Chapter 327: "It's not just for herself...

Fairy mist lingers on Chengyun Mountain all year round, and white cranes cry out incessantly. When the clouds break, it is as if thousands of golden threads penetrate through them, weaving into brocade as thin as a cicada's wing, and presenting it to the famous rivers and mountains.

"Untie me—" Chi Huang struggled, breaking the peace with a cry, "Do you hear me—"

He was tied up with several thin bamboo strips. It seemed not a big deal, but it was really difficult to get out. While moving, he accidentally rolled to the ground, and the silver rings on his arms collided, causing bursts of clear sounds.

"Yu Chang is a stubborn guy." Guan Lan waved his finger, sending up a few waves and gently helping the man to his feet. "I advise you not to waste your energy."

It was as if he was so exhausted from trying to persuade her that Yu Chang would not even glance at him, let alone go back to the banks of the Yuan River with him.

He and this Mr. Chi Huang really share the same suffering.

"Do you even know what Chengyun Rock is?" Chi Huang glared at Guan Lan, then gritted his teeth at Yu Chang, "How can you be so presumptuous? Let me go—"

The nose ring was swaying from side to side, and Chi Huang was extremely angry.

No matter how noisy they were, Yu Chang sat quietly by the side, unmoved, his dark golden robe gathered around him, as if he had built an invisible barrier.

If he hadn't kidnapped Chi Huang, he would naturally not interfere.

"This was set up by your Lord God. You should look for him." Guan Lan's fingertips stirred up layers of waves, and he just played with them casually.

The climate in the inland is bad, and he really wants to go back to the banks of the Yuan River.

It would be fine if we didn't mention it. Speaking of this, Chi Huang was even more anxious and furious. "You knew that the Divine Lord was going to Gouwu Mountain, so why didn't you stop him?"

He was tied up and had no other options, but Yu Chang and Guan Lan watched helplessly as the Divine Lord went to Gouwu Mountain...

"Why do you want to stop it?" Guan Lan clenched his fists, and the waves disappeared, wondering.

Chi Huang's blood surged, and his vision went dark. "You——"

"Everyone has his own way, and freedom to come and go is the law of this world." Unlike Chi Huang's indignation, Guan Lan really seemed to not understand, and the doubt between his brows was obvious.

Chi Huang simply didn't want to listen to his light-hearted words, "Then why do you insist on Yu Chang returning to the banks of the Yuan River?"

“Hmm——” Guan Lan seemed really stumped by the question and fell into deep thought.

Chi Huang and Guan Lan were arguing back and forth on this side, but it did not affect Yu Chang who was sitting alone on the other side.

Looking at the breaking light in the distance, Yu Chang knew that a new day had begun.

He looked at the kite floating in front of him, and then at the small fish lantern in his hand.

Its body was covered with crimson fish scales, each one outlined with gold lines. Under the illumination of the fireworks within, the scales swirled and looked lifelike.

Yu Chang had seen this fish lantern in Guanwuyuan before. It was hanging under the eaves in front of Wenyu Gate.

There seemed to be some connection between them, but he had not yet figured it out.

His mind was somewhat empty, and Yu Chang couldn't help but think of Chi Huang's words -

What is the place on Chengyunyan?

…

"Why don't you stay by your Duanyun?" Yu Chang threw away Chi Huang, who was beaten back to his original form, and snorted coldly in a condescending manner.

The originally sleek and smooth ox was now in a mess. Not only was its hair covered in dust, but it also fell upside down.

Ju Mang put down the half-read scroll in his hand, cast a spell to turn Chi Huang back into a human form, and then looked at the uninvited guest calmly.

He wasn't surprised by Yu Chang's arrival. "Wouldn't you have found me wherever I was?"

"Your Majesty, it's my fault that I failed to stop him." Chi Huang ignored the pain all over his body and apologized quickly.

