But Chen Lian was truly too foolish.
He didn’t understand what kind of person Wenren Sheng was at all.
From today on, Wenren Sheng would completely forget this person who had hurt him. Not only would he step out of the shadows and turn fifteen, but he would also gain companions and family, endless love.
This blue butterfly would spread its wings anew in the pouring rain.
And tomorrow would be the start of his brand-new life.
“You’re actually pretty handsome.”
He Mu gazed at the starry sky and suddenly said.
Wenren Sheng sat on the rooftop swinging his legs, humming a cheerful tune.
He Mu turned his head to look at Wenren Sheng and smiled. “Why aren’t you asking why I said that so suddenly?”
Wenren Sheng then turned his head and beamed at He Mu.
“Because I’m just super super handsome.”
The night was as dark as thick ink, but Wenren Sheng’s eyes still glowed like fireflies, reflecting in He Mu’s gaze.
He Mu propped up his cheek and said, “Didn’t you say you wanted to clear things up with that clan leader about the past? How come in the end you just invited him to stay at the Divine Temple?”
Wenren Sheng scratched his cheek bashfully.
“Because I kept blaming him before, thinking he didn’t love me anymore, so he abandoned me.”
His face flushed red as he said softly,
“But now I feel like the clan leader still loves me super super a lot. He didn’t do anything wrong; he just had too few choices.”
Seeing him like this, He Mu’s heart softened terribly. He couldn’t resist pinching his cheek and laughing.
“Yo, you’ve learned quite a bit from Wenqu Star, huh.”
Wenren Sheng huffed lightly and said proudly, “Of course. I study super diligently every single day.”
He Mu let out an “mm” and brushed a lock of Wenren Sheng’s hair behind his ear. Then he suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Happy birthday.”
He Mu’s breath tickled Wenren Sheng’s ear, and he couldn’t help but shiver.
He touched his ear shyly and said, “…How did the Mountain God know?”
He had only ever told Yi Jinxiang about his birthday and had never mentioned it to the Mountain God.
He Mu curved his eyes and said, “We’re family. Of course I would know.”
With that, he pulled out a bracelet as if by magic and dangled it in front of Wenren Sheng with a clink.
“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got you something useful first.” He Mu took Wenren Sheng’s little hand and placed the bracelet in his palm. “It’s a cold-avoiding pearl. Wear it during your seclusion, and you won’t feel cold.”
Wenren Sheng felt a wave of warmth in his palm. He froze for a moment, then lowered his head to look at the bracelet in his hand.
In the moonlight, he could see the lustrous beads—one black with flecks of white, the next white with flecks of black. They alternated mysteriously, and when turned, black and white intertwined like soft moonlight flowing through the long night. It was captivating.
It felt warm to the touch, like a hand warmer.
“Wow…” Wenren Sheng exclaimed softly. “It’s like the night sky.”
“Now we’re even for the wooden sword you gave me.” He Mu rested his forehead against Wenren Sheng’s and rubbed it gently, chuckling. “From now on, this will be our token.”
Wenren Sheng asked puzzledly, “What’s a token?”
“Um… it means as long as we each have it, we’ll never be apart. We’ll always be close family.”
So it was something that good.
He and the Mountain God were already family who would never be separated.
Wenren Sheng clutched the bracelet and pounced into He Mu’s arms, hugging him tightly.
“I like the Mountain God the most!”
With this treasure, even though he had to go into seclusion soon and part from the Mountain God for a short time, Wenren Sheng felt it wouldn’t be so hard anymore.
The Mountain God’s token was just like the Mountain God himself—it would stay by his side, protecting him for a long time.
Wenren Sheng rubbed hard against the crook of He Mu’s neck, wishing he could hang his whole body on him, using this to show how much he liked the token.
After rubbing for a while, he stopped, sat up straight, leaned to He Mu’s ear, and whispered, “I’ll ask you a secret question, but don’t tell anyone else, okay?”
“Go ahead.” He Mu leaned in curiously. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Wenren Sheng fiddled with his fingers and mumbled, “Do you think… what I did was especially cruel?”
He paused, then added in an even softer voice, “I mean, with Chen Lian.”
Though He Mu and Wenren Jing hadn’t said anything, Wenren Sheng clearly remembered how it felt when that Sword Cultivator had enraged him back then—his body completely out of control, smashing the porcelain jar that held the soul without thinking.
Yi Jinxiang had taught him that this was “acting before thinking it through”—impulsiveness. And things done on impulse were often not good.
But Wenren Sheng still felt that Chen Lian’s soul shouldn’t have been saved, and he shouldn’t have come back to life a second time.
Torn with conflict, he didn’t know if he was right or wrong.
After hearing this, He Mu reached out and ruffled his hair. “Can’t figure it out?”
Wenren Sheng nodded.
He Mu smiled gently. He tapped Wenren Sheng’s chest and said, “Right and wrong aren’t dictated by heaven, earth, or the masses. As long as your heart is set right and your conscience is clear, nothing will stand in your way.”
Wenren Sheng blinked. He only half-understood and couldn’t help but look troubled.
Just as he was about to blurt out “I don’t get it,” He Mu suddenly cupped his cheeks.
