The snow fell silently under the old sacred tree, as if all things in the world were frozen in the frost and snow.
Lin Fuqing was too embarrassed to speak up, so a moment ago, he’d flicked his finger and sent that memory directly into Fang Zhiyuan’s soul.
“…That’s it.”
Lin Fuqing closed his eyes and buried his burning face in the snow like an ostrich. “Fang Zhiyuan, I have never seen a man nor woman more of a jerk than you.”
He was so angry that he wanted to bite someone, and couldn’t help but curse, “Little bastard.”
Don’t call him little troublemaker anymore. It would be better to call him little bastard.
As a result, he was stuck in the snow for a long time, hearing no sounds behind him. Lin Fuqing couldn’t help but look back, and then he was speechless again.
Fang Zhiyuan was looking at him. Lin Fuqing had never seen this man with such a dejected expression… as if the whole world had collapsed.
“You… me…?” Fang Zhiyuan’s eyes were out of focus, and he pointed at Lin Fuqing and said, “…at that time!?”
Lin Fuqing said, “Yes.”
Fang Zhiyuan shook his head in despair. “I…I took you…!?”
Lin Fuqing said, “Yes.”
Fang Zhiyuan asked again, “I really took you?”
Lin Fuqing said, “Yes, that’s right. It’s exactly what you think.”
Fang Zhiyuan moved his lips soundlessly.
Lin Fuqing looked at the sky desolately and sighed. “Master Fang, I know you’re in great pain now and it’s hard for you to accept. I also know that what I said was a little too sudden and this blow was a little too great—“
He continued calmly, “But as far as this matter is concerned, I really don’t want to coax you. Just digest it yourself.”
Fang Zhiyuan couldn’t digest it at all.
He was going crazy.
Just as Lin Fuqing had said, this overturning truth was too much of a blow to him and it was too difficult to accept.
What did Lin Fuqing mean to Fang Zhiyuan?
Sometimes Fang Zhiyuan himself was conflicted and he couldn’t clearly explain his feelings towards Lin Fuqing.
He had a sharp and proud character, and he would not kneel down and surrender to just anyone. But when he was a teenager, he met the most dazzling and charming Lin Fuqing at his most humble and embarrassed state.
Seven years of companionship, yet there was a world of difference between them.
He was unwilling to give up and tried his best to catch up, wanting to stand shoulder to shoulder with the little immortal lord above the clouds.
When he won the Golden Osmanthus Challenge and retrieved his half elixir core from the Fang family’s secret room, Fang Zhiyuan was so excited, thinking that he was about to catch up.
But when he turned around, his little immortal was gone.
A calamity suddenly struck. Lin Fuqing’s cultivation was completely wasted, and he fell into the devil’s path.
“I—“ Fang Zhiyuan stiffly rubbed his messy hair. “How could I…!”
He looked up blankly again, staring blankly at the young immortal in front of him.
—If the person you loved but could not obtain withered away, it would become an eternal pain; and if the person you pursued but could not defeat fell, it would become an eternal demon in your heart.
Lin Fuqing was both.
To Fang Zhiyuan, his senior brother was not only the god who saved him, but also the devil who trapped him.
After recovering what he had lost, he just wanted to place Lin Fuqing in a crystal clear and clean world.
He didn’t dare touch this person.
There were certain things about this person that he didn’t dare to think about.
But now he was suddenly told that he had done everything he shouldn’t decades ago, and he took advantage of the person he shouldn’t have touched.
Fang Zhiyuan really couldn’t accept it.
After all, he could accept that the Demon Lord had three thousand concubines in his harem and that he could enjoy all the beauties in the world because he felt that Lin Fuqing deserved the best of everything in the world.
If it were the other way around, if Fang Zhiyuan knew that someone had bullied and forced his senior brother, tore off his clothes and tortured him on the cold ground…
He would definitely go crazy and lose all his sanity on the spot, and even if he cut the “villain” into countless pieces, it would still not be enough to relieve the hatred in his heart.
