"Daoist priest, I don't quite understand," the servant began to defend his young master. "If you say the young master has good roots, how can you say he lacks the root of wisdom?"

"You mortals often love to say that beauty lies in the bones, not in the skin. The bones are the foundation of the form, and only when they are expressed on the surface does one have a good appearance," Xie Lang explained as he lazily scratched the black cat in his arms, not needing to exorcise any demons. "Qi entering the bones forms immortal bones, which are good roots."

"The root of wisdom, like the root of the bones, is innate, but it has nothing to do with the physical form. It is about enlightenment." The young Daoist continued, "There are three roots of wisdom: the heart of killing, the heart of the lotus, and the heart of the spiritual accord. The spiritual accord allows one to enter the Dao, the lotus heart allows one to perceive Buddhism, and the killing heart causes one to descend into demonhood. However, with the current separation between immortals and demons, having a killing heart does not necessarily make one demonic. For example, Swordmaster Ye entered the way of the sword with a killing heart, and Lu Lanshan, one of the Three Lords, upholds the righteous path with a lotus heart."

"So, the young master doesn't have any of these three hearts?" The servant felt very angry and glared at Chen Weichen with a look of exasperation, but saw that person just smiling and looking over here, fanning himself with a fan. The painting of listening to the waves on the fan had a lofty artistic conception, as if it could fan out flowers.

"No, no, this is the troublesome part. Everyone has these three hearts, but to varying degrees. Mortals have a mix of the three hearts, so they are muddled and go with the flow. The spiritual accord is intelligent, the lotus heart does good, and the killing heart does evil - hence there are differences in innate nature. Cultivators specialize in nurturing one heart, with a clear state of mind, thus being able to attain the Dao." If Xie Lang had a beard, he would definitely be twirling it in distress now. "But your young master's three hearts are equally balanced, neither good nor evil, neither wise nor foolish. No matter which path he tries to cultivate, he will face many difficulties - he really has the most ordinary aptitude."

The Daoist thought for a moment, then added seriously, "So ordinary that it's a bit extraordinary."

But Chen Weichen was no longer listening. He turned to look at Ye Jiuya beside him.

In that person's frosty expression, there was a hint of thoughtfulness.

He didn't look at anyone, only at the full moon over the sea.

The moonlight was cold, the clear radiance sprinkling down, falling into his eyes, rippling endlessly.

- It was actually a faint look of perplexity.

On the side, Xie Lang was still chattering endlessly with Wen Hui, just like an old teacher complaining to parents about the bad behavior of the unruly students after school.

"This is heaven wanting to cut off his path of cultivation. You can't blame me, you can't blame Swordmaster Ye, it's better to take that Annihilation Incense..."

But then Ye Jiuya's voice was heard, cold as the moonlight of the night: "Marquis Langran, no need to say more."

The chatter stopped immediately. The Daoist secretly glanced at Ye Jiuya's expression and instantly changed from an old teacher to a disciplined student, using his whisk to cover his face. "Yes, Swordmaster Ye."

Ye Jiuya said, "Hand."

Chen Weichen handed over his right hand, thinking to himself - as expected, as sparing with words as though they were gold.

A bone-chilling cold arose from where they touched, flowing through the meridians to the whole body, bringing a thread of pain.

Ye Jiuya withdrew his hand. "Are you willing to follow me?"

Xie Lang peeked out from behind his whisk and asked, "Swordmaster, could it be that he has a way to cultivate despite this?"

This time Ye Jiuya did not ignore him and answered, "There have been precedents."

Chen Weichen then smugly mocked the Daoist, "Marquis Langran, I'm just saying, but among the Three Lords and Fourteen Marquises, the Marquises are indeed inferior to the Lords, and the Lords are inferior to Swordmaster Ye."

Xie Lang had just declared that it was absolutely impossible for him to cultivate, and now ate a huge setback. He snorted.

Ye Jiuya spoke again, "This method is not easy, the chance is slim."

