Chapter 22: I Don’t Want You to Die

The Demon King, long thought lost to the Three Realms, suddenly reappeared—sending shockwaves through everyone.

The more Xie Suoyan thought about it, the more he felt his death was imminent.

He had scared the Demon King.

He had mocked the Demon King as a low-level little radish.

He had even encouraged the Demon King to climb into their Highness’s bed.

Just thinking about how harmless yet arrogant Can He usually looked… who would’ve guessed he was the Demon King?!

The ghost beside him couldn’t help but mutter, “No wonder the Little Highness was able to defeat several Void Refinement cultivators in one go…”

“No wonder he could snap the Ghost Master’s Discipline Ruler…”

All the ghosts fell silent.

Back then, they’d all wondered why their Highness would bring back such an ordinary-looking radish.

Turns out their Highness had brought back the Radish King!

“Thank goodness…” one ghost whispered.

Thank goodness they’d had the sense to notice how unusually their Highness treated that radish and didn’t dare offend him.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been the Yuehua Sect who died back then—it would’ve been the ghosts of the Ghost Realm.

With the Demon King’s appearance, the Demon Realm was no longer leaderless, and joy erupted across the land.

The Ginseng Spirits of the Longevity Ruins and the radish clan hiding in the corners lit up with delight—only to be interrupted—

“Jin Hua, you old bastard! Stop flaunting your power!”

The Cat Spirit instantly switched sides, standing with Can He.

That cat changed its tune in a flash. “Today, we of the Cat Clan are your mortal enemies!”

Jin Hua Zhenren was so furious he nearly coughed up blood again.

Most sects in the cultivation world didn’t want to get involved in this mess; it was only by pulling in the Demon Race that they’d gained a sliver of advantage.

Even so, fighting Qi Jiangyuan had already been a brutal struggle.

Now, with a Demon King suddenly appearing and the Demon Race turning on them mid-battle, morale on his side completely collapsed.

Venerable Jinhua forced himself to stay upright, raised his sword, and sneered coldly, “Do you really think that with the Demon King’s help, you can win this battle?”

No one answered him.

The field fell into silence, broken only by the wind rustling through the trees.

Venerable Jinhua refused to give up and unleashed his ultimate sword technique—

The Yuehua Sword Technique.

Moonlight bathed the battlefield, cleansing demonic and ghostly Qi, guarding the eternal night.

The swordlight was cold and radiant, gathering all the power of lunar essence, slashing forth with overwhelming force!

Can He turned to glance at him.

That glance held no emotion. The youth raised his hand, and demonic Qi condensed into countless tendrils, surging toward Jin Hua Zhenren with unstoppable might.

Jin Hua Zhenren screamed as he summoned all his magical treasures, Demonic Qi surging wildly.

But the tendrils were unaffected, piercing through the Demonic Qi and wrapping around his body.

One, two, three…

The tendrils burrowed into his flesh, devouring his life force.

Before their eyes, Jin Hua Zhenren aged rapidly—his skin shriveled, hair turned gray, and his eyes sank deep into their sockets.

He howled and struggled, but the tendrils only tightened, as if determined to suck him dry.

“No… no…”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Soul Threads forming into a sword in Qi Jiangyuan’s hand.

Jin Hua Zhenren’s eyes widened.

“The Yuehua Sword Technique?” Qi Jiangyuan suddenly smiled.

Venerable Jinhua watched in horror as Qi Jiangyuan executed the familiar technique, his mind reeling.

Back in the day, the one who’d made the Yuehua Sword Technique famous, who had mastered it to perfection—was Qi Jiangyuan!

It was Qi Jiangyuan who had used the Yuehua Sword Technique to shatter all his pride.

But Jin Hua Zhenren couldn’t move, forced to watch helplessly as the sword stabbed toward him—

A sudden strike, straight to the heart!

“You…” Jin Hua Zhenren stared at him wide-eyed. “You were never dying at all…”

Qi Jiangyuan said nothing. His wrist twisted.

Crack.

The soft sound of bone shattering.

Jin Hua Zhenren’s body went rigid, then collapsed limply, his breath gone.

The remaining Yuehua Sect disciples were outnumbered and overwhelmed, subdued in moments.

The Ginseng Spirits of the Longevity Ruins, their peaceful lives disturbed, angrily jabbed tree branches at the fallen Venerable Jinhua. The branches pierced flesh with wet squelches.

Qi Jiangyuan pulled the sword formed of Soul Threads from the body, his face pale, staggering a few steps.

Can He returned to his true form and was immediately surrounded by the Demon Race. But he paid them no mind, rushing anxiously into Qi Jiangyuan’s arms. “Are you okay?”

Qi Jiangyuan shook his head. “I’m fine. Just a little drained.”

The various clans, seeing the intimacy between the two, instantly fell silent, exchanging glances and not daring to interrupt.

