The "fine threads" pierced through Sheng Lingyuan's chest and connected to Xuan Ji, sewing the two of them together in a way that made one's scalp tingle with empathy.

But Sheng Lingyuan had no time to pay attention to it.

The dense "fine threads" were as thin as spider silk, even thinner than the embroidery stitches, and finer than the sense of longing.

The lump of heavenly demon energy in his chest was instantly shattered.

His heart was still beating, and the "fine threads" started from his heart and shook all the meridians and blood vessels in his body.

The icy and stagnant demon blood suddenly became hot and rushed towards his limbs and bones, scorching him to the point where he almost curled up.

For a moment, it felt like there were thousands of ants crawling inside his meridians.

"I'll bear it with you, just hold on a little longer," Xuan Ji nuzzled his cheek with his nose, his voice as gentle as a whisper. But his hands forcefully held down his limbs, smoothing out the spasming fingers of Sheng Lingyuan. "It can't hurt more than when you had it cut out all those years ago, can it?"

Sheng Lingyuan immediately understood what was surging into his chest. "You..."

"Don't you wonder how I managed to see through your disguise on the bridge earlier and find you?" Xuan Ji lightly lifted his hair, his feather-like kisses falling on his ear, his breaths quick and urgent, like a dangerous beast cooing. "Your Majesty, you forgot that your heart is still with me."

The words were a double entendre that made no sense. Sheng Lingyuan struggled fiercely, but whether it was the brute force of his muscles or the power in his meridians, it couldn't be released from just one point. It needed a certain "circuit," just like how muscles contracted with the help of joints.

Whether it was strength or demonic energy, it also needed its own operating loop. Those despicable "threads" were delicately nailed to the key nodes of his body, and he became a puppet with rusted joints all over his body.

"I have carefully preserved your humanity and Vermilion Bird bloodline for three thousand years, but you only want to avoid paying storage fees and refuse to even take back your own belongings. I can't do anything about you," Xuan Ji sighed, "You really make me angry."

Sheng Lingyuan: "..."

First, his blood vessels throbbed loudly, causing his blood pressure to skyrocket. His temple on one side felt like it was about to explode in anger.

At the same time, fresh blood slowly flowed into his body, as if a corpse had been dug up and given a hot massage and sauna. It was actually his own blood, but it had been separated for too long and felt more unfamiliar than anything else.

His body, which was filled with demonic energy, could hardly withstand this freshness, and Sheng Lingyuan almost felt like he was boiling.

Next was his heart.

The fine blood vessels boiled throughout his body, finally converging in his chest.

Something "clicked" and fell out of his chest, landing in the false grass and rolling away... It was the little bird chasing a butterfly ornament he had received at the Yuyang coffee shop.

Sheng Lingyuan's blurry vision subconsciously looked over, but was pulled back by Xuan Ji's hand.

Xuan Ji's hand was on his back, holding his heart through his ribs: "What are you looking at? You treat your empty chest cavity like a storage room, previously filled with dozens of pounds of scrap iron, and now carrying around cheap wooden carvings from the ten yuan store. Your Majesty, why do these pieces of junk have the right to go in, but I don't?"

Sheng Lingyuan opened his mouth but couldn't speak. His chest sank heavily, all his blood vessels congealing together. His long-lost human heart returned to its place, beating wildly and uncontrollably, almost breaking his ribs.

At that moment, the New Year's bell rang with a "buzz", continuously echoing throughout the city. Countless screens displayed pollution-free electronic fireworks, and Sheng Lingyuan's senses became a hundred times more acute.

Cheers, the sound of wind, the noise of televisions in thousands of households, and the vibration of phones all rushed towards him at the same time, overwhelming him.

Three thousand years ago, on New Year's Eve, Xuan Ji took away his abandoned heart, leaving him alone.

Three thousand years later, on New Year's Eve, he fell completely into Xuan Ji's arms.

The blood-colored "silk thread" in Xuan Ji's hand was returned to its rightful owner, and the clan emblem on his forehead seemed to have faded from fiery red to golden red...a little more towards the golden side.

The "bloodline" left a few small wounds on his hand, which quickly healed. He used the remaining blood to draw a formation on Sheng Lingyuan's back and silently recited the most romantic mermaid language in the world.

This was one of the secrets given to him by the mermaid clan chief, a secret mermaid language.

The 'mermaid's secret language' may also have a nickname in the martial arts world called "Flower Fool's Handbook". Inside, there is not a single serious matter, but rather some bizarre and unconventional methods, such as the "Heart Extraction Technique". This involves condensing one's lifelong cultivation into a stone before death, and then removing it to make protective gear for one's lover.

Xuan Ji had never heard of such things before, and Dan Li certainly never taught him.

