The talisman blasted against a large rock, sending a three or four-year-old child tumbling outward. He was wearing a green child's outfit, his hair tied into a round bun with white cloth. He wasn't fat, but he had a chubby face, large, round eyes, and fair skin, giving him a somewhat plump, rounded appearance.
But he was still different from ordinary children. He was surrounded by a layer of light blue light and his whole body seemed transparent. It was obvious that he was not an ordinary human boy.
Upon seeing him, Fu Changling immediately twisted three more talismans into his hand. Seeing Fu Changling holding three talismans between his fingertips, the boy immediately hugged his head and howled, "You blew me up! I saved you, and you still blew me up! Blowing me up with the talisman once wasn't enough, you wanted to blew me up a second, third, and fourth time! You're an ungrateful person! You're so ungrateful! You don't know how to appreciate a good person!"
The boy wailed, his cries echoing throughout the cave. Fu Changling felt somewhat like a villain when he heard him cry. He observed the child for a moment, and seeing that he could only cry, he hesitated and put away the talisman. After waiting for a while, the boy refused to stop. His own golden core ached intensely, and he could no longer dissuade the boy. He sighed, sat aside, and said, "Cry first. We'll talk after you're done."
As he spoke, he leaned against the stone wall and looked around.
There were bones all around, with blood-red flowers blooming on them. Not far away was a stream, which was emitting cold air and flowing outwards.
It seems that the little boy is the only one here.
After Fu Changling confirmed this, he lowered his head and began to check his wounds.
His wounds had been bandaged, showing they had indeed been treated. He sat down cross-legged, trying to gather his energy. He could feel his spiritual roots working, but his golden core was empty, nothing at all.
The moment I realized this, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't disappointed. This golden elixir had been around for a long time, but in the end I couldn't keep it.
The boy next to him cried for a while, and when he saw Fu Changling ignored him, he slowly calmed down. He observed Fu Changling's expression and saw that he looked a little lost. He guessed what Fu Changling was thinking and said carefully: "Hey, eat some of the flowers next to you, maybe you will feel better."
Fu Changling listened to his words and turned to look at him. Seeing the boy's nervous expression, he couldn't help but laugh: "Didn't you just threaten me with your fangs and claws? Now you're helping me?"
"I feel sorry for you!"
When the boy heard this, he was immediately furious. Fu Changling realized that the boy was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, so he propped himself up, picked a few red flowers from the side, and placed them in front of him to examine them carefully.
This flower looks somewhat similar to the Lycoris radiata on Su's sleeve, but it is slightly different when viewed up close. Its center is black, giving it a ghostly air.
Fu Changling thought about it and understood what this thing was.
It is the skull flower. This flower uses humans as nutrients and blooms on human skulls. Although this flower is evil, like the flower of the dead, it has great benefits after being eaten.
Yunze was a place filled with spiritual energy, so there was very little room for this kind of flower to survive. As far as he could remember, there was only one place where this kind of flower could grow in large areas.
"Is this the Ten Thousand Bone Cliff?"
Fu Changling raised his eyes to look at the boy, who was a little confused: "What is the Ten Thousand Bone Cliff?"
Fu Changling was a little surprised: "Isn't this the Ten Thousand Bone Cliff?"
"I don't know either."
The boy shook his head: "I have been staying here all my life and have never seen anyone else. I don't even know what other people call this place."
"You've been staying here all this time?" Fu Changling looked him up and down and couldn't help but ask, "How many years have you been here?"
The boy seemed to be inspired by his question and began to count on his fingers. While he was counting, Fu Changling chewed the skull flower into his mouth.
The skull flower has a soft texture with a sweet and sour taste, so it's not bad. But when I think about where it grows from, I feel like I can't eat it after just a few bites.
After putting the skull flower into his mouth, Fu Changling immediately felt a warmth spreading out and began to spread throughout his body, making him feel very comfortable.
This feeling of comfort soothed the pain in his abdomen, and Fu Changling's complexion improved slightly. The boy finally figured out his age and said happily, "Over six thousand years."
"You've been here for over six thousand years?" Fu Changling leaned against the stone wall, feeling the comfort brought by the skull flower. He looked at him and asked, "Why do you stay here?"
