Chapter 45: Bipolar Demon Realm (5) Cong Xing, can you call me Yunze? ...
Gu Congxing saw the young Lan Jue and was about to approach him when he saw a man who looked like a servant rush out of the Lan Mansion and said, "Young Master, the Master has arrived."
"Yeah. I'll be right there."
The young Lan Jue had a delicate and lovely face, but lacked some of his childish vitality. His round, amber eyes blinked, and he returned to the mansion, his clothes in hand.
Gu Congxing was about to go with him, but was stopped by the guards at the gate of the mansion.
He had no choice but to retreat, and after looking around in the shadows for a while, he simply cast an invisibility spell on himself and sneaked into the Lan Mansion.
Gu Congxing followed the young Lan Jue into the study and stood quietly beside him.
In front of the desk, a white-faced scholar, dressed in a green shirt, looked back with a smile.
He did look a bit like the young master Junzijian that Gu Congxing was familiar with.
"Today is clearly the Spring Festival, but Master Lan, it's hard for you to not take a day off and come listen to my nagging."
Lan Jue knelt beside the table, looking up at the teacher.
"Nothing, I'm used to it anyway."
The man in green clothes sighed and smiled, then leaned over to rub his head.
"The Lan family is a family of scholars, and you are the legitimate son of this generation. Carrying the heavy responsibility of the family is indeed a difficult task. But now, before you are even ten years old, you can already compose poetry and prose, and your reputation has spread throughout Jiangling. You have done an excellent job."
"Today, just memorize what you learned last time, and you'll be done with the lesson."
Lan Jue's eyes lit up when he heard this. Although his little face still had that unmistakable Xiu Ya expression, he showed a genuine smile.
"Thank you, Master!"
In less than an incense stick of time, he had finished writing the words of the sages. After bidding farewell to his teacher, he avoided the guards and maids and went to the back garden alone.
The Lan Mansion covers a large area. Behind the wall of the back garden is a forest. There is a small hole at the edge of the wall. He tiptoed to the hole and after confirming that there was no one around, he nimbly crawled out.
Gu Congxing, who was watching the whole process: ...
It turns out that the eldest brother also crawled into dog holes when he was a child.
He couldn't help but chuckle a few times, stepped over the wall, and followed Lan Jue.
Lan Jue strolled leisurely, not caring that his sleeves were stained with mud. His steps became faster and lighter, and soon he was running in the mountains.
Gu Congxing ran behind him and felt that Lan Jue at this moment was like a mountain deer that had broken free from its shackles, with its long sleeves fluttering in the wind, running freely between heaven and earth.
Lan Jue ran faster and faster, but he didn't notice a bluestone under his feet. He tripped on it and fell forward.
Seeing this, Gu Congxing was about to appear and hug him, but he caught a glimpse of a familiar white shadow, who supported Lan Jue's body first.
The man with silver hair and white clothes as white as snow and an immortal look is tall and straight, as bright as the snow on the top of the mountain.
Gu Congxing couldn't help but stop where he was.
It turned out to be Master.
Shen Mu's ice-blue eyes looked like eternal ice even on this spring day, but they reflected Lan Jue's face.
He put the young boy in his arms back to the ground, his voice still as calm as Gu Congxing was familiar with:
"You have excellent aptitude, would you like to be my disciple?"
Lan Jue rubbed his eyes, looking a little bit unbelievable, but still moved closer and asked Chen Mu a question.
"Who are you? What does it mean to have excellent aptitude? And why should I take you as my master?"
Chen Mu was extremely patient and answered the young man's series of questions, "I come from the world of cultivation, my name is Shen Mu, and I just happened to travel here. You are born with a single water spiritual root, and your comprehension is excellent, making you very suitable for cultivation. If you are interested in seeking the truth, you can come with me."
Lan Jue was shocked and said, "The world of cultivation! I never thought there would actually be immortals..."
But the boy's expression changed again, and he looked a little distressed.
"But I should be a civil official and a famous minister..."
After Lan Jue said this, he looked at Chen Mu again, paced a few times, and the expression on his little face changed.
He asked, "Can cultivation and the Way help the world?"
She had a round and cute face, and her voice was still childish, but she asked this question.
Gu Congxing couldn't help but complain in his heart, he really deserves to be the eldest senior brother.
Chen Mu's expression was indifferent: "If a government official reaches a high position, he can help the people of a country; if a cultivator achieves great success in the Tao, he can save the people."
A very reasonable answer.
Gu Congxing hid aside and listened to their conversation. He thought that Lan Jue would agree to his master's request without hesitation after hearing this, but when he turned around, he saw disappointment on Lan Jue's face.
The young boy lowered his eyelids, his eyes dim.
"Thank you, Immortal, but I..."
