Forever

Ji Wang carried a tray with three steaming cups of tea on it. He walked briskly through the front door, still muttering discontentedly, "Old man, why does your treasured tea smell so musty? My family won't—sigh!"

He sensed something unusual about the atmosphere between the two people standing opposite each other in the hall.

"What are you two standing there for?" Ji Wang's gaze swept back and forth between the two faces with a hint of suspicion. "What are you whispering about while I was away?"

The hint of relief on Liu Yang's face quickly faded, and he reverted to his usual somewhat street-smart demeanor, stroking his beard: "You brat, do I need to report to you just to say a few words to our distinguished guest? Where's the tea? Bring it over!"

Bu Jiu then walked to a guest seat to the side and sat down calmly, as if nothing had happened.

Ji Wang pouted and placed the tray on the small table in the middle: "They must be saying bad things about me..."

He first placed a cup of tea next to Bu Jiu with natural and practiced movements, then handed another cup to his master, and finally picked up his own cup and sat down in the chair next to Bu Jiu.

Ji Wang blew on the floating leaf, took a sip, cleared his throat, and said, "Old man, I've come here this time because there's something I want to discuss with you."

Liu Yang, holding his teacup, raised his eyelids slightly: "What is it? Need money again? I don't have any!"

"Who asked you for money!" Ji Wang glared, then said seriously, "It's important business. I found a new place not far away, a valley with good spiritual energy and a large enough space. I'm currently preparing it."

Liu Yang said "Oh," not paying much attention: "And then? You want to move out?"

“I’m not living here by myself.” Ji Wang waved his hand, glanced at Bu Jiu who was quietly drinking tea beside him, and after receiving a tacit look from the other party, he continued, “I wanted to ask everyone in the temple if they would be willing to move in together.”

Master Liuyang paused, his hand holding the teacup still, and looked at Ji Wang with some surprise: "Move over? All of it?"

“Yes.” Ji Wang nodded, his tone sincere. “I’ve encountered some issues and will need manpower in the future… The environment over there is better and more beneficial for cultivation. I was thinking that if the fellow disciples in the temple are willing, they can all go there.”

He softened his voice and emphasized, “Of course, I won’t force you. It’s all voluntary. Those who want to go are welcome; that will be our new home. Those who want to stay at the Bu Nian Temple, I understand. I will leave enough money and supplies at the temple to ensure everyone has a worry-free life.”

Liu Yang fell silent, his fingers tracing the rough surface of the cup. He glanced at Ji Wang's undisguised seriousness and expectation, then stealthily stole a look at the composed Bu Jiu beside him.

He certainly understood that the new place Ji Wang mentioned must be related to this unfathomable Ghost King, and it must also mean leaving the world of ordinary people and stepping into a more unpredictable realm.

But behind this suggestion lies Ji Wang's undisguised concern and protectiveness towards everyone in the temple. Even though their statuses have changed, he still wants to place the people he cares about under his more secure wing.

After a long silence, Liu Yang let out a long breath. Instead of answering directly whether he would go or not, he asked, "What's the name of that place?"

“I plan to continue calling it Bu Nian Guan. After all, my fellow disciples wouldn’t accept it if we suddenly changed our patriarch.” Ji Wang gestured towards Bu Jiu’s direction. “But I need to ask my husband first.”

"Your son?" Liu Yang's hand holding the teacup trembled. His eyes, like hooks, first swept over his own disciple's face, which was full of dissatisfaction, and then quickly turned to Bu Jiu, who was sitting quietly to the side.

“This one of yours…” Liu Yang repeated it with difficulty, trying to glean some meaning from these overly plain words that befitted Bu Jiu’s status, but he failed.

This title sounds... like someone from the next village showing off their new bride.

Bu Jiu showed neither displeasure nor attempt to flatter him because of the title; he merely glanced at Ji Wang.

When Ji Wang caught his gaze, instead of backing down, he asked in a low voice, "Right? The name of our family is your decision."

Liu Yang felt the teacup in his hand was a little hot, and his forehead was sweating.

He then understood Bu Jiu's words, "He doesn't need my protection now." Given this kid's audacity and clinginess, it's really hard to say who will protect whom.

Looking at Ji Wang's deliberately showing off and somewhat ingratiating expression, just when Liu Yang thought he was about to correct the way he was addressed, he unexpectedly picked up the conversation: "Okay."

"Alright then." Master Liuyang wiped his mouth, deciding not to dwell on the issue of address anymore, since it seemed that he didn't mind at all. "I need to discuss this with the others in the temple, after all, it's not a small matter. Those who want to go are naturally fine, and those who want to stay, we need to make proper arrangements for them as well."

“Of course!” Ji Wang nodded immediately. “It’s entirely voluntary, and we will never force anyone!”

With the matter settled, and seeing that the sun was rising higher, Ji Wang and Bu Jiu, preoccupied with household matters, got up to take their leave.

Just as the two reached the gate, a series of intermittent "whooshing" sounds came from behind the pile of firewood next to the gate.

