The next morning, I woke up early. Having told the clan leader yesterday that I would be leaving today, I slung the brocade box over my shoulder and headed for the door.
At that moment, the entire Penglai Immortal Palace felt unusually deserted, not a soul in sight. But I couldn't afford to dwell on it and hurried towards the exit.
However, upon leaving the immortal palace, I was stunned. The entire peach forest had bloomed overnight. The sight of the trees covered in delicate pink peach blossoms was dazzling.
I stopped to admire the peach blossoms for a while before slowly making my way towards the ferry crossing.
After exiting the peach forest, I saw a group of people standing by the ferry. As they saw me approach, they smiled and said,
"Demon King, you've arrived."
"Why are you all here?" I asked, full of confusion.
The clan leader chuckled, "The Demon King told me yesterday that you would be leaving today, so I arranged for everyone to wait here early on."
"I see."
The clan leader took a tray covered with red cloth from someone nearby and slowly walked up to me, saying,
"Demon King, your kindness is immense, and I have no way to repay it except with this small token. Please accept it."
"What is this?" I asked, puzzled.
He unveiled the red cloth, revealing the items within: a ginseng root, a transparent pearl, and a branch.
The clan leader explained each item to me.
"This is a thousand-year-old ginseng, which only grows in icy lands. If someone is critically ill or severely injured and beyond recovery,
all they need to do is slice a piece of this thousand-year-old ginseng, boil it into a porridge, and eat it for a few days. It can bring back the dead and cure all ailments.
This pearl is called the Azure Water True Pearl, a treasure of our merfolk tribe. When suspended in mid-air, it can form a massive water barrier to defend against enemy attacks.
I know the Demon King faces many battles, and it might be useful when attacking the Northern Divine Capital in the future.
As for this last treasure, it's called the Penglai Immortal Branch. Legend has it that our ancestors brought it from the true Penglai Island. It's of no use to us, so we'll give it to the Demon King."
After his explanation, I felt these items were too precious and dared not accept them. I refused, saying,
"Eliminating harm for the people is my duty. I cannot act with the intention of receiving something in return. Moreover, these items are too valuable. Clan leader, please take them back."
The clan leader, however, said,
"If the Demon King doesn't accept them, these items will be of no use to me. Please accept them, Demon King. This is also a token of our sincerity."
At this point, voices from the side also chimed in with persuasion, "Demon King, please accept them."
"The clan leader's sincerity is also our sincerity. Demon King, please accept them."
Unable to refuse their earnestness, I finally accepted. "Thank you, clan leader. Thank you, everyone."
Then, I bid farewell to the clan leader, saying, "I won't linger any longer this time. Clan leader, please return. I'm going aboard."
"Demon King, wait," he suddenly said.
"This time, when you return, please take the four guardians with you. They will lead our merfolk warriors to fight alongside the Demon King."
Upon hearing his words, my face lit up with joy, and I expressed my gratitude, "Thank you, clan leader, for your trust in me."
At this moment, Liu Shinian also walked out from the side. He knew that once he left, he didn't know when he would return. It was just that Yueyao, of all people, hadn't come to see him off.
Seeing Liu Shinian, I asked him, "Shinian, are you staying or going?"
Liu Shinian replied, "Of course, I'm returning with you."
"Where is Yueyao?" I looked around, but Yueyao was nowhere to be seen.
"She probably won't come."
"It seems you still hurt her. Let's go."
With that, I stepped forward, boarded the ferry plank, and got onto the small boat. The four guardians also boarded the boat.
At this time, Liu Shinian was still looking around, hoping Yueyao would appear.
Meanwhile, Yueyao was hiding in the peach forest. She secretly watched Liu Shinian, not daring to show herself. She could only cover her mouth, afraid she might break down and cry.
Seeing that she was still not coming, Liu Shinian turned away disheartened. As soon as Yueyao saw him turn, she could no longer control her emotions and rushed out, shouting,
"Brother Liu! Brother Liu! I'm here! I'm here!"
Liu Shinian turned back, somewhat excited, and saw Yueyao rushing towards him. She threw herself into his arms and began to cry.
Liu Shinian hugged her tightly and said gratefully, "Thank you for coming to see me off."
Yueyao looked up, tears streaming down her face. Liu Shinian, seeing her reluctant tears, also felt a pang of reluctance. He reached out and gently wiped away her tears.
Yueyao asked, "After you leave this time, will you never come back?"
Liu Shinian knew he couldn't lie to her, so he nodded in confirmation.
Yueyao didn't blame him. She just said to him,
"You must live well. Otherwise, even if I have to go to the underworld, I will haunt you."
"Alright, I promise you."
