Liuzhou Thatched Cottage (4)

The journey from Bianliang to Xiangyang was long, so the three of them rented three horses and galloped all the way, needing to change horses at post stations a few times along the route.

The last time Yan Fei went on a long journey with Tan Yangzi was when he had just been taken in by him. Back then, Tan Yangzi had no fixed residence in the Mortal Realm and took things as they came. He would stay at a Daoist temple if he encountered one, and if not, sleeping in the open and eating in the wind was a common occurrence, and Yan Fei simply wandered everywhere with him.

At that time, despite his young age, Yan Fei had already tasted the full extent of human fickleness. He only wanted a stable place to live, a comfortable bed to sleep in when tired, a full meal when hungry, and a roof over his head when it rained. But thinking back now on those days when the two of them used the sky as their blanket and the earth as their bed, and recalling the wild vegetable soup Tan Yangzi used to make, he actually felt a bit nostalgic.

So for this trip, Yan Fei was exceptionally excited. He packed three huge bundles of luggage, only to be strictly ordered by Tan Yangzi to bring just one. He carefully picked and chose, tossing and turning for half the night before finalizing his selection. Along the way, his eyes were bright, shimmering with a lively light like two black pearls. His slightly flushed face also became increasingly bewitching, like peach blossoms, perfectly complementing his fiery red clothes. At first glance, one couldn't help but marvel: what an elegant and beautiful youth.

They stopped to rest at a post station. As soon as they entered the main dining hall, many stunned and admiring gazes fell upon Yan Fei. Yan Fei, however, acted as if he didn't notice them at all, simply talking incessantly to Tan Yangzi.

"Master, they said there aren't enough rooms, only two left. Why don't the two of us squeeze into one?" As he spoke, he flashed a charming smile that made hearts skip a beat. The two scholars at a nearby table, who were on their way to the capital for exams, stared blankly at him, while a singing girl on the other side blushed.

However, the recipient of this smile, Tan Yangzi, happened to be immune to this beauty. "Not enough? I've been to this post station a few times, and it's never been full."

Yan Fei lied without batting an eyelid or skipping a heartbeat, "Probably because there are more people traveling for the spring examinations?"

Tan Yangzi hummed in response and waved his hand, "Then go and ask for two rooms. You and I will share one, and Sir Tao will have one."

Dasamara fanned himself on the side, smiling but saying nothing.

Yan Fei then went to the counter, asked the innkeeper for two rooms, and paid the deposit. Meanwhile, Tan Yangzi and Dasamara found a table and sat down. A waiter quickly brought them tea and peanuts, listing off a few dishes. Tan Yangzi simply ordered a few, and the waiter left. Looking at Yan Fei registering his name at the counter, Dasamara said, "You and your disciple really have a great relationship."

"I raised him, of course our relationship is good," Tan Yangzi said as he poured tea for the three of them.

"It's not just ordinarily good," Dasamara clicked his tongue and sighed. "That night, I just advised you to find a Red Impermanence, and the look he gave me was as if he wanted to eat me alive."

Tan Yangzi chuckled softly, "Serves you right for meddling."

At this moment, Yan Fei also came over and sat on the stool next to Tan Yangzi. Taking the teacup handed to him by Tan Yangzi, he gulped it down. Because he drank too fast, he choked and coughed twice. Tan Yangzi patted his back. "Slow down, no one is fighting you for it."

Yan Fei seemed a bit embarrassed and smiled sheepishly at Dasamara. Along this journey, his attitude toward Dasamara had softened considerably, probably because the latter no longer brought up the matter of the Red Impermanence.

The dishes were served, and the three ate in silence, occasionally chatting a bit. Afterward, Tan Yangzi returned to the room first. Seeing that a few peach trees outside the post station had bloomed, Yan Fei wanted to go take a look before heading back to the room. Dasamara also took a stroll with him. For a moment, there were no words between the two, until Dasamara casually asked, "Speaking of which, I still don't know how my good nephew met this friend of mine? Based on my understanding of him, he's not someone who is particularly loving or fond of taking care of kids. How did you manage to 'tame' him?"

Yan Fei was just reaching out to pluck a peach branch. Hearing this question, his thoughts drifted back to the distant past, and a hint of gentleness appeared in his eyes. "I was sold by my parents to human traffickers, and the traffickers sold me to the master of an acrobatics troupe. That master treated me poorly, so I tried to run away, but I failed and was almost beaten to death. Later, I was saved by my Master."

He spoke in a flat tone with simple words. Yet those few brief sentences described a past filled with suffering and tears.

The master not only beat and scolded the children learning acrobatics, but also deprived them of sufficient food to maintain their body flexibility. Furthermore, he often touched the young Yan Fei inappropriately. That troupe master was a pervert; many boys in the troupe had been molested by him. Now, he had clearly set his sights on Yan Fei. Fortunately, a few senior brothers in the troupe protected him, so the master had never succeeded. Although Yan Fei didn't understand much about lust at that time, he knew how wicked such acts were. This was especially true when he occasionally heard cries coming from the master's room at night, knowing that his senior brothers were enduring the abuse in his place. The hatred in his heart had long since accumulated into a deep abyss.

