Chapter 28: Things Stay the Same, But People Have Changed

The next day, Jiang Chen dragged his still-unhealed body to find Lu Ziyuan, who was in the midst of finalizing the packing for their return journey.

“Immortal Leader,” his voice rasped, “I’m not going back to the Mortal Realm.”

Lu Ziyuan had always been the fair and upright type, protective of her subordinates yet mindful of boundaries and uninterested in their private affairs. Jiang Chen had mentioned before wanting to stay in the Unstained Immortal Realm, and she hadn’t pried then. Now, she merely let her sharp gaze linger on his face for a moment before casually tossing a Dharma Bracelet into the chest with a crisp clink.

“Do whatever you want. Your legs are your own—you go back if you want, or not.”

“But the Clearance Jade Token has already expired. If you insist on staying, and the Immortal Court comes investigating, Liao Yuan Court won’t get dragged into it by some miracle, but there’s no reason for us to shield you anymore.”

She secured the luggage and looked up at him. “If the Unstained Immortal Realm’s Civil Affairs Division hauls you in for questioning then, I won’t have the authority to interfere. Watch yourself.”

Jiang Chen: “Mm.”

“Wait.”

She hadn’t intended to probe into baseless rumors, but after a moment’s thought, she still asked, “I’ve heard the talk going around lately—that you’ve found someone special here. Is that…”

It couldn’t be, right? With Jiang Immortal Lord’s personality, even if he had found someone…

But the next moment, she saw an expression on Jiang Chen’s face that she’d never witnessed before. His usually sharp brows and eyes flickered with a raw, helpless bitterness; his thin lips pressed tight, emotions swirling in his gaze like a mix of joy and sorrow.

“…” It really was true? Who was it?

Lu Ziyuan was utterly shocked.

Was it really because of this? But… during these days in the Unstained Immortal Realm, aside from being inseparable from little Li Xuan all day, when had she ever seen him get close to anyone else? Did little Li Xuan even know who his crush was?

…

Jiang Chen’s unauthorized stay was unreasonable, of course, and it couldn’t be publicized.

The problem was, in broad daylight under the clear skies, the endless sea of clouds churned at the Immortal Crossing Bridge. The return team was missing such a conspicuous figure as the Sword-Wielding Immortal Lord—there was no hiding that from everyone’s eyes!

“I heard Jiang Immortal Lord had a relapse of an old injury last night and vomited blood, collapsing from illness.”

“But he’s not on his deathbed. I saw him going to find the Immortal Leader this morning! Why can’t he make the trip back?”

“If you ask me, those rumors about him having a sweetheart here in the Unstained Immortal Realm must be true!”

“It has to be—they’ve finally reunited after so long, and he can’t bear to part again.”

The murmurs grew. Someone chimed in: “They say the ones who are silent and icy on the surface make the deepest romantics. I’m just dying to know—which Immortal Lord could make Jiang Immortal Lord pine like this for so many years?”

“I thought it was Immortal Lord Li Xuan, but this morning Bitao Fairy said Immortal Lord Li Xuan already has a dao companion!”

“Really?”

“Aaah, if the Immortal Lord is married, doesn’t that mean we’re completely out of luck?”

“What era is this? Even with a dao companion, contracts can be dissolved. Plenty of people still swoop in and steal someone else’s love, right?”

“And some even wedge themselves in, willing to settle for being a concubine!”

“But with Sword-Wielding Immortal Lord’s personality, he’d never stoop to being the lesser partner, would he?”

“Not necessarily. Look at him—willing to stay in the Unstained Immortal Realm for love. Hasn’t he stayed?”

Lu Ziyuan listened to these ridiculous speculations, finding it all so absurd it was both laughable and infuriating.

Never mind the rest—if Zhao Lixuan had really gotten married as the rumors claimed, wouldn’t he have told his senior sister? Even if he hadn’t, how could Xia Yunjie and Yu Rumu keep their mouths shut?

Good thing Jiang Chen wasn’t here right now. With his proud temperament, who knew what kind of reaction these idle gossips would provoke.

Moments later, dusk had fallen.

Amid all the speculation, the returning Demon Immortals finally vanished into the horizon of the cloud sea.

…

Zhao Lixuan was deeply troubled at the moment.

First off, the golden pattern on his wrist hadn’t faded since that night—it stayed lit, like it was broken.

Helpless, he’d wrapped it in gauze and claimed it was an injury. But after last night’s events, word of his “marriage” had spread like wildfire through Fu Xi Palace, and the bandage only drew more attention.

Even some familiar Immortal Lords came by to whisper congratulations: “Congratulations to Immortal Lord on your perfect match with Young Master Di Chun.”

Zhao Lixuan: “…”

In his panic last night, unsure whose head to pin the Marriage Contract on, he’d hastily dragged in his elusive friend Di Chun—who was a thousand miles away and rarely seen—to take the fall.

