Encountering a Snake - Chapter 33.3
Side Story: Childish Immortal ④
“I’ll treat you to a drink.”
It seemed as though those were the same words spoken in Luofu Mountain that year. Shen Jue looked at the person he had once stayed by, where there was no mood left for drinking. Yet he suddenly remembered what he himself had said back then. Hastily regaining his composure, his gaze shifted away from the other’s face. He accepted the wine cup handed to him by the Old Immortal and tilted his head back to drink it. He didn’t know why, but today someone had first served him tea, and now someone was offering him wine. One thing after another—what should have been good things only made him feel as though the tea was bitter and the wine stung.
“Fine wine,” Shen Jue said, fulfilling his duty to compliment it.
The Old Immortal unexpectedly let out a snort, a half-smile on his face as he stared at him. After a moment, he said, “You little demon, I offer you wine, and instead of thanking me, you simply give me this perfunctory reply.”
Shen Jue wanted to deny it, but the Old Immortal continued, “That year, when your father was in a state of despair, I happened upon him and offered him a drink as well. He was not as rude as you, perfunctory merely because of his own troubled state of mind.” After a pause, the Old Immortal said, “I suppose that couldn’t have been something your father taught you, could it?”
Shen Jue felt embarrassed and aware of his impropriety. He quickly apologized, “It’s my fault and has nothing to do with my father.”
“Then drink another cup,” the Old Immortal said, refilling the wine cup and passing it over. “My wine is not something ordinary people get to taste. Even the Emperor rarely drinks it; if it were easily obtained, he wouldn’t be here today. Take your time drinking and savoring it, then tell me if it is good.”
Shen Jue, though puzzled by his meaning, could not refuse. The Old Immortal had already said all there was to say—good and bad. With nothing left to argue, Shen Jue, despite the turmoil in his heart, could only calm himself down. He lifted the wine cup, first sniffing its fragrance, then wetting his lips with a little of the wine. He licked his lips and, after a moment, began sipping slowly. When he had finished the cup, he suddenly understood the Old Immortal’s intention. The Old Immortal had been stalling in such a way only to help him calm down. Some matters could only be untangled once one was still. Shen Jue realized then that if Yi Mo were to make a friend, he would certainly choose the most worthy one.
“It is indeed a fine wine,” Shen Jue said softly. “I have never tasted such a wonderful wine. Forgive me for being inarticulate; I can’t describe it, but I know it tastes very good.”
The Old Immortal, of course, knew Shen Jue could not explain it. How could his wine be so easily put into words? A single heartfelt compliment was enough to satisfy him. He collected the wine cup and said, “I have some other matters to attend to, so I’ll be going.” Then, glancing at the person beside him, he bowed and said, “Emperor, as you reunite with an old acquaintance, I shall take my leave. Do you have any further instructions?”
The man said nothing, but Shen Jue stopped him. “Wait a moment. There is something I want to ask.”
The Old Immortal replied, “What is it?”
“You knew I was coming?” Shen Jue asked.
The Old Immortal hesitated for a moment before saying, “Did you know your father had two thousand years of cultivation, but that five hundred years of it disappeared?”
Shen Jue was stunned. Not understanding why this was suddenly being brought up, he hurriedly asked, “What happened? I know nothing about this.”
“That year, he asked me for something,” the Old Immortal said. “He traded five hundred years of cultivation for your future circumstances.”
“…” Shen Jue was so shocked that he couldn’t speak.
“His feelings were earnest, and I couldn’t refuse him. So, I used his five hundred years of cultivation to brew a jar of wine and traded the wine for a mirror, allowing him to look into it.” The Old Immortal smiled. “I was there too and took a glance, so I knew you would come.”
Shen Jue clenched his fists tightly, and even though he tried to suppress it, he couldn’t stop his eyes from reddening. Who else in this world would care for him this deeply besides them?
“He once asked me, if I had the ability, to watch over you. So today, I invited you for a drink,” the Old Immortal said. “The wine has been served, and now it’s your business. The Emperor is busy with many affairs, and this is a rare moment of free time. Don’t waste it arguing with me.”