Yueyao suddenly let go of Liu Shinian and took two steps back, saying to him,
"You should go. Don't miss the boat."
With tears in his eyes, Liu Shinian nodded slightly and turned to walk onto the ferry platform and board the boat.
Yueyao waved goodbye.
"Brother Liu, Demon King, you must take care of yourselves and have a safe journey."
At this, everyone else also waved goodbye, saying, "Take care on your journey."
We also got up and waved goodbye to them. At this moment, Tian Long voluntarily took the oar and steered the boat into the dense fog.
Then, Qing Yu took a yellow sash from his waist and said to me,
"Demon King, let me keep these things for you."
"Then I'll trouble you," I said, handing him the tray.
Qing Yu placed the items into the sash one by one. Then, he blew a breath onto the tray, and it turned into a leaf, which he tossed into the water.
I suddenly remembered the incident with the peach forest and guessed he might know something. So, I asked,
"Qing Yu, how did the peach forest bloom so suddenly overnight?"
Qing Yu replied, "Because the clan leader knew that the Demon King particularly wanted to see the ten-mile peach blossoms in bloom, so he used a bit of催生 (cuīshēng - stimulating growth) magic to make these peach blossoms bloom overnight."
"The clan leader is very thoughtful."
I never expected that a casual remark of mine would be taken to heart by the clan leader. To see these ten-mile peach blossoms was indeed a worthwhile trip to Penglai Island.
The small boat rocked for a while. Tian Long casually drew a water talisman in the air, then pointed and retracted it, fixing it at the bow of the boat. He simply said, "Go!"
The small boat then sped out of the mist as if possessed, entering the vast, boundless ocean. It then moved like a gust of wind towards the shore.
After disembarking, Tian Long whistled, and the horses we had brought with us quickly emerged from the woods.
However, the seven people who had come were now six. This left an extra horse. I walked up to the horse that Bi Yao had ridden.
With a swift chop of my hand, I severed its restraints and said to it,
"You have also suffered and toiled for others. Now that no one is riding you, you can run free and unrestrained."
The horse seemed to understand my words. It happily galloped around us, then neighed a farewell to everyone before galloping away swiftly.
Qing Yu teased, "Demon King, by releasing that horse, these other horses must be jealous."
I smiled slightly and replied, "When we return to Xizi Kingdom, I'll let them go too."
"The Demon King is indeed kind. Whether it's horses or people, anyone who follows you finds the best destination."
I laughed heartily and said helplessly, "Stop praising me. I'm just doing what I can. It's still a long way to Xizi Kingdom. Let's get on the horses quickly."
"Yes."
Saying this, I was the first to mount my horse, and the others followed suit. I knew Liu Shinian was injured.
This return journey wouldn't be as leisurely as the journey here. We would likely have to travel non-stop. I asked Liu Shinian,
"Shinian, how is your injury?"
"Much better, it's nothing."
"We'll have to travel non-stop this time. If you feel unwell, you must tell us."
"Okay."
"Then let's go."
"Let's go."
With a shout of "Giddy up!", the horses reared up high and then galloped out like the wind, heading back under the scorching sun as they had come.
At night, after a full day's travel, I was a bit worried about Liu Shinian, so I said to everyone,
"Why don't we rest for a while? There are elders in Xizi Kingdom, so it should be fine."
Everyone agreed, "Since the Demon King has spoken, let's rest for a bit."
After everyone stopped, I went forward first to check on Liu Shinian.
"How do you feel?" I asked him.
He smiled slightly, indicating that he was fine.
"We'll rest here tonight and continue our journey tomorrow."
He also dismounted and walked steadily beside me, saying,
"See? I'm fine now."
I knew he didn't want me to worry too much.
"It's better to be careful. It wouldn't be good if you got injured again."
Wang Yuan stealthily came up from behind, put an arm around Liu Shinian's shoulder, and laughed,
"Demon King, don't worry. With us here, even if he has severe injuries, we can heal him."
"That would be for the best."
Just then, Qing Yuan suddenly shouted, "Look, everyone! A shooting star!"
Hearing his call, we all looked up. Indeed, in the starry night sky, a shooting star was streaking across.
I said excitedly,
"I've heard people say that you can make a wish when you see a shooting star." Saying this, I clasped my hands together and bowed my head to make a wish.
Everyone looked at me with great curiosity. Although they didn't understand what I was doing, they silently made a wish in their hearts.
I opened my eyes and happily told them, "After you make your wish, don't tell anyone, or it won't come true."
Everyone burst into laughter. Tian Long teased,
"The Demon King is so thoughtful. I bet the Demon King wished for a lifetime of love with one person."
"How could that be."
"Then it must be to have plenty to eat and drink and play every day." Qing Yu also teased.