“—If it were Wenqu Star, she’d probably say it like that, right?”
He Mu’s eyes were full of deep amusement as he said softly to Wenren Sheng,
“But I don’t think it’s that complicated. I think you did the right thing. You did great. You were amazing.”
!
Wenren Sheng’s eyes lit up. He stared blankly at He Mu and said woodenly, “Really good?”
He Mu said matter-of-factly, “Of course it’s good. Why doubt yourself? Just having that kind of resolve puts you ahead of most people, okay?”
He had resolve. He was ahead of most people.
That meant… he was super awesome, super great, right?
“It’s just… like a real hero, right!”
“Yeah, I was scared out of my wits at the time.” He Mu gestured exaggeratedly. “Whoosh—my sword flew out of my hand, then bang, Chen Lian was done for. At first, I thought some mighty immortal had descended…”
Wenren Sheng giggled nonstop at He Mu’s antics. He hugged him again, repeating those words over and over in his mind.
Ah, he was just like a real hero!
He thought about it until the moon climbed into the treetops, until the night sky darkened completely—a whole night filled with this sweet dream.
The next day at chenshi.
Wenren Sheng arrived punctually with He Mu at the cold pool in the back mountains.
Today was the day he would go into seclusion.
Aside from them, Yi Jinxiang and Wenren Jing had also come to see him off. The two stood not far away, their gazes fixed on Wenren Sheng, as if wanting to get a few more looks before he went in.
“This dummy…”
Yi Jinxiang fanned herself unnaturally, muttering irritably to herself,
“I don’t know if he learned anything I taught him. Why is Cangyu so eager for him to seclude himself? It’s just… speechless.”
Wenren Jing, meanwhile, wiped at his tears. He waved frantically at Wenren Sheng and mumbled something nonstop—probably words about missing him.
Over there, Wenren Sheng waved energetically back at them. He bounced and jumped, shouting at the top of his lungs,
“I’m—off!”
He Mu beside him corrected, “Who says ‘off’? It’s just sleeping for a few years.”
“Oh, right.” Wenren Sheng nodded and changed his words. “I’m—going to sleep!!”
He Mu couldn’t help but laugh. He pinched Wenren Sheng’s ear and teased, “You’re so obedient.”
“I’ve always been obedient.” Wenren Sheng tilted his head and asked, “So what do I do now?”
He Mu turned Wenren Sheng around, and the two gazed together at the bottomless cold pool.
He Mu said, “Walk in.”
Wenren Sheng immediately shrank back. “I won’t drown, will I?”
He Mu shook his head with a smile and gave him a gentle push from behind.
“Go on. I’m right behind you.”
Wenren Sheng touched the black-and-white beads on his wrist and looked down at the cold pool.
The pool water was still as black ice, surrounded by white mist carrying a chill, faintly emanating a heavy cold.
It seemed to sense the spiritual flow in Wenren Sheng’s body. The mist turned into countless hands, trying to drag him in.
Wenren Sheng took a deep breath, gave He Mu one last look, then mustered his courage and stepped onto the water’s surface.
Splash.
The water surface felt solid; it didn’t give way underfoot.
Wenren Sheng relaxed and followed his sense of spiritual power to the center of the pool, where he looked down at his feet.
His gaze pierced the surface and finally reached that blurry edge.
“Heavenly spiritual root?”
Wenren Sheng asked softly.
As soon as he spoke, the world flipped upside down.
Wenren Sheng’s pupils shrank. He whipped his head back, but the Mountain God and the clan leader were no longer behind him.
The surroundings turned pitch black as if dyed with ink, a dead silence everywhere. Only ripples spread from under his feet across the pool water.
“Mountain God?”
Wenren Sheng called out in a slight panic.
The beads on his wrist seemed to sense the call and began emitting a slow warmth, dispelling the chill around him.
Wenren Sheng looked down at the beads and asked curiously, “Are you here?”
The beads glowed brighter, as if responding.
Wenren Sheng suddenly felt much more at ease. He tucked away the beads, rallied his spirits, and looked around. His gaze finally settled on a fuzzy flicker of light not far away.
That was the sealed heavenly spiritual root.
Wenren Sheng walked slowly forward and stared unblinkingly at the phantom-like cluster of spiritual power. A misty haze rose in his eyes.
“Such powerful energy…” Wenren Sheng sighed. “Will you… return to my body?”
Of course the heavenly spiritual root couldn’t speak, but Wenren Sheng subtly sensed its spiritual power’s emotion.
It was calm, not resisting.
So Wenren Sheng carefully extended both hands and cupped the heavenly spiritual root, plucking it from the boundless night sky into his palm.
The moment he did, Wenren Sheng felt his senses fading. His vision went dark, the tinkling water sounds vanished from his ears, and even his body seemed to dissolve into formless mist.
The fusion was about to begin.
But this time, Wenren Sheng wasn’t afraid. While he could still speak, he quickly lifted the beads and whispered to them,
“Mountain God, good night.”
With that, his throat could no longer make a sound. His features relaxed, and his consciousness merged with the heavenly spiritual root into the serene pool water.