Ji Wang's ears twitched, and he immediately stopped and looked in the direction of the sound. He parted a few scattered dry branches and saw a dirty little thing curled up in the shadows at the innermost part of the woodpile.

It was a puppy that looked like it had just been weaned. It was skin and bones, with sparse and matted fur. It was whimpering weakly with its eyes closed.

"Oh dear!" Ji Wang squatted down without hesitation and scooped up the little thing. The puppy felt the unfamiliar body temperature and touch, barely opened its wet eyes, glanced at him, and then closed them weakly, only letting out a fainter whimper from its throat.

Ji Wang's heart clenched instantly: "Raise him!"

This word is forceful and resounding, full of the determination to "I'm going to raise it."

Bu Jiu glanced at the trembling puppy in Ji Wang's palm, then at Ji Wang's expression as if he had found some rare treasure, and said, "He's too small."

Ji Wang immediately adopted a more earnest tone, cradling the tiny, soft life and pushing it forward, trying to persuade him: "Yes, it's so small, if I don't raise it, it won't survive."

Bu Jiu added, "It has a mother."

“Yes.” Ji Wang nodded and repeated, then announced firmly, “It’s you.”

Bu Jiu: "...?"

Even though he had long been tempered into a calm and collected person, he was stunned by Ji Wang's illogical answer.

Ji Wang didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said. Looking at Bu Jiu's stunned expression, he felt even more convinced and continued to add with his self-consistent logic: "Look, I found it, I'm responsible for raising it, so I'm... um, the father? Then you're obviously the mother! If we raise it together, it'll have a father and a mother, and it'll be able to survive, right?"

He spoke eloquently, as if he were expounding a truth.

Bu Jiu gritted his teeth and said, "I am a fox."

Ji Wang was playing with the puppy's limp, weak little ears with great interest, trying to make them perk up.

Upon hearing Bu Jiu's words, he continued working with his hands, but quickly replied, "It's a fox too."

As he spoke, he deliberately used his finger to lift up the puppy's ears, which were clearly canine and had been forcibly erected.

Confusion and disbelief were once again clearly reflected in Bu Jiu's eyes. He even turned his head to the side, as if to confirm whether he had misheard or whether Ji Wang was sleepwalking.

“How does it resemble a fox?” Bu Jiu’s tone carried a sense of helplessness.

Ji Wang met Bu Jiu's gaze, his tone guiding: "I found it, you agreed to raise it, it's part of our family. Since you're a fox, it naturally has to be a fox too! That's called family tradition, bloodline inheritance."

The more he listened, the more he realized it made sense, and he even nodded to himself. Then he looked down at the puppy and said seriously, "Right?"

The puppy, exhausted from his antics and unable to understand human speech, only managed a small yawn, revealing its pink gums and tiny, sharp teeth—undoubtedly canines.

Bu Jiu wanted to say "nonsense" and "absurd," but when he looked into Ji Wang's expectant eyes, the words of rebuttal inexplicably fell silent.

"...Whatever you want." He only uttered these two words. You can call a deer a horse, or mistake a dog for a fox, it's all up to you.

The carriage creaked along the mountain road on the way back. Ji Wang used a soft cloth dampened with water to wipe the dried mud off the puppy in his arms.

As Ji wiped it, he kept muttering, "Look at it, it looks quite energetic after being cleaned... By the way, we need to give it a name! We need to give it a nice-sounding name, something catchy!"

He raised his head, looked at Bu Jiu expectantly, and tossed the important task of naming it to him: "You decide."

Bu Jiu directly rejected the claim: "You picked it up, so you decide."

Ji Wang wasn't discouraged. He looked down at the little guy in his arms. Now, after wiping away the dirt, his light yellow downy fur was revealed. Although he was still thin, his wet black eyes, when opened, showed a hint of intelligence. He thought for a moment and blurted out, "Ah Huang!"

He said loudly, "Look at its fur, it's yellowish, so fitting!"

Bu Jiu asked in confusion, "What's so nice about it?"

Ji Wang was taken aback. He looked down at the puppy, then at Bu Jiu's expression, and tried to argue, "...Simple, easy to remember, and catchy! Plus, it sounds like a puppy's name!"

Bu Jiu didn't speak, but simply scoffed, fully expressing his disapproval.

Ji Wang pouted, knowing that this name definitely wouldn't pass muster with Bu Jiu. He started racking his brains: "How about Yuanbao?"

"Tacky."

"Fugui?" "Even more vulgar."

"Wind Chaser? Lightning Bolt?" "Can it even move?"

"Is Wangcai alright now?"

Bu Jiu simply closed his eyes, using silence to express his refusal.

Ji Wang looked at the puppy in his arms. The puppy also looked at him innocently with its round eyes, waiting for a good name that would match its handsome and dashing dog life.

Ji Wang looked worried, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "I've got it! Since Bu Nian Temple is now ranked ninth, it's also a part of it, so let's call it Jiu Jiu!"

He seemed to be explaining to Bu Jiu, and also to himself: "Jiu Jiu, Jiu Jiu, means long-lasting and everlasting."

The two simple words, with their crisp reduplicated sounds, carry a profound meaning.