Chapter 18: CH 17

MERRY CHRISTMAS~

Translator: Amber.es | Editor: Bubbles | Proofreader: musk

“When I was still a dragon egg, my parents lost their lives in an unfortunate accident. It was Jun Yan who brought me back to the Dragon Palace and took good care of me.”

Moonlight penetrated through the swaying leaves of the forest. Jun Ruzhuo leaned against the trunk of a tree, his expression hidden in the darkness, unable to be seen.

“He was the first person I saw when I was born. He named me, taught me how to read, and then martial arts. He said that he would always be my elder brother, and would always protect me.”

“Then why did he…” Feng Qi swallowed, his voice slightly hoarse. “Why did he… become like this?”

Jun Ruzhuo did not answer. He curled his lips in mockery, with a hint of ridicule in his voice. “Jun Yan is extremely talented, and a proud child of heaven since birth, possessing an unlimited domain for him to conquer. In the entire immortal realm, none dared to not respect him as the crown price. Speaking of which, he was almost the same level as the current status of Your Second Highness Feng.”

“But in terms of appearance, behavior, or cultivation, you are far behind the him of those years.”

Feng Qi didn’t care about the mockery in this person’s words. He asked, “What happened to him?”

Jun Ruzhuo said, “Three hundred years ago, he left the Lingyuan Sea to travel to the lower realm. After three mere months, when he returned, he had lost his dragon pearl and lived like a half-dead person.”

Feng Qi’s eyes suddenly shrank. “Dragon Pearl? How could a Dragon Pearl be lost?”

“No one knows. He refuses to say anything about it.” Jun Ruzhuo continued, “A Dragon Pearl is located within the spiritual core; it cannot be taken unless it’s torn out. At that time, Jun Yan’s cultivation base had reached its peak. Who do you think has the capability to take away his Dragon Pearl?”

A chill ran through Feng Qi’s back to the base of his head, and he muttered, “You mean… he gave his Dragon Pearl to someone else?”

“Other than that, I can’t think of other possibilities.” Jun Ruzhuo sneered. “Do you know what it means for a dragon to lose its own Dragon Pearl? It means that he’s completely destroyed, his cultivation completely lost, and he can no longer cultivate martial arts. He can no longer return to his former strength. Utterly ridiculous. The best descendant of the Dragon Clan in hundreds of years has become this useless person. Really too ridiculous…”

“Just because of this, you drove him out of the Lingyuan Sea?”

Jun Ruzhuo fell silent, then continued, “I don’t know what happened during that period of time. Something seemed to have happened to Lingyuan Sea, but I was too young and was sent away from the Dragon Palace. I heard that Elder Brother… heard that Jun Yan had an accident. I rushed back, and happened to run into Jun Yan striking down his bodyguard, trying to flee to the mortal realm.”

“I stopped him. I begged him to stay, begged him to get his Dragon Pearl back. Do you know what he said to me?”

“…What?”

“He said, Lingyuan Sea can no longer tolerate him.” Jun Ruzhuo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “After what happened to him, Uncle1 grieved. He did not divulge the location of his Dragon Pearl, hence Uncle searched all over the world and tried his best to save him. I don’t understand why he thought that way. But maybe he was really such a silly person, trusting another person so easily.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because he told me that he was going to meet up with someone.”

That day, a young Jun Yan had stood on the coast, gazing at the sea and sky in the distance. His pale and sallow face carried a vivid expression that Jun Ruzhuo had never seen in his life.

“Ah Zhuo, I’m waiting for someone.” His eyes reflected the blue Lingyuan Sea, his smile soft and peaceful. “When he comes back, everything will return to what it should have been.”

“Who are you waiting for? Who did you give your Dragon Pearl to?”

“I can’t tell you,” Jun Yan told him, “But believe me, I know what I am doing. I will definitely come back.”

“At that time, he had no means of cultivation left. Escaping from the Dragon Palace had exhausted the last of his strength. It was I who led away the soldiers after him and sent him to the mortal realm. I thought he would come back.” Jun Ruzhuo scoffed. “Thinking back now, I was as stupid as him to have actually believed his story. I had actually believed that the person who had only known him for less than three months, deceiving and ruining his cultivation, would come back for him.”