But before he finished speaking, he heard Shen Mu continue:
"But whether to save him or not is entirely up to you."
"Saving the world or avoiding it, killing people or saving them, all are ways to seek immortality."
Lan Jue suddenly looked up, and light flashed in his amber eyes.
Gu Congxing was also touched. What the master said was a path that had never been shown to his eldest brother who had been under the guidance of sages for a long time.
...Perhaps, I am not the only one whose shackles have been broken and who has been given freedom by the Master.
At this moment, a strong wind whistled past, blowing up Shen Mu's white robe. His clothes fluttered, as if he was about to disappear into the air.
Lan Jue looked up, took a step forward, and held Shen Mu's hand.
At this moment, there were chaotic footsteps and urgent calls coming from not far away.
"Master!" "Lan Jue!"
Soon someone ran over here. Gu Congxing looked back and saw that the person was a dignified and solemn man.
When he came, he heard the servants of the Lan Mansion call him "Master", so this person must be the biological father of the eldest brother.
He was dressed neatly before, but now his hair was disheveled. He slowed down and exclaimed in surprise only when he saw Lan Jue and Shen Mu.
"Immortal! Did my son offend you?"
"Not really. This boy has a aptitude for wisdom. I wish to bring him to the realm of cultivation, where he can cultivate and achieve immortality."
Lan's father looked surprised and suspicious.
At this time, Lan Jue still did not let go of Shen Mu's hand. Instead, he looked up and said, "Father, I have decided to go with Master."
At this time, Lan's mother also rushed over. Her hair was slightly messy, and her beautiful eyes were cold. She stared at Lan Jue and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"
"Well, I've made up my mind to leave."
Gu Congxing saw Lan Jue's firm voice, and a happy smile slowly appeared on his delicate little face.
"Don't worry, you can still train other children to become famous ministers who can help the world."
When Gu Congxing heard him say this, he felt mixed emotions.
The eldest brother grew up with everyone's expectations on him. At this time, he was still a boy with a childish heart and still had some resentment towards his parents.
But what Lan's mother said next made Gu Congxing stunned.
She didn't rebuke him, nor did she refute him. She just asked softly, "Then...will you come back?"
The young man Lan Jue's expression also froze. He was silent for a moment and clenched his fists silently.
Finally, he said softly, "Yes. I will come back to see you. Maybe in three years."
Since then, Lan Jue left the world.
At this moment, the scenes in front of Gu Congxing's eyes flashed rapidly. Spring, summer, autumn and winter passed by, and Lan Jue grew up step by step in the Qingxuan Sword Sect. It was the third year.
But he did not go back.
Gu Congxing watched the thirteen-year-old Lan Jue write a reply to the letter from the human world, and then went back to practicing swordsmanship.
To the pieces of rice paper soaked with ink, he simply replied: "Don't worry too much, I'll be back in two years."
The boy who was cleaning Lan Jue's cave saw the reply letter in his hand and asked in a childish voice, "Brother, when you first came to the Sword Sect, you said you would return home in three years. Why did you postpone it?"
Lan Jue smiled cunningly, showing a boldness that Gu Congxing had never seen before.
"They wrote four out of five papers blaming me, so I'll rebel for once and go back later. Besides making them mad, it won't have any other consequences."
He circulated his spiritual power again, and water vapor rose around his body.
"Besides, I'm just about to establish my foundation... After two years, I'll perfect the method and demonstrate it to them. I want them to be astonished."
Time passed again, the seasons changed, and it was already two years later.
Fifteen-year-old Lan Jue changed several sets of clothes in front of the water mirror, and finally chose a long black robe that looked quite calm and elegant. He then put on the white jade crown with dragon pattern given by his master, and flew towards the human world with his sword proudly.
Gu Congxing followed behind him and went with him.
He stared at Lan Jue's fluttering clothes, his thoughts churning in his mind.
There is nothing special about it so far, so why has it become the inner demon of the eldest brother?
However, at this moment, the scene before his eyes began to turbulent again, like a scroll being crumpled, and everything was disappearing in the sound of the mighty river.
Gu Congxing couldn't help but stop flying the sword. When his vision stabilized again, he looked up and his heart was shocked.
There is no such thing as Lingcheng or Jiangnan in front of us. It is simply a void and dead place!
Under the dark sky, there are collapsed ruins everywhere!
"...Father, Mother? Sir?"
Lan Jue, dressed in black, had completely lost his color and stood alone between heaven and earth with a pale face.
"Lingcheng, how could Lingcheng become like this?!"
He muttered to himself, then ran away at full speed!
"Lan Mansion! Lan Mansion..."
He rushed to a ruined wall, but all he saw was a graveyard.
