Lin Fuqing briefly chatted a bit more with Yin Changxin before bidding farewell. The two little crane demons tried to see him off but he coaxed them into staying.
He walked down alone, a calm and indifferent expression spread between his slightly lowered eyebrows. He seemed to be still immersed in some difficult thoughts. After a long time, he took a deep breath, and the slightly cold air filled his lungs.
Before reaching the end of the bluestone path, he suddenly saw the figure of a cold-looking young man dressed in black, leaning against a pine tree with a sword in his arms, staring blankly at the snow, not knowing what he was thinking.
“Zhiyuan.” Lin Fuqing blinked and hurried a few steps. “Are you waiting for me?”
“…Ah,” Fang Zhiyuan suddenly came back to his senses and responded vaguely. After a moment of silence, he turned his face away awkwardly and added in a low voice: “I…I still feel uneasy when I can’t see you.”
“……” Lin Fuqing moved his lips but was unable to speak for a moment.
He had watched Fang Zhiyuan grow up since he was a child. It wasn’t without reason that Xuyun’s younger disciples were afraid of their Second Fang Shixiong. This man was very crazy when he was a child, wild and unruly. Even after going through many hardships in the world and becoming the head of the immortals, he always had a resolute style of sticking to his words.
Such a person was actually made so frightened and restless by him. It was really… Lin Fuqing felt very apologetic towards him.
The mountain still seemed quiet, even though the footsteps of one person turned into that of two, and there were two more voices talking.
Fang Zhiyuan looked forward. “What does Master want to talk to you about?”
Lin Fuqing had already put the osmanthus flower in the Qiankun bag he always carried with him. After thinking for a moment, Lin Fuqing asked another question, “Zhiyuan, do you remember what you were like when you were a child? I mean, what you were like at this time in your previous life?”
Fang Zhiyuan sneered, revealing a bit of nostalgia. “What else could I be like? Very fierce, very bad, and you spoiled him to the point of lawlessness.”
“He only knows how to practice swordsmanship. He torments you every day and doesn’t treat you well. When he gets excited, he wants to fight you. People outside say that Xuyun’s eldest disciple and second disciple don’t get along.”
Lin Fuqing very accurately picked out the topic he wanted to bring up from Fang Zhiyuan’s self-deprecating remarks. “Why did you practice swordsmanship so crazily in the past?”
Fang Zhiyuan was stunned by his question. “What do you mean by why? What do you want to say?”
“You forgot?…Then, it doesn’t matter.”
Lin Fuqing looked at him steadily, pulling up his sleeves. “Walk with me first. We just got back and I want to take a look around Xuyun Peak.”
Fang Zhiyuan was originally against it. Having just been reborned, he still thought of Lin Fuqing as the weak and sickly demon king who would break at the slightest touch – sometimes the psychological trauma was too deep, and it was difficult to change so soon.
But Lin Fuqing insisted, and so Fang Zhiyuan finally compromised.
The two men walked down the mountain leisurely, chatting casually, mostly about memories of their youth.
They fought with swords under this tree and discussed Daoism on that stone. The years they spent together seemed to be vivid in their mind.
“By the way, that child…is called Shen Xiaojiang.”
Lin Fuqing thought about this again. “I have some impressions from my previous life. He has a hidden spiritual root, and his character seems to be very good. Such a child will make rapid progress once he awakens.”
“Do you intend to train him?”
“He’s not the only one. If the immortal calamity is really inevitable, then the world will change soon. I am the eldest brother, and I must think about the future of the sect.”
After saying that, Lin Fuqing sighed lightly, closed his eyes, shook his head, and said no more.
When it was getting dark, they went down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, smoke rose from the earthen houses as the outer disciples started to make fires and cook.
Most of Xuyun’s outer disciples were young, but they didn’t just accept children. Looking around, there were people of various ages, from white-haired old men in their seventies and eighties to little babies of two or three years old.
Taiqing Island was surrounded by the vast Henghai Sea. It was high tide now and one could faintly hear the laughter of children intermixed with the sounds of waves in the distance.
It didn’t look like a majestic immortal sect, but more like a warm farm village.
The two didn’t disturb the children. They flew on their swords away from Taiqing Island and sat quietly overlooking the sea.
The waves rolled silently, the water stained by the red sunset. Lin Fuqing closed his eyes and suddenly heard Fang Zhiyuan said beside him, “It was here.”
