Twenty years ago, Zhao Lixuan thought he understood Jiang Chen. In the end, it had all been nothing but his own wishful thinking.
Twenty years later, Zhao Lixuan still couldn’t understand him—and he simply couldn’t be bothered to try anymore.
Some people were just impossible to deal with. Let him do whatever the hell he wanted. What did it matter? If he liked playing sick, then let him stay sick.
And so, the standoff between them dragged on once more.
The one who felt the most humiliated by all this was Senior Sister Lu Ziyuan, the immortal leader of Liao Yuan Court.
“It’s my fault for failing to discipline him properly, letting him act so recklessly time and again,” she said, rubbing her brow. “Normally, Jiang Linyuan… he’s a bit aloof and eccentric, but he’s not unreasonable. I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately…”
“Never mind. I’ll give him a few more stern warnings. If he still refuses to rein in his temper,” her tone turned icy, “then I’ll have no choice but to send him back to the Mortal Realm for secluded reflection and find another steady disciple to take over the demon hunting duties.”
Zhao Lixuan, listening from the side, felt his eyes widen: “…!”
Wait—what? There was actually a way to kick him out?
Of course there was.
The Immortal Clans had endured for ten thousand years. Would the world stop turning without any one person? Without Jiang Chen’s top-tier combat power, the Demon Hunting Moon Hunt would be tougher, sure—but the sky wouldn’t fall.
In that instant, Zhao Lixuan felt hope reignite in his immortal life, a glimmer of dawn breaking through.
Senior Sister is Senior Sister, after all!!!
Speaking of which, Senior Sister Lu had actually been picked up and raised by his older brother Zhao Lanze back in Fu Xi Palace.
With her exceptional talent and dazzling brilliance, she had shone among her peers.
When Zhao Lanze later decided to step back and wander the world, he had intended to pass the palace lord position to her. But right before his departure, the immortal-demon war erupted in the Mortal Realm. Zhao Lanze was ordered to descend, entrusting all of Fu Xi Palace’s affairs to her.
Yet under her watch, the A’Tu incident had happened.
Lu Ziyuan was consumed by remorse and self-blame, hating herself for not spotting the Demon Clan’s true identity sooner. She had no face left to show her fellow disciples.
In the end, she insisted on returning the palace lord’s seal and left the Unstained Immortal Realm in dejection.
But a pearl covered in dust still shines bright.
No matter where someone like Lu Ziyuan went, she couldn’t be buried. Even down in the lower realms, she quickly made her mark in Liao Yuan Court, rising step by step until she claimed the immortal leader position, ruling over her domain.
With such deep ties, Lu Ziyuan’s affection for Fu Xi Palace remained profound.
Zhao Lixuan had no doubt that between him and Jiang Chen, the senior sister who had watched him grow up would side with him without question!
If it weren’t for the other demon immortals from Liao Yuan Court present right now, he definitely would have begged her on the spot—
Why not just order that scourge sent back today? Out of sight, out of mind—best for everyone!
Unfortunately, Lu Ziyuan couldn’t read his mind and continued earnestly instructing Chu Fusheng. She told him to make one last attempt to persuade Jiang Chen for the greater good, to take the initiative in mending fences with Immortal Lord Li Xuan, and not to let personal grudges interfere with official duties.
Zhao Lixuan: “…”
Heh, whatever.
With Jiang Chen’s arrogant, stubborn, utterly impervious nature, like hell would he listen to reason!
…
Now, Zhao Lixuan only hoped Jiang Chen would keep up his stubborn resistance, keep losing it until he thoroughly pissed off Lu Ziyuan and got shipped back soon.
From then on, he could stay in his Unstained Immortal Realm, while Jiang Chen rotted far away in the Mortal Realm. They’d go on as always—waters never mixing with rivers, never crossing paths till death.
If only heaven weren’t screwing with him so much lately.
The next day, after sending the standard guest gifts to everyone in Maple Vine Courtyard as per routine, a little immortal child came back beaming: “Immortal Lord, Immortal Lord! Jiang Immortal Lord accepted the gift. He even said his condition has improved greatly and he’ll be back to normal in no time.”
Zhao Lixuan: “…”
Another day later, Zhao Lixuan passed by the Artifact Refining Workshop on business.
The Misty Crevice Abyss was thick with demonic qi, which corroded the Immortal Realm’s usual communication water mirrors and message jade talismans. So the workshop was urgently testing new communication artifacts.
Yesterday, his Zhao Clan Merchant Guild had sourced some materials with good resistance to demonic qi, needing an expert immortal lord to test and verify them together.
But with so many materials and such a tedious process, he’d left a crucial diagram back at Pear Flower Water Pavilion.
He hurried back to retrieve it, only to spot Jiang Chen—face slightly pale—standing on Moon Pearl Bridge as he passed by. Jiang Chen gazed down at the brocade carp swimming lazily in the water below.
“…”
But he’s not there to admire the fish.
