The first lunar month had passed, and unknowingly, it had been more than a month since they left Dunhuang. Hongjun felt uneasy, and as they went deeper into Taihang Mountains, the uneasiness grew stronger and stronger. Sometimes, he suddenly had the idea of turning back with Li Jinglong, and sometimes he wished that this road had no end.
It was as if as long as they were separated from the world, many things would not happen, and there was no need to worry.
They left their horses in the meadow, and after passing through the narrow sky of Taihang Mountains, they followed the ancient path of thousands of years ago and climbed up the mountain. The sky was vast, and the only sound came from several birds. After they finished eating, Hongjun taught Li Jinglong how to fish by the stream. Hongjun used a flying knife to nail the fish in the water, and Li Jinglong would catch them and roast them. There were many unknown fruits and wild mushrooms in the forest. This was how Hongjun went down the mountain.
"It's that mountain." Hongjun pointed to the snow mountain in the distance.
They finally arrived at their destination. In Li Jinglong's eyes, almost all the mountains looked the same. The two prepared three days' worth of food, and Hongjun led him through the forest, turning left and right, looking for the marks he made when he went down the mountain. They climbed up the cliff along the trees.
The wind was very strong, and it was Li Jinglong's first time climbing a mountain barehanded. Especially where the Dazzling Golden Palace was located, only birds could reach it. He and Hongjun stood side by side on the cliff. Hongjun was used to climbing up and down, but he was afraid that Li Jinglong would step on the wrong side, so he held on tightly to his hand.
When they reached a narrow cliff, Li Jinglong wiped his sweat, and looked up with Hongjun. Hongjun threw out a hook and hung it on a rock in front of the cliff. He climbed up a bit, landed, and threw the hook down again, pulling Li Jinglong up.
"Your house is so high up!" Li Jinglong thought it was some ancient temple deep in the mountains, and did not expect there to be no road.
Hongjun said, "The scenery up there is very good! Come on! "
And then Hongjun threw the hook rope again. Every time he threw the hook rope, the two of them would climb up a bit. Only then did Li Jinglong realize that Hongjun's skill of leaping over eaves and vaulting over walls was unexpectedly trained this way.
By the time they were near the clouds, the top of their heads was already covered with ten-thousand-year-old ice. Halfway up the mountain, there was only one person standing on the ground. Hongjun and Li Jinglong were almost squeezed together to rest. The two of them stood on a two-chi square protruding rock in front of the cliff, panting slightly.
Hongjun swung his grappling hook again, but all the ice above his head crumbled down in an earth-shattering manner.
"Be careful!" Li Jinglong immediately turned around and hugged Hongjun tightly. The icy waterfall collapsed, and Hongjun's heart was beating wildly. The two of them were tightly pressed against each other, and their noses were pressed against each other. They were both panting nervously.
The crazily falling ice and snow just so happened to pass over the two of them and fell into the deep valley. After a while, the sound gradually disappeared. The two people's breaths intertwined, and they looked at each other for a long time. Hongjun actually felt that both he and Li Jinglong had a reaction. Li Jinglong's was almost domineeringly pressing against him. Li Jinglong's eyes were smiling, and his two hands were pressed against the cliff, looking at him with bad intentions.
"How does it feel to be hugged like this?" Li Jinglong actually had the mood to tease him, "Say, have you already taken a fancy to Gege?"
Hongjun's face was completely red, and he said, "Don't tease me!"
Hongjun only moved a little, but Li Jinglong immediately shouted and almost fell down. Hongjun hurriedly pulled him back, but before he knew it, more ice and snow fell from above their heads. Li Jinglong hugged him again, and the two of them looked up together. After a few times, the layer of ice finally slid down, and Hongjun threw out the hook rope again.
When Hongjun went down the mountain, Qing Xiong directly sent him to the bottom of Gu Feng, but he had climbed this path many times before. If he was alone, he could go up and down, but if he was carrying Li Jinglong, the difficulty was obviously much higher.
As the sun set in the west, Hongjun climbed to a cliff in the middle to rest. He lowered the rope, and Li Jinglong couldn't help but slip and climb up with difficulty.
