are not worthy to be the emperor of the Heavenly Realm, you are not worthy to be A''Zhi''s father, you are not worthy of me having loved you once."


    "Yan Yuan, you have truly disappointed me too much."


    Yan Yuan looked down at his empty palm, although he could not see anything: "Yes, I am not worthy to be the emperor of the Heavenly Realm, not worthy of such a sweet and loving child like A''Zhi, not worthy of you loving me once, but I don''t want to... I can''t help waking up every day, my mind is full of you, full of you treating me well, laughing with me. I even dreamt of you dying in my arms ten thousand years ago, and you told me not to cry, and that when you fell into reincarnation, I should go to the mortal world to find you."


    "I listened to you and went looking for you, but how could I have mistaken you for someone else? I love you so much, I love you more than I love my own life... Tell me, why did I identify the wrong person?" Yan Yuan''s tears fell on his pale palm, and he raised his head to face Xuan Long with hollow eyes, hissing:


    "If I could do it all over again, I would not confuse you, even if the Heavenly Way turned me into a fool, I would remember your face firmly, remember that you are A''Po, Yan Yuan''s most important beloved. But now, since long ago, there is no turning back, I can only continue to go forward... to find some not so clever... I can only move on and find some not too clever ways to undo the wrongs that have been done."


    "I blame you for treating me too well and indulging me too much, so I can''t let go of you. Whether you hate me or are disappointed, it doesn''t matter, I don''t dare ask for your forgiveness. As long as you''re willing to let me make amends, I''ll be satisfied... okay?" As Yan Yuan spoke, he went to grab Xuan Long''s hand again.


    This time Xuan Long did not break away from his hand, but remained silent for a moment before saying indifferently, "But I don''t need that anymore."


    "You should have heard that I am with General Huo."


    Yan Yuan was stunned, his figure swayed as if he was about to lose his footing, and he coughed out a mouthful of blood, which splattered on Xuan Long''s lapel. He casually raised the back of his hand and wiped it, laughing, "Then take pity on me, will you? It''s not that you need me, it''s that I can''t let you go..."


    "I only have a hundred years left anyway, a hundred years is so short, just take pity on me. Before I die, act with me again. After I die, I won''t be able to see who you love and who you will be with..."


    "Okay..."


    Xuan Long remained silent and did not reply to him. The smile at the corner of Yan Yuan''s mouth could not be maintained. He covered his mouth and coughed, his body trembled incessantly and it was difficult to stop. He grabbed Xuan Long''s arm and shook it gently, just as he had done before when he was acting spoiled towards him.


    "A''Po... you have a good heart, you were always soft-hearted towards me, just be soft-hearted towards me one last time, okay...""


    "Please..."


    "Please...." The blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and no one wiped it for him.


    If Yan Yuan could see, he would have seen Xuan Long''s icy turquoise eyes blurred by a hot mist long ago, the clear liquid falling silently down his cheeks.


    Unfortunately, he could not see it.


    Xuan Long would not let him notice even the slightest difference.


    "If I were to go soft on you, what would General Huo think?"


    "You know that I always treat people wholeheartedly, when I am with you, and when I am with others."


    "I don''t need you to make amends. Don''t appear before me in the future, just live well, that is the greatest amends you can make."


    "Go away." Xuan Long struggled with his arm, but did not break free. Yan Yuan''s body was so weak now, how could he not break free?


    Yan Yuan shook his head and cried like a child: "No... I won''t go..."


    "The words you said were all lies, you lied to me. You are afraid that I will die if I stay with you, so you deliberately lied to me, otherwise you would not have saved me, would not have blocked the heavenly punishment for me. You still care about me, right?"


    Xuan Long: "Don''t make a fool of yourself, saving you was only because you are the Emperor and it is my duty to protect you."


    "If it weren''t for that, I wouldn''t want to take one more look at you." Xuan Long managed to pull his hand back this time, with such force that Yan Yuan took several unsteady steps backwards and fell down the steps.


    There were six flights of steps, and Yan Yuan rolled down, hitting his forehead on the jade steps, causing blood to appear on his face. Xuan Long subconsciously tried to help, but Yan Yuan had already slowly crawled up, sitting on the ground and muttering: "I don''t believe it... I don''t believe it... "


    Xuan Long averted his eyes, unwilling to look again: "It is useless to say more, let''s leave it at that."


    Yan Yuan sensed that he was going to leave, so he panicked and scrambled to get up and chase after him. However, before taking a few steps, he tripped over the steps and landed on his knees. For a moment, he thought he would not be able to stand up, so he resorted to crawling.


    "Don''t go¡­ A''Po, don''t go..."


    Xuan Long turned his back on him, his nails deeply embedded in his palms, and he did not turn around.


    His soft heart would kill the other man.

 CH 150

    Start Over


    That door eventually closed, and Yan Yuan was barred outside. He knelt and sat on the ground, his head hanging, and said inaudibly, "If you don''t want me... how can I live..."


    The moonlight gradually brightened, and when Bei Chi arrived, only Yan Yuan was left outside the hall, miserable and cold.


    Before leaving the house, he had asked the fairies to dress him carefully, but he had changed completely after only a short while. Blood and dust were mixed together on his precious silver robe, and his long hair, which had been deliberately dyed black, was grey and dusty, and blood was dripping into his eyes from a wound on his forehead; he was no different from a broken doll that no one wanted.


    Bei Chi walked up to him and bent down to help him, saying hoarsely, "Emperor, let''s go back."


    Yan Yuan swayed and stood up, and was helped down the steps by Bei Chi. His soul did not stand up with his body, and after a few steps, he fell down and didn''t get up again.


    "Emperor!!!"


    That night, there was another big fuss in Dongji Hall, and several healers were busy working on medicine and treating Yan Yuan''s wounds until midnight.


    When he was awake, there was never a moment when he did not feel pain, it was good for him that he was unconscious. If only he could have stayed unconscious forever, he would have been free, but unfortunately, Ye Ling would not let him die, Yan Jing would not let him die, and every immortal from the Immortal Healing Hall would not let him die.


    A few days later, Yan Yuan woke up and found that his eyes could perceive light. Although he could not see anything yet, he could make out vague outlines.


    According to Ye Ling, Yan Jing had obtained a method to restore his five missing senses from an ancient god living in seclusion in the mortal world, and had brought back a small bottle of medicine that was said to make him forget his pain.


    As for the method of restoring the Emperor''s Star, it was not found.


    Going against Heaven, how could it end well? It was only natural that it could not be found, but as a father, how could he watch his child die in despair? Yan Jing came back to explain some things, and before he could enjoy his time with Ye Ling, he set off again with his trusted followers.


    If he could not find a way to repair the Emperor''s Star, Yan Yuan would only have a hundred years left, so he had to hurry.


    However, Yan Yuan himself did not care how much time he had left to live. He had thought that a hundred years was too little, that it would be over in the blink of an eye and that he would not be able to spend more time with Xuan Long. Now it was too long, so long that every breath he spent awake felt like torture, and he was not even happy to have his sight restored, for he dreaded the sight of Xuan Long with another man.


    The only hope he had was turned to ashes by the fire, and when the wind blew, there was nothing left.


    Yan Yuan quietly leaned against the bedpost, staring at the light from the window. His vision was not yet well focused and seemed slightly scattered. When Ye Ling entered, he recognised the other man by his form, but he did not react, just as he did to everyone who came.


    Ye Ling came in with a turquoise jade tea bowl and sat down on the edge of the bed, freeing one hand to hold Yan Yuan''s cold right hand on the bedding, and sighed with downcast eyes.


    "Yuan''er, turn back."


    "Don''t be obsessed any longer..."


    Yan Yuan''s ears could hear a little bit more, and he heard Ye Ling indistinctly telling him to turn back, but he couldn''t turn back.


    From the moment he fell in love with Xuan Long fifty thousand years ago, he could not turn back.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t want to, it was that he couldn''t.


    When Yan Yuan didn''t reply, Ye Ling didn''t force him and grabbed his hand as he continued: "Although A''Zhi is doing well at Xuan Long''s place, he grew up with you and misses his father in his heart. When he saw me yesterday, he asked me several times with red eyes, saying that he missed his father and asking why he hadn''t come to fetch him. I used your busy schedule as an excuse, but it''s not right to use such excuses all the time."


    "Don''t you want to see him..."


    Hearing Ye Ling say this, Yan Yuan''s eyes reddened silently as he looked out the window. He was touched when he heard about the child.


    It was just that in his current state, he was already in a mess. If he saw the child and lost control again, it would only make A''Zhi sad. He and Xuan Long, as well as their child, were better off not seeing each other.


    That''s all, that¡¯s all.


    "Father knows that you feel indebted to Xuan Long and want to be with him for a hundred years, even at the risk of destroying yourself, in order to make up for your mistake. But since Xuan Long is now in love with Huo''er, that means he has already let go of his past. Why don''t you let go of the past and start afresh?"


    "You are still young. When your father finds a way to restore the Emperor''s Star, your life expectancy will be restored to the length of Heaven and Earth. There is no guarantee that you will not meet someone you love again in the future."


    "Yuan''er... listen to your father, drink the medicine and get a good night''s sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, the pain will be gone." Ye Ling spread Yan Yuan''s hand and put the jade bowl into his palm.


    The jade tea bowl contained the medicine that would make him forget the pain if he drank it, not only would he forget the pain, he would also forget his love, forget everything about his past with Xuan Long. The name of the medicine was very nice, it was called ¡®Start Over''.


    Yan Yuan drew his hand back indifferently and laughed mockingly: "What is owed, and making amends¡­ that is all an excuse for me to get close to him. I have never been that great, I have always been selfish and self-serving, and no matter how much I did, it was only because I wanted to be with him, to go back with him to ten thousand years ago, to ten thousand years ago when we were still in love. I just wanted to covet his love."


    "But he won''t even spare me his pity anymore... Father, there is no way I can start all over again."


    "If I were to forget him, forget his name, forget what he looked like, then this child would rather die now¡­ Like this, it could be regarded as starting all over again."


    Ever since Yan Yuan woke up, Ye Ling had been persuading him to drink this ¡®Start Over'', it had been no less than five times, and each time it had the same result, making Ye Ling''s heart twist like there was a knife in it and his eyes tear up.


    In order for this ¡®Start Over'' to be effective, the person who drinks it must willingly forget his or her old friend. Otherwise, it would not only be ineffective, but also backfire, causing the drinker to suffer from a loss of soul and become mentally impaired.


    If it were not for this, Ye Ling would really like to cast a spell to knock Yan Yuan unconscious and forcefully feed him the medicine. When Yan Yuan woke up, he would have a child who would be as vigorous and radiant as before.


    Unfortunately, he could not.


    "Just be ruthless and drink the medicine, everything will be fine when you get up tomorrow morning. Father has never begged you for anything, today Father is begging you, save yourself, don''t torture yourself anymore, okay... leave yourself a way out."


    "Yuan''er..."


    Ye Ling had always been strong, how could Yan Yuan hear his father begging himself in such a low voice? He could never forget Xuan Long, so he had to choose to be an unfilial son. Fortunately, Ye Ling had a son in his womb and a good grandson at his knees, so he would not be lonely in the future.


    Father will also always be with him.


    Yan Yuan supported himself on the bed and lay down, turning away from him and closing his eyes, "Father, there is no need to say anything. This child is tired, you are not well, so you do not need to visit this child often if you have nothing to do."


    "Take care of yourself."


    Ye Ling did not dare to push him too hard and took a breath, saying hoarsely, "Fine, you don''t want to drink the ''Start Over'', Father won''t force you, but you have to drink the healing elixir. If you don''t eat or drink like this, and lock yourself up in your chambers all day long, how can Father be at ease?"


    "If you really want to live this hundred years, at least make yourself feel better."


    Yan Yuan looked at the wall with reddened eyes, "¡­ This child is not deliberately not eating, he just has no appetite. As for the wound medicine, treating it is the same as not treating it, so it is better not to treat it."


    "Father, there is no need to worry, although this child''s body is much worse than before, at least I am a god, I can''t die if I don''t eat."


    Ye Ling could do nothing about his stubborn attitude. In the midst of his grief, he suddenly felt a vague pain in his belly. He subconsciously put the jade bowl in his hand on the stool by the head of the bed and covered his abdomen with a pale face.


    The foetal breath was already unstable, and the ups and downs of emotions could easily move the foetus. Ye Ling did not want Yan Yuan to see any flaws, so he endured the pain and tried to keep his tone as steady as possible.


    "Then Father will leave now, and I will come back to see you in the morning."


    "Someone will bring you food in the evening, all your favourite food. Eat some of it, even though gods don''t need to eat and won''t die, it''s good for your health. In a few days, Father will bring A''Zhi to see you."


    "Father knows you miss him."


    "Don''t let A''Zhi see you like this. If he sees you now, he will cry a lot."


    Yan Yuan turned his back on Ye Ling and did not reply.


    Ye Ling''s abdominal pain was unbearable and he had to get up and leave to find a healer. He left in such a hurry that he forgot about the bowl of ¡®Start Over'' that he had placed on the stool.


    When things quieted down, the guilt doubled in Yan Yuan''s heart. Even he himself had given up on him, why didn''t his father and mother give up?


    It would have been better if Yan Jing and Ye Ling had been so disappointed in him that they had given up on him and never cared for him again. Instead, they never gave up for a single moment, toiling away for him, fighting for that little hope that was almost impossible.


    Such a heavy love made Yan Yuan feel very miserable. He was not worthy at all¡­ not worthy of Xuan Long''s love, of A''Zhi''s trust, of his father''s and mother''s respect.


    It would be better if he died. Why didn''t he die during that heavenly punishment... If he died, there would be no more pain, and nobody would have unnecessary expectations.


    Xuan Long should not have saved him.


    It would be better if he died...


    Yan Yuan was indeed tired, he often felt exhausted, which was a sign that his life was about to end. He unconsciously curled up his broken body and fell into a drowsy sleep.


    After an unknown period of time, the sound of a child calling came from outside the hall, it was A''Zhi calling for his father. Yan Yuan opened his eyes in a daze and found that his eyes could see clearly. The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the hall, which was a beauty he hadn''t seen in a long time.


    "Father... A''Zhi misses you so much..."


    A¡¯Zhi called out with sadness, Yan Yuan''s heart ached as he lifted the blanket and got out of bed, not even bothering to put on his shoes, and went outside dressed in a white tunic.


    When he opened the door, the sunset outside warmed his body, but when Yan Yuan saw the scene outside, his hands and feet felt cold and his smile froze at the corners of his mouth.


    Under the silver tree, A''Zhi jumped into Yan Huo Heng''s arms with tears in his eyes, and when he was picked up, he hugged Yan Huo Heng''s neck affectionately, rubbing against him like a puppy, constantly calling him Father.


    Xuan Long stood by the side, smiling at the father and son, his expression softer than ever.


    Yan Yuan froze in place, not understanding how his child called someone else father. Stunned, he walked over and said:


    "A''Po..."


    Xuan Long heard the voice and turned his head, narrowing his smile: "I told you that day, don''t call me like that."


    Yan Yuan stood at a loss, his lips trembling: "I''m sorry..."


    "If sorry was useful, why would you and I have come this far." Xuan Long let out a low laugh and turned his head to speak tenderly with Yan Huo Heng and A''Zhi.


    The three discussed going down to the mortal world to play, treating Yan Yuan as if he was invisible, and leaving as soon as they said they would. Yan Yuan anxiously opened his arms to stop them from going, smiling at the little man in Yan Huo Heng''s arms and weeping.


    "A''Zhi... how can you call someone else father... I am your father..."


    A''Zhi hugged Yan Huo Heng''s neck and looked timidly at Yan Yuan as if he did not know him at all.


    "A''Zhi, I am Father... you love to pester Father to buy you candied gourds to eat, Father will take you to the mortal world to buy them now, okay?" Yan Yuan smiled and went to hug A''Zhi, who squirmed his little body to avoid it.


    "You''re not A''Zhi''s father..."


    The little man looked to Xuan Long and whispered, "Mother, this man is so strange, let''s go, A''Zhi is scared."


    Xuan Long responded, and with a wave of his sleeve, the three disappeared.


    Yan Yuan tried to use his divine power to find out which direction they had gone in, but he could not find anything at all, so he wandered around like a headless fly, chasing after them with his bare feet.


    "Don''t go, don''t go..."


    "A''Po... A''Zhi... don''t go..."


    Unconsciously running into a white mist, he stepped into the air, and the feeling of weightlessness caused Yan Yuan to jolt awake. Sitting up from the bed, it was pitch black in front of him.


    It was a dream.


    The dream was so real that it broke his heart. He broke into a cold sweat, his throat felt like it was on fire, and there were tears on his face.


    The moon was faintly visible through the window, and it was late at night. Yan Yuan sat for a long time, immersed in grief, unable to break away from... Xuan Long was with Yan Huo Heng, and it was not surprising that A''Zhi called Yan Huo Heng his father.


    When he dies, A''Zhi will call Yan Huo Heng his father.


    The pain that ripped through his heart made Yan Yuan cough uncontrollably. He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and drank from his usual tea bowl on the stool by the head of the bed. In one gulp, the cold liquid slid down his throat and made his body twinge with pain.


    After finishing it, he realised that something was wrong with the feeling of the tea bowl, and without thinking about it, he put it back on the stool and slowly lay back down on the bed.

 CH 151

    No Solution


    Ye Ling Shenjun went back to his palace and asked the immortal healer to look at him. After taking the foetal pills, he went to sleep, but he did not sleep well this night. He kept feeling like he had forgotten something important, but his physical discomfort made him unable to think about it.


    The next morning, when he woke up and had his meal, he suddenly remembered that he had left the bowl of ''Start Over'' on the stool at the head of Yan Yuan''s bed. The medicine was so precious that Yan Jing had only begged for a small bottle from the ancient gods. If he accidentally spilled it, it would be gone.


    He put down the jade spoon he was using to drink his porridge and hurried to Dongji Hall.


    When he arrived at Dongji Hall, he saw that the tea bowl on the stool at the head of the bed was empty. When he lifted the tent, he saw that the bedding was rolled up in a ball and there was no sign of Yan Yuan.


    When he went out to ask the attendant outside, he was told that Yan Yuan had not left the hall.


    He must have used a magic technique when he left.


    The red carp in Yao Chi were swimming happily, but Yan Yuan turned a blind eye to them, walking in a trance along the jade brick paved path under his feet. Occasionally, some fairies passed by with plates of food and fruit, and when they saw him out in his unkempt white robe and bare feet, they bowed and cast worried glances at him.


    Yan Yuan had had a seething headache since the morning, he could not hear what they were saying. After going a little way past the fairies, he paused and turned around to ask without thinking.


    "Have you... seen the Heavenly Empress this morning."


    The Heavenly Empress?


    General Xuan Long and the Emperor had long since separated, and the Emperor had fled the marriage on the day of his marriage to Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, so who was the Heavenly Empress now?


    The fairies were confused and shook their heads.


    "In reply to the Emperor''s words, these fairies have not seen..."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes were bloodshot, as if he was very tired. His whole body looked like a rusty dull sword, not as bright as it used to be. Without receiving an answer, he turned to leave.


    He did not know where to look for Xuan Long, so he walked on without a clue, and before he knew it, he was outside of General Xuan Hall. The magnificent silver hall in front of him seemed very familiar to Yan Yuan, but when he tried to think about it, his headache almost exploded. Sweat broke out at the corners of his forehead before he remembered that this was Xuan Long''s residence before they were married.


    Stepping up the jade steps to the closed door, he tentatively raised his hand and knocked three times, not too softly but not too hard.


    A few moments later, the door was really opened from the inside. Yan Yuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the person he wanted to see, and his eyes were glowing.


    "A''Po... you and I had a big wedding last night, how come you disappeared early in the morning? Making me search so hard."


    "Didn''t I tell the Emperor that I don''t want to see you, why are you still here?" When Xuan Long saw Yan Yuan, his expression was so calm that it was almost cold, without any of the joy of a new marriage.


    He had never spoken to Yan Yuan like this before, and his sudden change in attitude was a bit baffling to Yan Yuan.


    "You disappeared, I''ve come to look for you..." he said, going to grab Xuan Long''s hand.


    Xuan Long stepped to the side to avoid him. Yan Yuan''s palm fell empty and he looked up at the man in bewilderment.


    "What''s wrong with you..."


    Noticing the dark golden mask on the right side of Xuan Long''s face, Yan Yuan felt strange and familiar, but as soon as he tried to recall anything, it caused his headache to intensify. He raised his hand to his forehead and his body swayed.


    Holding onto the door frame to steady himself, he saw that Xuan Long was still looking at him coldly and smiled at him.


    "Is there something I''ve done wrong that has upset you?..."


    "Why are you wearing a half mask..."


    "When you appear in front of me, you make my heart displeased." Xuan Long''s pupils were raised, his turquoise eyes already extremely cold, and that faint tone pierced his heart.


    Yan Yuan went to sleep and got up with an exceptionally foggy mind, not even remembering why he had upset him.


    "A''Po¡­ don¡¯t talk to me like that, I''ll be very upset."


    "If you''re angry, just say you''re angry, I''ll go make you fish soup to make amends, okay?"


    "No need." Xuan Long turned around.


    "To wake up in the morning to the face of a hated man makes me sick to my stomach, how can I eat? If the Emperor disappears from my presence soon, I will feel happy."


    Even if he had done something wrong, it was wrong for Xuan Long to say such hurtful things to him at the time of their wedding, but for some reason, he just couldn''t get angry at Xuan Long, he only felt aggrieved. He took a step forward.


    "If you keep talking like that¡­ I''m going to get angry."


    "Suit yourself." Xuan Long went back inside and slammed the door behind him.


    Yan Yuan was blocked by the door and reacted by slowly raising his hand to knock on the door, "A''Po..."


    "A''Po¡­"


    "What''s wrong with you..."


    "A''Po... I have a headache, will you really ignore me..."


    Inside the hall, Xuan Long pressed his back against the door and closed his eyes in silence.


    One person inside the door, one person outside the door, separated by a thin door, but it seemed like a thousand mountains and a thousand rivers. Xuan Long listened to the heavy knock on the door, knocking on his heart one by one, making his heart ache.


    Yan Yuan knocked for a while and then stopped knocking. The pain in his head gradually made him lose all his strength and his arms dropped weakly. His body was already badly injured and he refused to take the medicine properly. A surge of qi and blood immediately caused a tickle in his throat and he could not help but cough. He coughed so hard that his vision blurred and bright red blood splashed on the silver door in front of him.


    Ye Ling Shenjun quickly arrived and helped Yan Yuan go back.


    Yan Yuan stood in the doorway and refused to move, covering his lips with his sleeves, coughing and trembling: "Mother, he has gotten upset with me..."


    Ye Ling Shenjun''s heart was filled with mixed feelings: "I know. Come back with me first, when his anger has subsided, you can come back to coax him properly, maybe it will be fine."


