Bai Yu chose to turn the corpse of the person he loved the most into a human skin puppet, weaving a beautiful ending for the family and continuing to live in endless self-deception.
Bai Yu, who used to laugh and be as active as any other young man, ultimately became a part of the fallen world.
And he and Wen Fengjin adopted the abandoned baby girl. He was tortured beyond recognition at first by this little thing who was always hungry, wet the bed, and cried every day. Wen Fengjin, who loved eating vinegar, gave the child a baffling name like 'Goudan' with a frigid expression.
He gave the baby his undivided attention because she was so young and needed care. That year, the neglected Wen Fengjin practically transformed into a berserk Boss Zongzi. He not only thrashed the grave robbers in the tomb place to vent his anger, but he also ventured beyond the tomb palace to beat up those poachers, earning them the inexplicable moniker of Mountain God.
Demon Lord Boss Wen, who had been laid off and re-employed, had found a new position.
Until the second year, when this little guy who began speaking late addressed Wen Fengjin as "Daddy"...
From the millennium-old legendary Demon Lord to daughter con, Wen Fengjin’s transformation took only one word and three seconds...
Wang Xiaomie sat under the acacia tree, with black hair hanging from his shoulders and coiled around his hands, smiling as he watched Wen Fengjin holding their child in one arm and going to collect the peach blossoms flowering on the tree.
The acacia tree was messed up by the wind circling up from the hollow, as though petals of pink sparks were fluttering down, and the crimson robe and silver hair flew up. Their little girl giggled and reached for the peach blossoms that were adorning the tree...
A tiny one landed on the blood-red lizard Mu Yi's nose and it sneezed violently.
Wang Xiaomie raised his head and closed his eyes, allowing the invisible things to fall on his eyelids.
Wen Fengjin was stunned for a second as he unwittingly looked sideways, then his lips curled up. He leaned closer, holding his daughter in his arms, and took off the petal with his slender fingers.
The bright black pupils and the narrow and long odd pupils exchanged affectionate glances, reflecting the most precious existence in each other's eyes.
Kisses, touching, or poignant verses were unnecessary.
In this gentle glance were intangible, warm things...
[I’ve been through dark years]
[I’ve pushed through on a mountain road with no return]
[I’ve stopped over beneath the ageless acacia tree]
[ When you open your eyes and look at me here, I know where my home is]
The smiling eyes were bent.
"I want to kiss you."
"...Our daughter is still watching, stinky rascal."
"She won't be able to see this way."
Wen Fengjin lifted their daughter by the rear collar of her clothes, moved her to one side, leaned over with his head tilted, and puckered Wang Xiaomie's lips.
The cool lips pressed up against the soft flesh of the lower lip.
Wang Xiaomie’s old face turned red and his eyes blinked rapidly. The man's close face was flawless, and his half-closed eyes were provocatively looking at him.
Wang Xiaomie trembled and closed his eyes when his lips and teeth were pried open, and his neck and ears were flushed...
As for little friend Wen Mian, who was in her father's arms just now and was held by the back of her neck to face the wall in a second, she expressed: ...Dad and Mom are true love, and I was just an accident, ying ying ying.
Mu Yi yawned lazily once more.
… … ...
Little friend Wen Mian had to go to school in the second year.
When other children go to kindergarten, they all grab their parents' clothes, weeping loudly and refuse to enter, but Wen Mian, the vivacious and outgoing little friend, was perfectly fine. When she saw the children in the kindergarten, her eyes were as brilliant as two light bulbs.
Wen Fengjin and Wang Xiaomie took the teacher's brochure and planned to take her to sign up. When they looked up, they saw their family's husky-like silly little girl, who somehow got into the kindergarten’s children's entertainment area, snatching a football from a bunch of little boys and laughing loudly as she declared herself the kindergarten’s hegemon.
Wen Fengjin: "..."
Wang Xiaomie: "..."
At this moment, Wang Xiaomie expressed: I can already foresee that I will undoubtedly be a regular visitor to the teacher's office in the future. Dang!
You little devil!
The fourth year.
At the parent-teacher meeting, little comrade Wen Mian, who dominated kindergarten and subsequently the entire elementary school, read her short composition aloud in front of all the parents and children.
"The topic of my composition is my father!"
The small girl turned around and waved her hands towards Wang Xiaomie and Wen Fengjin.
The other parents' friendly gazes fell on them, and Wang Xiaomie was excited as well, like an old father who thinks, 'my daughter has grown up,' and they all smiled for a time.
Then they heard their family’s little girl continue reading: "I have two fathers!"
Wang Xiaomie: "Hic!!!"
Wen Fengjin: "..."
Everyone: "Huh?!!"
Little Girl: "We’re a family of three. I don’t have a mother, but I have two fathers. When I was very young, I called Wen father Daddy and called my Daddy Mother, but Daddy was very unhappy and insisted on me calling him Daddy. My Wen father likes my Daddy very much. He teases my Daddy coolly and handsomely everyday. They are usually very affectionate and extremely kind to me."
