Chapter 99: The Immortal Couple Parts (Part 1) Precisely because of love…

Hiding in the bushes, Ye Qingzhan tugged at Wen Gu's sleeve upon hearing the young Taoist's words. He instantly tensed, his eyes fixed on the three men battling from the sky to the ground.

Mu Wanzhou's face had turned incredibly pale since his last lash of whip. Even with the long whip in hand, each strike was less decisive and powerful than before, each one deftly dodged by Ah Shuo. Wen Hua wielded his black sword, its shadow as swift as lightning, aligning with Mu Wanzhou's whip technique to strike the white-robed Taoist priest.

The two combined their strength to gain the upper hand, and Ah Shuo became entangled in Mu Wanzhou's whip, his whisk falling to the ground. Wen Hua stepped forward, picked up his whisk, and pushed him forward.

Ah Shuo laughed shamelessly, "Brother, I can walk on my own. Where are you taking me? Are you going to kill me?"

Wen Hua's expression darkened as he glared at him. "Shut up." He formed a hand seal, attempting to silence him. The man before him was his junior brother, yet he seemed possessed. His usual obedience was gone, and his words were cruel and vile.

However, unexpected events always strike unexpectedly.

He raised his hand, and a sudden, sharp pain shot through his chest. The pain began in his chest and spread throughout his body. In an instant, his internal organs felt as if being gnawed by poisonous insects, and his spinal cord, bones, and blood seemed to be slowly being drained dry. The longsword and whisk fell to the ground, and Wen Hua's tall body collapsed with him.

"Wen Hua!"

Mu Wanzhou saw this and ran over to catch Wen Hua's staggering body. The moment he embraced him, his heartbeat suddenly stopped. The next moment, his mind and body felt as if torn apart, and he fell to his knees, caught off guard. Wen Hua closed his eyes and fell into her arms.

"Hahaha! Hahaha!"

Seeing the two of them in such a mess, the laughter behind them became unrestrained. Ah Shuo twisted his body, and the long whip tied to his body fell off. He laughed and flexed his wrists.

"I said you two will die looking for her," Ah Shuo picked up the whip on the ground and circled it around her and Wen Hua under Mu Wanzhou's resentful eyes. "Senior sister, are you in pain all over your body? It's like bugs have drilled into your bones and are biting you bitten by biting."

Ah Shuo squatted lower and lower, blinking his innocent eyes and meeting Mu Wanzhou's gaze. A smiling voice rang in her ears, like the whisper of a devil: "Senior sister, is the food I cooked delicious?" The person in front of her was clearly smiling, but the smile was only at the corners of his lips, not in his eyes. Mu Wanzhou's body became increasingly stiff and cold under his sinister smile. She knelt on the ground and tried to stand up desperately, but he held her down with a palm.

"Actually, as long as Senior Sister and Senior Brother behave, I can cook for you for the rest of my life," Ah Shuo clasped his hands on Mu Wanzhou's shoulders and pressed her back to the ground. The force in his hands became light and slow. If others looked over, they would think it was his fingertips rubbing someone's shoulder. "What a pity, Senior Sister and Senior Brother are so ungrateful and partial. After giving birth to that bastard, they actually ignored me, their junior brother?"

Ah Shuo's hands left Mu Wanzhou's shoulders, circled around them, and suddenly turned around. "How can this be? It was you two who picked me up and brought me back to the academy, saying you would take care of me for the rest of my life. Even though I'm as stupid as a pig, you've never despised me like those people. You've accompanied me in practice and play every day." Even

though they were several feet away, Ye Qingzhan could hear the white-robed Taoist's words very clearly. She was surprised - did this guy named Ah Shuo not know that he had a twisted heart? Wen Gu,

who was with her, was also concentrating at this time, his fists hanging at his sides, clenched tightly.

"But everything changed after you had a child," Ah Shuo's eyes turned red in an instant. "That little bastard didn't do anything, but he occupied all your attention. This is something I worked so hard to get, why can he take it away effortlessly as soon as he was born?"