Anything was better than exposing that black history for everyone to laugh at!

But Di Chun was still the steward of the Zhao Clan Merchant Guild, and plenty of Immortal Lords recognized him. Sigh—he’d have to find a chance to clear it up later.

All in all, compared to harmless Marriage Contract rumors, Jiang Chen’s refusal to dissolve the contract was the real headache.

Why?

Zhao Lixuan had pressed him repeatedly, genuinely baffled by what Jiang Chen was thinking!

But the result of his questioning? Jiang Chen stewed for ages before spitting out, “Why should I? You say marry, we marry; you say dissolve, we dissolve,” then burrowed under the covers, shut his eyes, and played dead, ignoring him completely.

“…”

Adding insult to injury, that very evening, he’d gotten the bad news that Jiang Chen truly hadn’t left with the Liao Yuan Court Demon Immortals.

What the hell is he playing at?

Zhao Lixuan had a vague intuition that made him restless—he sincerely hoped that bad feeling wasn’t true.

In any case, he hurried to consult Xia Yunjie: “If he wants to stay, let him. The Cross-Realm Jade Docket has its own rules anyway. Once the Immortal Court’s Civil Affairs Division notices the overdue stay, they’ll send someone to drag him back!”

Rubbing his temples, he added, “Just one thing—Moon Hunt is over, and I really don’t want to deal with his matters anymore. Please, Senior Brother, assign someone else to handle it and let me off the hook?”

Xia Yunjie nodded.

These past days, he’d sympathized with his junior brother’s plight and soothed him gently: “Of course. You’ve worked hard during this time.”

“With Moon Hunt ended, starting tomorrow, I’ll arrange for someone else to tend to Jiang Immortal Lord’s daily needs—same standards as before. No need for you to worry about it.”

Zhao Lixuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But that night, back at Pear Flower Water Pavilion, he still felt uneasy—

Xia Yunjie’s parting mutter echoed in his ears: “Strange—there’s never been a precedent for a Demon Immortal staying without permission for a millennium. Jiang Immortal Lord holds such high status in the Mortal Realm; does he really want to be arrested by Civil Affairs to save face? What’s he after…?”

Zhao Lixuan wanted to know too.

What exactly was Jiang Chen after?

Dead set against dissolving the contract—did he want to marry him or something?

As if. Even if the whole world wanted to marry him, Jiang Immortal Lord never would.

Zhao Lixuan had learned from past mistakes and was absolutely steering clear of self-indulgent assumptions. But if it was some other scheme, that didn’t add up either.

He knew Jiang Chen pretty well.

No matter how eccentric, stubborn, or prone to misinterpreting kindness Jiang Immortal Lord was, at his core he was rigid, upright, and inflexible. If he had some secret mission requiring him to stay in the Unstained Immortal Realm by hook or by crook, he wouldn’t choose something as improper and shady as this Marriage Contract method.

Even if forced into it, he wouldn’t have that weird attitude from last night.

No matter how he thought about it, something was off.

Fortunately, twenty years had passed already. Since Jiang Chen wasn’t cooperating, Zhao Lixuan simply stopped bothering.

What’s a little more debt? He had no urgent lovers waiting for him to dissolve the contract anyway.

Drag it out—see who cracks first!

For now, the priority was out of sight, out of mind. That night, he decisively decided to head out on a business trip first thing in the morning, finally settling into peaceful sleep.

Very early the next day, while the sky was still dim, Zhao Lixuan hurriedly packed up.

But the moment he opened the door, it gave him such a headache he nearly reeled—

Jiang Chen stood silently in the courtyard. Pear blossom petals drifted down into his crimson sleeves; his ink-black hair was tied high—the style Zhao Lixuan had once loved most. But his sick body and sleepless night left faint dark circles under his eyes, and he stood there so lost and forlorn.

Not like a plum blossom spirit, but a soul-stealing ghost in red.

Trouble’s come knocking.

That was Zhao Lixuan’s immediate thought.

A red-clad ghost of an ex showing up at the door at dawn, refusing to dissolve the contract—what good could come of it? His heart turned ice-cold; he had no patience for games. Hoisting his luggage, he brushed past dismissively: “Good morning, Jiang Immortal Lord. What a coincidence, but I’m tied up with business today—no time to chat.”

He tried to slip by, but his wrist was grabbed.

Ice-cold fingers, ghostly everywhere. It chilled him to the spine.

He forced down his irritation: “What does Jiang Immortal Lord want?”

No response.

Zhao Lixuan tried to leave anyway, but his wrist was clamped like a shackle: “Lixuan.”

“Jiang Immortal Lord, I have official business,” Zhao Lixuan demanded. “Do you have something, or not?”

“Or have you finally come to your senses and agreed to dissolve the contract?”

