The Star Lord Chang Sheng of the Palace of Trials - Chapter 13
Chapter 18: I Won’t Watch You Die
“High God Kongqi, I beg you to bestow your clan’s treasure, the Drought-Fire Lingzhi, to save his life!”
Hearing this, Kongqi’s expression turned troubled.
He could hardly be blamed. Even though the Drought-Fire Lingzhi grew exclusively in the Qilin habitat, it bore fruit only once every thousand years. It was the paramount treasure of the Qilin clan, not something to be handed out lightly.
Under normal circumstances, ordinary Cold-Ice Affliction would never require a Drought-Fire Lingzhi.
Although rare, the lingzhi’s actual utility was extremely limited. For deities whose inner cores were naturally fire-attributed, such as Wei Qing or Kongqi, consuming it could slightly boost their cultivation. However, the user also needed a certain baseline of mastery; otherwise, their internal organs would be scorched dry by the drought-fire, bringing more harm than good. For a non-fire deity like Ni Yan, it was completely useless—less effective than a can of energy drink.
Yet everything in creation has its counter. The unique drought-fire property of this lingzhi happened to be the absolute nemesis of the Heavenly Mountain’s waters. Legend had it that if one held a Drought-Fire Lingzhi in their mouth, they could cross the Snow Lotus Pool of the Heavenly Mountain completely unharmed. Of course, this was merely a legend, and no one had ever witnessed its truth.
For Xiao Fan to explicitly ask for the Drought-Fire Lingzhi, Star Lord Changsheng’s Cold-Ice Affliction was clearly far from simple.
Kongqi furrowed his brows and asked, “Is that rumor true? The ice within Star Lord Changsheng’s body… is it really because of the Tianshan’s Snow Lotus Pool?”
Xiao Fan nodded.
Knowing how difficult this was for Kongqi, Star Lord Changsheng spoke up, “High God Kongqi, please do not feel conflicted. All of this is my own doing. I am already overwhelmed by your generous concern; please do not trouble yourself further on my account.”
Kongqi bowed deeply to Star Lord Changsheng and said, “It is not that Kongqi is unwilling, but this is a treasure of my clan, and not something I can decide on my own. Allow me to return and discuss it with my kinsmen before giving Star Lord Changsheng an answer.”
Star Lord Changsheng smiled faintly.
“A priceless treasure of the Qilin clan is beyond my humble fortune to enjoy, nor would I dare covet it. It is merely the suffering of a little cold; blame it on my own frail constitution, and please do not listen to Xiao Fan’s exaggerations.”
Although Kongqi wished to transfer his qi to Star Lord Changsheng to help suppress the cold, he was politely declined.
After lingering a short while, Kongqi departed for home.
Seeing Star Lord Changsheng refuse to seek help from Kongqi, Xiao Fan was deeply baffled.
“Have you lost your mind? Do you really think your Cold-Ice Affliction will just cure itself? Without Wei Qing, you wouldn’t even have ten years to live!”
Star Lord Changsheng replied with an indifferent expression, “What does it matter? Perhaps Ni Yan might master some fire-elemental magic, and then I won’t need Wei Qing anymore.”
Xiao Fan retorted angrily, “Besides Ni Yan, there are plenty of people in this world who don’t want you to die!”
Star Lord Changsheng smiled and rejoined, “Then why don’t you practice fire magic?”
It was, of course, a joke. Xiao Fan’s true form was a koi fish, and his inner core belonged to the water element. Even if he scrapped his cultivation and restarted from scratch, he could never produce fire magic.
Uncharacteristically, Xiao Fan had not touched a drop of alcohol today. His expression was unusually solemn as he said, “I won’t watch you die. Tell me… how much do you actually like Jufang?”
Caught completely off guard by the abrupt question, Star Lord Changsheng flustered, “What… what nonsense are you talking about! The one she likes is Wuyi!”
The bashful boy was so panicked he became incoherent, speaking as if he was the one who liked Wuyi.
Xiao Fan’s face darkened as he pressed, “If Jufang really runs off with Wuyi to live happily ever after, will you truly have no regrets?”
Hitting a sore spot, Star Lord Changsheng murmured softly, “What is there to regret? The two of them are childhood sweethearts. Where do I fit into the conversation?”
Xiao Fan sighed.
“If you don’t want her, someone else will. If you harbor resentment in the future, blame it on me!”
Star Lord Changsheng thought to himself, If she isn’t mine to begin with, how can I demand her?
But Xiao Fan’s thoughts ran on a completely different track.
Xiao Fan knew it was impossible for Jufang to end up with Wuyi.