"It's fine up there." Hongjun said, "We've already passed the clouds, and there's no ice at the top. Let's rest for the night."
Li Jinglong's right hand was still trembling a little after the battle at Mogao Cave, so he immediately sat down on the cliff side by side with Hongjun. At this time, the wind blew, the sea of clouds dispersed, and the setting sun shone with golden rays. Looking out from the west side of Gu Feng, one could see the vast Divine Continent, winding mountains, and the plains outside the mountains stretched for thousands of li.
"It's so beautiful." Li Jinglong murmured, "We didn't waste our time."
Hongjun replied absentmindedly, "When I was still very young, my only wish was to leave Taihang and go to the 'mortal world' that Qing Xiong talked about."
"What do you think now?" Li Jinglong tilted his head to look at Hongjun.
Hongjun's youth's eyes were so bright, and his face was full of longing. Li Jinglong seemed to see the first Hongjun, the clear and clean Hongjun. After leaving Chang 'an, he became depressed. This made Li Jinglong puzzled, and when he sat on the mountain and watched the setting sun for thousands of li, his former self came back.
"The mortal world is very good." Hongjun murmured, then turned his head and smiled.
Li Jinglong put his arm around Hongjun's shoulder, and the setting sun shone.
"What's good about it?" Li Jinglong asked again.
Hongjun thought for a moment, then said in confusion, "I don't know."
"When I was young, I wanted to learn skills and cultivate." Li Jinglong said absentmindedly, "I wanted to go to a mountain where no mortal could go, and become the disciple of a powerful master. But you wanted to come to the mortal world, to this mortal world. "
"Qing Xiong said that the mountain is not fun." Hongjun said strangely, "The mortal world is fun. If you learn skills, don't you want to come back to the mortal world? Otherwise, why do you want to cultivate? What's the point of staying on the mountain for a lifetime of immortality? "
Li Jinglong hurriedly smiled and said, "Of course, it's not to show off to mortals that I want to learn skills."
Hongjun asked, "To protect Shenzhou? But you've never seen demons wreak havoc in the mortal world. In these years, Shenzhou has always been prosperous and peaceful. What made you believe in the book Di Renjie left behind? "
A long time ago, Li Jinglong had answered him, but if he continued to ask, he would start to feel a little confused. He had always been very persistent on this idea. Even if he was ridiculed by others for believing in supernatural powers and worrying about nothing, he had never changed.
Now that he thought about it, why?
"It's fate." Li Jinglong finally said, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you."
Hongjun grunted and leaned on his shoulder. The sun sank into the horizon, and the stars rose. At this moment, Hongjun's mind was unusually calm, and he no longer had many worries.
At dawn the next day, Hongjun began to climb again.
Climbing to the top of Taihang, this was the last section, and also the most difficult section. There were often stone walls that were close to fifty to sixty feet high, and there was no place to lean on, only cracks in the rock. Hongjun tried several times, hooking the crack with the hook, first climbing up, then inserting a flying knife into the crack, and hanging by his hand, dragging Li Jinglong up. He also grabbed the flying knife, and like a steel wedge nailed to the rock wall, he slowly climbed up, one foot at a time.
The waterfall of clouds circled, rose, and fell. Li Jinglong struggled to hold the flying knife and said, "Hongjun … I'll ask you one last question …"
"What?" Hongjun looked down from above.
"You didn't … climb the wrong mountain, right?" Li Jinglong looked down at his feet. At this moment, he was holding the flying knife nailed to the cliff with one hand. Ten thousand feet below his feet, after the clouds dispersed, a distant and unreachable land appeared.
If he fell down like this, he would immediately be smashed to pieces.
"If you climb up, you won't be able to come down!" Li Jinglong said.
Hongjun, "…"
Hongjun didn't think about this problem. When he came back to his senses, he immediately said, "Probably … not …"
"… Probably?"
When Li Jinglong heard this answer, he almost couldn't catch his breath and fell down.
