The Weight of Memory and a Long-Awaited Gift

‘It was another dream.’

Dan Fusheng gazed at the blood-soaked earth beneath his feet. “Must I dig at my own wounds, over and over again?”

He lifted his head, observing the mounds of corpses before him, already beginning to rot. Dan Fusheng could discern their bloated, distorted faces.

“If I don’t dig, I’ll forget.”

“My parents, my siblings—I’ll forget them,” the voice rasped, dry and hoarse.

“Oh, that’s good.” Dan Fusheng crouched before a corpse. “You’re a nostalgic child,” he praised.

“What about you?” the voice questioned Dan Fusheng. “Have you forgotten everything?”

“Forgotten? How could I forget!” Dan Fusheng settled onto the ground. “I remember everything with perfect clarity! Take my useless master, for instance. Do you know how people portray him nowadays? With a beautiful face and a graceful demeanor, looking just like a demon!”

“That old coot was nearly two meters tall, robust and powerful. Yet, they insist on spreading rumors that I’m half a head taller than my master. Isn’t that preposterous?” Dan Fusheng grumbled.

“Enough!” The voice cut him off abruptly. “I’m sick of your posturing!”

“Oh,” Dan Fusheng responded. “My apologies, I’m getting on in years. You understand, older folks tend to be chatty. My martial arts troupe and I get along quite well; they’re chatty too, always talking about their children and…”

“I said! Enough!” The voice grew louder, more insistent.

Dan Fusheng clamped his mouth shut. He remained silent for a considerable while, yet the voice showed no intention of speaking again.

“So, you intend to outlast me?” Dan Fusheng looked up at the sky. “I don’t know what method you used to conceal your presence… well, it’s not too hard to guess. Only two things in this world can suppress me: the Heavenly Demonic Blade and the Demon Suppressing Lock. The lock is with my dim-witted junior brother, and the Heavenly Demonic Blade?”

No one answered him.

“You’re not expecting these gruesome scenes to awaken my conscience, are you?” Dan Fusheng found the Dan Lie in this dream far too naive. “To rekindle my hatred, then turn my blade against humanity?”

“Impossible,” Dan Fusheng murmured softly. “You can’t change me.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention, my experiences during those thousand years of exile were quite tumultuous.” Dan Fusheng propped his head on his hand. “If you hadn’t sought me out, I probably would have forgotten you too.”

“Dan Fusheng!” The voice shrieked.

“Oh?” Dan Fusheng raised an eyebrow. “No longer calling me ‘Your Majesty’?”

“You abandoned us?”

“You abandoned us?!”

“Don’t portray me as so cruel. From the very beginning, I never intended to stay with you all forever.” Dan Fusheng rose and walked towards the spot where he had once found that child.

It was a stone slab. Dan Fusheng lifted it, revealing a hole beneath, plastered with talismans. He had dreamt this more than a dozen times. He knew where the child was hidden, yet he had simply been too lazy to look.

The child, face streaked with tears, gazed up at him piteously.

“If you insist on thinking that way, there’s nothing I can do.” Dan Fusheng replaced the stone slab. “Yes, I abandoned you.”

Instantly, the dream vanished.

Dan Fusheng was thrust back into reality. He opened his eyes to see Chen Gui’s face. Chen Gui was observing him, leaning in very close.

“You’ll scare your senior brother,” Dan Fusheng said, gently pushing Chen Gui’s face away.

“Why aren’t you sleeping anymore?” Chen Gui asked him.

“Had a nightmare.” Dan Fusheng rolled over, closing his eyes, intending to resume his sleep. This time, there shouldn’t be any strange dreams.

“But can you still fall asleep?” Chen Gui reached out and gently rolled him back over.

Dan Fusheng wasn’t sure if he could fall asleep, but he was quite certain Chen Gui didn’t want him to sleep now.

The “good” senior brother, Dan Fusheng, sat up. “What do you want to ask?”

“What kind of nightmare did you have?” Chen Gui stared intently into Dan Fusheng’s eyes.

Dan Fusheng recounted the events of his dream.

Chen Gui looked perplexed. “This is a nightmare for you?”

“There were dead people!” Dan Fusheng’s voice rose. “I could even smell the stench of decay!”

“That’s hardly a nightmare. What smells haven’t you encountered?” Chen Gui pursed his lips. “Did you dream of Master?”

“Huh?”

“You dreamt of Master; that’s why it was a nightmare.” Chen Gui didn’t believe that gruesome scenes could truly frighten Dan Fusheng, the Demon Lord.

“Don’t arbitrarily label me as sentimental,” Dan Fusheng said, resting his hands behind his head.

