He shook his head.
“Then… settling some family feud, blood debt?”
Still shook his head.
“Hahaha, don’t tell me Immortal Lord Jiang is actually a romantic, chasing after some beloved?”
“…”
Ha—he actually pursed his lips and went silent.
Immortal Lord Jiang always buried his feelings deep; this time especially.
As Immortal Lord Lixuan waxed on about his dao companion, Jiang Chen seemed quietly still at first glance—but his knuckles quietly clenched the bedsheets nearly to shreds.
And Rumu Immortal Lord’s Ten Thousand Spirits Pill should’ve induced drowsy sleep… unless someone’s heart boiled like a cauldron, strangled by jealousy vines, unrested.
Especially when Zhao Lixuan gushed about his companion’s wit and talent—Jiang Chen’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently, swallowing back a mouthful of blood.
By the end, he’d gone numb.
Eyes downcast the whole time, staring at his pale hands atop the quilt like a withered plant.
Ai, heart turned to ashes, huh?
But that mouth’s as stubborn as ever! After Bitao finished prying and the silent Jiang Chen abruptly rasped: “If… that’s how it is… then congratulations… Immortal Lord Zhao.”
Over there, oblivious Zhao Lixuan instinctively replied: “Hm? Oh, thanks. You too.”
Chu Fusheng coughed lightly in amusement, quickly covering his mouth with his sleeve.
…
As dawn’s light filtered in, the crowd finally dispersed.
Zhao Lixuan urged Yu Rumu to rest first. Once the room fell silent again, he sighed in relief and hurried back to the bedside.
Faint morning light seeped through the lattice windows, chill wind nipping—already deathly pale with illness, the man now looked like a corpse of flushed bones.
“…” Good thing twenty years ago, Zhao Lixuan had seen him half-dead plenty. No time to waste—he sat by the bed.
“Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen? Wake up a bit, sleep later. You’re heading back to the Mortal Realm tonight—we need to settle the important stuff first.”
The candle flickered dimly in the brightening dawn, reflecting in Jiang Chen’s lusterless ink-jade eyes.
He turned his head away, ignoring him.
Zhao Lixuan: “…Fine, fine, I know you’re still mad. But the past is past—if we can’t redo it, all we can do is make amends. Can Immortal Lord Jiang set aside the anger for now and cooperate a little?
Jiang Chen didn’t respond, knuckles tightening under the brocade quilt, lips pressed thin.
Nothing matters anymore.
He only wished he could flee to the Mortal Realm right now, end this self-inflicted humiliation early.
Why did I even come? From that first year in the Mortal Realm, waiting fruitlessly—he’d understood everything. And all these years, hadn’t he imagined the other had found someone new, tied the knot?
Of course he had.
These years, Immortal Lord Li Xuan’s fame had spread far and wide across the Three Realms, with everyone chanting, “One glimpse of Li Xuan and you’re doomed for life.” Others weren’t blind. Who wouldn’t praise his peerless beauty and vast family wealth, making him the perfect match for any immortal sect’s son-in-law?
Though his current dao companion sounded like nothing more than an ordinary merchant, with no illustrious achievements or exceptional cultivation.
Yet even if utterly mediocre, he couldn’t resist his sheer dumb luck—stumbling right into the path of Immortal Lord Li Xuan, whose taste had always been disastrously poor!
“Jiang Chen.” A soft call came from beside him again.
He didn’t want to hear it.
That merchant must have seized the opportunity, pulling out all the stops to cling to him! Otherwise… why would Li Xuan think he was perfect in every way? He must have spent his days feigning meek obedience, currying favor with false affection!!
Jiang Chen clenched his teeth tightly.
He didn’t want to hear another word. Every extra syllable from Zhao Lixuan twisted his heart anew. Enough.
“Jiang Chen,” Zhao Lixuan sighed, calling him once more. “Come on, don’t delay us. Let’s hurry and dissolve this Marriage Contract!”
“…”
“…”
Outside the window, morning light gradually brightened the courtyard. The crabapple blossoms in Rumu Immortal Lord’s courtyard trembled in the gentle breeze, while a few early-rising spirit sparrows chirped on the branches. Everything brimmed with vibrant life.
Jiang Chen didn’t understand.
He couldn’t comprehend what Zhao Lixuan meant, but those warm fingertips had already grasped his wrist.
“Huh, why isn’t it appearing?”
Zhao Lixuan was puzzled.
This was a Marriage Contract they shared. Since Jiang Chen could make his contract mark appear with a casual touch, he should be able to summon Jiang Chen’s mark too.
Could it be… their bond was too shallow? Yes, that must be it—their feelings weren’t deep enough to even respond to a touch.
