"When I was a dragon egg, my parents lost their lives in the disaster. It was Jun Yan who brought me back to the Dragon Palace and took good care of me."
Yuehua was reflected in the forest through the shadows of the swirling trees, Jun Ruzhuo leaned beside the tree trunk, her expression hidden in the darkness, and she couldn't see it clearly: "He was the first person I saw when I was born, and he named me , taught me to read, read, and practice martial arts. He said that he will always be my brother and will always protect me."
"Then why..." Feng Qi swallowed and his voice became a little rough, "Why... why did he become like this?"
Jun Ruzhuo did not answer, he raised the corners of his lips sarcastically, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "Jun Yan is extremely talented, he has been the favored son of heaven since he was born, how beautiful is infinite, in the whole immortal realm, no one dares to disrespect him. His Royal Highness. Speaking of which, it is not much different from the status of His Royal Highness Feng Er."
"But when it comes to your appearance, your cultivation and accomplishments, you are far worse than he was back then."
Feng Qi didn't care about the irony in this man's words and asked, "What happened to him?"
Jun Ruzhuo said: "Three hundred years ago, he left Lingyuan Sea to travel to the lower realm. In just three months, he came back and lost his Dragon Ball and lost half his life."
Feng Qi's eyes shrank suddenly: "Dragon Ball? How could the Dragon Ball be lost?"
"No one knows, he won't say it." Jun Ruzhuo said, "Dragon Ball is where the spiritual core is located, and it cannot be taken out of it. Jun Yan's cultivation base has reached the pinnacle in those days. Who do you think has the ability to take his Dragon Ball? "
A chill rushed from Feng Qi's back to the back of his head, and he said hoarsely, "You mean... he gave the Dragon Ball to someone else?"
"I can't think of any other possibilities." Jun Ruzhuo sneered, "Do you know what it means for a dragon to lose the Dragon Ball? It means that his roots and bones are completely destroyed, his cultivation base is completely lost, and he can no longer learn from it. Martial cultivation practice, can no longer restore the power of the past. It's ridiculous, the best descendant of the dragon family for hundreds of years has become a waste, it's really ridiculous... "
"Because of this, you drove him out of Lingyuan Sea?"
Jun Ruzhuo was strangely silent, and after a while, he continued: "I don't know what happened during that time. It seemed that something happened to Lingyuanhai at that time, but I was too young and was sent away from the Dragon Palace by them. I heard that my brother... After I heard that Jun Yan had an accident, I rushed back immediately, and I happened to bump into Jun Yan and injured the guard guarding him, and wanted to flee to the lower realm."
"I actually stopped him. I begged him to stay, and begged him to get the Dragon Ball back. Do you know what he said to me?"
"… what?"
"He said that Lingyuanhai can't hold him anymore." Jun Ruzhuo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "After his accident, his uncle was deeply distressed. He searched all over the world for good remedies and tried his best to save him, and I don't understand why he thinks that way. But maybe he's just such a stupid person who is so gullible."
"What's the meaning?"
"Because he told me then that he was going to meet someone."
In the past, the young Jun Yan stood on the coast, looking at the sea and the sky in the distance, but his pale and haggard face had a fresh look that Jun Ruzhuo had never seen in his life.
"A Zhuo, I'm waiting for someone." With the blue Lingyuan Sea reflected in his eyes, his smile was soft and calm, "When he returns, everything will return to the way it should have been."
"Who are you waiting for, who did you give the Dragon Ball to?"
"I can't tell." Jun Yan said, "But believe me, I know what I'm doing, and I will definitely come back."
"He had no cultivation at that time, and escaping from the Dragon Palace exhausted his last strength. It was me who led the pursuers and sent him to the lower realm. I thought he would come back." Jun Ruzhuo said, "Think about it now, I was as stupid as him at that time, and I actually believed his story. I would actually believe that the person who had only known him for less than three months and deceived him to the point of ruining his cultivation would come back."
