After Three Lifetimes of Tragedy, I Finally Got a Happy Ending with His Majesty - Chapter 8

Yan Qinyu brought the medicinal pills into the room and found Yuan Ruoshen staring blankly at his bandaged wounds.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

Hearing the footsteps, Yuan Ruoshen turned his head to look. The person who entered was dressed in green robes, his long black hair tied back. He carried the freshness of a cool breeze, his eyes and brows aloof yet filled with a gentle smile.

“Awake?”

Yan Qinyu walked over and handed the pills in his hand to Yuan Ruoshen. “Do you feel better? Is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?” His voice, too, was gentle, cold, and remarkably pleasant to hear.

Seeing the pills in Yan Qinyu’s hand, Yuan Ruoshen knew it was this person who had saved him. Yuan Ruoshen expressed his gratitude, saying, “Many thanks for your life-saving grace.” However, he couldn’t fathom why. The hatred between the Demon/Monster Realm and the Divine/Immortal Realm was profound; this person was brimming with the aura of the Immortals, clearly one of the Divine Clan, so why save him?

The Immortal Lord before him seemed to perceive his confusion and explained, “I do not involve myself in the wars between the two realms. In my heart, whether it is the Demon/Monster clans or the Divine/Immortal clans, all are beings of the Linxu Realm, and there is no difference between them. The wars between the two realms cause nothing but suffering, which I cannot bear to watch. Thus, I wander the world to treat the innocent beings caught in the crossfire.”

Yuan Ruoshen was taken aback, feeling a sense of admiration for Yan Qinyu’s actions. “A righteous deed, Daoist friend.”

“It is just that this war was inevitable. Feng Yuan actively stirred up the conflict, harming countless beings; I, too, feel great sorrow in my heart.” While he detested Feng Yuan and those hypocritical members of the Divine Court, he knew that a few individuals could not represent all beings, and not all gods and immortals were like them. Moreover, as members of the same batch of innate beings, who among them was not a god? It was merely a matter of the different paths they had chosen.

Yan Qinyu sighed, a look of worry crossing his face. “Take this healing pill first. Your injuries are too severe; I fear it will take a very long time for your cultivation to recover.”

Yuan Ruoshen fell silent, then smiled bitterly. “To still have my life is the greatest fortune.”

Yan Qinyu cared for Yuan Ruoshen for several months. During these months, Yan Qinyu discovered that he and Yuan Ruoshen shared similar interests and were exceptionally compatible, like old confidants. This made Yan Qinyu very happy, but Yuan Ruoshen seemed unwilling to reveal his name, and Yan Qinyu did not care much. When interacting with others, one didn’t need to obsess over identity.

After a hundred years of recovery, and thanks to Yan Qinyu’s meticulous care, Yuan Ruoshen’s injuries were nearly healed. He then bid Yan Qinyu farewell. He had been missing for so long; how worried must his brother be? He had to return to let him know he was safe.

Upon learning the reason, Yan Qinyu said nothing more. After they parted ways, Yuan Ruoshen left. However, after some thought, Yan Qinyu remained uneasy and secretly followed behind to protect him. Yuan Ruoshen’s magical power had not fully recovered, so he could only use a teleportation array once in each place and had to try his best to avoid people, so he mostly chose to walk through uninhabited areas.

But his luck seemed less than ideal. Despite avoiding people, he ran into trouble. Yuan Ruoshen knew his identity was sensitive and did not wish to cause trouble, so he hid himself. He had assumed it would be cultivators sent by Feng Yuan to hunt him down, but it turned out to be an Immortal cultivator pursuing two rabbit demons. One rabbit demon was finished off with a single sword stroke, flesh and blood splattering everywhere. The rabbit demon was just a young spirit who had only recently taken human form; it bore no karmic debts and had never harmed anyone. The Immortal cultivator, however, claimed to be a righteous soul, “slaying demons and eliminating devils,” killing every demon he saw without regard for their innocence.

Yuan Ruoshen watched, his eyes splitting with rage. He had never imagined what it would be like if one day he lost all his cultivation. Now, he was experiencing it: falling from the clouds into the dust. His greatest reliance—the thing he took the most pride in—had vanished overnight. He could do nothing but watch his kin being hunted and slaughtered by the Immortal race.

Gods and demons, immortals and monsters they could never coexist. Why? The world is like this: because of racial and class divisions, there is conflict and chaos. It has nothing to do with right or wrong; it is simply a difference of stance. But he could not watch this happen and do nothing.

Yuan Ruoshen appeared instantly, drawing his sword to block the Immortal cultivator’s strike against the remaining rabbit demon. Yuan Ruoshen said in a deep voice, “The war between gods and demons has stopped; the two realms have long been at peace. Why must you slaughter the innocent!”

The rabbit demon, seeing someone save it, scrambled to hide behind Yuan Ruoshen. The cultivator was startled by the sudden appearance of a person. He sized Yuan Ruoshen up and, seeing no sign of magical power on him, sneered. “A mere mortal—what right do you have to lecture me? Besides, it’s just a rabbit demon; I can do whatever I want. Is that any of your business?”

