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Chapter 42: I Just Like It

After the rain cleared, Chen Moqing walked through the corridor as usual, a mewling, mumbling little snow-white beast perched atop his head, when he heard voices talking up ahead in the corridor.

"Auntie Lan, that person shouldn't be trusted so easily. If he really were an old friend of Sister Shuang's, how could he not produce a single token of hers as proof…"

"I think his background is unclear, there must be something suspicious going on…"

Chen Moqing walked past calmly. The man in silk robes, who had been holding Auntie Lan back to talk, was caught off guard at the sight of him and froze on the spot.

Cang Shun cast an indifferent glance over. That mortal stood rooted for a few seconds, something shifting slightly in his eyes, and then, of all things, stepped forward to block their path.

"My name is Yue Jianjiang, nephew to the master of this estate," the man in silk robes said, all smiles, speaking with great politeness. "Might I ask this young immortal master's honorable surname?"

Chen Moqing said, "No need for honorifics. Tu Xun."

"So it's Young Immortal Master Tu—my apologies, my apologies!" Yue Jianjiang cupped his hands together, bowing slightly up and down, his eyes fixed the whole time on the face of the person before him. "Such fine, clear weather today. I wonder if the young immortal master might be willing to join me…"

Cang Shun's eyes narrowed.

A crack of thunder!

Lightning struck, and a torrential downpour dumped itself squarely over Yue Jianjiang where he stood in the corridor, instantly soaking him into a drowned rat.

Chen Moqing said mildly, "Young Master Yue had best go change his clothes."

With that, he walked on ahead, lifting the little snow-white beast down from atop his head, meeting the Demon Emperor's utterly self-righteous gaze.

Cang Shun tilted his head up slightly.

What?

Chen Moqing lightly scratched the little snow-white beast under its chin: "No need to go after mortals."

【I didn't do anything to him】

Cang Shun declared this with complete conviction, pressing his chin down against Chen Moqing's fingers.

After a moment, he added: 【I don't like it when someone stares at you with schemes in mind】

Chen Moqing lowered his eyes and smiled at him.

Cang Shun: 【……】

That smile was really lovely.

The Demon Emperor fell silent, staring fixedly at the young human the whole while.

Over the next two days, throughout Qingyue Prefecture and within a hundred li of Yao Kingdom's imperial capital, Chen Moqing searched everywhere with Cang Shun in tow, but found no trace of Senior Xingyun's hidden realm.

He was in no hurry, cultivating as usual—each day setting aside some time to have Cang Shun spar with him, and spending the rest immersed in the study of talismans and formations.

Cang Shun found that he quite liked days like these. In the mortal realm, there weren't so many pesky demonic beasts to deal with, and it seemed as though all the trivial matters of the world had drifted away from them—this person's heart and eyes were filled with nothing but him... and his cultivation.

A fine rain cooled the breeze drifting past the window frames. Chen Moqing sat quietly atop a great fluffy ball, focused intently on drawing talismans.

It wasn't that he'd chosen to sit here rather than on the bed—it was that a certain Demon Emperor had taken to squeezing in beside him lately, and taking full advantage of his own great size, would lie down and sprawl out like a thick, fluffy blanket, occupying the entire bed, leaving him with no choice but to sit on him instead.

That fluffy thick blanket, warm and cozy, seemed to have no real downsides—aside from occasionally turning clingy and nuzzling into him everywhere.

Another day passed, and Madam Yue personally came to knock on their door. Within half an hour, Chen Moqing, carrying the little snow-white beast, boarded a carriage and set out with her.

Prince Ning of the capital, younger brother of Yao Kingdom's ruler, had invited several noble clans to a banquet, where they would receive a blessing from an immortal.

The Yue family was a once-declining noble clan of Yao Kingdom; ever since Yue Zhaoshuang had been taken away by a great cultivation sect twenty years ago, the Yue family's standing had risen considerably. The current head of the family was none other than Madam Yue, named Yue Nianxi, whose daughter carried her mother's surname—rumor in the community had it that her husband had passed away long ago.

The Prince Ning estate was magnificent beyond measure. Chen Moqing followed behind Madam Yue, introduced to outsiders simply as her distant nephew, his own cultivation suppressed down to early Qi Refinement stage—in the eyes of others, he appeared to be nothing more than a young man of quiet, refined bearing, the only unusual thing about him being the little white tiger on his shoulder.

