The Kunpeng glanced around. A few little yaoguai were cowering timidly at their hiding spot in the corner, looking entirely like they wanted to eavesdrop but didn't dare to. He glared at the Baize with knitted brows. "W-What barrier? You haven't appeared for so many years, what did you suddenly run here for?"
"The sealing barrier of course," The Baize was all smiles. "After being sealed at the bottom of the sea for 4200 years, was your memory also sealed?"
Understanding suddenly appeared on the faces of the little eavesdropping yao. It turned out that Kunpeng daren hadn't been resting at the bottom of the sea but was sealed by another great yao.
"Uncle Kunpeng, my mom said that good yaoguai won't casually lie," A little ox yao with horns on their head walked over to the Kunpeng, their expression perplexed. "But you're my good friend, so I decided I won't dislike you."
"I really can't thank you any more, little calf," The Kunpeng picked up the little ox yao and tossed him into the arms of the yaoguai at the side who were watching the excitement. "Little yaoguai shouldn't create a disturbance when great yao are speaking."
The Kunpeng was a little angry now that the fact he had been sealed for more than four thousand years was exposed. If this was the time when he first left the sea, he would probably already be fighting with the Baize now. But after personally seeing how heavenly law had struck the God of Pestilence to death with lightning, he had a faint inkling of the truth behind a certain incident. Perhaps the Baize and the rest hadn't created trouble out of nothing that year, but had done so to save his life.
With such a thought, it was a bit awkward for him to meet the Baize again. He momentarily didn't know whether he ought to get angry at him or thank him.
"What are all of you doing gathered around here?" Zhang Ke was bringing files down when he saw many yao cultivators surrounding the entrance. Even the Kunpeng, who usually didn't appear much in front of other yao cultivators, was also standing on the steps. His curiosity ignited, Zhang Ke stretched his neck over to take a look.
Curiosity had really deeply penetrated the genes of humans. Even people who stepped onto the path of cultivation were no different. Zhang Ke was an example of this.
"Captain Zhang," A court lady painting yao at the front counter spoke softly. "There's a man surnamed Bai outside who came searching for Fu Li daojun. But Kunpeng daren seems to know this Mr Bai and..." The female yao lowered her voice. "And this Mr Bai said that Kunpeng daren wasn't sleeping at the bottom of the sea for a few thousand years but was sealed during those years."
"Really?" Zhang Ke was instantly invigorated. The fact that the man surnamed Bai dared to directly say such things to the Kunpeng meant that he had incredible strength. However, he was also a yao Fu ge knew. Was there some unknown secret between all this?
Who would have expected the Kunpeng standing on the steps to suddenly turn back and glare at Zhang Ke and the court lady painting yao. "You think I can't hear what you two are muttering about?"
Zhang Ke and the female yao: ...
"You've become quite promising in the more than four thousand years we haven't met, actually daring to bellow at juniors whose ages don't even have the same number of zeroes as you," The Baize set foot on the steps. "Forget it, forget it. I'm in a hurry to find my family's child, I won't talk all this nonsense with you."
"Your family's child?" The Kunpeng's brows creased. "What child?" A vague conjecture took shape in his heart.
"Uncle Bai!" Fu Li ran out of the passage. Upon catching sight of the Baize, he let out a pleasantly surprised shout, did a rabbit hop, and arrived in front of the Baize. "It's really you?!"
"You've grown up," The Baize took off his glasses and patted Fu Li on the shoulder. "Much sturdier." What amazed him even further was the thin, concealed yet visible glow of golden virtue and purple qi of a monarch on Fu Li. The year that heavenly law doled out its punishment – the time when he was separated from Fu Li – Fu Li hadn't had all these.
Fu Li was a soul formed from the human world's various spiritual qi, seven feelings, and six desires. His extremely disorderly natal chart was also a greatly ominous omen. It was impossible for him to have virtue and the purple qi of a monarch, nor should he have them.
In the past two thousand years, what marvel had Fu Li encountered for such a reversal in his greatly ominous natal chart to appear? Ever since being sealed in the heart of a desert and suffering the scorching rays of the sun on a daily basis, the Baize's ability to foretell Heaven and Earth's heavenly law had become increasingly weak and he had lost most of this ability.
