Chapter 156

Feng Bo and Yu Shi worked together to bring a light rain to the dry areas of the capital. The Earth Deity and the Wood Deity encouraged the plants in the capital to grow, allowing them to better hold onto the eroding sand. Many other star officials cooperated, bringing fresh and moist air to the capital and gradually spreading it to the surrounding areas.

After a while, one of the star officials spoke up: "Speaking of which, Ke Xingzhou's second disciple is Lian Cheng, right? Why did Lian Cheng go off on his own and not bring Ke Xingzhou's reincarnation back?"

"Who knows? I'm more curious where he got so much merit to give it all to his reincarnation—wasn't that supposed to be the merit of Ke Xingzhou saving the world?"

"Ke Xingzhou's soul was shattered back then, and the merit naturally went into his bow, which had already formed a spiritual weapon. Besides, didn't he almost follow Ke Xingzhou to the afterlife back then, injured and weak?"

"Always thinking of reviving Ke Xingzhou, but then letting him reincarnate and find someone else. I just can't understand him."

"Speaking of reincarnation, this time, Ke Xingzhou's soul was completely reassembled, and he went through the Underworld. Can he still be considered the same person as in his past life?"

"Humans are really hard to understand..."

"Forget about their love triangle," Feng Bo said, "The gods are struggling to protect themselves, why should we care about them? Let's focus on completing the task and report back."

He still owed tens of billions.

The star officials chatted aimlessly, and after finishing the task of bringing rain and stabilizing the soil, they were about to leave the capital’s borders when they suddenly saw a flash of light.

From the place where they had just used divine magic, threads of golden light emerged, moving at what appeared to be a slow speed, but in the blink of an eye, it floated toward them and dove into their chests.

A surge of warmth spread from the spot where the golden light had struck their chests, subtly radiating outward, until faint light appeared around the star officials.

They were stunned.

"This... this is... merit golden light?!"

"Didn't the Heavenly Dao already abandon us and strip us of our merit? What does this mean?"

The star officials instinctively tried to channel their belief power, but the immense accumulated power of belief still lay dormant like stagnant water, no matter how hard they tried, they could only stir slight ripples.

Even so, it was enough to shock them.

Before this, they hadn't even been able to stir a single ripple!

The star officials looked at each other, immediately throwing the gossip about the Xiao Yao Sect aside. Their eyes shone brightly as they looked at the vast lands of the mortal world.

—This is all their merit!!

The new disciples were very enthusiastic, and within a few days, they had managed to improve the air quality in the capital significantly.The netizens were all amazed at the improvement in the air quality in the capital recently, and many posted about how the country really was making an effort to manage the environment. Residents from surrounding cities also began to feel that the air was fresher, and even the wind power stations in the suburbs had seen a significant increase in output.

Everyone was in high spirits, saying that after enduring natural disasters and human misfortunes, the country was now thriving.

This made both Zhou Baopi and his disciple feel greatly comforted.

Zhu Chu smiled and sighed, "It's a pity that the project needs to be kept confidential, or else we could have shared with the public that immortals exist. What a great publicity opportunity it would be!"

Ke Xingzhou nodded in agreement.

Nie Chen, who had just entered, overheard the rather unrestrained conversation between the master and disciple and couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.

After a brief pause, he stepped aside, revealing Lian Cheng behind him.

Zhu Chu was quite intrigued: "Junior brother, when did you and Lian Cheng become so close?"

He looked at Ke Xingzhou with a very curious gaze.

That day, the star officials had noticed the unusual dynamic between the master, disciple, and Lian Cheng, sparking Zhu Chu's gossip radar. He had never before sensed the peculiar nature of their relationship and, over the following days, secretly approached some of the star officials, subtly gathering information about the situation.

To his surprise, his junior brother was actually a part of Lian Cheng!

The master and Lian Cheng had been an iconic couple in their past life, recognized by many!

Now, everything made sense: why the Special Incident Handling Bureau's Chief of Projects acted so oddly when meeting the master and disciple; why the junior brother, usually so composed, always seemed to reject Lian Cheng...

It all stemmed from this complicated love triangle!