"No matter," Chen Weichen just smiled. "With nothing to seek, there is also nothing to lose. If it doesn't work, I'll just consider it wasting a year - anyway, the more than ten years before were wasted in vain, so it makes no difference."

The Daoist sized him up and down a few times, unable to resist speaking up again, saying "interesting" three times in a row.

Chen Weichen then looked at him askance. "Those without ability seek nothing, eat their fill and roam freely, drifting like an unmoored boat - this was originally something from your Daoist sect. How come when I, a mere mortal, say it, you find it so strange?"

Xie Lang was stunned for a moment, then sincerely made a bow to him. "The teachings of the Southern Hua ancestor, passed down to this day, the precious scrolls have gathered dust. Many thanks to the young master for the enlightenment."

Chen Weichen just smiled, lightly closing his fan. His entire being exuded an endless brilliance of sun, moon, and wind. If one didn't look at his light robes and loose belt, his beautiful clothes and luxurious adornments, he looked even more like an immortal than the Daoist in front of him.

As they spoke, the village head, having received the news, had already led the villagers to welcome them, holding torches.

For a time, it was a clamor of voices, all expressing endless gratitude and joy, not knowing how to repay them. Ye Jiuya's aura was as cold as frost, so the villagers didn't dare approach him. Seeing the young Daoist beside him holding a whisk, they all expressed their gratitude.

The main person who had exterminated the sea demon remained silent. The girl who had witnessed the whole process also did not clarify the facts. Xie Lang could only bear the brunt with a bitter face, bowing left and right, saying "Undeserved praise, undeserved praise" and "I dare not, I dare not", adding "This Daoist's cultivation is shallow". In the end, he still couldn't escape being enthusiastically invited to stay by the villagers and treated like a god.

After settling the immortal priest, the villagers dispersed. It was already late into the night.

In autumn, there were no more cicada sounds, nor cricket chirps. The child from the west house was making a fuss for some reason, the woman gently coaxing. When the sound gradually stopped, the wilderness was vast, with only the sound of waves remaining.

Chen Weichen asked the girl for a jar of wine buried under the osmanthus tree, took a white porcelain cup and a lantern, and with a creak, pushed open the wooden door and headed towards the seaside.

The sword qi entering the sea had turned to ice, forming quickly and melting quickly too. During the earlier commotion, it had already gradually melted and disappeared. The seawater rolled with waves, hitting the rocky shore and cliffs, once again presenting a scene of sea blossoms like snow.

The moonlight shone on a person on the shore rocks. The sea breeze blew up his snow-white clothes and jet-black hair, adding an inexplicable touch of desolation to that tall and slender back.

Chen Weichen came to his side, set down the wine, and sat on the ground.

"Today is the fifteenth of the eighth month, just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The mortal world values reunion. I see Swordmaster Ye also has no one to accompany him, so why not spend this night with me."

"How to spend it?"

"Accompany me in drinking."

The wine entered the empty cup, filled to the brim. The white porcelain reflected the clear, slightly yellow wine. In the soft color of the moonlight, the ripples glimmered. As the aroma of the wine dissipated, the color became more beautiful and the fragrance stronger. His movements were extremely elegant, pouring the crude wine into the porcelain cup, somehow evoking the taste of nectar overflowing a glazed cup.

This brocade-robed young master took the first sip.

The village's homemade wine was extremely strong, igniting a blaze of fiery clouds.

Even when he wasn't smiling, his eyes seemed to always carry a hint of a smile. After a while, the smile gradually faded, and his brows furrowed slightly, as if he was suppressing pain.

Ye Jiuya looked at him, seeing that his aura was unharmed, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Weichen tilted his head back and took a big gulp of wine, taking a few deep breaths. He gazed at the full moon over the sea for a long time before seeming to feel better.

"It's nothing. I was born with a troublesome condition." His eyelashes lowered slightly. "All kinds of joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, greed, ignorance, and delusion, once they arise, my heart aches and it gets worse and worse until my mood settles, it won't stop."