Because Zhao Lixuan knew full well: Jiang Chen hated fish!
He hated fish, hated eating fish, and sure as hell wouldn’t come out of nowhere to watch them.
He still remembered when they first met. Jiang Chen always seemed so lonely, so Zhao Lixuan kept finding ways to get him little living companions.
First, a parrot with vibrant feathers. Jiang Chen never said a word, but he’d quietly feed and water it—must’ve liked it. Then fluffy kittens and puppies; Jiang Chen would pet them gently when no one was around—probably liked those too.
Turns out Little Jiang just looks cold on the outside—he’s got plenty of warmth inside.
So the backyard filled up with more and more little animals.
Only once did he excitedly buy some lively goldfish, and Jiang Chen just glanced at the tank before shoving it into a corner.
Later, to test if Jiang Chen hated all fish or just goldfish, Zhao Lixuan specially bought some top-quality brocade carp.
Same result: Jiang Chen wouldn’t even approach the pond.
From then on, Zhao Lixuan concluded: Jiang Chen hated all fish.
No way had twenty years turned him around into someone who suddenly loved watching carp blow bubbles, right?
This is bad.
Not admiring them but staring anyway? Clearly coming with ill intent.
But damn it, Moon Pearl Bridge was the only way back to Pear Flower Water Pavilion. Sure, he could teleport straight there with an escape art… but he’d already walked this far, and Jiang Chen’s peripheral vision had surely caught him.
Dodging with magic now would look way too deliberate.
Zhao Lixuan could only slow his steps, clinging to a faint hope—maybe he’s just coincidentally stopped here.
Not waiting for me, not waiting for me, not waiting for me.
Any second now, he’ll realize and leave on his own!
But wishes didn’t come true. That figure in profound black robes stood stock-still on the bridge, rooted like a tree.
No need to guess: he was definitely waiting for him.
…
The twists of fate in the mortal world were endlessly unpredictable.
Twenty years ago, if Little Jiang waited for him, wouldn’t he have been thrilled to the heavens?
But now, with the moon turned to sticky rice cakes, he just wanted to stay far, far away.
Yet those deep black eyes slowly turned, gazing heavily at him.
Their eyes met. Zhao Lixuan steeled himself and walked up for the inevitable clash: “Jiang Immortal Venerable, quite the leisurely mood you have.”
A riverside breeze stirred his plain white sleeves but couldn’t dispel the stagnant air.
No emotion showed in Jiang Chen’s black eyes; he just pursed his lips in silence as always. The bridge was narrow, and his tall, upright figure blocked the center dead-on, showing zero intention of stepping aside.
Zhao Lixuan: “…”
Move aside, would you?
No choice, he spoke again: “Jiang Immortal Venerable, is there something you need?”
If you’ve got business, spit it out!!!
If not, what the hell are you blocking the path for? This dog-gnawed log bridge doesn’t even have room to go around.
“Heh, if Jiang Immortal Lord has no business, mind stepping aside? There’s a diagram waiting for me at the Artifact Refining Workshop…” He inched forward experimentally. By all rights, anyone would sidestep by now.
Sidestep already! Come on!
Standing there like a statue—what kind of decorum was that? If he didn’t know better that this guy was so straitlaced and boring, he’d think it was deliberate sabotage.
What the hell is he playing at???
“…” Hints and direct asks both failing, Zhao Lixuan finally gritted his teeth.
Screw it. He eyed the pitiful gap between them and squeezed past Jiang Chen’s icy side in an extremely awkward, undignified maneuver—high-difficulty side-stepping.
Utterly undignified!
The process was straight out of “King Qin circling the pillar”—
Jiang Chen stood like an unmoving pillar, tall and straight, while Zhao Lixuan shamelessly inched by, pressed right up against him. Their clothes inevitably rubbed; he could even faintly feel each other’s body heat through the thin fabric.
“…” What a disgrace. Seriously.
What’s wrong with him?
Finally scurrying back to Pear Flower Water Pavilion and slamming the door, Zhao Lixuan processed it—
Senior Sister must’ve chewed him out hard, threatened him until he had no choice but to come swallow his pride and make up.
No wonder he was acting so twisted and weird—with his arrogance, how could he stomach bowing his head?
…
Having figured that out, Zhao Lixuan dismissed it as a minor blip and soon forgot about it.
Who knew that the next time he passed Moon Pearl Bridge, that familiar figure was right there again in the middle.
Of course! Forced to reconcile—he had to “succeed” to check out.
“…”
At that thought, Zhao Lixuan perked up instead.
He’d never seen Jiang Chen back down before!
Now he was curious: if he didn’t throw him a lifeline, how exactly would this lofty Sword-Holding Immortal Venerable swallow his pride and speak first?
With that in mind, Zhao Lixuan felt invigorated.
“Jiang Immortal Venerable, what a coincidence? Meeting here two days in a row—must be fate. By the way, didn’t you used to hate brocade carp?”