Jiang Chen’s throat bobbed; he seemed about to speak but held back. Zhao Lixuan: “If yes, let’s get it done quick. If not, let go. I really do have things to do today!”

With a yank, he finally broke free and hurried out of Fu Xi Palace on his own.

At the foot of the mountain outside Fu Xi Palace lay Cloudgazing Town, which had prospered over these twenty years thanks to his and Xia Yunjie’s efforts in recruitment and development.

Zhao Lixuan had left early and hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. There was a crab-pudding bun shop in town with buns and porridge in true Mortal Realm style—he always stopped for a bite whenever he left the palace.

He’d just sat down.

When Jiang Chen silently followed and took the seat across from him, looking dazed.

Zhao Lixuan felt a twinge of discomfort. The shopkeeper here had apparently lived in the Mortal Realm before; the entire layout was eerily identical to a place in Luozhou West Market.

That shop—Zhao Lixuan had taken Jiang Chen there countless times.

But now, straining to remember, all he recalled was them often sitting across from each other like this.

What had “Little Jiang” looked like eating buns back then? He must have found it cute. After all, even Yu Rumu and Xia Yunjie stuffing their cheeks had amused him endlessly.

Yet every detail felt washed away by water—no trace left.

“Cloudgazing Town’s best and most fragrant crab-pudding buns—enjoy, honored guest!”

The waiter’s shout snapped him from his thoughts. Two steaming baskets of buns were placed before them.

Zhao Lixuan hadn’t moved yet when he saw Jiang Chen, still in that dazed, sleepwalking state, pick one up and pop it straight into his mouth. Scalding juices burst out, instantly reddening the corners of his eyes.

“…Heh.”

Zhao Lixuan wasn’t heartless. He chuckled as he stood to ask the shopkeeper for ice water.

Turning back, he was dumbfounded beyond belief— they’d eaten crab-pudding buns together so many times; how could Jiang Immortal Lord not know the filling was scorching hot? Not only did he not spit it out after getting burned, he forced it down through the agony?

Zhao Lixuan was speechless.

With such a living cautionary tale across from him, Zhao Lixuan was extra careful today. He poked open the thin skin, waited for the steam to dissipate, then leisurely dipped it in vinegar and savored the rich broth. Mmm, perfect—Mortal Realm delicacy!

Across the table, Jiang Chen said nothing, silently sipping the ice water.

The burning in his throat eased slightly after the chill, only to surge back fiercer. Unsoothed at the start, it stabbed repeatedly.

He stole a glance up. Zhao Lixuan was already blissfully enjoying his second bun.

If it were before…

Back in Luozhou West Market, every time with crab-pudding buns, Zhao Lixuan would poke one open for him first, blow it carefully cool, nagging endlessly: “Wait a bit longer, Little Sweet Ginger—it’ll burn. Go slow, be careful.”

But the filling was always hot; Jiang Chen would still get scalded a little sometimes.

Back then, chilled bayberry or sour plum juice was always at hand. Zhao Lixuan would cup his face tenderly: “Did it burn my little Ginger baby?”

But now, seeing him burned, Zhao Lixuan just laughed.

After laughing, he polished off six more buns before casually asking, “Didn’t burn too bad, did it?”

“No harm.”

“Good,” Zhao Lixuan said airily, slurping his porridge. “That throat of yours—how could it handle the heat?”

Jiang Chen paused.

The fine sting from the ice crept back from his throat, spreading down to engulf his entire chest.

These days, he’d been desperately avoiding certain thoughts, convincing himself that ignoring them would let him move past quietly.

Long ago in Luo State, even if he was bitten by a mosquito, Zhao Lixuan would ache over it for ages.

He hadn’t thought much of it back then. He even felt the other man was making a fuss over nothing.

Later, after twenty years with no word, he could still delude himself—that person was just angry with him and unwilling to meet. If they reunited, he surely wouldn’t…

But when they really did reunite, so much time had passed that Zhao Lixuan had forgotten about the golden needle vegetables and white jade goose.

Fine, forgotten was forgotten. He couldn’t exactly demand that he remember everything.

Other things, he could still fool himself about.

But ever since their reunion, whenever Zhao Lixuan saw him injured, there hadn’t been even a flicker of heartache in his eyes—not once.

In the Misty Crevice Abyss, in the Demon Abyss, his wounds had been severe each time, and just the night before he’d vomited blood. Yet Zhao Lixuan’s response was always the same: injured? Then hurry up and treat it!

Always so proper, impeccable, strictly business.

He would summon doctors, procure medicine, arrange healing with meticulous care, and handle every follow-up detail thoughtfully.

But he would never again, as he had long ago, anxiously pull him into his arms and gently run the softest immortal arts over the wound again and again. So many times, he himself hadn’t even felt the pain yet, and Zhao Lixuan’s tears would already be falling—splashing onto the back of his hand, one by one, searing straight into his heart.