"I hate that my heart is not like water, stirring up waves on flat ground--" The young man under the moonlight recited a truncated ancient poem, as if mocking himself. "Perhaps the 'Heavenly Dao' you speak of truly despises me, not only sending me a lifetime of misfortune but also unwilling to share with me the joys and sorrows of the mortal world. Just now, I thought you looked good, and as soon as I wanted to be happy, the pain started again, so I had to suppress that happiness-- I have never experienced true happiness in this life."

"You can cultivate the supreme Dao of forgetting emotions," Ye Jiuya replied calmly.

Chen Weichen passed the wine bowl to him, "Ye Jiuya, you really don't understand romance-- I'm lamenting my life, yet you want me to cultivate some supremely boring Dao."

Ye Jiuya didn't refuse, taking the wine and drinking it as well.

"The supreme Dao of forgetting emotions, no sorrow, no joy, then you won't be disturbed by this illness."

Chen Weichen shook his head, "I won't cultivate it. Ye Jiuya, you probably don't know that there's a saying in the mortal world called 'drinking poison to quench thirst.'"

Ye Jiuya: "I only know to trace things to their source."

Chen Weichen just smiled, "You..."

But he didn't continue. The two fell silent.

They were strangers, yet they sat on a reef under the moonlit night, each drinking wine, not toasting, not conversing.

On this day this year, under the moon, within ten zhang of the earthly red dust, in the vast sea of people, who knows how many are sad, how many are happy, how many have no sorrow or joy, and how many cannot be sad or happy.

Looking at those silhouettes, one felt stifled, not knowing what they were doing-- Wen Hui glanced over from afar and seeing the two were fine, went to sleep himself.

After some unknown time had passed, Chen Weichen noticed Ye Jiuya gradually stopped moving.

That person gazed at the moon over the sea, his eyes filled with frost and snow, as if looking at a flower in the water.

He called out, "Ye Jiuya?"

He heard Ye Jiuya slowly say, his voice extremely soft, barely audible.

He said, Emperor Yan.

Chen Weichen was stunned for a moment, then responded, "I'm here."

Ye Jiuya looked at him, the drunkenness from before had vanished without a trace, still cold and sober. "Chen Weichen."

Chen Weichen laughed again without a care, "I wanted to fool you again-- you called out a name just now, Emperor Yan? Which character? It can't be your dream lover-- can someone like you even have a dream lover?"

Ye Jiuya's tone was flat, "It's not."

Chen Weichen poured wine for himself, pouring out the last drop from the jug.

He savored that last bit, looking at Ye Jiuya.

"Sect Leader Ye, the past cannot be changed, all the mountains and rivers are but distant memories." He was still smiling as he asked, "Why not take pity on the person before your eyes?"

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and shook his head, "No, I was wrong-- you probably cultivated that 'supreme Dao of forgetting emotions', so now not only can the past not be pursued, the future may not be expected either."

As that sentence "the future may not be expected" fell, the candle in the lantern he brought flickered a few times and completely went out.

-- Truly, after the wine is finished, the lanterns dim, and the people disperse, what can be done about the fine day and beautiful scenery?

So they parted, each returning, leaving only the bright moon and stars in the sky.

However, Wen Hui was awakened by the noise of Chen Weichen returning to his room.

His young master leaned against the doorframe, his face pale, his shoulders trembling slightly.

He practically jumped out of bed, helping Chen Weichen back, chattering noisily, "Young Master, your old condition is acting up again? It hasn't flared up in so many years-- just from drinking with a beauty, is it worth being this happy about!"

The young master endured the pain and retorted irritably, "Happy my ass-- I'm in pain here."

"In pain?"

But no matter how much he asked, he couldn't get an answer as to why he was in pain. He only heard the young master finally unable to stand his repeated questioning, muttering softly before falling asleep, "It's just matters of the past."