Holding Hua Che in his arms, Chu Binghuan reached out and touched his forehead, still feverish.

Hua Che’s health wasn’t that good. Even though Chu Binghuan could use spiritual medicine and immortal herbs to supplement him, Hua Che’s body still needed some time to recover on its own.

In fact, even when compared to normal people, Hua Che’s recovery speed was quite slow.

Chu Binghuan had absolute confidence in his medical skills, so he wasn't worried about Hua Che.

Instead, it was what Hua Che had just said that threw Chu Binghuan into chaos for a moment, almost...

Thinking back, Hua Che once had a bright future, but because of his background being exposed, he was heavily criticized. Even though he always did good, he couldn't shake off the fact of being the son of the Demon Lord.

Despite Lu Mingfeng publicly defending him and vouching for him, it was hard to maintain his position in Shangqing Immortal Sect. His senior brothers openly or covertly ostracized and marginalized him, the elders were wary and guarded. Discerning people could all see it, especially Hua Che, who had been observant since childhood.

Perhaps he couldn't bear it anymore! Hua Che disappeared without a word. According to witnesses, they saw demonic mist at the foot of the mountain. With such cultivation, he could come and go freely in Shangqing Immortal Sect. Other than Yin Wuhui from the Fen Qing Palace, there was no one else like him in the world!

The result was obvious, Hua Che had left with his father.

But Chu Binghuan never believed it. Knowing Hua Che as he did, he knew Hua Che resented his father, even though blood was thicker than water (NT: family ties are stronger and valued above other connections), immortality and demons followed different paths. Even if he couldn't do something as extreme as killing his own family, he would never collude with Yin Wuhui.

Hua Che must have been kidnapped.

Chu Binghuan thought so, firmly believing it. He secretly planned to infiltrate the Fen Qing Palace alone, but before he could act, Hua Che suddenly returned.

He returned to kill his master.

He mercilessly killed Lu Mingfeng, slaughtered five thousand disciples of Shangqing Immortal Sect, fled, leaving behind a heart-wrenched Lu Yao, and disappeared.

He was gone for hundreds of years. When they met again, they were both over three hundred years old, everything had changed as if they were in different worlds.

Since then, Shangqing Immortal Sect declined rapidly. Yuntian Shuijing took advantage of the situation and surpassed the former glory of Shangqing Immortal Sect under Chu Binghuan's leadership, becoming the number one sect in the Immortal Dao. And he surpassed the venerable Lu Mingfeng, becoming the number one figure in the Immortal Dao.

As for Hua Che... he abandoned his extraordinary swordsmanship, abandoned the immortal path, and entered the demonic realm, becoming the leader of the ten thousand demons, reigning over the Fen Qing Palace.

There were rumours that he killed his master first, then his own father.

He finally turned into a demon, suppressing all voices against him, paving his way with blood, stepping on corpses to reach his current position. Everyone feared him, dared not speak against him, lest they be washed away by Hua Che's blood.

No one dared to call him the son of a prostitute anymore.

Later on, Chu Binghuan was captured by him.

Trapped by a sneak attack, his cultivation sealed, he was imprisoned in the Fen Qing Palace. Three years passed in a flash.

Until that day, Hua Che used his old tricks, flaunting his charm. Chu Binghuan watched coldly, and didn’t even spare a glance sideways.

He didn't like Hua Cheacting  like this, and he knew Hua Che had willingly fallen, broken beyond repair.

"Little Ice Cube, can you hug me?"

Chu Binghuan, accustomed to Hua Che's coquettishness, didn't want to respond. Moreover, there were more important things to do now. He didn't look back, nor did he say a word, walking away quickly.

At the foot of the mountain, the Immortal Dao army was ready to go.

Chu Binghuan, dressed in spotless white clothes, stood alone in front of tens of thousands of troops.

The long-awaited Yun Miaojun was actually alive, unharmed, and looking well. Everyone was thrilled and excited, talking incessantly.

"Yun Miaojun, where's that demon?"

"Sect leader Chu, did you kill Hua Che and escape?"

Hua Che wouldn't know, but three years ago, during what was supposed to be a surprise attack, Chu Binghuan knew.