However, if Star Lord Changsheng was so willing to let go, someone else would certainly love to be with Jufang.
And that person happened to hold the Drought-Fire Lingzhi in his hands.
After speaking with Star Lord Changsheng,
Xiao Fan hurried to catch up with Kongqi, who had not departed long ago.
“High God, please wait!” Xiao Fan called out.
Seeing that it was Xiao Fan, Kongqi guessed his intent was likely still the Drought-Fire Lingzhi.
He offered a bow and said, “Immortal, I can roughly guess what you wish to say. Regarding the Drought-Fire Lingzhi, regardless of what Star Lord Changsheng says, I will do my utmost. However, as it is not a decision I can make unilaterally, I cannot make promises lightly. I hope you can understand. In any case, Star Lord Changsheng was kind to me; even if the lingzhi cannot be secured, I will find another way to dispel the Cold-Ice Affliction.”
Xiao Fan replied, “I have long heard of High God Kongqi’s upright character. I am grateful that you care so deeply for Star Lord Changsheng. If you successfully obtain the Drought-Fire Lingzhi, I must offer a token of appreciation so as not to fall short of the Qilin clan’s great favor.”
Just as Kongqi was about to offer a polite refusal, Xiao Fan continued, “Though lacking in talent, I know the affairs of the mortal realm like the back of my hand. I heard that High God Kongqi cared deeply for a certain mortal woman, and I took the liberty of looking into it. I have learned her current whereabouts. I believe you still care about Li Qianwu.”
Upon hearing those words, Kongqi lost his composure, his inner peace visibly shaken.
Xiao Fan pressed on, “Once High God Kongqi delivers the Drought-Fire Lingzhi, I will personally present that woman to you with both hands.”
We need not meet again in this lifetime… but that was in the last lifetime, Kongqi thought to himself.
If there is a next life, this time I will watch over you every second without missing a single moment.
….
A few days later, Kongqi brought the Drought-Fire Lingzhi as promised.
However, before delivering it to Star Lord Changsheng, he intentionally pulled Xiao Fan aside.
Assuming Kongqi was worried he wouldn’t keep his word, Xiao Fan was about to explain when Kongqi suddenly bowed deeply and said, “What you said previously made me deeply ashamed. Star Lord Changsheng is my benefactor. When a benefactor is in danger, I should do everything in my power to help—how could I harbor ulterior motives? It was entirely my own weakness of mind at the time that led me to lose my senses briefly, which is why I failed to refuse you.”
Hearing this, Xiao Fan was completely stunned. It turns out there are quite a few fools like Star Lord Changsheng in this world, he thought.
Upon further reflection, Xiao Fan thought again, Impossible! How could there be so many fools? It must be a tactic of retreat to advance! These High Gods are terrified of getting a reputation for improper motives, so he says he doesn’t want to know on the surface, but actually wants me to insist on telling him so he can reluctantly listen.
Xiao Fan said, “High God Kongqi, you overthink it. Receiving such a grand favor, it is only natural for me to express a small token of gratitude. If you insist on refusing, it would seem as though you look down upon me.”
Only then did Kongqi realize that refusing might seem rude. Deeply conflicted, he stammered, “No… it isn’t like that. You misunderstand. If you truly wish to express your gratitude, then… then I shall accept… this flower!”
With that, Kongqi casually picked a small flower from the ground.
Now Xiao Fan was genuinely dumbfounded. “Does High God truly not wish to know…?”
Kongqi nodded firmly.
Xiao Fan pressed further, “Simply because you cannot harbor ulterior motives?”
Unexpectedly, Kongqi showed a trace of shame and admitted, “It… it isn’t entirely that.”
He stared at the ground in thought for a few seconds before saying softly, “Li Qianwu is not a commodity to be traded.”
He really is a fool! Xiao Fan thought to himself.
Yet, fools sometimes possess foolish luck.
Just as the Drought-Fire Lingzhi was delivered and Kongqi was preparing to leave, Jufang and Wuyi happened to return from gathering wild vegetables.
Seeing Kongqi, Jufang’s heart skipped a beat.
But having previously learned that deities do not remember their mortal lives after passing their tribulations, she hesitated, unsure whether she should greet him.
Seeing that walking any further would lead to a direct encounter, she couldn’t pretend not to notice.
She offered a slight bow and spoke, “Congratulations to High God Kongqi for successfully passing your tribulation and greatly enhancing your cultivation.”
To her surprise, Kongqi stood frozen on the spot, staring straight at Jufang.
Assuming he didn’t know who she was, Jufang offered, “I am Jufang of the Sili Palace.”
Kongqi asked in surprise, “You are an immortal official of the Sili Palace?”
