"To live... Together with me?" Cheng Hao inquired: did he perhaps misinterpret what he had just heard? Was this body he had taken over mentally impaired by any chance?
"Yes! Sorry if the sudden news startled you, it was decided on the spot by Senior Lao and this Disciple went along with it!" Xiao Li giggled.
Startled? Cheng Hao had indeed been startled! But it was the kind of being startled that made people want to choke certain old men on the spot…
What was that old fart thinking? Is he actually a shotacon planning to build an harem of unsuspecting eight-year olds?
Sigh... seriously, what the hell is going on in this world? Why would a declining Clan still recovering from almost three centuries of war send one of its precious Young Masters six months' worth of travelling away?
The golden-eyed youth scratched his head. A thought, or more accurately, a memory from his life as Xu Ling, had suddenly surfaced in his mind...
Back then, the him from his past life had been just a little older than forty. Although he was clearly much older than what he looked like, breaking through to the Ageless Realm would bring a stop to the body's aging process… at least on the outside.
He had stopped aging after he had broken through the Ageless Realm at the staggering age of twenty-four. As such, his appearance had staled at that of a handsome young man, with long, flowing black hair and his signature; the breathtaking blue eyes.
At that time, he had just assassinated a Patriarch from a certain Family. The assassination attempt had been akin to a suicide mission so, as per usual, he had chosen to undertake the ordeal himself and had infiltrated the mansion before his comrades could stop him. After all, it's not like he could be killed anyways… Sure enough, the Patriarch was assassinated. However, the blue-eyed youth was being trailed and couldn't directly retreat to headquarters without revealing its position. To avoid his pursuers, he had even gone as far as running away to another plane of existence, but was followed and was ultimately cornered after more than a week of playing hide and seek. Although his opponents were many times weaker than his usual self, at the time his wounds had prevented him from using the full extent of his power. Furthermore, having to run away he could spare no energy to heal himself, so when he finally came face to face with his also tired but mostly fuming chasers, he barely had any strength left to stand. Just as he was about to be caught and brutally tortured, the figure of a purple-haired youth with emerald eyes had suddenly appeared!
When this person had first jumped out, the wounded blue-eyed man had momentarily failed to recognize this youth. It was only later that it would dawn to him: this child, still in his late teens, was none other than the youngest, weakest member of Cheng Hao's band of ragtag rebels. Being still in his late teens and still not in the Ageless Realm, what could that youth possibly do to stand in the way of several powerful Ageless Realm cultivators?
And yet…
For two days and three nights, this 'weakling' had actually stood his ground! Against dozens, hundreds of enemies many times stronger than himself, he had somehow managed to last long enough for the blue-eyed youth to recover and slaughter the remaining enemies himself!
"How… How did you find me?" the, blue-eyed youth had asked in astonishment, as he held in his hands an injured, purple-haired, green-eyed youth. "And just why… Why would you go so far for me?"
"What do you mean 'how' and 'why', boss?" had replied the wounded man while smiling blissfully. "I'm your number one stalker and self-proclaimed number one fan, boss! I have your presence memorized by every single cell in my body! Of course I'd know where you'd be! I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking gorge, in this strange-looking mountain range! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to catch up to you, you run really fast! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss!""
At the time, after pondering for a long time over the meaning behind the words of this child that had called him boss so enthusiastically, the blue-eyed man had ultimately chosen to disregard the statement from the wounded youth and concluded that him being found had been a fruit of luck… and nothing more.
Years later, the now forty-five-something-years-old blue-eyed cultivator had fallen to a scheme of some shrewd cultivators, had his strength sealed, and was thus caught and soon to be executed. Just as he was about to be killed, the purple-haired youth, without any regards for the countless injuries he received, had charged amongst countless enemy cultivators! After bathing the floor with blood, the young man somehow managed to freed the trapped, blue-eyed man at the very last moment before falling unconscious from the pain.
Having had his shackles removed and seeing the wounded figure of the purple-haired youth laying on the ground, the blue-eyed youth had slaughtered everybody present in a fit of rage.
The emerald-eyed youth: "See boss? I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking hall, in this strange-looking castle! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to get past the guards outside! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss!"
But... Hadn't the location for his execution decided on the spot? Barely half an hour had passed since the time he was caught until the executioner was ready to go! And yet, this brat found him?
Could it be...
No!
Once again, he had been 'lucky'! Next time, he might not have such luck and although he might not truly die, he might drag others down in his place! He would have to be more careful in the future...
Again! He had let down his guard… Again!
He had been exploring an underwater ruin full of defensive measures, when he had carelessly fallen into a sealing formation.
Alone, no guide… EH! Honesty, what exactly was I expecting?
And now, trapped into a neigh-Indestructible Seal that could neither be seen nor sensed, and all that while in an ancient Tomb at the depths of an ocean, the blue-eyed man in his fifties could only sigh as he began to ration his food: he could only hope for a miracle now.
Suddenly, mere hours after the activation of the death trap, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed throughout the darkness of the Tomb as a familiar cascade of purple strands hastily entered the blue-eyed youth's field of vision...