    It was clear that he didn''t remember anything, but Yan Yuan felt extremely uneasy in his heart and shook his head, "No... I''ll wait here."


    "If he sees that I have waited for a long time, he will definitely come out."


    A Heavenly Emperor always running out in such a disheveled manner, making a mess of himself, not even knowing how to put on his shoes, and coughing up blood everywhere, if people saw him, they would definitely laugh behind his back.


    Ye Ling couldn''t persuade him, so he put his fingers together and touched the back of Yan Yuan''s neck. Yan Yuan''s body stiffened and he fell backwards with his eyes closed. Ye Ling caught him from behind and looked at the closed door for a moment before casting a spell and disappearing.


    At present, Yan Yuan''s body was no longer very strong, and a simple sleeping trick was enough to disable him.


    Ye Ling was not sure if Yan Yuan had drunk the bowl and started over from scratch; if he drank it, he should have forgotten about Xuan Long, if he hadn''t, his chaotic appearance was too abnormal.


    Was he just pretending to be stupid to deceive himself, or...


    When he thought of that possibility, Ye Ling was horrified. While taking Yan Yuan back to Dongji Hall, he used his voice transmission technique to ask the Healing Immortal to come quickly.


    When he returned to Dongji Hall, he placed Yan Yuan on the bed and produced a handkerchief to clean the blood from the corners of his mouth. When the Healing Immortal arrived, Ye Ling Shenjun got up and explained the situation. The Healing Immortal stepped forward and placed two fingers on Yan Yuan''s forehead, and a flash of green spiritual awareness penetrated into Yan Yuan''s mind and explored it carefully.


    Ye Ling stared at Yan Yuan''s bloodless face, and his throat tightened: "How..."


    The white-clothed Healing Immortal withdrew his hand with a gloomy expression.


    "The Emperor''s spiritual consciousness is chaotic, which is exactly the symptom of mistakenly drinking ''Start Over''."


    "That medicine needs to be taken voluntarily in order to forget one''s feelings. If it is not taken voluntarily, one will surely suffer a backlash. At first, one''s memory will be confused, and gradually one''s sanity will deteriorate and one will become dumb..."


    Ye Ling Shenjun swayed and his eyes turned black, but the fairy next to him stepped forward in time to support him, and he braced himself to ask, "Is there a solution?..."


    The Healing Immortal shook his head.


    The answer was already clear to Ye Ling Shenjun, he just couldn''t accept it.


    When Yan Jing had handed him the ''Start Again'', he had warned that once this medicine was taken, there was no cure, so it needed to be used with caution.


    He had never imagined that he would have caused Yan Yuan to drink it by mistake because of his carelessness.


    If he became a fool, even if Yan Jing found a way to repair the Emperor''s Star later, what would happen if Yan Yuan''s body and life expectancy were restored to what they were before? No matter how long he lived, he would still be a person who was not even mentally sound.


    And even if Yan Yuan became a fool, he would not forget that Xuan Long was his lover.


    The colour of Ye Ling''s face receded at a rate visible to the naked eye, and his entire weight was supported by the fairy, as if he would faint in the next breath.


    Emotional ups and downs are the worst thing for a pregnancy, so the healer wanted to approach him to check his pulse, but Ye Ling no longer cared about his own body, so he waved the healer away and he withdrew together with the fairy who was beside him.


    When they had left, Ye Ling went to the bedside and sat down, touching the corner of Yan Yuan''s mouth with a handkerchief and wiping the blood that had not yet dried with the most gentle of movements.


    His child had been brought up in a pampered manner and had never suffered much. The only suffering he had ever experienced was from the moment he had met Xuan Long, and he was so obstinate that he refused to turn back.


    As a father, he could only watch as his child took the path of death, with no solution in sight.


    From hope to despair, it only took one night...


    Ye Ling closed his eyes, tears fell on Yan Yuan''s pale face, his thin shoulders trembled and he let out a suppressed whimper.


    Yan Yuan fell into a coma for a day and a night, and when he woke up it was dawn. He reached towards his side but did not touch the person he wanted to touch. When he turned his head to look, he saw a person lying beside his bed.


    "Mother?... Why have you fallen asleep here?"


    Ye Ling''s sleep was shallow and he soon woke up. He kept watch for as long as Yan Yuan had been asleep, and when he saw Yan Yuan wake up, he forced a smile and said, "Yuan¡¯er, you..."


    "Where is A''Po?" Yan Yuan thought about the person he wanted to see. His memory was stuck on their wedding night, and the subsequent hardships were forgotten. His heart was full of sweetness, and he didn''t even notice that Ye Ling was not in the right mood, muttering to himself as he lifted the quilt to get out of bed.


    "Right, he got upset with me and I haven''t coaxed him yet. I''ll go make him fish soup, and after he eats it, he won''t be angry with me anymore."


    Ye Ling grasped his arm and said dully, "It''s useless...."


    "Why is it useless?..." Yan Yuan then remembered to ask Ye Ling, "By the way, Mother, do you know why A''Po is angry with me? How did I upset him?


    "How could he be so angry, he has never been too angry with me before..."


    Ye Ling''s heart felt like it was being cut by a knife when he saw him so dejected: "Do you know what year, month and day it is now."


    "Today... is the 9th day of the 7th month in the 13.4 millionth year of the Immortal Star calendar... Ah, the day before yesterday was the 7th day of the 7th month, the day of my big wedding with A''Po." Yan Yuan looked strangely at Ye Ling. "What''s wrong?"


    Ye Ling: "Today is the 6th day of the 9th month of the 13.45 millionth year of the Immortal Star calendar, fifty thousand years have passed since the day of your big wedding with Xuan Long."


    "What?..." Yan Yuan frowned.


    Ye Ling told him that he and Xuan Long had a son, who was now five years old. But because they had been together for tens of thousands of years and had grown tired of looking at each other for a long time, Xuan Long had divorced him not long ago and had gone to be with Yan Huo Heng.


    Yan Yuan thought that Ye Ling was joking. He clearly remembered that he and Xuan Long had just gotten married the day before, and had made a love contract in front of the Three Lives Stone, confessing their love for each other in front of the gods and pledging their lives to each other, vowing to the Heavenly Way that only death could separate them.


    Now Ye Ling was telling him that Xuan Long and he were divorced?


    Yan Yuan did not believe him. He produced an Immortal Star calendar, with inky translucent numbers arranged neatly in the air. The most prominent row of numbers was twice as big as the others, and it read the 6th day of the 9th month in the 13.45 millionth year, which was today.


    The Immortal Star calendar does not lie.


    "How could it be..."


    He raised the palm of his right hand and condensed his divine energy; if nothing had happened, a blossoming pale blue iris would have appeared in his palm, which was his love contract with Xuan Long.


    But no...


    No matter how hard he tried, his palm was empty.


    Yan Yuan found that the divine energy in his body had become very weak, but he did not care about this and kept trying to recall what had happened between him and Xuan Long. However, the more he thought about it, the more his head ached, and the memories drowned in the turbulent waves, without a trace of life.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes reddened and he murmured a question into his empty palm.


    "Why? What did I do wrong?... Why doesn''t A''Po want me anymore?..."


    There was no way for Ye Ling to answer Yan Yuan, telling him about the past would be the same as ripping open Yan Yuan''s wounds and inserting a dagger into them. He couldn''t say it.


    "Mother, why?"


    Unable to get an answer from Ye Ling, Yan Yuan stood up and headed out, "I''m going to ask him myself..."


    Ye Ling didn''t stop him, he couldn''t be stopped.


    The door of General Xuan Hall was knocked with a loud bang, and the door was opened by a small and soft white figure, dressed in a light green brocade robe, with short thick dragon horns, and a pair of icy turquoise eyes exactly the same colour as Xuan Long''s, but with eyebrows that resembled Yan Yuan.


    "You are..." Yan Yuan froze.


    The little man looked at Yan Yuan and was also stunned. His eyes turned red and he jumped over and hugged Yan Yuan''s thighs: "Father, why did you only come to see A''Zhi now, do you not want A''Zhi anymore..."


    Yan Yuan bent down in a daze and picked up the little man, his movements were slow but not unfamiliar, as if he had held the child like this countless times.


    As soon as he picked him up, his tiny arms wrapped around Yan Yuan''s neck, his little face buried in the nook of Yan Yuan''s neck, and he sullenly said:


    "Mother said that Father was very busy and did not have time to see A''Zhi, but in the past, when Father was busy, he would not leave A''Zhi alone. Why did it take so long this time..."


    The soft voice was thick with nasal tones, like he was holding back tears. Yan Yuan''s heart throbbed with pain, and his palm hesitantly covered A''Zhi''s young spine, saying, "I''m sorry..."


    The little man straightened his body and touched his hand to Yan Yuan''s face: "A''Zhi doesn''t blame Father, he just misses Father."


    "Father, you seem to have lost a lot of weight... why is your face so cold?"


    Just as he was saying that, he saw Xuan Long come out of the building, followed by Lian Bi. Just now, when he was preparing to have breakfast, A''Zhi heard Yan Yuan knocking on the door and scurried to open it, even faster than Lian Bi.


    "Mother, can Father stay today? A''Zhi wants to stay with Father and Mother..." A''Zhi said to Xuan Long, hugging Yan Yuan''s neck.


    He knew that his mother did not like his father, so he was extra cautious.


    Xuan Long remained silent.


    Lian Bi stepped forward and opened his arms to A''Zhi, smiling, "The General and the Emperor have something to talk about, so the Crown Prince will go to breakfast with Xiao Xian first, okay?"


    "No..." A''Zhi twisted his body to avoid Lian Bi''s hands and leaned his head on Yan Yuan''s shoulder. It had been too long since he had seen his father and he did not want to leave.


    Yan Yuan knew what Xuan Long meant and patted the little man''s back, coaxing, "A''Zhi is a good boy, go and have your meal first, Father will look for you later, I will see you soon."


    Over time, he learned the name of his and Xuan Long''s child, and although he had no memory of him, his ability to coax the child was engraved in his bones, and his tone and intensity were just right.


    A''Zhi, who was brought up by Yan Yuan, was most obedient to his father''s words and was finally carried into the hall by Lian Bi with red eyes, his eyes glued to Yan Yuan until the doors closed.


    Xuan Long snapped his fingers and cast a boundary, so that no matter what happened outside, it could not be heard inside.


    "A''Zhi... is our child." Yan Yuan said as he withdrew his eyes from the closed door.


    Xuan Long already knew that Yan Yuan had mistakenly taken ''Start Over'' and was not surprised by his words; he did not want to entangle himself too much with Yan Yuan, so as not to reveal any flaws.


    "What is the purpose of the Emperor''s repeated visits to my door?"


    Yan Yuan smiled and said, "I don''t know what has happened to me, I''ve forgotten a lot about the past. I have come here to ask you why you wanted to divorce me? What did I do wrong so that you wanted to divorce me..."


    "When love fades, it''s gone, so what''s the point of having many reasons." Xuan Long said calmly.


    "The Emperor is in a high position, he should be someone who can afford to let go. Repeatedly entangling, it is inevitable that people will feel that you are contemptuous."


    Xuan Long''s appearance was the same as he remembered, dressed in a black robe, his long hair unbound, his face handsome and powerful, except for the dark golden mask, which made Yan Yuan feel vaguely strange and alienated his whole being.


    Holding back his tears, he asked in a mute voice. "Mother said that you are with Yan Huo Heng."


    Xuan Long: "Mhmm."


    Yan Yuan: "Did you divorce me because of him?"


    Xuan Long wanted to say yes, but when he looked at Yan Yuan''s tearful face, it was difficult to speak the lie. He forced himself to speak.


    "Yes."


    "Why? What he can give you, I can give you too, and I can even give you more. I am the most powerful person in the Heavenly Realm, why do you want him over me? Wasn''t I the one you once had your heart set on?"


    After a moment of silence, Xuan Long said, "People change."


    "Then how about you change again, change back to your old self... okay?" Yan Yuan clasped Xuan Long''s wrist and cried to the point of losing his dignity. "Didn''t we agree before the Three Lives Stone that you would be with me forever, how come you''ve divorced me after only fifty thousand years?..."


    "I don''t want to divorce¡­ A''Po, I don''t want to divorce you..."


    "The Emperor should respect himself." Xuan Long frowned and drew back his hand, turning to leave.


    Yan Yuan scrambled to catch up with him and grabbed his hand, "It''s okay, you don''t want to change, I can change, so tell me, what do you like about Yan Huo Heng? I can become like him... or even better than him. As long as you say it, I can do anything."


    Xuan Long did not break away this time and turned his back on him.


    "He will not belittle himself like you do, making a fool of yourself for nothing."

 CH 152

    Can You Like Me Today


    If Yan Yuan was afraid of being laughed at, he would not have given up his position as Heavenly Emperor ten thousand years ago and fallen to the mortal world in search of Xuan Long.


    The gods of the Nine Heavens all know that the Heavenly Emperor is an infatuated man who is not even afraid of Heaven''s wrath for the sake of Xuan Long, so what is face to him?


    But no matter how shameless he was, no matter how earnest he was, it was useless if Xuan Long did not appreciate his feelings.


    "In your eyes, am I just a joke..."


    "Yes." Xuan Long slowly but firmly drew back the wrist that was clutched tightly by Yan Yuan and walked through the door without looking back.


    Yan Yuan wondered why his love had turned into a joke in Xuan Long''s eyes. They had been childhood sweethearts since they were young, and their love had grown over time; they had long since become the flesh and blood of each other''s hearts. To pluck out the flesh and blood from their hearts would kill them.


    He did not believe that Xuan Long would betray him. He must have done something unforgivable himself to earn Xuan Long''s cold eyes in return. He was going to get to the bottom of what had happened and then confess to Xuan Long sincerely, and he would surely be forgiven by him.


    He must just be saying these things to him out of anger...


    Surely he was just angry...


    In the forbidden land thousands of miles away, the flickering light of the crack-riddled Purple Heavenly Star grew dimmer and dimmer. When the light was completely extinguished, it would be the day the Emperor Star would fall.


    Yan Yuan''s divine body was symbiotic with the Emperor Star. Now the Emperor Star''s qi is weak and is being suppressed by the Lonely Heavenly Star, the closer he gets to Xuan Long, the greater the impact.


    As the day and night progressed, the crack in the Purple Heavenly Star suddenly became deeper, and Yan Yuan felt the pain of a million arrows piercing his heart. He let out a stifled grunt and bent over, covering his heart. The blood that gushed out of his mouth pooled into a thin stream that flowed onto the white jade floor, and he fell to his knees, unable to hold on, and fainted outside of General Xuan Hall.


    When he regained consciousness, Yan Yuan was already in his bed in Dongji Hall. He was in a state of confusion, and saw Ye Ling guarding him at the bedside, his eyes red and he was saying something, but his voice was too far away to be heard.


    Yan Yuan strained to reach over and grabbed the sleeve of Ye Ling Shenjun''s coat and asked, breathlessly, "Mother, tell me why A''Po doesn''t want me anymore..."


    Yan Yuan couldn''t hear how Ye Ling answered, so he obstinately asked why repeatedly, tears cutting through his silvery white temples.


    Who knows where the fairies found the pigment to dye his hair, it had only been washed a few times and it had already faded, and his silver hair was as dull as dry grass.


    "It will get better..."


    "It''s going to be okay..."


    Ye Ling held Yan Yuan''s hand tightly, his fingers tenderly wiped away the tears at the corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes, and he watched Yan Yuan fall into a drowsy sleep again. His words were like a comfort to Yan Yuan, and like a comfort to himself.


    However, nothing was getting better.


    Yan Jing was unable to find a way to mend the Emperor Star and returned several times without success. The effect of the ''Start Over'' medicine was at its peak and Yan Yuan woke up after sleeping for ten days, and became a true fool.


    His emotions were all displayed on his face; he would laugh when he was happy, cry when he was sad, and run to see his lover when he missed him.


    Xuan Long was afraid that he would come close to him. The closer he came, the heavier the repercussions would be, and before they could find a way to repair the Emperor Star, Yan Yuan would probably die.


    The most vicious words he had never said in his life were almost all said to Yan Yuan, who cried silently as he listened, his clear eyes looking at Xuan Long, the skin at the end of his eyes red, and tears hanging in his eyes, falling down in big globs.


    If Xuan Long coaxed him, he would stop crying, but Xuan Long never did, he would always slam the door and shut him out, leaving him standing there.


    Every time he was taken back to the palace by Ye Ling, he would come back the next day and wait outside General Xuan Hall.


    This morning, when Ye Ling wasn''t looking, he ran over again.


    Crouched under the sacred tree outside the hall, his long silvery white hair and robe strewn across the ground, he drew circles on the ground with a branch in his hand, a brown portable food box by his side.


    He always brought a gift when he came, and each time it was different. Sometimes it was a packet of malt candy, sometimes it was a bunch of candied gourds, a bunch of windmills...


    They were all small trinkets that Ye Ling Shenjun sent people to the mortal world to get to make Yan Yuan happy. A piece of malt candy could make Yan Yuan drink an extra bowl of porridge, and a string of candied gourds could coax Yan Yuan to obediently drink all the medicine that was so bitter that it made his tongue numb.


    When Yan Yuan liked something, he thought that Xuan Long would like it too, so he drank the medicine, hid the candied gourds and brought them to Xuan Long like a treasure, but Xuan Long didn''t even look at them and told him to get lost.


    Having given away everything he could, Yan Yuan didn''t know what else he could do to please Xuan Long, so he thought hard last night before going to bed and remembered that Xuan Long seemed to like fish soup. As a result, he slipped into the kitchen this morning and made one from a vague memory.


    Previously, he had always knocked on the door when he came, but Xuan Long didn''t like the noise, so he stopped knocking and waited quietly outside, so that when the time came, Xuan Long would come out.


    As a general, he had to patrol the Divine School every day.


    When Xuan Long woke up that morning, A''Zhi was still sleeping beside him. Sensing the familiar divine aura outside, he paused in lifting the blanket and used his voice transmission technique to summon Lian Bi in, saying through the tent:


    "He''s here again..."


    "General, do you want Lian Bi to chase him away?"


    "No need... let him be."


    Although Yan Yuan is now a fool, his nature is as stubborn as ever. Lian Bi is unable to drive him away; when the time comes, it will be another storm, and it will be a waste of energy.


    After waiting long enough, he would leave on his own.


    When Xuan Long left the house, he used the invisibility technique. Yan Yuan is now weak, so even after Xuan Long walked in front of him, he didn''t notice. He was crouched on the ground and drawing haphazardly with a tree branch, looking up at the closed door of the hall from time to time, with a helpless look in his eyes, clearly wanting to knock on the door, but still holding back.


    Xuan Long slowly bent over and touched his fingertips to Yan Yuan''s face. The wind blew over and silvery white hair tangled in Xuan Long''s fingers. Yan Yuan suddenly froze and dropped the tree branch in his hand to the ground. His fingers clutched the clothes over his heart and he coughed in pain, furrowing his eyebrows.


    Ye Ling Shenjun coaxed Yan Yuan to take medicine day after day, but the Emperor Star was so badly damaged that no amount of medicine could stop his divine body from weakening day by day. Once he coughed, he would cough up a lot of blood, and his face would pale visibly, and even his eyes would become hollow for a while. After coughing, he casually wiped it with his white sleeve, staining the corners of his mouth bright red and leaving blood stains everywhere.


    Xuan Long thought he would leave after this, but after he regained his composure, he sat up on his knees and wiped the blood from the white jade tile floor with his sleeves, as seriously as though he was completing some important ritual.


    A white light flashed in mid-air, and Ye Ling Shenjun appeared at Yan Yuan''s side. His eyes darted across the direction where Xuan Long was, and he bent down to grab Yan Yuan''s arm.


    "Yuan''er, get up and go back with Father."


    Yan Yuan raised his head with red eyes, "I''ve made A''Po''s courtyard dirty... he''ll hate me even more."


    "He won''t." Ye Ling raised his sleeve and with a wave, the floor was spotless. "Father has cleaned it for you, he won''t know. Come on, go back with Father for breakfast."


    "But I want to see him..." Yan Yuan muttered, looking in the direction of the hall door.


    The words that followed were not heard by Xuan Long. Since Ye Ling Shenjun had come, he did not have to worry about Yan Yuan waiting there foolishly.


    Before leaving home, he had specifically instructed Lian Bi not to go through the main gate when sending A''Zhi to school, so that he would not meet Yan Yuan.


    As the sun set in the west, the man crouching under the sacred tree unknowingly fell asleep under the tree, clutching his food box, his clothes still the same dirty blood-stained ones, which were not dignified or decent in any way.


    This was the scene that Xuan Long saw when he returned from the Divine School.


    He seemed a little cold, his bare feet were tucked under his robe, with his curled toes exposed, and his eyebrows were knitted together, obviously sleeping uncomfortably.


    Xuan Long did not expect Yan Yuan to not have left by now.


    Just as he was hesitating on whether to go over and shoo him away or to just enter the hall, the man woke up sleepily.


    "A''Po..."


    It was too late to try to leave.


    "A''Po!"


    Yan Yuan crawled up from under the tree. It seemed that he had been sitting for too long and his feet were numb, limping a little comically as he ran over.


    He held up the food box with both hands and handed it to Xuan Long, smiling.


    "I have made you something delicious today, very delicious... really!"


    In the morning, he only saw Yan Yuan coughing up blood, and it was only now when his attention was focused on Yan Yuan''s hands that he noticed the bone-deep knife wounds on his finger, as well as the blood blisters that had been scalded forth.


    His sword brows knitted up and he mumbled:


    "What is it?"


    "It''s fish soup, you like fish soup the most, don''t you?" Seeing that Xuan Long was hesitant to take it, Yan Yuan pushed it in front of him. "A''Po, take it, if you eat the fish soup, don''t hate me anymore, okay?"


    "......"


    "A''Po... okay?..."


    Xuan Long raised his hand and reached out to Yan Yuan''s hand.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes lit up and he clenched his hands hard, thinking Xuan Long was going to take it. However, in the next breath, the food box he was holding was swatted to the ground by Xuan Long.


    The food box broke in half, and the emerald jade jar inside poured out, spilling fish soup all over the floor.


    "I hate eating fish soup the most, so don''t waste your efforts again."


    Yan Yuan stared at the remnants on the floor for a long time, not expecting that the result today would be the same as the previous days, as he clearly remembered that Xuan Long liked to eat fish soup.


    "Then what do you like..."


    Xuan Long spoke in a low voice, "Like you..."


    Yan Yuan''s breath stalled, and before he could feel the pleasant surprise, he fell into hell.


    "Like that you don''t appear in front of me. When exactly will the Emperor understand human words." Xuan Long walked around him towards the door of the hall.


    Yan Yuan stopped where he was, water droplets pooling in his eyes, "I can understand..."


    When he returned to Dongji Hall, Ye Ling Shenjun was sitting at the dining table waiting for him, with a table full of delicious food.


    "Yuan''er, you''re back? You''ve been hungry all day, come and have your meal."


