Chapter 110 – My Mom Is in Danger! – “Xie Chenyang: It’s my fault for not recognizing you.” (00/00)
Xie Chenyang woke up in a room, and his memories suddenly came flooding back.
“Congratulations on your return from your training, Immortal Lord. Your senior brother is waiting for you outside.”
Xie Chenyang: “…Huh.”
So it was his senior brother. The thought sent a chill down his spine.
Xie Chenyang covered his eyes. He’d been sent on this trial by the City Lord; his senior brother must have followed out of concern for him, but he… had actually…
“Immortal Lord?”
Xie Chenyang took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped out. Chu Jun stood outside the door, facing him, his black hair slightly tousled.
Feeling guilty, Xie Chenyang stopped in his tracks. “S–Senior Brother.”
“Junior Brother.” Chu Jun still gave off the same refined and meticulous impression, yet there was something slightly different about him. “You were in such a hurry in that last world, and your system even popped up. Is there something wrong with it?”
“Yes!” Xie Chenyang turned to look at the Immortal Assistant. “My system—can I see it?”
The Immortal Assistant replied, “Certainly, Immortal Lord. Your system is You Huang from the ‘Never Forgive’ Group. Barring any surprises, he should be reporting to his group leader right now. Please follow me.”
——- ——– ——-
The leader of the ‘Never Forgive’ Group frowned. “You Huang? He submitted a leave request when he left that world. I’ve already approved it; he’s not at the Twelve Reincarnation Palace right now.” He then laughed heartily. “Did our You Huang do something wrong? Is the Immortal Lord here to discipline him?”
“No, I’ve formed a father-son bond with him. I just wanted to bring my wife to meet his elders.”
“…Father and son?”
“Yes. So, Leader, do you know where he went?”
The Leader shook his head. “I don’t know. But he’ll be back once he’s finished his business. After all, he’ll have to finish his leave.”
“Alright.” Xie Chenyang had no choice but to leave the Twelve Reincarnation Palaces for the time being.
Chu Jun noticed he was heading in the wrong direction. “Where are you going?”
“To the City Lord’s Mansion.” Xie Chenyang snorted, his expression furious. “I’m going to find Little Xiao to tell him his master is no good!”
Chu Jun: “That’s our City Lord.”
“So what? I’m not afraid of him!” Xie Chenyang said with a smirk. “I’m going to make sure Little Xiao knows exactly what kind of person his master is!”
Chu Jun: “……”
“Little Xiao only has me as a friend. Do you think it’s easy for him? That bastard took advantage of Little Xiao’s absence and, against my will, dumped me in the Twelve Palaces for training. That’s just too much!”
“……” Chu Jun said softly, “I might know the reason. The City Lord admires him. Seeing how close you two are, he’s naturally jealous.” His expression shifted slightly. “Ji Xiao has left for his training. That’s why he made you stay at the Twelve Reincarnation Palaces a little longer before starting your own training—he wanted to keep you and Ji Xiao apart.”
Xie Chenyang: “He admires him? Yet can’t even tolerate someone being his friend? No, I can’t let Little Xiao be deceived. He holds his master in such high regard!”
Chu Jun: “……” Very well.
The people at the City Lord’s Mansion recognized Xie Chenyang and knew he and Ji Xiao were close friends, so no one stopped him.
Just as Xie Chenyang was about to head toward Ji Xiao’s former courtyard, an immortal attendant stepped forward and said, “Immortal Xie, the City Lord’s wife has moved to a new residence.”
Xie Chenyang stopped in his tracks. “Then where does he live now?”
“In the main courtyard, of course.” The attendant showed him the direction. “Would you like me to escort you there?”
“No need. We’ll go on our own.”
“As you wish.”
As they walked, Xie Chenyang grumbled, “I wonder how long Little Xiao has been back. He’s already become the City Lord’s wife! Could it be that they’ve already become immortal partners?”
Chu Jun replied, “The City Lord is Ji Xiao’s master; doesn’t he know better than you? You really don’t need to make a fuss over this.”
“Then I’m going to go tattle on Little Xiao too! How dare he send me off to the Twelve Reincarnation Palaces for training without even asking my opinion?”
