Kneel in the Buddhist hall for the entire night, until dawn.
A bold idea suddenly arose in Jun Huailang’s heart.
After a moment, Jun Huailang realized that he could not suppress the thought at all. He pressed his lips together and, for once, spoke willfully.
“Fuyi, pack up all this food. I’m going out for a while. You don’t need to follow me.”
Fuyi was puzzled. “You’re going to……?”
Jun Huailang said, “Don’t ask, and don’t alarm Aunt. Go pack it up.”
He thought to himself that, after all, His Majesty had only ordered Xue Yan to kneel for the entire night. He had not said that Xue Yan was forbidden to eat, nor that no one was allowed to visit him.
Besides, the cause and effect from his previous life had already been cleared up. In this life, Xue Yan presumably would no longer exterminate the entire Jun family, nor would he lay a hand on his younger sister. Since that was the case, the misunderstanding had been resolved, and their grievances could barely be considered settled. Xue Yan had already been adopted by his aunt, so he could more or less be considered half a member of the Jun family. Perhaps in the future, he might even protect his aunt and younger siblings to some extent.
Jun Huailang said all this to himself in his heart.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, the truth was that he simply could not bear the thought of Xue Yan kneeling alone in the Buddhist hall for the entire night, and was also feeling a little petulant about it.
After all, he had done nothing wrong. Why should he reflect before the Buddha?
Meanwhile, Fuyi obediently packed the food into a food box and placed it on the table. Jun Huailang put on his robe, then had a palace maid drape a cloak over him. Carrying the food box, he pushed open the door and walked out.
This was the first time in Jun Huailang’s life that he had done something so secretively. He glanced toward Consort Shu’s room and felt somewhat nervous, yet still forced himself to remain calm as he instructed Fuyi, “Remember, don’t let Aunt find out.”
“Don’t let me find out what?”
Just then, a delicate and radiant voice sounded beside him.
Jun Huailang raised his head and saw that Consort Shu had appeared at some point. She was standing silently beneath his window, and he had no idea how long she had been there.
“……Aunt?” Jun Huailang’s heart panicked.
He had not expected that before he could even accomplish anything, he would already be caught red-handed.
“I originally came because I wanted you to make a trip there.” Meeting his gaze, Consort Shu awkwardly turned her eyes away. Her expression was cold, with a trace of awkwardness mixed into it. “If I sent a servant, it would instead seem like it was my intention. For this sort of matter, it still needs to be you, my child, who handles it.”
Jun Huailang was completely bewildered.
Then Consort Shu raised her hand and held out the object in it before him.
Jun Huailang lowered his eyes and saw that what she held was a thick, heavy cloak.
“It’s cold in the Buddhist hall at night. Take this to him.” Consort Shu awkwardly turned her eyes away, putting on an indifferent expression. “As for what happened today, I wronged him.”
——
Beyond the Southern Heaven, beside the Silver River, there was an immortal tree growing among a sea of clouds. It was one hundred and twenty zhang tall, its branches and leaves lush and dense, covered with translucent peach blossoms. When the wind blew, they chimed like bells, their sound resembling pearls and jade striking against one another.
Beneath the tree sat two people, playing chess.
One of them was an old man whose beard and hair were completely white. He stared at the chessboard in deep thought for a long time before simply throwing the chess piece in his hand onto the board and ruining the entire game.
“Who in all of Heaven doesn’t know that this Star Lord is terrible at chess? Even the Jade Emperor has to let me a few moves! Yet you, this old fellow from the Underworld, are so inconsiderate. Every time, you have to slaughter me until I’m utterly defeated!”
The old man was still not satisfied. He reached out and pushed the chessboard into complete disarray before finally stopping.
“Enough. I didn’t come to Heaven today to play chess with you, old fellow.” Sitting opposite him was precisely the Lord of the Underworld. “I came to ask you whether you have dealt with that soul the Black and White Impermanence accidentally summoned incorrectly that day.”
The Star Lord of Fate stroked his beard and said, “More or less. This Star Lord sent him dreams quite a few times. Unfortunately, this brat was reincarnated from an immortal, and his mind is exceptionally resilient, so none of them could enter his consciousness. But recently, it finally worked.”
“Sent him dreams?” The Lord of the Underworld frowned. “Why don’t you simply summon that soul back?”
The Star Lord of Fate gave him a sideways glance.
“Do you think summoning him is that easy? His fate is bound to the Evil Star. He is destined to live another life. Why do you think the Killing Star descended into the mortal world to undergo tribulation back then, causing rivers of blood to flow throughout the mortal realm? It was precisely because the Old Man Under the Moon failed to properly tie their red threads. This person was specifically sent to suppress the evil energy. If the two of them aren’t bound tightly together, how can the evil energy be suppressed?”
The Lord of the Underworld said, “But he has read the storybook you wrote……”
The Star Lord of Fate coughed awkwardly.
“That’s precisely why I sent him dreams,” he said. “The reason I sent him dreams was precisely the reason I wrote that storybook in the first place.”
The Lord of the Underworld asked, “Does it really work?”
The Star Lord of Fate became angry after being repeatedly questioned.
“The books this old man has written are thicker than your Underworld’s Book of Life and Death. You think you understand this better than I do?”
The Lord of the Underworld knew that he was stubborn, so after hearing this, he said no more. Since the Star Lord of Fate had taken full responsibility for the matter, he was reassured.
What the Star Lord of Fate was doing would also solve no small amount of trouble for him. The Solitary Star of Seven Killings hung high in the Southern Heaven, descending to the mortal world to undergo tribulation once every ten thousand years. Only after completing one hundred tribulations could it cultivate into a true immortal.
Every time it descended to the mortal world, rivers of blood flowed, and the Underworld would have to toil for a long time. He had already been busy with this matter ninety-nine times. This final time should properly be his chance to rest.
Thus, the Lord of the Underworld rose and took his leave.
Just as he was about to leave, the Star Lord of Fate called out to him again.
“Wait. I have something to ask you too.”
He turned around and saw the old man still sitting where he was, twisting his hands together. His expression was unexpectedly awkward.
“……I wonder, do the little girls in your Underworld read danmei?”
“……Read what?” The Lord of the Underworld asked in confusion.
The Star Lord of Fate cleared his throat, waved his hand, and said, “Nothing. Go, go, hurry back.”
The Star Lord of Fate understood it best.
Who cared whether the girls were from Heaven or the mortal realm? As long as the story in the book was interesting, why should he care about gender?
He had been worrying about that Evil Star these past few days, watching the mortal world every day. The more he watched, the more interesting he found those two. They were worth writing another storybook about.
The Star Lord of Fate’s hands were itching again.