Perhaps it was because Dan Li was born into the Vermilion Bird clan and had a sense of racial segregation, or maybe it was because the imperial teacher who had knowledge of the heavens and earth looked down on the merfolk who were obsessed with love... Even the emperor, who was a pioneer of "equality", believed that the merfolk language was useless except for searching for people at sea.

These big shots all believed that the wind and moon could not be brought to the table, as if their scheming minds were so sophisticated. Xuan Ji carefully picked up the soft and plaint Sheng Lingyuan, stumbling a bit as he walked.

The Vermilion Bird bloodline and human heart had been in him for three thousand years, and now that they were separated, he was not used to it.

Fortunately, they didn't have to go far. The surrounding hills and pear trees had disappeared.

The spatial array was set up by Sheng Lingyuan. When the master fainted, the array naturally disappeared, revealing Xuan Ji's palm-sized living room. He stretched his legs and walked back to the bedroom in just a few steps.

He placed His Majesty on the single bed and knelt on the floor, examining him for a while. He couldn't help but grab his wrist and feel his pulse.

The heartbeat of the winged clan was much faster than that of humans. Sheng Lingyuan's heart had been with him for a long time, and had become "impatient".

It would probably take some time for it to adapt and return to a normal human level.

From his hair to his fingernails, the Emperor exuded an air of solemnity.

Perhaps he had never had such a noisy component in his entire life, and it seemed a bit incompatible with him.

Even without realizing it, his brow was furrowed, like when he was a young man and was constantly bothered by the chatter of a sword spirit.

So Xuan Ji struck a pose with their fingers intertwined, and took a photo without the other party's knowledge, posting it on Weibo.

His Weibo was filled with posts about cooking, travel, and girl groups.

After a few years, he had gained some inexplicable followers. Even though no one knew each other, everyone was celebrating the New Year and sharing joyous messages.

When they saw Xuan Ji's post, they all joined in and left a string of "woofs" in the comments, forming an online breeding ground for dogs.

When Sheng Lingyuan opened his eyes, the new year had already passed and the Golden Crow had gone west again.

Xuan Ji's small bedroom could only fit a single bed and a large wardrobe, like a cage, but it was tidy and clean. The golden sunlight shone on the emperor's face, and he was a bit dazed, not remembering where he was.

Sheng Lingyuan sat up in confusion and caught a glimpse of a figure in the dressing mirror beside him - the person with fluffy long hair in the mirror was charged with static electricity, and a few strands of hair were floating in the air like ghosts.

His half-opened eyes were sleepy, and his face was flushed, indicating that he was warm. Sheng Lingyuan and this unexpected "guest" looked at each other for a moment, and the frozen memories in his mind finally awakened.

Then he and the person in the mirror both clutched their chests and felt a heart still beating rapidly, not yet returned to its normal "human speed," pounding frantically in his spine. The veins on the back of his hand were visible in the light, blue and pulsing with the energy of the Vermilion Bird's blood, raising his body temperature to an uncomfortable level.

Sheng Lingyuan was not used to this feeling and felt like he had a fever.

The blood flowing through his body did not scald him, but it did make him feel a little itchy, like a person with frostbite suddenly soaking in warm water...

Of course, the itch was not entirely due to the blood. Sheng Lingyuan reached behind his neck and plucked out a feather - it had been stuck in his hair and was scratching his neck.

Staring at the feather for a moment, Sheng Lingyuan suddenly felt something, and his veins bulged as he crushed the feather into a burst of light, mixing with the remaining sunlight.

The shattered feathers acted like a summoning spell, as their scattered light points brought forth their owner in a flurry of feathers.

Xuan Ji landed precisely by the bed, holding a bottle of iced milk tea which he promptly applied to Sheng Lingyuan's face.

"This cup is sugar-free and freshly bought... Ah, Your Majesty, please calm down!"

Sheng Lingyuan retaliated by whipping out his black mist whip, but Xuan Ji leapt into the air with his tea, effortlessly avoiding the attack. Even without spreading his wings, he was lighter than others.

With a single tap of his toes, his hand touched the ceiling and a spatial formation immediately spread out. The bedside lamp elongated and grew, transforming into a large pear blossom tree.

Xuan Ji jumped onto a branch, and the snow-like petals fell like rain, nearly burying Sheng Lingyuan underneath.

"I'm sorry, the stage effect was too exaggerated," Xuan Ji hurriedly patted the tree trunk, stopping the falling petals like dandruff, and hung her milk tea on the tree.

"Your Majesty, forget about hitting me. It's not easy for a milk tea shop to open on the first day of the Lunar New Year. You can't waste it even if you don't appreciate it."

