The Unwanted Guest and a Brother’s Dark Secret

Under Dan Fusheng’s persistent arguments, they were unable to leave.

Dan Fusheng, with feigned tears, had effectively settled down at the Qianyu Sect. This was primarily because the Senior Disciple of the sect had promised to replace his wall-mounted air conditioner with a high-end floor-standing model. In exchange, Dan Fusheng was to help them find their missing Master.

Chen Gui, however, showed no particular reaction to the delay. He diligently remained by Dan Fusheng’s side like a “ground-bound spirit,” refusing to utter a single extra word. He was angry; Dan Fusheng could clearly sense it.

Initially, Dan Fusheng had no intention of interfering with his silence, but Chen Gui’s eyes remained fixed on him at all times. When Dan Fusheng tried to speak, Chen Gui offered no response, only a piercing stare.

Eventually, Dan Fusheng grew unnerved by the constant scrutiny. During lunch, he managed to eat only a few mouthfuls under Chen Gui’s intense gaze before finally giving in.

“If there’s something you want to know, just ask,” he conceded, setting down his chopsticks.

“You’ll actually tell me?” Chen Gui narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious.

“Yes, yes, I’ll tell you,” Dan Fusheng nodded repeatedly.

“What exactly are the Demon Suppressing Lock and the Heavenly Demonic Blade?” Chen Gui, seeing Dan Fusheng about to offer a playful smile, quickly added, “Don’t try to brush me off with vague answers!”

Dan Fusheng stifled his smile and cleared his throat softly. “Some things aren’t that I don’t want to explain; it’s mainly that they’re quite complex.”

Chen Gui waited patiently. “And then?”

“You should know that I am already 2,781 years old this year,” Dan Fusheng began.

“I remember,” Chen Gui said.

“So, there are some very early events that I genuinely can’t recall perfectly. My memory wasn’t that great back then either,” Dan Fusheng said, continuing to soften the blow. “But regarding those two items… the Heavenly Demonic Blade and the Demon Suppressing Lock very likely—and I mean very likely, though I can’t be one hundred percent certain—were refined from the inner cores of my blood kin.”

Chen Gui’s expression remained unchanged, but he went perfectly still.

Dan Fusheng knew this was Chen Gui’s reaction to being profoundly startled: he would briefly lose all expression and movement as his mind was thrown into disarray.

“But you know it was a chaotic era, and I was picked up by Master when I was only three. I truly have no clear recollection,” Dan Fusheng explained. He only remembered his Senior Sister saying that when he was a toddler, he was averse to humans and only felt safe with her. Back then, Dan Fusheng loved being tightly wrapped in a dragon’s tail. As long as he was curled in her scales, he would fall asleep instantly.

He genuinely couldn’t remember those cruel past events. He didn’t even know what his parents looked like. Perhaps they had loved him deeply, and perhaps his current oblivion was unfair to them. But Dan Fusheng had no choice; he never had the opportunity to know his family.

This was a complex tragedy. Dan Fusheng detested others forcefully adding their own interpretations to his past, but Chen Gui was different; this boy was a part of his history.

Dan Fusheng pushed a drink towards him. “Want some soda to calm down?”

“I’m going to melt the Demon Suppressing Lock,” Chen Gui stated flatly. The lock was currently in his possession, intended as a weapon to suppress the Demon Lord.

“Don’t be so hasty. Let’s first figure out what’s going on with that counterfeit set we saw earlier,” Dan Fusheng said, gently patting Chen Gui’s head.

Chen Gui’s mood was heavy, and he didn’t react quickly enough to dodge the touch. “You…”

“Do you want to know about the brothers, Si Fenglang and Si Chen?” Dan Fusheng proactively changed the subject.

Chen Gui nodded. “Si Fenglang likes you. Did you really not know?”

“I honestly didn’t. And at that time, ‘liking’ someone was like a small pebble in a massive river; it was there, but it couldn’t change the current,” Dan Fusheng chuckled. “You should know that the Yu Kingdom cultivated the Dao of Slaughter—to slaughter all evil under heaven.”

Dan Fusheng sighed. “Si Fenglang was a very stubborn person. He believed that the union of humans and demons was depravity and that demons were born only to commit evil. His cultivation method actually relied on the blood of demons to advance.”

“I merely exposed a lie,” Dan Fusheng said, looking into Chen Gui’s eyes. “I shattered his savior complex. I told him that demons and humans are the same, that they can unite and have children, and that there’s no fundamental difference. He refused to believe it. He insisted that half-human, half-demon offspring were inferior creatures.”

“He was annoying, but he genuinely believed himself to be a ‘good person.’ This type of ‘good person’ is the easiest to break; you just need to make them realize that they aren’t slaying monsters, they’re killing people. Under the manipulation of an illusion, he attacked Si Chen. He killed his own brother. When he sobered up, he discovered his cultivation had spiked because of it, and that realization was why he went mad.”

Si Fenglang had believed his path was nourished by the blood of the “wicked,” but the technique itself didn’t care about labels—it only recognized the slaughter of kin.