Jun Ruzhuo's eyes were red, and his hoarse voice was full of hatred: "His Dragon Ball is a supreme treasure, as long as anyone gets it, he can immediately have the spiritual power of the sky and the earth. How could he be stupid? To believe that the man will give it back to him?"
Feng Qi's heart stinged without warning, and the fine pain almost made him breathless. But Jun Ruzhuo didn't notice his strangeness, and sneered: "I forgot to ask just now, I wonder if he regrets his stupidity after waiting for three hundred years."
No, he has no regrets.
Feng Qi closed his eyes, and suddenly the image of Ji Chaoyun retrieving the phoenix feathers appeared in his heart. That look of incomparably cherished and relieved expression was definitely not a look of regret.
He waited in vain for three hundred years, but until now, he still believes that the person who took his Dragon Ball will come back.
What made him believe this all the time
Jun Ruzhuo buried his face in his palm, as if to hide some emotion by this action. After a long while, he finally calmed down and continued to say slowly: "After Jun Yan defected, the Dragon King ordered him to be expelled from the Dragon Clan, and he will never return to Lingyuan Sea."
"I went to the lower realm to find him over the years, but I couldn't find him. Later, there were rumors that Jun Yan defected to the lower realm as a demon, and some people said that he was dead." Jun Ruzhuo suddenly smiled lightly. , his voice was heavy and sad, "... I would rather he is dead than to see him lingering on like this."
But he didn't.
Back then, the young man who was full of scars and lost his cultivation base, lingered in the world for more than 300 years, changed his name and surname, lost his immortal bones, fell into an immortal and turned into a demon, and once again ascended to this immortal realm again.
When Feng Qi returned to Wenqu Peak, the curfew time had already passed. He stepped into the familiar courtyard, stood beside the stone bridge, and looked across the water at the closed door of Ji Chaoyun's bedroom, as well as the dancing candles on the window.
Before Jun Ruzhuo told him the truth, he actually had some vague guesses in his heart.
Ji Chaoyun's innate temperament, his rejection and disgust towards Immortal Realm, and Jun Ruzhuo's extraordinary attitude towards him should not be something that a demon dragon who has just entered the Immortal Realm would have.
But the truth is still beyond his imagination.
Feng Qi didn't dare to think about how that person survived the three hundred years of waiting in the human world after betraying the Dragon Clan.
What has sustained him until now.
Who is he waiting for
An inexplicable and sharp stinging pain spread from the mouth of the heart, Feng Qi frowned, raised his hand and pressed it tightly against the mouth of the heart, even breathing became a little difficult.
Since he was conscious, he had never felt such an out-of-control emotion, unfamiliar, but like it should be.
There was a faint sound from the back of the house, pulling Feng Qi back from his chaotic thoughts. He walked around the house following the sound, and a thin figure stood in the spiritual field behind the house, bowing to water the spiritual grass.
Ji Chaoyun only wore a thin short jacket, with his cuffs rolled up, revealing a small section of his slender and white wrist bones. His long half-scattered hair was tied behind his head with a tie, and only a few strands fell on his forehead, which was a little more neat than before.
His plain white clothes and hands were stained with mud, and he looked rather embarrassed.
Feng Qi looked at him from a distance, his eyes were dry, and he couldn't say a word.
"What are you looking at?" Ji Chaoyun straightened up and asked suspiciously.
Feng Qi turned his eyes away like a cover, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "What are you doing?"
"Water your precious spirit grass, can't you see it?" Ji Chaoyun bent down and continued his previous actions, "You haven't taken care of your spirit field for a few days, these spirit plants are already delicate, why are you doing this? Might be able to survive."
"Why do you worry about so much, and you won't be compensated if you can't support yourself." Feng Qi asked, "Why didn't you go to practice tonight?"
"If you can't calm down, it's better to find something to do." Ji Chaoyun replied vaguely, and said, "Anyway, I'm here to work hard for you to pay off your debts. You said it yourself earlier that taking care of the spiritual field is three spirits. Shi, don't hold back."
Feng Qi whispered, "I don't really want you to pay it back."
"what?"
