Chapter 183

Li Jinglong gestured for Hongjun to follow him. Hongjun packed up and followed Li Jinglong to the canyon behind Mount Li. There was a pine tree there, and under the pine tree was a rock. He still remembered that this was where he said goodbye to Chong Ming, and Li Jinglong stood behind him, waiting silently.

Li Jinglong sat down, patted his thigh, and said, "Sit on me."

"Are you feeling better?" Hongjun asked, "Can you bear it?"

Li Jinglong said, "Then I'll sit on you?" He got up and let Hongjun sit down. Hongjun sat on the rock, and Li Jinglong sat on Hongjun's lap. He pulled Hongjun's hands and hugged his waist. The two of them quietly looked at the sky. It was Hongjun's first time doing this, and he felt that it was quite novel. When he hugged Li Jinglong, the uneasiness in his heart gradually faded, and it was replaced by a sense of loneliness and emptiness.

And after going through so much, they still stayed by each other's side.

Hong Jun had too many things he wanted to say, but thousands of words tumbled in his chest. In the end, they only turned into four simple words.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." Li Jinglong said in a daze.

They snuggled together like this, looking at the mountain at the end of the cliff. The fog gradually dispersed, revealing a green mountain and a blazing morning sun. At this time, Hongjun felt that there was no need to say anything. The past was the past, and at least their future was full of hope.

"Thinking about how many years we still have in this life," Li Jinglong glanced sideways at Hongjun, and said, "I can't help but smile happily just thinking about it."

Hongjun's melancholy disappeared in an instant. His mood was like the sky washed by rain, and he couldn't help but laugh, and said, "Did I promise you?"

"Oh." Li Jinglong fiercely patted Hongjun's head, and said, "Who taught you? Now you know how to talk back? "

"Get up!" Hongjun pushed Li Jinglong to let him get up, but Li Jinglong held onto Hongjun and said, "Your husband, I, am still alive and kicking. How can I be manipulated by you?"

Hongjun and Li Jinglong were like two children wrestling under the pine tree. Li Jinglong used his leg to block Hongjun's footsteps. Hongjun lost his balance and fell backward. Li Jinglong grabbed his waist and kissed him gently on the lips.

After a long time, Li Jinglong lay under the tree while Hongjun lay in Li Jinglong's arms. They talked about the dream from that day until Li Jinglong's dream. When it was Li Jinglong's turn to speak, Hongjun was extremely shocked.

"You … You changed the past?" Hongjun said in surprise.

Li Jinglong shushed her with a smile and replied, "But what you remember is still those days."

Hongjun vaguely remembered that his parents died at the hands of Li Jinglong. But other than that, he vaguely felt that everything Li Jinglong did in the dream was a strange combination of cause and effect. In the end, it led to a completely different ending of the An Lushan Rebellion.

"In other words." Hongjun was really puzzled and asked, "Originally, you should have inherited the Six Tools of the Immovable Wisdom King and killed me in the battle of Chang 'an. But you went back to the past and prayed to the Immovable Wisdom King, so he separated all the magic treasures …"

"That's right." Li Jinglong said with a bit of sadness, "It's just that I don't understand why your parents didn't come back to life."

Hongjun replied with a bit of melancholy, "Chong Ming told me that the so-called 'dead people can't come back to life' is naturally so in the eyes of mortals. But even in the eyes of the Demon Race and even the Gods, this is the Heavenly Dao that can't be violated. The dead souls will enter the Heavenly Veins. No matter how strong the power of cause and effect is, it can't summon them back. "

Li Jinglong said, "So, I changed the past, all the parts that I could change, except for your parents …"

"But our present is the present after our fate was changed." Hongjun said again, "In other words, from the day I arrived in Chang 'an, our fates have been following the trajectory of the past that you changed. And you walked to the end and went back to change the past … This isn't right? "

"How is it wrong?" Li Jinglong said seriously, "The past me walked to the present and then went back to change it, which led to the heart lamp being handed to me and the path that we walked together. This is a circle. The present me turned back and decided the past me. If the present me didn't ask the Immovable Wisdom King, the past me wouldn't have obtained the heart lamp. The past and the present are each other's cause and effect. This is the true meaning of changing fate. "

Hongjun seemed to understand a little, but he was even more confused. Li Jinglong saw his confused face and said, "For example, let's say that I gathered the six artifacts and inherited the power of the Immovable Wisdom King. Only then did I realize that something was wrong, and the final outcome was to kill you with my own hands. But I regret it. I want to go back to the past and change the cause and effect, right? "

"Yes." Hongjun nodded.