Xie Chenyang and Chu Jun entered the main courtyard without any trouble. From a distance, Xie Chenyang spotted three people in the courtyard; two of them were Ji Xiao and Luo Xiuya, while the third was a stranger to him.
Ji Xiao looked in their direction.
The other two sensed their presence as well, but didn’t turn around; they continued their previous conversation.
Luo Xiuya still seemed somewhat surprised. “I still can’t quite believe it; after all these years, you’ve actually gathered all your split souls?”
“What’s so hard to believe about that?” Qingyuan’s voice was cool and detached. “They just happened to wander right up to me. I was wondering why they’d been out of sight for tens of thousands of years. Turns out they’d run off to a Minor Thousand World.”
Luo Xiuya laughed aloud. “That’s quite a coincidence. I was beginning to think you’d given up on retrieving those split souls.”
After all, ever since Qingyuan began cultivating that immortal art, he had split off a fragment of his soul every thousand years. He’d never been one for traveling, and sometimes, when he sensed resistance from a fragment, he’d simply not bother to retrieve it, letting them roam freely.
It wasn’t until he neared the end of his cultivation that he summoned them back one by one. However, there was always one fragment he couldn’t detect.
Unexpectedly, he’d managed to retrieve it today. “One less fragment of my soul doesn’t affect me in the slightest. It just so happened to cross my path, so I reclaimed it on the spot.”
Luo Xiuya asked curiously, “Have you fused it yet? How did it end up in the Small Thousand World?”
“Not yet,” Qingyuan replied. “When I reclaimed it, it was about to reach your city, so I just called it back for now, thinking I’d fuse it once I got here.”
Luo Xiuya said, “Then go fuse with it first. Just in time, too. I have guests here.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Chenyang and Chu Jun had already arrived before them. Qingyuan stood up and vanished from where he stood.
Xie Chenyang watched his figure, furrowing his brow slightly. “What was that just now?”
“Qingyuan, the Lord of Taoyuanjian. He’s never been one for socializing. I suppose you weren’t aware,” Luo Xiuya said with a smile as he looked at him. “How did your training go?”
“I didn’t need that kind of training at all! You actually threw me into the Twelve Reincarnation Palaces against my will!”
Xie Chenyang turned to Ji Xiao. “Little Xiao, your master is no good—you…”
“You can’t say that.” Luo Xiuya spun around and sat on Ji Xiao’s lap. “Since we’re not related, I could never arrange a training pact with the Twelve Palaces for you.”
Ji Xiao wrapped his arm around him. “Xiuya’s right.”
“What do you mean?” Xie Chenyang was startled. “Could it be… you went to see my master? To trick him into sending me on this trial?”
Luo Xiuya chuckled softly, his captivating eyes fixed on Chu Jun.
Xie Chenyang realized what was happening and tilted his head in disbelief. “No way, Senior Brother! You and him teamed up to set me up?”
Chu Jun: “We’ll discuss this when we get back.”
Xie Chenyang: “…Oh.”
Ji Xiao rested his chin on Luo Xiuya’s shoulder, his voice tinged with amusement. “No wonder there’s talk that these two know how to have fun. If I’m not mistaken, it won’t be long before I receive your immortal couple’s wedding invitation, right?”
Xie Chenyang: “Ahem! You two, stop being so lovey-dovey. Little Xiao, can we step aside for a moment?”
Ji Xiao: “Sure.”
Ji Xiao and Xie Chenyang walked out of the courtyard together.
Xie Chenyang lowered his voice. “Did you and your master really become immortal partners?”
Ji Xiao nodded. “Too bad you were still out on your trials when it happened.”
“It’s all your master’s doing!”
“Your senior brother had a hand in it, too.”
Xie Chenyang stopped in his tracks, leaned against a pillar, and sighed. “Back in the Illusion Realm, your master and my senior brother were still a couple. How did it come to this…”
“Looking back now, there were signs,” Ji Xiao said, stopping beside him. “Back then, I went mad when I saw my master die, while you kept watching your senior brother afterward to see if he’d truly found someone he loved.”
Xie Chenyang retorted, “I was just worried he’d go crazy over love! You saw how foolish he was in the Illusion Realm…”
Ji Xiao smiled but said nothing.