Chen Gui merely uttered an ‘Oh.’

Having been turned over by Chen Gui, Dan Fusheng didn’t turn back again. He lay there, arms cradling his head, staring at the ceiling. After a long while, Dan Fusheng hissed. “Damn it, perhaps I really am a little sentimental.”

“Did you dream of Master and the others?” Chen Gui leaned in closer.

“No, I’ve never dreamt of Master,” Dan Fusheng shook his head. He pressed his lips together, pondering. “Do you think I’m particularly ungrateful?”

“Indeed.” Chen Gui readily agreed with Dan Fusheng’s self-assessment.

Dan Fusheng propped up his upper body, staring at Chen Gui. After a prolonged gaze, he sighed helplessly. “Forget it, why am I even talking to you? You’re not exactly a conversationalist.”

“Is that why you left—because I don’t talk much?” Chen Gui suddenly asked.

“Left for where?”

“To gain experience, and then you never came back.” Chen Gui’s voice was soft. “Senior Sister died, and Master went into seclusion. Did you simply find it uninteresting, which is why you never returned?”

That year, when Dan Fusheng’s cultivation reached its peak, only Chen Gui went to see his senior brother off.

Dan Fusheng gave him a hug. Chen Gui disliked such intimate contact, but Dan Fusheng was always like that, completely disregarding Chen Gui’s comfort. Releasing Chen Gui, Dan Fusheng smiled and patted his shoulder. Dan Fusheng had promised to compile the customs and cultures of the Five Nations into a book and bring it back for Chen Gui.

“Oh! That’s right!” Dan Fusheng listened to Chen Gui’s recollection, remembering the promise he had indeed made.

Chen Gui continued, “The next time I heard about you, you were already the Demon Lord.”

“Really? I didn’t send messages to you and Master? That can’t be!” Dan Fusheng genuinely couldn’t recall, as that period of his life had been quite chaotic.

“No,” Chen Gui shook his head.

Dan Fusheng, for once, began to reflect on himself. “Then, how about I send you a gift now?”

“I don’t want one.” Chen Gui crossed his arms and retreated towards the corner of the room. His emotions must have been complex, as he failed to notice the Jade Mastiff slumbering beneath the bed, stepping directly onto its tail.

The Jade Mastiff let out a yelp.

Logically, Chen Gui hadn’t used spiritual energy to attack the Jade Mastiff, and the Mastiff was a thousand-year-old great demon; such a slight weight shouldn’t have harmed him. Yet, after a pathetic cry, the Jade Mastiff’s fur bristled, and he leaped onto the bed, squeezing into Dan Fusheng’s embrace.

He let out a whimper, stuffing his large white tail into Dan Fusheng’s hand. Chen Gui watched the Jade Mastiff, who had already buried his head in Dan Fusheng’s arm.

“There, there,” Dan Fusheng murmured, rubbing his tail. The Jade Mastiff’s fur felt wonderfully smooth and soft.

The Jade Mastiff soon fell asleep, nestled against Dan Fusheng. Once the Jade Mastiff was asleep, Dan Fusheng spoke again. “I don’t want to forget either, but I can’t remember things as clearly as that child. I forget things very quickly, though it does make life quite enjoyable.”

“I barely even remember Senior Sister anymore,” Dan Fusheng admitted, beginning to braid the Jade Mastiff’s fur into small pigtails. “If I really try to recall, I can, but those memories feel somewhat detached from me.”

“Is that so?” Chen Gui watched Dan Fusheng’s profile. A red earring hung from Dan Fusheng’s left ear—a golden thread supporting a round red gem with a long pendant dangling beneath it.

The red gem was exquisite. Despite having no facets, it shimmered with inner fire, dazzling and brilliant.

‘That’s a dragon scale…’

“Remembering everything perfectly can lead one astray.” Dan Fusheng pulled a pack of elastic bands from the bedside table—the kind with pink bows.

“I cannot agree with you,” Chen Gui frowned.

“It doesn’t matter.”

He and Chen Gui were inherently on different paths. Chen Gui was already seven years old when Master took him in. He was the son of True Monarch You Qing’s two old friends. After those two old friends died in an accident, True Monarch You Qing brought the stubborn little one back.

Chen Gui understood many things, but as long as he believed he was right, he would not alter his behavior for the sake of ‘current affairs’ or ‘circumstances.’ When Chen Gui’s cultivation was still low, True Monarch You Qing strictly forbade him from descending the mountain, fearing he would be beaten to death.