“…”
As expected, no response. But hey, it wasn’t him who’d get shipped back to the Mortal Realm for failing the mission.
That realization put Zhao Lixuan in an even better mood: “Immortal Venerable, enjoy your viewing. Lixuan has a meeting to attend—time’s short, so I’ll head out first!”
With that, he prepared for another “pillar-circling” act.
But Jiang Chen suddenly raised his arm.
The move was too abrupt on the narrow bridge. Caught off guard, Zhao Lixuan stumbled backward.
Then, his waist tightened.
A crisp scent like snow pine mixed with faint plum blossom enveloped him as he was pulled into a firm, cool embrace.
Zhao Lixuan: “…”
Zhao Lixuan: “…………”
It… lingered a bit long.
The arm around him felt like it wanted to meld him into bone. Time stretched endlessly.
The plum fragrance wafted deep and heady, leaving him faintly dizzy. He’d never gotten a lover-like hug like this in his life; for a moment, he blanked out.
After a while, there seemed to be a barely audible, restrained sigh.
But when he snapped back, Jiang Chen had already released him—as if the impropriety never happened.
Then, Jiang Chen lowered his gaze and pulled a brocade pouch from his robes.
Zhao Lixuan: “…”
He recognized the contents: the Fate-Linking Stones issued to all the immortal lords just yesterday.
“…”
Fate-Linking Stones were born from the world’s fateful wonders. Legend said they only worked for one’s “true beloved.”
This “love” wasn’t limited to romance—if the bond was sincere and deep enough, whether kin, close friends, or blood ties, you could whisper secrets through the stone.
In moments of intense longing or perfect heart-sync, you could even teleport right to their side.
But the stone had a flaw: it was unreliable, sometimes working, sometimes not.
Deeply loving couples often failed to activate it; others had it dead one second and connecting the next.
This led to endless misunderstandings and drama among lovers or family—”So you don’t truly care about me after all!”—plenty of false accusations.
That’s why, though a famous “must-gift for couples” in the Immortal Realm, it was mostly a joke—symbolic far more than practical.
Yet when orthodox artifacts failed against the heavy demonic qi in the Rift Abyss for communication, this “joke” stone—at least sometimes—had a shot at connecting.
So Fu Xi Palace quickly procured top-grade ones for the immortal lords to distribute.
Objectively speaking, he’d just given Jiang Chen a “couples’ gift” yesterday.
“…”
No no no no—it’s not like that!
In a flash, Immortal Lord Li Xuan stammered: “N-not that! Jiang Immortal Lord, don’t misunderstand—this was issued uniformly by Fu Xi Palace to every single immortal lord!”
He emphasized the last four words, repeating urgently: “It’s true! The Artifact Refining Workshop tested it these past days and settled on it as a temporary comms tool—just in case!”
“Everyone has one—no private gifts. If you don’t believe me, go ask around!”
Jiang Chen silently watched him flail around, almost as flustered as he used to be twenty years ago, before speaking in a low, even tone: “I know.”
Zhao Lixuan: “…Huh?”
Jiang Chen’s voice stayed flat: “I know. Yesterday, you… and Rumu Immortal Lord… tested it.”
“I happened… to see.”
Yesterday, he had indeed dashed all over Fu Xi Palace with Yu Rumu, activating the simulated demon qi barrier multiple times to repeatedly test the stone’s stability.
Perhaps it was due to their many years of friendship and deep, unspoken rapport, but the stone connected successfully every single time—smoothly, without a hitch.
But as always, the stone followed no predictable rules.
He and Yu Rumu could link up, but Xia Yunjie and Senior Sister Lu were childhood friends too, and it didn’t work for them every time. Likewise, Senior Sister Lu and Chu Fusheng had been colleagues for years, yet their results were hit-or-miss as well.
He was still lost in these thoughts when Jiang Chen gripped the Fate-Linking Stone in his hand. “This one… it’s broken.”
The brocade carp went mad spitting bubbles beneath the bridge. Zhao Lixuan: “?”
Then, Jiang Chen lowered his long lashes and channeled spiritual power into the stone, focusing intently.
Normally, a proper Fate-Linking Stone—whether it successfully linked or not—should at least glow faintly at this moment.
But the exquisite, top-grade stone in Jiang Chen’s palm remained utterly lifeless, showing no reaction at all, just like the most ordinary pebble.
Jiang Chen looked up. “See?”
“…”
First off, everyone knows these things are unreliable—sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
Second, it might not even be the stone’s fault! After all, a certain someone was notoriously solitary, with no friends to speak of.
“Could it be… that Immortal Lord Jiang simply lacks rapport right now with the friend he was trying to contact?”
“…”
“After all, the tests showed it only links easily when the feelings are strong.”
Perfect, he thought. The guy’s right here on Pearl Moon Bridge.
This time, there was no need for that awkward Qin Wang circling-the-pillar dance—he’d successfully left the blocker speechless, turning to leave without a word!