“Jiang Immortal Lord,” he ventured, “can you make yours appear?”
“…”
Jiang Chen said nothing, only staring at him with dark eyes.
The morning breeze was soft, gentle. A few lingering fireflies still wandered in the fading glow of the brightening sky within the courtyard. Just like that year by the Luo State riverside, under a sky filled with Kongming lanterns.
His fingertips twitched.
He had known nothing of immortal clan Marriage Contracts back then.
It wasn’t until later, when he became the lord of Drunk Moon City and attended countless immortal sect weddings, that he learned a Marriage Contract required mutual consent to form successfully.
At this moment, Zhao Lixuan’s fingertips still lingered on his wrist, sending a tingling sensation rippling like spring water.
But that spot remained empty, utterly barren.
But it had been there once… hadn’t it?
We were in love once… weren’t we?
In an instant, countless memories surged back: the little courtyard in Luo State, strolling streets together, reading, practicing swordplay. When he fell ill, that man clumsily kept vigil by his bedside, the lamp burning through the night. All the gifts he’d sent, the meticulous care in every matter, big and small.
But why…
Why, back then, was all he could think…
Why would he go this far for me? What does he really want?
What can I even give him? Why does he lavish me with praise without end, shower me with precious gifts? How could I possibly deserve such regard? What does he even like about me? Is it because I outshone everyone at Xiao Xue Tower? But if I slack off one day, will he stop liking me?
Everyone else says I don’t deserve him, laughs at his poor taste.
Doesn’t he fear the ridicule? Or is he doing this just to watch me crash? Lifting someone high only to watch them shatter—that’s the game spoiled young masters love to play.
He didn’t know. He didn’t understand.
He couldn’t suppress the pounding of his heart, the irritation, the helplessness… and that inexplicable sorrow and rage.
So he ran.
He wanted to flee to the ends of the earth, but ended up only in nearby Sui Province. That man still visited often, lurking at a distance to steal glances.
He was unhappy.
But when that man stopped coming, he grew even more furious.
So he swore to go to the Demon Bright, where that man could never find him. When the man tried to dissuade him, he was displeased; but when the man stopped objecting and even sent farewell gifts, his anger burned hotter.
He didn’t understand.
He couldn’t grasp that intense, suffocating madness of an emotion.
In the Demon Bright, he lost his appetite, slept fitfully. Only letters from that man brought brief relief.
But he never replied.
Until the letters stopped, forcing his hand to pick up a brush. Then the Three Realms Gate closed, plunging him into vast emptiness and the hallucination of something vital shattering—yet laced with a strange, faint peace—
Because the Three Realms Gate is closed. The realms are severed forever.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to write to me—it’s that I can’t receive it. It’s not that he doesn’t want to find me—it’s that the gate is shut.
But…
But what if time passes, things change, and he forgets me?
What if he falls for someone else and never thinks of me again?
…
And in the long years that followed in the Demon Bright, Jiang Chen gradually seemed to sense something different.
Many things remained baffling; moments of clarity slipped away like mist. Sometimes, seeing mortal couples in sweet intimacy, he’d feel envy—but other times, it struck him as false, and he couldn’t explain the contradiction.
He didn’t understand so much.
But gradually, it seemed he no longer needed to.
For those surging emotions began to tear at him, sweep him away, guiding him without thought or reason to a certain place.
He knew he shouldn’t come to the Unstained Immortal Realm. He didn’t understand love, too clumsy to learn, deserved to end up with nothing. That man had long since abandoned him—twenty whole years without a glance. He deserved to die alone.
Yet he lingered, unwilling to leave.
Hopeless, yet blinded by a faint glimmer, his fingertips greedily clutching the other’s sleeve, rubbing it gently.
“Since… we… are married.”
“Why… did you… lie to them just now?” he asked hoarsely.
Zhao Lixuan had sensed something off about Jiang Chen since earlier—like he’d lost his soul, or been reborn. Morning light illuminated his pale, handsome face, and Zhao Lixuan stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “Would telling the truth even make sense?”
Indeed, it wouldn’t.
But all along, the one who never made sense… had been him.
“When… did we… marry?” he pressed.
Zhao Lixuan’s ears flushed. What’s there to dig into about old history? Dissolving the contract is what matters!
As he spoke, he poked at Jiang Chen’s wrist again. “I can’t make it appear—you do it!”
“No.”
The crabapples still bloomed outside. Zhao Lixuan blinked in confusion, wondering if he’d misheard.
“No… dissolving the contract.”
“Since… we’re married… it counts. I’m not… going back… to the mortal realm.”
Zhao Lixuan: “…” ?????