    Yan Yuan walked past the dining table towards the inner hall. He looked as if his soul had gone out of his body, and his whole body was as pale as paper.


    "Mother, I want to sleep now."


    Yan Yuan''s eyes closed as he touched the bed. Ye Ling Shenjun brought a small bowl of chicken congee on a tray, as well as the medicine he was supposed to take today, and sat down by the bed.


    "Mother, A''Po still hates me. He spilled the fish soup I made, I clearly remember that he likes fish soup, maybe he just hates the fish soup I made." Yan Yuan closed his eyes and said softly.


    Ye Ling Shenjun was speechless for a long time before speaking, "Eat something first, and drink the medicine."


    "I don''t want to drink the medicine, it''s too bitter..." Yan Yuan opened his eyes, and only then did the tears fall from the corners of his eyes.


    "There are candied gourds today too." Ye Ling Shenjun opened his hand, and a red candied gourd appeared in his palm.


    Yan Yuan did not even look at it, he seemed to be really sad.


    Ye Ling Shenjun: "... You promised me that if he still treated you that way today, you would never go to him again."


    That''s why Ye Ling allowed Yan Yuan to wait there foolishly all day.


    "But when I think of never seeing him again, I feel so uncomfortable..." Yan Yuan buried his face in the blanket and his body trembled.


    Ye Ling Shenjun had no choice but to press his palm against Yan Yuan''s back, "Then Yuan¡¯er, remember... next time you go out, don''t forget to put on your shoes."


    Before going to bed, when Ye Ling Shenjun was treating the wound on Yan Yuan''s hand, he heard Yan Yuan whisper:


    "Mother, I will like him for another thirty days. If thirty days pass and he still does not like me, then I won''t like him either."


    "Okay..."


    Those words were just a lie to Yan Yuan himself.


    During the thirty days, Yan Yuan went to Xuan Long every day to look for him, and the result was the same. After the thirty days, he told himself that he would like Xuan Long for another thirty days.


    He had many, many more 30 days anyway.


    But in fact, three years were just a snap of his fingers.


    His obsession with Xuan Long was so deep that he suffered more and more backlash. In three years, he went from seeing Xuan Long every day to every two or three days.


    Because his body no longer allowed him to do that. In order to prevent excessive depletion of his spiritual energy, his divine body would spontaneously fall into a coma, often sleeping for days at a time.


    If he continued like this, he might not last even ten years, not to mention a hundred years.


    In the late afternoon of this day, Yan Yuan woke up from his sleep and went to look for Xuan Long who was training his soldiers at the Divine School.


    He had forgotten to put on his shoes again when he left the house, and his thin white profane robe had a black robe draped over it, making his face as white as snow, and his body was obviously full of lifelessness, but when he saw Xuan Long, the smile in his eyes was as vivid as a fish swimming in the water.


    "A''Po, the irises by Zijue Lake are blooming... I picked one for you...Will you accept the flowers, and try to like me today." Yan Yuan hesitantly revealed his right hand which was behind his back and handed a blue iris tail to Xuan Long, twirling it between his fingers.


    "... Okay."


    Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Yan Yuan''s time was running out.


    If he was destined to die, then before he left, Xuan Long wanted him to be happy.

 CH 153

    The Emperor Star Will Fall


    "Really?..."


    Yan Yuan suspected that he had fallen into a beautiful illusion. He had long been prepared to be rejected by Xuan Long again, but Xuan Long actually reached out his hand and took the blue iris in his hand.


    "En."


    Receiving an affirmative reply, Yan Yuan looked at the man in front of him with a slight blush, which made his pale face look a little better:.


    "Then... then can I hold your hand?"


    "En."


    Yan Yuan tentatively stretched out his hand and leaned in to take Xuan Long''s right hand that was hanging at his side. This time, Xuan Long did not hide, and was actually held in his palm.


    The one he loved had finally agreed to his courtship.


    Yan Yuan thought that the reason for Xuan Long''s consent was the beautiful blue iris, so every day since then, as long as Yan Yuan was awake, he would always go to the Zijue Lake to pick a fresh blue iris and give it to Xuan Long, regardless of whether he was ill or not.


    He greedily hoped that with each blue iris he received, Xuan Long would like him more.


    The fairies passing by the lake often saw their emperor, dressed in a white tunic with his white hair hanging down, bending over his bare feet in search of something among the flowers.


    He was looking for the most beautiful one.


    Xuan Long''s decision was ultimately acquiesced by Ye Ling Shenjun and Yan Jing, both of whom knew that the Emperor Star had been severely damaged and that it was difficult to disobey the Heavenly Way, so Yan Yuan''s hope of survival was slim.


    Instead of watching him being tortured by the pain of unrequited love until he dies, it was better to let him be happy before he left.


    Even if that happiness had to be above the physical torture.


    Since Xuan Long had agreed to be with Yan Yuan, it was clear that Yan Yuan was much happier, but inevitably, his health was deteriorating.


    The weakened Emperor Star insisted on clinging to the Lonely Heavenly Star, and its destruction was inevitable.


    Occasionally, when he could not find Yan Yuan, he would go to the kitchen or to Zijue Lake, where he would most likely find him. He was either making fish soup or had gone to Zijue Lake to collect flowers, while the remaining 20% of his time was spent picking A''Zhi up from school. If he hadn''t returned for a long time, he must have fainted in the kitchen, in the flowers, or halfway to the school.


    Every time Xuan Long had to go and get him back, Yan Yuan had either injured his hands by making fish or fainted in the sea of flowers and got covered in cold dew. His body was already in bad shape, so it was inevitable that Xuan Long couldn''t help but be angry when he added insult to injury.


    This time, he fainted in the kitchen. When he fell down, he instinctively tried to grab something beside him, but ended up knocking over the pot of soup on the stove and spilling the hot water meant for making soup over half of his body. From his neck to his chest, the area had been burned and blood blisters had formed, which broke and stuck to his clothes and flesh. He had to remove his clothes to clean the wound, which inevitably ripped off a layer of skin.


    The bloody flesh was exposed to the air, and Xuan Long personally applied medicine to Yan Yuan. The light green ointment was applied to the wound with a flat wooden stick, slightly easing the burning pain.


    The corners of Yan Yuan''s forehead were stained with cold sweat, and strands of white hair stuck to his skin. He vaguely sensed that Xuan Long was angry and moved his hand over, clutching Xuan Long''s sleeve and gently tugging it.


    "A''Po... I''ll make you fish soup tomorrow, don''t you be angry with me..."


    Xuan Long was angry with him for not caring for his body, but he thought he was angry because he didn''t get to eat the fish soup.


    "I have said that I do not like fish soup, so you must not make it again."


    "If you make it again, I will really hate you."


    There was no reasoning with a fool. Yan Yuan''s memory had become very poor; what Xuan Long had said to him one moment, he often forgot the next. Xuan Long forbade him from wandering and told him to stay on his bed to recuperate. Yan Yuan always forgot, but he remembered that Xuan Long loved fish soup and liked blue irises.


    The burns were so painful, yet Yan Yuan did not cry, but when he heard Xuan Long''s words, his face fell into tears and he whimpered:


    "Don''t hate me..."


    "A''Po, don''t hate me..."


    Xuan Long: "Then promise me that you won''t run around in the future."


    "No going to the kitchen and no picking flowers from Zijue Lake."


    Yan Yuan cried and nodded.


    Xuan Long reached out and wiped the tears from his cheeks with his fingers, whispering, "Emperor, don''t cry, if A''Zhi comes back and he sees you, he''ll laugh at you, at his father being such a crybaby"


    A''Zhi would not laugh at him. In the mortal world, when Yan Yuan missed Xuan Long and A''Zhi missed his mother, father and son would cry together, but now, Yan Yuan could not remember anything.


    Enduring the pain in his body, he lifted the back of his hand to wipe the tears from his eyes, "Does A''Po not like it when I cry?"


    Xuan Long didn''t want Yan Yuan to ask this question, it wasn''t a question of whether he liked it or not, it was just that when he saw the formerly healthy man who had become dumb and foolish, crying like a child, his heart felt sad.


    "Then I won''t cry." Yan Yuan looked at Xuan Long and sniffled without waiting for him to reply. " I won''t cry in the future."


    Without saying a word, Xuan Long silently bandaged his wound and, with his palm facing upwards, produced a bowl of medicine that he had prepared earlier.


    Yan Yuan had to drink it every day, and although the effect was slight, it was better than not drinking it at all.


    He was a child now and was afraid of bitterness. The red dates and candied gourds could no longer coax Yan Yuan into drinking the medicine, and now that he was in severe pain, he was even more reluctant to add to the misery, but the person who told him to drink the medicine was Xuan Long, so even if the bowl contained poison, he would have taken it without hesitation.


    With his injuries, it was difficult for Yan Yuan to get up, so Xuan Long fed him a small spoonful of medicine while Yan Yuan was lying down, and Yan Yuan dutifully opened his mouth and drank it. The bitter liquid dripped from his tongue to his throat, causing him to frown and choke on the first sip. He coughed violently, coughing up blood that soiled the bedding, and the bandages he had just placed on his body gradually blotted with red spots.


    "A''Yuan..." Xuan Long produced a clean white handkerchief and wiped the blood from the corner of Yan Yuan''s mouth.


    After coughing, Yan Yuan twisted his head to look at Xuan Long, and his breath weakly said:


    "Will A''Po like me more after I drink the medicine?..."


    Xuan Long''s lowered eyes made it impossible to see the emotion: "Yes."


    Yan Yuan smiled, looking at Xuan Long''s eyes like star fire in the dark night. After Xuan Long had cleaned the blood from the corners of his mouth, he took several sips of the bitter medicine one after another, looked at Xuan Long with unblinking eyes and asked:


    "Then after drinking the medicine, A''Po, kiss me, okay?..."


    "¡­ Okay." Xuan Long said.


    The medicine bowl was empty, and Xuan Long produced a candied fruit and brought it to Yan Yuan''s lips, but Yan Yuan refused to eat it, pursing his pale lips and looking at Xuan Long bashfully.


    Xuan Long knew what he meant and slowly leaned down, a strand of his ink black hair fell on Yan Yuan''s face, and Yan Yuan''s eyes closed nervously as he felt a feather-light kiss fall on his forehead, his breathing slowing for a moment.


    After the kiss, Yan Yuan seemed to look much better. He ate the candied fruit given to him by Xuan Long and pulled up the blanket to cover his face, too embarrassed to look at Xuan Long.


    He had long been drowsy and fell asleep shortly afterwards. Xuan Long called his name through the bedding, but Yan Yuan did not answer.


    Most of his snow-white silver hair was exposed outside the bedding, a sign that he would not live long...

 CH 154

    A life for a Life


    It was early winter in the year 13.45 million and 10 of the Xianchen calendar.


    There was a rare snowstorm in the Heavenly Realm, and the Nine Heavens were colder than ever. The gods, who could maintain their body temperature with their spiritual energy alone, had to add more clothes and warm themselves with divine fires in their palaces.


    Occasionally, immortal cranes swept through the air, wailing like they were on the verge of death.


    Visions began to arise, and the Emperor Star was about to fall.


    The windows of Dongji Hall were blocked by thick silver curtains, impermeable to the wind, and several nine-dragon, four-legged heaters were distributed throughout the bedchamber, with the divine fires blazing. The fairy attendant entered the room and was sweating in no time, but the man in white on the bed was pouting about the cold to the man in black at his side.


    "A''Po... I''m so cold..." Yan Yuan weakly held Xuan Long''s hand, his face was no different from the cold snow outside. His half drowsy eyes looked at Xuan Long, and he was already out of breath, "Hold me... okay..."


    "...... Okay."


    Xuan Long gently lifted Yan Yuan''s upper body and leaned him against himself. Yan Yuan lay on his side, resting on Xuan Long''s leg, holding his hand against his chest, feeling a little warmer.


    The outside sky was bright, but covered by the window tent, the hall was dark and dreary. The candle flame flickered, outlining Yan Yuan''s thin, pale face, and he closed his eyes and spoke inaudibly:


    "A''Po... I¡­ my body hurts..."


    "Am I... going to die..."


    Ten years had passed with the snap of a finger; A''Zhi was still a child, Ye Ling Shenjun was pregnant, his belly had not yet bulged, but Yan Yuan was at the end of his journey, unable to get out of bed for a long time.


    The gods had never given up their search for a way to change fate, but they had failed time and time again.


    Yan Yuan was about to die, and everyone knew it.


    Xuan Long knew it too. He watched over Yan Yuan day and night, seeing him grow weaker day by day, and he knew better than anyone that his beloved was leaving him.


    But he could not show his grief.


    Xuan Long put his palm over Yan Yuan''s weakened back and said soothingly:


    "No, A''Yuan is just sick, drink the medicine and you will be fine."


    "Don''t you believe me?"


    Yan Yuan smiled, "Believe... whatever A''Po says, I believe..."


    "But the medicine is too bitter... I don''t want to drink it today... okay..."


    Xuan Long tilted his head, and after a moment of silence, he hoarsely replied, "Okay."


    Yan Yuan looked at the flickering fire not far away and said, "Drinking that medicine... will always make me sleepy, I want to... talk to A''Po more..."


    Xuan Long: "¡­ Okay."


    "The iris flowers by Zijue Lake have all withered, I can''t send you flowers in the future... will A''Po still like me... " Tears came out of the corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes.


    The irises bloom in the spring and wither after May. Xuan Long loves the irises and Yan Yuan used his divine power to keep the flowers in bloom when his mind was still clear, but now that his divine body has become crippled and his divine power is weak, the spells don''t work anymore.


    Last month, when Xuan Long was not looking, Yan Yuan struggled to get up and went to Zijue Lake. He was shocked to find that the large iris field had withered into dried branches, and he came back so sad that he cried for a long time.


    "I will." Xuan Long''s fingers wiped away his tears.


    "Without the flowers, I will like you just the same, don''t cry."


    "Really..." Yan Yuan strained to turn around and lie flat, trying to see Xuan Long''s expression to make sure the man wasn''t just trying to make him happy.


    Xuan Long curled his lips, "En."


    Yan Yuan lifted his hand, hooked his pinky finger and smiled, "Then let''s make a promise, there are no more irises¡­ A''Po won''t hate me... and will treat me as good as before..."


    "Okay... promise." Xuan Long raised his hand and hooked Yan Yuan''s pinky finger, listening to him mutter under his breath. "Pull the hook... hang it up... ten thousand years, no change¡­ A''Po, if you lie to me, then... then..."


    Yan Yuan wanted to use a method to threaten Xuan Long, so as to tell him to always like him, but if the promise was too vicious, he could not let Xuan Long swear, because in case it came true, it was himself who would be upset.


    After thinking for a long time, he said seriously:


    "If A''Po lies to me, I''ll... never be with you again."


    Xuan Long: "Mmm, if I lie to you, you will not be with me again."


    Their pinkies hooked together and their thumbs touched.


    Yan Yuan: "Then don''t lie to me..."


    Xuan Long: " Okay..."


    As the words fell, Yan Yuan''s hand dropped, landing weakly on the edge of the bed.


    Xuan Long''s hand froze in mid-air and he remained frozen for a moment before returning to his senses, his fingertips touching Yan Yuan''s face: "A''Yuan..."


    His body was so cold, almost capable of giving Xuan Long frostbite., which was in no way the temperature that should be found in a living person, and that temperature had been in Yan Yuan''s body for months.


    That was why he always cried out about the cold and the pain.


    "A''Yuan..."


    Yan Yuan did not respond, and his faint breath told Xuan Long that he was still alive.


    Like a prisoner being escorted under the tiger''s head and about to be beheaded, Xuan Long did not know when the sharp blade would fall and take his lover''s life.


    He could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything.


    It was more upsetting to him than having him tortured alive.


    In the evening, Ye Ling Shenjun came to see Yan Yuan in Dongji Hall. Yan Yuan was still sleeping, so Xuan Long went out alone on the pretext of going to the academy to pick up A''Zhi from school.


    It was snowing heavily outside the hall. The man in basalt clothes, holding an oil-paper umbrella, walked across the snow-covered road, leaving a trail of footprints.


    At the end of the Heavenly Realm there is a temple where a statue of a deity whose yin and yang are indistinguishable is worshipped. On one side is a man and on the other a woman. The man''s left hand is in front of his chest, his thumb and forefinger twisted together, while the rest of his fingers were loose, and his eyes were downcast and smiling. The female figure has a beautiful and elegant face, her hair is in a flying bun, her middle finger is twisted with her thumb, her palm is facing upwards and her face is peaceful. No matter which direction she was facing, she was sacred and inviolable.


    Legend has it that this is the true form of the Heavenly Way.


    No one has ever seen the true face of the Heavenly Way, and no one knows the truth, but when the immortals and gods in the Heavenly Realm are troubled, they go there to ask for help, offering their most precious things to the Heavenly Way in exchange for getting what they want.


    It was snowing so heavily today that there was not a single god on the road, and the wind howled outside the temple, causing the branches of the sacred trees to rustle.


    Xuan Long put away his oil paper umbrella and placed it outside the temple, patting the snow off his shoulders and allowing himself to enter the temple in a clean state.


    The Heavenly Way had condemned him to be born a Lonely Heavenly Star and to suffer a great deal, but he had never hated anything. He had only thought that he had done something evil in his past life and had to pay for it a hundred times over in this life.


    But Yan Yuan was born as the Emperor Star, the ruler of all things, so honourable. If he had done anything wrong, it would be that he should not have met and fallen in love with him.


    If he had never appeared in Yan Yuan''s life, how could they have come this far, and how could Yan Yuan have come to this point?


    It was wrong from the start...


    He regretted it.


    He didn''t want Yan Yuan to love him.


    Didn''t want Yan Yuan to meet him.


    Step by step, slowly but firmly, Xuan Long walked towards the divine statue, knelt down on the futon in front of the divine statue, joined his hands together and opened his thin lips softly:


    "The Heavenly Way is above everyone, I as a Lonely Heavenly Star... should have been alone until death, but I have acted against Heaven and harmed others and myself, I know I was wrong, I beg the Heavenly Way to be merciful and spare my love, I am willing to scatter my life''s work and fall into hell forever, not to enter the reincarnation, I only beg the Heavenly Way to be merciful... spare my love..."


    "Please be merciful... spare my love..."


    "Please be merciful... spare my love."


    Xuan Long bowed down, kowtowed, and remained still for a long time.


    He had lived up to this day and never believed in gods and Buddhas; he himself was a god in the Nine Heavens, but he could not even control his own destiny. Worshipping gods and Buddhas might be useful for mortals, but for him it was all in vain.


    But when he was forced into a corner, he had to try the most foolish solution, just like a mortal. If the Heavenly Way was kind enough to let Yan Yuan live, he would be the most loyal follower of the Heavenly Way.


    He had nothing precious to offer, and the only thing he could exchange was his own life.

 CH 155

    Left Alone in the World


    If the Heavenly Way was not cruel, it would have opened its eyes and made them whole after tens of thousands of years of watching this couple suffer for each other, even sacrificing their lives for each other.


    It was useless for Xuan Long to kneel and worship as sincerely as he did.


    Yan Yuan had been asleep since he went to the temple to pray, and had not woken up again. A large amount of medicine was administered, but most of it dripped out of the corners of his mouth, and he could barely even perform the unconscious act of swallowing.


    The best healers in the Heavenly Realm came to Dongji Hall day after day, but every time they shook their heads and returned. Yan Yuan''s days were numbered, it was just a matter of days.


    He was originally a god whose life expectancy was as long as Heaven and Earth, the most noble Emperor of the Nine Heavens, but for the sake of love, he had turned himself into such a state.


    Love can save a person, but it can also harm them.


    The best thing is to love impartially, to be able to get out of the way at any time, and to live well without anyone. But Xuan Long was water to him, he was a fish in the water, and when a fish leaves the water, it will die slowly in the most painful way.


    Early that morning, Xuan Long used white silk to clean Yan Yuan''s face with warm water. Yan Yuan''s eyelashes twitched a few times and he woke up, turning his head to look at the man beside him, looking a little confused.


    "A''Po..."


    His voice was hoarse as if it had been scraped by a knife.


    "You''re awake." Xuan Long stopped moving to look at him.


    "En." Yan Yuan smiled, his eyes fluttered a little, but remained fixed seriously on Xuan Long''s face, "I had a, a long, long dream..."


    "What and who did you dream of?" Xuan Long asked.


    "Dreamt of you..." Yan Yuan laughed breathlessly.


    "I dreamt... that you had softened your heart towards me, forgiven me for my past faults, and were willing to eat the fish soup I made and accept the iris I gave you..."


    "I was so happy... so happy..."


    Yan Yuan took a long nap and regained his sanity when he woke up. This is what is supposed to happen with dissociative soul disease: foolish most of the time, and on the rare occasion, the mind will regain its clarity.


    It was just that he thought that those past ten years had been a beautiful dream.


    In the dream he was a fool, but he was happy because Xuan Long was willing to talk to him, not shutting him out and talking to him coldly anymore.


    He was so sad to leave.


    "It wasn''t a dream." Xuan Long raised his hand and wiped the tears from the corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes with his fingertips. "It was real."


    "You mistakenly drank ''Start Over'' and suffered from dissociative soul disease, so it''s inevitable that you can''t distinguish between dreams and reality."


    "Don''t cry... if you live well, I won''t blame you."


    The Xuan Long in front of him treated him so gently that Yan Yuan almost doubted it was a dream within a dream, but the pain coming from every inch of his body''s veins was telling him that it was real.


    Xuan Long said that he did not blame him anymore.


    "You... have forgiven me?"


    Xuan Long: "En, as long as you live, I''ll let go of the past... and grow old with you."


    Yan Yuan burst into tears and looked at Xuan Long: "But my hair has turned white... and I am not as handsome as before, so I am no longer worthy of you."


    Xuan Long shook his head and stroked his hair: "You look beautiful like this too."


    "Is that true?..." Yan Yuan smiled.


    Xuan Long: "En, when have I ever lied to you?"


    Yan Yuan: "Then you call my name, okay... I want to hear it..."


    "Same as before... call me A''Yuan."


    "Okay." Xuan Long followed him in everything.


    "A''Yuan."


    "A''Yuan."


    "A''Yuan."


    It was clear that he was calling gently, but Yan Yuan felt a sharp pain in his heart, and he felt extreme sadness, but he kept smiling, and he wouldn''t take his eyes off Xuan Long''s face for half a second.


    "A''Po... you are still kind-hearted after all, treating me with a soft heart."


    "Let me go with some decency, so as not to embarrass me too much..."


    "I have been happy during this period... thank you..."


    He felt that Xuan Long had treated him with pity and had long since lost his affection; after all, he had made such an unforgivable mistake.


    It should be that Mother had said something to Xuan Long that made him willing to agree to help, to help deceive him, to accompany him on the last journey of his life.


    Ten thousand miles away in the forbidden land, the Emperor Star, glowing with a dull purple light, was wavering. The crack in the middle was deepening rapidly, tearing irregularly, as if it would fall from mid-air and turn into ashes at any moment.