He could no longer divine Fu Li's fate. Even the Kunpeng's natal chart was beyond him now.
"Little rabbit, you're the Baize's junior?!" Looking at Fu Li and the Baize's happy meeting, the Kunpeng suddenly bellowed, "I asked you back then whether you've met the Baize, why hadn't you say you hadn't?!" He really hadn't expected a Hou like Fu Li to actually have been raised by an auspicious beast like the Baize. It was truly the greatest joke under the eyes of heavenly law.
He even called him uncle and still said they hadn't met before? Truly unexpected – what seemed like a pure and simple junior was even more professional than anyone else when lying.
"Baize?!"
Everyone thought that something had gone wrong with their ears upon hearing the Kunpeng's explosive shriek. The illustrious Baize of Heaven and Earth who could see previous incarnations and foretell the future was actually standing alive and well in front of them?
Zhang Ke squeezed through the gaggle of little yao watching the liveliness. Taking out his phone, he sent his colleagues a message. "Quick, come and see the auspicious beast Baize. A live one!"
"Bigheaded fish, you can't beat me so you're trying to bully my nephew?" The Baize pulled Fu Li behind him and put on his glasses, staring at the Kunpeng. "Are you trying to threaten us with your loud voice?"
"F*ck your threaten!" The Kunpeng who was addicted to playing with phones had already learnt internet slang for cursing others. "Fu little Li, what did you tell me at that time?!"
"I didn't know that Elder White Goat was the Baize at that time," Fu Li stuck his head out from behind the Baize's shoulders after taking cover behind him. "I can't be blamed for that."
"You're taking me for a fool?!" The Kunpeng laughed in anger. "You lived with them for thousands of years without knowing what they were?"
The Baize touched his nose, turning towards Fu Li hesitantly, though his glare at the Kunpeng wasn't lacking in oppression at all. "So what if you're taken for a fool?"
Kunpeng: "Y-You..."
"What's everyone shouting outside for?" The moment Zhuang Qing's voice sounded, the little yao gathered around watching the drama instantly opened up a path so that Zhuang Qing could get a clear view of the situation.
Zhuang Qing passed through the tiny path everyone opened up for him before coming to a halt on the last row of steps. Glancing at Fu Li behind the Baize, he smiled politely at the Baize. "Senior Bai, hello."
"Hello," As an auspicious beast, the Baize was inherently fond of living creatures with an abundance of virtue and purple qi. In the many years he had lived, there were not many creatures like Zhuang Qing who possessed the golden glow of virtue and whose entire body was bathed in the purple qi of a monarch. Therefore, he subconsciously had a favorable impression of Zhuang Qing at first glance.
Furthermore...
The Baize's expression changed subtly, though he very quickly concealed it.
Fu Li walked out from behind the Baize. Tugging on Zhuang Qing's sleeve, he told the Baize, "This is... my future Dao Companion, Zhuang Qing."
The Baize's expression turned incredibly strange after hearing Fu Li's words. A long while later, he nodded repeatedly. "Good, very good."
The management bureau staff watching the excitement on the sidelines were stunned. Wasn't Fu ge's elder too easy to deal with? They had immeasurably profound cultivation and possessed rare treasures, yet they so easily accepted that Fu ge had found a male yao to be his companion. Did they really love Fu ge dearly?
"I didn't know that Little Li had a Dao Companion and came over in a hurry. I didn't manage to collect any good things these few years either," The Baize rifled through the things he had on himself before taking out a thick box of books from his Qiankun pouch. "This contains some of the Blue Dragon's insights on cultivation as well as the laws of the Dao. Take it, you can flip through it for fun."
The Blue Dragon's cultivation methods...
The Kunpeng's face twitched. The shameless Baize had actually hidden the divine beast Blue Dragon's cultivation methods.
"How can I..." Zhuang Qing wasn't one of the still-confused cultivators around them. He possessed the Blue Dragon's inheritance and naturally knew how precious the cultivation techniques contained in the box were.
"Take it," The Baize smiled. "You are Little Li's Dao Companion, which is tantamount to being a part of our family. There is no talk about cost when it comes to family. Or..." The curved corners of his eyes narrowed. "You don't want to be bonded to Fu Li as his Dao Companion?"