The banquet was held in the estate's garden. As they took their seats, Chen Moqing sensed a gaze land on him, and turned his head slightly, meeting another pair of eyes.

It was a youth of no more than seventeen or eighteen, dressed in blue, his bright, star-like eyes fixed on him. He grinned at Chen Moqing.

Early Qi Refinement stage.

Everyone else at the banquet was a mortal—only that youth, like him, was a cultivator, his expression carrying a touch of self-satisfied pride, clearly having taken Chen Moqing, also at the Qi Refinement stage, for one of his own kind, and glancing his way again and again.

Cang Shun: "……"

The little snow-white beast leapt onto the table, and began glaring across at the youth.

The youth's eyes widened slightly, looking quite astonished, and his glances this way only grew more frequent.

The people around him also noticed the youth's behavior, and out of confusion or curiosity, quite a few people ended up looking over toward Chen Moqing as well.

Cang Shun: "?"

Chen Moqing calmly raised his sleeve, gathering up the growling little fluffball beneath it, and heard Madam Yue beside him give a soft laugh: "When Shuang'er was five, she kept a little white cat too. The day she left home, she held that kitten and cried for a long while, making me promise to take good care of it until she came back."

"Only... that little cat passed away some years ago." She sighed faintly, rubbing the porcelain vial tucked in her sleeve that held the pills, and perhaps thinking of her daughter, a faint smile rose at the corners of her mouth once more.

Cang Shun glanced over, gently resting a paw on the back of Chen Moqing's hand: 【The chronic illness in her body has been resolved, the medicine's effects fully absorbed. If you tell her now, even in her grief it won't do too much harm to her health】

Chen Moqing's lashes stirred faintly: "I know. These next two days, then."

In this world, there was never truly a way to have both. Even if Wu Hao were slain, the souls within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner could never return.

"The Crown Prince arrives—"

An announcement rang out, and the banquet stirred to life—it was none other than Yao Kingdom's Crown Prince himself, arriving in person. Soon, Prince Ning and the young Crown Prince came forward together, hand in hand, and the feast began, though still no immortal had appeared.

Chen Moqing picked up a piece of osmanthus fish with his chopsticks and set it on the plate in front of Cang Shun, catching sight from the corner of his eye of the blue-robed youth who had kept glancing at him earlier now leaving his seat without a word. Not long after, the Crown Prince of Yao Kingdom also excused himself, claiming he wished to admire the flowers.

A cultivator behaving strangely at a mortal banquet—just in case, Chen Moqing let his spirit spread outward.

Deep among the rockery in the back garden, someone spoke in a low voice.

"Yao'er, why do you keep avoiding me and refuse to see me?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please conduct yourself with dignity. Don't forget, you already have a Crown Princess."

"I have already made my heart's intent clear to Father Emperor! It must be you, and no one else!"

"…What? Have you lost your mind! Giving up your position as Crown Prince!"

"So long as you remain by my side, I could give up everything!"

"…I have already taken an immortal elder as my master. Next month, I will be leaving this place... Immortals and mortals walk different paths. Your Highness, please take care of yourself."

"What's so good about cultivating immortality! Once you get there you'll be nothing more than an ordinary disciple. Stay by my side instead, and you'll stand above ten thousand people in Yao Kingdom, what honor could compare!"

"Your High—"

The voice cut off abruptly, and a peculiar sound suddenly rose up. Chen Moqing's expression remained unchanged as he withdrew his spirit at once.

Cang Shun glanced at him, a teasing look in his eyes, and let out a soft laugh.

Chen Moqing crooked a knuckle and gave the little snow-white beast's skull a light knock.

The little snow-white beast's head bobbed slightly from the tap. Its round beast eyes widened a little, and it lifted a paw to cradle its own head, looking up at Chen Moqing.

Chen Moqing met its gaze.

The corner of his mouth curved up faintly, and he tapped that fluffy little head once more.

Cang Shun: "……"

The little snow-white beast huffily wrapped itself around that hand, pinning it beneath its soft belly, lying flat on top of it, turning into a single unmoving little ball of fluff.