He wasn't forcibly taken to the Fen Qing Palace; he went there willingly with Hua Che.

Hua Che also wouldn't know that his cultivation had never been sealed, and his golden core remained intact.

So when Chu Binghuan received the sachet from the panicked Protector, he froze.

Inside the sachet was the method to release his sealed cultivation.

What did this mean?

Was Hua Che setting him free?

Didn't Hua Che insist on needing him? With kidnapping and forced marriage, soft and hard tactics, he had been grinding for three years! Why now...

Chu Binghuan couldn't believe it. He grabbed the Protector's collar, demanding coldly, "What does this mean?"

The Protector, realizing Chu Binghuan's cultivation was intact, turned red and, unable to hide it, said with difficulty, "Sir, sir, something might be wrong... cough, cough, cough!"

Chu Binghuan's head buzzed.

Something might be wrong?

Recalling HuaChe's unusual behaviour the previous night, Chu Binghuan's heart pounded like thunder. At that time, he vaguely felt that the big demon was acting strangely, but didn't pay much attention, thinking Hua Che was pretending again. Could it be that he was...

Scenes from the previous night replayed in Chu Binghuan's mind.

Deliberately provoking him, trying to make him kill him.

At the moment of parting, that almost heartbreaking plea, begging him to hug him.

Chu Binghuan's five senses seemed to empty out. He felt it difficult to breathe. He hurried back to the Fen Qing Palace at the fastest speed, heading to the bamboo house on the back mountain. What he saw was Hua Che lying on the ground, dying.

His golden core shattered, his spirit scattered, his consciousness withered.

He tremblingly lifted Hua Che, calling out, but the person in his arms showed no response, only trembling lips, as if saying something.

Chu Binghuan hurriedly brought his ear close. The voice was particularly faint and weak, but to Chu Binghuan's ears, it was like thunder.

"Sorry, I've delayed you for a lifetime."

No, no!

I was the one who delayed you, it was me!

Heart-wrenching, as if a thousand ants were devouring his heart, Chu Binghuan couldn't describe it, he only knew that at that moment, everything turned dark!

*
Chu Binghuan closed his eyes and hugged the person in his arms tightly.

In this lifetime, he would never...

"Do you want to strangle me?"

Chu Binghuan was startled, the pain from his past life and the abruptness of the present merging together, leaving him bewildered. It took him a while to react, and when he looked down, he saw Hua Che, who had been "squirming" in his arms.

The candlelight burned brightly, casting a shining glow on Hua Che's clear eyes. He stared at Chu Binghuan without blinking and suddenly grinned, "Are you trying to seduce me?"

A chord snapped in Chu Binghuan's mind.

"Speak!" Hua Che grabbed Chu Binghuan's collar and said with sorrow, " Are you truly sincere to me?"

Chu Binghuan: "..."

Hua Che looked sorrowful. "Do you love me at all?"

"Hua Che."

"I won't listen! I don't want to listen, you don’t say anything!"

"..."

What's wrong with him?

Chu Binghuan almost thought he had improperly prepared some medication. He reached out and touched Hua Che's forehead, still burning hot. This was pure delirium!

Hua Che pushed Chu Binghuan away and wiped his forehead, disgusted by Chu Binghuan's touch. "You don't love me, right? Then just divorce me! Hmph, there's grass everywhere in the world, I'll find someone else, like Mister Wang from next door!"

“……” Chu Binghuan truly didn’t know how he should reply.

Hua Che earnestly urged, “Grab a brush to write our divorce papers, quickly!"

Chu Binghuan calmly analyzed the situation. Since Hua Che was delirious, he would naturally say nonsense, perhaps confusing it with memories. This inexplicable performance was probably from a script Hua Che had seen as a child or some neighbourhood commotion he remembered. He just got mixed up in it.

According to Chu the Immortal Doctor's estimation, the fever should subside by dawn, so it wasn't too serious.

"If you won't write, I will!" Hua Che became anxious. He picked up a twig from the ground, used it as a brush without dipping it in ink, and gestured on the sandy soil for a while. Then he awkwardly looked back at Chu Binghuan. "How do you write a divorce paper?"