"This junior doesn't have that intention," Zhuang Qing solemnly stated his position.
"You're bonded now then," The Baize placed the box in Zhuang Qing's hands. Turning, he told Fu Li, "It's not appropriate to stand here all the while talking. Little Li, bring your travel weary uncle to a seat."
"Senior Bai, please."
"You are Fu Li's Dao Companion, just call me Uncle Bai like he does."
"Okay, Uncle Bai," Zhuang Qing corrected himself readily. A serious expression hung on his solemn face as he bootlicked the elder.
"Strange..." The Kunpeng stroked his chin, staring at the Baize's back with furrowed brows. The Baize was extremely hypocritical – he appeared gentle and easy to get along with on the surface, but was a very picky yao in reality. It was an arduous affair to find just one yao in a hundred years who could genuinely catch his eye.
But he was now treating Zhuang Qing like his biological son. Was it possible that he had truly taken a liking to Zhuang Qing?
Not right, not right, this wasn't the Baize's style. He thought about it and still followed after them.
"Little Li," Away from the eyes of the other cultivators, the Baize took off his glasses. When his helpless and pain-filled expression was paired with his handsome face, one's heart would inevitably soften even if he had committed an earth-shattering wrong. "Actually, I can explain certain things."
"Explain how you're clearly the Baize but let me misunderstand that you're a white goat?" Seated beside him, Fu Li refused to go along with the Baize's behavior.
"This matter, no one wanted to..." The Baize's smile turned even gentler. "No matter how it's said, I can rest easy now that you're standing here perfectly fine." He accepted the teacup Zhuang Qing handed over, revealing the motley of wounds beneath his sleeve.
"Uncle Bai, how did the wounds on your arm come about?" Fu Li had seen this sort of wound on Kang Gu as well.
"It's nothing," The Baize smiled. "It'll be fine after a while."
"You're lying to me again. Given your constitution, how can wounds not heal immediately?" Fu Li lifted the sleeve, saying with creased brows, "Did you get these wounds over the past few years?"
"It's nothing," The Baize stroked Fu Li's head. "Sit down first and tell me how you've been these few years."
Seeing that the Baize had used the simple trick of injuring oneself to gain the opponent's confidence, Zhuang Qing allowed Fu Li to go down his train of thought. Lowering his head, he silently took a sip of tea. For such a matter, it would be better for him to pretend not to have seen anything.
Hearing the incidents that had occurred after Fu Li came to the human world, the Baize unobtrusively sized Zhuang Qing up. After meeting Zhuang Qing's eyes, he calmly maintained his smile without the slightest guilt or embarrassment at being caught peeking.
Just as Fu Li was talking about how the God of Pestilence had been struck to death by lightning, the Baize asked abruptly, "How many auspicious dates are there this year? What date is your Dao Bonding Ceremony with Zhuang Qing?"
Fu Li: "Ah?"
It turned out that even the elders in the cultivation world were fond of pressing for marriage?
"What 'ah'?" The Baize said. "You're older than Zhuang Qing by more than two thousand years and have a good relationship with him. Are you going to just be together in such an obscure way without even a Dao Bonding Ceremony?"
Fu Li felt that these words sounded a little familiar. He seemed to have heard it somewhere not too long ago.
"The yao of Reflecting Mist Mountain place great emphasis on emotions and responsibility. Things like abandonment and playing around for fun are definitely not allowed," The Baize turned to look at Zhuang Qing. "Good nephew, what do you think?"
Zhuang Qing was silent for a second. Seeing that Fu Li's face was still filled with confusion, he said, "Everything will be in accordance to Fu Li's wishes, this junor has no elders, so anything is fine."
"What if I got the both of you to hold the Dao Bonding Ceremony tomorrow?"
"As long as Fu Li has no objections, this junior is very much willing."
The Baize fixed his gaze on Zhuang Qing. All of a sudden, he smiled. "I was joking with you. Fu Li is my only nephew, your Dao Bonding Ceremony cannot be done carelessly or in an unpresentable manner. Tomorrow is too rushed."
"Don't you think so, Fu Li?"
Fu Li thought about it before earnestly nodding. "Indeed, it can't be done sloppily."
So if he wanted to hold a Dao Bonding Ceremony with Zhuang Qing, what things would he need to prepare?