IS Chapter 145

Chapter 145

The next time Li Yuan entered the inner chamber, he lowered his eyes and meekly carried a white jade lotus leaf bowl.

Then, under Ye Zhuo’s silent gaze, he walked over, acting very gentle and sensible.

Reaching the bedside, he gently stirred the contents with a spoon, scooped up something, and held it to Ye Zhuo’s lips.

Ye Zhuo didn’t move at all.

Li Yuan offered it again.

“Tea filling,” Li Yuan said, “not sweet.”

Ye Zhuo looked into the bowl, which contained several round dumplings.

“?”

What time of year is it for these things?

“Try one first,” Li Yuan said, “there are other flavors, you can try them all.”

Ye Zhuo: “I don’t want to.”

“Try it,” Li Yuan said, “they gathered in the back kitchen to make these, I thought it was interesting, the Dragon Realm doesn’t have these.”

As he spoke, he offered it again. The dumplings were small and delicate, and Ye Zhuo swallowed one.

“This one is ham filling, Brother Wei Sheng said it’s a southwestern flavor.”

“Plum blossom filling, how is it?”

Was Dragon Li Yuan never going to end?

After eating three, Ye Zhuo completely stopped responding. Li Yuan saw the weariness between his eyebrows and eyes, and that he didn’t even want to swallow, so he fed him another pill: “Do you want to sleep a little more?”

Not wanting to sleep, Ye Zhuo closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing for a while, only then feeling that he had recovered some strength. He wanted to get up, but Li Yuan pressed him down and fed him another pill.

Having had a golden core from the moment he had awareness, even when changing paths to rebuild, Ye Zhuo had never experienced his body being so unmanageable. Logically speaking, his cultivation should still be there, so why was it so infuriating?

Li Yuan tirelessly coaxed him to eat dumplings, and Ye Zhuo directly pushed him away. Li Yuan showed him the three lotus seeds, and they were indeed alive. Ye Zhuo had no interest, whatever they grew into was none of his business.

Then he said that the Yulan magnolias had suddenly bloomed, even though it wasn’t the season. Who knew why, maybe they just wanted to bloom themselves.

Ye Zhuo had his own things to do. He took the volume of Buddhist scriptures he hadn’t finished reading before going to the Ghost Realm and continued to read.

Li Yuan silently wrapped his arms around him from behind, wanting to read along. Whatever Dragon Li Yuan wanted to do, having the dragon’s chest to lean against was more comfortable than that pillar.

Sourced from the texts of the Sumeru Buddhist Realm, Ye Zhuo read half a volume, and his mind seemed to finally clear, returning to the familiar perception he had always known.

Far from distorted dreams.

His gaze fell on one of the pages, and he didn’t turn it for a long time.

“Ye Zhuo.” Until Li Yuan’s voice gently sounded in his ear, “What are you thinking about?”

Ye Zhuo shook his head.

Actually, he wasn’t thinking about anything.

Maybe there were many things he should be thinking about, maybe this dragon’s next words would require him to answer something, but right now, he wasn’t thinking about anything.

Like being tormented in the cold pool until the latter half, unable to think about anything, and not thinking about anything.

It sounded ridiculous, but in this most mundane, most abstinent world of karmic obstacles, it actually seemed like he had truly distanced himself from distorted dreams, and seen that the five aggregates are empty.

He wasn’t even thinking about Dragon Li Yuan. It was as if everything in the mortal world had ceased to exist, as if everything about himself didn’t exist, Phantom Sword Manor didn’t exist, Yun Xiangxi even less so.

Only the one, next, and next moment that he was experiencing.

And then waiting for the moment when even consciousness would fall, would dissipate, would turn to ashes and smoke, and everything would return to nothingness.

Li Yuan should die with him.

Of course, that was definitely not the dragon’s deep meaning. What deep meaning could Dragon Li Yuan have? He had just accidentally gone crazy.

Feeling wronged, feeling excessive, but now he still had to stay here, putting on a submissive appearance for whom to see? What exactly did he want to take away from him? Did he really still have that kind of thing, could he really still give it out?

“Ye Zhuo,” the dragon said in his ear again, “You seem to be sad.”

Ye Zhuo shook his head. No.

“It’s getting dark.” Li Yuan said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you to see fireworks.”

Ye Zhuo: “New Year’s Eve?”

“…Lantern Festival.”

Ye Zhuo knew that the bowl of dumplings wasn’t unfounded.

Actually, Ye Zhuo had taken a lot of medicine and could move around as usual, but Li Yuan directly picked him up horizontally and landed on the cliff on the other side of Misty Green Peak.