With those words, the Old Immortal flicked his sleeve and disappeared.
Shen Jue stood there for a moment before turning to look at that person. When wearing the guise of a mortal, this man had been grim and oppressive, his brow and eyes constantly shadowed, as though covered by a layer of dull gray haze. Seeing him today, all that gloom had disappeared. He was now utterly ethereal and transcendent. If there had been any impurity in him in the past, now he was truly regal and awe-inspiring, towering above all beings.
Yet Shen Jue was not afraid of him. He stared at the man’s face, examining him closely—he looked even better than Shen Jue remembered, as if a deity from a temple had stepped down and come to stand before him. Shen Jue looked at every subtle change in him with such intent focus, not realizing how bright his eyes were or how gentle his expression had become.
He had finally found him. Just thinking this made him want to laugh, though he didn’t know why. When he couldn’t find him, the pain didn’t seem unbearable, but now that he had, the joy felt so dizzying he couldn’t even speak. The very air seemed to slow down, flowing with lighthearted happiness.
“…“ The other person silently looked at him without a word, his gaze cold and quiet like the indifferent snowflakes around him. He stood there, unmoved, watching as Shen Jue’s bright eyes dimmed bit by bit.
“You’re a god…” Shen Jue said softly, almost with a sigh.
The brightness in his eyes vanished, and calm returned. In an instant, all the happiness was gone. The distance between a god and a demon—how vast was it? He didn’t know. It was a chasm, and he didn’t know if he could cross it or if he even dared to try. He was not Yi Mo, who could fearlessly risk everything. He was Shen Jue—lonely, solitary Shen Jue.
He had been born to cross the divide between humans and demons, yet he might not be able to cross the gulf between demons and gods.
The former emperor, now a god, finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate: “Yes, I am the Emperor, Nan Heng.”
“Oh,” Shen Jue replied, unsurprised. He stood there for a moment longer and said, “You knew I was looking for you?”
Nan Heng lowered his gaze slightly. “I knew.”
“So, you didn’t want to see me, did you?” Shen Jue asked.
Nan Heng looked up at him then, seeming somewhat ill at ease.
“… I looked for you for a very long time,” Shen Jue said.
In truth, he didn’t know exactly how long it had been. After losing his loved ones, the passage of time had become insignificant. He hadn’t counted the years he had walked. He only knew that it had been a very long time—a long and endless journey.
“I know.”
“You are a God. How could you not know?” Shen Jue said, then added lightly, “Why waste my time? If you had said so earlier, I wouldn’t have lingered.”
Nan Heng still didn’t speak, his expression unmoved, but a small flicker of fire flashed in his eyes, as if dissatisfied with Shen Jue’s tone. Shen Jue didn’t notice and continued speaking to himself, “Now that you’re found, I’ll ask you just one question.”
Nan Heng smiled slightly. “What do you want to ask?”
“What do you plan to do?” Shen Jue said. “I promised you I’d look, and I’ve done it. What about you?”
Nan Heng didn’t answer immediately, merely looked at him, his expression seeming to warm slightly. Shen Jue could no longer hold back; he leaned in and, as before, wrapped Nan Heng tightly in his arms, holding him firmly in his embrace. It was as if he were still the great general, and this man still the supreme ruler of the mortal realm. In that instant, the fullness of what he held in his arms made Shen Jue decide almost instantly: as long as Nan Heng was willing to let him hold him like this, he would brave the chasm between demons and gods, even at the cost of his life.
This was an unprecedented thought, surfacing for the first time and sweeping through his entire mind, leaving no room for hesitation.
Then, the person in his arms moved just a finger and easily pushed him away to the edge of the cliff.
This embrace had happened many times before—when Shen Jue was a mortal and Nan Heng a spirit. Back then, Shen Jue’s strength could never compare to Nan Heng’s, and he could only accept such domineering embraces.
Now, this little spirit dared to press down again, but Nan Heng easily pushed him away.