"I don't know either." The boy shook his head. "My master left me here and then left. She told me to wait for her here, so I waited and waited for a long time."
The boy said, his voice a little low: "I don't know when the master will come to pick me up."
"What's your master's name?"
Fu Changling asked casually. The boy was about to answer happily, but suddenly froze. Fu Changling was a little confused: "Huh?"
"I..." The boy was depressed, "I can't remember the master's name."
Fu Changling raised an eyebrow, and the boy said blankly: "She left me for too long. I gradually gained spiritual awareness here, but I can't remember anything about the past."
"Spiritual consciousness?" Fu Changling grasped the meaning behind his words, "Are you a spirit?"
The boy rolled his eyes and corrected, "It's the sword spirit."
Fu Changling found this somewhat amusing. A sword spirit that could be so talkative and that he couldn't tell at first glance must be something extraordinary. He smiled and asked, "Where is your true form?"
"Hmph," the boy snorted coldly, "You just covet my body."
Fu Changling: “…”
He felt like something was amiss. He coughed lightly, stood up, and said in a serious, good-natured manner, "Don't tell me, I don't want to hear it either."
As he spoke, Fu Changling looked around in the darkness, thought for a moment, and rummaged through his Zhenlong Ring. Sure enough, he found a brazier. He placed the brazier in front of the boy and dug out a bed, a quilt, a pillow, and some barbecue tools...
In a short while, he had arranged the entire cave in an orderly manner, even to the point of being somewhat luxurious. He spread a mat on the ground and sat cross-legged on it. He took out a lot of seasonings and laid them out in a row. Holding the barbecue fork in his hand, he turned to look at the boy and said, "Can you find some meat?"
The boy was a little confused, and Fu Changling said seriously, "I'm hungry."
When the boy heard his words, he immediately knew that Fu Changling was going to prepare delicious food. He quickly jumped up and trotted out of the cave.
Fu Changling sat on the matted floor and began to prepare the seasoning. A short while later, the boy returned with a few magical mice. Fu Changling picked up the mice, looked at them, and said happily, "They're plump and strong."
After saying that, he carried the spirit mouse to the creek, pulled out a knife from his pocket, and quickly gutted the spirit mouse, shaved off the hair and bones. After washing it in the creek, he put it on the barbecue grill, returned to the stove, and put the meat on it.
The little boy had never seen these things before, so he stared at them carefully with his eyes wide open. He wanted to ask but felt it would be embarrassing, so he just stared at them and refused to look away.
Fu Changling turned his head and glanced at the little boy with a smile, then raised his eyebrows and said, "I haven't seen him before."
The child hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.
"Then you've learned a lot." Fu Changling introduced, "The things I brought today are not ordinary items. For example, this fire will never go out anywhere or at any time. You will hardly find such a magical tool outside."
"So what's its biggest function?"
The child asked curiously. Fu Changling thought for a moment and frankly admitted, "Barbecue, to keep warm."
The child showed a look of disdain. Fu Changling smiled at his childish look, took the seasoning and sprinkled it on the spirit rat, saying in a cheerful tone, "If one day you are hunted everywhere, you will know how important this magic weapon is. A quilt, a bed, a stove, a jar of salt, these things can make you feel like a human being at any time."
"How could this day come to pass?" The little boy frowned. Fu Changling smiled and said nothing more.
The little boy and Fu Changling sat on their own sides. The flames burned the spirit rat meat, and the aroma wafted out. The little boy sniffed the aroma and showed a greedy expression. He looked at Fu Changling, coughed lightly, and said awkwardly, "Um, what's your name?"
"My name is Fu Changling," Fu Changling turned to look at him, "What's yours?"
"My name is Tan Xin."
After introducing himself, the little boy said cautiously, "Well, now that we've introduced ourselves, we're friends."
"Forget it." Fu Changling knew what he was up to, so he didn't refuse and agreed directly. The child heard this and immediately said, "Then you won't give me this spirit rat, will you?"
"Give it to me." Fu Changling said with a smile, "Just call me brother and I'll give it to you."
Tan Xin had no moral integrity and immediately called Fu Changling "Brother". After that, Fu Changling sprinkled the cooked spirit rat with seasoning and handed it to Tan Xin, saying gently: "Eat slowly, it's hot."