Jun Ruzhuo’s eyes were red. His hoarse voice was full of hatred. “His Dragon Pearl was the supreme treasure. The moment anyone got it, they would immediately have the spiritual power of the heavens and the earth. How could he be so stupid? To believe that person would return it to him?”

Feng Qi’s heart was pierced without warning. The subtle pain almost made him breathless. But Jun Ruzhuo didn’t notice his strangeness, and sneered, “I forgot to ask just now. I wonder if he regrets his stupidity after waiting for three hundred years in vain.”

No, he had no regrets.

Feng Qi closed his eyes. In his mind’s eye, the image of how Ji Chaoyun took back the phoenix plume feather appeared. That kind of expression, nurturing such a cherished and relieved emotion, was definitely not the appearance of regret.

He waited for three hundred years in vain. Yet, until now, he still believed that the person who took his Dragon Pearl would return.

What could make him believe this throughout all this time?

Jun Ruzhuo buried his face in his palms, as if wanting to conceal a certain emotion through this action. After a long while, he finally calmed down and continued slowly, “After Jun Yan defected, the Dragon King ordered for him to be expelled from the Dragon Clan, and he will never be allowed to return to Lingyuan Sea.”

“I used to go to the mortal realm to search for him these past years, but I couldn’t find him. Later, there were rumors that Jun Yan defected to the mortal realm as a demon, and some people said he was dead.” Jun Ruzhuo suddenly smiled lightly. His voice was heavy and sorrowful. “…I would rather have him dead than watch him struggling on death’s door.”

But he didn’t.

The scarred young man who had lost his cultivation skills had been in the world for more than three hundred years. He’d changed his name and surname, shedding his immortal bones, degenerating from an immortal to a demon, before ascending once more to stand in this immortal realm.

.

When Feng Qi returned to Wenqu Peak, the curfew had long passed. He walked into the familiar courtyard and stood by the stone bridge, looking across the water at the closed door of Ji Chaoyun’s bedroom, the candlelight dancing on the window.

Before Jun Ruzhuo had told him the truth, he actually had a vague suspicion in his heart.

Ji Chaoyun’s innate temperament, his rejection and dislike of the immortal realm, and Jun Ruzhuo’s extraordinary attitude towards him shouldn’t be the result of a demonic dragon who first climbed into the immortal realm.

But the truth was still beyond his imagination.

Feng Qi didn’t dare imagine how this person had survived the three hundred years after his exile from the Dragon Clan with his root bones completely destroyed.

What was it that had supported him until now?

Who was he waiting for?

An inexplicable and sharp tingling spread from his heart. Feng Qi frowned, raised his hand and pressed it firmly against his heart, his breathing hard.

Since he was conscious, he had never felt such an out-of-control emotion. It was unfamiliar, but it seemed like it was ought to be.

A faint noise came from the back of the room, pulling Feng Qi back from his chaotic thoughts. He followed the sound around the house, and a thin figure stood in the spiritual field behind it, bending over to water the spiritual grass.

Ji Chaoyun only wore a thin short outer garment. His cuffs were rolled up, revealing his slender white wrist. His half-loose long hair was tied behind his head with a strap, and only a few strands fell from the front of his forehead, which was a bit neater than before.

His plain clothes and hands were stained with mud, as if in a difficult situation.

Feng Qi looked at him from a distance, only to feel that his eyes were dry and heavy, and not a word escaped his lips.

“What are you looking at?” Ji Chaoyun straightened up and asked suspiciously.

Feng Qi looked away to gather his bearings. In a hushed voice, he questioned, “What are you doing?”

“Watering your precious spirit grasses, can’t you see?” Ji Chaoyun bent down and resumed his actions. “You haven’t taken care of the spirit field for a few days. These spirit herbs are so delicate. How do you plan to raise them like this?”

“Why do you worry so much? Even if they don’t survive, I wouldn’t ask you to pay.” Feng Qi asked, “Why didn’t you go practice your cultivation tonight?”

“Can’t calm down, might as well find something to do,” Ji Chaoyun replied vaguely. “In any case, I’m here to do hard work for you to pay off my debts. As you said earlier, taking care of the spiritual field is three spiritual stones. Don’t renege on your words.”