The banquet was more than half over, and the Crown Prince still had not returned. Prince Ning turned his head slightly, casting a glance toward the guard at his side.

The guard slipped away without a sound. Only moments later, the beating of wings sounded one after another, and a line of white cranes flew across the garden, drawing startled exclamations from the crowd.

Seated atop one of the white cranes was an elderly man in white robes with white hair, his beard and hair drifting in the wind, every bit the bearing of an immortal sage.

"It's an immortal!"

"Heavens, how many years has it been since anyone's seen an immortal!"

Chen Moqing's gaze swept over him—a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement.

The white-robed elder descended gracefully upon his crane. Prince Ning rose to greet him, saying with a smile, "With an immortal's protection, our Yao Kingdom shall surely thrive for a thousand generations to come. I humbly ask the immortal elder to bestow his blessing upon the people of our kingdom."

"No rush, no rush."

The white-robed elder raised a hand indifferently, and two young, beautiful attendants immediately stepped forward, supporting him on either side.

"These past few nights, this old one has observed the stars, and seen an ill-omened star lurking faintly. I fear demonic evil may have infiltrated the imperial capital of Yao Kingdom."

Amid another wave of startled exclamations, Chen Moqing calmly raised his chopsticks and picked up a slice of cured ham.

A plate of eight-treasure duck was pushed toward his hand by a furry paw.

【This one's good】 Cang Shun said. 【Eat more of it】

At the head of the banquet, Prince Ning furrowed his brow slightly: "May I ask the immortal elder, is there a way to drive out this demonic evil?"

"That, naturally, is our duty as cultivators—the protection of all living beings is a responsibility we cannot shirk." The white-robed elder closed his eyes slightly, his aged fingers moving as though calculating something, "Since everyone is gathered here today, let me see who among you carries the taint of demonic evil upon them…"

Madam Yue, seated in a lower position, furrowed her brow faintly and shifted forward without a word, blocking Chen Moqing beside her slightly from view.

The elder opened his eyes: "Found it—it's him!"

He pointed at Madam Yue, then moved his finger to point at Chen Moqing beside her, then shifted once more, finally pointing directly at what sat on the table before Chen Moqing—at Cang Shun.

"The demonic evil is here!"

Cang Shun's brow arched slightly.

In everyone's eyes, the little white tiger showed no reaction at all, head lowered, unhurriedly picking the bones out of a piece of fish on its plate.

Beside it, the young man in white robes with dark hair, fingers resting on the table, lifted his eyes without a word.

The elder met that clear, calm, unruffled gaze, and for some reason his heart gave a sudden violent lurch, as though he were a traveler who had wandered by mistake into some deep mountain forest, and stumbled upon a fierce serpent lurking in a bottomless pool.

Having lived over eighty years, he forced himself to keep his composure, saying with feigned steadiness, "If you don't believe me, throw it into a raging fire, if it is burned by the flames and yet remains unharmed, then it is demonic evil!"

His firm, resounding words rang out across the banquet. When everyone turned their heads again, they saw the man in white sitting calmly, unmoving, and heard only a light laugh: "I'd say you look rather like demonic evil yourself, why don't we test you the same way."

"And if you're fortunate enough to be buried in the flames, I'll pay two taels of silver to find you a decent coffin."

His laughter was refined and pleasant to the ear, but to the elder, it sent a cold sweat breaking out across his whole body on the spot.

…This person's cultivation was clearly nothing more than early Qi Refinement! Why did he feel so unsettled?!

The elder took half a step back, his eyes involuntarily flicking to one side, where he saw Prince Ning standing, watching him with an expression that was almost, but not quite, a smile: "Immortal elder?"

"Immortal elder, this is my nephew, most certainly not demonic evil." Madam Yue rose to her feet, her tone gentle, her gaze fixed steadily on the elder's eyes. "If you intend to use such a dangerous method, I absolutely will not allow it."

The elder thought to himself, and who do you think you are, his expression tightening as he was about to speak, when Prince Ning beside him said languidly, "What are you saying, Clan Head Yue? If you yourself vouch for him personally, then who among those present could possibly doubt him. I imagine, then, that in the future the capital won't see any incidents of demonic evil harming people, or even devouring them, without cause."