“Is that so?” Chen Gui asked.

“Honestly.”

Chen Gui then asked, “You don’t like it when others differentiate between demons and humans… so should I stop calling you ‘Demon Lord’?”

“Actually, the distinction is quite interesting now that everyone has their own unique characteristics,” Dan Fusheng mused. The world had changed, and he no longer dwelled on the bitterness of the past.

Chen Gui nodded. “You have a point… Leader of Evil Forces.”

Dan Fusheng: “…”

Chen Gui looked sincerely into Dan Fusheng’s eyes.

“You can still call me Demon Lord,” Dan Fusheng decided, finding his new “elegant title” a bit too long.

“That’s disrespectful,” Chen Gui shook his head.

“Do you think ‘Leader of Evil Forces’ is respectful?!” Dan Fusheng playfully smacked Chen Gui on the forehead.

Chen Gui simplified it. “Then ‘Evil Boss’?”

“Oh, right, I need to warn you,” Chen Gui said, his expression becoming solemn again. “Even if I melt the Demon Suppressing Lock, I still have a way to drag you down with me if you go astray!”

“Can you please stop fixating on taking me to the grave with you!” Dan Fusheng clutched his head in exasperation.

“No! I don’t trust you yet!” Chen Gui feared this was all part of a grand scheme. Master had said he couldn’t see through Dan Fusheng, and therefore, Dan Fusheng was dangerous. “Also, control your emotions. You are not allowed to fall in love with Si Fenglang.”

“I don’t even like him!” Dan Fusheng didn’t understand why everyone thought he had a thing for the Crown Prince.

“Hard to say. You’re too good at pretending,” Chen Gui said.

“Junior Brother,” Dan Fusheng called out, “Do you believe your Senior Brother wants to punch you right now?”

Chen Gui slowly stood up and took a step back.

“You actually believe that?!” Dan Fusheng was baffled.

“You’ve never lied about wanting to hit me.”

Dan Fusheng: “Hiss… my apologies.”

“I don’t accept your apology,” Chen Gui said, lifting his chin. “Unless you write me a self-criticism, telling me everything you’ve hidden, and then you must listen to my critique of your actions.”

Subsequently, Chen Gui was chased and beaten around the room. Still avoiding cultivation, it was pure fisticuffs. The stronger Chen Gui scrambled away, clutching his head.

Dan Fusheng stayed at the Qianyu Sect for over a month, waiting for his promised air conditioner.

He claimed he was helping find Si Chen and Si Fenglang, but he did nothing substantial. Instead, he requested a plot of land from the sect and planted chili peppers and tomatoes.

The Senior Disciple of the Qianyu Sect, a young man named Meng Lei, asked him for updates many times, but Dan Fusheng merely replied that the garden was “part of the plan.”

At first, even Bai Yu believed there was a deep strategy involved, but when he discovered Dan Fusheng had started befriending the local middle-aged and elderly neighbors, a sense of foreboding washed over him.

“Are you planning to live here long-term?” Bai Yu asked.

“Huh? No,” Dan Fusheng said, tending to his plants. “Aren’t I looking for the brothers?”

“Are you using your divine sense to search?” Bai Yu pressed.

“Ah? Oh, right, right,” Dan Fusheng nodded perfunctorily.

‘You haven’t been searching at all! You’ve completely settled in!’ Bai Yu screamed internally.

“I won’t leave until I find them,” Dan Fusheng continued.

‘Of course you won’t leave! Your tomato seedlings just sprouted!’

“Within three hundred years, they will definitely appear!” Dan Fusheng declared with certainty.

Bai Yu, who had only lived for 124 years, felt a migraine coming on.

“I’m going to walk the dog in the back mountain, want to come?” Dan Fusheng enthusiastically invited him.

“No, but… you two had such a terrible falling out with the sect leaders before, is this really okay?”

“I asked that kid Meng Lei to buy me a fishing rod. Later, we can dig a pond in the back mountain and raise some fish,” Dan Fusheng suggested.

He was already planning major landscaping changes. It was clear he was satisfied with the sect’s location.

‘A cuckoo usurping a magpie’s nest! This is exactly what he’s doing!’ Bai Yu realized.

Dan Fusheng led Jade Mastiff to an empty plot. “Later, we’ll build you a rainbow cottage there ourselves.”

Jade Mastiff barked excitedly. Building a house sounded fun—even if Dan Fusheng was technically planning to build it on someone else’s property.

Si Fenglang returned late one night at the end of the month.

Dan Fusheng, who was already asleep, sensed the familiar aura. He quickly got up, pushed open his door, and rushed into the garden.

Si Fenglang stood in the center of the garden. Upon noticing Dan Fusheng, he began to laugh, but the sound was cut short.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Dan Fusheng interrupted. “Watch your step! You’re standing on my vegetable patch! Those are newly planted seedlings! Did you kill them?!”

Si Fenglang: “Ah? Oh, oh, I’m so sorry…”

He quickly moved away, but after a few steps, he paused, looking around in confusion. “Wait… isn’t this my sect?!”