However, True Monarch You Qing believed Chen Gui possessed exceptional talent. Chen Gui, like Dan Fusheng, was remarkably gifted, and both were prone to straying down the wrong path.

Dan Fusheng mused, all while braiding the Jade Mastiff’s fur, stopping only when he ran out of space to work.

The Jade Mastiff woke up at six the next morning. He felt something was amiss—a slight discomfort in his body—though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

He hopped off the bed with a wobbly gait, intending to go to his cage on the balcony to groom his fur. The moment he left the room, Dan Fusheng activated a barrier, enclosing himself and Chen Gui within it.

“What do you intend to do?!” Chen Gui asked, wary.

“I think his temper has become quite awful,” Dan Fusheng explained. “He’s going to scold me.”

Chen Gui considered the Jade Mastiff’s overly cheerful personality and felt Dan Fusheng was correct.

“Junior brother, stab me once. When we go out, just say we had a fight.” Dan Fusheng believed this would make the Jade Mastiff forget the pink bows and instead worry about his injuries.

“You want to exploit his guilt?”

“Ah? Yes!” Dan Fusheng admitted openly.

Chen Gui fell silent. He stopped speaking and offered Dan Fusheng no further reaction. Dan Fusheng waited him out for a while, but eventually gave up, forced to deactivate the barrier.

However, the Jade Mastiff did not appear in his room, nor were there any grumbling sounds. Dan Fusheng found this rather odd, and Chen Gui was equally surprised.

They exchanged a glance, pushed open the bedroom door, and stepped out.

On the balcony, a large white fox adorned with pink bows was staring into a mirror. The mirror hung on the dog cage—a special full-length mirror belonging to the Jade Mastiff.

The Jade Mastiff continuously shifted his stance, scrutinizing his reflection. His large tail was practically twisting into knots from excitement.

‘He actually liked this?!’

The Jade Mastiff noticed Dan Fusheng, and his rotating tail stilled. “Dan Fusheng! You’ve gone too far! How could you do this to me!”

Dan Fusheng reacted quickly. “Ah? Yes! I did it! You must keep them tied, or I’ll wring your neck!”

The Jade Mastiff choked up. “You made me like this today; tomorrow, will you dare to buy me multi-colored, lace-trimmed clothes? Will you dare to make me wear all sorts of pet shoes? Will you dare to dye my fur rainbow colors?!”

“Aren’t your demands a bit excessive? How much money do I even earn?” Dan Fusheng didn’t understand. He thought the Jade Mastiff’s pristine white fur was exceptionally beautiful. Did the Jade Mastiff find it too plain? Did he actually prefer something gaudy?

“Even if you give me a gift, I won’t accept it!” The Jade Mastiff turned away, his tail swaying back and forth.

Speaking of gifts, Dan Fusheng suddenly remembered. His red earring shimmered faintly, and a six-centimeter-thick notebook appeared in Dan Fusheng’s hand. Between some pages of the notebook were thin jade slips, delicate as cicada wings.

Dan Fusheng handed the notebook to Chen Gui. “Here, this is yours.”

“What is this?”

“Records of the Five Nations,” Dan Fusheng said. “Some smaller nations tucked in between are also documented.”

Chen Gui froze.

“I forgot to give this to you.”

“You actually wrote it?!” Chen Gui was quite surprised. He opened the first page, and the handwriting was Dan Fusheng’s; he remembered it. It was Dan Fusheng’s early script.

“I did, yes. My descent into the Land of Death happened after I traveled the Five Nations, but there was so much that happened afterward that I forgot.” Dan Fusheng looked at the gloomy sky outside the window. “Hey! Is it too late?”

He had originally intended to create a guide for his single-minded junior brother, but now the Five Nations no longer existed, rendering this guide somewhat useless.

“No.” Chen Gui read a few pages before closing the book. “I’ve received it. Thank you.”

He looked at the cover of the Records of the Five Nations. “I will read it carefully.”

Dan Fusheng cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward. Sometimes, he couldn’t quite handle his junior brother’s personality.

Chen Gui continued, “I like it very much.”

Dan Fusheng turned his head away; Chen Gui couldn’t see Dan Fusheng’s face clearly. He clutched the Records of the Five Nations tightly in his hand. “I like it very much…”

It was as if those hundreds of years of waiting had finally received an answer, even if that answer arrived a millennium late.

“Thank you…” As Chen Gui spoke, he suddenly didn’t know what to call him. He struggled for a long moment. “Thank you, Demon Lord.”

“If you can’t speak properly, then keep your mouth shut,” Dan Fusheng said with a smile. “Speak out of turn again, and Senior Brother will sew your mouth shut, alright?”