Lin Fuqing couldn’t help but look back at him and saw that the sea breeze had blown Fang Zhiyuan’s hair on his forehead into disarray.
Fang Zhiyuan pointed to an area of the sea and said with a smile. “That’s where you pulled me out of the sea.”
Lin Fuqing was momentarily stunned, then he smiled. “You have a good memory. The sea looks the same everywhere, how can you remember where it is?”
Fang Zhiyuan said softly, “I just remember it.”
He took a short breath and said, “Shige, I know what you’re going to say. I remember why I practiced swordsmanship back then.”
Fang Zhiyuan didn’t look at him and continued to stare at the sea. But he still spread his hand to the side and said, “Give it to me.”
Lin Fuqing was silent for a moment and spread out his hand.
In his hand was a sweet-smelling osmanthus flower.
—Golden Osmanthus Palace, the first palace in the Immortal Realm, was located in Liuhua Continent. It acted uprightly and was benevolent and righteous. It had not been involved in power struggles for nearly a hundred years, and it had neither formed alliances nor made enemies. It had always been regarded as the first in fairness and prestige in the Immortal Realm.
There was even an unwritten but popular rule in the Immortal Realm that the heavy responsibility of being the head of the immortals had always been borne by the Lord of the Golden Osmanthus Palace.
In his previous life, Fang Zhiyuan also first succeeded to the position of Palace Master of the Golden Osmanthus Palace and was later honored as the Immortal Sovereign.
The Golden Osmanthus Challenge was a competition set up by the Golden Osmanthus Palace for the next generation of young people. It was a feast for the chosen ones.
Almost no one could resist the temptations of the Golden Osmanthus Challenge.
It could give you everything imaginable.
If you wanted fame, the status of the Golden Osmanthus Palace was enough to help you become famous in one battle; if you wanted wealth, the greatest treasures in the world could be given to you as rewards without any cost; if you wanted power, countless sects were eyeing this opportunity to attract talents.
If you wanted knowledge, the library of the Golden Osmanthus Palace was all-encompassing, and countless immortal artifacts in the small fantasy worlds would be opened for plunder to the top twelve winners of the Golden Osmanthus Challenge. If you want opportunities, the current Immortal Sovereign would personally meet the winner. If you could get even one word of advice from him, it would be an opportunity that many Nascent Souls or even Mahayanas would envy.
It was no wonder that many geniuses’ first bold strokes in history were painted like pale golden osmanthus.
Lin Fuqing took Fang Zhiyuan’s hand and placed the osmanthus flower in his palm. “Master told me… the golden osmanthus will bloom soon. We should make preparations.”
Fang Zhiyuan took it.
In the next moment, he threw the osmanthus flower into the sea with an expressionless face.
—Almost no one could resist the temptation of the Golden Osmanthus Challenge; unfortunately, this did not include the future Golden Osmanthus Palace Master himself.
Lin Fuqing seemed to have expected his actions. He calmly raised his finger, and brought the flower back to his hand with spiritual power.
Fang Zhiyuan: “…”
Lin Fuqing raised his eyebrows helplessly. “Zhiyuan.”
Unexpectedly, Fang Zhiyuan’s voice suddenly turned cold. “I said, I’ll stay in Taiqing Island in this life and won’t go anywhere else!”
Lin Fuqing asked, “Then don’t you want to go back to the Fang family…”
Fang Zhiyuan glared at him gloomily and interrupted coldly, “What do those idiots have to do with me?!”
Lin Fuqing: “…Speak nicely and don’t curse.”
A wave came and hit a reef on the shore of Taiqing Island. In an instant, water droplets splashed everywhere, shining brightly under the setting sun, so dazzling that it made people want to cry.
Lin Fuqing raised his eyes, and his vision became a little blurry.
He took a risk by using the forbidden rebirth technique. Although he’d tried his best to control it, he had no idea which specific period of time he could trace back to.
It turned out that they had returned to the point of the Golden Osmanthus Challenge.
It had been so long, so long…
He thought back to the time when he first met Fang Zhiyuan.
It was a moonlit night.
The waves sparkled with silver lights under the moonlight. More than a dozen qi monsters roared and rushed over from the sky, from underwater, and from all directions, tearing into the child struggling in the sea.