Knowing that Hua Che was just temporarily out of sorts, Chu Binghuan wasn't in a hurry. But this situation couldn't be left unattended. He thought for a moment, and suddenly, for no apparent reason, he brightened up.

Chu Binghuan took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his sleeve and said, "I'll dictate, you write."

Hua Che skeptically threw away the twig and obediently nodded, "Okay."

Chu Binghuan's voice was clear and melodious, “Two families united in marriage, a solemn covenant. May this auspicious union last forever, and may the couple be perfectly matched”

Hua Che began to write with fervour and concentration.

Chu Binghuan watched earnestly, "This is the proof."

Finally, when Hua Che finished writing, Chu Binghuan promptly took away the divorce letter, a faint smile crossing his lips.

Looking like a resentful wife, Hua Che muttered, "Is that all?"

"Not yet," Chu Binghuan said seriously, looking at the "divorce letter" with satisfaction. Although Hua Che came from humble origins, he lacked no education. He was proficient in various arts and was skilled in calligraphy. He could even be hailed as a master of the craft in this era.

Hua Che urged impatiently, "The divorce letter is written, why isn't it done yet?"

"There's still the ancestral token," Chu Binghuan said solemnly. "Return the ancestral token to the other party, and that will be the end of it."

"Oh." Hua Che, who was delirious, couldn't distinguish between divorce and marriage documents, so how could he be expected to know that the ancestral token had already been returned after marriage?

He obediently rummaged around and, like a blind cat catching a dead mouse, opened the spatial bag hidden in his sleeve, and the ancestral token fell out with a "snap."

Chu Binghuan snatched it first.

The ancestral token clearly stated the date of birth, place of origin, and the three generations of ancestors.

Hua Che belonged to his mother's family, and the Hua family was not a poor family. At least before the downfall of Hua Mei’er, they were a distinguished family.

Hua Che’s maternal grandfather was the only appointed Prince (NT: named Prince although not from the Emperor’s family thanks to his merits) of the previous dynasty. His grandmother was a reclusive cultivator, said to be a remarkable woman who didn't yield to men.

His grandfather was deeply attracted to her, pursued her for more than a decade, finally moved her, and the two held a grand wedding ceremony. The next year, they gave birth to Hua Mei’er.

Hua Meier's name was changed after she ended up in a brothel, recorded on Hua Che's ancestral token: Mother: Hua Sijin.

After the family fell from grace, they were executed, and their descendants suffered.

"It's not true!" Hua Che snatched back the ancestral token and said dazedly, "What's that emperor? My grandma had a talisman that could lead the whole Hua family to escape, entered the immortal realm, even if the emperor had thousands of troops, he couldn't touch us!"

Chu Binghuan was startled, but seeing Hua Che still in a daze, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He also understood that for cultivators, mortals were too fragile. Even if the emperor ruled the world, he could only exert his power in the mortal realm and couldn't touch the immortal realm.

Destroying a family might work on others, but not on Hua Che's maternal family.

"What about your family..." The Chu Binghuan of the past life had never brought this up, not out of lack of curiosity but out of concern for touching upon Hua Che's heartache. But now that Hua Che was delirious, he wouldn't remember anything when waking up.

Hua Che mysteriously beckoned with his fingers, and Chu Binghuan subconsciously leaned closer.

"Wiped out." Hua Che leaned close to Chu Binghuan's ear as if he were talking about someone else's business and said lightly, "My mom said her family was wiped out by cultivators, the demonic cultivators killed everyone, leaving no one alive!"

Chu Binghuan was shaken.

While everyone condemned Hua Che as the son of the Demon Sovereign, did anyone think about his inner turmoil, his helplessness, his resentment, and unwillingness?

His mother's entire family died at the hands of demonic cultivators. Hua Che's hatred towards demonic cultivators was no less than anyone else's in the world!

He must have felt nauseous about inheriting the bloodline of Yin Wuhui more than anyone else!

Chu Binghuan clenched his fists in anguish. "Hua..."

"Damn it! Where did you put the divorce letter? Give it to me quickly, I'll hang myself with it!" Hua Che demanded.

Chu Binghuan: "..."

 

Translator : DarNan