    Yan Yuan''s seven orifices began to bleed.


    Xuan Long knew that this day would come, and he acted more calmly than he expected, using his voice transmission technique to inform Ye Ling Shenjun while lifting the white silk to wipe the blood off Yan Yuan''s face, and he said hoarsely:


    "Don''t think nonsense, I am not treating you with pity."


    "When you get better, I will marry you, make a love contract, live and die together, and never separate..."


    Xuan Long had such an introverted nature; he rarely spoke words of love, and even when Yan Yuan begged him to, he could only force a few words in response, and he was really thin-skinned.


    He did not want to hear it now.


    Yan Yuan''s tragically white and thin face was stained bright red with blood, like a ghost, and his voice grew lighter and lighter:


    "With your words, whether true or false... it is enough."


    "But I''m not worth it¡­ you lived and died with me... you were already unlucky to meet me, don''t do anything stupid for me again..."


    "If there is another life, I will make up for my past mistakes..." His dark eyes were filled with longing, "In my next life, I will not be a god, I want to be an iris in your yard, watching over you forever. "


    "Unfortunately, there is no... no next life..."


    "Then... I can only say to you¡­ that I''m sorry..."


    The Emperor Star fell against the sky and his soul would not enter reincarnation.


    When he died, not even half a strand of Yan Yuan''s soul would remain in this world.


    "When I''m gone... find someone who treats you sincerely, get married and form a contract... The life of a god is too long... I''m afraid you''ll feel lonely... Yan Huo Heng is truly devoted to you, so just, give him a chance..."


    "When A''Zhi grows up... he will also find his own immortal partner¡­ A''Po, remember to treat yourself well..."


    When Ye Ling Shenjun and Yan Jing Shangshen arrived with A''Zhi, Yan Yuan had already closed his eyes and was lying dead in Xuan Long''s arms. Xuan Long hugged him, the corner of his forehead resting against his forehead, blood tears welling up in his eyes as he whispered:


    "But my heart is too small to hold another person."


    "Do you really want to leave me alone in the world?"

 CH 156

    Not Coming Back


    After tens of thousands of years of entanglement with Xuan Long, Yan Yuan finally left him behind and departed.


    No matter what Xuan Long said or how he coaxed him, he never opened his eyes to look at him again.


    Forbidden Land.


    In the eternal night.


    The bruised and battered Purple Heavenly Star burst into pieces, turning to dust the moment the purple light faded away and drifted away into the world...


    In life, he was the most noble Emperor of the Nine Heavens, but after his death, his soul was reduced to ashes, no different from the most insignificant dust in the mortal world.


    The Heavenly Way had not been gracious.


    Yan Yuan died and will never return.


    His physical body perished in Xuan Long''s arms, without leaving even a single strand of hair behind.


    Cries echoed in Dongji Hall as A''Zhi approached the bed and called out in disbelief for his father, while Yan Jing held the weeping Ye Ling Shenjun tightly in his arms and wept silently.


    Several immortal eunuchs and healers who were kneeling on the floor were also crying.


    Everyone was crying.


    Only Xuan Long felt numb, with no tears left in his eyes.


    He looked at his empty arms, where Yan Yuan had just been resting on him and talking to him, yet only a few moments later there was nothing left.


    He had witnessed how Yan Yuan left.


    When Yan Yuan was alive, he was always making a fuss, always doing something inappropriate to make him worry, but when he left, he was quiet, not making any noise or fussing, and it hurt even more.


    He thought of the way Yan Yuan had snuck in to see him fifty thousand years ago on the night before the wedding, as excited as a child; he thought of the way Yan Yuan had held his hand on the day of the wedding, saying that he wanted to share his life with him; he thought of the way Yan Yuan had been so happy when he was pregnant with their first child that he didn''t know what to do, picking him up and spinning him around.


    He thought of the way he was badly injured in the War of Gods and Demons, and how Yan Yuan panicked and cried and begged him not to die...


    They have been entangled for tens of thousands of years, going back and forth, and eventually reached the situation they were in today.


    Yin and yang are separated, and they will never see each other again.


    When Yan Yuan said he wanted to be with him for the rest of his life, he didn''t break his promise. When he died in the War of Gods and Demons and fell into reincarnation, Yan Yuan said that the four seas and eight deserts were too big for him to search, but after his death, he left his divine throne and willingly followed him into the mortal world.


    Yan Yuan had tried to do all the things he had promised him, but for the things he had not been able to do, he had been hindered by Heaven and could not resist.


    Although he was not able to grow old, Yan Yuan was not yet old, yet he had grown white hair for him during his prime years.


    Naturally, he could not blame Yan Yuan for anything.


    He, on the other hand, said he would go to see the sea with Yan Yuan, but he has not yet been able to do so to this day.


    If he had known earlier, he should have softened his heart when Yan Yuan was waiting outside his hall and promised to go to the East Sea with him to see how bright the light from the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine floating lanterns was.


    He had promised Yan Yuan that they would grow old together, but he was far less determined than the other man. He became a deserter in the face of life and death, which was not a kind of heartlessness.


    He and Yan Yuan should be indebted to each other.


    They can''t be entangled any more...


    "Mother, where is Father...? A''Zhi wants Father..." The tiny person flung himself onto Xuan Long''s lap and grabbed his sleeve, crying as he trembled.


    Xuan Long''s thoughts were interrupted as he slowly lifted the tiny human in his arms.


    "Mother, has Father gone up in ashes?... Never coming back?" " A''Zhi lay on Xuan Long''s shoulder and sobbed.


    A''Zhi had heard from Ye Ling Shenjun that all gods and humans had to follow the Heavenly Way, and if they disobeyed the Heavenly Way, they would not be allowed to live a good life, or worse, they would be extinguished.


    To fade into ashes is to die and never return.


    A''Zhi was intelligent; as he watched his father turn into ashes in front of him, he understood immediately.


    Xuan Long: "Father he... will come back."


    A''Zhi straightened up to look at Xuan Long and asked in a small voice, "Then Mother, let Father come back now, okay?..."


    Xuan Long''s eyes were bloodshot and he did not say anything.


    A''Zhi cried out and hugged Xuan Long''s neck.


    He knew that his mother had lied to him.


    Father would not come back.

 CH 157

    All in Vain


    When an emperor falls, a ceremony is held in the Heavenly Realm and white silks are hung everywhere for three whole days.


    When a god falls, not even his bones are left behind, unlike mortals, so there is no need for a cumbersome funeral process, such as small funeral, an obituary, mourning, parking the coffin before the burial, guarding the coffin, moving the dead to a large coffin, funeral and burial, burning for seven days, observing the mourning, and so on.


    During the funeral, the body of a mortal is placed in a coffin in front of friends and relatives, while Yan Yuan, as the Emperor of the Heavenly Realm, only had a four-sided box as a coffin, which was filled with his favourite objects from his lifetime and placed in the funeral hall for the gods to come and pay their respects.


    Yan Yuan''s most treasured possession was an exquisite wooden figure. He had a box of similar wooden figures, which he had found in the palace when he went to the mortal world to collect Xuan Long''s soul. Each one resembled Yan Yuan, but the carving varied from rough to fine, with only one being completely and exquisitely coloured.


    This was Xuan Long''s heart.


    Ye Ling Shenjun had heard Yan Yuan mention it when he was alive. At that time, Yan Yuan had not yet drunk ''Start Over'', but his health was already very bad. After waking up from a long coma, he grabbed the wooden figure and looked at it, laughing tearfully, saying that Xuan Long was so clumsy that he couldn''t even carve a wooden figure properly, causing his hands to be covered in bruises. Even after he had finished carving it, the recipient of the gift did not appreciate it and thought his gift was cheap.


    But Yan Yuan cherished the wooden figure so much that he would hold it close to his heart when he slept, afraid that if he didn''t hold it tightly enough, he would lose it. Anyone who wanted to steal it from him would have to kill him.


    Therefore, on the day of the funeral, Ye Ling Shenjun put this wooden figure into Yan Yuan''s coffin with his own hands.


    Three days later, under the watchful eyes of the gods, Yan Yuan''s memorial tablet was carried into the shrine by A''Zhi with both hands, and the square casket was placed in a hidden compartment beneath the tablet, where it would rest forever alongside the gods who had fallen in the past.


    From that day on, Xuan Long knelt before the statue of the Heaven Way day after day, chanting scriptures for tens of thousands of years.


    It was pointless for him to do so. The dead could be redeemed, but the gods who fell into ashes had lost their souls, so there was no need to do so.


    It was all in vain.


    Soon after Yan Yuan''s departure, rumours spread throughout the First and even the Ninth Heaven of the Heavenly Realm that the Emperor had been killed by Xuan Long''s Lonely Heavenly Star. A''Zhi heard the rumours and came to Xuan Long with red eyes to ask him if this was true.


    Facing the little man, Xuan Long could not say anything. The rumour was not a rumour, it was true. If Yan Yuan had not met him and fallen in love with him, he would be happy right now, and would be the emperor, married to a heavenly empress who matched his destiny, holding his son''s hand, growing old with his son, and enjoying a family full of children and grandchildren.


    When A''Zhi saw Xuan Long''s acquiescence, he cried out and threw himself on him, asking him why he had killed his father.


    Xuan Long was silent and let him vent his frustration. After he finished crying, A''Zhi ran out of Dongji Hall, and after that day, he refused to see him again. Even when they meet, he pretended not to know him and refused to call him his mother.


    Xuan Long thought it was good, for he was born inauspicious and had killed his lover, so the child should not get too close to him, to avoid being tainted with bad luck.


    Ten thousand years later, Xuan Long went to the mortal world alone and built a small courtyard of bamboo buildings deep in a bamboo forest near the East China Sea. The entrance to the courtyard was surrounded by a bamboo fence of uneven lengths and about half a man high, with stone paths of different colours running across the courtyard, dividing it in two. On the left there were round tables and benches carved from stone, and on the right, the muddy ground was reclaimed and Xuan Long planted the iris seeds he had brought from the divine world with his own hands.


    He once thought that if he had not been Xuan Long and Yan Yuan had not been the Heavenly Emperor, they would have been an ordinary pair of mortals in love, and their names would have been linked by a red thread in Yue Lao''s marriage book.


    They would have been married and had a child, and lived in a small courtyard where no one would disturb them, with no need for wealth or glory, just simple food and drink.


    Irises would be planted in the courtyard and would bloom in the spring of the following year, with an elegant fragrance. When the weather was good, the family would eat around the stone table in the courtyard, or in the house if the weather was bad. In short, as long as they could be together, it would be good.


    As long as they could keep each other company, no matter what, it would be good.


    Unfortunately, what he wanted... was far more complicated than glory and wealth. Even if his lifetime was exhausted, his tao scattered and his life sacrificed, it would still be in vain.


    Xuan Long spent the whole afternoon planting irises. In the air, an insignificant wisp of dust drifted down and merged with an unburied iris seed in the muddy ground, flashing with a light that the naked eye could barely catch...

 CH 158

    Not Seen for Over A Hundred Thousand Years


    The seas and oceans have changed, the stars have shifted, dynasties have changed, mortals have reincarnated over countless lifetimes, world events have changed, the only thing that has remained the same is the small courtyard in the bamboo forest by the East Sea.


    Xuan Long lived here alone for a hundred thousand years.


    After the demons were sealed, the Heavenly Realm was at peace, and the Nine Heavens were guarded by Yan Huo Heng, so there was no need for Xuan Long. However, the evil spirits in the mortal world have been on the rise for a hundred thousand years and have never stopped. Xuan Long lived here in seclusion, spying on the world through the Mirror of Mortal Dust, and if there were evil spirits, he would go out to dispel them himself.


    He lived in the mortal world and had to find something to do. When Yan Yuan was around, he stood in front of him as his divine general, guarding the people of the Heavenly Realm, but now that Yan Yuan is not here, he protected the mortal world for him, sheltering the smallest of the living.


    This time it took three days to remove the evil spirit.


    It was a nightmare demon conjured up from a mortal''s nightmare, which was greedy by nature and fed on nightmares. The more painful the nightmare is, the more delicious it tastes and the more powerful the magic it gains from it.


    If the nightmare demons only ate the nightmares of mortals and did nothing else, they would be considered good. However, once they find a mortal''s nightmare, they will intensify it, and most vulnerable mortals will die suddenly from the horror their bodies suffer in their dreams. If they can''t find any nightmares, the demons will deliberately create them, and the weak will often die on the spot, while the lucky ones, even if they wake up, will become insane because their souls are scattered and missing.


    In just one month, more than a hundred people in Luoyang City had been victimised. The nightmare demon had swallowed the nightmares forged from human lives and its magical power had increased dramatically, and it was so cunning in nature that it hid in the dreams of mortals, causing Xuan Long to take three days to find and get rid of it.


    When he returned to his courtyard by the East Sea, it was already sunset, and the afterglow of dusk enveloped the lush bamboo forest, falling on the courtyard, with the sound of bamboo leaves echoing in the air.


    There was a boundary here, so no mortal could see or enter this place. Xuan Long pushed aside the half-human-high bamboo fence and was about to walk inside the courtyard when he looked up, and froze on the spot.


    There was a man sitting at a stone table in the courtyard, his face somewhere between that of a teenager and a young man, with a tea bowl twirling between his long fingers, sitting in a straight posture. Despite his young age, his temperament was rare in the world.


    The young man''s expression was somewhat complicated, and after looking at each other for a while, the young man suddenly changed his expression and put down his tea bowl: "You''re injured?!" Then he hurriedly walked towards Xuan Long.


    Looking at the face of the other party that resembled his lover, Xuan Long was rather dazed, his throat pulsed and his mouth was surprisingly hoarse.


    "You... how did you come?"


    The heavy smell of rust in the air made the boy too anxious to answer Xuan Long''s words. He frowned and his eyes fell on Xuan Long''s heart. There was a hole in his clothes, and because he was wearing basalt clothes, it was not easy to tell that something was wrong, but the colour around the hole was obviously much darker than the other places. The young man reached out to touch it, and sure enough, his hand was stained with blood.


    The teenager looked up sharply.


    "How did you get hurt so badly?! Who did this?!"


    "It''s nothing, just a small injury." Xuan Long smiled.


    He was already not good at smiling, and it had been so long since he had had anything to be happy about, so even making such a simple expression was very awkward.


    "I will summon the Healing Immortal to heal your wounds." Seeing that he wouldn''t say anything, the young man didn''t ask any more questions and raised his hand with a fierce face to summon the Healing Immortal.


    Xuan Long clasped his wrist: "... No need, I''ll just take care of it myself."


    The most important thing was that this was his and Yan Yuan''s home, and he did not want anyone else to set foot in it, despite the fact that he was the only one in the house for many years.


    There are many types of techniques that the gods practice; some are good at attacking, some are good at defending, some are good at divination, and the healers are good at healing, each with their own roots and abilities. Xuan Long, a god of war, is best at attacking, while the art of healing was rightly his weakest ability. If he handled it on his own, it would just be a haphazard bandage.


    The young man frowned: "How can you treat it yourself? This wound will take at least a month or two to heal if you don''t seek the help of a healer."


    The loss of blood caused Xuan Long''s mouth to feel dry, and his throat moved involuntarily: "It''s nothing, don''t worry..."


    The young man blurted out, "I won''t worry about you..."


    The air instantly fell silent.


    The young man regretted his words and looked up to observe Xuan Long''s face. The latter did not react much, only his eyelashes twitched as he gave a low "mhmm" to indicate that he had heard.


    The young man tightened his hand and looked chagrined: "I..."


    He looked like he wanted to explain, but didn''t know what to say, so Xuan Long offered him a step down at the right time.


    "You... can stay for dinner."


    The young man was startled and replied with an affirmative.


    Xuan Long asked him what he wanted to eat, and the young man said that anything was fine. Xuan Long told him to sit down in the courtyard, and then went inside.


    The bamboo building was divided into two floors. It was not very spacious, but it was built deep in the lush green bamboo forest and was very elegant and charming. The ground floor should be the dining room and the second floor should be the bedroom.


    The young man sat at the stone table for a while, and couldn''t resist looking into the house, but it was getting dark and he couldn''t really see from the courtyard. He wanted to see what the place where Xuan Long lived looked like, and when he had finished the tea in his hand, he finally couldn''t refrain from putting it down and got up to enter the house.


    The door was left open.


    The interior was not as dark as it looked from the outside and you could mostly make out what was inside. The interior was simply furnished, with a cooking stove on the east wall and opposite the stove was an antique, one-person high cupboard with three tiers, the middle and bottom of which were hollowed out and held some black porcelain jars, presumably for spices.


    Apart from these, the only other items were a round porcelain jar with water next to the cupboard and a carved square wooden table in the middle of the dining room that matched the cupboard.


    Surprisingly, Xuan Long was not in the room.


    The young man used his spiritual energy to sense the presence of the other man, and found that there was no sign of Xuan Long for a hundred miles. He was suddenly at a loss.


    What was the meaning of this?


    He didn''t want to see him, so he left without saying a word, leaving him to wait here alone?


    But if he wanted to leave, shouldn''t he be the one to leave? This was the place where Xuan Long had lived for a hundred thousand years. Wouldn''t it be much easier and less hassle to just drive him away?


    Distraught, the young man walked back and forth between the house and the courtyard several times, then returned to the square table inside and sat down. He waited for an incense stick before he couldn''t sit any longer and suddenly got up, wanting to leave in anger.


    At that moment, Xuan Long came out of the void and met the young man, and they were both stunned.


    The young man''s expression of annoyance had not yet been put away when he saw that Xuan Long was carrying a lot of food in his hands, wrapped in various colours of paper, yellow, pink, blue and green, tied up with ropes. Looking at it, there must be ten bundles full of food.


    "You must have been impatient." Xuan Long lifted the food in his hand and handed it to the young man. "I went to the marketplace to buy some snacks... You can have some first if you''re hungry."


    The smell of fragrant pastries spilled out through the packaging. The young man didn''t take it, so Xuan Long kept holding it up. His face was very pale, he was so badly injured and hadn''t been bandaged up till now, yet instead of lying down properly to recuperate, he ran to the mortal world to buy something, how could his face look good?


    After a few moments of stalemate, Xuan Long reckoned that the young man did not want to touch what he had bought, and silently dropped his hand slowly.


    The young man practically snatched the things out of Xuan Long''s hands, his eyes dropping as he looked at what was in his hands, and with a little bit of fierceness, he spoke in a husky voice:


    "Don''t run around if you''re injured, you''re such an old god, can''t you even take care of yourself?"


    Xuan Long did not make a sound, but he unfolded his right hand, and two beautifully coloured sugar gourds appeared in his palm. He handed them to the young man and smiled with lowered eyebrows, "When you were young... you liked these the most."


    When A''Zhi was born, he had only been able to see Xuan Long for a short time, before he left for five years. When they met again, he could already run and jump. He was a soft ball, nestling in his arms, calling out to his mother and asking for candy gourds, so cute.


    Now, more than a hundred thousand years have passed, and father and son have not seen each other for more than a hundred thousand years. To be precise, it was A''Zhi''s one-sided reluctance to see him. In the years after Yan Yuan''s departure, Xuan Long would always attend A''Zhi''s birthdays, but the young man cried and made him leave, throwing away the gifts he sent him. After a few times, Xuan Long stopped appearing in front of him and only occasionally checked on him from the shadows.


    A''Zhi had been very well behaved since he was a child, and Ye Ling Shenjun had raised him well, teaching him to read and write, to draw bows and shoot arrows, and to perform spiritual arts and magic. Xuan Long didn''t have to worry about him having a hard life.


    As he could see, his child was doing very well. More than a hundred thousand years had passed, and A''Zhi had grown from the little doll who had hugged his lap and called out to his mother in a milky voice to the young man he was today, who vaguely surpassed him in size.


    He told himself that it was fine if A''Zhi was well and it didn''t matter if he wanted to see him or not, but when he really came looking for him, Xuan Long was so happy that he couldn''t contain himself and wanted to give him all the best things he could think of.


    But A''Zhi was the prince of the Heavenly Realm, and the prince of the Heavenly Realm did not lack anything, so the only thing Xuan Long could think of was the sweet snacks of the mortal world. A''Zhi, who has lived in the Heavenly Realm for a long time and has not eaten for a long time, should be pleased to see this.


    "But I''m an adult now, and I''ve long since stopped liking these sweet and greasy things."

 CH 159

    For All These Years, I''m Sorry


    While saying that he didn''t like it, he still took the candied gourd from Xuan Long''s hand.


    "If you don''t like it, don''t force yourself, I''ll make dumplings for you to eat." Xuan Long said and sluggishly turned towards the stove.


    He had been living here for a hundred thousand years, but the stove had not been opened very often. Gods did not need to eat every day, they could maintain their spiritual power by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon once a month.


    Most of the gods who have ascended from mortals are used to eating three meals a day on time, and have kept up their habit. There are also many gods who were born as gods who, because of the boredom and dullness of their long lives as gods, have followed the example of mortals and eat three meals a day.


    The reason why Xuan Long built this stove was because he thought that his home needed to be warmed by smoke and fire. But when he was alone, he felt lonely when the hot smoke wafted through the house.


    He was not very good at cooking, except for chicken soup, which he was very good at because he had practised it a million times.


    Before he fell into the mortal world, he and Yan Yuan once went wandering in the mortal world. When they were tired of wandering, they stopped at a stall on the roadside and each of them asked for a bowl of chicken soup with dumplings. As a result, Yan Yuan fell in love with it as soon as he ate it.


    They had just got married, and as the Emperor of Heaven, Yan Yuan was inevitably tied up with government affairs, so it was impossible for him to come down to the mortal world just to eat a bowl of chicken soup.


    When Xuan Long had the time, he went to the mortal world to find the owner of the stall, spent some money to buy the recipe for the chicken soup, practised it over and over again, and on Yan Yuan''s birthday, he personally made a bowl of it and brought it to him.


    Xuan Long was not really talented in cooking, and although he tried very hard, the taste of the food he made was always inferior to that of the stall owner, but Yan Yuan was very happy. Since then, he pestered him from time to time, asking him to make him a bowl of dumplings to eat, and he did not even think about going to the mortal world.


    Xuan Long lived here, and when there were no evil spirits to be removed from the outside world, the house was cleaned inside and out, the irises in the courtyard were watered, and when he didn''t know what to do, he went to the mortal world to buy some ingredients to make chicken soup with dumplings.


    That person was long gone, and he didn''t know what the point of continuing to make the chicken soup was, because no one would eat it anyway. Even if it tasted better than that of the stall owner, no one would smile and praise him anymore, but he continued to make it, as he had for a hundred thousand years.


    It was as if that person was around, waiting to eat a bowl of his homemade, hot chicken dumplings in soup.


    A''Zhi looked at the busy man at the stove. The pot was so hot that Xuan Long''s figure became a little blurred. A''Zhi sat at the table squeezing a candied gourd, and said as he looked at him: "You... why don''t you go and take care of the wound first, I''m not very hungry at the moment."