A young immortal dressed in white and holding a snow-white sword came walking on the waves.
In a single thought, all the evil monsters were destroyed.
…That year, when Lin Fuqing picked up the dying Fang Zhiyuan from this sea, the child was a bloodied, cold, wet mass, and he was no longer breathing.
Wet, messy black hair, tattered black clothes, colorless lips and a pair of naturally sharp and handsome eyes were slightly opened, but those eyes had become turbid like dead ashes, without a single trace of light.
Back then, if Lin Fuqing had arrived a moment or two late, the future Immortal Sovereign Fang would have died in the cold and suffocating deep sea… with his eyes open.
Yin Changxin happened to be away at that time, so Lin Fuqing brought the child back to Xuyun Peak. When giving treatment, he was shocked into speechlessness.
New wounds were piled on top of old ones, many of which were corroded by yin qi and could not heal. There was not a single piece of good flesh on his body, and his internal organs were almost exhausted. He was gaunt and skeletal, and it was obvious that he was used to starvation…
But what was even more horrific were festering circular wounds on his neck, wrists and ankles.
—This child, who was only ten years old, was imprisoned with special iron shackles for several years.
And yet, he was still…alive.
It was no exaggeration to say that it was a miracle. Lin Fuqing didn’t know what kind of physique and willpower it had taken to achieve this.
Xuyun was an immortal mountain, where magical herbs and medicines could be found everywhere. Lin Fuqing was not only an immortal cultivator, but he also had a good command of medical knowledge.
Even so, Fang Zhiyuan was in a coma for five days. During this period, he was on the verge of death several times, and he survived only with the additional intense input of Lin Fuqing’s spiritual energy.
At that time, there were only three people on Xuyun Peak, including Yin Changxin. Lin Fuqing had not yet opened up a cave, so he and Yu Hongtang lived in a two-story bamboo house in the mountains.
The master was lazy, and his apprentice sister was too young, so he had to do all the chores, such as cleaning, washing, and cooking. Lin Fuqing was a very particular child, and he insisted on eating three meals a day even if he could fast.
The morning that Fang Zhiyuan woke up for the first time, Lin Fuqing had his sleeves rolled up to reveal his two white and tender arms, and was washing rice and dates in the kitchen, preparing to cook porridge.
Suddenly, the door behind him creaked. Lin Fuqing looked back against the morning light…Oh, the little boy he had brought back from the sea was standing there on bare feet, with loose black hair and wearing a single piece of clothing.
Fang Zhiyuan’s face was still pale, his legs and feet were weak, his breath was faint, and he couldn’t even stand steadily while holding on to the door frame…but his eyes were so cold that it made people feel chills all over.
The twelve-year-old Lin Fuqing had practiced in seclusion in the mountains with Yin Changxin for four years. He was proficient in everything from divination to ancient talismans, and his cultivation had reached the highest level of Great Accomplishment and he only needed an opportunity to form his Golden Core.
This youth dressed in white with a white fur robe was clean and elegant. He read books and practiced swordsmanship from dawn to dusk. And in his spare time, he planted flowers and took care of housework. He also raised a little sister, Yu Hongtang, who he’d adopted. He lived a very refined life.
In contrast, the ten-year-old Fang Zhiyuan was imprisoned and tortured by the Fang Family of Liuhua Continent. He was a homeless child struggling to survive while being hunted by qi monsters, and he was like an evil ghost crawling out of purgatory with blood dripping from his body.
Apart from half a life covered with scars and an iron knife that he had stolen when he’d escaped from the Fang family, he had nothing else.
Two people, two young boys…
When they met, they were already worlds apart.
—But.
They were not normal people.
And so, the first sentence between the future Immortal Sovereign and the Demon Lord when they met for the first time was naturally not normal. It wasn’t “Oh, you’re awake. Are you still feeling unwell?” or “Where is this? Did you save me?” and so on.
The sky outside the window was hazy, and birds were chirping in the breeze.
Inside the house, after a long period of silence and staring at each other…
Finally, Fang Zhiyuan, who was still standing at the door and staring at his “lifesaver” with a cold expression, said in a hoarse voice, “…Where is my knife?”
At the same time, Lin Fuqing, who was in front of the window, shook off the water droplets on his fingertips and said calmly, “Come here and help me wash the red beans.”
“……”
Love their interaction and backstory!