Feng Qi whispered softly, “I didn’t really want you to pay it back.”

“What?”

Feng Qi: “It took five thousand spiritual stones to redeem your purse. Jiang Cheng came out with three thousand. I asked Xu Zixing for the remaining two thousand. He sold your purse for one thousand, and the remaining one thousand is to teach him a lesson. We have already settled things. You don’t owe me.”

Ji Chaoyun actually knew about this.

His Second Highness Feng never let himself suffer. From the very beginning, he never planned to pay the money himself. It was just that, according to his previous statement, blackmailing Jiang Cheng and Xu Zixing for compensation was his own method, while the debt Ji Chaoyun owed him was another matter and could not be counted together.

For this reason, Ji Chaoyun even felt that if in the future, His Second Highness Feng had spent all his savings, he could live on as a profiteer in the Sea Marketplace.

Ji Chaoyun was still wondering why this person had changed his attitude towards him, when he suddenly thought of something. A sense of crisis developed from the bottom of his heart. He cautiously asked, “Are you going to drive me away?”

“…No.” Feng Qi frowned. “What are you thinking about all day long? Am I this kind of person?”

“It is hard to say.” Ji Chaoyun’s hands kept moving, but his tone was obviously lighter. “Do you not know it is recognized in the whole academy that the most difficult person to fathom is you? Who knows what you are thinking about.”

Feng Qi smiled slightly. “Then do you want to know what I am thinking now?”

“What?”

“You come here, I’ll tell you.”

Ji Chaoyun glanced at him suspiciously, feeling that there was something wrong with this person tonight. But Feng Qi’s expression didn’t show the slightest clue. He pondered for a moment, put down the things in his hands, and walked across the spiritual field towards Feng Qi with big and quiet footsteps.

“Say it. What are you—”

Before he finished his words, he was suddenly embraced.

Feng Qi bent down and tightened his arms, as if to cage Ji Chaoyun into his arms.

He actually didn’t know why he wanted to do this, but it seemed like this was the only way to counteract the lingering pain that was almost as piercing as that of a thousand cuts in his heart.

Ji Chaoyun froze in place. For some reason, he did not push the other away.

After meeting an old friend, he was far from being as calm as before.

After so many years, those things were already in the past. He could let himself not think about the freedom of wandering amongst the sea of ​​clouds, to not miss the superior life of living in the deep sea’s Dragon Palace, to not regret the impressive talent that could never be retrieved again.

But… even if over the years, these old wounds that had been unable to heal had become a habit, to suddenly be torn apart by another, it would still hurt to the brim.

To have a hug during the time it hurt the most, was something that couldn’t be better.

Ji Chaoyun let himself be buried in Feng Qi’s arms, breathing deeply. The gloom that lasted all night was finally wiped out. Nonetheless, Feng Qi remained still, and didn’t let go.

With doubt, Ji Chaoyun frowned. He spoke softly, his voice a little dull as his mouth was partially covered. “Feng Qi.”

“Hm?”

Ji Chaoyun thought about it. There was only one possibility for this person’s mood to be so abnormal. He broke free from Feng Qi’s arms and looked up at him. “Is Immortal Lord Tianshu finally determined to drive you out of the academy?”

Feng Qi: “…”

He let go of the other, his ears slightly red. “No, what are you thinking about?”

“I would also like to know what you are thinking about.” Ji Chaoyun took a half step back, his expression slightly uncomfortable. “Why, out of nowhere, are you doing these kinds of actions.”

“…” Feng Qi coughed and said vaguely, “Nothing much. Seeing you work hard in the middle of the night, I wanted to reward you.”

Speechless, Ji Chaoyun could only look back at him.

The two stood in a stalemate for a while, and Ji Chaoyun said helplessly, “Forget it, I will never understand your thought process. I will return to my room first.”

“Wait a minute,” Feng Qi said. “Come with me first.”

Feng Qi took Ji Chaoyun to the door of his bedroom, entered, and took a thin book from the desk. He walked out, and handed it over.

Ji Chaoyun asked, “What is this?”

“The solution to the secret realm’s trial.”

Ji Chaoyun was about to flip through the book when he paused.