"But I also have my troubles because I discovered a big secret! That is, my Wen father often beats my Daddy at night! My Daddy screams "Oh" so miserably—what’s even more hateful is that Wen father even laughs! This is domestic violence, definitely, so I decided to include it in my composition and inform everyone!"
Wen Mian's little face was resolute after she completed reading, as if she were a little hero.
While the rest...
"Oh~~~~"
Everyone's teasing and surprised gazes landed on the handsome couple, as if they understood something.
Wang Xiaomie's face was buried in his hands: Suffocating!
Wen Fengjin, whose face was as dark as charcoal, blasted chilly air like a swishing aircon.
Worse, Wen Mian, the little girl, added another sentence: "Don't be scared, Daddy! Just tell the truth, and I'll have the teacher help you!"
"..."
"Tea...Teacher can't help," the young and inexperienced male teacher instantly reddened.
Wen Fengjin was about to explode when he saw this scene!
Wang Xiaomie: ...You treacherous child! Unfilial!
Wang Xiaomie and Wen Fengjin had not attended another parent-teacher meeting since that memorable first one.
Wang Xiaomie: "My whole life’s face was lost on that day, so why f*cking bother!"
Later, An Kai, who had also relocated to the surface and became their neighbor, heard about this incident and nearly died of laughter.
A man in a wheelchair beside him, as pretty as a girl and with short, ear-length hair, also smiled softly. Except for his cheeks, there was a layer of barely noticeable red fuzz on the skin exposed to the air when the sun shone on him.
He gazed at An Qi with reliance and talked very shyly, not at all like the insidious emperor in An Kai's story.
And, in fact, he was not.
Wang Xiaomie and Wen Fengjin suspected there was another person in that body a long time ago.
It was impossible for An Kai not to know.
Having experienced the betrayal of his lover, An Kai realized that what he loved was really an illusion created by his heart's fantasies, thus he was willing to adore a zombie companion who obeyed him and could not betray him. He needed this vessel.
He didn't care who replaced him in the body.
It's only...
When Wang Xiaomie saw An Kai's hearty smile and the truth in his eyes, he smiled.
As expected, even if there is only an obsession remaining, no one can refuse that kind of longed-for happiness if that obsession becomes true and a partner who is kind, gentle, who also loves and relies on him becomes a reality.
Although they didn't know where his soul originated from, the new An Chengjing should have replaced him when he transformed into Little Purple Hair.
Wang Xiaomie and Wen Fengjin exchanged glances.
The long, narrow eyes were cold and indifferent. They froze for a second when they met his gaze, and then the right eye winked gently.
Wang Xiaomie couldn't stop himself from laughing.
After going around, finally getting what you've been desperately wanting to get.
"By the way, that little girl Wen Mian is a regular person," An Kai added abruptly. "Aren't you going to turn her into one of the same?"
The implication of his remarks was obvious, but Wang Xiaomie shook his head.
"She has her own life. There is nothing wrong with being an ordinary person. We have no way of knowing whether the elixir truly makes us immortal or simply prolongs our lives."
"Immortality does not imply eternal happiness or eternal loneliness and misery."
"She is both our daughter and her own person. Fengjin and I will protect her until the last moment..."
"Yeaahh, but in a few decades, when her life comes to an end, won't your heart hurt like hell?" An Kai asked.
"There's nothing we can do about it." Wang Xiaomie blinked a few times. He had already prepared his heart for it.
"This is the price of immortality, that's why I don't want her to pay it."
"Makes sense."
An Kai burst out laughing. After the laughter died down, he propped his chin, his handsome face wrinkled.
"I say...the four of us, a Demon Lord, the Demon Lord's shixiong, a general, and an emperor...the men who dominated history back then actually ended up living a life of retirement. Why don't we take action? Establish a new dominant country, or something along those lines?"
An Kai: "Senior Wen, don’t tell me you don’t want…"
"I don't want to," Wen Fengjin interrupted coldly.
An Kai: "…"
"I've been fighting for thousands of years, but all I want to do is be with my shixiong," Wen Fengjin added softly.
An Kai's mouth twitched: "...Isn’t Senior’s dream too unpromising?"
Wen Fengjin sneered at him and asked, "Forever with your Chengjing or endless battlefield, what do you choose?"
"..."
After a little silence, An Kai declared emphatically, "Choose forever."
Wen Fengjin sneered.
Wang Xiaomie and Chengjing, who were sitting next to him, smiled and shook their heads.
"I'll make what you want to eat tonight," said Wang Xiaomie to Chengjing.
"I'm sorry to trouble you," Chengjing stated softly.
"It's no trouble," Wang Xiaomie said, shrugging.
He stood up and headed for the kitchen. Wen Fengjin went to pick up Wen Mian when he saw the time. Chengjing rested softly on An Kai's shoulder in the living room...
The evening was approaching.
Wen Fengjin returned after picking up his young daughter. She made everyone laugh at the dinner table by talking about what happened at school.
The lights were switched on, and the mood in the room was so lovely in the dark night that no one wanted to leave.
All it takes is a lifetime's pursuit, a lifelong desire...