"I guess it's to possess supreme magical power and become a peerless hero." Mu Han's guess was a bit out of touch with reality.
"No, no, no, I think it's to have continuous success and good fortune in everything." Wang Yuan also guessed.
Only Liu Shinian remained silent. I turned to look at him. I saw him staring blankly at the sky, a sweet smile on his lips. It seemed he had made a good wish.
Seeing how happy everyone was, Qing Yuan took the initiative to suggest,
"Since everyone is so happy today, let me perform some water manipulation for you."
Saying this, he untied the water flask from his waist, tossed it into the air, then drew his saber and slashed the flask, causing the clear water within to flow out.
With a casual wave of his hand, the clear water gathered together, forming a stream of water that circled around him.
Mu Han found his performance monotonous and proactively suggested, "I'll give it a try too."
Then, he leaped up, flung the water flask from his waist, and with a slash of water, unleashed the water within, forming a long spear that he thrust towards Qing Yu.
Qing Yu quickly dodged and asked him, looking confused, "Are you serious?"
"I want to see how far your water manipulation skills have progressed."
"If that's the case, why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go again."
Mu Han swung his hand, and the spear instantly transformed into a sword and saber, slashing towards Qing Yu. Qing Yu drew a Yin-Yang Bagua diagram with his hands in front of him.
Then, with a spread of his hands, the water stream dispersed, forming a protective shield. He then struck out with his palm, scattering the water sword and saber.
He then waved his left hand, and the water around him transformed into a tangible iron chain, lashing out at Mu Han. Mu Han flipped to dodge.
He then summoned his own water to form a sword and shield, dodging and attacking simultaneously.
Tian Long, finding it somewhat boring, turned to Wang Yuan and said, "Go up and test if your skills have improved."
Wang Yuan nodded slightly, leaped up, and pushed his hands forward, gathering the water from both Qing Yu and Mu Han into his hands, forming a large sphere.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Qing Yu asked angrily.
Wang Yuan smiled slightly and waved his hands forward, unleashing two water dragons towards Qing Yu and Mu Han.
Mu Han, unwilling to be outdone, gathered his strength and struck out with a palm. Instantly, a wave of cold air surged forth, freezing the water dragons.
Qing Yu used his Yin-Yang power to catch the incoming water dragons, spun them in his hands a couple of times, and then sent them back.
Seeing this, Wang Yuan leaped into the air, landed on the head of the ice dragon, and exerted force with his palm, controlling the ice dragon to fly up and collide with the water dragon.
As the two dragons collided, water splashed everywhere. They then ceased their actions and slowly descended to the ground.
I clapped and praised, "Excellent, excellent! Truly worthy of the merfolk's water manipulation skills. Can you teach me a couple of moves?"
Qing Yu volunteered,
"Since the Demon King wishes to learn, I will teach you. First, you must close your eyes, clear your mind, and feel the movement of the surrounding water.
Then, let your heart slowly approach the water, feel the sensation of the water flowing through your palm, and then gently wave it out along the flow."
Saying this, he gathered a stream of water from the earth and brought it around him.
I listened attentively, concentrating, and opened my eyes slightly, but saw nothing. "Why can't I see anything?"
Tian Long explained, "Demon King, this water manipulation technique must be learned slowly. Only by achieving a state of tranquility, where water follows the heart's will, can you control the flow of water."
"It seems I still need to practice more."
Sensing the chill in the wind, Liu Shinian knew it was getting late and said to us, "I think it's getting late now, and we still have to travel tomorrow. Why don't we go to sleep early?"
Everyone agreed that his reasoning was sound and said, "Then let's sleep. We'll continue our journey tomorrow."
Saying this, they each went to a comfortable spot and lay down.
Tian Long, uncharacteristically, walked over to Liu Shinian and lay down beside him on the grass.
"Will you return to Penglai Island in the future?" Tian Long suddenly asked.
Liu Shinian replied, "Perhaps I will come again."
"If Bi Yao is still unmarried then, and you are still unmarried, would you marry her?"
Liu Shinian hesitated for a moment, then joked, "If she doesn't mind me having three wives and four concubines, then I'll marry her."
Tian Long turned to look at him with a smile, teasing him, "You're quite capable, aren't you? Can you handle three wives and four concubines?"
"What can I do? I'm just too handsome, which makes others fall head over heels for me. If all the good girls want to marry me, then I'll have to have three wives and four concubines."
Tian Long couldn't help but smile, teasing him, "You're good in every way, except you're too much of a charmer."
"Hey, I used to be, but now I've reformed."
"This is also quite good."
"Isn't it?"
As they chatted, the two of them fell asleep, until a gentle breeze blew, carrying the night's dew onto their faces.