“Is A-Ji looking down on me?”
Liu Jingyun walked over while carrying a small dish of fried peanuts. As Chen Ji reached out to take one, Liu Jingyun raised his hand high and easily dodged his grasp.
“Why are you saying that out of nowhere? When have I ever looked down on you?” Chen Ji argued.
Qiu Lingzhou brought over a plate of sliced apples and placed them in front of Chen Ji. “Senior Brother, if you look down on Liu Dog, just say it is Liu Dog. Do not say ‘you all.'”
Chen Ji rolled his eyes at them while silently cursing their sensitivity. While he was indeed good to Feng Zhimu, it was not to the point of complete favoritism. After all, with one being the protagonist and the other the villain, he had to keep them both satisfied.
“Qiu Lingzhou, I forgot to tell you something,” Chen Ji said while taking a bite of an apple. “When we were earning money in the city, we ran into Sect Leader Shibo. He said we are free to descend for experience whenever we want without reporting to him. When do you plan to leave?”
Chen Ji waited for his answer while hoping for a break.
“Will Senior Brother be coming along?” Qiu Lingzhou asked.
Chen Ji immediately had a bad premonition as his brows furrowed. “Do not tell me you are going to say that if I do not go down, you won’t go down either.”
“It seems Liu Dog has already said those words. I am glad you understand, Senior Brother.”
“Why! Do you not want to see the world beyond Emerald Bamboo Peak? To meet talented people and strange masters?”
How is even the villain not following the plot? Chen Ji could not understand it.
“I do not want to,” Qiu Lingzhou responded bluntly. He looked at Chen Ji. “Since Senior Brother makes traveling sound so wonderful, why don’t you go?”
“I have to supervise Mumu’s cultivation. Besides, with my level of cultivation, going down the mountain is not called gaining experience; it is called looking for death!”
“A-Ji, come with me for experience. I will protect you,” Liu Jingyun added.
Chen Ji shook his head. He was dying for these two great deities to leave so he and Feng Zhimu could live a relaxed life on the peak. Following them around would be asking for trouble.
Liu Jingyun stated, “Then I will continue to stay at Emerald Bamboo Peak.”
Qiu Lingzhou added, “Me too.”
Fine, fine. Chen Ji gave up trying to persuade them. The children had grown up and had their own ideas; these two were clearly not daddy’s boys but rebellious to the core. Though the plot had drifted slightly from the original, Chen Ji firmly believed that a script written with the author’s malice would not be easily rewritten.
Chen Ji sent the two of them off to cook dinner. By the time they finished, Feng Zhimu had finished bathing. After the four of them enjoyed a harmonious meal, Chen Ji returned to his bedroom. Looking at the bed, he let out a long sigh of relief. Since the new houses were finished, he would likely only have to sleep with Feng Zhimu tonight.
Zhimu was small and would not take up much space. Chen Ji could finally have a comfortable night’s sleep without being squeezed. He lay down eagerly and pulled up the covers while waiting for the boy to arrive.
Just then, the door creaked open. Chen Ji turned his head with a smile, but his expression immediately collapsed when he saw Liu Jingyun entering with a pillow under his arm.
“Your house is finished! What are you doing back here!”
“Sleeping,” Liu Jingyun replied with stoic logic.
Chen Ji suppressed his rage. “Go sleep in your own room!”
“There is no bed.”
Chen Ji was speechless. “You went with me to buy the lumber! If I forgot, why did you not remind me?”
“A-Ji really does not care about me,” Liu Jingyun concluded decisively.
Chen Ji was left speechless by the accusation.
“Liu Dog, why are you here?”
Qiu Lingzhou entered while leading Feng Zhimu, both of them clutching pillows. Chen Ji was not even surprised to see him anymore.
“None of your business. Get out,” Liu Jingyun retorted coldly.
Qiu Lingzhou could not stand the slight, and killing intent immediately flared in his eyes.
“You lot… if you love my room so much, how about I just put all your beds in here tomorrow?” Chen Ji asked weakly.
The eyes of both Liu Jingyun and Qiu Lingzhou lit up as they replied in unison, “Okay!”
Their enthusiastic response made Chen Ji grit his teeth. “If you two wanted to spend every night in my room, why did you not say so from the start? If I had known, I would not have spent that silver on houses! I would have just bought two beds and thrown them in here!”
Liu Jingyun remained expressionless. “A-Ji, you should not be so clingy.”
Chen Ji stared at him. What nonsense was he talking now?
Liu Jingyun continued, “We also need our private space sometimes.”
Qiu Lingzhou added, “Senior Brother, I hate Liu Dog, but he is right about this.”
Chen Ji hissed through his teeth, “I really want to kill you both!”
Qiu Lingzhou placed his hands over Feng Zhimu’s ears. “Senior Brother, such vulgar language is a bad influence on the child.”
Chen Ji forced himself to swallow his anger. After living with these two unfilial sons for so many years, he was well aware of their ability to play the victim. He had to get used to it. After convincing himself to stay calm, his gaze toward them became significantly more benevolent.
“It is late. Are you sleeping or not? If you are, get over here now!”
He could not help it; the tone of his voice still betrayed his inner fury. Chen Ji decided to stop caring. He just gave up and let them do what they wanted. Fortunately, they stopped teasing him and settled onto the bed to sleep.
Because he had been so annoyed before bed, Chen Ji’s sleep was restless. He dreamed he was being chased by a ghost, the thing he feared most. The freezing chill of ghostly energy turned his feet to ice, making it impossible to run.
Suddenly, a piercing, bone-chilling pain shot up from his legs. The voice of Feng Zhimu rang in his ears, “Big Senior Brother, wake up quickly!”
The call was so real that Chen Ji snapped his eyes open.
“Big Senior Brother, we have to run!” Feng Zhimu shouted urgently.
Chen Ji stared blankly at the scene of devastation around him. Dark ghostly energy blanketed the area. The buildings around the courtyard were either collapsed or engulfed in flames.
Qiu Lingzhou was on the ground while clutching his abdomen as he struggled to stand. Liu Jingyun stood before them with his sword drawn and wounded; his white inner robe was stained with blood that looked like scattered plum blossoms.
Following Liu Jingyun’s gaze, Chen Ji saw a tall column of black mist. Within the mist, tattered robes flickered in the biting wind, and a pair of glowing red eyes stared coldly at them.
Chen Ji froze in terror. This was the Ghost King that had destroyed the original owner’s village! Why was this creature here? In the original novel, this monster never appeared again. Why was it here now?
“Feng Zhimu, is A-Ji awake?” Liu Jingyun asked, his voice rare with a hint of panic.
“He is awake! But he won’t move!” Feng Zhimu cried. “Big Senior Brother, we have to go! Second Senior Brother told us to go to Juyang Peak to find the Sect Leader! You have to move!”
Chen Ji wanted to move. However, the body’s fear of the Ghost King was too deep. Even though his mind screamed to run, his limbs remained paralyzed. His legs felt as if they were frozen in ice and too cold to control.
Suddenly, a force grabbed his ankle and yanked him away with a violent pull.
“Go? Go where?”
A low, raspy male voice echoed from within the black mist.