Chapter 124 Not long after, Er was alone again…
A short while later, Er returned alone, expressionless. After opening the door, she sat quietly on the edge of the bed, looking at Cang Li. Slowly, she reached out and touched Cang Li's face, then lowered her head and whispered:
"Sister, why do you like the Sage Taiqing? Can't I? We've been together from the very beginning."
Cang Li turned over in his sleep and mumbled indistinctly, "Daoist Master..."
Er's face contorted in a grimace for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and looked at Cang Li, saying:
"It's alright, sister, as long as I can see you, that's enough..."
Er got up to leave, and as soon as she opened the door, she saw Taiqing standing there. Taiqing's expression was as indifferent as ever, as if she hadn't noticed Er at all. As she brushed past Er, she said:
"Thank you for taking care of Ali."
Er smiled and said, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. It is only right that I take care of my elder sister."
After saying that, he walked forward, and then heard Taiqing's voice coming from behind him again:
"Don't let Ali know your thoughts, she will be at a loss and doubt herself. Also, don't do anything unnecessary and disturb Ali's cultivation."
Er paused, then continued walking forward, replying calmly, "What did the sage say? I don't understand."
Taiqing didn't answer, but closed the door and walked to the bedside. Seeing that Cangli was not sleeping soundly, she hugged Cangli into her arms, and the two lay on the bed, snuggling together and falling asleep.
When Cang Li woke up the next day, she was still a little disoriented and her mind was blank. How did she get back to her room to sleep?
Turning her head, she saw Taiqing's sleeping face, her eyes closed, long eyelashes covering her lower eyelids, and she was lying in Taiqing's arms.
Cang Li yawned, nestled in Tai Qing's arms, and dozed off with her eyes half-closed. She didn't want to get up and just wanted to stay in bed.
Taiqing moved her hand, encircling Cangli's back. Her eyes were still closed, but her voice reached Cangli's ears first:
"woke up?"
Cang Li grunted twice but didn't say anything.
Tai propped himself up with one hand and looked at Cang Li in his arms: "Where does it hurt?"
Cang Li shook his head: "No, I've already cultivated to this level, how could I feel uncomfortable?"
Taiqing pinched Cangli's earlobe and whispered, "I'll drink with you next time you want to. Don't drink in this kind of situation, it will attract people who want to have their eyes on you."
Cang Li's head snapped up: "You'll drink with me?" She'd never seen Tai Qing drunk before!
Taiqing nodded. Since Ah Li liked to drink, he would drink with her. He would never restrict Ah Li.
Cang Li thought that Tai Qing didn't like her drinking. She liked Tai Qing, so she was willing to accommodate him in some ways, just like Tai Qing always agreed unconditionally to whatever she wanted to do.
Taiqing helped the happy Cangli up and said, "Stop fooling around. Get up now that you're awake. We're not at home, so we need to be more careful."
Cang Li shook his head and said nonchalantly, "But this is your territory, the son I raised. If I'm so particular, he'll think we've grown apart. But you're right, I also need to see if they're happy in Heaven. I was the one who called the others to help you. If they don't like being in Heaven, their personal opinions should be respected."
After saying that, Cang Li got up, changed her clothes, tidied her hair, and turned to Tai Qing, saying:
"My hair is so long, I want to cut it."
Taiqing took Cangli's hair and said:
"Why cut it? Sit still."
After saying that, she tied Cang Li's hair into a simple bun, adorned it with flowers, and then conjured a pair of butterfly earrings for Cang Li to wear. With her eyes lowered, she said:
"alright."
Cang Li, beaming with delight, conjured a water mirror to admire herself, and vainly asked Tai Qing:
Am I good-looking?
Taiqing: "It looks good."
Cang Li was satisfied and pulled Tai Qing out to find Ji.
At this moment, Er was holding a meeting in the Lingxiao Palace, mainly to discuss the vacancies in various positions in the Heavenly Court and to find new people to fill them. However, this job was not easy, as nowadays cultivators preferred to find a blessed land to cultivate rather than come to the Heavenly Court to work.
After much discussion, Er finally decided to go to the human race to see those with cultivation talent, and then send people to guide them in cultivating immortality, so that they could serve as righteous gods after going through tribulations.
After the immortals dispersed, Ji Hejie said:
“Now that you have sorted out the affairs of Heaven, we want to return to Kunlun Mountain to serve our elder sister. This time, we want to travel with our elder sister.”
Er stopped what he was doing, put down his pen, and said very sincerely, "The Heavenly Court still has many things to do. You are the people I trust the most. Please help me for a while longer."
Ji hesitated for a moment, then looked at the other three. The four of them didn't have any lofty ambitions. In comparison, they preferred the days they spent with Cang Li. Even if they couldn't return to the cave to stay permanently now, they preferred the free and unrestrained cultivation life in Kunlun Mountain.
But Er is their brother who grew up together, and no matter what, they definitely don't want to see Er having a hard time.
After a moment's thought, he spoke gently:
"Er, we're still worried about our elder sister. How about this: we'll take turns going to her side every day, and the rest of us will stay here to help you. Once all the righteous gods have returned to their places, we can go back to our carefree lives. What do you think?"