Yan Fei originally wanted to kill the troupe master to avenge his senior brothers. He secretly got some rat poison and slipped it into the master's tea. Unexpectedly, the master didn't die and was saved by a doctor. Yan Fei ran away under the cover of his senior brothers, but was still caught by the master and his thugs in a ruined temple. They immediately pinned him to the ground, intending to beat him to death. A club as thick as an arm struck his thin, small back again and again. Those people didn't know the meaning of mercy and compassion; the thrill of violence twisted their faces into grotesque smiles.

The taste of blood filled Yan Fei's mouth and nose. His vision repeatedly went black, and the pain gradually numbed. At that time, he thought that was the end of his life.

But suddenly, the club stopped. A strong gust of wind brushed past his cheek. The thugs who had been holding him down and beating him cried out miserably as they were sent flying, while the surrounding beggars and bystanders gasped in shock.

Yan Fei still remembered that when he looked up then, against the light, he saw Tan Yangzi's cold, aloof, and arrogant face. He vaguely thought he had seen an immortal.

Tan Yangzi had been in the vicinity to catch ghosts. While passing by the ruined temple, he witnessed this inhuman abuse. Since he had just recently used the Corpse Candle Array and its effects hadn't faded yet, he saw several severely deformed lumps of rotting flesh covered in maggots surrounding a boy who miraculously remained unchanged. They were ruthlessly striking that small body with clubs. The boy's agonizing screams could be heard outside the temple, yet none of the numb beggars and bystanders nearby stepped in to stop it. There was also a monster nearby, covered all over in fleshy tumors resembling a man's private parts, oozing disgusting pale-yellow mucus. It was shouting, "Beat him to death! Beat this ungrateful little slut to death!"

With just one look at such a deformed monster, Tan Yangzi knew exactly what kind of sinful karma this person had committed. An indescribable surge of anger welled up in his heart. He had encountered such inhuman people before recovering his memories of his life before last, so much so that whenever he saw one, he wished he could hack them into a thousand pieces.

Unfortunately, he was a Green Impermanence and was not supposed to harm human lives.

Yan Fei only saw the immortal-like man in green exuding a terrifying aura of slaughter. Moving at a speed Yan Fei simply couldn't track, he instantly appeared before the troupe master and fiercely swung the long green sword in his hand. The master let out a miserable shriek, and his crotch was already a bloody mess.

The master's "thing" had been severed.

Looking at the acrobatics master writhing and screaming on the ground, Tan Yangzi only sneered. The surrounding people were terrified into a stupor, and those thugs even slumped onto the ground, thinking he was an Asura or Yaksha. Tan Yangzi swung the blood off his sword blade in disgust, turned around, and walked over to Yan Fei, whose back was covered in blood and filth. He crouched down and looked at him with pitying eyes, seemingly pondering something. Yan Fei struggled to lift his head, used his last ounce of strength to reach out, and grabbed the hem of the clothes of the god who had descended from the sky to save him.

"Don't go..."

Tan Yangzi didn't know whether he took Yan Fei in because he couldn't see Yan Fei's Life Soul, or because of those two words.

Because he had harmed a mortal that time, Tan Yangzi was severely punished in Hell. He was stripped naked and suffered ten days of extreme cold in the Red Lotus Hell. His body was cracked by a freezing temperature incomprehensible to the Mortal Realm. His skin split and his flesh tore; the blood that flowed out quickly congealed, making it look as though his body had bloomed with red lotuses—a beautiful yet cruel punishment.

But Tan Yangzi did not regret it at all.

After those ten days in Hell, Tan Yangzi dragged his heavy body back to the Mortal Realm. After putting on his human vessel, he forced himself to go to the inn to find Yan Fei, who had waited for him for a day and a night. The moment he saw Yan Fei, his vision went black and he fainted. Although Yan Fei didn't know where Tan Yangzi had gone or what he had endured, he instinctively felt that this god who had saved him had become so weak precisely because of him. In the darkness, the young boy tightly held onto Tan Yangzi's knuckles, which were much wider than his own, like grasping the last straw before drowning.

These were all secrets hidden in the memories of Yan Fei and Tan Yangzi. Yan Fei didn't want a third person to know, which was why his answer had been so brief.

However, upon hearing Yan Fei's extremely abbreviated account, Dasamara still showed compassion on his face and said apologetically, "So that's how it was. I was too abrupt in asking."

Yan Fei still smiled brightly, "It's nothing. It's all in the past."

"I've often heard Qianna mention you. Seeing you this time, you really are a sensible child." Dasamara said, though his tone seemed to carry an underlying meaning. "You must also know quite a bit about his other identity?"

"He isn't willing to tell me too much about things in Hell," Yan Fei said indifferently, his expression unreadable. "But I do know a few things."

Seeing Yan Fei being so vague, Dasamara knew that the boy still harbored a trace of hostility towards him. He softened his expression and smiled, "Then you should also know that the Green and Red Impermanences must return to Fengdu once every three months to report back; otherwise, Hell will dispatch other Impermanences to capture them and bring them back."