Xie Chenyang: “Why does it feel like you’ve changed so much…”
“Haven’t you, too?”
“…How about… we have a spar?”
——– ——- ——-
After their spar, they sat together on the ground, reminiscing on old memories.
Xie Chenyang propped his chin on one hand. “Did you and your master also fall in love during a trial? Wouldn’t that be awkward after coming out…? How did you two… um, how did you…”
Ji Xiao selectively forgot the series of events that had occurred right after he’d emerged and said calmly, “Of course it wasn’t awkward. We just ended up together naturally. After all, having spent so many lifetimes together, what’s there to be awkward about?”
“But that’s your master…”
“Trust me.” Ji Xiao patted his shoulder and said meaningfully, “After a good night’s sleep, you won’t feel awkward anymore.”
When they returned, Luo Xiuya and Chu Jun were leisurely drinking.
“Senior Brother.” Xie Chenyang cleared his throat. “Let’s head back.”
Chu Jun stood up. “Thank you for your hospitality, City Lord. We’ll take our leave now.”
Luo Xiuya raised his glass and took a sip. “We won’t see you off.”
Xie Chenyang and Chu Jun left side by side.
Xie Chenyang couldn’t think of anything to say for a moment, so he blurted out, “That Immortal Lord looked kind of familiar just now. I wonder if I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
Chu Jun hummed in response. “He does look like someone.”
“In the last world… when your system brought back that Spirit Cultivator.”
“Huo Yuanyi?”
After all, he hadn’t actually seen Huo Yuanyi very often, let alone had any real interaction with him. But Huo Yuanyi and Qingyuan were so different in temperament that he hadn’t even realized it when he saw him just now.
“Oh no!” Recalling the conversation they’d overheard when entering the courtyard, Xie Chenyang felt a chill run down his spine. “My mom’s in danger!”
That “split soul” they were talking about—it had to be Huo Yuanyi!
They’d even mentioned the “Little Thousand Worlds.” How could he have missed it?
Honestly, he had never imagined that Huo Yuanyi was just a fragment of a soul!
Xie Chenyang turned and flew back, just as he came upon Luo Xiuya and Ji Xiao, who were affectionately feeding each other wine. He exclaimed urgently, “Stop canoodling! Where’s Qingyuan? Where is he?”
Ji Xiao let go of Luo Xiuya. “Why are you looking for him?”
“There’s no time to explain! Hurry up and take me to him!”
If he was too late, his mother would be gone! Wouldn’t You Huang cry himself to death?
Ji Xiao sensed his impatience and stood up. “I’ll take you there.”
They hurried to the door of Qingyuan’s room in the City Lord’s Mansion.
Xie Chenyang rushed forward anxiously, but Chu Jun grabbed his arm. “There’s an immortal spell barrier.”
Luo Xiuya: “Qingyuan, how are things? Can you come out for a moment? Someone’s looking for you; it seems to be urgent.”
Qingyuan didn’t respond.
Xie Chenyang shouted, “Don’t fuse with that split soul! You said it yourself that you don’t need it! That it won’t affect you. Let him go!”
“So it’s all about that split soul,” Luo Xiuya murmured. “I’m afraid it’s too late. If Qingyuan began the fusion the moment he returned, it’s most likely already complete by now; it was his soul to begin with. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t know at the time! One was as cold and aloof as frost, the other as carefree as a rogue—I didn’t catch on!”
If it hadn’t been for Chu Jun’s reminder, he wouldn’t have made the connection at all!
Chu Jun paused. “At the time, I just thought their faces looked somewhat similar; I didn’t think much of it, Junior Brother…”
“I know, I’m not blaming you,” Xie Chenyang said, his brow furrowed. “Has he fused with it yet? Why isn’t he saying anything?”
A ripple of energy stirred at the doorway. The barrier was lifted, and the door swung open.
Qingyuan appeared before them and said calmly, “I have completed the fusion. Yunhua no longer exists in this world—only I, Qingyuan.”
Yunhua?
Was that Huo Yuanyi’s real name?
Xie Chenyang snapped, “Can you split off that soul fragment again? Can you? Please!”
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
