Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Lu Xiao was floored.

Even he hadn’t expected that Qin Zhou would turn out to be the village head who had raised his father.

But soon, he recovered and shot a look at his Uncle Wen.

Truly, only his Uncle Wen could top this.

At most, he had only slept with his father’s little disciple—nothing compared to Uncle Wen, who… *tch*, let's not go there.

Wen Jue: "..."

Did this brat not get beaten enough last time?

While the two exchanged glances, Lu Qi had already begun his apology tour.

"The Fertility Pill—I was the one who asked Lu Yi to get it for me. Punish me then, Chief."

"We’ll talk about this later," Qin Zhou said. "Now isn’t the time for such matters. What do you plan to do with these?"

He was referring to the corpses.

"Cut open their energy cores, extract and drain their cultivation cores, then free their souls. That way, they won’t miss their chance to be men in their next life," Wen Jue replied.

A Spirit Ball floated beside him, filled with spiritual energy drained from the cores of those so-called righteous cultivators. He still had other uses for it.

Once the task was done, Wen Jue said, "Lu Qi, Lu Xiao, go collect the rest of the corpses in this hidden realm. Xiao Yibai, you help too."

"And you?"

"I’m going to claim what's mine," Wen Jue said, glancing at Qin Zhou.

Qin Zhou chuckled. "No rush."

"Well, I sure am!" Wen Jue snapped. "I haven’t kept a single thing of yours for myself."

Qin Zhou: "Fine. Shall I come with you?"

"Up to you."

Qin Zhou could only sigh.

Seeing this, Lu Qi grabbed Lu Xiao with one hand and Xiao Yibai with the other. "Then, Chief, we’ll get going. Next time, I’ll bring Lu Xiao to pay proper respects to you."

"Goodbye, Chief!" Xiao Yibai said.

"Mm."

Having figured things out, Lu Xiao perked up. "Grandpa, I’ll come see you again next time!"

Even Qin Zhou was stunned by the sudden address of "Grandpa." He nodded. "...Alright."

And so, they went their separate ways.

As Qin Zhou and Wen Jue walked off together, Lu Xiao’s voice could still be made out in the distance—

"Dad, so how should I call Uncle Wen from now on? Do we each keep to our own terms, or do we go by Grandpa’s ranking…?"

Lu Qi was speechless: "Don’t count your chickens before they hatch—just hold on for now!"

Not even the first stroke of the character 'eight'?

Qin Zhou thought to himself that Lu Qi was indeed right.

Wen Jue led Qin Zhou out of the mystic realm without saying a word, keeping his head down as he walked. His pace wasn’t too fast, just enough for Qin Zhou, a low-level Cultivator at the Golden Core stage, to keep up.

Qin Zhou assumed the warehouse couldn’t be too far, otherwise Wen Jue wouldn’t have chosen to walk.

Sure enough, the location was even somewhat familiar to Qin Zhou—

Back then, Qin Zhou couldn’t see it, but now, with a wave of Wen Jue’s hand, a staircase leading straight into the clouds appeared beneath their feet.

What was hidden in the clouds was also familiar to Qin Zhou—

A massive seal stone.

The stone responsible for isolating the upper and lower realms.

No matter how many times he saw it, Qin Zhou always found himself staring at it a little longer.

Wen Jue led him up the stairs.

As they approached the seal stone, the dense spiritual energy pressed against them, making it hard for Qin Zhou to breathe for a moment.

The seal stone was enormous—up close, it stood two grown men tall.

"The owner of this barrier is you," Qin Zhou thought. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. The only one capable of crafting such a massive seal stone was probably Wen Jue.

"Not me. I crafted the barrier, but the one who empowered it was the *Heavenly Dao*."

"Spiritual energy was depleting. That’s why the realms were divided—the *Heavenly Dao* did it to protect mortals and also to curb their growth. If the cultivation world had even more Cultivators, the rate of spiritual energy consumption would only accelerate. Sooner or later, this place would vanish."