Yuan Ruoshen frowned. “It has never harmed anyone and has no heart to harm. Why not let it go?”

The cultivator acted as if he had heard a joke. “It is a demon. Immortals, monsters, and cultivators can never coexist. I am slaying demons and eliminating devils. Even if it has no heart to harm, the mere fact that it is a demon means I cannot let it go!”

Yuan Ruoshen’s expression darkened. “So you insist on this?”

The cultivator impatiently shoved Yuan Ruoshen away, utilizing his full spiritual power. “Who do you think you are? Wasting my time!”

Yuan Ruoshen was still not fully healed; the strike of spiritual power hit him, sending his internal energy into chaos. Yan Qinyu, who had been hiding in the shadows, was just about to intervene when he saw Yuan Ruoshen’s expression change. The demonic patterns between his brows flickered, and his pupils turned a dark crimson.

“Yuan Ruoshen” curled his lips. “What a pathetic weakling.”

“Yuan Ruoshen” stood up slowly, looking at the Immortal cultivator with a mocking, half-smile. His eyes were filled with disdain. That weakling always loves doing things this way. Clearly, he could just use force to solve all his problems, but he insisted on wasting time with idle chatter. Truly annoying.

The cultivator felt his scalp tingle under “Yuan Ruoshen’s” gaze. When he saw the demonic patterns flickering between his brows and the dark red eyes, the cultivator froze. “Demon race! You are of the Demon race?!” The cultivator was terrified. Sensing the vastly different aura and the terrifying pressure, the cultivator immediately prepared to run. He wasn’t some fool who would stay and fight after sensing something was wrong.

Yet “Yuan Ruoshen” merely looked at him coldly, as if looking at a dead man. A trail of golden flame erupted from his hand. The cultivator felt a burning, searing pain; he ignited on the spot.

“AH”

The cultivator let out a shrill scream. Within two or three seconds, the cultivator was burned until nothing but ash remained. The rabbit demon that had been saved by “Yuan Ruoshen” was trembling with fear at the scene. It immediately knelt and kowtowed. “Many thanks to the Senior for saving my life!”

“Yuan Ruoshen” tilted his head, reached out, and rubbed the rabbit’s fluffy head. He chuckled lightly, “You may go.”

The rabbit demon kowtowed three more times and hopped away. After the rabbit demon left, the expression on “Yuan Ruoshen’s” face grew cold. He had just prepared to leave when he suddenly seemed to notice something.

“Hiding and lurking who is it?”

“It’s only been a short while, and you’re already pretending you don’t know me?” a teasing voice came.

Yan Qinyu revealed himself. He wore long-sleeved white robes, his brows and eyes aloof. The jade at his waist shimmered, but it paled in comparison to the clarity of his eyes. He stood tall and slender, looking cold, clear, elegant, and gentle. Truly, “A person like jade on the path, a gentleman unrivaled.”

“Yuan Ruoshen” curled his lips. “So it’s you.”

Yan Qinyu asked, “Was that Sun True Fire you used just now?”

“Yuan Ruoshen” did not answer. Instead, he asked, “I killed that Immortal; are you going to kill me to pay for his life?”

Yan Qinyu laughed. “Do you have some misunderstanding about me?” After a pause, his expression turned grim. “He murdered the innocent and deserved to die. Even if you hadn’t killed him, I would have killed him had I seen it.” After all, the sins and karma on that cultivator were practically overflowing.

“Yuan Ruoshen”’s smile widened. “I thought you would also be like those sanctimonious gods who would accuse me. You are really nothing like the others.”

Yan Qinyu asked with a smile, “How so?”

“Yuan Ruoshen” seemed to think for a moment. “For instance, if others were here, they would kill me without caring about right or wrong.”

Yan Qinyu said, “Not everyone in the Divine/Immortal Realm is like that.”

“Yuan Ruoshen” said noncommittally, “But everyone I’ve met has been like that.”

Yan Qinyu was speechless. Yan Qinyu looked at Yuan Ruoshen’s exquisite, beautiful face; the dark red eyes added an even more bewitching air to him. This person… could it be that the way he’s been acting for the past hundred years was all a facade? No, that was impossible. One couldn’t keep up an act for that long. After all, the “Yuan Ruoshen” now was completely different from the Yuan Ruoshen he had known before.

Yan Qinyu said softly, “Are you Yuan Ruoshen, the Eastern Emperor of the Demon/Monster Realm?”

Although it was a question, it was stated with certainty. “Yuan Ruoshen,” who had been laughing a moment ago, immediately sank his face upon hearing Yan Qinyu reveal his identity. Almost instantly, a sword condensed from Sun True Fire pressed against Yan Qinyu’s throat. The scorching heat stung Yan Qinyu, but his expression did not change.

“I can count as your life-saving benefactor; are you intending to return kindness with enmity?”