Chapter 145 The people disappeared, and only Jiang Yu was no longer by Shen Jiuxu's side.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Jiang Yu's words turned into sobs, tears streaming down his face, his lips tasting bitter, and his vision blurred so much that he could barely make out Shen Jiuxu's features.

Why are you crying?

Shen Jiuxu gently brushed away the water droplets on his face with his fingertips. His voice was soft, gentle, and patient. His gaze was deep. He wanted to take one last good look at his Daoist partner, so that he would have a memory to cherish in the long and unknown future.

I thought you would like to see this.

He patiently guided Jiang Yu. The spiritual wood, nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, seemed to naturally possess the power to purify and cleanse. When Jiang Yu was by his side, all his restlessness and anxiety would be replaced by peace and tranquility.

"I haven't even congratulated our Young Master Jiang on his ascension yet. Now I'll have a powerful backer. If I become rich and powerful, don't forget me." Seeing that he still didn't speak, Shen Jiuxu could only make a joke to amuse him, but it didn't work well. Things were more difficult to handle than he had imagined.

"Not too late."

Shen Jiuxu rarely called Jiang Yu by his courtesy name, and very few people knew it. When Jiang Yu heard this, he didn't react for a moment, and only realized later that Shen Jiuxu was calling him.

The name “Fei Wan” was given to him by Shen Jiuxu. Zhou Yongyin was used to calling him by his name, and Lian Quesheng never addressed him by his full name properly. Only Shen Jiuxu would call him by his name on his birthday, and at other times he would just call him Jiang Yu.

Do you know why I gave you this name?

The courtesy name is usually given by a respected elder, but Jiang Yu only had Zhou Yongyin as a suitable elder. He declined, saying that he didn't know many characters, so the task fell to Shen Jiuxu.

In fact, Jiang Yu didn't care much about it. He thought it was just a form of address. Whether he was called by his given name or courtesy name, it made no difference to him.

But Shen Jiuxu clearly took it to heart.

He even secretly went down the mountain behind Jiang Yu's back and bought a lot of books. During that period, he would flip through them whenever he had time, calculating this and choosing that, filling a whole page. But when Jiang Yu came of age, he felt that everything on that page was unsatisfactory.

"It's never too late. I hope my lover won't feel that I came too late or that I did something wrong. Your appearance, your existence, everything you do, everything you think, even if it only briefly appears in your mind, is like timely rain in my heart, something as precious as a treasure."

"It won't be too late, and it's impossible for it to be too late."

Shen Jiuxu had never explained these things to Jiang Yu before, but this time he broke the ice and said them out loud, hoping that Jiang Yu would not blame him. Shen Jiuxu did not want to see Jiang Yu feel guilty because of him.

"Your appearance is the most important thing to me. And your safety is what I want most. What I want is a happy, unrestrained, flamboyant, and outspoken Jiang Yu." Shen Jiuxu held him in his arms, stroked his thin back, and sighed silently in his heart, thinking that he was probably going to lose weight again.

"Why are you saying all this? I don't want to hear it now, I don't want to hear it."

Jiang Yu's heart, which had just settled down, was jolted up by Shen Jiuxu's words. He wouldn't say these things for no reason, so he broke free from Shen Jiuxu's embrace and covered his ears with his hands, saying, "I don't want to hear it."

He wondered if, if he didn't listen to Shen Jiuxu, Shen Jiuxu would repeat those words to him someday.

Jiang Yu wanted something that would last a long time.

"Jiang Yu".

Shen Jiuxu called his name, but the person in front of him wouldn't listen or let him speak. So he simply pressed the person against the tree and silenced him with a kiss.

Jiang Yu's kiss was tinged with urgency and anger, so he used a bit more force. He grabbed Shen Jiuxu's shoulder with one hand, and his disheveled hair burrowed into Shen Jiuxu's neck.

The tree trunk swayed slightly from the impact, and its delicate pink petals fell to the ground. One of them landed right in Jiang Yu's hair, looking just like Shen Jiuxu from before.

The skin beneath his hand grew increasingly cold. Jiang Yu couldn't feel the warmth. He released the person and looked up at their face. The other person was still smiling at him, but their eyes revealed an emotion Jiang Yu had never seen before.

It is attachment and reluctance to part.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Jiang Yu was on the verge of collapse. He couldn't control himself anymore, and he couldn't deceive himself any longer. He couldn't believe that Shen Jiuxu was only slightly injured, and that he was absolutely certain that he could keep Shen Jiuxu by his side.

“I don’t like these eyes, and I don’t like what you’re saying. I can’t accept myself like this, and I can’t lie to myself.”

Jiang Yu almost hysterically said these words. He squatted down and buried his face in his clothes, which quickly became soaked. He really didn't know what to do. If there had been any chance of survival, if Shen Jiuxu had been with him, he would never have said such a thing.

Jiang Yu understood him too well, just as Shen Jiuxu understood Jiang Yu. They depended on each other and coexisted together.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault." Shen Jiuxu also squatted down and gently patted Jiang Yu's shoulder. "I actually wanted to kiss you, hug you, and go down the mountain with you to eat at the shop and listen to storytelling at the teahouse."