Madam Yue said with a smile, "Beneath the feet of the Son of Heaven, where the dragon's aura runs vast and mighty, and with Prince Ning's own troops patrolling in force, the people of the capital are all under your protection, how could there possibly be any demonic evil harming anyone here?"

Prince Ning gave a soft chuckle, and as he turned, his gaze swept past the elder without a trace.

The elder's heart trembled, and beneath his sleeve, his hand clenched at once.

A fireball ignited, tracing a long, straight line through the air, hurtling at tremendous speed toward the little snow-white beast on the table!

Madam Yue felt a wave of heat surging toward her and, without thinking, raised her arm to shield herself—

A gentle voice fell beside her ear: "Madam, be careful."

Behind her, Chen Moqing set down his teacup, the base of the white porcelain cup tapping lightly against the table.

Blazing fire erupted, shooting straight up toward the ceiling. Amid the crowd's horrified gazes, the raging flames, like some savage beast let loose from its cage, turned and bit straight into the white-robed elder!

The searing flames burned through his robes, beard, and hair, catching him alight. The elder let out an anguished wail, rolling again and again across the ground, until Prince Ning called for water and several basins were dumped over his head, sending up a plume of black smoke as the last of the flames were finally extinguished.

The elder collapsed to the ground, not dead, but nearly burned to a crisp.

The banquet fell into dead silence. Prince Ning's eyes were dark and unreadable, fixed only on a spot of ground two inches before him.

A light, unhurried laugh rang out, and everyone heard the gentle words of the white-robed man seated calmly among them: "How kind of the immortal elder, he's just saved me two taels of silver for a coffin."

In front of everyone present, he lifted the little white tiger up with one arm, his white robes drifting behind him, and walked straight out of the banquet without a backward glance.

...

The banquet dispersed. Prince Ning sat at the head of the hall without a word, while below him the elder, hands trembling, pulled a vial of pills from his sleeve and swallowed most of them, saying through the pain, "That man plotted well, he actually concealed his true strength! He's certainly not merely early Qi Refinement. He must be mid-stage—no! He could very well be late Qi Refinement stage, the same as me!"

"Rest assured, Your Highness, I will write to my grandmaster at once and ask him to come and eliminate this demonic cultivator!"

"Oh? The Immortal Tianhe is a Foundation Establishment master of great ability. If he takes action, this king is naturally at ease." Prince Ning said with a smile, "Everything rests upon the immortal master, then. Someone, escort the immortal elder back to his room to rest."

...

Inside the carriage, a little snow-white beast leapt up and down, one moment clinging to the window, the next bounding up onto the roof of the carriage, sticking to it with astonishing tenacity, a slender tail dangling and swaying below.

Chen Moqing tugged at the slender tail hanging before him, and the little ball of fluff dropped down at once, tumbling straight into his arms.

It wriggled about, rubbing its fluffy back against him.

Chen Moqing crooked his fingers slightly, rubbing that soft belly: "Why is Mimi so happy?"

Cang Shun looked at him, saying nothing, his eyes curving into crescents.

This was the first time he had seen this person get so angry.

Angry for his sake.

The Demon Emperor's tail swished back and forth rapidly, gently catching hold of the young human's hand.

Chen Moqing's fingertips paused, as though sensing something, and he drew his hand back slightly—

Cang Shun held his hand fast, refusing to let go, and lowered his head, and under the gaze of those deep, dark eyes, pressed a light kiss to those pale fingertips.

Chen Moqing: "……"

His expression remained composed, not the least bit flustered: "Hungry again?"

Cang Shun lifted his eyes, gazing at him steadily.

The next instant, the little snow-white beast vanished, and the devastatingly handsome black-haired man appeared before Chen Moqing. The single-seat carriage grew cramped and confined at once with the Demon Emperor's tall frame, and he raised an arm, trapping the young human against his own chest.

Those sharp, keen eyes curved slightly, like a crescent moon. Cang Shun lowered his head once more, cradling Chen Moqing's fingertips little by little, pressing his knuckles against them, not allowing him to pull away, and then—kissed his knuckles again.

He lifted his eyes, gazing at him with a bright smile: "Not hungry. I just like it."

Chen Moqing: "……"

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