But now he was suddenly told that he was actually this “villain” himself decades ago…
“You.” Fang Zhiyuan’s fingers trembled and clenched tightly, causing veins to protrude under the skin. He gritted his teeth to suppress the trembling of his voice, his eyes red. “Why didn’t you resist?”
He was on the verge of collapsing, and so he exploded and yelled at Lin Fuqing, “Why didn’t you fight back? I was drunk and I was making a fool of myself! You just…you really let me—“
Lin Fuqing’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but wave his sleeves and cursed, “What’s wrong with you? If I didn’t want to, would you still be able to take me?”
“You!” Fang Zhiyuan choked. His eyes were red and he murmured in astonishment, “You were….willing?”
Lin Fuqing was so angry that he spoke with clenched teeth, “I was willing. How many times do you want me to say I love you before you believe me?”
Fang Zhiyuan was at a loss for words.
In just that moment, all his strength seemed to be drained away, and he collapsed to his knees on the ground.
His loose hair was still stained with snow from the previous tussle, hiding the expression on his face. Only his shoulders were shaking slightly.
“You really…”
He choked up and said, “Why didn’t you say anything that morning…”
“Say? How do you want me to say it?!”
Lin Fuqing brushed the snow off his sleeves and said, “Do you want me to tell you: Immortal Sovereign Fang, you were drunk last night and pushed me to the ground to practice dual cultivation. Do you still remember? I still have some dignity!”
Fang Zhiyuan closed his eyes tightly, feeling as if his heart was being cut by a knife.
Lin Fuqing moved his lips.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sad.
He didn’t expect Fang Zhiyuan to react so strongly. When it came to this, he still couldn’t bear to let go.
Lin Fuqing also knelt down, reached out to hold Fang Zhiyuan’s face, and said in a soft voice, “Zhiyuan…Ah’Yuan? Are you going to cry?”
“Don’t do that. I have waited so long for this auspicious day. If you dare to ruin it for me again, I won’t forgive you…”
The two sat facing each other in the peaceful snow. Fang Zhiyuan held his wrist in a daze, his voice dry, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t coax me?”
Lin Fuqing sighed. “You’re feeling sad. I can’t help it.”
Fang Zhiyuan said awkwardly, “I was obsessed with you. In my heart, I wanted you. But I never thought that I would be able to…I…”
So many years.
And he actually knew nothing about it…
He whispered sadly and guiltily, “I have wronged my shige.”
…It was rare to see this guy being so obedient and timid.
Lin Fuqing found it a little amusing, so he put his arms around Fang Zhiyuan’s back and sighed. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I was the one who was willing, and I was the one who hid it from you. I was afraid of dragging you down at first…I didn’t know how much love you really had for me. I thought if I let you misunderstand me like this, maybe I could drink your wedding wine soon.”
He shook his head and smiled bitterly, “In the end, you owed me this glass of wine for decades.”
“It’s been delayed until now, and I don’t want the wedding wine anymore.” Lin Fuqing gently rubbed Fang Zhiyuan’s neck, his eyes soft. “Zhiyuan, give me a wedding cup instead.”
He quietly slipped the piece of red paper out from his sleeve and was handed it to Fang Zhiyuan.
The latter opened it and saw Yin Changxin’s words written in flamboyant black ink: I feel very happy today. This is a good sign and so today is suitable for getting married.
Being happy was a good omen. This was just empty talk.
Fang Zhiyuan was silent for a few breaths, then suddenly asked hoarsely, “Did it hurt…at that time?”
Lin Fuqing’s ears turned red. “Shut up.”
Fang Zhiyuan leaned over and kissed him. “I’ll pay you back. I’ll pay you back everything I owe you.”
In fact, if one thought about it, apart from this final empty formality, there was actually not much difference between them.
They had been childhood sweethearts, had lived and died together, had hugged each other, kissed each other, and even practiced dual cultivation.
From teenage brothers to the hundred-year-old Demon Lord and Immortal Sovereign, though they were not officially Taoist companions, they were better than Taoist companions.
Now, they finally expressed their true feelings.
Fang Zhiyuan asked hesitantly, “Then…let’s get married?”
Lin Fuqing whispered, “Let’s get married.”