Mu Wanzhou, kneeling on the ground, was speechless. Ye Qingzhan, lying in the grass, answered for her in her heart: Nonsense, Wen Gu is their child! Besides, what's there for an adult to fight over a newborn baby? How could this person be so twisted?

Ah Shuo's next words startled everyone: "Why can't I be your child?" His tone suddenly darkened, his lost gaze filled with a probing inquiry. "Senior Sister, if I were your and Senior Brother's child, would you treat me well unconditionally?"

Mu Wanzhou stared at him, eyes widening as he struggled to utter a few words: "My child... where is he?"

Ah Shuo had eagerly pressed his ear to listen, but upon hearing these words, his expression instantly turned cold. He flung his sleeves and walked away: "Let's reunite in Yama's Palace."

He picked up a whisk from the ground, brushed off the dirt, and then pulled a short flute from his sleeve, bringing it to his lips and playing.

As the flute played, Mu Wanzhou closed his eyes in agony.

The white-robed Taoist sped away.

Ye Qingzhan, holding Wen Gu in hand, watched him walk away before rushing out from the bushes and helping Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua to their feet. However, the illusion suddenly shifted, and the person they held in their arms instantly vanished into a shadow.

It turned out that the illusions of the boundless and strange realm could not be altered by the living. Ye Qingzhan helplessly dropped his hands, leaning against Wen Gu, watching the changes in the illusion with him. His gloomy brows brightened when he saw Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua.

They were not dead, and while they continued to perform heroic deeds in the mortal world, they continued to search for their child. Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua refused to believe their child had died, and like crazy, they searched year after year, for more than a decade. During this time, the person they wanted to ask for the truth died.

Witnessing everything, Ye Qingzhan knew that the person was not dead, but merely donned a fox mask, continuing to plague the world as a semi-immortal. Wen Gu also understood, but what made his heart tremble was that the question that had been lingering in his heart was resolved.

It turned out that the parents who had abandoned him loved him. They had never considered abandoning him, nor had they given up on finding him.

Wen Gu watched the ever-shifting illusions around him, a secret joy welling up in his heart. Fortunately, the self then known as Yin Chen Jue hadn't coldly rejected their company... Perhaps, then, he, too, secretly longed for their parental care and love.

Wen Gu recalled the few times he'd spent with them, day and night.

Mu Wanzhou combed his hair and even made him a headband. Wen Hua cooked for him, creating a variety of dishes each day, and taught him chess.

Back then, they couldn't quite believe that the other was the loved one they'd longed for. Yet, they shared a brief but beautiful time together.

However, change always strikes unexpectedly.

Wen Gu's search for them proved unsuccessful, and Wen Hua and Mu Wanzhou's reputation within the sect plummeted. Rumors circulated among the hundreds of cultivators that they had betrayed their master and ancestors. It was said that the two renegade disciples had sneaked into the academy one night, slaughtered their fellow disciples, and personally killed their most trusted and beloved junior disciple.

Under the pretext of upholding justice, hundreds of immortal sects issued a hunt for Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua.

On a clear, moonlit night, the two, like elders and family members, bid a silent farewell to Wen Gu. They feared implicating this young man, the same age as their lost child.

Looking at the peacefully sleeping Wen Gu, Wen Hua and Mu Wanzhou felt a wave of regret. Their secret love, discovered by their master, led them to leave the academy and live in seclusion on Jade Butterfly Peak, occasionally emerging to slay demons. One day after the child's birth, someone unknown opened the portal to the secret realm, allowing waves of evil spirits to crawl out and wreak havoc on the world.

Just then, junior apprentice Ah Shuo sneaked out of the sect to visit them. Mu Wanzhou entrusted the child to his care, despite his limited skills. After setting up a barrier, he and Wen Hua went to exorcise the evil spirits in the village below. Upon returning, they discovered the barrier had been destroyed, the house in shambles, bloodstains everywhere, and the child and apprentice missing.

Concerned, the two hurriedly followed the trail of blood, finding Ah Shuo behind a boulder at the foot of the mountain. Ah Shuo, eyes closed and covered in blood, showed signs of awakening after Wen Hua channeled some Qi into him. Ah Shuo's first words upon awakening were, "Child!" He cried and cursed himself for being useless, saying that the evil beast had breached the barrier, leaving him with only his limited spiritual power, leaving him to flee with the child. In a panic, he stumbled across another entrance to the secret realm.