"So what if I know?"

"If you want to become the Red Impermanence, you must go to Fengdu. How do you plan to get there?"

Yan Fei's inherently alluring eyes instantly turned exceptionally cold. He looked at Dasamara expressionlessly. "I've heard that the Painting Sage Wu Daozi was able to create the Hell Screen Painting to such a lifelike realm because he had personally toured Hell. If he could go, why can't I?"

Dasamara was a bit surprised, but then he suddenly smiled gently, "How can you believe market rumors?"

"If it's just market rumors, how could it be recorded in the Fudeng Notes written in the Black Rope Hell script?"

Dasamara was taken aback, frowning slightly. The Records of Fudeng was a forbidden book in Fengdu's Division of Returning Destiny. One had to obtain an Underworld Judge's approval to borrow it for three days, and one was not allowed to disclose the book's contents to anyone. How could someone in the Mortal Realm know about it? "How did you get the Fudeng Notes? Did Qiannamara bring it to you?"

"Of course not." Yan Fei rolled his eyes, seemingly treating him like a fool. "Don't worry, that book is still in Fengdu right now. Naturally, I have my own ways. If you want to go and tell Master, go ahead. I will not admit it. We'll see whether he believes me or you, how about that?"

The provocation in these words was already very obvious. Dasamara had always been humble and amiable, rarely making enemies, but he didn't know why this youth harbored such deep hostility towards him. He mused inwardly that this boy was likely not as obedient and simple as he appeared, but he didn't know if Tan Yangzi was aware of this.

He thought it over left and right, then laughed again, "It was my meddling. Please do not take offense, good nephew."

Yan Fei snorted lightly, his eyes shifting slightly as he said, "It's enough for Master to have me as his Red Impermanence. I can do it better than any person or ghost. We appreciate your kind intentions." After he finished speaking, he took the peach blossom branch and returned to the inn.

Tan Yangzi sat alone in his room for a while, meditating and cultivating the Longevity Incantation. He detested this kind of reincarnation that Green and Red Impermanences had to undergo without entering the true cycle of reincarnation. He particularly hated that after finding a new human vessel, they had no memories for the first eighteen years. And because they possessed the bodies of fetuses that were not meant to be born, they often suffered from abuse or neglect in their childhood, causing him to endure much unnecessary pain while devoid of memories. Although this pain could often be overlooked by him after recovering his memories, the harm would still leave traces on his spirit. As these traces accumulated, it became easy to grow increasingly extreme. Many Green and Red Impermanences did not die in battle with ghosts, but rather because they had experienced too much dark suffering in the Mortal Realm and couldn't find peace even in Hell. In the end, they would either commit suicide or rebel against Fengdu, only to be surrounded and killed by their former colleagues. In short, none of these were very good endings. And once a Green or Red Impermanence without a Life Soul committed suicide, they would turn into ashes, ceasing to exist entirely.

Therefore, if he could use the Art of Longevity to maintain this body for a longer period, he could reincarnate one less time, which would be beneficial to both his physical and mental well-being.

Concluding his cultivation, he noticed that Yan Fei hadn't returned yet, so he called for the waiter to bring up some hot water. Having traveled all day, he was covered in dust, making Tan Yangzi, who always loved cleanliness, feel very uncomfortable. He took off his clothes and stepped into the bathtub, immersing his whole body in the steaming hot water. A low sigh escaped his throat. He reached out and pulled the jade hairpin from his topknot, and his snow-like long hair instantly cascaded down, spreading out over the surface of the water like a white silk ribbon.

When Yan Fei returned with the peach blossom branch, he happened to hear the splashing of water coming from behind the folding screen. Turning his head to look, he saw a faint, soft light glowing through the screen, outlining broad shoulders and a narrow waist and hips. Those lines, which were rigid yet retained a soft beauty, became even more hazy and alluring in the slightly intoxicating light. Yan Fei gulped, standing frozen in place.

Tan Yangzi had forgotten to bring a change of clothes over, so he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out from behind the screen. Crystal-clear water droplets clung one by one to his smooth, firm chest and abdominal muscles, trailing all the way down to his lower abdomen hidden by the towel. The slightly damp towel wrapped around his slender, powerful legs. His honey-colored skin was flushed with a slight redness from the heat, and his wet white hair, which reached his waist, clung to his back and waist. His normally cold and solemn face now showed a hint of languor from fatigue.

For a moment, Yan Fei's mind buzzed, and he couldn't think of anything. He just felt as if all the blood in his body had started boiling, converging toward a certain questionable area.

As soon as Tan Yangzi came out, he saw Yan Fei standing dumbly at the door, staring at him with a peach branch in his hand, his face so red it looked like it was about to bleed. Feeling a bit strange, he asked, "Why are you standing there in a daze? Where did you get the flower?"

Yan Fei suddenly turned around, violently pulled open the door, and dashed out like an arrow, leaving Tan Yangzi with an utterly bewildered expression.