The first year of the emperorâs reign.
Emperor Ye quelled the Catastrophe of Heaven and Earth alone. All beings bowed their heads in praise.
The Demon Realm and Western Continent were united, and the Imperial Palace was replaced with the Demon Palace. All his subordinates reported together with the Demon Realm cultivators.
The second year of reign.
In the Demon Palaceâs garden.
âLittle Furball, donât you run!â
A charming girlâs voice sounded in the garden. She was wearing a red dress, chasing Furball like a butterfly fluttering in the flowers. It was the Tianchi Mountainâs mountain spirit, Nian Er, from the past.
Furball was running in the garden. His dull golden hair atop his head swayed, and the golden back of his head looked like a small sun. As he ran, he suddenly encountered a lotus pond in front of him. A pair of fleshy golden wings appeared behind him, and he wanted to leap over.
However, before he jumped up, Nian Er grabbed him with one hand, âLetâs see where you can run to. My Gege told you to study at this time, but you were hanging out in the garden alone. Iâve caught you now.â
âI have a name, itâs Ye Sijun.â Little Sun muttered, âDaddy chose it for me.â
Nian Er reached out and rubbed his head, âSijun is not as catchy as Furball. Humph, donât change the subject. Gege asked you to practice reading, so why were you running blindly everywhere?â
Furball: âI, I was sleepy. I wanted to come out for some fresh air.â
Nian Er said with her hands on her hips: âI think you were fishing for three days, sunning the net for two days (unable to persevere in work and study)! Come with me. I will take you back to study.â
Furballâs small handsome face scrunched up. He turned his gaze around and spotted a person walking in the distance. He said happily: âDaddy!â
Ye Yunlan was walking in the corridor, followed by several ministers and demon elders reporting to him.
He was dressed in an imperial robe, with pure white hair falling like snow and a silver crown on his head. His expression was cold and apathetic.
At this time, he could only hear the reports of his subjects and Demon Realm elders, as well as the sound of their respective footsteps.
Because of this, Furballâs âdaddyâ was particularly loud.
Little Sun flapped his fleshy wings and flew toward his father. A few people beside Ye Yunlan were startled. A Ye Clan official looked at Furball in fear and said: âYour Majesty, be careful!â
Furball could soar for nine days when he transformed into a phoenix body, but at this time, when he was half human, he always flew crookedly. For this reason, he caused a bunch of problems in the Demon Palace.
But this time, his flight wasnât askew.
Ye Yunlan caught the flying Little Sun. Although he had already stepped into Void Tracing, he actually felt that this Furball in his hand was quite heavy.
It seemed that he shouldnât be fed too many spirit stones.
Thinking about this, Ye Yunlan spoke lightly.
âWhatâs the matter?â
Furball raised his eyes and looked at his fatherâs always expressionless face. He puffed up his cheeks and said: âDaddy, I donât want to read.â
Furball: âThose words in those books look ugly; they look like crickets in the garden. I canât understand them.â
Ye Yunlan: âIf you donât understand, then learn.â
Furball wrinkled up his face, âI, I donât want to learn⊠â
However, his father was icy and ruthless, âGo learn.â
Furball began to pester him endlessly, âI donât want to learn. Unless⊠Unless Dad teaches me.â
His dad lowered his head.
His long silver eyelashes were hanging down like two butterfly wings. Those golden pupils were cold and distant as if no oneâs shadow could be reflected.
Furball felt that his own fatherâs temperament was getting colder and colder.
It made him feel inexplicably scared.
So he didnât want to read a book.
He didnât want to be literate either.
With so much time, itâs better to pester Daddy.
Otherwise, he was afraid that after a long time, his father would really turn into a block of ice and never respond to him again.
Ye Yunlan was silent for a moment and then waved his sleeves at the people nearby.
The people next to him knew his temperament very well. They bowed and withdrew.
He brought Furball back to the study room and taught him to read.
Furballâs paw was very fleshy, so he held the fleshy paw and wrote stroke by stroke.
Many years ago, he did the same to teach Shen Shu literacy.
Furball was very happy and concentrated on learning.
When he finished studying, he even kissed him on the cheek while he was not paying attention.
Ye Yunlan expressionlessly threw him out of the bamboo building.
After closing the door, he stood alone for a while and then went to the back room to look at the Demon Lord on the bed.
The Demon Lord slept very deeply.
Itâs been two years, and he hadnât woken up once.
After he returned from the Ye Clan Immortal Boat, he placed the demon skeleton and phoenix skeleton beside the Demon Lord. Perhaps, he had a little hope in his heart, wishing that the Demon Lord could absorb the power of the blood on the phoenix skeleton and achieve Nirvana as he did before.