He hid behind the boulder, waiting for them to leave. The sleeping child then opened his eyes, looked at him, and began to scream. The cries instantly drew the evil spirits to him, vying for the child in his arms.

Ah Shuo slapped himself several times, saying he'd fought tooth and nail to protect their child.

Mu Wanzhou stopped Ah Shuo's hand from striking him, tearfully vowing to recover his child. Overwhelmed with guilt, Ah Shuo wanted to join them in the search, but he received a message from the sect telling him to return to the academy that morning. Wen Hua told him to go back first.

After his junior brother left, Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua searched for the evil spirit's presence for a long time, but the more they searched, the more they felt something was wrong. Their anxiety that night prevented them from noticing the flaw in their junior brother's words.

The double barrier they had set that day would incinerate any low-level evil spirits who approached, save for a thousand-year-old demon. Among the evil spirits they eliminated that day, none had lived for a thousand years. Furthermore, if a powerful demon had used a diversionary tactic, the barrier would have been breached, and a message would have been sent to them the moment it shattered. But Mu Wanzhou and Wen Gu received no news.

Unless someone had broken the barrier from within,

Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua exchanged a glance at each other regarding the secret realm's other entrance. After sealing it that night, they'd patrolled Jade Butterfly Peak and couldn't find the entrance Ah Shuo had mentioned.

This meant Ah Shuo had lied more than once that night.

Their anxiety had prevented them from noticing such a blatant flaw. After figuring things out, Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua returned to their sect, only to learn that their junior disciple had gone down the mountain to gain experience.

After exorcising the demon on Jade Butterfly Peak that night, Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua had become famous, earning them the nickname "living immortals." Word of this had spread to the sect, and upon returning, they disguised themselves, their faces withered and worn, as they cast stones to test the waters, not daring to linger. After finding out, they flew to the training ground the disciples had mentioned.

They unexpectedly witnessed a human sacrifice, and the one who instigated it was none other than their usually obedient and never-failing junior apprentice. While searching for the person, Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua had heard rumors of a man dressed in white Taoist robes, saving lives and mastering the art of resurrection. They never imagined that this "half-immortal" possessing such magical powers would be their own junior apprentice.

Wen Gu and Ye Qingzhan witnessed what followed from the bushes.

Meanwhile, pursued in a dreamlike state, Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua finally encountered the man they had so fruitlessly sought, now a resurrected corpse: their junior apprentice, Hu Shuo.

Hu Shuo's name had been ridiculed upon his initiation into the sect. Because his skills hadn't advanced, his master couldn't grant him a title upon his breakthrough. To protect him, the two men kept calling him Ah Shuo, a familiar and pleasant name.

Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua, looking at the Taoist wearing a fox mask, were filled with resentment. Why hadn't they realized before that this man was their junior brother, who had died over a decade earlier?

They'd joined the deceived masses in foolishly calling him "Doctor Fox."

Their trust in him stemmed from a single time he'd rescued them. That time, they'd fallen for a great demon's trick and were about to be devoured. Suddenly, this white-robed Taoist priest descended from the sky and crushed the demon's head with a single blow, his strike fierce and clean. He

was nothing like their former junior brother's indecisiveness.

Doctor Fox had saved them, and they thanked him. As they were about to part, he revealed their deepest desires. Following his guidance, the two met again, their shared destiny.

Outside the illusion, Ye Qingzhan watched the Taoist priest remove his fox mask, revealing a weathered face. It looked much the same as it had in his youth, save for a few fine lines.

Mu Wanzhou gazed at the familiar face and coldly called out, "Junior Brother."

Doctor Fox smiled as she finished speaking. His smile was the same as when he was young, innocent and pure, like a child who had not been tainted by the world. He responded cheerfully, "Senior Sister," and looking at Wen Hua beside him, he smiled and called out, "Senior Brother."

Wen Hua glanced at him.