Jufang nodded.
Seeing that Kongqi still had no intention of speaking, she said, “High God must be on your way back. I won’t see you off then. Safe travels, High God.”
Just as she turned to leave, Kongqi grabbed her hand.
Seeing this, Wuyi offered a bow and said to Jufang, “I’ll head back first. Take your time chatting.”
As Wuyi walked away, Kongqi realized how inappropriate it was to grab Jufang.
He hurriedly let go and stammered, “Thank you, Immortal, for personally descending to the mortal realm to assist me in passing my tribulation.”
His heart was an absolute storm of emotions. Ever since returning from his tribulation, Kongqi had asked himself more than once why he could not forget Li Qianwu.
On the surface, he blamed it on “insufficient cultivation,” but deep down he felt there was more to it.
He couldn’t even remember his own mortal name, yet every scene with Li Qianwu, every word spoken, and even his emotions at the time were as vivid as yesterday.
No matter how poor his cultivation was, it shouldn’t be like this.
He wondered if Li Qianwu was his destined partner.
But if she were a mere mortal, they were fated to be apart unless she achieved enlightenment and ascended.
Kongqi had even considered helping her attain immortality so they could stay together forever.
Unfortunately, his overly upright nature prevented him from sneaking peeks at the mortal realm, let alone meddling with mortal destinies.
Yet, the person standing before him was an immortal! Even if her appearance differed from Li Qianwu’s, he would never mistake her—Jufang was Li Qianwu!
Hearing Kongqi’s words, Jufang asked in shock, “You… you remember me?”
With that response, it was set in stone!
She was Li Qianwu!
Kongqi tried his best to suppress his emotions and said, “This Huang would never dare forget,” though his slightly raspy voice betrayed him.
It felt as though Jufang was pulled back to that very day.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she scolded, “Didn’t I tell you not to come save me!”
Seeing Jufang cry, Kongqi panicked and blurted out, “You didn’t say not to save you! You said not to meet again in this lifetime! I did it! That was already in our past life!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Kongqi realized that times had changed.
For a High God to speak to a female immortal in such a tone was deeply improper.
He was about to apologize, but seeing Jufang wiping her tears in such a pitiable state, his emotions broke through the dam.
Holding back his tears, Kongqi’s voice trembled as he said, “Do you know how difficult that was? After parting that day, we never saw each other again.”
Jufang lowered her head and whispered, “I know.”
What Jufang meant was, “I saw everything in the Mirror of Mortal Observation, so I know you didn’t go to see Li Qianwu.”
But to Kongqi’s ears, it sounded like a subtle confession of affection, implying that avoiding each other had been just as hard for her.
At this, Kongqi actually began to reflect on himself: As a full-grown man, how can I have the nerve to complain to a girl about how hard things were for me? How irresponsible! If it was hard for me, was it any easier for her? Am I saying this to claim credit or demand a reward?
“I apologize. I lost my composure,” Kongqi said.
Knowing she had caused Huang Cui a great deal of pain in the mortal realm, Jufang replied, “I am the one who should apologize! It was my duty, and I had no choice but to make you suffer like that. I hope you can understand. If you cannot forgive me, I completely understand.”
Kongqi hurriedly said, “There is nothing to forgive or not forgive. Immortal, you speak too heavily!”
Hearing this, Jufang was overjoyed. “So you forgive me? You aren’t mad at me anymore?”
Seeing Jufang’s bright smile, Kongqi felt a bit embarrassed.
Blushing slightly, he said, “I was never angry with you. On the contrary, my loss of composure just now was quite embarrassing.”
Noticing that it was getting late and time to prepare dinner, Jufang said, “I should head back. You are truly a good person. Thank you for everything you did for me and my sister in the mortal realm. I heard you are also a good deity—you will surely accomplish great things in the future!”
Watching Jufang turn to leave, a sudden wave of reluctance washed over Kongqi, yet he didn’t know what to say to make her stay.
After all, dust returns to dust, and earth to earth; no matter how deep the entanglement, it belonged to the past life.
Then let us start over in this life! Kongqi thought, unable to help smiling.
Indeed! Failing to be together in the last life was a thing of the past.
For this life, hadn’t he promised to watch over her every single second?
“Immortal Official Jufang!” Kongqi shouted.
Jufang turned back and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Kongqi asked nervously, “Forgive my boldness… is the Immortal Official currently betrothed?”
Having grown up as a carefree kid among mortals, Jufang failed to catch the subtext of his question.
She merely recalled the mistake of accidentally marrying Li Qianyun back then, laughed, and replied, “I don’t have a younger sister up in Heaven!”