Zhu Chu felt like he was about to uncover a big secret, his eyes lighting up as his adrenaline surged. Looking at Lian Cheng's eyes obscured by the white cloth, he couldn't help but wonder what a deeply affectionate spirit like him, who had lost his love, would say at this moment...

Then Lian Cheng spoke faintly: "The Duyue Star Lord has confessed."

"......"

The room fell into silence.

Zhu Chu waited for a while, but when Lian Cheng didn't speak again, he couldn't help but stare, feeling frustrated.

That's it?

Where's the so-called unrequited love, the painful torment, the suppressed sorrow?

Where’s the dramatic showdown he was hoping for?!

Zhu Chu screamed mentally, then suddenly felt a chill. He turned and met his junior brother's cold, chilling gaze.

Those gray-green eyes locked onto him, like a giant wolf staring down a prey that was certain to die.

Zhu Chu: "......"

Zhu Chu quickly stopped his train of thought.

By now, Ke Xingzhou had realized who Lian Cheng was referring to as the Duyue Star Lord and froze for a moment: "What did he confess to?"

On his side, Nie Chen, having shared Lian Cheng's memories, recalled that when they had subdued the Duyue Star Lord, he had once told him that this Duyue Star Lord had faked his death during the Great War of Gods and Demons, and his fame was almost on par with his own.The Great War of Gods and Demons was, after all, something from a past life, and besides, it had been a full ten thousand years.

To be honest, Ke Xingzhou didn’t care whose reputation was higher. As long as he knew that the merits he had now were not the result of past evil deeds, he was already satisfied.

So when Lian Cheng mentioned this name again, Ke Xingzhou could hardly remember who the person was, let alone understand what Lian Cheng was hoping to find out from the Duyue Star Lord.

He blinked, his eyes full of innocent curiosity as he looked at Lian Cheng.

Lian Cheng: "..."

Ke Xingzhou’s personality really was...

Lian Cheng couldn’t help but rub his forehead, sighed inwardly, and, resigned, continued under Nie Chen’s vigilant gaze: "The Duyue Star Lord’s faked death is suspicious. Duan Changsheng and I believe that his faked death might be related to the cause of the Great War of Gods and Demons, so we captured him for interrogation."

There’s no need to elaborate on the interrogation process; in short, the result was that the Duyue Star Lord honestly confessed everything.

When Lian Cheng reached this point, he paused, his jaw tight, his expression suddenly becoming serious: "The Great War of Gods and Demons from ten thousand years ago wasn’t instigated by the stars; someone else was behind it."

"......"

The room fell silent again.

Strangely, no one except Lian Cheng had a serious expression. Nie Chen, having shared Lian Cheng’s memories, already knew all of this, so it was no surprise to him. But for some reason, Ke Xingzhou and Zhu Chu both looked very calm.

When Lian Cheng turned toward him, Zhu Chu even said, "Isn’t that obvious? When the big bosses fight, they always push some unlucky person out to take the blame first."

It’s the media’s usual tactic.

When a brand collapses, they send an intern to take the fall. Netizens have gotten so used to this that they don’t even buy it anymore!

Lian Cheng: "?"

Lian Cheng turned his face toward Ke Xingzhou, and the latter even agreed with Zhu Chu’s viewpoint: "Those star officials are so spineless, and their brains aren’t all that sharp. It’s normal for them to be used by others."

He’d been pulling the bow all along, and his muscles were sore, but he hadn’t even managed to shoot a single arrow.

What a waste of effort; there was no sense of accomplishment at all.

Lian Cheng: "…………"

Was it because the star officials were spineless? Well... forget it.

Putting the star officials aside for now, the existence revealed by the Duyue Star Lord was anything but trivial. Lian Cheng’s expression tightened even further: "You should go listen to what he said."

--

To be honest, Ke Xingzhou didn’t want to move.

He had been traveling constantly recently, and his whole body felt like it was falling apart. After returning, he didn’t even go back to the Ke family because he found Ke Zhengye and the others too noisy. He just wanted to rest.

However, seeing Lian Cheng so serious, he thought for a moment and, still reluctant, got up and walked out with him.

Then, they turned a corner and entered the Huangquan Inn next to the sect’s main hall.That said, when Ke Xingzhou sat down on the second floor, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

He was really tired.