“The secret realm’s trial needs the participation of two Black and Yellow-level disciples. When you enter the Secret Realm, according to the initial pre-allocated team, you will enter the first level, Breaking Formation. The stone array usually requires five to six people to break. You only have three people, even if all of you are able to cooperate perfectly, be it time or spiritual power loss, it’ll be twice as much as the others.” Feng Qi pointed to the book in Ji Chaoyun’s hand and continued, “Unless you use my method.”

Ji Chaoyun’s eyes narrowed. “Song shixiong told you?”

Feng Qi did not answer. He continued, “Previously, I alone broke the array, and it even took a shorter time than with a team, but it requires a strong enough spiritual power. However, the three of you…”

His voice stopped abruptly, and he couldn’t say the words “lack spiritual power”.

Feng Qi looked away. “The three of you can use this method to cooperate. If you all don’t make a mistake, you should be able to shorten the breaking time to the same as a usual team.”

“After defeating the Stoneman Array, you’ll be teleported to a different place for the second stage — Punishing Evil.”

Feng Qi stated, “There are countless monsters scattered in this secret realm. Every one kill is counted as one point. In addition, there are five mysterious areas. Either alone or with cooperation to behead the five fierce guarding beasts, the Secret Realm assessment will end and the ranking will be based on the final score.”

“…In addition to the method of cracking the stone array, there’s also a secret boundary map, which shows all the maze formations, traps, evil spirits, and the possible haunts and solutions of five mysterious boundaries.”

Ji Chaoyun was silent for a moment and asked, “When did you prepare this?”

Feng Qi didn’t expect him to ask this. Without even thinking about it, he answered, “I wrote it a long time ago. I wrote it for myself. Can’t I?”

With his cultivation and talent, he naturally didn’t need to write it for himself. This clumsy lie was slightly ridiculous.

Feng Qi quickly realized this. He said vaguely, “Anyway, take it back. Write down a few key points. Even if your final ranking is not high, it’s unlikely you’ll fall to the third rank.”

However, Ji Chaoyun shook his head. He handed the book back to Feng Qi. “I can’t accept it.”

“You—” Feng Qi instantly understood what he was thinking, and persuaded, “I know your concerns, but the secret realm assesses the teamwork and cultivation skills of the disciples. Many disciples will go to the higher level disciples before the assessment to ask about the secret realm’s situation. This is not a violation of the rules.”

“Then the solution of the Stoneman Array can also be disclosed at will?” Ji Chaoyun asked.

Feng Qi was startled.

Ji Chaoyun said, “I understand your kindness, but I can’t keep relying on others to go on.”

From leaving Lingyuan Sea, to the three hundred years of wandering about in the mortal realm, to turning into a demon, and ascending through adversities, he had always survived by only relying on himself.

Feng Qi hated iron for not becoming steel. “Don’t forget that if you fail in your quarterly test, you are leaving the academy. Haven’t you always wanted to stay here?”

“I just believe that I can stay here by my own strength.”

Ji Chaoyun touched the purse exuding heat through his clothes. The corners of his mouth curved slightly. He raised his head, his gaze crossing over the roof and onto the sky shining with stars, awashed with the radiant moonlight.

He knew that above this night sky, separated by a distance of ninety-nine heavens, was the realm of God.

“Feng Qi, what I want to do is not just stay,” Ji Chaoyun said softly with the starlight reflected in his eyes. “I used to think that as long as I stood and waited, I would definitely be able to wait for what I wanted and the person I wanted to see… but then I realized that besides waiting, I had another choice, and that was to find them personally.”

“I want to go further. If I can’t handle it right now, how can I get what I want?”

“Even if you can take a detour, you won’t regret it?”

Ji Chaoyun shook his head. “In this life, I have only regretted one thing.”

“What is it?”

Ji Chaoyun: “Not coming here three hundred years ago.”

Feng Qi fixedly looked at him. He finally showed his first heartfelt smile tonight. “Understood. Then I wish you what you want.”

Five days later, the quarterly exams officially started.

The author has something to say:

Things in the previous life will slowly unfold, and the behavior of the characters will be explained. If you can’t stand it, you can discard the article, please don’t scold others without seeing the truth, thank you_(:з」∠)_

Father’s younger brother 叔父.