    "It''s nothing." Xuan Long concentrated on the action of wrapping the dumplings in his hands, squeezing and wrapping each one carefully, as if nothing in life was more important than the dumpling in his hands.


    A''Zhi frowned, surprised at Xuan Long''s skill. The dumplings looked like small, delicate treasures, almost uniform in size.


    The chicken soup was already simmering in the inner pot on the stove, and Xuan Long had used his spiritual power to make the soup taste as good as if it had been simmering for five hours. The plain water in the outer pot was already boiling, and all that was left was for the dumplings to go into the pot and boil twice before they were ready to serve.


    When A''Zhi couldn''t persuade him, he secretly called for the Healing Immortal. Halfway through the incantation, Xuan Long noticed something and raised his head to look at him through the hazy mist.


    "Don''t call on the Healing Immortal."


    "Why?"


    Xuan Long was silent for a long time: "... I''m used to the peace and quiet, I don''t like to be disturbed by others."


    He was afraid that if Yan Yuan had even half a soul left in the world, when he came to look for him, he would not be able to find his way home, and that an unfamiliar scent would be mixed with his, which was not good at all.


    A''Zhi did not understand Xuan Long''s stubbornness. He was angry but could not help it, he had not seen Xuan Long for too long and was not in a position to say anything.


    Xuan Long was already a man of few words, and it was only when A''Zhi said something that he replied. The room became quiet again. Apart from the sound of boiling hot water, there was nothing else, and this silence lasted until the dumplings were served.


    "Taste it... see if it''s to your liking."


    "Mm."


    "All these years have¡­ have you been well."


    Father and son sat facing each other. A''Zhi stirred the bowl of dumplings with his spoon, which was too hot to be eaten.


    Xuan Long paused with the spoon in his hand and smiled, "I was okay."


    It must not have been very good. When A''Zhi was young, he was ignorant. When Yan Yuan left, it was like digging out Xuan Long''s heart. He didn''t know how to feel for him, but he had to put all the blame on Xuan Long, refusing to call him ''Mother'' and forbidding him to call out his name. So from the time they met until now, Xuan Long had not called A''Zhi''s name at all.


    In the second year after Yan Yuan''s departure, when A''Zhi''s birthday came, he threw down Xuan Long''s gift in front of the gods and told him to go away, saying that he was not worthy of calling his name.


    Xuan Long remembered and never upset him again, but A''Zhi still did not want to see him.


    A child doesn''t know all the twists and turns. All he knew was that his father, who had been with him since he could remember and who loved him, had turned to dust in Xuan Long''s arms and that he no longer had a father.


    It was rumoured in the Heavenly Realm that Xuan Long had killed Yan Yuan. When he asked Xuan Long if this was true, he did not deny it, and A''Zhi hated Xuan Long ever since.


    If he could do it all over again, he would persuade his father not to take him to find his mother. He didn''t want his mother, he just wanted his father to live, and if possible, he even wished that Xuan Long would be the one to leave.


    This was the true thought in the young A''Zhi''s heart.


    Over the years, Ye Ling Shenjun tried to mediate between them, but the effect was minimal. A''Zhi simply would not listen and did not understand why his father would rather die than be with his mother; this logic simply did not hold true with him.


    It was only when he grew up, became an adult, had a sweetheart, and was even willing to make the same choice as Yan Yuan for the sake of his sweetheart that he finally understood why.


    He had been wrong in blaming Xuan Long all these years and felt guilty in his heart, so he could not help but come to see Xuan Long and apologise to him. But then he thought that for a hundred thousand years he had refused to see Xuan Long, and that Xuan Long had not come to see him and perhaps did not miss him at all, so he squirmed and refused to talk to Xuan Long properly when he did meet him, causing a childish tantrum.


    But after spending a little time together, he realised that there was no way Xuan Long didn''t miss him, dragging his injured body to the mortal world to buy him good food and make him chicken soup. He must have been overjoyed that he came.


    Maybe he often snuck into the Nine Heavens to see him behind his back, and just didn''t let him know.


    When he didn''t know any better, he resented Xuan Long so much that as time went on, no one dared mention Xuan Long''s name in front of him. Even if Ye Ling Shenjun knew that Xuan Long had come to see him, he wouldn''t dare to tell him, for fear that it would backfire.


    "It''s good that you were okay." A''Zhi bowed his head. The heat from the bowl mixed with the aroma rose to his face, causing his eyes to heat up a little and his voice to sound a little mute. Having sorted out his thoughts, and the guilt overwhelmed him more and more.


    "What about you?" Xuan Long asked.


    "I am well, I have an immortal teacher to teach me in literature and martial arts, I have immortal eunuchs at my side, I am well clothed and well fed, and I have never wasted my days." A''Zhi replied with his head bowed, golden beans falling one after another into the bowl.


    Seeing him cry for no reason, Xuan Long stood up at a loss, not knowing what to do: "You... what happened... the dumplings were not to your liking... "


    "Don''t cry... what do you like to eat, tell me, I will go and buy..."


    A''Zhi sniffed heavily and shook his head. By now, the dumplings were just about ready to be eaten, so he grabbed the spoon and took a big bite, and the more he ate, the more the tears welled up.


    Xuan Long slowly sat back on the chair, holding the tabletop, his throat throbbing, "But something has upset you..."


    A''Zhi shook his head and refused to speak.


    In a short while, the large bowl of chicken dumplings was eaten by him, even the soup was drained clean. A''Zhi put the bowl down gently, and his tears finally stopped.


    Xuan Long hadn''t been around the child all these years and didn''t know what was going through his mind, so when he saw that he was sad, his heart was sad too, and he became more and more cautious.


    "Do you want more?"


    A''Zhi shook his head, "No... I''m full, the dumplings are delicious."


    "I''ve lived well all these years, but you... should take good care of yourself too. If Father knew that you don''t take care of your body like this, he would be very sad."


    Xuan Long listened to him in silence and did not say a word.


    A''Zhi: "Let me help you with your wounds."


    "No need..." Xuan Long subconsciously didn''t want him to see his wounds.


    "Do you resent me for refusing to see you for the past hundred thousand years?" A''Zhi''s eyes were downcast and very forlorn.


    Xuan Long: "No..."


    In the end, Xuan Long withdrew his clothes to reveal his wounds, there was no parent in the world who could argue with his own child. A''Zhi showed an expression like that, and Xuan Long felt his heart twist into knots.


    His heart had been stabbed by the tentacles of a nightmare demon. No matter how many nightmares the nightmare demon devoured, it would not be a match for Xuan Long, but the problem was that the nightmare demon was able to create dreams out of thin air, suddenly causing Xuan Long to fall into a dream world and weaving the image of Yan Yuan.


    It had been too long since Xuan Long had seen Yan Yuan, so long that he had almost forgotten his scent and temperature. In the past hundred thousand years, Yan Yuan had entered his dreams only a handful of times, and he missed him so much that even if it was just a dream, he was willing to immerse himself in it forever, not wanting to break free.


    Knowing full well that the person in front of him was a fake and would bring him to his eternal doom, he walked over to him without hesitation when Yan Yuan held out his hand to him.


    Yan Yuan was bathed in the sunlight, smiling so gently, and extended his hand to him, "A''Po... come here."


    How could he bear to refuse?


    Just as he was about to place his hand in the palm of Yan Yuan''s hand, there was a piercing pain in his heart. He looked down to see a black tentacle, the thickness of a child''s arm, stabbed into his heart, and the Yan Yuan before him disappeared, turning into a strange, writhing demon like a sea monster and letting out an ear-splitting laugh.


    The nightmare demon had been badly wounded from the previous battle, and although Xuan Long had fallen for his trick, he reacted promptly and cut off the tentacle before reducing the demon to dust with little effort.


    The wound looked like it was bleeding a lot, but in fact it hadn''t hurt anything vital. However, due to the demonic energy that had eaten away at it, it left a black, bloody hole that looked quite creepy. When A''Zhi applied the medicine for him, his eyes were so red that they seemed to be dripping blood.


    "Does it hurt..."


    "... It doesn''t hurt." Xuan Long pursed his lips, wanting to comfort him, but he didn''t know what to say.


    When he smelled the demonic aura, A''Zhi knew how the injury had come about, and he said in a mute voice, "You have to protect yourself."


    "Don''t let Father worry."


    Xuan Long: "... Okay."


    After the medicine was administered, Xuan Long sat down and straightened his clothes, while A''Zhi stood in front of him and looked at his bloodless face under the candlelight: "Mother..."


    Xuan Long paused for a long time before answering, "En."


    "I''m sorry..." A''Zhi said in a trembling voice.


    Xuan Long lifted his face, his icy turquoise eyes clouded with a white mist, and he curled his lips, "What are you sorry for? There is no reason to apologise."


    "All these years... I''m sorry." A''Zhi hoarsely said.


    "There is no need to apologise, you have a good life, that is the most joyful thing for me." Xuan Long stood up and touched his fingertips lovingly to A''Zhi''s brow, caressing it inch by inch.


    "The rest... doesn''t matter..."

 CH 160

    Fish Soup


    After administering medicine to Xuan Long, A''Zhi went back to the Heavenly Realm. He is, after all, grown up and wouldn''t pester his parents for hugs like he did when he was a child.


    However, as Xuan Long had suffered such a serious injury, A''Zhi was so worried that when he returned to the Heavenly Realm, he went straight to the Immortal Healer''s hall and asked the most powerful healing immortal to teach him the art of healing.


    He was already very gifted, and at a young age, his cultivation had surpassed that of many gods several times his age, and his future was immeasurable. Immortals who are not majoring in the art of healing may not be able to understand a simple healing technique in a million years, but A''Zhi was able to do it within half an incense, which made Ling Yue, the head of the healing immortals, want to take him as his disciple on the spot. Unfortunately, A''Zhi was the crown prince of the Heavenly Realm and was to succeed the Emperor in the future, so he could not spend his time here.


    The healing technique that A''Zhi learned was called ''Broken Meteor''. If one were to go into detail, it was only a rudimentary technique in the orthodox healing arts, but it was more than enough to treat external injuries caused by mid-level demons.


    A''Zhi thanked Ling Yue and hurried back to the mortal world.


    A day in the sky, a year on earth. Even though he rushed, it still took him three or four days to reach the mortal world. The night was silent as it shrouded the small courtyard.


    It was late at night, and the lights in the courtyard were not lit. For mortals, they couldn''t see anything, but that didn''t stop the immortals from moving. A''Zhi shrunk down and in the blink of an eye appeared at the door of the bedroom on the second floor. He raised his hand and knocked gently on the door, asking if Xuan Long had gone to sleep.


    No one answered.


    A''Zhi clearly sensed that Xuan Long''s aura was inside the room, and after three consecutive unanswered questions, he went straight through the door and entered the room.


    The bedroom was similar in structure to the dining room downstairs, with a small room with a bed against the wall directly opposite the door. Xuan Long was dressed in white profane clothes, lying quietly flat on the bed, with his hands positioned over his stomach and no quilt over his body.


    A small white candle was burning on a round table not far away, its flame flickering slightly as A''Zhi arrived, flickering in and out of light.


    A''Zhi sensed that something was wrong and approached quickly, finding Xuan Long''s face even paler than when he had left after administering the medicine, his lips dry and cracked, and his breath so weak that he looked as if he was dying.


    Although he knew that it was not that easy for a god to die, he still felt a tug at his heart and he lost his composure. At first, he gently called out to Xuan Long in panic, but when he didn''t respond for a long time, he squeezed Xuan Long''s shoulders and gradually shook him recklessly.


    "Mother... Mother, wake up... don''t scare me..."


    Xuan Long found it noisy. He struggled to open his heavy eyes, and saw the mouth of the person above him moving incessantly, but he could not hear any sound, and it took a while for his eyes to focus on A''Zhi''s face.


    When A''Zhi saw that he was awake, he released his strength at once and his eyes reddened.


    As he was about to speak, he saw Xuan Long murmur to himself.


    "You''re here..."


    A''Zhi: "En, I learned ''Broken Meteor'' from Lord Ling Yue and came to heal your wounds."


    "How can you be so seriously ill, your forehead is so hot... You are like this, why don''t you know to call a healer to treat you? If I don''t come, were you planning on dying here from your condition?"


    A''Zhi, angry and distressed, raised his hand and a silver basin appeared at the edge of the bed. He picked up the white cotton cloth in the silver basin, wrung out the excess water and folded it into a rectangular shape, and gently covered Xuan Long''s forehead.


    Xuan Long strained to raise his hand and took hold of the hand that hadn''t had time to leave, and pressed it affectionately against his face, saying dully, "You haven''t been in my dreams for a long time..."


    A''Zhi froze, sensing that Xuan Long had mistaken him for someone else. Seeing how fondly he was looking at him, he couldn''t ruthlessly shatter his dream, so he remained silent.


    "Yuan¡¯er..." Xuan Long pressed his hand against him, and tears suddenly streaked out of the corners of his eyes. His face was unmasked, and the scar left by the karmic fire on the right side of his face pressed against the back of A''Zhi''s hand. The unevenness of the touch made A''Zhi feel distressed.


    "......"


    "I miss you..." Xuan Long said in a low voice.


    The person in front of him never answered him.


    Xuan Long had gotten used to the fact that even when Yan Yuan entered his dreams, he mostly just looked at him and didn''t speak to him. That was why he was so obedient when the nightmare demon that had become Yan Yuan spoke to him.


    "I have now... made the chicken soup dumplings... extremely well..."


    "Even better than the owner of that dumpling stall¡­ even better..."


    "When will you come back... I''ll make it for you¡­ okay..."


    "A hundred thousand years, a million years... a hundred million years... I can wait..."


    "Come back..."


    No one knew what it was like to wait for someone who would never return.


    At least none of them expected Yan Yuan to come back, and all of them accepted this harsh reality. Ye Ling had Yan Jing and A''Zhi had his grandparents, and they accompanied each other, gradually moving on from the pain of losing their loved ones as time passed. The only one who remained stubbornly in place was Xuan Long, who refused to move on.


    When A''Zhi finally became an adult, he was willing to listen carefully to Xuan Long and Yan Yuan''s past. He finally understood how painful Yan Yuan''s departure was for Xuan Long, and it was the first time he felt this kind of pain and despair viscerally.


    The life of a god is too long, and living like this is actually far more painful than dying.


    The wounds inflicted by such a demonic creature should not have caused such a serious illness, but Xuan Long''s divine body was rebuilt, and he had defended Yan Yuan from the wrath of Heaven, so his soul had not yet healed. This, coupled with the fact that the injuries he suffered over the past hundred thousand years were never seriously treated, made him worse and worse as time went on.


    Xuan Long soon fell asleep again. A''Zhi carefully took his hand out of his and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, whispering:


    "Don''t cry... You''ll still have me from now on, I''ll visit you often."


    "Why don''t you move back to the Heavenly Realm so that you can see me every day and not feel lonely..."


    The next day Xuan Long woke up to find that his chest wound, which had been deteriorating, had completely healed. The sun had already risen outside, and as he dressed and went downstairs, A''Zhi was coming out of the dining room with a bowl in his hand and looked up to see him with a delighted face.


    A''Zhi was coming out of the dining room with a bowl in his hand, and looked up to see him with a delighted face.


    "Mother, you''re awake? I''ve made red dates and lotus seed soup, come and try it."


    A''Zhi was wearing a dusty apron that he had found somewhere and his white face was stained with dust, just like a tabby cat, looking a bit silly.


    When Xuan Long woke up, he smelled A''Zhi''s scent in his bedroom and knew that he had come. He was not surprised to see A''Zhi, but was just a little taken aback by the sight of the soup in his hands.


    A''Zhi called to him a few times before Xuan Long reacted. He took the bowl and murmured, "A''Zhi made this..."


    "That''s right."


    The red dates and lotus seed soup looked very good. Xuan Long picked up the spoon and took a bite. Surprisingly, it was slightly bitter in his mouth and had a mushy texture, but it warmed his heart.


    "Is it good?..." A''Zhi looked at him without blinking.


    "Delicious." Xuan Long arched his lips.


    "Then eat more, it''s good for your qi and blood, there''s more in the pot."


    "Okay."


    The two of them sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, and Xuan Long slowly ate all the red dates and lotus seed soup, while A''Zhi watched him eat. When he finished eating, he asked if he wanted more, and Xuan Long said he did, so A''Zhi took the bowl and filled it up again, doing so twice in the end.


    Seeing that he had eaten several bowls, A''Zhi couldn''t resist serving himself a bowl and brought it to the table to eat with Xuan Long. However, after taking a sip, he spat it out and said with a frown, "It''s all mushy!"


    "Don''t eat it, don''t eat it..." He reached out and snatched Xuan Long''s bowl away from him. "It''s all mushy and you''re drinking so much, it''s not poisoned is it..."


    Xuan Long: "It''s harmless."


    A''Zhi wanted to reprimand Xuan Long for not taking care of his body, but then he thought that this was made for him by the child he had not seen for over a hundred thousand years, so even if poison had been added Xuan Long would have eaten it without changing his face. Therefore, he could not bear to speak up and instead sulked at himself, how could he not even cook a soup?


    Xuan Long looked at him sulking and said, "I think it''s good... thank you..."


    A''Zhi looked up, his eyebrows knitted tighter: "What are you saying thank you for... treating me like an outsider."


    Xuan Long''s throat twitched slightly: "No¡­ it''s just, I feel happy."


    A''Zhi hummed and laughed: "Then you have to get used to it, there will be a lot more of this kind of joy in the future."


    In the afternoon, A''Zhi asked Xuan Long to move back to the Heavenly Realm, but Xuan Long refused on the grounds that he was used to it, and that if he left, there would be no one to look after the irises in the courtyard.


    Although A''Zhi was not too happy about it, he respected Xuan Long''s wishes and when he left, he said he would visit him next time he was free.


    It was only ten days in the Heavenly Realm, but ten years on Earth. As a crown prince, A''Zhi had a heavy burden on his shoulders, so he did not have much time to come down to see Xuan Long.


    Most of the time, Xuan Long was still alone, having no contact with anyone, and his days were no different from before, except that sometimes, after killing evil spirits in the mortal world, he would buy some fresh food for A''Zhi on his way back that he would send to the Heavenly Realm.


    He still missed that person, and in the dead of night, in his midnight dreams, whenever he was badly injured, an inappropriate thought would come to his mind: if only he could fall asleep and not wake up again, that would be good.


    One day, a hundred years later, Xuan Long returned from the mortal world after removing evil spirits, and found a bowl of fish soup on the table in the dining room. The stove showed signs of having been used, but no one''s breath was left inside the house...

 CH 161

    Exactly 120,000 Years Apart


    The taste of that bowl of fish soup was exactly the same as the one made by Yan Yuan.


    The same dish could be made by ten thousand people with ten thousand different flavours, hardly ever identical. Xuan Long had eaten the fish soup made by Yan Yuan countless times, so there was no way he could be mistaken.


    When he tasted the first bite, he thought he was dreaming and froze at the moment, then immediately proceeded to take a second and third bite, and something hot dripped down his cheeks and landed in the bowl. Halfway through the meal, Xuan Long put the bowl down and stood up as if waking up from a dream, searching the house, inside and out, up and down. The house was obviously so big, the yard was so big, and he searched it several times over and over like a wandering soul.


    He thought Yan Yuan had come back.


    But if Yan Yuan had returned, how could there be no trace of him in the house? And who had made this bowl of fish soup?


    Xuan Long went back to the Heavenly Realm. A''Zhi was busy with his studies, and Lian Bi had been with A''Zhi since Xuan Long left the Nine Heavens more than a hundred thousand years ago to serve him, and neither master nor servant had left the Heavenly Realm recently.


    As the general guarding the Heavenly Realm, Yan Huo Heng was not allowed to leave the Heavenly Realm at will. Ever since Xuan Long had explicitly rejected him, the two of them had rarely met, both because they were far apart and because it was worse to see each other than not to see each other.


    Apart from them, no one cared about Xuan Long''s preferences, let alone spend any thought on him, but if the fish soup was not made by them, then who could it be?


    That absurd thought took root and sprouted in Xuan Long''s mind. He knew it was impossible, but he still had a strong intuition in his heart that Yan Yuan had returned but was just unable to appear in front of him at the moment due to some force majeure factor.


    Xuan Long travelled over and over again through the places he and Yan Yuan had been together, the Heavenly Court, the Earth, all four seas and eight deserts including those they had agreed to see together, tirelessly walking, walking and searching.


    Everyone thought that Xuan Long had gone mad, that he had been alone for too long, that he had hallucinated from overwhelming longing. How could someone who had fallen into ashes for over a hundred thousand years suddenly return?


    The reason why Xuan Long came back from the dead was because of the soul gathering box forged by Ye Ling Shenjun and Yan Jing over thousands of years and the fact that Xuan Long''s soul had just been scattered, so he could narrowly be retrieved.


    There was only one box, and it could only be used once.


    After Yan Yuan left, Ye Ling Shenjun and Yan Jing spent ten thousand years forging another one, but Yan Yuan''s soul ash has long since completely dissipated in the mortal world, and it was simply impossible to find it.


    So it was impossible for him to return.


    Xuan Long travelled through Heaven and Earth, returning home after every month, and staying for three or two months before leaving home again. He did not know why Yan Yuan did not come looking for him if he had returned, or why he was not allowed to find him if he had returned.


    Originally, he was just living in a muddle, ready to live until A''Zhi grew up, and when A''Zhi married and had children, he would pick an ordinary afternoon and leave this boring world.


    Now that he had expectations in his heart, he did not think about leaving, and he did not dare to think about what kind of future he would have with Yan Yuan. He knew that he was separated from Yan Yuan by a divine fate that was difficult to disobey, he just wanted Yan Yuan to return safely, even if he only saw him once.


    Another hundred years passed in a flash.


    Time seemed to pass as slowly as the gravel between his fingers, but in fact it passed quickly. Xuan Long''s anticipation gradually deteriorated into numbness, and he even began to wonder if that bowl of warm and delicious fish soup was just a beautiful dream he had after he had been seriously injured.


    After another ten thousand years, Xuan Long stopped searching and waiting.


    His days returned to their former dullness, like a pool of stagnant water.


    On the day of Xuan Long''s birthday, a crack appeared at the border between the mortal world and the Demon Clan, and tens of thousands of evil spirits poured out, causing chaos on earth. Xuan Long went to the Heavenly Realm to receive his orders, and together with Yan Huo Heng, led the Heavenly Soldiers down to suppress the crack. When he was repairing the crack in the sky, he was attacked by an evil spirit that had escaped from the crack, injuring his abdomen.


    After he returned to the Heavenly Realm to report on his orders, he went back to his small bamboo courtyard in the East Sea alone, forgetting to even look for a healer, just wanting to go home and get a good night''s sleep.


    This was what he did most of the time when he was injured; he curled up alone. Since the wound would eventually heal anyway, he didn''t take it seriously.


