Chapter 69
“Although the Heavenly Law is the creator, it still cannot achieve everything as desired. This shows that the ways and rules in this world, although seemingly clear, cannot always be followed without deviation.”
Sometimes, Si Lan felt that the tragedies of people like Jiuying and Yide were because they had never lived as ordinary mortals.
For them, if something breaks, it can be restored; if someone dies, they can seek them in the next life. Therefore, they do not understand the meaning of cherishing, which leads them to act recklessly throughout their long lives.
It wasn’t until irreparable things happened and they reached the end that they deeply understood the meaning of love, emotions, and life, but unfortunately, it was already too late.
Although Lou Yu was a mortal cultivator, he grew up in Xuanling Sect since childhood and couldn’t avoid worldly customs.
Thinking of this, Si Lan couldn’t help but glance at Haowei beside him. Haowei was quietly looking at him, his gaze carrying a hint of depth. Si Lan’s eyes flickered and he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Si Lan said, “Do you know what the betrothal gifts are in our Demon Realm?”
Haowei seemed slightly nervous, “What kind of betrothal gifts do you need?”
“Typically, male demons and female demons desire things like Longevity Fruits, Phoenix Blood, Purple Indigo Xuanjin jewelry, and so on. But I’m different. I want the Dragon’s Reverse Scale.” Si Lan spoke while looking at Haowei.
Haowei’s expression momentarily showed hesitation, mixed with a hint of strangeness. “Reverse Scale?”
“Yes.” Si Lan remembered from the books that when the Second Prince of the Eastern Sea married in the mortal realm, he always gave the Reverse Scale as a gift to the mortal bride. He figured that the Reverse Scale must be a valuable item.
Having been with Haowei for so long, Si Lan realized that Haowei had never given him any token, but he had given Haowei quite a few things. Thinking this way, he felt a bit disadvantaged.
Haowei didn’t know why Si Lan suddenly thought of this. His ears blushed slightly with a strange hue. He coughed lightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but changed the subject, looking towards the illusionary realm, “Immortal Jiaheng and Yu Wuxia have gone to the mortal world to do good deeds.”
Si Lan’s gaze was immediately drawn over. In the illusion, the two of them had transformed into ordinary monks, casting spells at the foot of a mountain.
Not long ago, this place had suffered a flood, forcing thousands of villagers to flee, and after the flood, a plague spread. For a while, the famine was widespread, and the people were struggling to survive.
The government, fearing the spread of the plague, stationed soldiers nearby, trapping the villagers inside.
The prayers of the villagers reached the Thirty-Three Heavens. Immortal Jiaheng sensed it and felt uneasy. However, the rules of the Thirty-Three Heavens dictated that after attaining enlightenment, unless absolutely necessary, they should not interfere with worldly matters.
Moreover, after descending to the mortal realm, they were forbidden to use any spells on mortals, which meant that even if they wanted to save mortals, they couldn’t use magic.
Immortal Jiaheng explained the rules to Yu Wuxia and urged him. He could see that although Yu Wuxia had a deep Immortal-nature and appeared obedient on the surface, his temperament was lacking and he needed more cultivation.
Yu Wuxia followed behind, nodding, “Yes.”
Si Lan looked at the situation in the mortal realm. It was late spring now, but the wild grass on the mountain had been dug clean, leaving bare hillsides. Even the elm trees had their bark gnawed off directly, like mortals stripped of flesh and left as skeletons, hanging in the mountains.
There were no wild animals or birds in the mountains; they had all been eaten.
The more Si Lan looked, the more distressed he felt. For immortals who had lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years, these hardships were trivial, but for mortals, it could be their entire lifetime.
The timing of Immortal Jiaheng’s arrival was unfortunate, with heavy rain suddenly pouring down from the sky. The mountain rain carried mud and rocks, rolling down the mountainside. The villagers struggling to survive below hastily erected tents to shelter from the rain, but in no time, the rain blew away their tents, clothes, and even their food.
The villagers wailed in despair, but their cries were drowned out by the heavy rain.
Immortal Jiaheng was helping the villagers evacuate. He estimated that if the rain continued like this, it would flood the entire depression. If they didn’t evacuate soon, they wouldn’t be able to escape later.
Immortal Jiaheng didn’t see Yu Wuxia’s figure. After searching among the crowd for a while, he finally spotted Yu Wuxia standing in front of a stone arch bridge, gazing at the scene in the river.
In the river, a young man was struggling to swim.
Strange thing was, after the man swam to the middle of the river, he would return and jump back in, despite the pouring rain unable to deter his actions.
Immortal Jiaheng watched his behavior, his brow furrowing. “He’s entangled by malevolent spirits.”
“Yes, I heard from other villagers just now. This man saved his daughter from the river not long ago, then fell ill and has been repeating this rescue behavior until he faints.” Every time the villagers rescued the man from the water and he woke up, he would fall ill again.