Lan Jue's pupils shrank, and he took a few steps with trembling legs, but fell to his knees with a plop.
Gu Congxing, who was standing behind him, was also horrified and unable to utter a word.
At this moment, a subtle sound emanated from the ground, and the surface rocks began to shift. Lan Jue's eyes lit up, and he immediately uncovered the rock, only to discover that a tomb robber had emerged from it!
The tomb robber looked into Lan Jue's eyes and immediately shouted "Please spare my life, Immortal" and was about to retreat, but he was already firmly grasped by Lan Jue.
"Don't run!" Lan Jue grabbed his collar, his eyes red. "Tell me! What on earth happened here?"
"Immortal...Immortal, I'm just passing through... This, this Lingcheng was hit by a flood two years ago. Thousands of people in the city died!"
Lan Jue's face immediately turned pale, his entire body swayed, and he muttered something with trembling lips before turning to the tomb robber and shouting, "That's nonsense! Lingshui hasn't had a flood in years! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll chop off your head!"
"Please spare me, Immortal! Everything I said is true! Two years ago, months of heavy rain caused the Ling River to burst its banks, and Lingcheng was the first to suffer!"
"At that time, the Lan family dredged the river and rescued a group of children. However, the water level rose too quickly, and within a few days, everyone..."
"Everyone is drowned!"
Lan Jue's eyes suddenly widened, and he stood still as if being strangled by an invisible giant hand, only his eyes became redder and redder.
"...dead, drowned?"
His head turned stiffly, his eyes swept over the ruins and graves, and tears flowed from his eyes.
Gu Congxing was also shocked when he heard this, and his heart sank.
The tomb robber watched Lan Jue's expression in panic, and finally pushed him hard when he turned his head, and fled away by crawling.
"Two years ago..."
Lan Jue still stood there, as if pierced through, making sounds like muttering.
“Haha, hahahaha…”
He cried and laughed, like a madman, and muttered to himself:
"It was two years ago! He died in a flood!!!"
"I clearly have water spiritual roots!"
"If I come back, if I come back—"
“Ahhhhhhhh!!”
The young man's veins were exposed and he let out a heart-wrenching cry.
Gu Congxing listened to his cries of pain echoing between heaven and earth, feeling heartbroken and unable to help but lean towards him.
But at this moment, everything in the Heart Demon Realm changed again. The already calm Lingshui River began to surge again, violently rushing towards this side!
And in the river, there were countless water ghosts struggling and stretching out their swollen arms!
Gu Congxing was shocked. This was definitely not a scene that could be seen in the real world. It was clearly the inner demon of the eldest brother!
Lan Jue stood alone in the same place. His dark robe had now turned completely white, and his eyes stared at the surging river without blinking.
"Big Brother!"
Gu Congxing shouted, grabbed Lan Jue's hand, and immediately summoned the Whale-Slaying Sword to fly away!
"Let me go!"
Lan Jue struggled and screamed at Gu Congxing, "I possess water-based spiritual power, yet I allowed my loved ones and thousands of innocent people to die in the flood!!"
"I should have come back two years ago, but because of my foolish rebellion..."
His voice choked when he said this, and his amber eyes were wide open, tears overflowing from them.
"How can I live in shame? I can't protect the people I cherish. I'm so incompetent and useless. I might as well die here!"
Gu Congxing was flying on his sword, listening to Lan Jue's roar, and just looking at him silently.
Only after Lan Jue stopped talking did Gu Congxing slowly say, "But, Senior Brother, you saved me."
The young man Lan Jue was stunned when he heard the voice, and only at this moment did he seem to see clearly the appearance of the person in front of him.
"……What?"
"Big Brother, you saved me."
Gu Congxing's voice trembled slightly as he continued, "If it weren't for you, I would have died in the battle with the blood demon."
"There are also Mei Ci, Tao Xueting, Ruan Wei, Deng Zhao, and Huo Chen."
"Big Brother, do the five people you saved in the illusion not count?!"
When Lan Jue was asked this question, his brows furrowed deeply, and his appearance began to change.
"But, the people of Lingcheng..."
"Brother, the Lingshui River's violent behavior is not your fault." Gu Congxing held his hand tightly. "If you knew there would be a flood, you would definitely come to help, right?"
Lan Jue bit his lip tightly and remained silent.
Looking at him like this, Gu Congxing suddenly thought of Lan Jue's ending in his previous life.
——In the dream demon's illusion, he watched three disciples die in front of him, his cultivation was hindered, and he resigned from the position of eldest senior brother, but became even more desperate to protect the people of the sect.
Afterwards, he watched his master fall, his sect collapse, and ultimately died as a sacrifice.
When Gu Congxing thought of this, his heart twitched, and then boundless pain surged up, spreading densely to every part of his limbs and bones.