Tan Xin couldn't bear to hear all this, so she blew on the food while chewing on it. After a few bites, her eyes widened, as if she had never eaten anything so delicious before. She mumbled while eating, "You are such a nice person, and your food is so delicious."
Fu Changling smiled without saying anything and started to tear the rat apart by himself.
The two of them ate and chatted, and Fu Changling asked Tan Xin about the situation here.
"There are only souls outside. There's no point in going out. You can't go far away. The Ghost King is there."
Tan Xin didn't hide anything, answering whatever was asked. When they were almost done eating, Tan Xin slowly withdrew her attention and turned to Fu Changling, asking curiously, "Why did you come here?"
"We encountered a flood, so we just drew a teleportation array and came here."
"Oh," Tan Xin nodded, "I see there are two of you. One person wanted to save you, but you asked him to choose someone else. He chose someone else. Who was that person? And who is the unconscious person next to you?"
"The unconscious person next to me is that person's master. As for that person..."
Fu Changling fiddled with the fire. When he mentioned Qin Yan, his voice paused, and he finally said, "He is someone I care about."
"Someone he cares about?" Tan Xin blinked. "Doesn't he care about you?"
"I guess so."
Fu Changling's voice was very calm. Tan Xin nodded and said, "That's right, otherwise I wouldn't have given up on you."
"He..." Fu Changling hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "He hasn't given up on me either."
"Huh? He doesn't want you anymore," Tan Xin said seriously, "but that doesn't mean he's giving up?"
"It's not that he doesn't want me," Fu Changling felt a bit of a headache talking to a child, but he still insisted on explaining: "I actually knew him not that long ago. His master had fainted at the time, and no matter what, he would definitely prioritize saving his master. If I didn't save him then, he would have hated me forever, so I planned to save his master from the beginning. He also trusted me... You see, he asked me to wait for him at the end, because he thought I wouldn't die."
"You're a very strange person." Tan Xin blinked. "You're planning to save someone, so why do you want him to choose? If you let him choose, won't he feel guilty and miss you all the time?"
"All I want is for him to keep thinking of me."
Fu Changling spoke very quickly. Tan Xin was stunned for a moment. Fu Changling took a bite of the spirit rat meat and chewed it in his mouth. He glared at Tan Xin for no reason, and his tone was a little annoyed: "Do you think I am him? I have to tell him everything I do for him. He writes it all down and returns it to me one by one!"
"Oh my god..." Tan Xin was shocked after hearing Fu Changling's words, "You are so stingy."
Fu Changling rolled his eyes and ignored him.
After a long while, he didn't know why, and said again: "Actually, it's better to say it."
"What?"
“If you show too much kindness to others, they will really not be able to let it go.”
"It's a debt after all."
Fu Changling slowed down his eating.
Tan Xin didn't understand. Fu Changling looked at the dancing flames and said slowly, "There was a person in the past who treated me well. He never wanted anything from me, and he didn't want anything from me."
"So no matter what I do, I feel like I owe him something that I'll never be able to repay. Sometimes I think it would be better if he was a little more stingy, asking me for something, complaining to me a few times, then I might feel better."
"But he didn't."
Nothing was said, so the moment others noticed it, this feeling was like a bitter wine that had been brewed for many years. One sip was so bitter that it made people choke and sob silently.
*** ***
When Fu Changling lived his home life in the cave, the Hongmeng Palace and the Moon Palace were unusually quiet.
Qin Yan fed Jiang Yebai the medicine and wiped his hands with a wet towel.
Jiang Yebai was different in his sleep than usual. Having lost the deliberately feigned dignity of the past, Jiang Yebai lay quietly at this moment, looking like an ordinary young man.
He was not sharp, and even had a more approachable demeanor, just like the young man Qin Yan had first met many years ago.
He possesses Yunze's top swordsmanship, but he doesn't even know how to cook a chicken.
Qin Yan held a wet handkerchief in his hand and wiped Jiang Yebai's fingertips. Then he heard a voice calling from above: "A Yan."
Qin Yan quickly raised his head and looked at Jiang Yebai: "Master, how do you feel?"