The villagers said the man was suffering from hysteria.
Although Immortal Jiaheng and Yu Wuxia couldn’t easily use spells on mortals, they could use spells to subdue malevolent spirits. Immortal Jiaheng opened his heavenly eye and observed the malevolent spirit, discovering it was a mother and child.
The mother carried the small malevolent spirit on her back, entwined around the man. The small malevolent spirit looked like an unborn baby. The mother was young, estimated to be around sixteen, her mouth close to the man’s ear, constantly beguiling him.
Yu Wuxia continued, “I heard from the villagers that during the flood, the man’s daughter fell into the lake, and a pregnant woman fell by the lake. Instead of rescuing the pregnant woman nearby, the man went to save his daughter further away. This woman, after dying with her child, likely harbored resentment and turned into a malevolent spirit to haunt this man.”
Immortal Jiaheng murmured “Amitabha Immortal,” standing in the pouring rain with a serene expression, closing his eyes to chant sutras, intending to deliver this mother and child.
However, the resentment of this mother and child was exceedingly strong. The woman had already given birth to two daughters and cherished this third pregnancy, but upon learning it was a son posthumously, her resentment was fierce and refused to dissipate.
The unborn child hadn’t had a smooth reincarnation for a hundred years and finally managed to incarnate, only to die in the womb with no chance of reincarnation. Thus, this small malevolent spirit was also full of resentment.
After attempting to deliver them, Immortal Jiaheng found the mother and child still unwilling to depart. Even faced with the prospect of their souls being obliterated, they clung to the man.
Immortal Jiaheng had to stop chanting, clasping his hands together, “Amitabha Immortal.”
“If this man chooses to save you in one of the countless cycles, will you spare him then?” Immortal Jiaheng asked the malevolent mother and child.
Yu Wuxia glanced at Immortal Jiaheng upon hearing this, seemingly unable to accept this approach.
While the malevolent spirits were pitiable, to this man, they were an undeserved calamity. Why should they allow these malevolent spirits to harm him like this?
After hearing Immortal Jiaheng’s words, the mother and child remained silent for a moment before surprisingly nodding in agreement.
Yu Wuxia asked, “Master, since these two malevolent spirits are unwilling to leave, why not let them disperse naturally? Why torture innocent people for their deliverance?”
Immortal Jiaheng raised his head. “It has been three thousand years since we last met. After another three thousand years of cultivation, you will understand.”
Yu Wuxia fell silent at these words, but his face clearly showed disbelief. Perhaps he thought of how hard-won this opportunity was to spread kindness and virtue with his master in the mortal realm, so he suppressed his emotions. While Immortal Jiaheng and Yu Wuxia helped the villagers survive the mudslide, there was still the matter of the plague to resolve.
Within the barrier, Si Lan watched the man controlled by the malevolent spirit and thought of Immortal Jiaheng’s words, unable to grasp their meaning, feeling somewhat inadequate. “It seems my cultivation is still too shallow to comprehend the truth.”
Haowei comforted, “The Buddhist philosophy is different from the secular world. There’s no need to dwell on it.” Buddhism emphasizes suffering in this life for enjoyment in the next, a concept Haowei couldn’t quite grasp.
If people can’t enjoy life in this life, how can they ensure happiness in the next life?
Although not needing to live for today, one must find joy in today.
Si Lan smiled with relief, “So, Yu Wuxia is just like us, his thinking and enlightenment not yet reaching the realm of eminent monks.”
After he finished speaking, he hurriedly added, “No, it’s different. We’re not that crazy.”
Haowei heard this and for some reason remembered something, his gaze falling on Si Lan’s half-closed eyes.
Some things were really hard to say.
If Si Lan didn’t love him, he felt he might go crazy too. He might even consider forcibly taking Si Lan away and locking him in the Yuqing Palace. This behavior seemed no different from the madness of Yu Wuxia who had lost his mind.
The only difference was probably that he wouldn’t be insane enough to want to destroy the world.
Suddenly, Si Lan grinned at him and said, “Remember your ‘reverse scale’.”
“…” Haowei.
He wanted to change the subject again with a familiar trick, but then heard Si Lan mutter, “If you don’t want the ‘reverse scale’, I could go to the heavenly realm to propose marriage, and you marry me.”
“…” Haowei.
Although for the two of them, who married whom wasn’t important, for the heavenly realm, if they knew the Heavenly Emperor was marrying the Demon Lord, they might collapse.
Haowei cleared his throat lightly, teasing him like Si Lan had done before, “Do you know what’s needed for a proposal in the heavenly realm?”
“What’s needed?” Si Lan instinctively took the bait.
“Fish from the mountains, the moon from the water, the golden crow from the sea, auspicious white clouds, and so on. But I don’t want these mundane things either. I want a child. If you can give me a child, then come to the heavenly realm to propose.” Haowei deliberately made it difficult for him, never having considered the matter of having children since they were both men.