Lian Cheng: "..."

He was about to speak but stopped. Meanwhile, Zhu Chu, very much in the know, dragged over two chairs and placed them side by side, gently setting them behind the master and disciple.

Don’t ask him why he was also trying to please the disciple—after all, she would be the future master’s wife! If he didn’t build a good relationship now, would he just wait for the disciple to whisper in the master’s ear later and deduct his wages?!

Lian Cheng really didn’t know what to say about this master-disciple pair.

But then, he thought about how Ke Xingzhou’s previous disciple, Duan Changsheng, didn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed either, so it all felt rather reasonable.

Thinking about Ke Xingzhou’s past life, his already low spirits dropped even further. After a pause, he raised his hand to remove the barrier at the door to the inn room, leading Ke Xingzhou and the others inside.

The Duyue Star Lord was being held here.

The room looked relatively clean, but the Duyue Star Lord’s entire appearance was in disarray. His eyes were empty, staring at the wall. He looked like he had suffered some inhumane torture, and he didn’t even react when Ke Xingzhou and the others entered.

It wasn’t until he was asked to repeat his previous confession that the Duyue Star Lord finally turned his head and looked at the visitors.

He smiled and curled the corner of his lips: "Ke Xingzhou? This is the helper you found?"

The Duyue Star Lord shook his head.

Although Ke Xingzhou’s methods were peculiar, they were very effective against them and the entire three realms. However, when it came to the existence behind the scenes of the gods and demons, the one who instigated the Great War of Gods and Demons ten thousand years ago and caused the turmoil now, it wouldn’t make a difference.

If it were really that easy to resist, how could they, the star officials, have ended up in this situation...

The more the Duyue Star Lord thought about it, the sadder he felt. He couldn’t help but let out a low, mocking laugh. He looked less like a god and more like a patient in a madhouse.

The other four people in the room remained silent, watching him.

After a while, Zhu Chu spoke in a low voice: "When did he start telling stories?"

When he turned sideways, his pocket rustled. The group looked over in confusion, and he immediately became a bit embarrassed, hesitantly pulling out a packet—sunflower seeds.

Zhu Chu chuckled awkwardly: "Barbecue flavor, anyone want some?"

The group: "…"

The Duyue Star Lord: "…"

The somber atmosphere that had just begun to form was completely shattered by the barbecue-flavored sunflower seeds. The Duyue Star Lord really didn’t know what to say.

After a moment of holding back, he couldn’t regain the previous mood and could only grumpily say, "It’s zhuo!"

Zhu Chu stared blankly: "Zhuo… woodpecker?"

The group: "…"

Lian Cheng spoke at the right moment, explaining: "Zhuo is a spiritual substance separated from the chaotic energy, in contrast to qing (pure)."

Countless years ago, when the world was first created, the pure energy ascended to the heavens, and the muddy energy descended to the earth. Of the remaining pure and muddy energies, the pure energy became the heavenly law, maintaining the order of the world’s operations, while the muddy energy transformed into another existence that roamed the world, inciting various conflicts and evil thoughts. Eventually, it was sealed by the heavenly law and could no longer appear in the world.Zhu Chu: "Isn’t that just like the Demon Clan?"

"It’s different," Lian Cheng replied. "The zhuo was born before the Heavenly Law, so it doesn't belong to the Six Realms and isn’t constrained by the order of the Heavenly Law."

Ke Xingzhou felt something stirring in his mind. After thinking for a long time, he said, "...So it’s the Heavenly Law's big uncle causing trouble for us."

Lian Cheng: "…"

Everyone: "…"

If you really wanted to put it that way, it didn’t seem wrong?

The tense mood they had just been in immediately seemed out of place. Once they imagined family drama and those sorts of things, it felt like even the most serious matters weren’t that urgent anymore.

Duyue Star Lord: "…"

Duyue Star Lord was really on the verge of breaking down. A person who had been emotionally stable while imprisoned was now becoming more and more angry the more he watched these strange people. After a moment, he suddenly exploded: "Enough!! Are you all done?"