Li Jinglong explained again, "Then, if I go back to the past and the Immovable Wisdom King agrees to my request, the present me will suddenly lose the artifact …"

"Yes!" Hongjun said, "This is the most reasonable."

Li Jinglong said with a smile, "Then, the cause has been eliminated, which means that I have never obtained the artifact along the way. But since there is no artifact, why would I want to go back to the past and change this' cause '? "

Hongjun: "…"

"So." Li Jinglong finally explained, "Only when the past and the future are each other's cause and effect can we change fate and eliminate each other's contradictions. Kun Shen saw two possible futures. One of them was the future where you turned into Tianma and died. The other was the future where you lived. "

"To achieve the future where I lived, I had to go back to the past at some point, give up the artifact, and choose the heart lantern. This was the key point to redeem everything. Thus, Kun Shen activated the arrangement to disturb the cause and effect of karma. He had Qing Xiong seal our memories, then handed the heart lantern to you and brought it to Chang 'an. Then, I found that I couldn't get the Immovable Wisdom King's artifact. Instead, I had the heart lantern … "

"All the elements were converging towards this circle." Li Jinglong looked at Hongjun's confused eyes, made a hand gesture, and said with a smile, "Until the final Zhuang Zhou dream butterfly, it allowed me to fill in the final gap. Thus, the condition of the past and the future being each other's cause and effect was born … Forget it, okay, I was wrong. I shouldn't have explained this to you. Anyway, everything is in the past … except for a little regret … "

Hongjun said, "I decided to ask Brother Yongsi. He said it simpler than you."

Li Jinglong was defeated. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He actually lost to Qiu Yongsi at this time.

"Lie down, lie on top of me." Li Jinglong motioned to Hongjun and said, "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Hongjun then untied Li Jinglong's outer and inner clothes. Li Jinglong laughed and said, "I told you to lie on top of me, but I didn't tell you to take off my clothes. What are you doing, little pervert?"

Hongjun leaned his head against his chest and felt the powerful heartbeat under his burning skin. His heart was as usual, like a burning fire, but also like a blazing sun that illuminated his soul.

"I like to live." Hongjun said, "It's good to be alive."

He and Li Jinglong's breathing intertwined. They began to kiss under the tree as if they never wanted to stop. Their skin rubbed against each other and their lips and teeth touched, making him feel so real that he was living in this world.

Li Jinglong was kissed until he couldn't take it anymore. He gasped for a moment and said, "Let's talk about it at night. There's still a lot of time."

"What are we going to do in the future?" Hongjun asked, "Go back to Chang 'an?"

"We're not going back." Li Jinglong lowered his head and looked at Hongjun's eyes passionately. After a moment, he said, "What did Qing Xiong ask you to do?"

Hongjun remembered and said, "The demon race wants to return to the human world. He asked me to discuss with the Emperor and give us a place to live."

Sure enough, Li Jinglong had vaguely guessed it before.

Hongjun remembered that when he went down the mountain in the past, Chong Ming proposed three things. One of them was "Expel Xie Yu and return to Shenzhou". But how could it be easy for the demon race and the human race to live together? The most important thing was not how to live, but who to agree with. From now on, the demon race and the human race would equally share … no, share the fertile land of Shenzhou.

"Do you know what this means?" Li Jinglong teased Hongjun with interest and scratched his handsome face. Hongjun casually replied, "I know. The Demon King and the Chief of Exorcism are together. It means that the two races will always be good neighbors."

