Qing looked at Nitaru with great interest.
"Little guy, don't look at me like that. I'm not so bored as to lay a hand on you juniors."
"If the old man hadn't brought out his treasured piece of Breath Soil to trade, do you think I would have wanted to come to such a remote place?"
"Let me go!" Nitaru turned her head away and said stubbornly.
"What do you want to do? Go back to your little boyfriend?"
"Take my advice, that guy isn't good enough for you. How about you be with me?"
As Qing spoke, she pinched Nitaru's cheek. "It's quite soft."
Nitaru forced back her tears and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "You bastard, I'll kill you sooner or later!"
"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. Do you want to know why I'm taking you away?"
"You have too much luck on you. The improvement you can get in that small world is negligible. That kid is different. Since that incident, his luck has almost dropped into negative numbers."
"People need some kind of threat to grow, and you are no exception."
Nitaru didn't respond, but listened in silence.
"I know what Mingwu is thinking. If it were anywhere else, it could certainly be achieved, but in the place you're going, he can only accept his fate."
"Look, do you see that tree over there? That's where you need to go."
Qing kicked out, "Go!" Nitaru flew out and landed in one of the lower world bubbles.
A shooting star streaked across Teyvat, and Wendy took a sip of the wine in his bottle. Who knows which lucky traveler got another gold item? That direction must be the old man's territory. If it were a little boy, I'd definitely give him an Anemo Vision.
He looked up at the sky, as if he was thinking about something, and then stretched.
After watching Nitaru arrive safely, Qing was about to leave when a mask floated over and said, "Come on, let's go get a drink."
"No, no, the old man is waiting for me to go back and report." Qing Gang turned to run away.
The man grabbed his arm. "No rush, no rush. You've introduced a huge variable this time, which is putting me in a difficult position. How about I bring him back now?"
Qing resignedly pulled a jade box from his pocket. "That's all. I'll give you half at most. If it's more, I don't mind fighting to the death."
When Qing said the words "fish die, net breaks" he emphasized them.
"Okay, I'm off. Remember to come to the tavern for a drink next time, and don't miss me too much!"
Qing crushed a teleportation talisman, and the universe returned to calm.
...
One month after the war, Forest of Death.
After making all the preparations and making sure there were no oversights, Xiao Gu planted the seed with trembling hands.
He couldn't hold on any longer and confided in Yan.
"Actually, there have been times before when we didn't see each other for a long time, so I always thought that time was long and the future was far away."
We always had enough time to protect this forest together, to watch the sunrise and sunset together, but I was wrong, utterly wrong.
Xiao Gu knelt on the ground, forcing himself not to shed tears.
"Yan, do you remember the first time we met? You had just taken human form and met me in my childhood."
I was so frightened by the power you possessed that I ran away, but you caught up with me and said you wanted to be friends. You've been saying for ages that I'm a coward.
"And that time when I was besieged by a group of monsters, you drove them all away and even offered me a place to stay at your house, with food and lodging provided."
That was the closest I ever got to you, and I really regret not saying yes back then.
"After that, we went to the human world together. When someone died, you cried and asked me if I would die too, and told me you didn't want me to die."
In the end, he defied the rules and expended his divine power to bless me, but he himself almost lost consciousness.
But now that you've left, I don't know if I'll ever see you come back.
"We watched the stars together, built houses together, ate together, slept together, all together..."
"I've always liked Yan the most. I want to be with you forever, but I don't dare. I'm afraid that if I say it, we won't even be able to be friends anymore. But now, all I can do is regret my cowardice here."
His voice choked with emotion, and he could no longer hold back his tears.
"Yan, I regret it. I regret letting you face those two outsiders alone, and I regret not persuading you not to participate in that battle."
But now it's all too late. How I wish I were the one who died, but there's nothing I can do.
"Don't worry, I will keep my promise and wait for you to come back. No matter how long it takes, I will always protect this forest and our promise."
Just then, Yan's staff behind him suddenly emitted a faint light.
Yan's phantom slowly appeared. "Idiot, I heard everything!"
Xiao Gu looked back in disbelief, and Yan Zheng was smiling at him.
"This is just a wisp of my consciousness, it can't last long, at most half an hour a week. It's all your fault for being too noisy, forcing me to waste time."
Also, please take good care of yourself while I'm gone.
Xiao Gu hurriedly stood up and rushed towards Yan, hugging her tightly.
"Don't cry. I've only been gone for a little over a month. How did you get yourself into this state?"
Go take a good shower, then eat. Don't let me see you like this next time we meet, or I'll really kill you.
Yan pretended to punch him.
Xiao Gu, however, did not dodge as usual, but simply smiled and said okay.
...
At this moment, in the underworld.
Di Ting looked at the boy sitting next to him.
"After all these years, you still like this outfit the most. But Qingyang, do you really not know that kid's identity?"
"Why did you suddenly think of asking this?" The young man was dressed in white, with a cool and aloof expression.
"Your expression at the time didn't seem like you were acting," Di Ting said definitively.
Qingyang said indifferently, "Since you want to know, then I'll tell you."
The story takes place a long time ago, when I had just broken through to the Golden Core stage and become a genius that the sect rarely sees in a hundred years.
It's funny to think about it now, but all I could think about was finally getting rid of my uncles' nagging, going out into the world to show off my skills and settle scores.
That was indeed the case at first, but things took an unexpected turn, and I soon ran into trouble, getting caught up in a treasure hunt.
The opponent is a member of the demonic path, and his methods are ruthless. Although I have some skills, I am ultimately no match for so many opponents.
Just when I was about to give up, he appeared. A mysterious young man in black, his face obscured.
He stepped in to help, defeating those people in just a few moves. I was grateful to him and wanted to repay him, but he only left me with one sentence.
"Don't worry about what happened today; we'll meet again someday if fate allows." Later, I inquired about his whereabouts everywhere, but to no avail.
Until one day, I accidentally learned some special news about him.
In the days that followed, I gradually realized that perhaps his saving me back then was not accidental, but deliberate.
I began to secretly observe him and discovered that he had intricate connections with the upper realm.
Perhaps, a huge conspiracy is hidden behind this.
Years later, I met him again, covered in blood, with a child, who is now Nitaru.
He entrusted me with some matters, but he remained silent about the child's background, only saying that I should protect him and bring him here at the right time.
To repay the kindness shown to me back then, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.
Many years later I learned that he paid the price with his own life just to deceive those people and conceal the child's presence.
After that, the child stayed with me. He carried great fortune, and my fortune was subtly changed as well.
Since then, my cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds, and various opportunities have come one after another. I even had the idea of keeping them to myself.
Although the child appeared no different from anyone else, his body wouldn't grow. To avoid being discovered, they initially took him and hid in various places, eventually settling down deep in the mountains and opening a Taoist temple. It wasn't until recently, at your invitation, that they came to visit.
After listening to Qingyang's story, Diting sighed softly, "So that's why you kept refusing my invitations. It's understandable, after all, your little apprentice is more important."
Qingyang sensed something was off in his tone, so he quickly changed the subject, saying, "They should be in other worlds by now, according to plan."
"I don't know when the blockade outside will end. They just send in some grunts all day long, and they can't even break through the Blood Sea. I don't know when this will end."
"But it's okay, I have you here with me."
Di Ting pretended to put his arm around Qing Yang's shoulder, but Qing Yang dodged it. He wasn't annoyed, but just smiled and said...
"If you're bored, how about I show you the flowers I grow?"
"I'm not going."
...