"Brother, you..."
"Have you been atoning for your sins all this time?"
Lan Jue's expression paled when he heard this, and his facial features completely transformed into those of a young man, returning to the appearance that Gu Congxing was familiar with.
However, her usually dignified and gentle appearance seemed to be broken, and she stared at Gu Congxing motionlessly and silently.
He opened his mouth and called out very softly, "...from the stars."
Gu Congxing felt that everything around him was changing again. He let go of Lan Jue's hand, took a step forward and hugged him in his arms.
The person in his arms was trembling very slightly. Gu Congxing stroked his back and let a tear from his eyes slide down and hit Lan Jue's neck.
Lan Jue moved his body, but did not break free from his arms.
"Big Brother, this is too heavy. A thousand lives, that's too heavy."
"If you want to carry it all, let me carry it with you."
"After all, I was saved by you."
Lan Jue's voice seemed to come from far away, whispering in his ears: "...Why do you have to do this?"
Gu Congxing buried his head in his neck: "Big Brother, let's go back. Heal your wounds, and then escape from the bipolar demon realm together."
"……good."
As soon as these words were spoken, the sound of the river suddenly stopped, and the scenes before his eyes all retreated silently and dissipated.
Gu Congxing's eyes fell into darkness again.
However, in his chaotic consciousness, Gu Congxing felt petals falling on his forehead and brushing against his cheek.
With the subtle fragrance of plum blossoms.
...What a familiar taste.
Gu Congxing blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Lan Jue's face was reflected in his vision.
"Big Brother?"
"From the stars!"
The next moment, he fell into a warm embrace.
What he saw before him was dark brown soil with dots of green. He had returned from the Lan Jue Demon Realm to the Bipolar Demon Realm.
Gu Congxing was hugged tightly and noticed that his wound had healed a lot after applying the magic medicine. He thought it must be because the eldest brother woke up first.
He let Lan Jue hold him tighter and tighter, feeling as if he had turned into a piece of drifting wood, being firmly grasped by the drowning man, unable to pull away.
He was thinking back to what happened in the Heart Demon Realm and was just thinking about how to start talking when he heard Lan Jue say:
"Cong Xing has seen me at my worst. I am truly a disgrace to my senior brother."
Gu Congxing stroked Lan Jue's back from top to bottom, and after a moment of silence, he said slowly:
"Big Brother...you can also rely on me."
Lan Jue was stunned when he heard this.
"Brother, you know what you carry, and I understand that you are resourceful and powerful."
"But you don't have to do everything right or miss anything. You don't have to take it all on yourself."
"You can also... try to rely on me."
Lan Jue's bright amber eyes stared at Gu Congxing without blinking, and he fell into deep silence.
After a long time, two lines of tears overflowed from his eyes.
"Big Brother?!"
Gu Congxing was extremely panicked. He hurriedly came over and wiped the tears from Lan Jue's face with his hands, but the tears continued to fall like pearls from a broken string.
"Big Brother, you—huh?!"
He was suddenly embraced again, with a big hand holding the back of his neck.
"Then Cong Xing, you must protect me well."
"Otherwise, I'll rely on you."
Gu Congxing was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help laughing: "You are a dignified gentleman, but you speak like a rogue."
Lan Jue hugged him tighter, his breath soft in his ear: "Why, will Cong Xing dislike me like this?"
“…That’s not the case.”
"hehe."
Lan Jue laughed again, his chest rippling slightly, and even Gu Congxing could feel his joy.
The hands that were gently pressing on the back of Gu Congxing's neck slowly moved upwards, gently stroking the top of Gu Congxing's head, with their fingers buried in his hair.
"Congxing, can you call me Yunze?"
Gu Congxing noticed that Lan Jue's embrace had loosened a little. He raised his head and looked at Lan Jue.
There was a light flowing in Qiu Shui's eyes, like the shimmering light of a lake.
"What?"
"Congxing, when I was on earth, my courtesy name was Yunze. Can you call me Yunze?"
Gu Congxing felt as if his whole body was surrounded by the moisture around Lan Jue. Looking into those eyes, it was as if he had entered a clear lake.
“…Yunze.”
Lan Jue's eyes lit up and an unprecedented smile appeared on his face.
He placed Gu Congxing on his lap, resting his head on his neck, smelling the familiar scent of Yue Lin, and letting out sighs that sounded like crying and laughing.
He said.
"From the stars."
"From the stars."
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The author has something to say: The graves on the ruins were built by the children who were rescued. The Lan family thought they had enough time to save everyone, but they didn't expect that the weather would not be good... (sigh)
Thanks to the little angels for their support. I will update tomorrow! I won't continue to be cruel, it will be a little sweeter!
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