Looking at the bright eyes of the person in his arms, the Master of the Earthly Realm couldn’t help laughing helplessly: “What? Have you grown tired of staying in the Heavenly Realm?” Which was why he picked any random pretext just to use it as an excuse to leave the Heavenly Realm.
Had he not mentioned it, it would have been fine, but saying it like this made the Little Young Master unable to resist throwing a tantrum at him: “Why don’t you look at what kind of situation it was at the Realm Gate today?” This man hadn’t set foot in the Heavenly Realm for nearly three hundred years. As the saying goes, rarity gives value; hearing that he was coming today was precisely why so many immortals had gathered at the Realm Gate.
Hearing this, the Master of the Earthly Realm said in confusion: “What about the Realm Gate? This Master had thoughts on my mind and didn’t pay attention to anything else.” As for who was on his mind, everyone naturally knew.
The Little Young Master: “…These three hundred years, were you hanging around with that fellow Luo Xie all the time?” Which was why he had learned to speak whole mouthfuls of nonsensical gibberish and slick-tongued banter!
Hearing this, the Master of the Earthly Realm chuckled softly, pulling him by the waist as they walked into the inner palace chamber, saying as they walked: “That is indeed true. The mishap that occurred on Luo Xie’s side this time was quite massive, which was why it took a bit longer to deal with.”
However, hearing this, the Little Young Master was quite dissatisfied: “What matter requires delaying you for three hundred years? If that’s the case, what use is he? I see he’s grown tired of sitting in the position of the Master of the Demon Realm and wants to swap with someone else!”
Listening to this, the Master of the Earthly Realm merely looked at the Little Young Master and smiled: “Some demon qi from the Demon Realm escaped. It wasn’t a major issue originally, but it entangled both the Dao Realm and the Mortal Realm, which was why it consumed more time, that’s all.”
Yet the moment his voice fell, the Little Young Master froze in his tracks. Turning his head, he looked at him fixedly and asked: “Is it related to me?” Demon qi escaping from the Demon Realm wasn’t running amok for the first day; in the past, even when it ran amok across the whole world, the Master of the Demon Realm, Luo Xie, could handle it. When had it ever required the Master of the Earthly Realm to step in personally? Matters that required the personal intervention of two Realm Masters were generally related to Heaven and Earth; since it was related to Heaven and Earth, and the Little Young Master was the Child of Heaven and Earth, that was equivalent to being related to the Little Young Master.
However, the Master of the Earthly Realm shook his head and denied his question: “What relation could it have with you? When you find an opportunity later, go ask that Luo Xie whether he no longer wants the exalted position of Master of the Demon Realm due to his lack of ability.”
The Little Young Master had intended to observe the Master of the Earthly Realm’s expression, but failing to see any clue on his face, he had no choice but to drop the matter for the time being, turning instead to say: “Coming this time, are you going to take me to live in the Earthly Realm for a while?”
During their conversation, the two had already arrived at the inner chamber. The Master of the Earthly Realm didn’t answer; instead, extending a long arm, he pulled the person to sit on the long daybed in the inner chamber. Only after examining him carefully from top to bottom did he speak: “Let me take a good look—not having seen you for three hundred years, the Little Young Master doesn’t seem to have changed at all?”
Hearing this, the Little Young Master merely looked at him with a deadpan expression: “No, this Young Master has bloomed.”
The Master of the Earthly Realm was confused: “What is the meaning of this?”
The Little Young Master raised his chin slightly, looking at him sideways as he said: “Can it be that the Realm Master doesn’t know that the immortal plants of the Immortal Realm bloom once every three hundred years, bear fruit once every three hundred years, and take another three hundred years to mature? Right now, exactly one three-hundred-year period has passed. The Realm Master came early, which is why only a single flower has bloomed.”
The Master of the Earthly Realm paused, subsequently unable to stop himself from lowering his head and laughing deeply: “Then let me take a look—where has this flower bloomed?”
As he spoke, he reached out to unhook the Little Young Master’s bound hair, only to be slapped away by the Little Young Master in one go. Seeing that the person was widening his eyes and about to fly into a rage, he finally dropped his joke and said solemnly: “Naturally, I came to pick you up. You can go wherever you wish; in any case, I will accompany you for a while.”
Hearing this, the Little Young Master’s face eased slightly. Thinking for a moment, he said: “In that case, let’s return to the Earthly Realm first.” Using “return” was naturally because he also had a residence in the Earthly Realm. It was just that according to customary rule, when the Master of the Earthly Realm was not in the Earthly Realm, he had to live in the Heavenly Realm; if the Master of the Heavenly Realm was not in the Heavenly Realm, he had to go stay in the Earthly Realm. In short, during these sixteen hundred years since his birth, the two Realm Masters had never gone out at the same time.