The cliff was still shaded by Yulan magnolias, and from here you could see half of the cold pool, as well as the distant Micro-Snow Palace main hall. Under the boundless night, the mountains stretched for thousands of miles, and this winter’s heavy snow covered the Green Mountains.

They sat on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the endless space below.

“This year it will still snow in the mortal world.” Li Yuan looked at the distant horizon and said, “It will snow for a long time, at least until April or May.”

White snow covered the rolling mountains, the sky was filled with shining stars and the moon, and the ground was as bright as day with the light of the snow.

Ye Zhuo: “Night sky observation?”

“No,” Li Yuan said, “a feeling.”

As a true dragon, with the changing wind, thunder, clouds, and rain, he vaguely had a feeling. After thinking about it, Li Yuan added: “This winter in the mortal world will be very long, very cold. The timing of the heavens is different.”

Ye Zhuo didn’t say anything, and after a while, he said: “Spiritual energy is lacking.”

So they stopped talking, and Ye Zhuo quietly looked into the distance.

Li Yuan turned to look at Ye Zhuo’s eyes.

Dark and black, all waves would return to calm here, a pair of eyes that had seen the night sky, distant mountains, autumn wind, stars and moon. What was this person thinking? Li Yuan looked for a long time, until Ye Zhuo turned towards him, and he saw his own reflection in those eyes.

Ye Zhuo: “What are you thinking about.”

“I’m not thinking about anything.” Li Yuan gazed at him and said seriously, “Ye Zhuo, I’ve figured it out. I won’t ask you again.”

“Figured out what?”

“I’ve figured out that the things you want to do, the decisions you want to make, should still be made by you. I shouldn’t want to control your true heart because of my own selfish desires.”

“…As for the things in the cold pool,” Li Yuan’s voice lowered when he said this, as if troubled, “I was too much. You can ask me to make amends however you want, as for the others, just forget about them. I won’t ask again.”

Ye Zhuo was silent, trying to follow Li Yuan’s train of thought, did he really feel guilty.

“Just for this?” He said.

Li Yuan said no.

“Maybe you forgot.” Li Yuan said, “By the cold pool, I said, I wanted you to be with me.”

Remembering something, Li Yuan frowned subconsciously, he reached out, his fingertip gently touching under Ye Zhuo’s eye, rubbing the middle of his right eye: “Ye Zhuo, at that time you looked at me, here, there was a tear.”

His voice was low: “I didn’t have time to wipe it away, and it finally fell into the cold pool, I couldn’t find it.”

…Was there such a thing? Ye Zhuo hesitated, recalling.

“If I really had to do it, following you to the Immortal Realm, would you still feel sad?”

“Ye Zhuo, I don’t want you to have another tear.” Li Yuan said, “So I won’t ask. I don’t want it either. Whatever you want to do, just do it, just pretend I haven’t been obsessed.”

Ye Zhuo stared at him for a long time, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned back in the original direction, not looking at him anymore.

–Why did it feel like this person was angry again? He clearly wanted him not to be sad because of him, not to be angry. Li Yuan was a little at a loss.

“Li Yuan.” After a while, he heard this person call his name.

“You’re not like a person.”

Ye Zhuo quietly looked at the distant mountains.

Different kinds cannot understand each other.

Every decision that Dragon Li Yuan made was always completely opposite to what Ye Zhuo expected.

When he came out of closed-door cultivation, thinking that Li Yuan would follow the decency between people and break up peacefully with him, this dragon had to go crazy, had to force him to say words he didn’t want to say, force him to make another decision.

When he thought that Li Yuan had made up his mind, demanding a definite promise, when he thought that Li Yuan’s next sentence would be to ask him to the end, this dragon said he wouldn’t ask anymore.

Said he didn’t want it either.

It wasn’t that this dragon had figured it out himself, it was that he felt you were sad because of this. Now you’ve gotten everything you wanted.

Feng Jiang’s revenge had been avenged, Ling Ming’s revenge had been avenged, Xia Master’s revenge had been avenged, Hongmeng School’s revenge had been avenged.

Many people had died. The Heavenly Dao lacked spiritual veins and was broken, and in the mortal world, there was half a year of winter.

And then the living told themselves that everything had passed.

He was wondering why he had to be like this.

Why could he only have one and not the other, why had things always been difficult to perfect since ancient times, why did they all have to fall into such a situation. Just because he had two sides in his heart, just because he had hatred in his heart, just because he insisted on cutting off cause and effect?

The sword he wanted to forge had been forged. The supreme Dao he wanted to seek had been sought. Those who wanted to kill him had all been killed by him, and those who wanted revenge said they wouldn’t seek it anymore. Li Yuan said he had figured it out.

