How was this “like him”?

In her heart, was he such a cold, heartless, scheming, and cunning person?

Li Ye was exasperated, wanting to explain but not knowing where to begin. Unable to restrain himself, he pinched her.

Er’er let out a yelp, clutching her arm pitifully: “I didn’t even blame you, why are you upset with me?”

Always thinking the worst of him—how clever of her. If not her, who else should he be upset with? Li Ye opened his mouth to rebuke her, but then recalled that he had indeed done many bad things. If one thought negatively, he couldn’t blame her.

Slowly closing his mouth, Li Ye turned his head away in annoyance.

Er’er glanced at him, her eyes full of amusement. Unfortunately, he was too busy being angry to notice, allowing her to sit on his shoulder like a mouse that had successfully stolen oil, covering her mouth as she laughed.

Long Xu was still standing before them, staring at them in a daze for a long while. In her confusion, an image seemed to flash through her mind.

Shattered stones, a red robe swooping forward, a young woman being embraced, and… a bloodied version of herself.

…

…

“Er’er,” she began somewhat bewilderedly, “where did I first meet you?”

Suppressing her laughter, Er’er tilted her head to look at her: “How can you not remember even that? It was at the Dui Clan.”

“Then,” Long Xu rubbed her brow and asked, “was I injured at that time?”

Hearing something amiss, Xin Wu finally stepped forward, blocking Long Xu’s line of sight to Er’er. He seemed agitated, his sleeves flapping noisily: “Every time you think about these confusing matters, you get a headache. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?”

Clutching her head, Long Xu licked her lips, her eyes showing a hint of mockery as she looked at him: “Every time I think about these confusing matters, you get very anxious.”

His fingertips froze, and Xin Wu turned away: “I do not.”

“Then don’t obstruct me.” Moving around him, Long Xu looked at Er’er, continuing to wait for her answer.

Seeing this scene, even though Er’er didn’t know what had happened after her death, she could guess that Long Xu no longer remembered Xin Wu. Her first reaction was that this might be for the best, since Xin Wu hadn’t given her many good memories; most of their past had been filled with torment.

But looking again, she saw that Long Xu’s eyes were bloodshot as she gazed at her earnestly, waiting for her answer.

How contradictory these immortals were—suffering so much they wanted to forget, yet once forgotten, desperately trying to remember. If these two were a perfect match made in heaven, that would be one thing, but they were precisely unsuited for each other.

Sighing lightly, Er’er pointed at Xin Wu: “You should ask him instead. He knows more clearly than I do.”

With that, she tugged at Li Ye’s robe.

“What are you doing?” he asked grumpily.

Coughing lightly, Er’er mumbled vaguely in his ear: “This is between the two of them. It’s not appropriate for us to interfere. Let’s go quickly.”

“Where to?” Li Ye snorted coldly. “The Matchmaker’s Island is gone.”

“Then back to my home,” she said generously, grabbing his hand. “I’ll treat you to something delicious!”

Long Xu looked at them with a complex expression, opening her mouth to ask more questions, but Li Ye moved extremely fast. As soon as Er’er spoke, he vanished from the Seven-Colored Immortal Mountain.

The wind swept maple leaves across the courtyard, falling onto her long whip. Long Xu glanced at it and silently sighed.

***

It was the perfect time for power struggles in the Ninth Heaven, with various immortal sects busy networking. But within half a day, a piece of news spread like wildfire among the gods during their interactions.

“Is it true he has a child?”

“How could it be false? The Thunder God saw it with us. A five or six-year-old child sitting on High God Li Ye’s shoulder.”

“In this world, besides his xchild, whose child would have the ability to sit on his shoulder?”

“That makes sense. Come to think of it, High God Li Ye has been alone for tens of thousands of years. It’s not bad to have a child by his side. But… which female immortal bore it?”

“That female immortal who was sacrificed to heaven died early. I never heard she left behind any children. Wasn’t it said that the High God had deep, unwavering feelings for her? How could he so quickly…”

“Heh, men are men, even immortal ones. How many of their words can you believe?”

Chattering and buzzing, news always travels faster than footsteps. By the time Li Ye and Er’er had just set foot on the threshold of Taihe Immortal Sect, those inside had already been furious for half an hour.

Thus, when Li Ye crossed the threshold, the first thing he heard was: “He’s already an ancient immortal of tens of thousands of years. How could he possibly be worthy of our junior sister, such a young and beautiful girl?”

Li Ye: “…”

Er’er shuddered at the words and immediately cleared her throat loudly.

Everyone in the great hall froze. Meng Wan was the quickest to look up, catching sight of her with some disbelief: “Junior Sister?”

“Greetings, Senior Brothers. It’s been a long time,” Er’er smiled cheerfully, glancing sideways at the gloomy face of the powerful figure beside her, immediately adding: “I’ve come back to the sect with him for a visit.”

The intimacy in her words improved Li Ye’s expression slightly, though his gaze still carried a hint of fury.

Everyone sensed something was amiss and hurriedly dispersed a bit. Only Meng Wan rose and approached, examining her for a moment before asking gently: “You’ve formed your body?”

“Yes, Senior Sister helped nurture it for me in the Ninth Heaven. She asked me to bring a message to the sect, saying she’s doing well up there, so you needn’t worry too much.”

“That’s good,” Meng Wan’s eyes smiled as he looked steadily at her. “I’ve been quite busy lately and just happened to return today to see Master. Seeing you safe and sound has put my mind at ease.”

Still talking about putting his mind at ease at a time like this? Li Ye shifted slightly, and Er’er moved a bit away from him.

As if just noticing him, Meng Wan cupped his hands: “Greetings, High God.”

Li Ye ignored him, his gaze still unfriendly.

Er’er chuckled, smoothing things over: “Where is Master?”

“Unfortunately, he has entered a demonic state of mind and is breaking through his cultivation on the back mountain,” Meng Wan said. “Why don’t you come down first? Walk around the sect freely, and absorb some spiritual energy. That would be good too.”

Hearing this, Er’er shifted her position, but before she could jump down, Li Ye firmly held her in place: “I’ll take you.”

Meng Wan raised an eyebrow: “High God, Junior Sister has legs. Why can’t she walk on her own?”

“Her body is still weak.”

These words didn’t sound like they came from the cold, heartless Li Ye of the past. Meng Wan thought for a moment, then smiled: “Who was it who once said that if he let go and didn’t protect her, she would become even more formidable?”

“Don’t remember,” Li Ye didn’t feel the slightest guilt, and swept his sleeve as he walked out.

“Hey,” Er’er struggled, “I haven’t finished talking with them. Why are you leaving?”

“Talk about what?” Staring straight ahead, Li Ye said coldly, “About how an ancient immortal of ninety thousand years is unworthy of a young and beautiful girl?”

Er’er: “…”

She had only been nurturing her soul for a few hundred years. Why had he become so petty?

Unable to decide whether to laugh or cry, she reached out her small hands to hug his neck: “Your appearance is uniquely handsome in heaven and on earth. Not just ninety thousand years, even nine hundred thousand years wouldn’t make you look old. Besides, I’m a mortal who cultivated immortality. I’m already several hundred years old. Calculating this way, I’m the old granny here. An old granny paired with an old immortal—that’s not bad at all.”