Er revealed a relieved smile:
"Of course you can. If you two really wanted to leave together, I would have been struggling with this for a long time. This solution is truly the best of both worlds."
Then he said, "When my sister gets up, I'll ask her when she's going back."
The other three nodded; it was time to ask.
Er then said, “In that case, why not persuade Sister to stay in Heaven? We are all here, and Mother Goddess is here too. This should be Sister’s home.”
Upon hearing this, the four people looked at each other in bewilderment. Indeed, Er's words made a lot of sense. If Cang Li stayed and lived in the Heavenly Court, they wouldn't have to worry about it anymore; he would definitely stay with his sister.
After a moment's hesitation, everyone said:
"My sister probably doesn't like living in Heaven. If you try to persuade her, she'll get angry."
Er smiled and said, "How will you know if you don't try?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the heavenly soldiers outside came in to report that the Supreme Saint and Cangli had arrived.
Er hurriedly got up to greet her: "Sister, why didn't you come in?"
Cang Li and Tai Qing intertwined their fingers and said with a smile:
"How can you just walk in like that? You're the Heavenly Emperor now, aren't you at home? Aren't all the people here?"
Er nodded: "Everyone's here, Sister, come in quickly."
As she spoke, she stepped aside to make way, and when her eyes met Taiqing's, she remained expressionless, as if their brief confrontation the night before had never happened.
After Cang Li went inside, Jie Hezhong came over, squeezed past Tai Qing, and took her hand in a coquettish tone: "Sister, you didn't drink much last night before you fell asleep."
"I can't hold my liquor, I won't drink next time. What were you guys talking about just now?"
Yu said quickly, "We've agreed that we'll take turns going to Sister's side every day, while the others will stay in Heaven to continue helping you with your work."
Cang Li raised an eyebrow: "You've even implemented a shift system? Did you agree to it?"
Er walked over, head down, and said somewhat forlornly:
"Of course I would agree, but sister, they can go, but I can't. If you leave, it will be a long time before I see you again."
Cang Li looked at Er with amusement, as if no matter how much time had passed, these children were still the same as before.
"Then what can we do? You got this Heavenly Emperor position yourself, you can't just give it up like that, can you?" Cang Li said jokingly.
Er pursed her lips, her mood sinking further, and cautiously suggested:
"Sister, can you stay with us like before? Heaven is so big, can you stay here?"
Then she hurriedly explained, "I was just saying that. It's okay if you don't agree, sister. At most, I won't see you for a long time. Your happiness is the most important thing."
亼, 介, 众, 余: ? ? ?
No, brother, you weren't like this just now.
Cang Li hesitated, while Tai Qing sat calmly to the side drinking tea, seemingly not understanding Er's meaning and showing no emotion whatsoever.
Er looked up at Cang Li and said, "Sister, I was just saying it casually. Don't take it to heart. I know you have important things to do, but I just hope you can come and see me when you have time."
Cang Li sighed, patted Er's head, and said:
“You’ve always loved to stick to me since you were little. It’s not really suitable for you to stay in Heaven forever, but I will come to see you often.”
Er immediately smiled happily, her tone becoming slightly excited: "That's great! Sister, I knew you loved me the most."
After saying that, he hugged Cang Li tightly.
Taiqing: ...
Taiqing couldn't drink any more tea. She got up, walked to Cangli, pulled Cangli out of Er's arms, and looked at Er indifferently, saying:
"The Heavenly Emperor is acting like a child? Has he wasted all those years of cultivation?"
From an angle unseen by Cang Li, Er gave Tai Qing a provocative look, but spoke in a very humble tone:
"The sage's teachings are correct. It's just that I haven't seen my elder sister for a long time, and I couldn't help myself. My cultivation period is still short, unlike the sage's tens of thousands of years of cultivation."
Taiqing: ...
Cang Li patted Tai Qing's hand: "You're much more sensible than before. We've been delayed in the Heavenly Court for quite some time. We should go and see the human race. I wonder how Hong Yun's reincarnation is doing."
Even without seeing Hongyun, Cang Li kept thinking about her.
Taiqing withdrew her gaze, lowered her head, and said, "Okay, wherever you go, I'll always be by your side."
Er's face instantly darkened, but before Cang Li could look over, he put on an innocent smile again:
“With a saint by my side, I feel at ease. Otherwise, I would always worry about whether my sister has suffered any losses outside. Sister, let Jie go with you this time. Otherwise, after raising us, none of us will stay by your side.”
Cang Li readily agreed: "Okay." She was pleased to see how close the children were.
"Then I should be leaving soon, Er. If you need anything, just tell someone to go to Bajing Palace or Kunlun Mountain to find me. Although I don't have any special skills, I will do my best to help you."
Er reluctantly watched Cang Li leave, personally seeing him off at the South Heavenly Gate. Once Cang Li's figure was out of sight, Er's expression immediately turned cold, and he said to Ji and Yu:
“The aquatic creatures of the Four Seas refuse to submit. You and I will go there together. Those who refuse to submit, we will beat them into submission. The dragons of the Four Seas have a great influence on the natural changes of the mortal world by controlling the clouds and rain. We cannot let them do whatever they want without any restraint.”
Ji and Yu exchanged a glance. This was a serious matter. They cupped their hands and said, "Alright, let's set off immediately."
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