"So, to maintain this barrier, every thousand years, you lure greedy Cultivators into the mystic realm under false pretenses. Those who die are just… lightening the world’s load?" Qin Zhou continued. Including the two of them being labeled as demons—was that also part of the reason?

"Lightening the load…" Wen Jue murmured, as if carefully weighing the words, then shook his head. "Not entirely. To sustain the barrier between the upper and lower realms, a massive amount of spiritual energy is needed. It’s killing two birds with one stone."

As he spoke, Wen Jue took out the Spirit Ball brimming with spiritual energy. It slowly floated upward, drifting toward the seal stone before finally merging into it completely.

Without another word, Wen Jue stepped straight into the barrier.

Qin Zhou followed wordlessly behind him.

Inside the seal stone was an entirely separate space.

It was nighttime here, with a starry sky.

"Only I can enter this place," Wen Jue said. "The warehouse is right there. Everything’s still inside. Occasionally, I take something, but I always return it."

"Feel free to check. Over the years, only one thing’s missing—a Fertility Pill. But I figure, trading one Fertility Pill for a grandson isn’t a bad deal, eh?"

He didn’t even need to guide Qin Zhou—the storage chest sat in the corner, plainly visible.

"Got it." Qin Zhou knew the warehouse wouldn’t be lost in Wen Jue’s hands.

Seeing Qin Zhou remain silent, Wen Jue grumbled. "Go on, take it."

"What's the rush?" Qin Zhou casually sat down, glanced at the starry sky, then turned to gaze at Wen Jue. "Before we deal with the warehouse, I'd prefer to hear you call me Chief first."

He motioned for Wen Jue to sit as well.

Wen Jue might have disobeyed, but Lu Yi couldn't.

However unwilling he was, Wen Jue had no choice but to move over.

Between them, they were first villager and village chief—only then came everything else.

Wen Jue sat down as instructed. Seeing Qin Zhou's calm demeanor, he knew this man had likely known who he was long ago.

"When did you realize it was me?" Wen Jue asked, his tone complex. "I don’t think I gave myself away… much." By the last word, even he sounded a little unsure.

In his presence, he had always appeared as nothing more than a well-behaved kid—a stark contrast to the figure who had effortlessly taken lives amidst the yellow sandstorms.

Qin Zhou studied him before replying, "To be sure? Not that early. But there were always clues, and I'd always suspected. It was when you tested me, asking for that tanghulu, that I was almost sure."

"That early?" Wen Jue was surprised. The tanghulu incident—wasn’t that after Qin Zhou had touched his face, making him storm off, only for them to meet again in the lower realm?

"Then how long do you think it took me to recognize you?"

He wore the hairpin Qin Zhou had given him, had a face so striking that even a mere touch left an impression, treated fifth-grade elixirs like candy… Whether in speech or temperament, hints of his old self remained.

It would’ve been hard not to recognize him.

Wen Jue turned his face away, unwilling to admit that little spark of joy he felt.

Wait.

So…

"Weren't you just teasing me?" Wen Jue suddenly realized something.

Back when he’d asked for tanghulu, hadn’t Qin Zhou shot back with, *‘Did your father never tell you too much candy rots your teeth?’*?

Qin Zhou: "...No."

Wen Jue: ?

He wasn't buying it.

Qin Zhou sighed. "Wasn't it you who didn’t want to acknowledge me? I haven't been village chief in millennia. You might not have wanted to recognize me."

Wen Jue was taken aback. "Why wouldn’t I?"

He'd just been afraid of recognizing the wrong person.

"My mistake, then." Qin Zhou chuckled. "Lu Yi wanted to see me after all."

"Who talks like that about themselves?" He never thought he’d hear the name ‘Lu Yi’ from this man’s lips one day.

"So, shouldn’t you lock me up now? Being locked up might not be so bad—then you wouldn’t have to envy the Milky Way anymore." Qin Zhou’s voice carried a hint of amusement.

Wen Jue froze.

That rang a bell.

Wait—

Back in the secret realm, he'd been muttering to himself...