Feng Qi: "It cost 5,000 spirit stones to redeem your purse, Jiangcheng gave 3,000, and I asked Xu Zixing for another 2,000. He originally sold your purse for 1,000, and the remaining 1,000 was given to him. His lesson. We've cleared things up, you don't owe me."
Ji Chaoyun actually knew about this.
His Royal Highness Feng Er would never let himself suffer. From the very beginning, he never planned to pay the money himself. It's just that according to what he said before, blackmailing Jiang Cheng and Xu Zixing for compensation is his method, and the debt Ji Chaoyun owes him is another matter and cannot be counted together.
For this reason, Ji Chaoyun even felt that if His Royal Highness Feng Er really spent his savings one day, he would be able to live as a profiteer in the sea market.
Ji Chaoyun was still wondering why this person had changed his personality. Suddenly, he thought of something, and a sense of crisis arose in his heart. He asked cautiously, "Are you going to drive me away?"
"...No." Feng Qi frowned, "What are you thinking about all day, I am this kind of person?"
"It's hard to say." Ji Chaoyun's subordinates kept moving, but his tone was obviously more relaxed, "You don't know that it is recognized in the academy that the most elusive mind is you, who knows what you are thinking."
Feng Qi smiled lightly: "Then do you want to know what I'm thinking now?"
"what?"
"Come here and I'll tell you."
Ji Chaoyun glanced at him suspiciously, always feeling that something was wrong with this person tonight. But Feng Qi's expression didn't show the slightest clue. He considered for a moment, put down what was in his hand, and walked across the Lingtian to Feng Qi.
"Tell me, what are you-"
Before he could finish speaking, he was suddenly embraced by someone.
Feng Qi bent down and tightened his arms, as if to rub Ji Chaoyun into his arms.
He actually didn't know why he did this, but it seemed that the only way to offset the lingering pain in his heart that was like Ling Chi.
Ji Chaoyun froze in place, but he did not push the person away.
When the old friend met, he was far less calm than he had shown himself.
After so many years, those things have long been gone. He can make himself not think about the freedom of roaming in the sea of clouds, not to miss the superior life of the Dragon Palace in the deep sea, and not to regret the proud talent that will never be found.
But... Even if the old wound that couldn't heal over the years has become a habit, it still hurts to the bone when someone suddenly tore off a corner.
When you are in pain, someone can hug you, which is the best thing.
Ji Chaoyun let himself be buried in Feng Qi's arms, took a deep breath, and finally swept away the gloom that lasted all night. But Feng Qi still maintained the posture of hugging him, without any intention of letting go.
Ji Chaoyun frowned suspiciously, he said softly, his voice was a little dull because of his poor breathing: "Feng Qi."
"Ok?"
Ji Chaoyun thought about it, there was only one possibility for this person's mood to be so abnormal. He broke free from Feng Qi's arms and looked up at him: "Has Xianjun Tianshu finally made up his mind to kick you out of the academy?"
Feng Qi: "..."
He let go of the person, and his ears were slightly red: "No, what are you thinking?"
"I also want to know what you're thinking." Ji Chaoyun took a half step back, his expression also a little uncomfortable, "It's good, what do you do?"
"..." Feng Qi coughed lightly and said vaguely, "It's okay, I will reward you for your hard work in the middle of the night."
Ji Chaoyun looked at him without words.
The two were deadlocked for a while, and after a while, Ji Chaoyun said helplessly: "Forget it, I'll never understand what you're thinking, I'll go back to my room first."
"Wait." Feng Qi said, "Come with me first."
Feng Qi brought Ji Chaoyun to the door of his bedroom, entered the room, picked up a thin booklet from the desk, and handed it to him.
Ji Chaoyun asked, "What is this?"
"The solution to the secret trial."
Ji Chaoyun was ready to flip through the pages.
"Secret realm trials are the participation of both Xuanhuang and Huang level disciples. When entering the secret realm, according to the pre-divided teams, you will enter the first stage and break the formation. The Stone Man formation usually requires five to six people to break through. You only have three people, even if You have already cooperated perfectly now, but in terms of time and spiritual power consumption, it will be twice as much as others." Feng Qi pointed to the book in Ji Chaoyun's hand and said, "Unless I use my method."