    Because he had lost blood and was a little thirsty, Xuan Long did not go to his bedroom on the second floor first, but pushed open the bamboo fence to walk towards the kitchen on the ground floor. When he looked up and saw the open kitchen door, he stopped in his tracks and did not withdraw his hand from the bamboo fence.


    If he remembered correctly, he should have closed the door when he left.


    As he stared, the sound of boiling water inside the house reached his ears. Xuan Long closed the bamboo fence and walked slowly towards the dining room, his steps becoming slower the closer he got.


    When Xuan Long stopped at the door, the person in front of the stove raised his head at the sound and looked at him.


    This look was separated by a full hundred and twenty thousand years.

 CH 162

    Condemn Me to Never Leave You Again


    The kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh fish soup. The man stood in front of the hot stove, wearing a pale blue robe, and his waterfall-like black hair gathered behind his ears and hanging loose. With a pair of tearful peach blossom eyes, he looked at Xuan Long with a smile and said:


    "A''Po¡­ I''m sorry I kept you waiting..."


    Xuan Long did not think that the person in front of him was real, he must have been hallucinating. Having been wounded by the nightmare demon, when the demonic energy invaded his body, he had hallucinated. Inside the kitchen, in the courtyard, in the bedroom, everywhere he looked, there was Yan Yuan''s figure.


    But once he went over and touched him, he would turn into nothingness... It was always the same.


    It should be the same this time.


    He had been injured during the suppression of the demon clan, and it was not surprising that he was hallucinating due to the demonic energy entering his body.


    But even if that was a lie, it had been too long since Xuan Long had seen his lover. Xuan Long walked towards the person at the stove and raised his hand to touch the longed-for face, moving as slowly as if time had been slowed down by a delaying spell.


    When he was about to touch the face, his fingers stopped in mid-air, unable to move. What if the person in front of him disappeared if he went any further, and when would they meet again?


    He paused for a moment before eventually withdrawing his hand, dropping it to his side and whispering, "You''re back...."


    The man hoarsely answered, "En, I''m back."


    Xuan Long: "You''re back, are you going to leave?"


    Yan Yuan smiled, "Not leaving."


    "Didn''t you say you wanted to grow old with me? I promise you that when I return this time, I will grow old with you and will never separate from you again in this life."


    With tears in his eyes, Xuan Long smiled.


    "Okay."


    "Grow old together... and never part again."


    Yan Yuan stepped forward to hug Xuan Long, who took a step back and avoided it. If Yan Yuan disappeared, how could they grow old together?


    "Don''t come over here."


    Yan Yuan paused, his voice a little hoarse: "What''s wrong?"


    Xuan Long shook his head, "You just don''t have to come over."


    "Fine, I won''t come over." Yan Yuan was willing to obey him in everything. "Are you hungry? The fish soup is ready, do you want to eat it now?"


    "En."


    Yan Yuan prepared a bowl of fish soup from the pot and brought it to the table. Xuan Long sat down at the table and Yan Yuan took his seat opposite him.


    Xuan Long picked up the spoon and gently swirled it in the bowl a few times. When it had cooled a little, he scooped it up and took it to his mouth. The taste was still as fresh in his memory, it had not changed.


    "Aren''t you going to eat?" He asked Yan Yuan.


    "I''m watching you eat." Yan Yuan replied.


    The injury to his abdomen had caused Xuan Long to lose some of his strength, and after eating the fish soup, he went upstairs to rest. He lay down on the bed and asked Yan Yuan to sit on the edge of the bed. Xuan Long wanted to reach out and touch the warmth of the other man''s body, but he knew that if he did, he would not be able to see him. So he just stared at Yan Yuan''s face in silence, the dim candle flame flickering on and off, making the person in front of him even more illusory.


    "If I fall asleep, will you leave?"


    "I''m not leaving, I said I would always stay with you and never leave again." Yan Yuan could not resist the urge to hold Xuan Long''s hand, but when he thought that he did not want to touch him for some reason, he stopped halfway and withdrew his hand.


    Hearing him say this, Xuan Long was relieved, but suddenly, a tickle in his throat caused him to cough, and the wound on the right side of his abdomen, which had barely been stabilised by his own poor healing technique, broke open. He subconsciously covered the wound on his right side as blood seeped out from between his fingers, and a strong, cold scent instantly filled the room.


    "You''re injured?!"


    After suppressing the demon clan, Xuan Long cast a spell to change his clothes upon his return to the Heavenly Realm where he had met with Lord Yan Jing. As the bleeding had stopped and there was no smell of blood, coupled with his usual ability to endure it and the darkness and inability to see his face, Yan Yuan did not realise until now that he was suffering from an injury.


    It had been a hundred thousand years since Yan Yuan''s soul had been imprisoned in the irises in the courtyard, watching Xuan Long spend a hundred thousand years in solitude, watching him often go out in good health, only to come back badly injured, knowing that he existed nearest to him, but not even being able to appear before him, let alone having the luxury of being embraced.


    He had long since had enough of that pain.


    Xuan Long felt himself being gently picked up, and strangely enough Yan Yuan did not disappear this time, he could even feel the warmth of the other man''s body through his clothes, making him feel more at ease than he ever had in the past hundred and twenty thousand years.


    So he leaned quietly into Yan Yuan''s arms, opened his unfocused turquoise pupils and asked, "Where are you taking me?"


    Yan Yuan carried him through the door, and clouds rose beneath his feet, "Taking you home."


    Home?


    Wasn''t this his home...


    But that didn''t matter. In truth, wherever Yan Yuan was, it could be considered his home, so it didn''t matter where he went.


    Xuan Long curled his lips.


    "You''re finally willing to come and take me away..."


    "I have been waiting for a long time."


    Yan Yuan: "I''m sorry."


    Xuan Long: "Between you and me, what''s the point of saying that, how could I really be angry with you?"


    Yan Yuan: "En."


    December had already brought about a bitter winter, the sky was covered with snow, whitening the heads of both of them. Because Yan Yuan had cast a spell, Xuan Long did not feel the cold. He lowered his eyes and said, "A''Zhi has grown into a man... he has lived a good life over these years."


    "Tai Xu Shenjun said that he was born prematurely and has a strong divine constitution, so he is a natural emperor, but I think that none of that matters much, as long as he is happy with his life, that is the best..."


    "Do you think so..."


    "Mhmm, yes. It''s best if he''s happy."


    It was rare for Xuan Long to talk this much, and Yan Yuan''s heart ached as he listened, so he didn''t say much.


    "I am not a good father, I can''t even learn to please my child. It is good for him to stay away from me, I was born in an unknown way and put you in such a situation, it is because he was not with me that he grew up so well all these years..."


    This is what Xuan Long has been hiding in his heart. No one had known about it for the past hundred and twenty thousand years, and there was no one to talk to, so he could only tell Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan did not want to hear such words. The scene of Xuan Long giving birth to A''Zhi was still vivid in his mind, that was the child that Xuan Long had exchanged his life for, but in the end, the child was not happy, it was no different from stabbing him in the heart with a knife.


    "That brat, I will teach him a lesson when I see him, I will show him why the sky is blue and blood is red."


    Xuan Long: "Why are you teaching him a lesson? If you teach him a lesson, I will still be the one who is heartbroken. As I said... as long as he has a good life, it will be good."


    The corners of Yan Yuan''s eyes were red, and he lowered his head to kiss away the snow that fell on Xuan Long''s eyelashes, saying softly, "Okay, I''ll listen to you, I won''t lecture him, I''ll lecture myself. Who told me to make you wait for so long, I should be punished, I''ll be condemned to never leaving your side again, and never letting you endure loneliness again, okay?"


    "... Okay." Xuan Long closed his eyes and tears slipped out of the corners of his eyes.

 CH 163

    Never Regretted


    Yan Yuan took Xuan Long back to the Heavenly Realm, his injuries had to be treated in time.


    The news of Yan Yuan''s return from the dead soon spread throughout the Nine Heavens, and by the time Ye Ling Shenjun, Lord Yan Jing and A''Zhi arrived at Dongji Hall, Ling Yue had already treated Xuan Long''s wounds, and they arrived just after Ling Yue had left.


    Yan Yuan was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Xuan Long''s hand. At the sound of their arrival, Yan Yuan turned his head to look at them. A''Zhi rushed ahead of them, closely followed by Ye Ling and Yan Jing, all three of them with red eyes. The moment their eyes met Yan Yuan''s, they tacitly stopped a foot away from the bed, staring at Yan Yuan, not daring to blink.


    All of them were afraid that this was a dream.


    Until Yan Yuan spoke.


    "Father, Mother, I am back..."


    Ye Ling Shenjun looked at him and blinked back tears. Before he could open his mouth to make a sound, A''Zhi had already walked slowly towards Yan Yuan and knelt down on one knee in front of him. Looking up at him and suppressing his sobs, he said, "Father..."


    Previously, when Yan Yuan had not yet transformed into a physical body, he had seen A''Zhi as an adult in Xuan Long''s courtyard. When he knew how A''Zhi had treated his mother, he was so angry that he wanted to teach him a lesson, but when the child he loved appeared in front of him with such a look, the softness in his heart immediately overwhelmed his anger. As Xuan Long said, it was Xuan Long himself who was heartbroken when he taught A''Zhi a lesson, and how could he, as the child''s real father, escape it?


    If a child misbehaves, it is because their father did not teach them well. When he left, A''Zhi was still so young, so what did he know? He had defied the dictates of Heaven for the sake of love and left his little soft child behind. He owed him more than he owed Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan was not willing to punish him, and lifted his palm to touch A''Zhi''s hair.


    "En, you''ve grown up."


    A''Zhi: "These hundred and twenty thousand years, where has Father been... Why was there no word from you? Mother waited for you for a whole hundred and twenty thousand years. We all thought you had gone up in smoke and would never come back... Only Mother, stubbornly thinking you were still alive, searched for you everywhere in the Heavenly Realm and on earth, and waited for you."


    Yan Yuan''s complexion darkened and his gaze grew distant: "It is true that I was extinguished to ashes that day, leaving only a remnant of my soul floating in the world, which attached itself to an iris flower seed..."


    He recounted all the details of where he had been and how he had been reborn over the past hundred and twenty thousand years. After his story, the hall fell into a long silence.


    "It was Xuan Long..." Yan Jing held Ye Ling Shenjun''s shoulder, his eyes pondering.


    Everything was clearly beyond everyone''s expectations. It took a long time for A''Zhi to return to his senses and murmur, "So... it was Mother who saved Father?"


    Yan Yuan: "En, it was him."


    A''Zhi tightened the hand hanging in his lap and asked, "... Then, what if Mother had forgotten Father after his death?"


    This was obviously what Ye Ling Shenjun and Lord Yan Jing wanted to know as well.


    Yan Yuan smiled, "Then I would never have been able to return."


    A''Zhi hung his head in silence.


    "What''s wrong with Xuan Long?" Ye Ling Shenjun suddenly noticed that the man on the bed was sleeping.


    The attention of the crowd was on Yan Yuan, it was only then that they noticed something was wrong. A''Zhi raised his head abruptly, joining the crowd''s gaze on Xuan Long on the bed.


    Yan Yuan held Xuan Long''s hand tightly, looked at the man''s pale face, and said hoarsely, "When I saw him, I found that his abdomen was wounded and that demonic energy had entered his body, he must have been wounded by the demons."


    A''Zhi stood up and rushed to the bedside, "Mother is injured?!"


    "Have you called for a healer?" Ye Ling Shenjun frowned. "Today, Xuan Long went down to the boundary to repair the crack in the world and suppress the demonic race. When he returned to the Nine Heavens in the evening to report on his orders, his injuries were not detected..."


    Yan Yuan smiled bitterly and stroked the stray hair at the corner of Xuan Long''s forehead: "He is like that, he hides everything in his heart and doesn''t want others to know if he is injured." If no one cared about him, he wouldn''t even bother to treat his injuries. He was always like that, he would just put up with it and get over it, a nature he had developed since he was a child, and it hadn''t changed.


    Xuan Long was originally an unwanted little dragon picked up by Lord Yan Jing from the West Sea, with no father or mother and no one to rely on, so it was not surprising that he grew up to be so withdrawn and reticent. When Yan Yuan was by his side in the past, Xuan Long came back from the battlefield wounded, but he concealed it from Yan Yuan for fear that he would worry about him. If no one was by his side, he would not make a big fuss about it and make it known to everyone.


    When Yan Yuan thought about it, he felt his heart ache so much that he couldn''t breathe: "Ling Yue came by just now and healed his external wounds, as for his internal wounds, he will recover completely after a period of rest and recuperation."


    "That''s good." Ye Ling Shenjun breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart moved, "Now that you have returned, he finally has someone to talk to."


    "The two of you, you have finally been able to overcome your suffering..."


    A''Zhi stared at Xuan Long''s face and whispered, "For more than a hundred thousand years, has that been how Mother has lived on his own..."


    He remembered that time when he went to see Xuan Long. Xuan Long didn''t care much about his body, he was obviously seriously injured and still ran around to the marketplace to buy him snacks to eat.


    "En." Yan Yuan replied.


    "Your mother treats everyone around him well, but he doesn''t treat himself very well, he doesn''t take himself too seriously. You were brought into the world by him at the cost of his life, even if you hate him in every way, you shouldn''t break his heart."


    "Besides, he has always treated you the best and has never wronged you."


    Then, Yan Yuan told him the story of how Xuan Long had given birth to A''Zhi, including how he had been infected by a demonic compulsion and sent Xuan Long, who was pregnant, to the Heavenly Prison to be tortured to death, and how Xuan Long had cut out his own heart to barter for A''Zhi after giving birth to him in order to fight for his chance of survival.


    As A''Zhi listened to this, he unknowingly burst into tears and sobbed uncontrollably. No one had ever told him this before, he only knew that Xuan Long had died in childbirth, but he did not know why Xuan Long had died in childbirth.


    Because he had never been treated well when he was alive, it consumed his entire life just to give birth to him, and as if that wasn''t enough, he had to burn all his soul''s power to make an inner elixir for him, to give him the power to defend himself. His mother was afraid that his father would not be able to tolerate him, that he would be born half human and half dragon and would be disliked and humiliated by others.


    No wonder he was born with magical powers and thought that he was gifted, it was because his mother offered his life to protect him.


    Yan Yuan closed his eyes and tears flowed down his cheeks: "If you want to hate, the person you should hate is me... I was the one who caused you to be born without a mother, you should hate me... What do you hate him for? He was already alone, and with me gone, you were all he had left. His heart died when you treated him that way..."


    A''Zhi fell to his knees in front of the bed, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably, "Mother... I''m sorry... I''m sorry..."


    "This child was wrong..."


    Ye Ling Shenjun and Lord Yan Jing looked on in distress, but in the end, they were silent and did not intervene.


    It was only natural for a son to teach a grandson a lesson.


    Yan Yuan took a deep breath, opened his eyes, leaned down and patted A''Zhi''s head, and let out a long sigh.


    "Don''t cry, your mother is sleeping. If you wake him up and he sees you crying like this, he will think that Father has done something to you. Even if you don''t like him, he still loves you and doesn''t blame you in the slightest. Father isn''t saying this to blame you, he just wants you to treat him with a softer heart and love him more in the future."


    "En..." A''Zhi nodded heavily and raised his sleeve to wipe away his tears, unable to stop sobbing.


    Yan Yuan said gloomily, "It''s my fault. When you were young, I didn''t want or dare to let you know those ugly truths, so I never mentioned them to you. If I had known that you would one day misunderstand him to such an extent, I would have told you. It is better for you to hate me than for you to torture him."


    "We, father and son, owe him so much..."


    A''Zhi''s eyes grew firm as he looked at Xuan Long''s drowsy face and said softly, "In the future, A''Zhi and Father will take care of Mother together, protect Mother, never let Mother be sad again, and let Mother live happily and cheerfully every day."


    Yan Yuan stroked his head, "If you have such a heart, he will be happy to hear this."


    "Get up."


    Xuan Long''s body was weak and needed to recuperate, so after ascertaining that Yan Yuan had returned in one piece and in good health, Ye Ling and Yan Jing left after a little over half an hour, as there would be plenty of opportunities for the family to catch up in the future now that Yan Yuan had returned.


    A''Zhi stood by the bedside and refused to leave, his eyes red, saying that he wanted to keep watch over his mother, but Ye Ling persuaded him to leave. As he left, he looked back at Xuan Long on the bed three times, looking so guilty and as though he wanted to rip out his own heart to make amends.


    Xuan Long had just recovered from his injuries and should have slept for a few days before he woke up, but perhaps because he had something on his mind, he woke up in the middle of the night in a daze. When he woke up, he felt someone holding his hand, and it was particularly warm. He looked for the source and saw Yan Yuan sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his hand. Xuan Long couldn''t help but shake the other person''s hand. His heart was very slightly happy, his icy turquoise eyes moved, and the sound he made was incomparably hoarse.


    "You haven''t left yet?"


    Yan Yuan smiled, "Where would I go, I said that I would stay with you in the future."


    "If you are willing, in the next life, and the next, I will come to find you and stay with you, as long as you don''t find me annoying."


    Xuan Long was not surprised to find himself in Dongji Hall. The illusionary realm was like this, where one moment he was there, and in the blink of an eye he was in a different place, jumping around a lot.


    It was only the Yan Yuan in today''s illusion that was very strange. He had always disappeared after touching him, but today he was in his dream for such a long time. Xuan Long was afraid that he might disappear at any moment, and did not dare to say half a word against him, replying truthfully.


    "I don''t mind... you coming, I''ll wait for you."


    Wait as long as you want.


    The man''s fingertips gently brushed the corner of his forehead: "Good, I promise you... no matter how far or how difficult it is, I will find you and return to you."


    "Just like today."


    "En." Xuan Long changed his posture, turning to face Yan Yuan and curling up. He held Yan Yuan''s hand against his forehead with both hands, tears welling up in his closed eyes.


    Yan Yuan''s heart ached as he wiped away his tears with his other finger: "What are you crying for, does your body hurt again? Is it because the healer didn''t heal you?"


    Xuan Long shook his head and did not say anything, but his tears flowed even harder.


    People are like this. When no one cares, they seem to be invulnerable, and when they are hurt badly, they seem to be insensitive. Once someone cares, the grievances are like a river breaking its banks, and they are more fragile and useless than a snail with a broken shell.


    Anyway, it was a dream, no one would laugh at him.


    Yan Yuan knew that he had had a bad life over the past hundred thousand years, or rather, Xuan Long had never had a good life since he was born. If being picked up by Yan Jing from the West Sea was Xuan Long''s greatest fortune in life, then meeting him was his greatest misfortune and calamity.


    From now on, he will love him with all his life, until the moment his life ends, when he will leave a moment later than Xuan Long, so that his lover will not cry.


    Yan Yuan knew that Xuan Long needed to vent his emotions at this time and did not deliberately stop him. He let his hand be held by Xuan Long, and his other hand ran through Xuan Long''s hair. Tenderly, one stroke at a time.


    "Today is your birthday, does A''Po have a gift he wants?"


    "Tell me and I''ll make it up to you another day."


    "No need." Xuan Long paused, his grip on the other man''s hand tightening a little.


    He didn''t want any gifts, he just wanted this person to stay with him for a little longer.


    Yan Yuan had calculated Xuan Long''s birth date and tried his best to break through the confines of the iris flower to come back on this day, wanting to give Xuan Long a surprise, but who would have thought that this silly dragon wouldn''t even want a gift for his birthday. Seeing that he refused to say what he wanted, Yan Yuan asked him several times in different ways before Xuan Long was willing to talk, looking at Yan Yuan with those icy turquoise eyes and saying quietly.


    "Every day, I want to see you."


    Yan Yuan was stunned for a moment and said dumbly, "What else?"


    Xuan Long shook his head, "That''s all that matters."


    "Silly dragon." Yan Yuan''s heart was sore. He ran his fingers over the corners of Xuan Long''s eyes, wiping away the wetness and twisting the corners of the blanket for him. "Go to sleep, it''s just past midnight, and it''s still too early for dawn. I''ll watch over you."


    Xuan Long was afraid that the illusion would eventually break down, but he couldn''t hold on any longer and collapsed into bed. Although he was very tired, he refused to go back to sleep. When he said he was cold, Yan Yuan took off his outer robe, leaving only his shirt and trousers, and got into bed and hugged him. Xuan Long hugged Yan Yuan back, wrapping his hands around Yan Yuan''s waist and pressing them against Yan Yuan''s back, burying his face in Yan Yuan''s chest, as if he was going to sleep.


    Yan Yuan patted Xuan Long''s back, and suddenly felt wet heat on his chest. He stopped moving and hugged the person in his arms a little tighter, saying in a low, mute voice, "Don''t cry."


    He had never seen Xuan Long shed so many tears before, and it is precisely when someone who seldom reveals his emotions in normal life sheds tears that one feels heartbroken.


    When he was not by his side, how many times had he endured such emotions alone...


    "I''ll tell you a story and lull you to sleep, okay?"


    The person in his arms did not answer, but his body trembled, so Yan Yuan thought Xuan Long had agreed. The palm of his hand caressed his back, and his reddened eyes looked upwards as he spoke slowly.


    "Once upon a time, there was a fool in Heaven and a foolish dragon. The fool was an emperor and the foolish dragon was a divine general. The foolish emperor fell in love with the foolish dragon who was guarding the Heavenly Realm for him, and the foolish dragon was also in love with the foolish emperor. They were supposed to be a match made in heaven, but one day, after they fell in love, they suddenly realised that their names were not on the same page of the Divine Genealogy..."


    "The foolish dragon is a lonely heavenly star, destined to be alone... There is no name next to his in the Divine Genealogy, and the name of the foolish emperor was connected with a red line to another immortal¡­ The Divine Genealogy is written by the Heavenly Way and governs the marriage of the gods. If you defy the Heavenly Way, you will not be allowed to live."


    "The foolish emperor and the foolish dragon general should have separated when they knew they were not destined for each other and stopped in time... but that foolish emperor did not believe in fate, and he refused to let go of the hand of the one he loved. The foolish dragon general always listened to the emperor, if the emperor refused, he would not leave, and if the emperor wanted to disobey the Heavenly Way, he would not turn back and would never retreat even half a step..."


    "So the emperor and the divine general, in spite of the opposition of the gods, got married... The emperor married the divine general, and the foolish dragon general became the heavenly empress of the foolish emperor. The foolish dragon general would not have needed to be a general any more, but the foolish dragon general had not put aside his mission of guarding the Heavenly Realm. At the outbreak of the war between the gods and the demons, he went onto the battlefield with a pregnant body."


    "He died in that great battle..." At this point, Yan Yuan''s voice was so hoarse that the tone changed.


    "The foolish emperor regretted it... very much... but it was all too late. The foolish dragon general''s physical body perished and his soul fell into reincarnation, and there was no telling when he would return to the Heavenly Realm and take his place in the immortal ranks. "


    "Maybe it was ten thousand years, maybe it was a hundred thousand years, maybe it was a million years, maybe he would never come back... The foolish emperor could not bear the loss, so he gave up everything, stripped away his divine frame and fell into reincarnation with the foolish dragon general."


