Chapter 38#

Side Story 2 (A Patch — If You Didn’t Understand Before, Come Read the Beginning)#

A long, long time later.

Lu Heng had stepped back to the second line, living out his long-dreamed-of days of eating well, doing nothing, and shamelessly flaunting their relationship.

“Come to think of it, when we first married — we bowed to heaven and earth, yet we never consummated the wedding. Thinking back, it feels like a pity.” One day, Lu Heng suddenly sighed with feeling.

Of course, he only said it in passing before plunging straight back into the riveting plot unfolding on the enormous screen before him. Being part of the privileged class sure was nice — he could watch any Executor carry out their missions he pleased, and the whole process was far more thrilling than the movies and dramas from the Earth plane.

Busy munching on gossip, Lu Heng didn’t notice the thoughtful look in the eyes of the person behind him.

“How would you like to visit another plane for fun?”

“Of course I’d go! Same as before — go with my memory sealed. And no cheating by secretly breaking the seal to come find me!”

……

“My King, my King! The Young Master has gone missing again!” A thousand years had passed. Lu Youyou had grown considerably in cultivation, yet his stature still resembled that of a youth.

The Nine-Tailed Fox King, clad in red, set down the book in hand with a helpless sigh and rubbed her temples. That person had once been unfathomably deep and as reliable as a mountain — how had he ended up with this kind of temperament during his cub years? Teasing cats and picking on dogs all day long; Zhaoyao Mountain had nearly been stripped of a layer of skin by him.

Xi glanced at the mountain of official documents piled on the desk and felt this incident was perhaps not without precedent. When she had first received the half-demon-core gifted by that person and taken up the duties of the Demon King, the very first day she arrived at Zhaoyao Mountain, she had been profoundly shocked. The entire mountain cave was stuffed full of documents, their wax seals unbroken — that person had probably never once handled official papers. It was then that Xi understood why, back when she had been the Fox King herself, every report she submitted regarding clan affairs had always received the same response: “Handle as you see fit.”

Still, Xi let out a relaxed smile. That person had been fortunate enough to have their body reshaped by the laws of heaven and earth, and their divine soul had recondensed and returned — that alone was cause for celebration. As for the heavy burden of the demon clan, she would shoulder it alone. That person had borne the weight for ten thousand years; it was time they lived as they pleased. There was no need to worry about that person’s safety either. Though it was merely their cub years, having sacrificed themselves to save the myriad living beings of this continent — on the merit of that deed alone, the Heavenly Dao would protect him from all harm.

Lu Heng was troubled. He stood before the ruins of the Fanyin Temple, a desolate wind blowing through his disheveled hair. Lu Heng scratched at it irritably — he didn’t like others touching his hair, but he couldn’t tie a topknot himself, so he’d simply grabbed a hair ribbon and bound it haphazardly. Now, with the wind blowing, it was in complete disarray.

Lu Heng had only recently taken human form. The demons around him had always been in his ear, rambling about how powerful and magnificent he had once been. As a demon with aspirations, to motivate himself to cultivate diligently, Lu Heng decided on the very day of his transformation to go see how formidable his former demon body had been — only by feeling the gap could he find the drive to push himself upward.

After finally leaving the clan territory and crossing the entire continent to reach the ruins of Fanyin Temple, however, Lu Heng found himself blocked at the foot of the mountain. Rolling black fog encircled the main peak of Fanyin Temple, rejecting the approach of all living beings. That sky-piercing black fog was clearly no good thing.

Lu Heng weighed his own cultivation level and felt a strong urge to retreat. But then he thought about it and couldn’t quite let it go — he had come all this way, and if he didn’t take a look, who knew when he’d next be able to leave the clan territory.

While he was hesitating, Lu Heng failed to notice that he had already stepped to the very edge of the black fog. By the time he realized, a wisp of black mist had already wound up from his foot, creeping upward along his leg. Lu Heng was startled and was about to channel his demon qi to resist when he discovered the black mist posed no harm to him at all — in fact, it seemed to convey a trace of fondness.

In Zhaoyao Mountain, Lu Heng was a fearless little havoc-wreaking devil king. Seeing that the black mist was harmless, he made a decisive move and stepped right into it.

Unlike the demonic energy that permeated the outside world, this place — where the world’s origin resided — was extraordinarily pure. On a colossal stone tree, a giant serpent was coiled; beneath the tree sat a figure. Clad in red, with handsome features and eyes tightly shut, the person seemed to have merged into one with the stone tree and the great serpent, motionless for a thousand years.

