Dao Qing cupped Rabbit Tuan’s soft cheeks, his black eyes turning into golden vertical pupils as he stared straight at Rabbit Tuan, a special scent emanating from his body.
This scent stirred amorous thoughts, and combined with Dao Qing’s aggressive gaze, Rabbit Tuan flushed pink all over. He tumbled and scrambled down from Dao Qing’s lap, fleeing to the other end of the carriage.
He cursed Dao Qing in shame and anger. “Big pervert! Shameless! To think you would even make a move on a rabbit!”
“You provoked me first,” Dao Qing said flatly. “And now you’re blaming me?”
Rabbit Tuan snapped, “I don’t care! It’s all your fault! Change me back right now!”
He tossed a fruit at Dao Qing, who caught it and ate it casually. Then he restored Rabbit Tuan to his original size. Rabbit Tuan dove headfirst into a crevice but accidentally exposed his round rabbit rear, his little tail tip quivering lightly. This drew Dao Qing’s gaze for a long while.
…
In the blink of an eye, Rabbit Tuan and Dao Qing had traveled with the caravan for six or seven days.
During this time, they encountered several demon attacks, but with Dao Qing there, they always emerged unscathed. Everyone revered him to the utmost, treating him like a god.
Even Rabbit Tuan was seen as a little immortal fairy-like being. They believed he was Dao Qing’s spirit pet rabbit, one that could speak human words and was remarkably intelligent. They all adored him.
Once, a woman fell ill and asked Dao Qing for a prescription. During their chat, she mentioned Rabbit Tuan.
She smiled and said, “Immortal Master’s spirit pet A Xue is truly adorable and clever. You’ve saved our lives, and I have nothing to repay you with. If you and A Xue don’t mind, I’d like to sew some little clothes for him. Winter is coming soon, and new clothes will keep him warm.”
“Thank you.” Dao Qing handed her the prescription. “But Qixue isn’t my spirit pet. He’s my fiancée. We’ll hold the wedding once we return to Shangjing.”
“You say A Xue is your… fiancée?”
The woman was understandably shocked. Seeing her surprised expression, Rabbit Tuan felt embarrassed and bounced around on the tabletop. “Don’t listen to him! I’m not his wife! I’m just a spirit pet!”
“You’re not a spirit pet,” Dao Qing said. “You’re my future madam.”
“I’m not your madam! I’m your dad!”
Rabbit Tuan glared at Dao Qing and nibbled on his sleeve. The woman hurriedly tried to mediate. “Oh dear, it’s all my fault for speaking out of turn. A Xue, don’t be mad. I’ll make several pretty outfits to apologize to you.”
Dao Qing didn’t refuse. “Much appreciated.”
He reached out to pet Rabbit Tuan, but Rabbit Tuan angrily pushed his hand away and turned his rear toward him. Only when the woman quickly delivered two sets of rabbit clothes did he calm down, his attention captured.
Rabbits weren’t suited for pants, so the woman had made little skirts: one in soft pink peony color, the other in blue forget-me-not shade.
Each skirt came with matching silk ribbons—two pink ones and two blue ones. Dao Qing loosely tied them onto Rabbit Tuan’s ears. Rabbit Tuan happily spun in front of the bronze mirror twice and said contentedly, “They look great.”
Dao Qing lowered his gaze to him. “They do look good.”
Rabbit Tuan huffed. “Rare for an mud eel like you to spit out an ivory tooth.”
“Just stating the truth,” Dao Qing said.
Later, the woman brought more little skirts one after another. The caravan carried many precious fabrics, perfect for making new clothes for Rabbit Tuan. He had more outfits than he could wear, cycling through them daily.
However, Rabbit Tuan was a bit reluctant to wear them because he always leaked milk and didn’t want to soil them. Dao Qing noticed but said nothing. That very night, the woman delivered several milk bibs to protect Rabbit Tuan’s belly.
In addition, there was a bright red rabbit wedding dress, complete with a red veil and four tiny rabbit shoes. Rabbit Tuan knew at a glance that Dao Qing must have commissioned it.