Ye Qingzhan glanced at Wen Gu beside him, and then stared at the people who were undercurrents in the illusion. She didn't understand why the fox Taoist priest showed his true intentions at this time.

The next moment, she knew the reason.

Ah Shuo didn't seem to notice the disgust in the two people's eyes. He continued to smile and said, "Senior Sister. Senior Brother, are you getting along well with that young man?"

Wen Hua snorted coldly. Mu Wanzhou frowned and asked, "What does this

have to do with you?" "Of course it does," Ah Shuo stroked the hair on his whisk with a warm smile, "After all, he still calls me uncle-master?"

His voice was neither light nor heavy, but it was like a thunderclap, stirring up thousands of waves.

Mu Wanzhou's gaze shifted from cold disgust to shock and bewilderment. "What did you say?"

Wen Hua pressed him with his gaze. "Speak clearly, that child is ours..."

"He is your child," Ah Shuo continued, his pace steady. He cradled the whisk in his arms like a child and looked at them. "You are truly foolish. You've been with your own son for so long, and yet you didn't recognize him. But—"

The fox Taoist slowly withdrew a mask from his sleeve and put it on his face, saying, "Even if it's not confirmed, you must have a deep bond with him. After all, senior brothers and sisters value friendship and kindness the most."

He spoke softly, but Ye Qingzhan could hear the irony. Wen Gu, beside him, had a look of impending storm on his face.

Under the piercing gazes of Mu Wanzhou and Wen Hua, Ah Shuo continued slowly, "What a pity, you won't have the chance to meet again."

Before he finished speaking, the man in his white Taoist robes vanished into thin air. A huge immortal-binding net rose from the ground, and the monks lying in ambush on all sides swarmed over.

The two people in the net could not move at all.

One person, one sword.

They were stabbed into bloody holes.

Before death came, the two held hands tightly, and the only thing they cared about was the child with gloomy eyebrows.

He was already a teenager, but he couldn't smile.

How did he grow up?

I'm sorry.

I gave birth to you, but I couldn't raise you well.

I'm sorry.

You are right in front of me, but I still dare not recognize you.

Ye Qingzhan, who was outside the illusion, covered her mouth and nose tightly, tears streaming down her face. She was always used to looking at the people next to her, but she didn't dare to look at him at this moment.

The two people holding hands tightly were soaked in blood and had long since become bloody people.

Wen Gu's body was shaking, and part of his left chest seemed to have stopped beating at this moment. Those brief moments in his mind became clearer and clearer. The smiles they gave him were engraved deeper and deeper in his heart, and the deeper they were, the more painful it was.

A Taoist priest in impeccable white robes, wearing a mask of a nursing smile, stood outside the crowd, observing the slaughter like a detached deity.

But he was no god, but Yama, the King of Hell.

Ye Qingzhan heard his devilish laughter from beneath the mask.

"It's precisely because of love that it's so hard to let go."

"When love grows, when the bond deepens, severing it is the most painful and heartbreaking."

"How joyful, how joyful, how joyful!"

The fox Taoist turned, raising his whisk, his voice fading away.

But it reached Wen Gu's ears with remarkable clarity.

"Lovers meet without recognizing each other, beloved sons unaware of the filth they have become. Traveling thousands of miles to search for their loved ones, only to meet without knowing each other, clashing swords on their first encounter—how ridiculous."

"Let's meet again on the road to the underworld."

Wen Gu watched him vanish in the wind, his fist hanging by his side, as hard as black iron.

Why!

Why on earth!

Why couldn't he do anything? In the illusion, he couldn't do anything, couldn't change anything, and could only watch his parents die tragically before his eyes.

Why, why did he do this to them, why did he do this to him...

Ye Qingzhan, who was standing quietly beside him, raised his eyes and stared into his eyes. When his eyes turned completely red and his whole body was swallowed by the evil spirit, he held his hand tightly.

At this moment, the immortal in the Hongchen Inn tapped his hand on the table.

The two of them staggered forward and were pushed into the illusion. Wen Gu knelt on the ground, looking at the two people leaning on each other in a pool of blood.

The two souls suddenly left the body, stood in front of him, and stretched out their hands to him.

Wen Gu raised his eyes.