Jiang Yebai propped himself up, and Qin Yan hurried to help Jiang Yebai up, placing a pillow behind him. Jiang Yebai leaned on the pillow to sit up, and this action seemed to consume a lot of his physical strength, making him feel a little tired. Qin Yan brought Jiang Yebai some spiritual tea, and he fed Jiang Yebai a few sips. After Jiang Yebai finished the tea, he leaned back on the bed to relax, and then slowly said, "Where's Chen Xiufan?"
Qin Yan paused for a moment before saying, "It didn't come out."
Jiang Yebai was slightly stunned. Qin Yan lowered his eyes and said slowly, "But don't worry. I saw that he drew a teleportation array for himself at the end. Maybe he has been teleported to another place."
Jiang Yebai didn't say anything. He leaned on the bed with his eyes lowered, as if thinking about something.
Qin Yan whispered to him about the situation of the elders, and finally said: "You are injured now, so you must be extra careful in everything. I will stay in the Moon Palace for the near future to prevent anyone from plotting ill. I hope you can forgive me for disturbing Master."
Jiang Yebai listened quietly for a long time before he said, "I thought you would go and help him."
Qin Yan raised his eyes, and Jiang Yebai looked at him: "I heard what he said at the end. He is Fu Changling, and I have always known it."
"Then you still accept him?"
Qin Yan was not surprised. Jiang Yebai was always the one who knew everything, and Fu Changling could not hide anything from him.
Jiang Yebai smiled: "I thought you wanted me to take him in."
Hearing this, Qin Yan froze in place. Jiang Yebai coughed, turned his head, and looked at the splendid crabapple blossoms in the moonlight outside the window.
"I know your temper," Jiang Yebai said with some difficulty, panting after coughing, "He asked you to choose. This is a debt of gratitude. How can you owe a debt of gratitude to others?"
Jiang Yebai laughed: "I thought that even if you chose me, you would jump down with him."
"Originally..." Qin Yan's voice was dry, "That was my plan."
"Why not?"
"Because," Qin Yan looked at the man in front of him whose eyebrows seemed to be covered with frost, and he smiled bitterly, "I'm scared."
"What are you afraid of?"
Jiang Yebai's eyes were calm as he looked at the little disciple in front of him. Actually, he was no longer a child, but for some reason, when Jiang Yebai looked at him, he always felt that he was still a child.
When she tilted her head back, she might smile and call him sweetly, "Master, I want to eat candied haws."
Or when something happens, she will hide behind his sleeve, pull at his sleeve, and tremble.
He hadn't said he was scared in many years, and when he occasionally said that, Jiang Yebai felt as if his heart had been hit hard. He controlled his emotions, raised his hand, and said in a hoarse voice, "Yan Ming, come here."
This is the name he would utter only when his emotions were extremely exposed.
Qin Yan walked up to him, and Jiang Yebai pulled his wrist. When the cold palm touched Qin Yan's wrist, he couldn't help but tremble slightly. Jiang Yebai paused for a moment, then pulled Qin Yan to sit down as usual, slowly letting go. He looked at his hand, hiding it, and said calmly: "What are you afraid of? Tell me."
"I had a dream."
Qin Yan spoke in a hoarse voice: "I dreamed that you died, Senior Sister, Senior Uncle, everyone died."
Qin Yan sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the pear blossoms he had planted outside Wenyue Palace.
"I walk alone in this world. I have no friends, no family, the people I love hate me, and everyone hates me."
"I miss you every day."
Qin Yan turned his head and looked at Jiang Yebai, forcing a smile: "I regret it every day in my dream."
"What are you regretting?"
"You shouldn't have died."
Qin Yan's voice trembled: "Before you got into trouble, you were about to break through. You told me to protect you. But I didn't."
Jiang Yebai seemed to understand something after listening to him, but he still asked, "Why not?"
"Because..." Qin Yan paused, he seemed unable to continue, but after a brief pause, he still said, "I thought you were omnipotent."
"You've always protected me, and I never thought anything would happen to you. That was the only time you asked me to do something, but I wanted to do something else. I wanted to see someone, so I asked you, did I have to be there? You said no, and it wasn't a big deal."
"I believe it."
"But I shouldn't have believed it. I should have thought, if the situation wasn't critical, with your personality, why would you ask me to do anything?"
