CH 132.1

In the night.

The wind blew and the leaves in the courtyard rustled.

A snake as thin as a pinky crawled slowly, its belly rubbing against the dead leaves, making a small crunch.

The little snake slid all the way to a certain room and slipped in through the crack of the door.

In the room, a person slept on the floor soundly.

The little snake slid to the other party’s side and climbed onto the bed along the bedpost.

Another person was on the bed with his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling gently. The little snake climbed to the head of the bed, raised its body, and licked the other party's cheek.

Seeing no response from that man, the little snake turned into a puff of black smoke and penetrated the other party's ear.

The man on the bed shuddered before he settled down again.

In the darkness, suddenly there was a little light that grew bigger and bigger, and colorful rays could vaguely be seen.

In the courtyard full of flowers, the four or five-year-old boy stumbled and crashed into one person. He hugged the other person's long, thin legs and said with joy, “Gege!”

“Kang Ji, you didn’t listen to Father’s words and cultivate properly. What are you doing here?” The man's voice was cold, but there was a smile in his eyes.

Kang Ji, “I just like to be with Gege. You don’t cultivate either, right?”

Kang Xi said flippantly, “I’m the son of the Snake King Kang Duo, born of nobility, so I don't need to practice so hard.”

Kang Ji, “Me too! I’m also the son of the Snake King Kang Duo, and Gege’s Didi! I don't need to cultivate too! My father and brother will protect me!”

Kang Xi chuckled softly, stroked his head, and said casually, “Clever boy.”

He picked Kang Ji up. “You ran in such a hurry. Did something happen?”

Kang Ji wiggled, adjusted his posture, and wrapped his arms around Kang Xi's neck. A pair of big eyes rarely seen in the snake tribe was full of doubts. “Gege, what is realgar?”

Kang Xi was taken aback. “Realgar?”

Kang Ji, “Father got angry just now and said that Lady Xilian mixed realgar powder into his wine, causing him to delay his business.”

Kang Xi laughed softly and said slowly, “Realgar, in the legends of mortals of the human race, is the thing that snake Yao are most afraid of. As long as the snake Yao eats realgar, it will change back to its original form, and it will no longer be able to transform into a human, gradually lose its intelligence, and become an ordinary snake.”

Kang Ji struggled to get down and said anxiously, “Is Father going to become an ordinary snake?”

“That's just a legend of the human race. How can snake Yao be afraid of realgar? Not only are we not afraid, but realgar is also…” Kang Xi's smile became suggestive. “You’ll know when you grow up.”

…

Autumn went and winter came, and white snow weighed on the branches.

It was the same yard and the same two people.

Kang Ji had grown taller, about the same height as Kang Xi now, so he could no longer hug the other party's legs and act like a spoiled child.

At this time, he held Kang Xi’s hand. “Gege, you feel so cold.”

Kang Xi let him hold his hand. “Snakes are cold.”

Kang Ji, “I’m warm.”

Kang Xi said half-jokingly, “You have always been an outlier from the snake tribe.”

However, Kang Ji said seriously, “I only feel warm in my heart when I see you, so my body is also warm.” He held Kang Xi's hand and kissed his fingertips. “I like Gege.”

Kang Xi's body froze and he met Kang Ji's eyes.

After a while, he retracted his hand and left with a sullen face.

…

Scene by scene, images from childhood to teenage years intertwined as if flipping through a book full of memories.

In the end, the picture stopped at a bathtub with green mist floating. Kang Ji hid in the water, and Kang Xi handed a glass of wine to him.

Kang Ji's ears were slightly red, and he didn't dare to look at Kang Xi. He stared at the wine glass and said, “What wine is this? It smells so pungent.”

Kang Xi, “Realgar wine.”

Kang Ji shrank his neck back. “Gege knows that I don’t like realgar since I was a child.”

Kang Xi, “I was teasing you. Don’t you realize it yet?”

Kang Ji, “I know, but I still don't like it.”

Kang Xi, “If you know the real taste of this wine, you won't dislike it. It can…”

Kang Xi leaned into Kang Ji's ear and whispered. Kang Ji's ears turned red instantly. Kang Xi's cold hands touched his shoulders and slowly slid down.

Suddenly, Kang Xi's hand was grabbed.

He looked up and found Kang Ji looking at him coldly. There was no affection in his eyes, only a trace of disdain.

Kang Xi frowned and said subconsciously, “Who are you?”

“You don’t have to trigger my memories. I haven’t forgotten the past, and everything is still vivid. But since the day you sent Hai Song to kill me, I don't want to think about it again.”

Wei Zhentu said calmly. He was sober, and he knew everything that had just happened.

As soon as the snake approached the house, the formation he set up had sensed it, and he pretended to fall asleep with Ruan Jiu.