Everyone froze. Zhu Chu, who had been peeling sunflower seeds for the master, also paused, instinctively hiding the sunflower seed shells behind himself.

Duyue Star Lord’s eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at everyone with hatred: "Do you think I volunteered to be the zhuo’s lapdog? Do you think I haven’t tried to find a way out? I have! I’ve thought of countless ways to escape his control, but that’s an existence more powerful than the Heavenly Law! The Six Realms laws have no effect on him—what can I do?!"

Zhu Chu was stunned by the shout, his heart skipped a beat, and he felt tight in his chest, almost unable to breathe.

Dazed, he took a few deep breaths and stepped forward, apologizing and trying to calm him down: "Hey, don’t be mad, don’t be mad. Don’t get so worked up, you’re getting old, take care of your body. My heart can’t handle it when you shout like this... It’s just sunflower seeds, right? I won’t crack them anymore, alright?"

Duyue Star Lord: "…………"

God damn... What does this have to do with sunflower seeds?!

Duyue Star Lord was almost enraged to death. He glared at Zhu Chu with intense killing intent flashing through his eyes.

Ke Xingzhou immediately felt a warning in his mind. He flicked his wrist and summoned the Lian Cheng Bow. Since Lian Cheng was present, the bow immediately returned to its normal size, and Ke Xingzhou drew it into a full moon shape, pointing the arrow directly at Duyue Star Lord.

Duyue Star Lord’s mental state was also unstable at this moment. Feeling the terrifying death threat from the Lian Cheng Bow, he didn’t retreat at all. In fact, there was even a hint of relief in his eyes.

He took a step forward, pressing his neck against the tip of the arrow, and murmured: "Zhuo is not within the Five Elements or the Six Realms. Everything I’ve learned in my life has no effect on it. What can I do except submit? How could I know that the Heavenly Law would be so ruthless as to punish the entire Divine Clan for a small mistake I made, exiling all its members?"

"Ten thousand years... Ten thousand years! The Divine Clan has done so much for the Heavenly Law. For countless years, we’ve been selfless and without desire. Isn’t that enough to make up for the sins of a great war?!"

"What about everything that came before this? What does it mean!!!"

Duyue Star Lord had almost completely lost his sanity, straining his neck and charging towards Ke Xingzhou’s arrow.

Ke Xingzhou frowned, staring at the star official who was determined to die.

He really hated when others yelled at him. Ke Zhengye, who was always emotionally unstable, was one thing—at least his first five years of life in the Ke family had been smooth.

But this Duyue Star Lord, who had betrayed his past life ten thousand years ago, and now, after ten thousand years, was shouting at his disciple and shouting at him...

Ke Xingzhou was not happy.

He wasn’t sure if it was due to overwork or something else, but strange images had been popping up in his mind recently, making him feel irritated all the time.This displeasure became even more obvious when Duyue Star Lord charged at him seeking death, as if a voice was urging him in his mind: "Kill him, kill him!"

In the room, the flow of merit suddenly surged. The merit golden light, which should have been upright and peaceful, now seemed to carry the aura of killing intent, strangely giving a chilling feeling.

Zhu Chu couldn’t help but shiver, feeling an indescribable discomfort.

—Ke Xingzhou impatiently tossed the bow aside.

"What the hell!"

He had worked so hard to accumulate this bit of merit, and now his wealth had even reached the ten-figure mark. Why should he throw it away because of some incompetent star official?

Does he think he’s stupid?

But letting the other party go like this felt a bit frustrating. Ke Xingzhou glanced at the Lian Cheng Bow that flew back to his side, grabbed its tail, and swatted it toward Duyue Star Lord!

Duyue Star Lord: "???"

No, buddy, I’m seeking death, not asking for a beating!

What’s wrong with you!?

—

Even the faint merit attached to the bow was painful when struck on his body.

Duyue Star Lord initially resisted, refusing to submit. But after only a few strikes from Ke Xingzhou, he couldn’t help but scream and run away.

The room was filled with strange sounds: "Oh-ho! Hey! Ah!"

Everyone: "…"

It’s hard to say what was wrong, but it just felt all wrong.

While Ke Xingzhou was chasing Duyue Star Lord, the boundary of the guest room was broken, and Duan Changsheng burst in.

