The Imperial Seal’s Secrets and a Tailor’s Affections

“So your current body is the Imperial Seal? And Si Chen and Si Fenglang are too?” Bai Yu asked, lowering his head to make notes.

Sikong Fang glanced at Dan Fusheng, who was busy making clothes right beside him. A pink sequined mini-skirt was gradually taking shape in Dan Fusheng’s hands. Noticing the Emperor’s gaze, Dan Fusheng thoughtfully asked, “Do you want a big bow on it?”

Sikong Fang shivered. “They… are me.”

“What do you mean, they are you?” Bai Yu inquired, still jotting down notes.

“Originally, when I died, Si Fenglang should have succeeded me. But he was killed before he even had a chance to inherit the throne.” Sikong Fang had become the last emperor, and in doing so, the sole master of the Imperial Seal.

The prerequisite for obtaining the imperial cultivation technique was to entrust one’s seven spirits to the Imperial Seal for safekeeping. Sikong Fang had used his own seven spirits, mixed with a portion of the Imperial Seal’s essence, to create his two “disciples.” He had simply never expected Si Chen to have problems.

“Si Chen’s soul has not yet dissipated,” Sikong Fang said. “You used a ritual artifact to bind his soul; you harmed him!” His voice was filled with grief and indignation, but he dared not raise it to Dan Fusheng, fearing the latter would force him into something absurd.

“How did I harm him? Didn’t you say that the current Si Chen was created by you?” Dan Fusheng saw no reason to blame himself; he was merely an innocent tailor.

As Dan Fusheng sewed on the sequins one by one, he noticed Chen Gui’s focused gaze. “Want new clothes?” he asked.

Chen Gui initially intended to decline, but his Inner Demon was simply too boisterous. He quietly asked, “Is that possible?”

“Yes, just a moment.” Dan Fusheng pulled out a complete set of tools from his storage artifact—everything from fabric and measuring tape to a portable sewing machine. He beckoned Chen Gui closer with the measuring tape. “Come here.”

Chen Gui pressed his lips together, his body tensing up so much it felt as if he’d forgotten how to walk. After taking Chen Gui’s measurements, Dan Fusheng began searching for the hottest styles of the current era on his phone. Chen Gui’s wardrobe was simple, alternating between T-shirts and Tang suits, his aura entirely reliant on his striking face.

“You don’t hate him? You won’t make him a sequined mini-skirt?” Sikong Fang couldn’t help but ask. He had heard the rumors that Dan Fusheng’s junior brother was his sworn enemy.

“Your second disciple betrayed you, yet I don’t see you hating him that much,” Dan Fusheng stated, quite certain that Sikong Fang genuinely believed he was “saving” Si Chen by overriding his personality.

“My junior brother and I no longer have any serious conflicts,” Dan Fusheng said, beginning to sketch designs. “You simply cannot imagine how much he cares about me.”

Chen Gui’s Inner Demon, it turned out, wanted to monopolize his senior brother. Dan Fusheng found the Inner Demon increasingly endearing the more he thought about it. He, for one, didn’t mind being monopolized. What could his stiff, proper junior brother even do if he succeeded?

“Your junior brother trusts you?” Sikong Fang was utterly astonished. “Isn’t he afraid of being tricked out of everything?”

Dan Fusheng pondered for a moment, then looked at Chen Gui. “Are you afraid of being tricked?”

Chen Gui nodded.

“I’m going to charge you ten thousand for this outfit,” Dan Fusheng declared fiercely. “If you don’t pay, I’ll call the police and have you arrested.”

“Cash or mobile transfer?” Chen Gui asked, his emotions stable. “I’ll have to withdraw cash later.”

Dan Fusheng displayed his QR code. Chen Gui scanned it expressionlessly and paid just as expressionlessly.

Dan Fusheng glanced at the notification. “Junior brother… did you add an extra zero?”

“No.” Chen Gui, having just been “swindled,” put his phone back in his pocket. “This way, you can take fewer orders from others.”

His Inner Demon chimed in: [And spend more time with me.]

Dan Fusheng couldn’t hear what the Inner Demon was saying, but he understood the unspoken meaning. In that moment, he was inexplicably reminded of a heartwarming story about a child secretly saving money to buy their father’s “work time.” Chen Gui truly was too lonely!

Dan Fusheng decided that addressing Chen Gui’s issues would be a priority later. For now, Sikong Fang was the most important.

Bai Yu was still asking, “If the Imperial Seal is the main body, then why can Si Chen’s saber also bind his soul?”

Sikong Fang didn’t want to delve deeper, but Dan Fusheng dangled the sequined mini-skirt in his line of sight again.

Sikong Fang gritted his teeth. “Because ritual artifacts are not unique items.”

Dan Fusheng paused his movements. “What do you mean?”

“Even if you destroy the Imperial Seal, as long as the other ritual artifacts remain, I can still revive,” Sikong Fang explained. “As long as they are artifacts of the Yu Kingdom, they represent its ritual laws.”