With a faint smile, Ju Mang picked up the notebook that he had read over and over again many times and continued to read it.

The purpose of leaving Chi Huang in the Temple of Spring was to lure Yu Chang here, so there was no question of stopping him. It was also because he did not explain clearly that he got beaten in vain.

"What is this place?" Yu Chang saw Ju Mang reading a book by himself, as if he didn't exist at all, so he looked around vigilantly.

There is no defense at all. Is there an ambush?

Unlike the Spring Temple with its wandering cloud shadows and layered heavenly palaces, this place is filled with more flowers, trees, birds, beasts, fish and insects. It is far from the Nine Heavens he had imagined...

"You are Yu Chang." Ju Mang stared at the scroll in his hand without blinking, and the words he asked were without a doubt and very certain.

Such certainty...

Yu Chang immediately withdrew his gaze and asked fearfully, "Do you know me?"

He had only been to the Spring Temple once after Wen Yu left without saying goodbye, and she had even escorted him away quickly. He had never met the God of Ju Mang, so how could it be possible...

Seemingly a little tired of reading, Ju Mang put down the scroll and switched to the bamboo strips prepared on the side. He wanted to exercise his hands after using his eyes for a long time.

"You were born on the banks of the Yuan River. Legend has it that good and evil coexist, and that there's no distinction between right and wrong. You possess the power to both create and destroy the world."

Ju Mang slowly built the frame with bamboo strips. He hadn't done this for many years, so his hands were really rusty.

"Night is gloomy, day is long. You were born at the transition between dawn and dusk, hence your name."

"How could you—"

Yu Chang's expression remained normal, but he was deeply shaken. He had never mentioned his past to anyone, not even Wen Yu knew about it now.

How did Ju Mang know this and master it so thoroughly?

Concentrating on making the lantern, Ju Mang took the time to look up and stared at Yu Chang thoughtfully for a moment, or more accurately, at the Ding Yuan lock he was wearing.

He came up with A Yu's Ding Yuan lock on and swaggered forward, how could anyone not know that he was Yu Chang.

Back then, A-Yu was a paulownia tree, and he was a bird that built its nest on it. They were born with intelligence on the same day, and they also acquired human form on the same day.

Trees like quietness, while birds like to be active, so he always takes Ayu to see the human world, walk on mountains and rivers, and travel back and forth among the three realms and six paths, and countless worlds.

It was then that Yu Chang was born by chance on the bank of the Yuan River.

"In order to protect you from being harmed by evil spirits, Ayu sealed you at the bottom of the Yuanshui River with the Dingyuan Lock." Ju Mang withdrew his gaze and was stunned for a moment, as if it was difficult to extricate himself from that memory.

At some point, the lamp bones in his hand had already been woven.

Yu Chang also lowered his eyes to look at Ding Yuan in front of him. A dot of vermilion was embedded in the center of the golden lock, which was extremely eye-catching. "Protect me from being harmed by evil spirits?"

How could he not know that this fixed Yuan lock that made it impossible for people to move had such an effect?

Ju Mang naturally knew what he was thinking.

Millions of years of hardship inevitably unbalance a person's balance. It's already good enough that Yu Chang has not developed resentment or become obsessed.

"Otherwise, why would she, an ancient god, be so against you who was just born?" Ju Mang laughed. He found it incredible just thinking about it.

There really seems to be no reason...

But who should compensate him for the thousands and thousands of years he was trapped under the Yuan River, and the dark days and bitterly cold nights he spent alone?

Yu Chang glanced over, "Then the ancient god Ah Yu you mentioned is... today's Wen Yu?"

Ever since he met Wen Yu in Yuanshui, he had doubts because he knew that he could unlock the restriction of Dingyuan Lock just by accidentally getting a drop of her blood.

But everything that happened later showed that Wen Yu really didn't remember anything, so he couldn't be sure.

After the lamp frame is woven, the next step is to apply starch and paste paper.