Hongjun grabbed the flying knife with one hand and threw out a hook rope with the other. He hung it on the high platform that stretched out from the top. Holding the hook rope, he swung it and kept pulling it back. After a few moments, he climbed up. He let out a long sigh and stood on the high platform. However, he suddenly shook and almost fell down.
On the high platform, a man stood in front of him.
A strong wind blew, and the man's fiery red royal robe fluttered. His long belt fluttered like a phoenix's plume, one of which had long been broken. His royal robe was loose and hung loosely on his shoulders. His face was cold and indifferent, and his golden eyes stared at Hongjun.
It was Chong Ming.
Hongjun looked at him for a long time and instantly forgot what he wanted to say. In the end, he whispered, "Father."
"Hongjun — —!"
Li Jinglong shouted from below, "Are you okay?! Where is he? "
Hongjun came back to his senses. He hurriedly put down the hook rope and pulled Li Jinglong up. Li Jinglong gasped for breath. His robe was hanging in a mess. When he straightened up, he saw Chong Ming and suddenly became nervous.
"Uncle Chong … Chong Ming." Li Jinglong hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed.
"You still know to come back?" Chong Ming's words were directed at Hongjun.
Hongjun only stood silently and did not speak. Chong Ming looked at the two of them, snorted coldly, and turned to leave. Hongjun wanted to chase after him, but a young man came over and whispered, "Your Highness."
"Your Highness, this way please."
"Father! I have something to ask you! "Hongjun ignored the attendant's words and said to Chong Ming.
Chong Ming stopped and said in a low voice, "There will be a chance." Then he shook his wings and turned into a Phoenix, flying towards the palace in the distance with a blazing fire.
The two of them climbed up to a platform outside the main hall of Dazzling Gold Palace. There was a pond on the platform and beside the pond were Chinese parasol trees. Li Jinglong kept the rope and the young men came to invite the guests in to rest. Hongjun was disappointed. Li Jinglong said, "Hongjun, talk nicely. Don't quarrel with your father."
Hongjun could only nod and sigh.
No matter what, it felt good to be home. He led Li Jinglong out of the main hall and past the garden along the corridor. Li Jinglong saw that the place was filled with unknown immortal herbs and immortal mushrooms. He asked, "You planted all of these?"
"I planted them in the past." Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Shall I show you around?"
"Let's go back and tidy up first." Li Jinglong smiled. "There's no rush."
Dazzling Gold Palace covered an area of ten thousand hectares. Inside the palace, there were nearly a thousand attendants in human form. The palace was built with Hetian jade. Hetian Jade! Li Jinglong was dumbfounded. Daming Palace, Xingqing Palace, Pure Flowers Palace … Although the palaces of emperors in the mortal world were luxurious, they were far from this level. The entire Dazzling Gold Palace was divided into the East, West and Middle Halls. Each hall was filled with corridors and carved railings. It was built even earlier than the Han Dynasty. All the furnishings were ancient artifacts from the Three Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty.
The attendant led Li Jinglong to the West Hall. The door was decorated with a peacock plume design similar to Hongjun's jade plume. Even the drinking utensils were made of colored glass. There were also many gilded gold and soft smoky muslin. The bookshelves were also made of red sandalwood.
"Elder Li." A youth entered and said, "The water is ready. Here are your clothes."
Li Jinglong picked it up and saw that in just a short quarter of an hour, Dazzling Gold Palace had actually made a set of clothes identical to his martial robe. It was just that the brocade used was of better quality.
"I'll do it myself." Even though Li Jinglong's family was large and prosperous, he had never been so extravagant. After a bath, he changed into a new set of clothes. In Dazzling Gold Palace, the youths were probably all birds. They were all bare-chested and only wore trousers to make it easier for them to spread their wings. The clothes made for Li Jinglong were dark purple martial pants. They even specially prepared wooden clogs for him and a thin dark-colored short gown for his upper body.
Strangely enough, the peak of Taihang Mountain was not cold at all. It was as warm as spring and summer. It was most likely because of Phoenix.
"Elder Li, this way please." The youths came to invite him again.