He looked inexplicably at the screaming Duyue Star Lord, then shifted his gaze to Lian Cheng and Ke Xingzhou, his expression immediately tense: "Not good, there’s been a disturbance in the northwest. The Feng Bo, Yu Shi, and several other star officials who were sent to bring rain have all gone missing!"

Duan Changsheng usually loved to show off in front of Ke Xingzhou, probably because he found it amusing that his former master had become his disciple. But this time, he didn’t even greet Ke Xingzhou, showing how urgent the situation was.

Ke Xingzhou was regretting that his rare break was going to waste, but unexpectedly, Duan Changsheng and Lian Cheng exchanged a glance, and both raised their hands to stop him.

Lian Cheng: "You stay."

Duan Changsheng also said: "This is an adult matter, don’t get involved, kid. Go back and sleep. The more you sleep, the taller you’ll grow."

Ke Xingzhou froze.

These were the same words his master used to say when he was still learning under him.

At the time, he actually found it quite frustrating. He was already an adult, but his master still treated him like a child. Hearing these words now, however, gave him a strange feeling.

Was it a misremembering?Before he could figure it out, Lian Cheng and Duan Changsheng had already taken them out of the boundary and quickly disappeared.

Ke Xingzhou was still a bit suspicious, but Zhu Chu happily took out the car keys and walked toward the parking lot. "Finally able to rest. Master, let's go! I'll take you back to the Ke family. Junior Brother, are you coming?"

Nie Chen: "..."

Zhu Chu calling him "Junior Brother" was getting smoother and smoother.

Feeling Ke Xingzhou’s gaze on him, Nie Chen paused, then raised his hand to touch the back of his neck. "Let’s go, I’ll take you back."

He said this and reached to hold Ke Xingzhou’s hand, but when he pulled, Ke Xingzhou didn’t move. Nie Chen looked back at him and noticed he seemed a bit down, hesitating for a moment.

He softly asked, "You don’t want to go back?"

Ke Xingzhou’s thoughts weren’t hard to guess. Although he had always claimed he wasn’t a member of the Ke family, no matter where he went for rituals, he always ended up back at the Ke family. But this time, he hadn’t gone back; instead, he had dragged him and Zhu Chu to the other side to the Xiaoyao Sect.

Ke Zhengye was indeed a bit noisy, but he had always been that way, and Ke Xingzhou could ignore him.

Not going back this time clearly meant he didn’t want to.

As expected, Ke Xingzhou nodded.

Nie Chen sighed imperceptibly, gently cupping Ke Xingzhou's face and kissing his eyelids, his heart filled with both sweetness and sorrow.

His little boat…

A moment later, he softly asked, "Where would you like to go?"

His words carried a hint of coaxing, and before Ke Xingzhou could answer, he suggested softly, "There’s a family across from the Ke family, they’re moving due to job changes. I bought their house, and I’ve just finished redecorating. Would you like to go check it out for me?"

Ke Xingzhou's eyelashes fluttered rapidly for a moment.

He had been staying at the Ke family for a while, and he saw the couple across the street almost every day. They were both retired; there was no job change at all.

Instead, it was a stroke of good fortune—a windfall.

Ke Xingzhou raised his eyes to look at Nie Chen, realizing how that windfall had come about.

He thought for a long time, avoiding eye contact, and softly asked, "A newly renovated house… we can’t live there, right? If Ke Zhengye finds out, he’ll start scolding again."

"It’s fine," Nie Chen said. "It’s our own home. We can live in it whenever we want. If he talks too much, we’ll just kick him out."

Ke Xingzhou’s tense body relaxed immediately, snuggling into Nie Chen’s embrace. In the early spring weather, the warmth from Nie Chen made him feel hot.

He muffled a soft "Mm."

--

When Zhu Chu returned with the car, he saw his master and junior brother affectionately embracing each other.

Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, it started snowing at that moment, the spring snow falling on their heads and shoulders, as if wishing them to grow old together.

He immediately felt miserable.Zhu Chu honked the horn twice, and both the person and the car let out a single-dog howl: "Beep! Beep!!"

Is there anyone still concerned about the life and death of single dogs?!