A Melon in the Spirit Spring

“Senior Brother, this isn’t right.”

Young Chen Gui tried to scramble off Dan Fusheng’s lap, but he was quickly pressed back down.

“What’s wrong with it?” Dan Fusheng gently pushed Chen Gui back into place. Chen Gui’s head rested on Dan Fusheng’s thigh, his lips pressed into a thin line of disapproval.

From his storage artifact, Dan Fusheng produced a sweet melon. “Eat this. I chilled it in Senior Sister’s spirit spring.”

Chen Gui immediately tensed. “Senior Sister will be unhappy!”

“Don’t worry. Senior Sister was in her original form, sleeping soundly,” Dan Fusheng said, stroking Chen Gui’s head. “She’s a massive dragon. Three of her scales are taller than I am. She wouldn’t even feel me putting a small melon in her spirit spring.”

Chen Gui’s voice rose in pitch. “You put it there while Senior Sister was sleeping?!”

“It’s fine. She didn’t crush the melon,” Dan Fusheng chuckled. “I woke Senior Sister up and asked her to keep an eye on it.”

Chen Gui gasped, “Huh?!”

“She already knows, and she’s already given me a beating for it.” There was no need for him to be scared after the fact.

Chen Gui’s hand trembled as he placed it on his Senior Brother’s arm. “Did it hurt?” He attempted to say something else, but the slice of melon Dan Fusheng shoved into his mouth was too large.

“Finish chewing before you speak. No need to rush,” Dan Fusheng said, watching Chen Gui with amusement. “We have plenty of time. Take your time.”

Chen Gui opened his eyes, feeling a cool breeze caress his body.

“Awake now?” Dan Fusheng asked with a smile.

Chen Gui quickly sat up. He glanced at Dan Fusheng’s leg, which he had just been using as a pillow, then at the fan in Dan Fusheng’s hand.

“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Dan Fusheng inquired.

Indeed, after Chen Gui had secretly wiped the bloodstains from Dan Fusheng’s clothes, Dan Fusheng had sent the neighborhood children away. He had then insisted Chen Gui lie on his thigh, and although Chen Gui had struggled, he eventually succumbed to the comfort.

How could he have fallen asleep? Ah, Dan Fusheng had cast a slumber spell on him!

“You!” Chen Gui gritted his teeth. “You demon!”

“Yes, I am a demon,” Dan Fusheng said, fanning himself. “I am very wicked.”

Chen Gui took a series of deep breaths to calm himself.

Suddenly, Dan Fusheng asked, “Do you want to go see His Majesty?”

Chen Gui, who had been mentally listing insults, was interrupted. “Huh?”

“Sikong Fang, the Emperor of the Yu Kingdom. Do you want to go see him?” Dan Fusheng’s bare feet rested on the bamboo bed. He propped his face on the back of one hand, which was tucked under his knee. “Since he sought me out earlier, I naturally know where he is hiding.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?!” Chen Gui demanded.

“You didn’t ask, my dear Junior Brother.”

“Does this matter require me to ask?!”

“Of course it does,” Dan Fusheng said, waving his fan. “I’m not the one investigating him. Why would I report his every move?”

“Then why are you going to see him now?” Chen Gui asked.

“I just find it rather interesting. Do you want to go?” Dan Fusheng offered the melon beside him to Chen Gui.

Chen Gui paused. “Where did this melon come from?”

“A disciple brought it. What’s wrong? Is it poisoned?” Dan Fusheng sniffed the melon.

“…No, it’s not,” Chen Gui replied, unwilling to delve further into the “stolen melon” trauma. “Where are we meeting Sikong Fang?”

Dan Fusheng looked puzzled, but he didn’t press further. “Change your clothes! And bring the dog.”

The dog? Jade Mastiff was here too?

Chen Gui looked down and saw Jade Mastiff curled up under the bamboo bed, biting a plush toy. His fox-like face was filled with indignation.

“Don’t look at me!” Jade Mastiff barked loudly at Chen Gui. He didn’t want to see Chen Gui right now; the boy had stolen his sleeping spot.

Despite Jade Mastiff’s fierce resistance, he was eventually leashed.

Dan Fusheng also called for Bai Yu. After all, Bai Yu was an official, and they couldn’t act behind the back of the authorities. Upon receiving the message, Bai Yu reported to his superiors and prepared his magic artifacts, ready to respond to any sudden developments.

Then, Dan Fusheng led them out. They found the reclusive Sikong Fang in an underground pedestrian passage in the city center.

Everyone stared in disbelief.

Sikong Fang didn’t notice them immediately. He was busy drawing talismans on a meditation cushion, surrounded by artifacts. This seemed to be his makeshift dwelling.

Could he have found a way to block the CCTV cameras? There was a camera directly facing Sikong Fang, yet the authorities had been unable to track him down. Why had Dan Fusheng come to find him? Was he here to secretly dispose of the Emperor?

As these thoughts arose, Dan Fusheng, holding the fox’s leash, walked forward. “Hey, old man!”

Sikong Fang froze. He looked at his artifacts. “My bell?! Put it down!”

Dan Fusheng had already reached out and snatched a bell. He shook the Soul-Calming Bell playfully. “By what right—?”

“You…” Sikong Fang clenched his fists.

“Where’s Si Chen? Where did you put him?” Dan Fusheng put the Soul-Calming Bell into his pocket. He was about to pick up the talismans on the ground, but Sikong Fang was a step ahead, sweeping all of them into his storage artifact.