Sheng Lingyuan ignored him, his eyes filled with icy shards, falling in the air.

The slanting sunlight outside the window gave everything a golden edge, illuminating the floating dust and tiny red feathers that had nowhere to hide... and also revealing a thin line that looked like a spider's web.

That thin line connected the two of them, and with a single grab, it would disappear like a reflection in water, impossible to touch.

After a moment, it would once again hang there, swaying gently.

Xuan Ji was taken aback for a moment, and his playful smile faded a bit.

He helplessly pressed his forehead and said, "I was discovered so quickly? I must have let down the mermaid clan chief's skills."

Sheng Lingyuan stared at the almost invisible "spider silk" and his hand trembled. "What did you do... What is this?"

"The mermaid clan chief thought my teleportation service was good, so he rewarded me with a set of 'mermaid's secret language.' It contains some things that cannot be mentioned in polite company, but there is a very interesting 'Mountain Vow and Sea Oath' technique."

Xuan Ji jumped down from the tree and grabbed Sheng Lingyuan's hand.

He lightly scratched a small cut on the tip of the king's finger, then showed him his own finger - there was the same wound.

The small cut on Sheng Lingyuan's finger quickly healed, and Xuan Ji's finger became as smooth as before.

"In the future, if you get hurt, I will feel the pain with you. If you go to the underworld, I will be buried with you." He proudly lifted his non-existent tail. "Now, you belong to me."

Sheng Lingyuan grabbed his collar, his hands trembling so much that he couldn't hold on, and punched him.

Xuan Ji didn't dodge, and the punch made him turn his head, but he laughed.

"Is this the first time in your life that you've punched someone?"

Not only was this the first time Sheng Lingyuan had ever punched someone, but it was also the first time he had ever experienced such anger that his ears were ringing.

Previously, even when the world was falling apart, his heart rate remained steady.

But now, this cursed heart of his was jumping up and down, desperate for attention.

It was causing his head to throb, and he couldn't throw a second punch no matter how hard he tried.

"You... " He was almost incoherent, "You're driving me crazy. You don't have to worry about the Chiyuan anymore."

Xuan Ji didn't know what he was up to, maybe he was afraid he wouldn't die from anger, so he said, "Exactly, since there's this forbidden technique of living and dying together, if I make you angry to death, then of course I won't be around either. When the Chiyuan's fire goes out, there really won't be anyone left to guard it."

Sheng Lingyuan said, "...Get out."

Xuan Ji picked up the coat that Sheng Lingyuan had dropped on the ground, patted it, and put it on him.

"I told you where it came from, no need to check. It's the Mermaid's Secret Language, long lost. Only I know it in the world. Unless someone else can go back four thousand years to get the scriptures, no one can decipher it."

"Get out!" Sheng Lingyuan said.

"Okay, as you wish," Xuan Ji complied readily, "I'll take my leave."

As he spoke, he got up and walked to the bedroom door, leaning against it and looking back.

The warm flush on Sheng Lingyuan's face had evaporated, but his eyes blazed with anger, alive with hot steam. His chest rose and fell rapidly, visible through his disheveled collar.

Unconsciously, Xuan Ji's mind conjured up some scenes that were not convenient to describe in detail. He had gotten what he wanted without any psychological burden, so his thoughts were flying high.

He conveyed this feeling to Sheng Lingyuan, who felt a slight resonance with the drop of blood from earlier.

Suddenly, a black mist burst out of the room, slamming Xuan Ji into the living room before the door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Xuan Ji took a beating, but it felt like he had just tasted the sweetest fruit from the Dongchuan pear tree. He coughed for a while, catching his breath, before bursting into laughter in the living room.

The door may have kept people out, but it couldn't contain the sound.

The momentary empathy of a drop of blood was enough for Sheng Lingyuan to feel Xuan Ji's excitement.

The empathy quickly faded, and Sheng Lingyuan's headache eased.

He listened to the cheerful whistling coming from the living room, against the backdrop of an exaggerated pear tree set.

Xuan Ji's repeated efforts finally stripped away the false aura of life and death and time, revealing the true memories.

Sheng Lingyuan remembered vividly how the Sword Spirit had infuriated him twenty years ago.

The former little rascal had been through countless battles and achieved enlightenment, honing his skills to become a master of the angering people to death.

Sheng Lingyuan pressed his chest, trying to calm down his overly lively heart.

Just as he was recovering from his palpitations, something touched his scattered divine consciousness.

A dark cloud swept by, briefly interrupting the afterglow.

The earth veins of Yong'an trembled slightly, but if Sheng Lingyuan hadn't regained his Vermilion Bird bloodline and heightened his senses by countless times, he would have almost missed this moment.