Dao Qing held him and fastened the milk bib, then dressed him in the red wedding attire. When it came time for the shoes, Rabbit Tuan struggled fiercely. “I’m not marrying you! If you want me, be my lover instead. You don’t even dare kiss me, yet you talk about marrying me? Don’t make me laugh my teeth out… Mmph!”
Dao Qing deftly pinched his three-lobed mouth shut.
…
Another half month passed in a flash, and the caravan entered Great Yong’s borders. It had been nearly a month since Rabbit Tuan and Dao Qing arrived in the past.
Their destination was Great Yong’s capital, Shangjing—or more precisely, Cloud Moon Temple in Shangjing. According to Dao Qing’s divination, their opportunity to return lay there.
At this time, the fifth-generation Palace Lord, Zheng Yuan Zhenren, had just taken over. He should be at Cloud Moon Temple.
If they could find Zheng Yuan Zhenren, the matter would be resolved. They just needed to borrow the bronze mirror from him and traverse it again to return to their own era.
Dao Qing had only heard rumors about Zheng Yuan Zhenren and had never met him in person. By the time Dao Qing entered the temple, Zheng Yuan Zhenren had already vanished, leaving only the bronze mirror behind.
That day, Rabbit Tuan felt unwell. He lay weakly in Dao Qing’s arms, ate a few bites of vegetables, then felt nauseous and dry-heaved. No matter what, he refused to eat more.
His pregnancy symptoms were especially severe that day. The little rabbit looked utterly listless. Perhaps the illness made him fragile, or maybe the pregnancy destabilized his emotions—he missed Helan Ji terribly and felt so wronged he was on the verge of tears.
He also missed Xu Taifei and Luxiangqiu. If they knew he was missing, they would be frantic. He worried deeply about Xu Taifei’s health.
He missed Wei Huai and Ji Yuheng too…
He wanted so badly to go back—to be hugged and kissed by His Majesty, coaxed to sleep by Seventh Brother, soothed in body by Yun Qi. But now he couldn’t see any of them. He was stuck with Dao Qing, that rotten mud eel…
Well, Dao Qing wasn’t that rotten. He didn’t dislike him. But the reason no one else was with him was all Dao Qing’s fault! He would bite him to death!
In his frustration, Rabbit Tuan bit Dao Qing’s finger, but his bite was too weak, leaving only a faint tooth mark. Dao Qing misinterpreted it. “You want water?”
“No!”
Tears welled up in Rabbit Tuan’s dark, watery eyes. He pounded Dao Qing with his little paws. “Give me back my Majesty! Give me back my Majesty! I want Majesty…”
Dao Qing frowned and cupped Rabbit Tuan. “With me by your side, you don’t need Helan Ji.”
“What do you know, you dumb mud eel? You’re no match for Majesty anywhere! I want Majesty!”
Rabbit Tuan wailed loudly, tears soaking the milk bib and his fur.
Dao Qing’s frown deepened, but he was at a loss for Rabbit Tuan’s tears. “In what way am I inferior to Helan Ji?”
“You’re inferior in every way!”
Rabbit Tuan cried so hard that a bubble formed at his pink nose tip. Dao Qing wiped it with a handkerchief, a shadow of gloom crossing his brow. He said gravely, “Stop crying. I’ll let you see him.”
Using the Transformation Technique, he altered his appearance to resemble Helan Ji. “Satisfied now?”
Rabbit Tuan pouted, his sobs quieting a bit. “Your expression doesn’t look like Majesty at all. Majesty’s gaze on me is always full of indulgence.”
Dao Qing didn’t know how Helan Ji looked at Rabbit Tuan, so he simply closed his eyes. “How about this?”
“Hmph… It’s okay, I guess.” Rabbit Tuan wiped his tears and began nitpicking. “Your voice doesn’t sound like Majesty, your scent doesn’t either. And Majesty calls me ‘Yuan Yuan,’ not by my full name like you…”
Dao Qing warned, “Don’t push your luck.”
Tears swiftly gathered in Rabbit Tuan’s eyes again. “Majesty would never scold me…”
“Yuan Yuan.”
Dao Qing awkwardly mimicked Helan Ji’s voice. “Yuan Yuan, don’t cry. Seeing you cry makes Us heartbroken too.”
“Zero points!”