Perhaps he didn’t expect to be pushed. Standing at the edge of the cliff, Shen Jue was stunned. For the first time, he felt a pain that seemed to emerge from nowhere, like countless insects gnawing at his organs and spreading through his marrow. Finally, it squeezed all the strength from his breath.
With just a simple gesture to push him away, he was utterly defeated, left in shambles.
His stunned expression brought a subtle unease to Nan Heng’s eyes, but before he could say anything, the wolf demon, who had once sparred with him countless times, turned away. Nan Heng watched as he picked up the bundle beside him and said, showing only his back:
“In that case, let’s consider everything between us over.”
The words sounded oddly familiar. Shen Jue muttered to himself as he turned away, wondering in confusion—hadn’t he just said something similar while drinking with the little pine tree spirit not long ago?
Then, in this world, there was no longer anyone left to have ties with him.
The pain was so great he could barely breathe. Shen Jue steadied himself as best as he could, his fingers clenching the bundle turning white with tension. Amid the seemingly endless pain, he silently said to himself:
“So this is how much I like him.”
How laughable.
Shen Jue didn’t look back again. Gripping the bundle that had accompanied him nearly his entire life, he stepped down the mountain, one step at a time.
The path up and the path back were no different. At the foot of the mountain, the lively squirrel girl waved at him and watched as he disappeared from view.
At the mountain’s peak, Nan Heng stood on the snow, his expression slightly dazed as he stared at the footprints left in the snow. Immediately, his expression returned to silence. The old immortal emerged from somewhere, gazing far off at the increasingly distant silhouette below. After a long while, he glanced at Nan Heng and said, “Why doesn’t the Emperor say anything?”
“Say what?” Nan Heng retorted.
The old immortal hesitated, constrained by their status difference. “The Emperor descended to the mortal realm to undergo tribulations. Much has piled up since, and after returning, you were busy managing affairs… One day in the heavens is a hundred years on earth. How could he possibly understand?”
Nan Heng’s lips curved faintly. “If he doesn’t even understand that, what use is there? Who’s going to explain it to him?”
“…” The old immortal opened his mouth, initially wanting to say that Shen Jue’s thoughts were already in such chaos—how could he remember something so trivial? But seeing Nan Heng’s icy expression, he swallowed his words. After all, he had secretly borrowed the Mirror of Emptiness for Yi Mo, which cost five hundred years of cultivation. It was already a violation, and if Nan Heng decided to hold this against him, his immortal status would be at risk.
But Shen Jue had already left! Thinking of the old acquaintance’s request, the old immortal was unwilling to let the matter rest. Summoning his courage, he added, “The Emperor was busy for five days in the heavens, but he searched for you for five hundred years in the mortal world. That little wolf demon may be of little worth…”
Nan Heng’s eyes narrowed sharply. The old immortal coughed and continued, voice much softer now, almost like a mosquito’s hum, “It’s said that even when the Emperor was busy, you still watched the mortal world through the Mirror of emptiness and surely saw him searching everywhere…”
Nan Heng suddenly flicked his sleeve. “You talk too much.”
“I don’t want to either, but it’s only because you refuse to say anything,” the old immortal muttered internally. He didn’t dare speak those words aloud and instead murmured, “His family has long turned to dust, and he hasn’t had a single friend in these years. If he’s heartbroken… I’m afraid he might do something foolish.”
At that, the old immortal clearly saw the frosty Emperor Nan Heng’s eyelid twitch violently three times.
With a somewhat dark expression, Nan Heng glared at him, almost fiercely. “What have I done that he would do something foolish?!”
The old immortal flinched at his gaze and stammered, “It’s because the Emperor didn’t do anything… and pushed him…”
Nan Heng’s face darkened even further. “Just because of that?”
The old immortal felt a helplessness rise in his heart—He searched for so long, and you clearly knew what he was doing, yet you insisted on seeing how far he could go before pushing him away! Still, the old immortal nodded. “Just because of that.”
“Then let him be foolish,” Nan Heng suddenly said, voice strangely gentle. “Let him foolishly die for all I care.”
The old immortal froze, almost falling to the ground. At a time like this, you’re still being petty?! How did this Emperor grow so childish after descending to the mortal realm?!