Wen Jue turned completely red after a moment of stillness.

Wen Jue stood up abruptly and turned to leave.

Qin Zhou grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"

"To die," Wen Jue said, staring blankly at the sky.

Qin Zhou pulled slightly harder, and Wen Jue, offering almost no resistance, stumbled back and collapsed into his arms.

Just as he was about to land on Qin Zhou, Wen Jue swiftly twisted his body, barely managing to brace himself with his palms on the ground, his knees landing on either side of Qin Zhou, pinning him beneath him.

To an observer, it would look like he was straddling Qin Zhou.

He stared at Qin Zhou in shock, his expression clearly saying, What the hell?

Qin Zhou couldn't see his face but was quite satisfied with the current position.

Qin Zhou's hand settled on Wen Jue's hip, pressing down slightly, causing Wen Jue to fully collapse onto his lap.

"I could just lock you up instead," Qin Zhou said.

He didn't need to - he wanted to.

Wen Jue was certain Qin Zhou wasn't joking in the slightest.

His mind was reeling.

This was his village chief?

Was this the old man he had imagined? Not that he'd ever really seen Qin Zhou as some old man, this scenario had never once appeared in Wen Jue’s dreams—not even for a second.

Now, seeing that face and recognizing the seriousness in it, Wen Jue’s heartbeat quickened.

He... had no idea this person could be so...

He swallowed hard, feeling a flutter in his chest.

"If I lock you up... I won’t let you escape. If you try, this lord will break your legs," Wen Jue mustered his best demon lord voice, his long fingers at Qin Zhou's throat in an attempt to intimidate.

"Hmm," Qin Zhou murmured, grasping Wen Jue’s wrist. The wide sleeve fell back, exposing pale skin to Qin Zhou's touch. His thumb brushed lightly over it, his eyes going dark.

Wen Jue: "..."

"I-I'll fetch the supplies," Wen Jue blurted, flustered. What was wrong with this man?

Wen Jue tried to pull away, but Qin Zhou's grip on his waist tightened.

"Stay still. Let me see."

See what? Before Wen Jue could voice his confusion, Qin Zhou’s hands were already cupping his face.

"Let me see if my Lu Yi still looks the way I remember."

Every alarm in Wen Jue's head was screaming. After ten thousand years without intimacy, this level of closeness was completely foreign.

But another part of him whispered—

But he said, "He's my Lu Yi."

Wen Jue lifted his chin slightly, his eyes slightly reddened. "You've touched this face before..."

"Yep."

"Then why won't you let me see it?" Qin Zhou pressed his finger against Wen Jue's lower lip.

Wen Jue tilted his pale neck, his Adam's apple bobbing—

"Because... if you abandon me, you don't get to see the real me."

The moment these words were spoken, Qin Zhou froze, his gaze fixed on Wen Jue, who turned his head away like a sulking child.

"No." Qin Zhou gently traced the corner of his lips. "I would never abandon you."

He had wanted to return—just... couldn't make it back.

After finishing his exams, the first thing he did was rush home to turn on his computer, only to be met with the game's shutdown notice, that left him stunned.

Later, he graduated with top honors, using code to create countless immersive game worlds, yet he could never play for eight years again.

Perhaps because, no matter how dazzling those new worlds were, they could never recreate the living, breathing people of that village.

"Just because you say so doesn't make it true!" Wen Jue grew agitated, grabbing Qin Zhou by the collar. "I even thought... I must have done something wrong! That’s why... you..."

"That’s why after sending me to the Cangyun Sword Sect, you just... vanished." His voice grew quieter, tinged with tears.

He'd been just as hurt as Xiao Yibai.

"And you even gave me a hairpin! You don't give someone a hairpin and then vanish!" Unable to contain his anger, Wen Jue bent down and bit Qin Zhou’s neck.

Like a small beast, his shoulders trembled—fierce but vulnerable.

Qin Zhou leaned back slightly, letting him bite without flinching, even agreeing—

"Yeah. I'm the world's worst village chief."