    "When they got married, the foolish emperor and the foolish dragon general had made a love contract. As long as the foolish dragon general''s soul was still alive and his soul was not destroyed, the love contract would not disappear. Even if the foolish emperor drank mengpo soup and lost his memory, he would still follow his instincts to find him and fall in love with him."


    "Forcing themselves together was already against the Heavenly Way, and the death of the foolish dragon general was actually a disaster for the foolish emperor; if the foolish emperor had gone down to the mortal world in the body of a heavenly god to find the reincarnated foolish dragon general, it would have caused the foolish dragon general''s mortal body to suffer the backlash of the Heavenly Way and be killed, so the foolish emperor could only make himself mortal as well."


    "What the foolish emperor could not have imagined was that he had recognized the wrong person¡­ The Heavenly Way made a mess of things, and the demons interfered with it... Not only did he recognize the wrong lover and marry someone else as his queen, he also took the life of the foolish dragon general with his own hands..."


    From the beginning, Xuan Long realised that Yan Yuan was talking about their story. His brain was groggy and he didn''t know why Yan Yuan in the illusion was saying this. He felt sad and became more and more sleepy.


    Yan Yuan spoke intermittently for a long time, and at the end, while shedding tears, he laughed, causing Xuan Long''s heart to twist.


    "Later, the foolish emperor also suffered retribution... and went up in ashes."


    "He destroyed his own divine fortune and begged the foolish dragon general to take pity on him and accompany him on his final journey. The foolish dragon general was foolish after all, so he was still willing to accompany the foolish emperor on his final journey, and the foolish emperor died in the arms of the foolish dragon general... The foolish emperor felt joyful, at least after going through so much, after he had made that unforgivable mistake, the foolish dragon general was still willing to be softhearted towards him and willing to accompany him on his last journey."


    "At the same time, the foolish emperor felt uncomfortable, knowing that the foolish dragon general was so great that when he was gone, someone new would surely appear by the foolish dragon general''s side. However, the good thing was that he would not see anything after he died anyway, and if someone could accompany that foolish dragon, the foolish dragon would not have to live too lonely a life."


    "The foolish emperor even pretended to be generous and told the foolish dragon general to give his love rival a chance, but in fact he was so sad that he was about to cry..." Yan Yuan said, his smile deepening and his eyes blurring.


    "... Afterwards, everyone thought the foolish emperor had gone up in smoke, but in fact, the foolish emperor did not really disappear. A''Po, can you guess why?"


    Xuan Long gradually felt that something was wrong, the joy and sorrow of the person in this illusion seemed too real: "... Why?"


    "Because when the foolish emperor''s time was coming, the foolish dragon general went to kneel in the temple dedicated to the Heavenly Way and prayed to the Heavenly Way, offering his life as a sacrifice for the emperor to live... He would rather go to hell himself than let the foolish emperor die..."


    "Thus, the foolish emperor appeared to have died in his arms and gone up in ashes, but in fact there was still a remnant of his soul left in the world. The Heavenly Way attached the remnant of the foolish emperor''s soul to the iris seeds in the foolish dragon general''s courtyard, and it was twenty thousand years after the iris had blossomed that the remnant of the foolish emperor''s soul grew conscious."


    "The Heavenly Way sent down a divine decree and gave the foolish emperor two choices. The Heavenly Way told the foolish emperor that if he could cultivate a complete soul and physical body again under the fertilisation of the foolish dragon general, it would be honoured and they would be allowed to be married and grow old together."


    "And all this is based on the premise that the foolish dragon general must love the foolish emperor. If midway through the process, the foolish dragon general falls in love with someone else, then the iris flower that the soul of the foolish emperor was attached to will wither and the remaining soul will dissipate, disappearing completely from the human world."


    "What about the other option..." asked Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan: "The other option was that as long as the foolish emperor asked, the Heavenly Way would allow the foolish emperor to immediately regain his divine body and return to the Nine Heavens to continue to be the Heavenly Emperor, at the cost of the foolish emperor being cleansed of his memories, forgetting his lover from then on and never remembering that someone like the foolish dragon had ever been in his life... Of course the Foolish Emperor was unwilling. He was unwilling to compromise while he was still alive, and how could someone who had died once possibly still be afraid?"


    "So the foolish emperor chose the former, but he wasn''t actually sure that the foolish dragon general would continue to love him, because he felt that he wasn''t good at all and that the foolish dragon general wasn''t happy with him at all... If he were the foolish dragon general, he wouldn''t be willing to continue to love such a scumbag." Yan Yuan smiled to himself.


    "But he still chose the former... because the foolish dragon general was too good, he wanted to be married to him, to form a contract with him, to grow old with him... So even if there was just a fraction of a chance, he wanted to give it a try."


    "He thought that in twenty to thirty thousand years at most, he would be able to cultivate his divine body again and return to the foolish dragon general, but who knew that the broken soul could not be cultivated in its entirety. It took him a hundred thousand years to achieve this, and the foolish dragon general waited a full one hundred and twenty thousand years."


    This foolish dragon had waited for him for a whole hundred and twenty thousand years.


    Yan Yuan lowered his head. The man in his arms had unknowingly burst into tears. Yan Yuan wiped away his tears and rested his forehead against Xuan Long''s, saying hoarsely, "A''Po... that fool is back, thank you for being willing to wait for him."


    Xuan Long: "You''re back..."


    Yan Yuan: "En, I''m back... From now on, I will never leave you again, so don''t be afraid anymore when you see me by your side."


    "That fool... will stay with you forever until he dies. During this time, even if you are tired, bored, or annoyed with him, you can''t turn back, he will stick to you like a cowhide, you can''t get rid of him... "


    "You... came back..." Xuan Long murmured and repeated the words.


    "En, I''m back. Your A''Yuan is back, and you will not be left alone again."


    Xuan Long''s tears flowed and his lips trembled, "The bowl of fish soup from ten thousand years ago..."


    "It was me."


    "At that time, my soul had just been fully repaired, so I forced myself to break through the confines of the iris and wanted to go see you. That day you went out to remove the demons, so I thought that I would make a bowl of fish soup at the house and wait for you to come back to eat it, but just as it was ready, my soul became too weak to sustain itself and I had to return to the iris. Later, when I tried to break through the confines again, I could not do so until today when I managed to cultivate my physical body and leave that square inch of land..."


    Xuan Long: "Is your body... okay now?"


    Yan Yuan: "Don''t worry, the moment I cultivated my physical body, I regained my divine energy, and I am no different from before." He kissed Xuan Long''s forehead and spoke quietly.


    "A''Po, that fool who would even mistake his own wife still wants to marry you, form a contract and grow old together... Are you still willing to give him the chance to be his Heavenly Empress?"


    "... Willing." Tears welled up in Xuan Long''s eyes.


    Yan Yuan hugged him tightly: "When we get married and have some more children, the family will be more lively..."


    Xuan Long: "I''ll listen to you."


    Yan Yuan felt happy to hear this, but after a while, he became upset again and said sullenly, "Forget it, I don''t want any more children. You lost your life when you gave birth to A''Zhi, I wouldn''t dare to try again, it''s enough that we have each other." As he spoke, he hugged the person a little tighter, he couldn''t bear the pain of losing the love of his life any longer.


    "Okay." Xuan Long still complied with him.


    The two of them hugged each other quietly for a while before Yan Yuan slowly lowered his head and kissed Xuan Long''s lips. Xuan Long closed his eyes and opened his lips to let the other man invade his mouth, and they kissed each other tenderly and lovingly for a while.


    When someone is in love, even a mere embrace can easily give rise to lust, let alone a kiss. At the moment when this gradually frantic kiss was about to make the situation out of control, Yan Yuan suppressed a ragged pant and released Xuan Long.


    "Go to sleep, it''s late." Still in an embrace, he moved his body under the bedding slightly further away from Xuan Long.


    Yan Yuan hugged the most precious and returned treasure of his life, patting Xuan Long''s back over and over again in an attempt to relax his tense spirit. The man in his arms obediently listened to his words and closed his eyes for a long time. Just when he thought Xuan Long had fallen asleep, he heard the man whispering like a murmur:


    "That silly dragon thinks the emperor is very good. Even if everything were to start over, the silly dragon would still choose to stay with the emperor, he... has never regretted it."

 CH 164

    Hold Your Hand and Grow Old With You (Last Chapter)


    Three days later, General Xuan Hall.


    Xuan Long had bathed and gone to bed early, as tomorrow was the day of his wedding to Yan Yuan.


    As they had already been married once before and their child was already so old, they did not intend to make it too grand, simply going through the formalities and renewing their love contract in the presence of Si Shen.


    He had nothing to worry about, as Ye Ling Shenjun had taken care of the banquet and the guests, but when he thought that he and Yan Yuan were about to renew their love contract and become an immortal couple, he tossed and turned and could hardly sleep. It was too good to be true, so good that he thought it was just a dream that would last forever.


    Perhaps he would wake up in the morning and find himself still lying in that little bamboo building, silent and alone for many years.


    As his thoughts wandered into the middle of the night, his body''s exhaustion forced him to stop thinking. He was about to drift off to sleep when he felt a cool breeze behind him, followed by the familiar fluctuation of spiritual energy. He came to his senses and braced himself to look, and saw Yan Yuan appearing.


    In the faint candlelight, Yan Yuan was wearing a white tunic, with his raven-black hair hanging down to his waist, and his feet were bare.


    "Why are you..." Xuan Long was surprised, but before he could finish his sentence, Yan Yuan rushed forward, got under the covers and hugged him. Xuan Long was held tightly in his arms, so tight that it hurt a little. Feeling Yan Yuan''s uneasiness, his hand gently climbed up Yan Yuan''s back and he asked, "What''s wrong?..."


    "... I can''t sleep, I''m afraid I''m dreaming, I''ll feel at ease when I hold you." Yan Yuan said.


    The two were in the same state of mind.


    There was a custom among the gods that a couple must not see each other the day before the wedding, but they couldn''t care less now, they had even disobeyed the Heavenly Way, so there was no need to fear breaking this custom.


    Yan Yuan''s kiss fell on Xuan Long''s forehead, then over the bridge of his nose, the tip of his nose, and finally on his lips. His palm clasped the back of Xuan Long''s neck and he kissed him heavily. Xuan Long opened his lips and allowed Yan Yuan to enter, closing his eyes and greeting him with his warm tongue. The tangled breaths of the two men grew heavier.


    An hour later, Yan Yuan carried Xuan Long to the bathing pool at the back of the mountain. Xuan Long leaned into his arms, his heart already much calmer.


    Dressed in a white robe, Yan Yuan stepped into the bath surrounded by immortal energy. With every step he took, his clothes became transparent inch by inch until they disappeared. He submerged himself in the warm water with Xuan Long in his arms and kissed the corner of his forehead: "Are you tired?"


    Xuan Long opened his half-closed eyes and shook his head slightly, "Not yet."


    Yan Yuan let out a low laugh, "Then let''s do it again?"


    Before Xuan Long could respond, he was pressed against the wall of the pool and changed his position to hold on, "Hmmm..."


    For fear that Xuan Long had just recovered from his injuries, he did not dare to play too hard. After bathing, Yan Yuan wrapped him in a clean robe and carried him back to General Xuan Hall. He placed Xuan Long on the edge of the bed, conjured up some white silk and wiped his long hair until it was half dry, and then used his spiritual power to finish drying it.


    It would have been possible to directly use spiritual energy, but Yan Yuan loved to do what only a mortal couple would do with Xuan Long. They had wasted over a hundred thousand years and were finally reunited, so even if they did something trivial together, their hearts felt filled.


    Afterwards, the two of them lay down on the bed, Yan Yuan rested one hand under Xuan Long''s neck and the other around Xuan Long''s waist, completely encircling the person in his arms. A cold scent surrounded his nose, and Yan Yuan, for an unknown reason, suddenly burst out laughing.


    Xuan Long was puzzled and asked him what was wrong.


    Yan Yuan''s forehead rested against the corner of Xuan Long''s forehead, and his warm breath poured into Xuan Long''s ear as he spoke, with a smile on his face: "Do you still remember, the night before our wedding last time, I couldn''t help but come to you like today, without waiting for the auspicious time to arrive, like a worthless brat."


    "En." Xuan Long curled his lips, "I remember."


    Yan Yuan: "I don''t seem to have grown much over the years, it''s been a hundred and eighty thousand years, the children have become adults, and they''re still the same."


    "You won''t laugh at me, will you..."


    Xuan Long shook his head, "How could I?"


    Yan Yuan''s kiss landed on his cheek, and with his lips pressed against his cheek he said, "In the matter of loving you, I never want to grow up, I am only willing to step back and be an ignorant and fearless brave man, never looking back and always going forward."


    "A''Po, I love you."


    "I love you."


    Yan Yuan tightened his arms, as if he wanted to pull Xuan Long into his body. Xuan Long turned around and hugged him back, his face buried against his heart, and his low, muffled voice came over his heart.


    "I am the same as you."


    "Never looking back and always going forward."


    Since he had already broken the rules, Yan Yuan did not intend to sneak back to his chambers like a thief before dawn, as he had done a hundred and eighty thousand years ago. This time, he would take Xuan Long by the hand and walk over at the auspicious time, not wanting to wait a moment longer.


    However, once the two of them were dressed in their big red wedding robes, Yan Yuan changed his mind again and picked the man up as he was about to step out of the doorway, holding Xuan Long''s hand in his arms.


    Xuan Long gasped and instinctively wrapped his arms around Yan Yuan''s neck. He caught a glimpse of Ye Ling and Yan Jing waiting outside the door, followed by a group of gods and fairies.


    He was too thin-skinned and struggled to get down, but Yan Yuan held him extra tightly and he said in a muffled voice, "What are you doing...?"


    Yan Yuan smiled and said in a voice that only two people could hear: "In the mortal world, the groom has to carry his bride to the palanquin for the wedding. Today you are my new bride, and there is no palanquin here, so I will carry you with me. In case I''m walking and I accidentally let go of your hand on the way, I''m silly and won''t be able to find you if you mix into the crowd, so this time I''ll have to hold on to you, hold you firmly and carry you in my arms so I don''t lose you."


    Ye Ling and Yan Jing froze at the sight, but quickly returned to normal, their faces beaming with joy. The crowd of gods did the same.


    "The auspicious time has arrived, it is the right time to head out." Ye Ling laughed.


    Yan Yuan carried the person he cherished most in his life, followed by a crowd of immortal gods in uniform behind him, and walked step by step towards the Temple of Gods.


    It had been snowing heavily for several days and the snow outside was quite thick. Yan Yuan walked at a leisurely pace without disturbing the person in his arms at all, and when he arrived outside the Temple of Gods, he put the person in his arms down and said solemnly, "A''Po, we are here."


    Beneath the towering sacred tree wrapped in silver, Si Shen, dressed in black fur and holding a wooden book, stood beside the Three Lives Stone and opened the book in his hand, the contents of which were a marriage petition that Yan Yuan had drawn with his heart''s blood.


    Si Shen announced the start of the ceremony and under the eyes of the gods, he read out the marriage certificate.


    "Heavenly Way, today Purple Star Yuan Jun wishes to enter into a love contract with General Xuan Long and become an immortal couple... A couple that has been languishing for more than a hundred and eighty thousand years, punished by Heaven and separated by life and death, but they still have no regrets..."


    The marriage petition should have been prepared by Si Shen, but Yan Yuan was afraid that if the Heavenly Way saw that he was not sincere enough, it would withdraw the divine decree. This morning, when Xuan Long was not awake, he took the marriage petition from Si Shen and redrafted the words on it several times with the blood of his heart.


    If a couple who are recognised by the Heavenly Way entered into a love contract here, the white Three Lives Stone will emit a soft glow for a few moments after the completion of the contract, signalling that the couple in front of the Three Lives Stone can officially begin the marriage ceremony.


    When Yan Yuan and Xuan Long formed their marriage contract here a hundred and eighty thousand years ago, they had made a similar petition, and when the stone did not respond to the reading of the petition, that was the answer from Heaven. But Yan Yuan was still bent on forcing his love contract with Xuan Long.


    It was reasonable to say that if the Heavenly Way sent down a divine decree, and Yan Yuan fulfilled it in accordance with the Heavenly Way''s will and cultivated a complete soul and body in that iris, and that Xuan Long also withstood the test, and that there was no change of heart, then this marriage ceremony should be no different from the marriage ceremony of those immortal couples who are destined to be together, but after the proclamation, the Three Lives Stone was slow to respond...


    The scene from a hundred and eighty thousand years ago was repeated today, and the gods watching the ceremony began to whisper. Si Shen anxiously read out the marriage petition over and over again, and as he reached the ninth time, fine snowflakes suddenly fell from the sky.


    Snow is a common occurrence, but Xuan Long tilted his head slightly involuntarily and reached his hand out to catch it. The small flakes fell on his head, cheeks and palm and melted the moment they touched his skin. Instead of feeling cold, he felt very warm, a warmth that flowed into his skin and down his veins to all his limbs, which was so comfortable it made him a little drowsy.


    "A''Po... your face..."


    Seeing Yan Yuan looking at him with astonishment, Xuan Long looked down and touched his right cheek with his hand, finding that the mask that had been worn there had disappeared at some point, and that the wound that should have been hideous was as smooth as ever, with no trace of having been burned by karmic fire left.


    "How could this be..." he murmured.


    "It''s holy snow!!!"


    "The Heavenly Way has sent down holy snow!!!"


    There was a sudden roar of excitement amongst the gods, and Xuan Long turned to see that it was an old general who had been so badly injured in the war between the gods and demons a hundred and thirty thousand years ago that his spiritual core was damaged to the point that he could only manage the library in the Nine Heavens afterwards, never to go into battle again.


    Xuan Long looked at the person wearing the wedding robe at his side and was puzzled, "A''Yuan, what is holy snow..."


    Yan Yuan''s lips trembled, he was obviously smiling, but tears streamed down his face, "The Heavenly Way has approved our marriage..."


    "If the holy snow falls on the mortal world, it will revive all creatures and resurrect the dead. If it falls on the Heavenly Realm, it will completely restore the health of the gods whose bodies were once traumatised... The Heavenly Way sent down holy snow at this time as a blessing for this marriage ceremony..."


    "The Heavenly Way has only sent down holy snow twice, once today and once, tens of millions of years ago, when a divine general fought back the demons with his own strength when they invaded the Heavenly Realm and his life was hanging in the balance. The divine general''s lover, in order to save him, cultivated the Nine Heavens Forbidden Technique and gave all of his life to the divine general, just to keep him alive. When the divine general''s lover''s life was exhausted and he was about to die in the divine general''s arms, the Heavenly Way sent down holy snow and saved the divine general''s lover..."


    The gods who had not heard this story before were listening attentively. At the same time, in the Temple of Gods, unnoticed by all, the half-human high Divine Genealogy floating on a table in the Temple of Gods began to tremble slightly. The Divine Genealogy was made of ancient silver, engraved with uneven and ancient Sanskrit inscriptions, full of signs of age. The pages began to turn and came to a halt in the middle of a page, and two names linked by a red line appeared on the page, one of which was the Purple Star Emperor and the other was the Immortal Monarch Zhiyu.


    At that moment, the name belonging to Immortal Monarch Zhiyu gradually faded away, and what appeared in that position were the four characters ''Xuan Long Han Po''...


    After that, the Divine Genealogy slowly flipped through a few pages and closed as if nothing had happened, restoring calm as if nothing had happened.


    "What happened after that... " Xuan Long asked.


    "Afterwards, the divine general and his beloved dropped everything and went into seclusion in a little-known paradise, and they stayed together and lived happily ever after."


    To have your beloved person with you forever in an endless life, that was something that Yan Yuan had once never dared to hope for.


    The Three Lives Stone in front of them glowed softly as they talked, and in the presence of the gods, Yan Yuan and Xuan Long cut their palms, infusing each other''s heart blood into the wound on their own hands, and then slowly pressing their hands against the Three Lives Stone.


    With their four eyes facing each other, they looked at each other.


    "The Heavenly Way is above."


    "The Heavenly Way is above..."


    "I wish to be an immortal couple with the person at my side..."


    "I wish to, be an immortal couple, with the person at my side..."


    "Meeting in life and separating in death, in other words, hold your hand and grow old¡­ A''Po, this one vow, for all eternity, I love you."


    "Meeting in life and separating in death, in other words... hold the hand of the son, hold your hand and grow old¡­ this vow, I will not change."


    "A''Yuan... I also, love you."

 CH 165

    Bonus Chapter


    A Long-Awaited Snowfall on His Birthday


    The early morning sunlight streamed in through the cracks of the bamboo window and fell on Yan Yuan''s face. Yan Yuan frowned and subconsciously rolled over to wrap his arms around the person beside him, but his arms turned up empty.


    He immediately woke up, sat up, rolled out of bed and ran out of the door. He rushed downstairs to the entrance of the dining room and saw the man with the big belly standing in front of the stove, wrapping dumplings. Hearing the sound, the man raised his head and looked at Yan Yuan.


    Yan Yuan''s eyes skimmed over the fat white dumplings on the round plate on the stove, and only after making sure that Xuan Long was safely in front of him did he breathe a sigh of relief. He walked over and wiped the white flour smeared on Xuan Long''s cheeks and spoke distressingly, "Why are you up so early, didn''t you say you would wait for the baby to come out before making them?"


    Ever since Xuan Long became pregnant, Yan Yuan had forbidden him from entering the kitchen, and he was the one who took care of everything in and out of the house, from food, clothing, housing and transportation to household chores. It had been too long since he had eaten Xuan Long''s chicken dumpling soup, and he missed it. Last night before he went to bed, he mentioned to Xuan Long that when the baby came out, he wanted him to make chicken dumplings for him to eat, and Xuan Long agreed, so Yan Yuan happily hugged him and went to sleep. But today, Xuan Long got up early and started preparing the dish.


    He had a big belly and his pubic bone had been hurting a lot recently, so he had to be carried by Yan Yuan everywhere he went.


    "It''s okay." Xuan Long saw Yan Yuan in profane clothes and his eyes travelled down to land on his feet, "But you... it''s cold and dewy, why are you running around with bare feet?"


    Yan Yuan did not say anything. He walked behind Xuan Long and slowly embraced him, placing his hands on his towering stomach and dropping a kiss between his ears, "I miss you, I wanted to see you when I woke up."


    Xuan Long lifted the lid of the pot and the hot steam came out of it. Although his face was pale, the tips of his ears were faintly red.


    On the small burner on the stove, the chicken soup in the ceramic pot was boiling, emitting a strong fragrance and warmth with the dense hot mist.


    As soon as the lid in Xuan Long''s hand was put down, he was picked up by Yan Yuan and placed on a thickly cushioned chair.


    "Just sit still, I''ll do it."