Nan Heng seemed oblivious, raising his hand to set up a new chessboard on the snowy ground. His tone was unclear as he said, “Play chess.”
The old immortal had no choice but to sit back down and play. This time, whatever had gotten into Nan Heng, he defeated him easily in just twenty rounds. Stunned, the old immortal said, “Again.”
Twenty rounds again—defeat.
By the third game, the old immortal managed to last a little longer—thirty rounds—before losing.
By the fifth game, he held on for seventy rounds.
By the sixth game… Nan Heng lost after ten moves.
The old immortal stared at the chaotic chessboard and sighed, “Emperor, what harm is there in going to see him just once? He searched for you for five hundred years—you searching for him for just one day is hardly unreasonable. By now, that little wolf has surely returned to Mount Luofu to guard the graves.”
Despite his words, Nan Heng, already holding the black piece, swiftly defeated him in twenty rounds.
The old immortal had had enough. Collecting the chessboard, he said, “I have some other matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave.” Without another word, he truly fled, refusing to play anymore.
Nan Heng sat alone for a moment, then suddenly vanished.
He reappeared at Mount Luofu, a place all too familiar to him. As the old immortal had said, while handling his heavenly duties, he had watched Shen Jue every day—watched him wander aimlessly, watched him futilely search, and watched him always return here.
Having watched so many times, he could close his eyes and see every blade of grass and every tree here.
Naturally, he also knew about the shared grave.
But some things were beyond his expectations. For example, at this moment, as he gazed at the grave, Shen Jue was nowhere to be found. Beside the shared grave, there was now a new one.
Nan Heng’s face turned pale.
Shen Jue lay within. It was sunset, and he knew the sky outside was painted with vibrant, burning clouds, but such beauty had nothing to do with him now.
He lay in the damp soil, feeling soft and comfortable, almost content.
It really was comfortable. The earth is the final resting place for all life, and beside him, in the neighboring grave, lay his family.
One day, his body would turn to soil, washed by storms, and mix with the bones of his loved ones.
They would forever be a family.
Shen Jue closed his eyes and, without hesitation, reached into his chest and pulled out his demon core. It was the only thing his mother had left him, allowing him to live in this world as a human.
Then he crushed it.
“Shen Jue!” In a daze, a thunderous roar jolted him out of his haze.
Shen Jue opened his eyes and saw his emperor at his side. The moon-white robe was stained with damp earth, and even his head was smeared with patches of yellow mud—he had never looked so disheveled. Shen Jue looked at him and suddenly felt a strange sense of delight, tinged with malice, thinking, Look, even you have a day like this. But at the same time, there was a sense of intimacy, as if at this moment, they were closer than ever before, as if their hearts were touching.
Then, like a naïve child, Shen Jue revealed a clumsy expression and, in a mocking tone, softly said to him:
“I’m not playing with you anymore.”
—I’m not playing with you anymore.
Perhaps it was because his smile was too carefree, or perhaps the words were too shocking, but Nan Heng was momentarily stunned and forgot to continue casting the spell to save his life.
In that instant, the person in his arms returned to the form of a wolf and died, silently and without a trace.
—I’m not playing with you anymore.
Shen Jue followed the Black and White Impermanence, obediently entering the underworld. The whole time, he didn’t even bother to turn his head, unwilling to give that lost and broken god another glance.
He followed the Black and White Impermanence, walking and walking, until they reached a sea of red flowers. Each bloom blossomed wildly—when the flowers bloomed, the leaves could not be seen; when the leaves grew, the flowers were absent. Amid this sea of vivid and dazzling flowers, two figures stood, looking at him from afar and reaching out their hands in unison.
He recognized them and immediately ran over, his steps light and joyful, the corners of his eyes crinkling with laughter.
In this world, there are those who will betray you, and there are those who will cherish you.
(Shen Jue’s Side Story · End)
tl – pls i hope the sadness is over now
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Sidchy
The emperor does not deserve Shen Jue at all. There’s really no breaks in this book even the extras are sad 😔