The blue-eyed man had been shocked, but would not lose his calm just like that. First things first, he checked whether he could somehow grab the attention of the green-eyed youth... Nope, nothing worked. The seal blocked light, sound and even smell from passing through to the outside.
Sigh, in the end, that boy would probably leave, wouldn't he? After all, why would he even stick around? He was not even aware of the existence of this formation; it was just by chance that he had entered this room first…
Yes, that has to be it!
Reality, however, would prove the blue-eyed man's thoughts to be wrong: even after six days had passed, the purple-haired youth still had yet to leave! Instead, he had spent all that time scouring every inch of the room like a madman! Looking at this unbelievable scene from behind the walls of the invisible formation, a pair of blue eyes followed the young man's movements. Finally, on the dawn of the seventh day, the youth with purple hair had found the switch to deactivate the formation!
No food, no water, not blinking, not resting for seven days straight: the green-eyed young man immediately collapsed on the ground.
"Just..." The blue-eyed man had muttered as he held the exhausted youth in his arms, "How?"
You are so much younger. You are so much weaker. And yet, you are always there when I need you the most...
"See boss?" A weakened voice rang out. "I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking room, in these strange-looking ruins! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to find the switch! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss!"
The blue-eyed man fell silent and used a special method to allow the other to rest peacefully. Then, he allowed himself to shed a tear.
Luck? How could he possibly think of this as being 'Luck'?
How could he discard this child's efforts as them simply being fruit of something as feeble as 'Luck'??? He would not insult him like this, after all that he had done and sacrificed for him!!!
"Leave it to you?" He chuckled bitterly and then nodded, caressing the sleeping youth. "Fine. I'm counting on you… Xiao Lan."
"You're my self-proclaimed number one fan, you say?" Drop, drop, drop: a stream of hot tears began to fall. "Very well. I shall accept it! Because now I finally understand what it's like to have an idol!"
"See boss? I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking chamber, in this strange-looking dungeon! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to climb down the air ducts! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to- Oh? Boss! Is that a smile I see? Ouch! I'm sorry boss, no need to pinch me..."
"See boss? I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking alcove, in this strange-looking temple! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to convince the crazed followers outside to let me join the procession! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss! Uhm, why is boss laughing?"
"See boss? I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking cave, in this strange-looking underground tunnel! Oh, this dirt? Ahaha, sorry I got a bit dirty, while digging the hole to get here! Sorry if I made you wait! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss! Uh? Why is boss crying? Am I that amazing?"
"See boss? I knew you'd be- Agh!"
"What boss and boss! I am no one's boss, we are all brothers! Now just shut up you little brother of mine and accept my bear-hug, AHAHAHAHAH! Oh? You're blushing now? You're just too cute, Little Lan!"
"S-See boss? I knew-"
"Yes, yes, you knew, but you also know the drill! Bear-hug!"
"...ok…"
"... Usual?"
"Yup! The usual routine! Come here, boy, I missed you!"
Indeed: there was simply nowhere that the young man with purple hair wouldn't be able find him, and there was nothing those green eyes wouldn't happily put on the line to save him from any sort of peril. When the purple-haired youth finally also stepped into the Ageless Realm at twenty-seven years of age, he caused an uproar within the esteemed Xiao Clan.
In comparison, a breakthrough to the Ageless Realm at the age of twenty-seven would be like getting a doctorate degree on Earth at the age of five! It was a never-seen-before event in the history of the Xiao Clan!
Bad luck had it however, that this had been achieved by none other than the same Young Master that they had expelled from the Clan a few years prior!
How ironic was that?
Roughly a dozen years ago, Xiao Lan had been a part of the Main Lineage of the Xiao Clan as well as the publicly recognized future Head of the Clan. Then, one day, he had expressed the wish to join a certain blue-eyed youth's quest to wage war against the Heavens. He had even announced later that he would be leaving the Clan's Grounds soon. As soon as he actually did, his status as Young Master and member of the Xiao Clan was revoked: had a member of their Xiao Clan publicly announced his intention to fight against Tian, it would be disastrous! It would be like a declaration of war to the Nine Heavens! Thus, Xiao Lan had been forcibly expelled.
After the news of the young Xiao Lan's breakthrough to the Ageless Realm spread and reached the ears of the Xiao Clan, those same Elders of the Clan that had kicked him out back then all felt like going back in time and kicking themselves instead…
That was because, not only was the rebellion against the Nine Heavens slowly leaning towards success - while they had announced their intention to fight on Tian's side -, but they had also banished a genius that could have brought their Xiao Clan's reputation soaring through the sky!
After his breakthrough into the Realm of the Ageless, the young man with purple hair and green eyes had also stopped aging. However, since the blue-eyed youth had entered the Ageless Realm at a slightly younger age, Xiao Lan actually looked slightly older than him. For a while after that, the green-eyed youth would often joke around, "Eheh, how is it that I'm younger than boss, and yet I look older? Do I get to be the boss now?", which would be soon followed by a fierce headlock and a round of laughter on the blue-eyed youth's part.