Li Jinglong was shocked and said, "Did Qing Xiong also say that?"

Hongjun smiled faintly and glanced at Li Jinglong, saying, "I guessed."

Li Jinglong sometimes felt that Hongjun was muddle-headed, but sometimes he was unusually smart. He said, "Is this considered a political marriage or something else?"

Hongjun asked, "Can I?"

Li Jinglong said, "What if I say no?"

Hongjun said, "We are not guests of Shenzhou."

This sentence was even more unexpected to Li Jinglong. However, when he thought of Chong Ming and how Hongjun came down the mountain, he carried the responsibility that Chong Ming gave him from the beginning. Thinking about it this way, it was only natural. He restrained himself from asking an inappropriate question, "If you had to choose between the demon race and me, how would you choose?" However, if he asked himself honestly, if he really loved someone, he should not have to choose. Li Jinglong chose not to say it.

"We have lived in Shenzhou for generations." Hongjun sat up and crossed his legs. He turned to look at Li Jinglong and said, "The demon race and the human race can live in peace, can't they? We only have one enemy, the demon. "

"That's right." Li Jinglong said seriously, "I will do my best. Presumably, the Crown Prince has the final say now. If we want peace in the world, we can't do without this negotiation. Since it fell on you and me, it must be fate."

"Even if we can't, I still like you." Hongjun leaned forward and gently kissed Li Jinglong's lips. Li Jinglong's face suddenly turned red. Hongjun pointed at him and laughed. Li Jinglong only felt that after this battle, Hongjun seemed to have grown up. He also had a lot of thoughts and occasionally had a mischievous attitude. He immediately pulled Hongjun into his arms and pressed him under the tree to kiss him. The two kissed for a while. Li Jinglong undressed again, ignoring the sky and earth, and became intimate.

Mo Rigen and Lu Xu soaked in the hot spring. Chen Feng sat on a rock and played with the water.

"Why do you have to bring a child?" Mo Rigen said.

"What does it have to do with you?" Lu Xu said expressionlessly. "I like it."

Chen Feng glanced at Mo Rigen. Mo Rigen really couldn't take it anymore. He originally thought that after the battle, he could spend a few days with Lu Xu. He didn't expect that Lu Xu would bring Chen Feng to take care of him wherever he went. Chen Feng was also very beautiful. Mo Rigen couldn't be fierce to a child.

Chen Feng said, "Do you dislike me?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" Mo Rigen said. Chen Feng reminded him of the youngest in his family. He casually folded a small boat from a tree leaf for him to play with. Chen Feng pushed the boat back and forth on the hot spring's surface. Taking advantage of the distraction, Mo Rigen leaned forward and pressed against Lu Xu.

"Tonight," Lu Xu said coldly. "Otherwise, I'll shout."

Mo Rigen could only give up. He facepalmed and said, "How can you be like this?"

A sly smile flashed through Lu Xu's eyes. He met Mo Rigen's gaze. Not long after, both of them blushed and turned their heads away, pretending as if nothing had happened.

At night, everyone packed up most of the supplies in Pure Flowers Palace and had a meal. Ashina Chong even dug out Li Longji's cellar of wine and removed the seal. The exorcists drank to their heart's content, celebrating this true reunion and temporary victory.

"The wine is still here." Li Jinglong looked at the amber-colored wine in his bowl and shook his head. "The imperial family has already fled like stray dogs."

Qiu Yongsi said, "The human world has existed for thousands of years. The old and new dynasties are the same. The sea changes into mulberry fields and the rivers change their course. Everything changes in an instant. Only the sun and moon rise in the east and set in the west. That is eternal."

"That's right." Li Jinglong said with a smile, "Everyone has worked hard these past few days. There's no need to say anything. Let me toast everyone."