Then, suddenly, those long lashes trembled. Eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of crimson irises. His gaze blazed with ecstasy, tinged with a measure of unease, as he looked toward the entrance.

Shi Kong watched as a small silhouette appeared at that entrance. That familiar face emerged bit by bit from the darkness — a child of seven or eight, his cheeks still round with baby fat, and those eyes he had drawn countless times in his mind.

Shi Kong didn’t dare move. He didn’t even dare breathe. He feared this was a flower in a mirror, a moon reflected in water. He feared his breath would startle the figure from his dream. Even if this was merely a hallucination born of his madness, he was willing to be lost in it for eternity.

Shi Kong watched as the child drew closer and closer. Then, warm fingers landed on his forehead. “Huh? You’re alive.”

It was like hearing celestial music.

Shi Kong’s body, cold for millennia, warmed in an instant. In his empty chest, the sound of a heartbeat began to thump once more. He gently took hold of that soft hand, his gaze tender. “Stop causing trouble.”

One day.

Lu Heng received a message carried by a paper bird. A few days prior, he had used a paper bird to send word back to the clan territory, telling Xi about his encounter with Shi Kong. This paper bird was Xi’s reply. It contained only four words: “Be good to him.”

That’s exactly what I thought too — that’s how I felt the moment I first saw Shi Kong. Lu Heng nodded inwardly.

It was just that Shi Kong’s cultivation far surpassed his own — he couldn’t help much on the cultivation front. As for other matters, Lu Heng looked down at his short little body and fell into contemplation.

He had always been the type to ask questions when he didn’t understand. Without hesitation, he pinched a paper bird to go find Shi Kong: “I very much agree with Xi’s words. But how should I be good to you?”

Upon hearing this, Shi Kong smiled gently. “Stay by my side. Don’t leave again.”

After another long stretch, one day.

Having just gone through a perfunctory Heavenly Tribulation, Lu Heng now had the body of a young man.

In the early morning, Shi Kong combed his topknot.

Lu Heng watched his practiced hands and asked, “You’re a monk — how come you’re so skilled at tying topknots?”

Shi Kong paused. “Naturally, it’s because I once tied one for someone, every single day.”

Lu Heng’s heart soured immediately. “Then why did you stop tying it for that person?”

“To be able to tie his topknot again — I waited in bitterness for several thousand years. Now, finally, my wish is fulfilled.”

Lu Heng felt his old face flush red.

Time passed like a white colt glimpsed through a crack.

Recently, Lu Heng had been acting rather strangely. How could Shi Kong, who had devoted every ounce of his attention to him, fail to notice?

Like right now — he was sneaking glances again. Shi Kong opened his eyes and looked, and sure enough, saw Lu Heng hastily shifting his gaze away.

“Lately your thoughts have been quite tangled. Is something troubling you?” Shi Kong asked.

The young man’s expression stiffened, tinged with a hint of awkwardness. But Lu Heng was never one to be coy. He took a deep breath and walked over.

“Shi Kong, I know in my heart that you and I must have been lovers who were deeply connected, but I’ve never been able to remember that past. I just want to ask — what do you truly think of me now?” Lu Heng paused, then added, “No matter who you are, I — I have feelings for you.”

The words had barely left his lips when Lu Heng felt a sudden warmth on his mouth.

“From the very beginning to the very end — the only living being in this world who could stir my heart was you. My joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, my seven emotions and six desires — all of them belong to you.”

Several more days passed.

Lu Heng was gone. The instant Shi Kong sensed that familiar presence vanish, his eyes — which had only recently returned to clarity — were instantly flooded with blood-red. His inner demon had never dissipated. One who had fallen into demonic obsession through sheer fixation — so long as the obsession remained, how could he ever truly return to the Buddhist path?

The black mist began to materialize once more, growing ever thicker. Just then, a paper bird dove straight through it: “Shi Kong, come find me at Zhaoyao Mountain!”

Above Zhaoyao Mountain. The entire mountainside was dyed red.

Before the former Demon King’s residence at the summit, a young man in red turned around, his brow unfurling into a smile — and all the magnificent scenery across the mountain was momentarily dimmed by his radiance.

He extended his hand toward Shi Kong. “Shi Kong, today is the day I come of age. Will you join me in a hundred years’ — no, an eternal, forever bond?”

Shi Kong stepped forward and gripped that hand he had waited a thousand years for, holding it tight.

Long twin dragon candles dripped waxen tears. Beneath the candlelight, on the silk canopy above, the shadows of the two gradually overlapped into one. Within, a thousand tender entanglements, ten thousand passionate affections.

A thousand years intertwined at the neck, in love and never forgetting.