Roughly twenty years later, Xiao Lan was kidnapped by a Clan of swordsmen; the Ran Clan. Less than a week after that, a blue-eyed demon appeared into the battlefield, slaughtering all Ran swordsmen that dared to come out of their Clan Grounds. This enraged the Head of the Clan, who foolishly sent away all the strongest members at his disposal to search and go after that demon for revenge. A few days later, the demon arrived on the Ran Clan's grounds and, with the absence of the only people that might have posed a threat to him gone to, (ironically) look for him elsewhere, he slaughtered his way into the Clan, killing every single living thing that crossed his path. His killing spree only came to a stop after he found and rescued the imprisoned Xiao Lan. The two then vanished before those experts could come back, leaving behind only a city full of corpses, and the head of the Ran Clan's Head (lol) hanging from the city gates: it would only be in the far future that the survivors of the Ran Clan, whom had joined Tian, and the Rebels, lead by Xu Ling, would cross paths again in a single, massive battlefield with the forces of Heaven on one side and the armies of the Evil Saint on the other...
Let's flash forward another ten years from the massacre of the Ran Clan, and the little boy bearing the surname Xiao finally stepped into the Immortal Realm at the age of fifty-nine years old, breaking any and all previously set records! On the same day, he went back to the Xiao Clan and, with the support of the Evil Saint Xu Ling, imposed himself as the Head, announcing the breaking off of the Xiao Clan from the Nine Heavens and the alliance with Xu Ling's army! From that moment onwards, the Xiao Clan and the Evil Saint became allies!
On that day, a pair of mesmerizing emeralds and two breathtaking sapphires exchanged a glance and smiled: it had been roughly forty years since their first true encounter. At that time, life had been extremely difficult for both. But now, from a group of ragtag rebels, they had both become existences the world would be unable to ignore!
The first had become the head of the esteemed Xiao Clan, becoming the fastest person to have entered the Immortal Realm at the 'tender' age of fifty-nine years old! Standing on top of the Xiao Clan's Throne, he could simply wave a hand to deploy hundreds of thousands, millions of powerful cultivators: he had become a King of all below Heaven!
The second had become the renowned Evil Saint, leader of the rebellion against Tian's Nine Heaven and Heaven's Tyrant! The man with cold yet breathtakingly beautiful blue eyes that had eradicated countless Clans while still only in the Ageless Realm, stepped into the Immortal Realm at sixty-one, and at eighty-five years old was the head of an army of millions of beasts of all kinds and shapes; Xu Ling!
Forty years ago, Xiao Lan had met a wounded Xu Ling and had protected him with his own body, lowering himself to using his nails and teeth to fight back, coughing blood with every breath: all to save the blue-eyed youth from impending death. He had repeatedly done so again and again for the following four decades, and had never asked for anything in return! And now, on that faithful day forty years later, that same person he had so vehemently called "Boss" had picked him up and placed him atop one of the tallest thrones that there could be! A friendship that spanned decades, that would last for many centuries to come and, up to the final day, the day they finally faced Tian head on, Xiao Lan had always stayed by Xu Ling's side, always there when needed… and somehow always aware of his position at any given time.
…
A thousand years had now passed however.
Xu Ling had reincarnated in the body of a young child only eight years old in a low-profile plane of existence. He had spent six months to get used to the unfamiliar body and explore the region of the world he had reincarnated into. Nobody should have ever been aware of his existence. He had even only caught the unsuspecting Goldy that was residing in another plane of existence through a certain, one-of-a-kind method...
And yet, six months ago, someone had actually ordered the current Young Master of his family, a descendant - possibly the only descendant - to travel to the abovementioned low-key plane of existence without so much of an explanation and seemingly no reason... other than to have the two of them meet?
Coincidence?
Luck?
Cheng Hao smiled and a single tear rolled down his cheek under the curious gaze of the young Xiao Li.
He almost seemed to hear the energetic voice in his head... That voice that had been so annoying, so mysterious, at first, and that with time had become the most pleasant of melodies… a melody that soothed one's very soul:
"See boss? I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking Sect, in this strange-looking Plane of Existence! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to reach this place as it was simply too far! I hope you'll forgive me. I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss! And even if I can't be there in person… Well, my descendant by blood will! Eheheh, Boss, ain't I awesome? You think I'll also get a cool nickname someday? Something as eye-catching as Evil Saint? That would be nice..."
Drop… Drop… Drop…
"Self-proclaimed number one fan of mine… you used to say?"
Drop, drop: one after another, a stream of hot tears began to roll down the golden-eyed child's cheeks. Cheng Hao looked up towards the sky with a complicated gaze. Then, he smiled. It was a smile that was both painful and relieving at the same time, and that communicated extreme longing. "Idiot… It's me who should be saying that about you, you little stalker!"
Cheng Hao wiped away the tears with the long sleeves of his robes and then pointed to the sky, a menacing expression on his face. "You truly do deserve a super-cool nickname. If we have the chance to meet again... I'll make one up just for you! So don't you dare die on me before I do just that!"
"Now then..." Cheng Hao smiled and grabbed Xiao Li's shoulder so firmly that the other almost let out a scream. "Shall we take a look at what's up with this little nephew of yours that you so kindly sent me?"