Rabbit Tuan slapped Dao Qing with a paw. “Majesty calls himself ‘I’ in front of me. You rotten mud eel, imitating so poorly—you’re the worst stand-in I’ve ever seen!”
“…” Dao Qing closed his eyes and opened them again. “Yuan Yuan, don’t cry. Seeing you cry makes me heartbroken too.”
This time, he finally captured Helan Ji’s likeness. Rabbit Tuan stared blankly for a moment, then threw himself into his arms and cried his heart out, venting his grievances. “Majesty!”
Dao Qing patted his back in Helan Ji’s tone. “Good Yuan Yuan, don’t cry.”
After crying it out, Rabbit Tuan felt much better. He patted Dao Qing’s soaked lapel, uncharacteristically embarrassed. “Thanks. I feel a lot better now.”
Dao Qing reverted to his silver-haired youth form. “No more crying?”
“No more… but…”
Rabbit Tuan fidgeted shyly. “Could you turn into Wei Huai and Ji Yuheng too? You know, I’ve got something going with them too. Oh, right—Ji Yuheng is my stepson. You caught us in the act back then, so you’ve seen him.”
Dao Qing snapped, “Qixue!”
Even with his aloof temperament, he couldn’t stay calm. Anger flickered in his eyes as he stared coldly at Rabbit Tuan.
Rabbit Tuan’s pink nose twitched nonstop, his soft little body trembling. With a sob, he said, “If you don’t want to, fine. I knew it—no one loves or cares for me.”
“Just leave me alone to die lonely in this era. No—it’s one corpse, two lives. My baby has such a hard fate, dying with his mother before even being born…”
Dao Qing’s face was expressionless. “What do Ji Yuheng and Wei Huai call you? Which other lovers do you want to see? You get one chance—name them all now.”
“No one else!”
Rabbit Tuan instantly brightened. “If there’s another, you could count as half. Aww, Brother Dao Qing, you’re so pitiful—forcing yourself to imitate my other lovers. But no helping it; you came late, so you rank behind them…”
Dao Qing silently shifted into Wei Huai’s form. “What does he call you?”
“Seventh Brother calls me ‘A Xue.’ Yun Qi calls me ‘Mother Concubine.'”
Rabbit Tuan admired Wei Huai’s handsome face. “Smile. Seventh Brother loves to smile, and I love seeing his smile.”
Dao Qing stiffly tugged at his lips.
Rabbit Tuan: “…”
Rabbit Tuan: “Sigh, forget it. Don’t smile—your smile makes you look even less like him. Better to keep a straight face.”
Dao Qing: “…”
Dao Qing had nothing to say and simply followed Rabbit Tuan’s instructions.
By dusk, the caravan entered a village and found lodging. Dao Qing carried Rabbit Tuan down from the carriage, his expression icy. Rabbit Tuan, meanwhile, was beaming, his goose-yellow ribbon-tied ears twitching happily. “Great job, Brother Dao Qing!”
Dao Qing said nothing and silently entered the village.
The village sat by a lake, with flower trees blooming nearby. Snow-white blossoms released a faint, elegant fragrance. It was serene and beautiful, like a paradise.
Rabbit Tuan said in surprise, “It’s almost winter—how are there still flowers blooming? And they’re not plum blossoms.”
The caravan leader laughed. “A Xue doesn’t know—these flowers are called A Cizi, also known as ‘Bodhisattva Flowers.’ They’re rare spirit flowers with remarkable effects against large demons.”
“Large demons despise A Cizi’s scent. Too much exposure makes them dizzy and nauseous, even weakening their demon power. For injured large demons, the fragrance damages their core meridians, causing blood to boil and flow uncontrollably…”
“Large demons…?”
Rabbit Tuan paused. He was a small demon and felt no discomfort from A Cizi. But what about the Dragon Clan? They qualified as large demons, so Dao Qing…
He looked at Dao Qing and worriedly saw his face rapidly paling. Dao Qing then used the Transformation Technique to mask it, preventing the humans from noticing.
Dao Qing walked slowly into the village and coughed lightly. Rabbit Tuan keenly caught a whiff of blood. Affected by A Cizi, Dao Qing had vomited blood again.