Qin Yan said this and couldn't go on.
He couldn't describe to Jiang Yebai the grief and despair he felt when he came back and saw him disappear into thin air. That was the nightmare of his two lives.
He just stared at Jiang Yebai and said hoarsely, "So, I can't leave. Even if I leave, I have to make sure you're well."
He couldn't leave, he was afraid.
He was afraid that if he jumped into the river and came back alive, he would repeat the same mistakes as in his previous life.
Jiang Yebai listened to him quietly. His eyes moved slightly, as if he wanted to do something. He raised his hand slightly, but in the end he restrained himself and put it down.
He stared at Qin Yan, his emotions slightly moved. After a long time, he said, "Don't worry."
There was a gentleness in his voice that no one else had ever heard before: "I will be fine. The dream you had was just a nightmare. Master is here, and the things in your dream will never happen again."
"yes."
Qin Yan's eyelashes drooped slightly. From this angle, this young man who had always been as green as a pine on the cliff actually had a rare gentleness.
Jiang Yebai's gaze paused at Qin Yan's slightly drooping neck. Seeing the curve as graceful as a white crane, his eyes dimmed slightly. He raised his hand and gently pressed it on the quilt. He turned his gaze away and said slowly, "You should go and rest first."
Qin Yan responded, helped Jiang Yebai lie down, and then went to the compartment.
Jiang Yebai stared quietly in the direction of the cubicle, and after a long time, he closed his eyes.
*** ***
It rained all night in Hongmeng Palace, and Fu Changling tossed and turned while sleeping in the cave.
Based on Tan Xin's words, he had probably guessed that the location of this cave was Wangu Cliff.
Wangu Cliff was once a near-forbidden area. There's no record of its formation, except that it suddenly became Wangu Cliff about eighteen years ago. Legend has it that it's located in a place of extreme yin, attracting a hundred thousand ghosts. This yin-rich land nourishes ghosts and spirits, but it's also prone to containing rare treasures. For years, fearless cultivators have flocked to Wangu Cliff to explore. However, this place is incredibly dangerous; even Fu Changling, who's in the Tribulation Crossing stage, would have to be extremely cautious.
However, when Fu Changling was 19 years old, the ghosts of Wangu Cliff suddenly disappeared, and from then on this place became an ordinary cliff. Later, when Fu Changling came to check it out, there were just a few more bones.
Now, according to the calculation of time, the person who caused the disappearance of the ghost from Wangu Cliff was probably Qin Yan of that year.
The flower of rebirth grows on the Wangu Cliff. After Qin Yan obtained the flower of rebirth and gave it to him, these ghosts suddenly disappeared without a trace. No matter how you look at it, this matter is closely related to Qin Yan.
If this was truly the Ten Thousand Bone Cliff, he would be at a loss. This place was already dangerous, and he had lost his Golden Core. Even if he still had the magic weapons his father had given him, they would eventually run out.
The only consolation was the cave that Tan Xin was in. There was a natural barrier here, existing independently in the Wan Gu Cliff. As long as you didn't leave this cave, you were generally safe.
But this barrier isolated the danger and also isolated the only connection between Qin Yan and him.
In the darkness of night, Fu Changling took out the jade pendant Qin Yan had given him. It was a round jade pendant with a small dragon holding a pearl carved in the rolling cloud pattern. The texture was not very good and the carving was quite unfamiliar. No matter how you looked at it, it looked like a child's toy.
But this toy is actually a spiritual weapon forged by Qin Yan with his blood.
Then he gave him the jade pendant.
Thinking of this, Fu Changling pursed his lips and smiled.
He stroked the lines on the jade pendant and recalled the last moment before he fell into the river.
Although he was a little disappointed at first, when he calmed down, he couldn't help but feel happy when he thought of every detail and every action of Qin Yan.
Because he hesitated for him, struggled for him, and was afraid for him.
Qin Yan may not even know it himself, but in his heart, Fu Changling is not just a passerby after all.
Thinking of this, Fu Changling couldn't help but kiss the jade pendant twice.
Then he held the jade pendant in his arms, smiled and closed his eyes.
Take your time.
He told himself that he had a lifetime of patience to slowly polish someone.
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