Actually, he hadn’t figured it out, what Li Yuan didn’t say was that he had accepted it. Because you were sad, so he accepted it. Now you’ve gotten everything you wanted.

Feng Jiang’s revenge was avenged, Ling Ming’s revenge was avenged, Summer Master’s revenge was avenged, and the Hongmeng Sect’s revenge was avenged.

Many people were dead. The heavenly way lacks spiritual veins and is broken, leading to half a year of winter in the mortal realm.

Then the living told themselves that everything was over.

He was thinking why it had to be this way.

Why one thing could be achieved but not the other, why things in the world had always been difficult to perfect, why did they all have to fall into such a situation.

He wouldn’t ask everyone, everyone would tell him that everything was already unchangeable, this was the way of fate.

He asked himself when this ball of fire would burn until it ended. Was it the will of heaven that people couldn’t get what they wanted, was it fate that was always contrary to their wishes. Was it that he had to wait until the eight sufferings of the mortal world had all been burned through, he died, Li Yuan died, everyone died, everyone accepted it, and the light of time was eternal and the seas dried up and the rocks crumbled, before this fire would be extinguished.

“Li Yuan.” He heard himself say.

“Do you still remember the one-year agreement? One day, I will discuss swords with you.”

Li Yuan looked at him in astonishment.

“If I win, you will listen to me.” Ye Zhuo said.

“–If I win, you will listen to me?”

Ye Zhuo: “If you win, I’ll think about what you say.”

Li Yuan looked at him, stood up from the edge of the cliff. Not only did he stand up, but he also pulled him up: “Then let’s compete with swords, now.”

“Are you crazy?” Ye Zhuo said: “Can I compete with swords right now?”

“Then when you’re better, what will I compete with you?” Li Yuan said, “Compete to see whose sword is better? We’ve competed countless times, it’s always a draw. Isn’t it just comparing who can be more ruthless to whom? You’re just bullying me, aren’t you?”

“Then will you compete or not?”

“I will.”

“Then ten days later.” Ye Zhuo said.

Li Yuan looked straight at him: “Okay.”

“I will attack with deadly force.” Ye Zhuo said, “Swords have no eyes, if you die, don’t blame me. You swear, life and death are without resentment, and so am I.”

“Life and death are of no consequence, they always have been.” Li Yuan said, “Then ten days, I agree.”

Ye Zhuo didn’t get up, so he sat back down next to Ye Zhuo. The night was so beautiful, it turned out that a year had really passed.

Ten days, it really was like before.

“Just compete with swords?”

“Just compete with swords.”

Starting with the sword, let the sword decide. Li Yuan actually felt it was natural, they had argued for so long, actually they should have just drawn their swords. Ye Zhuo was that kind of person.

“Ye Zhuo, do you know what I’m thinking?” Li Yuan said.

“What?”

“I was thinking, if I hadn’t gone to the East Sea that year, hadn’t met you. When would I have heard of you?” Li Yuan said, “In the three thousand worlds, you will definitely be famous for your ferocity.”

Maybe he would accidentally hear from the Dragon Realm, saying that there was a heartless Dao sword cultivator who wore red clothes and practiced Buddhism, ghosts and gods avoided him, his karma of killing was monstrous, but his face was very beautiful. If he heard that, he would definitely want to meet him.

Ye Zhuo: “Maybe you won’t hear of me at all. I’m dead, I can’t get out of the Immortal Realm.”

“I will hear of you, I will still meet you.” Li Yuan said, “It will definitely be like this, I know it.”

Who knew how this dragon knew, maybe he knew when he was having a fit of madness.

Ye Zhuo ignored him, and after a while he saw some figures gathered in front of the main hall from afar, he couldn’t see who they were, the people of Green Mountains had increased again without him knowing, it was annoying just thinking about it.

Not far in front of him, a recording bead suddenly floated up.

“Ye Zhuo,” Li Yuan said, “look over here.”

“.”

Ye Zhuo: “What are you doing?”

“The scenery here is beautiful.” Li Yuan said, “I’m keeping it as a souvenir.”

“Then why are you pointing it at me.”

“They complement each other.” Li Yuan said, leaning over, “It’s not just pointing at you, aren’t I here too?”

Ye Zhuo directly grabbed that thing and pressed it into his palm.

Li Yuan laughed and reached out to snatch it from him.

Several continuous fire roars suddenly sounded from the direction of the main hall, and a fuse flashing light flew towards the high sky at night, and then countless streamers of colorful starlight burst open at the highest point.

Just as Ye Zhuo’s peripheral vision caught the dazzling fireworks in the sky, Li Yuan leaned over and kissed him.