“Those ritual artifacts represent certain rules, and you are parasitic upon those rules?” Dan Fusheng found this interesting, but he quickly realized it wasn’t parasitism. “No, you are a part of the rules! Oh! You’re mimicking the Heavenly Dao?”

The Yu Kingdom’s highest ruler coexisted with the ritual laws. However, true immortality meant integrating into the actual Heavenly Dao, becoming a part of the rules and an enforcer of them. The Yu Kingdom had created a low-fidelity version of this process.

“But those who truly achieve immortality endure thousands of cycles of reincarnation and are enlightened individuals.” Dan Fusheng felt that the Yu Kingdom’s methods were nonsensical. “How could mere mortals possess the mental fortitude to integrate with the Dao using only a shortcut?”

Dan Fusheng suddenly realized something. “Oh! Your inexplicable hatred for the demon race is passed down through generations of the imperial family? No wonder. But the rules you maintain through hatred are inherently distorted.”

“From the first emperor of the Yu Kingdom down to me, there has never been a mistake. If not for…” Sikong Fang clenched his fists.

“Meeting me? Aren’t I the one you created?” Dan Fusheng found it amusing. “How did my parents die? How did my senior sister die? I tried to curry favor with you more than once, but you never gave me a chance. You yourselves forged the blade used to slaughter so many. How can you complain when that very blade finally pierces your own chest?”

Dan Fusheng continued drafting his patterns, enduring Sikong Fang’s murderous gaze.

Others cultivated immortality by following natural progression, but the Yu Kingdom was interesting; they skipped the intermediate steps and directly burrowed into the rules. The cultivator Dan Fusheng had seen who came closest to true immortality was his Master, True Monarch You Qing. That old man lived by the principle of doing as he pleased, acting as himself without breaking the natural laws. He had no airs, wasn’t aloof, and held grudges fiercely. When it came to major issues of right and wrong, he saw things more clearly than anyone.

“Using a heap of superficial things to prove your Dao.” Dan Fusheng thought of Si Fenglang, that extremely repressed Crown Prince. “But you don’t even know what you truly are. It’s like children playing house—amusing to watch, but it collapses far too quickly.”

“You’re truly not a competent master. I treat your eldest disciple better than you do.” Dan Fusheng sighed.

As he lamented, everyone’s gaze converged on him. Si Fenglang, currently in the barrier, had tried to resist. Eventually, he gave up and embraced a life of apathy. To pass the time, he could only look at the early childhood picture books Dan Fusheng had left. Dan Fusheng’s barrier had no internet, so he had downloaded a stack of TV series for Si Fenglang to binge-watch. Now, the Crown Prince could even laugh at comedy variety shows.

“I’m very good at raising children!” Dan Fusheng claimed.

Others didn’t believe him.

“Junior brother! How was Senior Brother to you before he went down the mountain?” Dan Fusheng asked Chen Gui.

“Although a bit overly enthusiastic, Senior Brother was very good,” Chen Gui replied truthfully.

“Was your Inner Demon comforted by me?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s constantly egging me on to take your lover’s position,” Chen Gui frowned. “It feels like occupying just two spots isn’t secure enough.”

Dan Fusheng: “…Constantly egging you on?”

“Yes, like right now.” Chen Gui nodded. “It wants me to kiss you on the mouth and startle you.”

Dan Fusheng was silent. He glanced at the people around them; even Sikong Fang was stunned.

“If I kiss you, would you be startled?” Chen Gui asked.

Dan Fusheng nodded.

“To what extent?” Chen Gui pressed.

“I’d cover my face, scream, and leap to the side,” Dan Fusheng confessed.

Chen Gui lowered his gaze.

Dan Fusheng continued, “Then I’d worry if something was wrong with you and check the spiritual energy flow within your body.”

Chen Gui’s eyes widened.

Sikong Fang couldn’t help but say, “You two brothers are not normal.”

“Nonsense, we are perfectly normal!” Dan Fusheng patted Chen Gui’s head. “It’s your mind that’s too impure. Junior brother, isn’t that right?”

“Mm, you’re right…” Chen Gui still felt he shouldn’t trust Dan Fusheng too much. “Demon Lord.”

“See! My junior brother truly detests evil!”

“What’s the difference between that ‘Demon Lord’ and a pet name during sweet nothings?!” Sikong Fang found them bizarre. “Is this some kind of roleplay hobby?!”

Dan Fusheng thought for a moment. “That’s a new perspective.”

Sikong Fang: “I’m insulting you!!”

Dan Fusheng poked Chen Gui. “Junior brother, say it again.”

“No.”

“Just one more time.”

“No.”

“Fine~ Junior~ Bro~ ther~”

“Can you kick them out? I don’t want to watch this.” Sikong Fang frowned deeply. “It’s utterly disgusting.”