He laid down on the Demon Lordâs chest and routinely listened to the heartbeat of the other party. He sensed the temperature transmitted by the divine fire and channeled his own spiritual power into it.
He didnât know if it was an illusion, but he suddenly heard the sound of a beating heart.
It was only one beat as if he was hallucinating.
He listened carefully again. However, there was only silence in the other partyâs chest.
In the past two years, similar auditory hallucinations have happened more than once.
Maybe he missed him so much that it was the case.
He got up and then tried to exit to get some fresh air.
But the sky was dim, and the dark clouds were overcast as if it was going to rain.
Suddenly, a person was standing near him.
The personâs hair was white, and his face was pale, as was his sword. But his sword intent flowed turbulently.
A hot emotion was seemingly hidden in his eyes, sword, and heart.
Ye Yunlan paused, looked at the man, and spoke lightly.
Ever since he became the co-master of the Western Continent and the Demon Realm, he had heard that Qiyun Jun retired from being Sect Master of Sky Sect. Later, he heard from a subordinate that Qiyun Jun constructed a cave on a hill not far from the Demon Palace. Then occasionally, he would meet him around the Demon Palace.
But it was the first time this person broke into the Demon Palace to see him.
Qiyun Jun stared at him and said hoarsely: âAre you still waiting for him to wake up?â
Since he arrived in Void Tracing, Ye Yunlanâs feelings for people unrelated to the world and himself have become more and more indifferent. The fear that stemmed from happened in the Buddha Tower had also disappeared with his tribulation.
So he just nodded lightly. He didnât want to talk more about it.
Qiyun Jun asked: âHow long will you wait?â
Ye Yunlan: âUntil he wakes up.â
Qiyun Jun said: âHe has been dead for many years. How can he wake up?â
Ye Yunlan: âI never wondered if he would wake up or not. I just want the first thing he sees if he wakes up to be me.â
Qiyun Jun asked: âYour obsession is hindering you. Donât you want to ascend?â
Ye Yunlan: âArenât you speaking of yourself? Persistent in the things that will have no results, entangled endlessly, trapped in delusions, and unable to extricate yourself. â
Qiyun Jun: âThis is my dao.â
Ye Yunlan: âWhat I just said is also my dao.â
After these words ended, there was silence between the two.
It seemed to be the only thing since a long time ago.
Ye Yunlan: âThe Demon Palace is not like Sky Sect, where you can come and go at will. If you are here next time, I will draw my sword when I see you.â
Qiyun Jun looked at him as if there was something in his pale pupils on the verge of breaking. He suddenly asked:
âSince that piece of jade broke, is there really no possibility between us?â
Ye Yunlan: âYou obviously know the answer.â
Ye Yunlan walked alone in the Demon Palaceâs garden.
It was the beginning of spring, and the rain was continuous. The dark overcast clouds gradually lowered, and the dull air around him thickened.
Suddenly, he felt a raindrop on his cheek.
He wanted to find shelter from the rain.
At this moment, he was walking beside the lotus pond. A stone pavilion was in the lotus pond, so he unhurredily walked into it.
Sitting on the stone table, he took out a few jars of wine from his storage ring and enjoyed a cup of wine by himself.
The wine was stuffed with peach blossoms, sweet and fragrant, capable of dispelling depression.
The rain had already started outside the stone pavilion.
After delivering a few glasses of wine to his mouth, he didnât use his spiritual power to dispel his alcoholic spirit. His cheeks felt warm, and he was dizzy and confused.
Suddenly, he remembered that he and the Demon Lord had also been drinking and talking in this stone pavilion, indulging themselves and being reckless.
A year had passed in a blink of an eye.
After a glass of wine, he was already very drunk.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier.
It was as if countless beads were rolled on a jade plate, knocking on his heart.
Amidst the confusion, he slowly fell asleep.
There was an apricot tree in his dream, and he was asleep in a wicker chair under the tree.
Someone kissed his eyelashes tenderly.
He closed his eyes and pushed the other person, saying, âDonât make trouble.â
The sun fell on his face. His surroundings were quiet and peaceful.
It seemed like he could do this for a lifetime.
When he woke up again, the rain had stopped.
The skyâs light had broken through the clouds and shone onto the stone pavilion, now hitting his face. It caused his eyelashes to twitch, preventing him from opening his eyes for a while.
Then, he suddenly felt someone leaning down.
A warm chest pressed against his back.
He felt like the breath of the person behind him was so familiar.
So familiar that it was like an illusion.
Accompanied by a laugh, the Demon Lordâs voice rang in his ears.
âMaster, youâre awake.â
The author has something to say: There is still an extra.
(T/N: Donât believe itâs over T-T. Wish they gave more romantic moments between the two.)