The Master of the Earthly Realm naturally had no objection: “Then after we speak with Tian Qian in a moment, we shall set off?”
Only at this point did the Little Young Master finally display a slight smile, nodding his head: “Good!”
The two sat and chatted for a while longer until the Master of the Heavenly Realm, having waited too long, sent them several messages in a row. Only then did the two rise, leave Yunqi, and head toward the Cloud Chamber where the Master of the Heavenly Realm was located.
The Master of the Heavenly Realm had been staying in the Cloud Chamber quite comfortably, savoring the Heavenly Spirit Tea that the Immortal Realm’s Immortal Plant Garden had spent ten thousand years cultivating, with unique spirit foods from Yunxiang Palace laid out by his hand. The origin of these spirit foods was by no means small. Immortals naturally had no need to consume food; even if they did eat, they merely consumed some spiritual fruits or immortal pills that contained spiritual qi. However, the Little Young Master’s Yunxiang Palace was vastly different. Because the Little Young Master favored mortal realm delicacies, the Master of the Mortal Realm would always seek out human delicacies, painstakingly ponder over the recipes, cook them using the precious materials and treasures of the Immortal Realm, and finally send them to Yunxiang Palace.
These delicacies were naturally extraordinarily delicious and packed with spiritual qi. Furthermore, they were unique in heaven and earth, with no extra duplicates, making them all the more precious.
The moment the Little Young Master entered the Cloud Chamber, he spotted those pastries. He immediately raised a hand, intending to retrieve the pastries, but unexpectedly, the Master of the Heavenly Realm moved at lightning speed, stashing the delicacies into his pocket one step ahead of him. To top it off, he didn’t forget to drain the immortal tea in his cup in one gulp before looking toward the Little Young Master and smiling: “Don’t be so stingy. You’re surely not planning to take these delicacies along to the Earthly Realm too, are you?”
The Little Young Master flicked his sleeves, pulling the Master of the Earthly Realm down to sit beside him, saying as a matter of course: “These were all made personally by Taihao; I naturally intend to take them along. If you want them, go speak to Taihao yourself.” Taihao was the name of the Master of the Mortal Realm.
Hearing this, the Master of the Heavenly Realm instantly knitted his brows, waving his hand repeatedly: “That brat Taihao is far too noisy; this Master is not at all willing to say much to him.”
Seeing that he refused to cooperate like this, the Little Young Master immediately formed a hand seal, saying: “If that’s the case, then I’ll let Taihao know that the delicacies he gave me were snatched by Tian Qian, so he should think about making some more for me.”
As he spoke, he was about to tap his Immortal Token. Seeing him like this, the Master of the Heavenly Realm hastily waved his hand to stop him: “How about this—you gift these pastries to me, and this Master will take charge of the Earthly Realm’s affairs for a while!” Compared to having the Master of the Mortal Realm barge through his door to nag noise into his ears, doing more work was far easier and lighter. In any case, no matter what, he would not yield the delicacies that had entered his pocket.
The moment these words were spoken, the Little Young Master withdrew the immortal seal from his hand. Yet his other hand still held the Immortal Token as he looked at the Master of the Heavenly Realm and asked: “Take charge for how long?” If Tian Qian took charge of the Earthly Realm’s affairs, then a certain someone could accompany him properly to travel around various places, which would naturally be for the absolute best.
Pondering briefly, the Master of the Heavenly Realm gritted his teeth and spoke: “One year!”
The Little Young Master, who had thought he ought to take charge for at least a century: “…Are you joking with me?”
The Master of the Heavenly Realm bore a serious expression: “As the grand Master of the Heavenly Realm, how could this Master utter playful words?”
The Little Young Master smiled: “Since that’s the case, then this Young Master had better speak with the Master of the Mortal Realm after all.”
The Master of the Heavenly Realm’s face instantly collapsed: “…Xiaoshi, then you tell me—how long should I take charge?”
The Little Young Master had already calculated it in his mind long ago. Hearing this, he said: “Di Kun spent three hundred years this time; you can take charge a bit less—one thousand years will do.”
The Master of the Heavenly Realm: “…” The Master of the Earthly Realm spent three hundred years, so he, the Master of the Heavenly Realm, taking charge “a bit less” actually meant taking charge for one thousand years?! A certain Little Young Master had surely never learned arithmetic before!
The Little Young Master raised his eyes to look at him sideways: “What? Are you unwilling?” Saying so, he was about to cast an incantation into his Immortal Token.
Helpless, the Master of the Heavenly Realm had no choice but to look at the Master of the Earthly Realm off to the side, saying wrathfully: “You handle him!”
Hearing this, the Master of the Earthly Realm curved his lips slightly, speaking as if it were none of his concern: “I haven’t been to the Heavenly Realm for a long time; you were the one taking care of him these three hundred years. How could I handle him?”