"I promised you before that I would always stand behind you, but now I'm the one who broke my promise." Shen Jiuxu felt that he always made Jiang Yu wait, whether it was the last time because of the west window, when the news of his death reached Shen Wuke, or how Jiang Yu would feel.

This time, he told Jiang Yu the news himself, and he disappeared in front of Jiang Yu.

"But you did it to save me."

Jiang Yu dared not utter that word, but instead grasped Shen Jiuxu's wrist and channeled spiritual energy into him. He frantically tried to transfer all his spiritual energy into Shen Jiuxu, saying, "What do you want me to do? Aren't we Daoist partners? Didn't I ascend to immortality? But I still can't save you."

"If I can't save my Daoist partner, am I just supposed to watch him disappear before my eyes? What's the point of this ascension then? I didn't save Lian Quesheng, so if I can't save him, I can't save you either."

Jiang Yu was powerless. "But you shouldn't be like this. You were living a good life before."

"No, without meeting Jiang Yu, Shen Jiuxu would have lived a monotonous life forever. I don't want to live that kind of life."

"Jiang Yu, I won't die. Do you remember the Rejuvenation Technique from last time? Trees are ever-renewing, and I will live on in this world forever. I will stay with you, no matter what."

He felt his body disintegrating little by little, and only wanted to comfort his Daoist partner one last time, "Do you believe me? Jiang Yu, didn't you say you wanted to water my plants? You can do it this time."

“Actually, I really want to go back to when you were little, to be by your side, to laugh with you, to play with you, and to watch you grow up and become this radiant young man.” Shen Jiuxu really thought this way. “But I don’t have the chance, and it’s impossible for me to achieve it. But Jiang Yu, you can. You can find me and watch me grow from a weak sapling into what I am now.”

“I’m the one who’s scared now, Jiang Yu. I’m afraid you’ll meet other people during this time, and I won’t be able to be with you.”

"So, let me hug you one last time." Shen Jiuxu lowered his head and waited quietly for Jiang Yu's action. He knew that Jiang Yu was soft-hearted and would agree to his request.

The other person looked up, and Shen Jiuxu placed a kiss on his forehead, then hugged him tightly. He whispered in Jiang Yu's ear, "Be good, close your eyes and wait for me to come back."

The rich floral fragrance faded and then slowly disappeared, leaving only a chilly aura around him. Jiang Yu felt his arms become empty; the collar he had been clutching was gone, and his hand remained in the same position, suspended in mid-air. But the person he longed for was gone.

His mind was filled with Shen Jiuxu's voice, appearance, and smile.

When they first met, Shen Jiuxu was lying on a tree trunk, smiling at him from among the lush green leaves. When he went home with him, Shen Jiuxu sat down in front of a wooden house in the desolate mountains, and Zhou Yongyin's chickens and ducks surrounded him, watching this stranger. In Shen Wuke, Shen Jiuxu waited for him to come home in front of the Fuyou Palace, and strode towards him the moment he saw him. In Yunshui City, after losing his memory, Shen Jiuxu bumped into him talking to the waiter outside the window.

Jiang Yu suddenly felt that having such a good memory was also a kind of torture; he couldn't get used to life without Shen Jiuxu.

He didn't know where to find his Daoist partner. This world was too vast, and the existence of a single tree was insignificant. Jiang Yu also didn't know when he would be able to see Shen Jiuxu again.

The bright white sky made his complexion look even worse. As Jiang Yu walked along the road, some people recognized him and crowded around to greet him. They also handed him their own sesame seed cakes and steamed buns, saying, "Young Master Jiang, have some. I heard from Sect Leader Shen that you like to eat these. He always buys them from our family and brings them back for you, but you haven't come here in person yet."

"Young Master Jiang, where is Sect Leader Shen? Weren't you two together today?" The owner of the clothing shop ran out as soon as he heard the voice. Jiang Yu and Shen Jiuxu were his regular customers. "I still have the fabric that Sect Leader Shen asked me to reserve for him last time. When is he coming over?"

"Young Master Jiang—"

"Young Master Jiang—, Young Master Jiang, oh—"

"Young Master Jiang, Young Master Jiang, are you alright? Do you need me to go find a doctor?"

The man grabbed Jiang Yu and helped her up. Jiang Yu had looked like she was about to faint. He had never seen Jiang Yu so weak before. He was terrified and his eyes were wide open, afraid that something would happen to her at any moment.

Jiang Yu waved his hand and continued walking forward. He was like a soulless puppet, his movements mechanical and numb, until he returned to Shen Wuke. The elm tree in Fuyou Palace was taller than the courtyard wall, its branches and leaves lush and waiting for his return.

The bed in the inner room was still clean and tidy, with two pillows placed side by side, and the sachet that Shen Jiuxu had taken out and placed by the bed when he left that day but had been forgotten. All the items in this place had long been filled with Shen Jiuxu's scent.

Only Jiang Yu was no longer by Shen Jiuxu's side.

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Author's Note: I'll try my best to finish the main story within three chapters!