After Being Preached by my Senior Martial Brother

Unexpectedly, once he lay on the Wutong bed, he fell into a deep sleep without even dreaming.

When he woke up again, it was due to a familiar shaking.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Qi Zhuoyu’s enlarged handsome face.

Alright.

When would he ever break this habit of waking him up in the middle of the night?

It was like being woken up by his cat while he was sleeping soundly.jpg

Upon waking, Feng Xuan had forgotten he was angry.

Still groggy, with a bit of confusion in his eyes, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Zhuoyu got straight to the point. “I’m taking you somewhere.”

Feng Xuan glanced at the night outside. “It’s too late. How about we go tomorrow?”

When unsure, delay it first.

Unfortunately, Qi Zhuoyu was an absolute doer.

Feng Xuan was forced to change clothes and put on his shoes.

When Qi Zhuoyu held him in his arms, he was still drowsy.

Half asleep, he only felt the wind whistling by his ears.

This familiar feeling was like the last time Qi Zhuoyu took him out of Qifeng Palace.

Feng Xuan hugged his neck tighter. “Where are you taking me?”

Not to cause trouble in the middle of the night again, right? He still remembered the scene when he was taken to the Primordial Secret Realm last time.

Although Qi Zhuoyu didn’t answer, Feng Xuan guessed it the next second.

Moments later, they had already left the  White Jade Capital, even the Sanqing Realm, and were descending.

Until they broke through the misty clouds, with thousands of brilliant lights, rising and falling high-rise buildings, the bustling scene of a prosperous era came into view.

“Is this the mortal world?”

“This is Chang’an.”

Qi Zhuoyu silently landed on the tallest watchtower in Chang’an.

Then, with a few swift moves, he descended to the ground, transforming into a mortal appearance. He shed the dark robe he usually wore, changing into a simple bamboo-patterned blue robe, his long hair tied up with a plain jade hairpin.

Having seen him wear the Demon Realm attire often.

Now seeing him dressed as a mortal for the first time, there was a different kind of handsome charm, like a leisurely and wealthy prince.

However, Feng Xuan remembered.

Qi Zhuoyu seemed to have indeed been a young prince in the mortal world before.

Two hundred years of change, Chang’an had seen many rises and falls, and the emperor had long been replaced.

It was only because of Li Chaofeng’s occasional visits to the mortal world that the Li dynasty continued to thrive, with the people living in peace and contentment.

Today’s Chang’an was particularly lively.

After landing, Feng Xuan heard the whispers around him, realizing it was the mortal world’s Lantern Festival.

Although Feng Xuan had been to the mortal world before, he had forgotten all those memories from his tribulation period.

Feng Xuan was immediately captivated by the bustling and vibrant atmosphere, so different from the serene White Jade Capital.

He quickly changed into a mortal disguise: a light purple round-necked narrow-sleeved brocade robe, adorned with subtle plum blossom patterns. His long hair was tied up into a spirited high ponytail, and in his lamb-skin boots, he was ready to dash out.

But then, Qi Zhuoyu firmly seized the reins of fate, half-coercively wrapping him in a cloak rolled in rabbit fur.

“With your primordial spirit so unstable, do you dare to dress so lightly?”

Alright.

In appreciation of the big devil bringing him to the mortal realm to play, he’d wear a bit more.

It was snowing in Chang’an this year during the Lantern Festival, but that didn’t dampen the people’s celebration of the holiday.

The streets were still bustling, shoulder to shoulder, with various mortal snacks that dazzled the eyes.

Feng Xuan had just received a fortune from heaven.

At this point, he finally had a place to show his strength and couldn’t help but want to buy the whole street of snacks to taste.

After eating and drinking enough, it was half an hour later.

During the period, Qi Zhuoyu simply accompanied him to buy and buy and buy, then eat a little food he couldn’t eat.

As it was approaching midnight, a loud cheer burst forth from the crowd not far away.

Feng Xuan was about to approach and see what the excitement was all about when he heard several “swishes,” as if something had been launched into the sky, and the night sky suddenly exploded with one dazzling firework after another.

In the night sky, more and more fireworks exploded.

Like thousands of silver tree blossoms bursting into bloom at the same time, dazzling the eye.

Feng Xuan looked up for a moment, as if realizing something, turned to look at Qi Zhuoyu, and said, “Big devil, did you bring me to the mortal realm on purpose?”

Qi Zhuoyu didn’t deny it. “You said before that you wanted to come to the mortal realm.”

Well?

When did he say that?

Feng Xuan couldn’t quite remember.

After all, he said so many things all day long, and sometimes he couldn’t even remember what he said.

But if there were someone.

Who could remember every word he said and still care about it, it didn’t seem so bad.

The snow grew heavier as the Lantern Festival progressed, but Feng Xuan didn’t feel cold.

It was probably because Qi Zhuoyu used his spiritual power to envelop the two of them, so that when the snow fell, it couldn’t fall on him.

Inexplicably.

That feeling of accelerated heartbeat came again.

Qi Zhuoyu seemed to notice him looking at him, turned his head and met Feng Xuan’s gaze.

Although they had looked at each other so many times, this time Feng Xuan felt unusually guilty and almost instantly averted his eyes.

There is no silver here, but three hundred taels of silver and diverted the topic, he asked, “What’s that over there?”

(t/n: There is no silver here, but three hundred taels of silver=means pretending to be ignorant or denying the fact when there is clear evidence. It is used to describe knowing the truth or facts but deliberately pretending to be ignorant or denying in order to avoid responsibility or difficulties.)

Unable to hide anywhere, the burning blush on his ears betrayed the true feelings of the owner.