Ju Mang was concentrating on the task at hand. In response to Yu Chang's doubts, he only asked softly, "What do you think?"

Right and wrong, in fact, always lie in the human heart.

The name is just a symbol, his Ayu can always be herself.

Yu Chang was almost mesmerized when he saw him gradually becoming more proficient in mixing the pulp and then gently pasting paper along the bamboo ribs.

What he meant was an affirmative answer.

"Why should I believe you?" After reacting, Yu Chang asked back in a panic.

Ju Mang didn't even raise his eyebrows. After the paper was pasted, he concentrated and thought for a moment.

It should have been dried naturally, but I don’t have that much time or leisure now.

While he used magic to dry the paper, he replied in a deep voice, "Believe it or not, it's up to you."

"You--" Yu Chang was almost choked by him, but there was nothing he could do.

I used to always hear Wenyu talk about how gentle and compassionate her master was, but now it seems that most of it is not true.

"She promised that day that she would release you after a thousand years." Ju Mang picked up his brush and began to color the paper-covered lantern. "But later, Ah Yu passed away, and she entrusted this matter to me."

Yu Chang's brows knitted together, his face darkening, "Why did she die?"

He had never heard of these things.

Yes, what can one hear at the bottom of the dark Yuanshui River?

I still remember the day when Wen Yu sealed him. When she left, she took two steps and turned back.

"My name is Wenyu. If you want revenge, come find me... Forget it, you'd better not seek revenge on me."

She changed the subject, threw down these words, waved her hand and left, and she was gone for thousands and thousands of years, and she never showed up again.

So, it fell?

Yu Chang felt a pain in his heart, and suddenly realized that Wen Yu on the banks of the Yuanshui River could not remember anything. When she saw him, there was only strangeness in her eyes.

The painting was completed in one go, and Ju Mang continued to prepare for applying tung oil without stopping for a moment. It seemed as if he was in a hurry for something, as if he was afraid that he would run out of time.

But Yu Chang's question obviously slowed down his movements.

"For the Great Dao, for the common people, for the nine heavens and the ten directions of the earth." After a moment's silence, Ju Mang replied.

Yu Chang obviously didn't buy it, and said impatiently, "Stop talking about these high-sounding things—"

"It's not for herself at all." Ju Mang continued.

After hearing this, even Yu Chang lost his temper. He didn't expect this kind of answer.

But it seems like something Wen Yu would do.

"When the millennium was up, I went to the bottom of the Yuan River and wanted to release you as agreed."

Ju Mang brushed tung oil on the paper carefully, as if he was afraid of making any mistakes.

"But Ding Yuansuo sensed Wen Yu's death and sealed his consciousness."

But his attitude when talking to Yu Chang was much more casual, one could even say it was understated.

"That's Wen Yu's magical weapon, and I can't control it at will."

Only when mentioning Wen Yu would Ju Mang's face become particularly gentle, "She is not someone who breaks her promise easily. If nothing went wrong, she would definitely come to see you as promised."

No wonder, no wonder Wen Yu did not show up when the thousand-year agreement came to pass. Did he fall?

"I have no other choice but to wait until Wenyu is in Jiangyang Prefecture and then lead her to the bottom of the Yuanshui River." Ju Mang stopped what he was doing, half-lidded his eyes, and wondered what he was thinking. "I believe that you and her are destined to be together, and you will be at ease with it."

Yu Chang looked at him intently, sensing a hint of something unusual in his words.

In this case, Ju Mang knew that Wen Yu would appear in Jiangyang, and even knew when she would arrive at the banks of the Yuanshui River.

Ju Mang didn't care much about his reaction. "The fact that you can stand in front of me today proves that my guess was correct."

The tung oil applied this time is too thick, making it look heavy, but it’s better to be thicker, as it may allow it to last longer.

"You... are really broad-minded." For some reason, there was a hint of sourness in Yu Chang's words.