Li Jinglong thought that it was probably Hongjun who told them to call him that, so he nodded and followed the guide. He casually looked at the open doors of each room. There was Hongjun's library, a martial arts room, and a grass pig for practicing flying daggers. There was also a medicine room with a built-in cauldron, mortar, and other facilities.
Hongjun had also just taken a bath. His hair was cut short and dripping wet. Demons were not like mortals. They did not have the rule that their parents could not harm their bodies, hair, and skin. His short hair made him look more energetic. After returning to Dazzling Gold Palace, he also changed into a pair of navy blue silk pants and habitually went bare-chested. A youth was currently mixing the colors and drawing a dark blue tattoo on his left chest.
His skin was fair and his abs were well-defined. His chest was very beautiful. After the tattoo was drawn, it made him look even more sexy.
"… When will we have a hot spring or something like that here …"
Hongjun was talking to the youths, but no one answered him. Hongjun talked to himself and told them about his experiences at the foot of the mountain, especially the Pure Flowers Palace's hot spring. It was very comfortable to soak in it.
The youths were afraid that if they answered him, it would cause him to get into trouble again, so they all kept silent.
"And the food at the foot of the mountain is especially delicious." Hongjun continued, "I'll let the chef change it occasionally."
Li Jinglong smiled and looked at him in the mirror. When Hongjun saw him, he blushed.
"They usually dress like this," Hongjun answered. "How about I put on my shirt?"
Li Jinglong hurriedly waved his hand and did not say anything. He looked Hongjun up and down. Hongjun was a little nervous from his gaze, but also a little excited for some reason.
"What are you looking at?" Hongjun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I'm looking at how beautiful you are," Li Jinglong said.
Although there were many youths in Dazzling Gold Palace, they were all handsome, but they couldn't compare to Hongjun. There was naturally a bright and clean aura between his brows.
The attendant drew a feather pattern on Hongjun's left shoulder and left chest, then took out a jade pendant for him to wear around his neck. Someone came to report that His Majesty was inviting guests for a meal.
When the sun set, Li Jinglong went to eat. Presumably, Hongjun had just returned home and needed to spend more time with Chong Ming, so he told him not to accompany him. Unexpectedly, Hongjun came back in a hurry not long after.
"I don't know where Chong Ming went." Hongjun said, "I'll eat with you."
The attendant served the meal. It was a strange bowl of rice, soup made with fish and tofu, eggs fried with tree leaves, and some meat.
"Eggs." Hongjun saw Li Jinglong's expression and knew what he was thinking. He said, "They're not my father's eggs."
Li Jinglong, "…"
"Do you know how to lay eggs?" Li Jinglong suddenly asked.
"Even if I'm a monster, I'm still a male!" Hongjun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Only females lay eggs!"
Li Jinglong was just teasing him. He said, "It would be fun to have a little Hongjun like you."
Hongjun motioned for Li Jinglong to eat quickly. Both of them were hungry, but the "rice" in the bowl was not steamed rice. It was fragrant, but the texture was extremely rough.
"The rice is still so tough." Hongjun choked and stretched his neck. Li Jinglong hurriedly scooped some soup for him, then took a bite. He said, "Isn't this bamboo rice?!"
Hongjun didn't know how precious bamboo rice was. Li Jinglong thought that in this world, only Phoenix could steam bamboo rice into rice. This was probably the only restaurant that could make bamboo rice so unpalatable.
"What kind of meat is this?"
"Rabbit." Hongjun said, "I caught it at the foot of the mountain."
Li Jinglong finally understood why Hongjun was like a hungry ghost at the foot of the mountain. No matter how much he ate, he couldn't fill his stomach. It was because the dishes in Dazzling Gold Palace were extremely bland, with almost no oil or salt. Even if matsutake was fried with rabbit meat, only the rabbit's own fat was used to produce oil, and no sauce was added.
"Rabbits are so cute." Hongjun said, "How can they make it so unpalatable? It's such a waste of natural resources."
Li Jinglong, "…"
The youths serving by the side could only listen to Hongjun's complaints. Hongjun casually ate some and stopped eating. He asked, "Have you all eaten?"