Following his gaze, Qi Zhuoyu looked over to where young people were lighting lanterns near the Caiyue River.

“Lanterns,” Qi Zhuoyu spoke up. “It’s a tradition in Chang’an. You used to participate in it.”

Back then, it should have been when he was a mortal.

Feng Xuan nodded. “Does Chang’an have the tradition of lighting lanterns every year during the Lantern Festival?”

Qi Zhuoyu replied, “When you were lighting lanterns, it was still a tradition on New Year’s Eve.”

Feng Xuan: “…”

Could such a tradition be changed so casually?

Especially when Feng Xuan walked to the edge of the Caiyue River to see, there were still a few old monks vigorously promoting their family’s lanterns. As long as a sincere and destined person wrote their wish on paper, the compassionate Buddha would hear it and fulfill the wishes of the world.

Fall! Isn’t this obviously a scam!

There’s every reason to suspect this isn’t a tradition at all.

This is just a holiday for fake monk’s to cheat money.

“Would you like to go see your lantern?” Qi Zhuoyu suddenly spoke up.

Feng Xuan: ? Not really. Leaving aside whether he wanted to see it or not, it’s been two hundred years. Are you sure these paper-mâché lanterns can last on the river for two hundred years?!

As it turned out,

they actually could.

When Feng Xuan arrived downstream where all the lanterns would eventually gather, amidst the continuously drifting and crowded lanterns, he indeed spotted one lantern that stood out from the rest.

It wasn’t because it was more worn out than the others; on the contrary, it was remarkably pristine. Not only was it completely intact, but what was terrifying was that this lantern, it actually attacked other lanterns!

Feng Xuan witnessed with his own eyes as a lantern drifting down from upstream inadvertently approached it and was promptly shattered by its released spiritual power.

Mom.

This lantern had come to life.

Seeing Feng Xuan’s shocked expression, an old monk nearby chuckled and explained, “This benefactor may not know. This lantern has existed for two hundred years and has yet to fall into the lake. We in Chang’an all know it; it’s the reigning Lantern King of this place.”

Never in a million years would Feng Xuan have imagined there was a title like Lantern King.

Judging from its spiritual power, it was obviously bestowed upon it by the big devil.

No wonder it was Qi Zhuoyu’s lantern. Even as a lantern, it had to be the boss of all lanterns.jpg

Qi Zhuoyu said, “Would you like to see what you wrote before?”

With that, he reached out and directly sucked the lantern up, and thus the reigning Lantern King fell.

Feng Xuan thought to himself: You’ve taken it up. Why bother asking me if I want to?

Taking the lantern from Qi Zhuoyu’s hand, Feng Xuan wondered what wish he could have possibly written. Probably something about having food and drink, lying around and winning at life, or something.

Feng Xuan knew himself quite well.

His laid-back personality wouldn’t change just because he was going through a tribulation in the mortal realm.

However, as he opened the lantern and took out the paper, his expression froze when he saw what was written on it.

He had considered writing wishes about lazing around and sleeping all day.

He had also thought about writing about delaying decisions when faced with uncertainties.

But he never thought he would write:

[Qi Zhuoyu, I hope you have someone to accompany you, someone to love you.]

[I wish for you to suffer less, to fight less, and to live your life happily.]

He never expected to have made such a wish for him.

And yet it was him who made Qi Zhuoyu endure a whole century of suffering.

He was a god of the White Jade Capital, with the Divine Soul Lamp giving him the ability to regenerate his primordial spirit.

But if he were just a little demon like Little Carp, with no chance of redemption, would the big devil, like Buting Huyu, live such a lonely and painful life?

Feng Xuan suddenly felt a bit unsettled and crumpled the paper in his hand into a ball.

Qi Zhuoyu noticed his change in mood, turned his head, and frowned slightly. “What’s wrong?”

Feng Xuan snapped back to reality. “It’s nothing.”

The strange, sour feeling in his heart hadn’t dissipated, so he randomly asked, “How come I’m the only one who made a wish? Didn’t you make one?”

“No,” Qi Zhuoyu replied. “Back then, I didn’t believe in gods.”

Feng Xuan, a certain god: “.”

“After your primordial spirit scattered, I searched high and low, begged the gods at that time.”

Qi Zhuoyu said it casually, but for some reason, Feng Xuan’s eyes stung a little.

Maybe because the big devil always acted like he was the strongest in the Three Realms, dismissing everyone else.

So Feng Xuan couldn’t imagine that this proud and arrogant man would one day kneel and beg some so-called gods for him.

Compared to seeing Qi Zhuoyu getting into fights everywhere, getting injured, and causing trouble.

This man who seemed to have reached a dead end, Qi Zhuoyu, whose entire spirit was shattered inch by inch, seemed to make Feng Xuan even more uncomfortable.

He felt like his heart had turned into the crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

No matter how he smoothed it out, it was no use.

In his mind, he kept recalling the state of Buting Huyu he had seen today.

Somehow, in the end, Buting Huyu’s face seemed to morph into Qi Zhuoyu’s.

At that moment, Feng Xuan took a shallow breath.

He finally grasped a strand of his tangled thoughts.

Holding the lantern, he kept his head down, not looking at Qi Zhuoyu, but he spoke, “I just think you should write one too.”

Qi Zhuoyu raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Feng Xuan asked, “Don’t you have any wishes you’d like to fulfill?”

Qi Zhuoyu remained silent, looking at him.

As if gathering courage, Feng Xuan finally lifted his head and met his gaze.

His fox-like eyes looked slightly round when looking up at him, resembling the almond-shaped eyes from the past.

In a clean and sweet voice of his youth, each word was crystal clear:

“For example, wanting to reunite with your ex-wife and the like.”