“What are you trying to do?!” Sikong Fang asked, his face full of wariness.

“What am I trying to do? What can I do?” Dan Fusheng shrugged. “I’m just here to see an old friend.”

“Who’s your old friend?!” Sikong Fang rose, about to bolt.

“Are you afraid of me?” Dan Fusheng asked. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, “Is it because I’m more powerful than you now?”

Sikong Fang stopped.

Dan Fusheng rattled the dog leash. “You’re not even as formidable as Jade Mastiff anymore. In the past, we could only look up to you, Your Majesty. Now, you are nothing,” Dan Fusheng sighed. “I won’t stop you if you want to leave. But do you want to come with me first?”

Sikong Fang turned his head to look at him. “Where to?”

“A lively place,” Dan Fusheng said, pointing toward the exit of the underground passage. “It’s right nearby. The timing is perfect today.”

Sikong Fang pondered for a long time, then finally nodded.

A moment later, the group sat on the second floor of a fast-food restaurant. After paying, Sikong Fang brought their trays to them. “So? What’s special about this place?”

“Today, these combo meals are half-price,” Dan Fusheng explained.

Bai Yu regretted coming to this shift. He feared Dan Fusheng would be beaten to death right here. With so many people around, how would he evacuate the public if these powerhouses started fighting?

Fortunately, Sikong Fang didn’t act impulsively. “Speak seriously.”

“I am speaking seriously. Isn’t half-price enticing?” Dan Fusheng distributed the food. “Honestly, I don’t know what you’re striving for.”

“All of this is wrong now! Humans and demons shouldn’t have mixed blood. Demons are—”

“Shh! There are quite a few human-demon hybrids here. Don’t start lecturing,” Dan Fusheng interrupted him. “Eat your fries first.”

Bai Yu couldn’t help but ask, “You have money, so why are you living in an underground passage?”

Sikong Fang frowned. “The receptionists at the hotels are all demons!”

Dan Fusheng laughed heartily. “After all, demons have good looks and excellent temperaments.”

“Is that why you’re unwilling to go in?” Bai Yu asked.

“Perhaps there’s also a matter of ‘integrity.’ He doesn’t agree with your ways and doesn’t want to live in your modern houses,” Dan Fusheng continued, answering for Sikong Fang. “He’s unwilling to admit he’s a relic from two thousand years ago. He hopes to be a hero, but there’s no one left in this world who needs saving, so this world looks utterly rotten to him.”

“I’m not doing it for myself!” Sikong Fang retorted.

“Oh? Then randomly grab someone and ask them if they need to be freed from the ‘shackles’ of the demon race,” Dan Fusheng said, clearly not viewing Sikong Fang as a threat. “You’ll harm ordinary people, but you can’t harm me. After killing a bunch of innocent people, you’ll realize your mistake. What right do you have?”

“And what right do you have?!” Sikong Fang shot back. “You’ve killed so many. What right do you have to live?!”

“Yes, indeed. Instigating the Millennium of Chaos, indirectly causing the deaths of so many people—I should be ashamed enough to commit suicide,” Dan Fusheng smiled. “But I have a thick skin. I would never consider ‘death’ for myself.”

“You deserve divine retribution!” Sikong Fang gritted his teeth.

“Ah, yes. So before divine retribution comes, I must live well,” Dan Fusheng took a sip of his soda.

“There won’t be divine retribution,” Chen Gui suddenly interjected. Dan Fusheng and Sikong Fang looked at him. Chen Gui continued, “There won’t be divine retribution. Someone has already paid the price,” Chen Gui said, pressing his lips together.

Dan Fusheng fell silent. He didn’t ask who. Who else could it be? A child’s fault is not the father’s. He had no biological father, only his Master. He had always wondered why True Monarch You Qing, only half a step from ascending to immortality, had died precisely in the Blood River.

Dan Fusheng let out a helpless, soft laugh. “Did Master tell you to kill me after I broke the seal?”

Chen Gui nodded.

“Our sect is truly… strange,” Dan Fusheng said, pressing a hand to his forehead.

He and the old man hadn’t been particularly close. Master had raised Senior Sister, and Senior Sister had raised him. In his childhood, Dan Fusheng feared humans, hiding from Master all day.

One day, when he was five, Dan Fusheng woke up to find his Senior Sister, who had been holding him, had suddenly “transformed” into that excessively tall man.

He was frozen in fear. The man was also awkward. “Are you still afraid?”

Dan Fusheng, overcome with tension, began to hiccup and cry.

“No, no, no! I’ll give you back to your Senior Sister immediately!” The man panicked. Just as he was about to get up, young Dan Fusheng punched him.

“Monster! What did you do to my Master?!” Dan Fusheng was terrified, but he felt he had to kill this creature. “Don’t you dare possess my Master!”

The man froze for a moment, then tentatively asked, “Who is the Master you speak of?”

“My Master is True Monarch You Qing! He’s incredibly powerful!”

Suddenly, the man wept with joy, tears blurring the colorful makeup on his face and dripping onto his chest. The man wiped away the powder-stained tears and adjusted his tube top.

He had specially put on this disguise—dressing as a woman—to help Dan Fusheng adapt and feel safe. He thought he already looked very much like his eldest disciple, yet he was still recognized.

“You always cared about Master,” the man said, fiercely kissing Dan Fusheng’s cheek. Then, he gently embraced his second disciple.

Young Dan Fusheng, with a giant lipstick mark on his face, let out a sharp shriek of terror.