Anyway, there would be no one else in this life.
So……
The two hugged each other and were silent for a moment.
There was another moment of silence.
Suddenly, Fang Zhiyuan sat up straight.
A subtle color appeared between his eyebrows, half serious and half hesitant, “Do you know…how to form a Taoist couple?”
Lin Fuqing also sat down and said blankly, “How would I know?”
The atmosphere was very awkward for a moment.
This pair of brothers were extremely unique. Except for the time when they were young and secluded from the world, their previous lives were either extremely elegant and noble, or extremely miserable and difficult. They had never lived a few days that were ordinary and peaceful.
They vaguely understood that there were many complicated etiquettes to follow when cultivators formed a Taoist couple, but how exactly did they go about it…
Lin Fuqing said, “Ask the master?”
Fang Zhiyuan pointed at the words “Today I feel very happy” and asked, “Do you think he might know?”
Lin Fuqing had a headache. “…That’s right.”
So… there was another long awkward silence.
“How about this?”
Lin Fuqing coughed, cleared his throat, and said seriously, “This is Xuyun, and I have the final say on Xuyun’s rules. Now I will kiss you, and we will be a Taoist couple.”
Fang Zhiyuan refused. “No, I’ll kiss you.”
As he moved a little closer, Lin Fuqing’s eyes suddenly flashed, and he pressed his shidi’s shoulder. “Wait!”
If he didn’t take advantage of the situation now, when would he be able to? Lin Fuqing smiled. “If you want to be a Taoist couple, you should remove the array on me first!”
Fang Zhiyuan: “….”
He thought about it, stood up decisively and turned around to leave. “Then let’s not get married.”
“You!”
Lin Fuqing was stunned. “You little bastard! Get back here—“
Before he had finished speaking, the sound of a huge wave crashing interrupted without warning!
Their expressions changed at the same time, and they no longer cared about fooling around. They felt that the spiritual energy around them seemed to be subtly disordered.
Lin Fuqing looked up, and saw that in the originally distant and clear winter sky, trembling runes appeared out of thin air, forming large mysterious patterns that enveloped the entire Four Peaks of Xuyun.
“The Heaven and Earth Gathering Formation has sounded an alarm.” Fang Zhiyuan’s expression flashed with a hint of sternness and determination, “There is no trace of yin monsters, so it’s an outsider breaking into the island.”
By the time the last words were uttered, Fang Zhiyuan had already reached the edge of a cliff more than ten feet away.
Looking down from the mountain from a high place, he saw the sea water roiling and roaring. There was no wind, but huge waves suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and they were several stories high!
Between the roaring waves, they could vaguely see two human figures floating in the air.
One of them was a tall stranger, who was too far away and was partially blocked by the waves, which prevented them from seeing his face clearly. Meanwhile, the other was a petite and delicate figure dressed in red, like a crabapple flower floating gently and gorgeously in the world.
Lin Fuqing landed silently beside Fang Zhiyuan, and his expression changed when he saw the scene. “What’s going on? Xiao Hongtang is fighting with someone?!”
Before he finished speaking, a gust of wind blew by his side, causing his clothes to flutter wildly. Fang Zhiyuan’s slender hands had already tightly grasped the dark-as-night Zaiya long sword. He stepped hard, not fearing the surging waves a hundred feet below, and jumped straight down from the cliff!
The author has something to say:
When my senior brother has three thousand concubines—
Fang Zhiyuan: (sneer) Yeah, okay, I know, I know, this is normal, no need to say anything, ha, shut up, I’m not sad, I’m not jealous, do you think I look jealous?!!
Senior brother suffers under his body—
Fang Zhiyuan: (tearing up the script) This is impossible!! (smashing things) I don’t accept it!! (going crazy) This script is wrong!! (becoming autistic) Why would I do such a thing!!
…
Lin Fuqing: (confused) How did I raise my star?
Lin Fuqing: I suspect that some stars can only share adversity but not retreat together… Look at this person, he is like a person with dementia when it comes to love, but once something goes wrong, he immediately becomes reliable (heartbroken)
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