Though seemingly an answer to a different question, Kongqi was so overjoyed he practically skipped all the way home.
….
“What on earth did you say to High God Kongqi?”
At the dinner table, the moment Wuyi spoke, both Xiao Fan and Star Lord Changsheng choked on their food at the exact same time, as if rehearsed.
Jufang beamed with a wide smile and answered, “Nothing much, just exchanged a few pleasantries. He seems pretty nice and wasn’t mad at me at all.”
Wuyi’s eyes immediately lit up.
“He’s way more than just ‘pretty nice’! Do you even know who he is? Calling him the next leader of the Qilin clan isn’t an exaggeration at all! If you become friends with him, we’ll have someone backing us in the Heavenly Palace, and we can walk around with our heads held high!”
Jufang asked hurriedly, “He’s that amazing?”
Wuyi replied, “Of course! Looking at the younger generation in our Immortal Realm today, none of them show much promise—they’re either wild and untamed like Zhu Yue, or insidious and crafty like Jiang Hui. Someone like Kongqi, who has both cultivation and moral character, is truly one in a million. If the Qilin clan doesn’t pass the leadership to him, I really can’t think of anyone else!”
Star Lord Changsheng said displeasedly, “Since when is our Sili Palace allowed to recklessly comment on other families’ internal affairs?”
Scolded, Wuyi muttered softly, “It’s not like I’m part of the Sili Palace anyway…”
Star Lord Changsheng gave a sharp look, and Ni Yan immediately stuffed a steamed bun into Wuyi’s mouth, instructing, “Eat more, talk less.”
Seeing Wuyi defeated, it was now Xiao Fan’s turn to stir up trouble.
Taking a deep draft of the licorice wine exclusive to Mount Luoyun, he asked Jufang, “Seeing how happy you are just bringing up Kongqi, you must like him a lot, huh?”
Jufang answered straightforwardly, “Of course I like him! He’s such a good person. Even after I put him through so much misery in the mortal realm, he didn’t hold it against me. Why wouldn’t I like him?”
Hearing Jufang’s words, Star Lord Changsheng slammed his chopsticks onto the table and snapped angrily, “Why do you like everybody?! Can’t you have a little principle?!”
Slammed out of nowhere, Jufang shot back angrily, “Why are you shouting? What does it have to do with you?!”
Left with no counter to her retort, Star Lord Changsheng turned to Wuyi, whose mouth was stuffed with pork buns, and demanded, “Aren’t you going to manage her? You’re just letting her like whoever she wants?”
Wuyi kept her head down, not daring to look up, and whispered to Ni Yan, “Didn’t you say eat more and talk less? Should I answer him or not?”
To her surprise, Star Lord Changsheng grew even angrier and barked, “If you’re asked a question, answer it!”
With a flick of his eyes, Ni Yan snatched the half-eaten pork bun right out of Wuyi’s hand.
Poor Wuyi was almost brought to tears.
“It’s a good thing if she likes Kongqi… If they have a good relationship, won’t we have the Qilin clan backing us up? Then we wouldn’t even have to walk on eggshells just to eat a meal…”
Hearing this, Star Lord Changsheng flew into a greater rage.
“What’s so great about the Qilin clan? What do they have that our Sili Palace lacks? Why do we need to cling to others?”
Wuyi actually paused to think about it seriously, then said, “The Qilins have a large population. If we get into a fight, they can bring backup!”
Star Lord Changsheng immediately refuted, “We have Ni Yan! Forget the Qilins—even if you call the Dragons and the Phoenixes altogether, we won’t lose!”
Ni Yan’s eyes widened in shock upon hearing this, and he hurriedly tried to clarify, “This subordinate cannot accomplish that!”—only to be completely ignored by Star Lord Changsheng.
Wuyi thought a bit more and said, “The places where Qilins live usually have hot springs! Hot springs are very comfortable!”
Star Lord Changsheng countered, “Jufang is a cat! Cats are afraid of water; better off without hot springs anyway!”
Wuyi continued, “Kongqi is a High God. If a High God gives us guidance, our magic will grow rapidly and our cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds!”
Star Lord Changsheng sneered and scoffed, “What the hell is a High God worth? No matter how fast your power grows, can it compare to a single bite of the Queen Mother’s Immortal Peach?”
At this point, Xiao Fan could no longer stand listening. “Star Lord Changsheng, I know you’re competitive, but is there any need to slice off your own flesh just to compare with others?”
Meanwhile, Ni Yan scoffed softly from the side and remarked, “An inescapable net of heaven and earth, yet self-destruction remains impossible to guard against.”
He left behind a completely bewildered Jufang and Wuyi.