Ji Chaoyun's eyes narrowed: "Did Senior Brother Song tell you?"
Feng Qi didn't answer, and continued: "I broke through the formation alone, and it took even less time than an ordinary team, but it requires a strong enough spiritual power. But the three of you..."
His voice stopped abruptly, and he couldn't say the words "insufficient spiritual power".
Feng Qi turned his eyes away and said, "The three of you cooperate in this way. If you don't make mistakes, you should be able to shorten the time to break the formation to the same level as a normal team."
"After defeating the Stone Man Array, you will be teleported to a different place for the second level, killing the evil."
Feng Qi said: "There are countless evil spirits scattered in the secret territory, and one point is awarded for each kill. In addition, there are five mysterious areas in the secret territory, and the guardian beasts in the secret territory are killed alone or together, and each person can be credited with ten points. After all five beasts have been slain, the secret realm assessment will be over, and the ranking will be based on the final score."
"...In addition to the method of cracking the stone formation, there is also a map of the secret realm, which marks the locations of all the mysteries, traps, and demons, as well as the possible haunts and solutions of the five mysterious areas."
Ji Chaoyun was silent for a moment and asked, "When did you prepare this?"
Feng Qi didn't expect him to ask such a question, and he didn't even think about it: "I wrote it a long time ago, I wrote it for myself, can't I?"
With his cultivation and talent, he naturally didn't need to write it for himself. This lie was a bit ridiculous.
Feng Qi quickly realized this, and said vaguely: "In short, take it back and write down a few key points. Even if the final ranking is not high, it will not fall to the third place."
But Ji Chaoyun shook his head and handed the book back to Feng Qi: "I can't take it."
"You—" Feng Qi instantly understood what he was thinking, and persuaded, "I know your concerns, but the secret realm assessment is about the teamwork and cultivation of the disciples, and many disciples will go to high-level disciples before the assessment. Asking about the situation in the secret territory is not a violation."
"Can the solution of the stone formation also be disclosed at will?" Ji Chaoyun asked.
Feng Qi was startled.
Ji Chaoyun said: "I understand your good intentions, but I can't keep relying on others to go on."
From leaving the Lingyuan Sea, to the three hundred years of tossing and turning in the mortal world, to degenerating into a demon, and ascending through calamity, he has never survived without relying on himself.
Feng Qi hated that iron was not steel: "Don't forget that if you fail the Ji Kao, you will be leaving the academy, haven't you always wanted to stay here?"
"I just believe that I can stay here on my own."
Ji Chaoyun touched the hot purse through the clothes, and the corner of his mouth raised a shallow arc. He raised his head, his eyes crossed the ridge of the roof, the stars in the sky were bright, and the moon was like a wash.
He knew that above this night sky, separated by the distance of the ninety-ninth layer of heaven, was the realm of the gods.
"Feng Qi, what I want to do is not just stay." Ji Chaoyun's eyes reflected the stars in the sky, and said softly, "I once thought that as long as I stood there and waited, I would definitely be able to wait for the things I wanted, and the people I wanted to see. But then I realized that besides waiting, I had another choice, and that was to find it myself."
"I want to go further. If I can't deal with it now, how can I get what I want?"
"Even if you take a detour, you won't regret it?"
Ji Chaoyun shook his head: "I only regret it once in my life."
"what?"
Ji Chaoyun: "I didn't come here three hundred years ago."
Feng Qi looked at him fixedly, and finally revealed the first sincere smile of the night: "Okay, then I wish you all your wishes."
Five days later, the quarterly exam officially began.
The author has something to say:
Sorry for the long wait, this chapter is more difficult to write than I thought, it took me a day and a night to write _(:з"∠)_
The events of the past life will slowly unfold, and the characters' behavior will be explained. And, in fact, I don't feel very abusive, is it really abusive? [soft voice