The Master of the Heavenly Realm: “…” He was merely looking after him; how could he possibly handle this ancestor!
“Xiaoshi, the one who didn’t return for three hundred years wasn’t your Qian Brother. Every debt has its debtor; if you want to throw a tantrum, you must direct it at the debtor!”
The Little Young Master paused, feeling that the Master of the Heavenly Realm’s words made quite a bit of sense. Just as he was about to speak again, he felt a warmth on his hand. The Master of the Earthly Realm beside him reached out to hold him, looking toward the Master of the Heavenly Realm instead as he spoke: “How about one hundred years?”
One hundred years was still far too long! The affairs of these two realms were so numerous; usually, just handling the affairs of the Heavenly Realm kept him busy enough. Now, to take charge of the Earthly Realm’s affairs for another hundred years—wouldn’t that demand his old life! The Master of the Heavenly Realm instinctively wanted to refuse, but meeting the Master of the Earthly Realm’s pair of pitch-black eyes, his heart sank slightly, and he had no choice but to reluctantly agree: “Fine then…”
The Master of the Earthly Realm nodded slightly, turning to say to the Little Young Master beside him: “One hundred years is already the limit. Any longer, and Tian Qian will cry.”
Hearing this, the Little Young Master pictured the Master of the Heavenly Realm weeping bitter tears, feeling amused in his heart. The one thousand years he had mentioned earlier was merely a casual remark anyway; this one hundred years happened to sit right on the bottom line of his expectations. Thus, he nodded lightly and said: “Then one hundred years it is.”
The Master of the Earthly Realm nodded: “Then shall we still head to the Earthly Realm today?”
The Little Young Master said as a matter of course: “Naturally we must, now that Tian Qian knows.” As he spoke, he summoned Mo Yu to ask: “Is everything packed and settled?”
Mo Yu nodded and replied: “We have been preparing ever since receiving the news today; right now, everything is naturally packed and settled.” The Master of the Earthly Realm had come in person—how could the Little Young Master still sit still in this Heavenly Realm? Thus, as soon as he heard that the Master of the Earthly Realm was coming, he set about packing luggage and items, settling everything one by one before the three entered Yunxiang Palace earlier.
Hearing this, the Little Young Master nodded with satisfaction, adding: “You haven’t seen Bai Yu for a long time either; come along with me to the Earthly Realm as well.”
Just like the Heavenly Realm, the Earthly Realm also contained a residence for the Little Young Master named Yunrui Hall. It was land personally demarcated and a palace structure personally built by the Master of the Earthly Realm. The chief attendant of Yunrui Hall was named Bai Yu, a close friend of Mo Yu.
Hearing this, Mo Yu was naturally delighted, bowing as he said: “Then your subordinate shall go arrange the affairs within Yunxiang Palace.” As the chief attendant of Yunxiang Palace, since he was leaving with the Young Master, there were naturally many matters that needed to be properly handed down.
The Little Young Master waved his hand in agreement, then seeing an attendant serve another platter of pastries, he reached out, pinched one, and delivered it before the Master of the Earthly Realm, saying: “Taste this.”
Leaning toward the Little Young Master’s hand, the Master of the Earthly Realm lowered his head slightly and took the pastry into his mouth. The pastry naturally overflowed with spiritual qi and was extremely easy to swallow. After savoring it carefully, he suddenly leaned close to the Little Young Master and sniffed lightly, saying: “Why is it somewhat similar to the scent on your body?”
The Little Young Master was just picking up a piece of pastry to pop into his mouth. Hearing this, he couldn’t help smiling brightly, chewing the pastry in his mouth as he answered indistinctly: “Is it delicious?”
The Master of the Earthly Realm nodded. Just as the Master of the Heavenly Realm reached out to take a pastry, he picked up the small dish holding the pastries one step ahead. Under the Master of the Heavenly Realm’s wrathful gaze, he pinched a pastry, delivered it into his mouth, and smiled: “Made personally by Chushi, it is naturally the one and only delicacy in this world.”
Hearing this, the Little Young Master raised his brows slightly, asking him: “How did you judge that it was made by me?”
The Master of the Earthly Realm’s gaze rested on his joyful eyes. Suddenly reaching out, he hooked the hand resting by the Little Young Master’s side, lifting his lustrous fingertips to his nose to sniff lightly, saying: “These fingers haven’t touched the pastries, yet they bear the faint fragrance of those pastries. If not made personally by you, how could this fragrance come to be?”
The light breath fell upon his fingertips, causing the patch of skin on them to warm slightly. The Little Young Master curled his knuckles slightly, twisting his wrist lightly to pull his hand back, laughing as he scolded: “Are you a dog’s nose?!”
The Master of the Earthly Realm merely looked at him, shallowly curving his lips, saying no more