When the snake turned into black smoke, he wanted to avoid it at first, but thinking about Kang Xi's talent and his complicated thoughts about Kang Ji, he decided to take a gamble and let Kang Xi completely dispel his doubts.

Kang Xi belonged to the dream snake clan and his talent was creating dreams. That little snake was something he manifested with Yao energy.

Then, Wei Zhentu entered a dream created by Kang Xi.

At first, his consciousness was a little vague, but he knew that he was not Kang Ji, so he just watched from the sidelines.

He guessed that Kang Xi wanted to trigger Kang Ji's memory and guide him to recall the past. Wei Zhentu wanted to see the history between the ‘two brothers’ by the way but he had to stop it at this point.

Kang Xi was startled. “When did I…” Then his eyes darkened and he whispered, “Trash!”

He looked into Kang Ji’s eyes and his heart jolted, but he still said obstinately, “Are you going to cut all ties with me?”

Wei Zhentu, “You wanted to kill me. You have killed Kang Duo. He’s my father.”

Kang Xi didn't explain but mocked instead, “Your father didn't believe you.”

Wei Zhentu, “I broke his heart.”

Kang Xi was silent for a while. “You really blame me.”

Wei Zhentu, “No, I blame myself. Lord Kang Xi, I'm awake, and it's time for you to wake up from your dream too.”

As soon as he said that, all the images in his consciousness slowly dissipated, and Wei Zhentu on the bed opened his eyes.

In another room in the mansion, Kang Xi spat out a mouthful of blood. The dream he created was seen through, and the dream-maker would also suffer a backlash.

But only he knew what really caused him pain.

Before dawn the next day, a Yao attendant invited them to the entrance of the mansion where Kang Xi was already waiting.

Kang Xi brought them to the holy mountain. Many snakes came to worship on the mountain, but they couldn't enter the temple unless they had a token of the Snake Emperor.

Along the way, Kang Xi didn't say a word, His expression was frosty and he didn't even look at Kang Ji.

The further up the mountain they went, the colder it became.

The snake tribe should be afraid of the cold but Kang Xi didn’t react to it. Wei Zhentu had an unusual thought—perhaps Kang Xi was far colder than the Holy Mountain.

When they arrived at the entrance of the temple, Kang Xi took out a token and put it into the groove of the stone door. The stone door shook slightly and suddenly lifted.

A long corridor behind the door led directly to the main hall. At the end of the main hall, there was a short tree half a zhang high, with a scarlet fruit on the tree, and a thin layer of golden light barrier outside the tree.

As soon as they entered the corridor, the stone door immediately lowered with a loud crash.

Kang Xi still walked in the forefront without saying a word, but when he approached the main hall, Jing Yue's footsteps halted.

He saw a portrait hanging on the left side of the main hall. The paper was made from the slough of a great snake Yao, which would not rot for ten thousand years or be damaged by fire or water. A young Daoist was depicted in the painting, filled with silver needles at several major acupoints. Just by looking at the positions of the silver needles, one could tell that this person was deeply hated by the Yao race because if this method was used on a living person, it could trap the soul of the other party and keep him from reincarnation.

That young man was none other than Yi Wang!

Jing Yue finally understood why there were portraits of Jing Yuan everywhere in the Yao world, but none of Yi Wang. It turned out that Yi Wang's portrait was actually stored in the holy temple by the Yao race to vent their anger and humiliation in the cruelest way. He couldn’t help his body from trembling. The anger in his chest was bursting out, and the huge sadness almost engulfed him.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed him.

The other party's hand was warm, and Jing Yue knew it was Qin Yanzhi. He closed his eyes, knowing that he couldn't be impulsive at this time, he could only bear with it.

But tolerance was easier said than done. The knife to his heart made him almost convulse in pain. At the thought of this portrait hanging in places similar to this temple of other tribes, it was difficult for him to restrain the killing intent in his heart.

Jing Yue grabbed Qin Yanzhi back. He exerted force in both hands as if the person beside him was his only life-saving straw.

Wei Zhentu and Ruan Jiu also recognized Yi Wang. Although they were not disciples of Frostcloud Sect, Yi Wang was a hero of the human race. Even if he failed to pass the tribulation and ascend, in the hearts of cultivators like them, Yi Wang was no different from the god who saved the human race from the crisis.

Yi Wang was a belief.

A fearless, uncompromising, courageous, and firm belief.

Since he was their belief, how could the two not be angry? But under the pressure of the situation, even Jing Yue chose to endure, so what else could they do?

Kang Xi had his back to them the whole time and didn’t notice any anomaly in them. Instead, he stepped forward and knelt in front of the dwarf tree, chanting an ancient and obscure incantation.

Then, he stood motionless.