    On the day of the wedding, the sacred snow that descended from Heaven completely repaired Xuan Long''s damaged soul and body, including the scars on his face from the karmic fire that could not be washed away even after his soul had been burned in reincarnation. Xuan Long''s body was already recovered, but being pregnant was not the same as usual, so Yan Yuan did not dare to be negligent and was very careful with everything he ate and used, for fear of making any mistakes.


    Originally, he did not intend to have any more children. A''Zhi had already succeeded the throne and started a family, so he and Xuan Long could live in a world of their own from now on. When they got tired of staying at home, they could go travelling in the world, which would be perfect.


    He had clearly taken special measures. Before each lovemaking session, Yan Yuan would take a bowl of special medicine, but he forgot to drink it one day and asked Xuan Long to bear with it.


    If he wanted Xuan Long to abandon it, he wouldn''t, as Xuan Long considers the little one in his womb as more important than his own life, which Yan Yuan learned when he was pregnant with A''Zhi.


    When he gave birth to A''Zhi, Xuan Long left. The fact that he could not be with A''Zhi when he grew up has always been a regret in Xuan Long''s heart, and although Xuan Long does not talk about it, Yan Yuan understood.


    When Xuan Long found out that he was pregnant, he was very happy. One day when Yan Yuan was not at home, he went to the shop alone to buy some clothes and toys for the baby, and came back to ask Yan Yuan if he was happy with what he had chosen.


    When Yan Yuan saw how happy he was, he was relieved. If he let Xuan Long watch the child being born and grow up with the child, it might be able to heal the pain in Xuan Long''s heart.


    As for Xuan Long''s health, he would take very good care of it.


    Just now, Xuan Long had already wrapped the dumplings and stewed the chicken soup, so all he had to do was to cook them in the pot and they would be ready to eat. This step can be done by Yan Yuan without affecting the flavour.


    Xuan Long listened to him and sat still. Yan Yuan boiled the dumplings and put them into two bowls of chicken soup, sprinkled them with a handful of green onions, and with a wave of his hand, the two bowls of chicken dumplings instantly appeared on the table.


    The two of them sat facing each other and ate the chicken soup.


    When Yan Yuan saw Xuan Long taking half a day to chew and swallow, he asked, "Still have no appetite?"


    Xuan Long shook his head, looking a little distracted: ¡°It''s nothing."


    ¡°That day, when you returned to the Heavenly Realm, had A''Zhi''s relationship with A''Lie eased up?"


    "No." Yan Yuan conjured up a black jar, opened the lid and took out some pickled radish, put them on a small plate and pushed it into Xuan Long''s hand, "It was just pickled a few days ago, try it, see if it''s to your liking. It should make you feel better after eating it."


    "Whoever tied the bell has to untie it. The misunderstanding between them is too deep and things have come to this, it''s useless for you to worry too much, it''s important to take care of your own health."


    Xuan Long sighed and eventually stopped talking.


    Before going to bed that night, Yan Yuan and Xuan Long discussed his birthday which was three days away.


    He asked Xuan Long how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. Xuan Long said that he did not need to make any arrangements, but Yan Yuan refused to do so, hugging Xuan Long and kissing his eyebrows.


    "How can you not have a birthday? You have to celebrate it every year. If you don''t have a particular birthday gift you want, I''ll see that something is prepared."


    ¡°En." Xuan Long replied in a warm voice, "I will be happy with whatever you give me."


    Yan Yuan''s kiss gradually traced its way from his eyebrows to Xuan Long''s lips, and the two of them exchanged a long kiss before parting with a panting breath. Yan Yuan''s hand gently pressed against Xuan Long''s towering stomach under the covers, and he moved it carefully, asking, "Did the baby bother you today?"


    "It didn''t fuss much."


    "That''s good, go to sleep." Yan Yuan curled his lips and kissed Xuan Long''s forehead, and the two of them cuddled up together and went to sleep.


    The weather was beautiful on the day of his birthday. Yan Yuan was busy preparing the evening meal in the kitchen, while Xuan Long sat on a chair watching him.


    For Xuan Long''s birthday, his favourite fish soup was a must, and in addition to that, Yan Yuan was preparing a table full of his best dishes.


    Ever since A''Zhi had inherited the throne and started a family, Yan Yuan and Xuan Long had moved from the Heavenly Realm to this small courtyard by the East Sea where they have lived together for nearly ten thousand years. In the mortal world, there is no one to disturb them, but there is no one to wait on them for food, clothing, shelter and transportation as there was in the Heavenly Realm. Previously, Yan Yuan was only good at making fish soup, but now that the two of them were living on their own, they had to do everything themselves, and over time they had acquired a good cooking skill.


    In the past, when Yan Yuan had nothing else to do, he would hide his divine spirit and blend in as a mortal to learn how to cook in a restaurant in the market. Xuan Long sat in the hall and drank tea while Yan Yuan pretended to be a young man who wanted to win the hand of a beautiful woman and learn the art of cooking. As long as the money kept coming, the restaurant owner couldn''t wait for him to come back every day.


    When it got late, the two of them went home hand in hand with the setting sun.


    Yan Yuan hadn''t been there since Xuan Long was pregnant, but the cooking skills he had acquired before were enough to sustain the evening''s festivities. After making the fish soup, Yan Yuan began to prepare braised pork belly, squirrel fish, and Buddha jumps over the wall...


    The previous square table for three or four people was transformed into a round table for seven or eight people, and all kinds of dishes were gradually put on the table, with all kinds of flavours and aromas. After lunch, Yan Yuan began to cook, and by now he had already cooked more than ten dishes. When he saw that he had not yet finished, Xuan Long could not help but stand up from his chair.


    ¡°A''Yuan, isn''t this more than enough dishes to cook?"


    Ye Ling and Yan Jing had recently gone on a trip and could not make it to Xuan Long''s birthday, so they had the birthday gifts sent in advance.


    Although A¡¯Lie has become A''Zhi''s Heavenly Empress, he has not been recognized by A''Zhi, so when A''Zhi comes, he will not bring A''Lie. The number of people having dinner today including himself and Yan Yuan was at most three, so it would be a waste to cook so many dishes and not finish them.


    "It''s not too much, we have distinguished guests today." Yan Yuan put the chicken wrapped in clay into the oven and roasted it, smiling a little mysteriously.


    Xuan Long had no clue: "Noble guest¡­ who is it?"


    Yan Yuan smiled and his peach blossom eyes curved up, "You will know later."


    Xuan Long''s heart grew warm, and when he didn''t say anything, he didn''t press the issue.


    After sitting all afternoon, he was tired of sitting, so Xuan Long informed Yan Yuan and made his way outside, ready to go to the courtyard to loosen his muscles.


    The sun was setting over half of the sky and the warmth of the afterglow wrapped around the courtyard. The golden crow was still a little blinding at this point, and Xuan Long couldn''t help but squint his eyes and reach out to block it. From where the remaining light reached, he vaguely saw what appeared to be a man standing outside.


    ¡°A''Po."


    The call drifted into Xuan Long''s ears like the wind.


    Xuan Long lowered his hand to shield his eyes and fixed his eyes on them, and froze. His lips trembled as he squeezed out two characters that he could barely hear: "Hu Le."


    Outside the half-human high fence, the other party, who had been ten metres away, rushed towards Xuan Long with lightning speed in the next breath, his figure passing straight through the half-human high fence and pouncing on Xuan Long.


    ¡°A''Po wu wu wu wu wu wu wu wu wu"


    Perhaps because Xuan Long was pregnant, the strength was well-controlled, and when he pounced on him, he only caused Xuan Long''s body to sway. The young man hugged him and cried. Xuan Long''s eyes blurred as he reacted, and his palm slowly climbed up the other man''s back.


    When Hu Le was tired of crying, he gently pushed Xuan Long away and raised the back of his hand to wipe away his tears heavily.


    "Why didn''t you come looking for me?"


    Xuan Long looked at him quietly and said hoarsely, "I went looking for you."


    "You and your brother worked as ghost messengers in the underworld and were happy."


    After his death in the mortal world, Xuan Long was reborn in the Heavenly Realm and went to look for Hu Le, who had already forgotten his past and Li Lianhuan, the monk who had killed Hu Le, had fallen into reincarnation and into the world of animals.


    The past was too painful to look back on. If you are happy now, it is good to forget the past.


    "Are you stupid, if I never remember, are you prepared to never see me again?"


    Xuan Long lowered his eyes: "I''m sorry."


    Hu Le: "Every year on my birthday, a ghost comes to my house to bring me roast chicken, did you ask him to do that?"


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    Hu Le choked back a sob and said, "The taste of that roast chicken is unique to Jing Yu Lou in Chang''an, and that ghost can''t leave the underworld, so you go to the mortal world every year on my birthday and buy the roast chicken, then enter the underworld to find that ghost and have him give it to me."


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    Hu Le burst into tears, "You remember my birthday every year and bring me roast chicken, but you refuse to come and see me."


    Xuan Long looked up at him, "I''m sorry."


    Hu Le leapt forward and hugged him, "Idiot! Don''t say sorry again!"


    "I know, I know everything, you''re doing it for my own good."


    "At first, when I found out that someone had mysteriously brought me a roast chicken, I thought someone was trying to hurt me and almost threw it away. Then I thought about it, I''m already a ghost, and I can''t die from poisoning, so I just ate it¡­ The roast chicken from Jing Yu Lou is so delicious¡­ wu wu"


    "That low-ranking ghost wasn''t even sane enough for me to ask anything, and I ate your roast chicken for over a hundred thousand years before I gathered my soul together and thought about it. Luckily I remembered, otherwise I don''t know when I would have been able to see you."


    Xuan Long: "It was Yan Yuan who told you to come?"


    Hu Le let go of Xuan Long and coldly hummed, "I was just about to ask Hades to grant me leave and then go looking for you, but just after I left the Hades'' residence, he came looking for me and asked me to come and accompany you for your birthday."


    Xuan Long paused, no wonder when he woke up in the middle of the night the previous night, he saw that Yan Yuan was not beside him. He waited until early morning before Yan Yuan returned and asked what Yan Yuan had gone to do, but he would not say.


    "You hated him."


    Hu Le sighed, grabbed Xuan Long''s hand and said, "I know all about what happened between you, it really was the Heavenly Way playing tricks. It doesn''t matter what I think of him, as long as he treats you with sincerity and you are happy with him, that''s all that matters."


    The Heavenly Emperor had even given up his position for the sake of his beloved, and had gone down to the mortal realm, reincarnated for a hundred lifetimes, tasting the pains of old age, sickness and death. When he finally found someone, he misidentified him, causing his beloved to lose his life and making himself not a person yet not a ghost.


    If Yan Yuan had told Hu Le this himself, Hu Le would not have believed it, but he had seen it with his own eyes. The Reincarnation Mirror, Hades'' personal magic tool, could see the past of all beings in the Six Realms, and it was through the Reincarnation Mirror that Hu Le saw what Yan Yuan and Xuan Long had gone through over the past hundred thousand years.


    What else could he say besides sighing at the way the Heavenly Way had played tricks.


    Xuan Long: "Thank you... Hu Le."


    Hu Le wrinkled his brow and pretended to be angry, "You silly dragon, saying such nonsense again."


    "Say it again and I''ll get upset."


    ¡°En, I know." Xuan Long curled his lips.


    Yan Yuan had heard that someone had arrived, but he was mindful of the fact that they hadn''t seen each other for a long time and must have a lot to talk about, so he consciously stayed in the kitchen. However, his ears were perked up, listening with bated breath to the commotion outside, even slowing down his cooking speed.


    He was very grateful to Hu Le for taking care of Xuan Long in the mortal world, and knew that Xuan Long loved him, but because he knew all too well what kind of thoughts Hu Le had for Xuan Long, he felt a little uneasy when he thought of the two of them alone outside at the moment, and he wanted to bring Xuan Long back and hide him.


    Thinking that Xuan Long would be happy to see his old friend from the past, he forced himself to hold back.


    "You''re having his child again?" In the courtyard, Hu Le''s eyes fell on Xuan Long''s towering belly and raised his hand to touch it cautiously.


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    Hu Le: "It''s so big already, it''s about to be born, isn''t it?"


    Xuan Long: ¡°En, next month, it will be out."


    "He''s good, he can have a beautiful child with you without much effort, you suffer and he takes the blessing." Even though he knew he shouldn''t blame Yan Yuan, he still felt that Xuan Long was at a disadvantage, and he couldn''t help but feel sad.


    Xuan Long''s face softened, "No, since I got pregnant, he has been more nervous than me."


    Hu Le looked deeply at the man''s handsome face, "I am relieved that he treats you well, otherwise with your nature, you would have been bullied to death without knowing it."


    Because of his pregnancy, Xuan Long was not wearing a belt, and his ink robe looked loose on his body. Although he seemed to have more weight than usual, he looked rosy and healthy, so it was clear that he was well taken care of, so he didn¡¯t say any more. He thought of his little nephew, whom he had never met, and said, ¡°Where''s Shui Shui?"


    Xuan Long: "He has become an adult and inherited the position of Heavenly Emperor, residing in the Nine Heavens. He will come down to earth later to spend my birthday with me, and you will be able to meet him."


    Hu Le: "It''s been so long."


    Xuan Long: ¡°En."


    After more than a hundred thousand years, the little fox with two hundred years of tao had become an uncle, and although he had accompanied that child when he was in his womb, he had not been able to wait to see him born. The name Shui Shui was given to him by Hu Le, so inevitably he couldn''t wait to see the child.


    "I heard that Hua Niang is also coming today."


    Xuan Long froze.


    "He didn''t tell you?"


    Not only was Hua Niang coming tonight, but also Yin Long, the senior who had helped keep Xuan Long''s baby alive in the Dragon Realm.


    After his rebirth, Xuan Long visited Hua Niang and Senior Yin Long. At that time, his senior saw that he was in a difficult situation and did not charge him. He promised his senior that he would repay him double when he had safely given birth to the child and passed the heavenly tribulation.


    In the beginning, it was agreed that a thousand years would be paid for the birth, and twice that would be two thousand years. On the day he went to the Dragon Realm, his senior was not at home, so he put the two thousand years of Taoism into a small white porcelain vial and placed it on his table in his home, left a note, and left.


    When he went to look for Hua Niang, he saw that there was a man in her courtyard. The man had the eyes of a snow wolf and was playing with Hua Niang''s daughter in the courtyard. Looking at the resemblance between the man and the girl, he knew that the man was Hua Niang¡¯s husband, the snow wolf demon who had been missing for many years. As he was hesitating to go in, he saw Hua Niang, with a pregnant belly, coming out of the house and gently asking the man and her daughter to come in for dinner.


    Xuan Long originally wanted to tell Hua Niang that he was still alive, but when he saw that they were happy, he thought that his presence might disturb them, so he dismissed the idea. He didn''t know what to do to repay the kindness he had received from Hua Niang, so he left the same two thousand years of Taoism in a porcelain vial and placed it on the round stone table in her courtyard.


    He did not expect that Yan Yuan would invite all the beings who had been kind to him to come here today.


    Xuan Long''s eyes felt hot, and when he saw the people he had not seen for a long time, he could not speak for a long time. Hua Niang¡¯s eyes filled with tears when she saw him.


    ¡°A''Long."


    Hua Niang was soft-natured and would not ask him why he did not go to see her like Hu Le did, she only cried and said it was good that he was alive, it was good that he was alive. A hundred thousand years ago, although she had seen the porcelain vase containing the Tao and felt that it belonged to Xuan Long, she was not sure, for normally it was impossible for a living being to be resurrected from the ashes.


    When Yin Long saw Xuan Long''s big belly, he frowned with an expression that was difficult to describe.


    "You stupid dragon, you are really mindless, you have suffered so much and it''s not enough, why are you having another one?"


    "Even if that god treats you well, he can''t withstand the pain of conception, do you know that? He would have to work for you as a horse to repay you for what you have done."


    Xuan Long didn''t know how to reply, "Senior"


    "It is good to know that although you are mindless, you are not wrong about this god. Congratulations, boy, happy birthday." Yin Long stroked his white beard and smiled as he handed over the red square gift box in his hand. Although his words were not nice, when he learned that he was pregnant, he hastened to find the best embroiderer in the dragon realm and had a small set of clothes made before Xuan Long''s birthday.


    Xuan Long looked down and said, "This is..."


    "It''s for the little baby in your belly."


    Xuan Long lifted his hand to accept it, and a warm current gathered in his heart, which lasted for a long time.


    After the sun had set and the sky had quickly darkened, Yan Yuan''s full feast was finally ready.


    A''Zhi was the last to arrive. By the time he arrived, everyone had just been seated, and the night was completely plunged into darkness. He was dressed in a silver and white brocade robe, with a jade crown on his head and covered in a white fur cloak. Smiling, he walked in from outside, his appearance was unparalleled in the world, a gentleman like no other.


    "Father, Mother, I am here."


    A''Zhi''s eyebrows were very similar to Yan Yuan''s, but he was more energetic. Only when he entered did everyone realise that he was holding a white fluffy rabbit in his arms.


    When Xuan Long stood up to greet him, Yan Yuan helped Xuan Long''s bulky body up and looked at A''Zhi, "Why did you bring a rabbit with you to celebrate your mother''s birthday? Is it a gift for your mother¡¯s birthday?" A''Zhi bowed his head and touched the rabbit''s ears with his immaculate fingers: "I saved it when I passed by the bamboo forest next to the East Sea, it was injured by a hunter''s trap in the forest, I have used ¡®Broken Meteor'' to heal it. It would be good to keep it here, so that when my sister is born, she can play with it."


    As he said this, he gently placed the rabbit on the ground. The mortal rabbit had been cured by a god and had developed a spiritual sense, so when A''Zhi put it down, it hugged A''Zhi''s hand, buried its head and pouted, refusing to move. A''Zhi stroked its head and softly comforted it before coaxing it down.


    Yan Yuan was not surprised by this. When A''Zhi was young, when he was still in the mortal palace, a stupid bird flew too fast and accidentally hit a tree. He saw it and ran to pick it up in a panic, rushing to order the imperial doctor to treat the bird. If it was not cured and died, the little man could have cried for several days.


    He got so big in a flash.


    "Come quickly, we''re just waiting for you."


    "This is your Grandpa Yin Long, Uncle Hu Le and Aunt Hua Niang."


    After Yan Yuan had finished introducing them, A''Zhi greeted them one by one before taking his seat. These were all people who had been kind to his mother, and his father wasn''t putting up a facade, so even though he was the emperor, he wouldn''t act either, sitting here today as a junior.


    The table was filled with people who were happy to get together and start their dinner. Yan Yuan greeted everyone while serving Xuan Long''s food, but he vaguely felt that there was a mixed aura of a god and a demon outside in the courtyard. He frowned and asked A''Zhi using a voice transmission technique that only they could hear each other.


    "Where is A''Lie, didn''t you ask him to come with you?"


    "He''s here, I told him to wait outside in the courtyard." A''Zhi replied with a voice transmission, his face was filled with joy as he peeled a shrimp and put it into Xuan Long''s bowl with his hands, "Mother, the shrimp today is very sweet, try it."


    "Thank you, A''Zhi." Xuan Long smiled. He was unaware that father and son were secretly exchanging fire. Being pregnant had made his ability to sense spiritual energy less stable, so he did not notice A''Lie''s presence outside in the courtyard.


    The others were not aware of it because they did not have enough cultivation.


    Yan Yuan was furious in his heart. It was not enough for the Heavenly Empress to be treated like a servant by A''Zhi, how can he insult him like this? The family was having a warm birthday, eating hot food, while the man outside listened to the liveliness of the house and stood guard alone, he was not a watchdog.


    A''Lie is a child who listens to A''Zhi, he would do whatever A''Zhi told him to do. If A''Zhi told him to die, he probably wouldn''t hesitate for even a moment.


    Yan Yuan was already afraid of Xuan Long''s pregnancy and was afraid that Xuan Long would be in a bad mood, so he refused to talk much about it in front of him. Today, on Xuan Long''s birthday, he could not upset Xuan Long whatsoever. He tried his best to contain his anger and used his voice transmission technique to say: "Even if he is guilty of all kinds of wrongdoings, he is still your wife now. Besides, your master is alive and well, so why do you trample on him so much?"


    "I have never recognised him as my wife.¡± A''Zhi said coldly with his voice transmission technique, and he sneered, "The Heavenly Empress? Is he worthy of that?"


    "You!"


    As the crowd chatted merrily, Xuan Long noticed that Yan Yuan''s face did not look right and asked him what was wrong. Yan Yuan relaxed his face, said it was nothing and made an excuse to go out.


    Pushing aside the half-person high gate and walking out into the courtyard, he saw the slim young man standing quietly by the side. He was tall, wearing a fiery red outfit, with a basalt crown on his head and his ponytail hanging high.


    It was unknown what he was thinking, but only when Yan Yuan approached did he hear the movement and turn around, revealing an overly bewitching yet very cold face. His blood-red pupils were quickly covered by his drooping eyelids, and he bowed respectfully.


    ¡°Greetings to the Purple Star Yuan Jun." His voice was originally very soft, but for some reason it had recently become so hoarse, as if he had been injured.


    Yan Yuan and Xuan Long had instructed A''Lie to call them Father and Mother along with A''Zhi, but perhaps A''Zhi had done something behind their backs, because after A''Lie had addressed them once, he had never done so again, and after that he had always addressed them respectfully as ''Purple Star Yuan Jun'' and ''General Xuan Long''.


    Yan Yuan especially remembered the way A''Lie was honoured and cautiously addressed him and Xuan Long, especially when he called out the word ¡®mother¡¯. It was as if his throat was burned, and it took him half a second to squeeze out two syllables incoherently.


    "Good boy, you must be hungry, come in with Father and have your dinner, your mother and A''Zhi are waiting for you."


    Perhaps knowing that A''Zhi could not possibly wait for him, he was silent for a moment before leaning down and cupping his hands, "Thank you for your kindness, Purple Star Yuan Jun, A''Lie has already eaten before coming."


    "Come in and sit down even if you have eaten. How can you stand outside in the middle of the night like that? Quickly, come in with Father." Yan Yuan was not his father after all, so he could not reach out to pull him, he could only try his best to persuade him.


    However, he did not move at all, maintaining his half-bowing posture, like a stone statue, as if he could not hear.


    Yan Yuan sighed, "A''Lie, it''s been hard for you."


    "You are now the Heavenly Empress, why do you have to do everything he tells you to do? There are some that are too much, and you should refuse them, or else that bastard will really be uncontrollable."


    "Sit happily as the Heavenly Empress and live your life. Whatever he thinks, don''t pay any attention to him, maybe he will even come back to pester you."


    Yan Yuan probably also felt that what he said was unlikely and stopped talking when he finished. He waited for a ragged and mute sentence.


    "A''Lie is at the Emperor''s disposal."


    Yan Yuan finally returned home, leaving the solitary red figure outside the courtyard, and soon afterwards, the long-awaited snow fell from the sky. There was snow and white frost on the man''s eyelashes, but he seemed unaware of it.


    It was a heart-warming birthday that lasted late into the night, with the house as warm as spring inside and as cold as bones outside.