The bitterness and sorrow of their journey were all contained in this bowl of wine. From now on, extreme misfortune would be bliss. Li Jinglong led everyone to toast the mountains and rivers in the night, as well as the countless citizens and heroic spirits who had died in Chang 'an City at the foot of Mount Li. When night fell, Chang 'an was still shrouded in demonic aura, demonic aura, and ghostly fog. An Lushan had majestically absorbed the evil aura of nearly a million dead people along the way, then instantly released it in Chang' an City. The effect was truly world-shaking. The sun, moon, and stars, and the two forces of heaven and earth, were unable to dissipate. It seemed like it really was as Qing Xiong had said. It would take three years for everything to return to its original state.

"We can't stay in Chang 'an anymore." Li Jinglong said, "Along the way to Luoyang, there's demonic aura everywhere. After the chaos of war, it's not a place to stay."

"Go to Hangzhou?" Qiu Yongsi said, "Go to Hangzhou. Hang Province Prefecture under the Dragon Subduing Pagoda is a good place."

"Hmm …" Li Jinglong thought for a moment.

Mo Rigen said, "I'll go wherever everyone goes."

Lu Xu added, "It's fine as long as we don't go to Yadan. I don't want to go back."

Hongjun said, "Taihang Mountain was originally quite a good place, but the Ghost King and the others couldn't go up. Although Dazzling Golden Palace is beautiful, it's too troublesome to go up and down."

Li Jinglong originally wanted to first move the Exorcism Department to a new location, and then find a date to discuss with Li Longji. They would choose a place and use it as their fief. When the time came, the demons would be able to live in their fief. There was no need to explain too much to avoid unnecessary complications. If there was to be an explanation, it would be the Crown Prince, Li Heng, who would do it. He also kept the inside story under the premise that only both sides knew about it.

Atay said, "Why don't we all go out of Yang Pass? Accompany me in reviving the country? "

Everyone thought that he was talking nonsense. Who would come back if they didn't come out of seclusion for three to five years?

Li Jinglong thought for a moment, then finally said, "I have something to say, but I don't know if it's appropriate."

The exorcists' mouths twitched. Li Jinglong actually said something like that? If it was in the past, he wouldn't even ask for anyone's opinion and directly made a decision.

"Then don't say it." Carp Demon said, "Come back when you've thought it through."

Li Jinglong: "…"

"You're courting death!" Chen Feng said, "How can you speak to your benefactor like that!"

Carp Demon said, "He's your benefactor, not mine …"

Chen Feng said, "He's the benefactor of the whole world. I saw him defeat the evil minister with my own eyes!"

Everyone suddenly laughed. Although Chen Feng was young, his temper wasn't the least bit vague. The Carp Demon finally met its nemesis. Every time it argued, Li Jinglong couldn't scold it for Hongjun's sake. Now that there was Chen Feng, everyone was immediately satisfied.

"It's like this." Li Jinglong saw that the Carp Demon was defeated and felt secretly happy. He then explained to everyone, "Although everyone … is only helping the world to eliminate Tianma, and is not a subject of the Tang Dynasty, you still receive a salary from the imperial court."

That was true. Since they were paid to eliminate disasters, the exorcists nodded. Li Jinglong said again, "After all, the great cause hasn't been accomplished yet. His Majesty hasn't passed the throne to the Crown Prince. I think we should go to Chengdu first to see the situation."

Everyone agreed. Li Jinglong also explained that the demon race wanted to return to China and no longer hide. This proposal was reasonable. Although the demon kings and the exorcists were originally on the opposite side, they had now become allies. With Hongjun as the nominal leader, it was not unacceptable.

Shu was far away from the Central Plains, and it was a land of fish and rice. At the entrance of Shu, there were endless mountains and steep ridges. The mountains were often uninhabited. If they could ask Li Longji for a piece of land for the demon race to live in, there would be no more disputes with the human race. The demon race and the human race lived in peace. The Tang Dynasty was recuperating, waiting for a wise ruler. When the time came, the Tang Dynasty would usher in a new era.

Therefore, everyone agreed to go to Chengdu first. Hongjun had never been to Bayu before. From the description, it seemed to be an extremely beautiful place, like a paradise. He was also attracted by Li Bai's "Shu Road Disaster" and was immediately fascinated. After this battle, everyone was happy to go on a sightseeing tour and relax a little.