“…” Si Lan.
As soon as Si Lan heard the word “child”, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily. Helplessly, he said, “Would you mind a child who’s over a thousand years old?”
“You’re like this… Well, that’s fine. But we can’t let the Heavenly Mother have grandchildren. The Heavenly Mother would still give birth. Instead, I’ll find an elixir of life for you, and you…”
Before Haowei could finish teasing him, Si Lan changed the subject.
Si Lan pointed ahead and said, “Look.”
Haowei glanced at Si Lan’s flushed cheeks, smiled, and looked away. In the scene before them, the Great Immortal of Jiaheng and Yu Wuxia were healing villagers.
Although they couldn’t use magic proficiently, they could find the cause of the plague with their spells.
But now, there was no grass on the mountain, so there were no medicinal herbs either. Therefore, the Great Immortal of Jiaheng and the Yu Wuxia crossed mountains and rivers to pick medicinal herbs from the neighboring county.
Despite their hardships, their mood was good, especially the Yu Wuxia, who followed behind the Great Immortal of Jiaheng and occasionally looked up at the back of his head.
That look was full of deep meaning.
Si Lan thought that Yu Wuxia must be feeling incredulous about how someone could have such a round head in this world…
Thinking of this, Si Lan walked behind the Yu Wuxia and stared at the back of his neck, discovering that his head was indeed quite round.
Could it be that the higher one’s cultivation, the rounder one’s head?
After the master and disciple gathered herbs together, they immediately retraced their steps without delay. On the way, the Yu Wuxia slipped in a slippery place and fell onto the back of the Great Immortal of Jiaheng by accident.
The Great Immortal of Jiaheng paused briefly and then helplessly reminded him, “Be careful.”
“Yes, Master.”
However, the Yu Wuxia slipped several more times later, each time falling on the back of the Great Immortal of Jiaheng. Seeing the increasingly steep mountain road ahead, the Great Immortal of Jiaheng worried that if Yu Wuxia accidentally knocked him down from behind with his mortal body, they would both be injured.
As the Great Immortal of Jiaheng furrowed his brow, the voice of Yu Wuxia came from behind him.
“Master, why don’t you hold your disciple’s hand?”
Immortal Jiaheng fell silent. Before he could say anything, Yuxi took the initiative to grab a corner of Immortal Jiaheng’s robe and whispered in a small voice behind his ear, “Even if the disciple holds the master like this, it’s okay.”
“…” Immortal Jiaheng.
Suddenly, Immortal Jiaheng felt something strange, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He turned his head slightly, avoiding the warm breath that Yuxi had left near his ear.
He said, “Then take it slow.”
“Yes, Master.”
Beside them, Si Lan couldn’t help but click his tongue. He didn’t expect Yuxi to be so “calculating” that even walking along a mountain path, he could find a way to get closer to Immortal Jiaheng.
Meanwhile, Immortal Jiaheng, who was oblivious to romantic feelings, probably didn’t understand what was happening.
Yuxi held onto Immortal Jiaheng’s sleeve and occasionally brushed against his fingers as they walked, seemingly amazed by the touch, his eyes shining brightly.
As for Immortal Jiaheng, he truly didn’t think much about it. At this moment, he was thinking about the refugees in the village. The authorities not only neglected them but also sealed them inside. Such actions were truly against the natural order.
It seemed that this era wouldn’t last much longer.
The world was on the verge of turmoil, and it was the common people who suffered.
Thinking of this, Immortal Jiaheng couldn’t help but sigh. Yuxi asked, “Master, are you sighing for the villagers?”
“Mm.”
“Master, disciple has always been puzzled. After the Heavenly Law established the Five Realms, why did it create the Human Realm?”
Humans are so small and humble, like ants clinging to this land. What is their purpose in existence?
Immortal Jiaheng didn’t expect Yuxi to ask such a question.
Logically speaking, Yuxi had been virtuous for thousands of lifetimes, reincarnating several times as a mortal, and in his last life, he ascended while still in mortal form. Why would he think this way about mortals?
Immortal Jiaheng looked deeply into Yuxi’s eyes. “The wind has its direction, the water has its depth, and humans have their meaning. However, this meaning cannot be explained in a few words, nor can anyone fully explain it. It requires us to feel it with our hearts.”
Yuxi remained silent for a while, then stared at Immortal Jiaheng and said, “So in this world, every encounter has its meaning.”
Immortal Jiaheng did not perceive the deeper meaning behind his words and replied, “Mm.”
“Then, Master, between you and me…”
“Mm?” Immortal Jiaheng turned to Yuxi.
Yuxi’s ears turned red. “As master and disciple, it’s also fate.”
Immortal Jiaheng remained silent for a while, then smiled bitterly after a long pause. “Yes, it’s fate.” He didn’t notice the fleeting madness and possessiveness in Yuxi’s eyes.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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