Finally, someone answered. Everyone replied that they had eaten. Hongjun then let them go out and didn't need to follow him. Li Jinglong also didn't need to accompany him. Only then did the birds spread their wings and flew away.
"Zhao Zilong didn't come back." Li Jinglong said.
Hongjun said, "That's good. Otherwise, it would be scolded." As he said that, he went out and rummaged through the cabinets to find tea. He found half a packet of bamboo green tea and poured it into a glass cup with boiling water. He handed a cup to Li Jinglong. The two sat under the porch and looked at the moon. Tonight happened to be a full moon. The moon above Taihang Mountain was big and round. When the wind blew, it was like a summer night in paradise.
"This place is so beautiful." Li Jinglong said.
"Time flies." Hongjun replied in a low voice. He didn't want to go back before he went home, but when he got home, he couldn't bear to leave.
"How do you spend your time at home?" Li Jinglong asked, "Your magic was taught by Chong Ming?"
"Reading books and getting into trouble." Hongjun said, "Chong Ming likes to sleep in the main hall. Qing Xiong came and will play with me for a few days. "
"There are so many birds. Don't you have any friends?" Li Jinglong asked.
"They don't know how to talk." Hongjun said, "It's not that they don't know how to talk. It's just that … they only cultivated for a few decades. Their spirituality hasn't been developed yet. They relied on my father's spiritual power to transform them into humans. They can only help and do some simple things. They aren't as smart as the foxes. They would say whatever they were told to say. The ones we usually see are big monsters. The Ghost King was transformed from a human and didn't cultivate spirituality. The God of Plagues and Mysterious Fairy have cultivated for two or three hundred years, but their evil spirits haven't disappeared. "
"Zhao Zilong didn't talk to you?" Li Jinglong asked again.
"It was afraid of being scolded. It said that it urged me to get into trouble." Hongjun joked, "My father said that if it led me astray again, he would make it into a grilled fish."
Li Jinglong remembered that when he walked through this gilded palace, he seemed to see little Hongjun's figure running between the rooms.
Hongjun put down the glass cup in his hand. The green tea reflected the full moon in the sky. A light breeze blew, and the wind chimes in the corridor rang in unison.
Hongjun said, "Thank you for accompanying me home, Elder Shi."
He stood up and walked through the corridor under the moon without saying a word. The moonlight shone on his naked body. Li Jinglong didn't turn back. He suddenly said, "Hongjun."
Hongjun turned back at the end of the corridor and looked at Li Jinglong, who was still sitting in front of the corridor with his back to him.
Li Jinglong was silent for a long time. He seemed a little nervous. His slender fingers played with the glass cup. A small moon was reflected in the cup.
"Will you accompany me back to Chang 'an?" Li Jinglong smiled a little sadly. "I always feel that after you come back this time, you won't leave again."
"I will." Hongjun said without thinking.
Li Jinglong was about to raise his head, but Hongjun had already disappeared at the end of the corridor.
He walked through the parasol tree forest and walked past the wall that he often faced. He couldn't help but stop. His heart was beating so violently that he was suddenly at a loss.
He stared blankly at the wall. He didn't even know why he blurted it out.
"Your Highness." A youth said, "His Majesty invites you."
Hongjun hurriedly turned around and ran to the main hall.
The main hall had been burned down by the fire he caused last time. It had been repaired and was no different from before. There were several stone pillars in front of the hall. Behind them was a bright moon. The throne high up was still empty. There was a pool on the platform facing the mountain. A parasol tree was planted beside the pool. A person sat under the parasol tree. It was Chong Ming.
Hongjun slowed down and came behind the parasol tree.
When he was young, Chong Ming would often lean against the parasol tree and sit by the pool. Hongjun would lie on his bare chest and sleep for an entire night.
He didn't change at all. It was as if time had nothing to do with him.
"What do you want to ask? Ask." Chong Ming said in a low voice.
Hongjun stood behind Chong Ming and whispered, "I found out the cause of father and mother's death."
Chong Ming said, "Very good. You didn't disappoint."