After all, everyone had just seen it with their own eyes—the Demon King kissed the Ghost King…

It was Xie Suoyan, dragging his tongue, who boldly offered congratulations: “Congratulations, Your Highness Can He! The Ghost Realm has been terribly neglectful lately. Why didn’t you say you were the Demon King…”

Can He blinked blankly at him. “So I’m the Demon King?”

Everyone: …

So many years of mystery, finally unraveled in this moment.

The Demon King had been absent from the political stage for ages, and the Three Realms had long speculated about some secret quirk—some even guessed the current Demon King was a reclusive hermit who hated socializing.

Turns out the Longevity Ruins was just so remote, Can He had no idea he was the Demon King!

Little Radish slowly pieced it together, his eyes lighting up. “So that means I’m not just number one in the Longevity Ruins, I’m number one in the entire Demon Realm?”

Xie Suoyan’s voice was barely a whisper. “More than just the Demon Realm. In all of the Three Realms, there’s barely anyone who could stand against you or His Highness…”

“I’m that powerful?!”

The boy immediately planted his hands on his hips and burst into laughter, striking a menacing radish pose. “That’s amazing! From now on, I declare—anyone who dares cozy up to the Yuehua Sect, I’ll beat them to a pulp!”

The ginseng spirits of the Longevity Ruins all beamed with joy.

But unexpectedly, the Radish Clan beside them was the first to get emotional. “Our Radish Clan has been in decline for so long… Who would’ve thought a Demon King would rise from among us…”

Can He: “?”

Can He was already tired of talking. He narrowed his eyes, voice laced with danger. “Are you looking to die?”

Radish Clan: “Huh?”

The ginseng spirits of the Longevity Ruins quickly shouted, “His Highness grew up in the Longevity Ruins, so he just looks a little like a radish! He’s actually a ginseng!”

The Demon Race instantly launched into mindless flattery of Can He.

“Exactly, how could His Highness be a radish?”

“His Highness’s true form is just as white as a radish, with leaves just as crisp and green, and roots just as sparse… But aside from that, he’s nothing like a radish at all!”

The Radish Clan’s chief turned visibly pale.

Xie Suoyan silently covered his face. He leaned in toward the Radish Clan’s chief, just about to explain—

But the chief paused in thought, then solemnly declared, “From this day forward, we too are ginseng.”

Xie Suoyan: “…”

What now? Is the entire Three Realms going to start calling radishes ginseng¹?

By tradition, when a new Demon King takes the throne, they’re expected to deliver a few weighty, cautionary words to guide the Demons.

Everyone looked expectantly at Can He.

But Can He’s mind was elsewhere. He grabbed Qi Jiangyuan and turned to leave in a hurry. “I’m heading out. Don’t follow me or bother us.”

The Demons were stunned for a moment. What was that all about?

Watching the Little Highness’s retreating figure, they finally snapped out of it.

“What did His Highness mean by that…”

“I get it now! That line doesn’t mean he’s shirking his duties—it means he’s taking the lead! His Highness has incredible foresight!”

“Telling us not to follow… he must be worried our involvement would only make things worse, or put us in danger too!”

“His Highness is truly wise.”

Xie Suoyan hadn’t expected that one sentence could be interpreted in so many ways.

With the two most important people gone, he resigned himself to staying behind and cleaning up the mess.

…

Without a word of explanation, Can He dragged Qi Jiangyuan back to the bedchamber.

As soon as the door shut, he started stripping Qi Jiangyuan’s clothes off in a frenzy.

Qi Jiangyuan didn’t resist—he just watched him quietly.

But when Can He finally got the clothes off, the boy started trembling uncontrollably.

It was a ghost’s deathly visage.

In the past, Qi Jiangyuan had always used his cultivation to maintain his appearance. But after the recent battle, his body had deteriorated so rapidly that he could no longer hold it together.

There wasn’t a single uninjured patch of flesh on him.

Who knew how many times he’d been stabbed in life? His body was riddled with wounds, blood still seeping from them. Some were so deep you could see bone.

Can He’s hands shook as he tried to heal the sword wounds. He channeled his Spiritual Power, pressing his fingers to the injuries. A soft green light flared.

He barely managed to close one wound before it split open again, blood gushing anew.

“You lied to me again.” Can He’s eyes turned red. “Didn’t you say you had a few tens of thousands of years left?”

Qi Jiangyuan glanced at his injuries, his voice calm. “It doesn’t matter. You can cure me, can’t you?”

He really didn’t have long to live.

But from the moment he met Can He, he’d stopped worrying about it. Still, he hadn’t told the truth—he didn’t want Little Radish to worry or push himself too hard trying to save him.

Can He was furious, his tone fierce. “And you still have the nerve to talk? From now on, you’re stuck with me for life.”

The two of them were now bound together—live or die as one. If one day Can He died, Qi Jiangyuan would go with him.

“I know,” Qi Jiangyuan said with a smile. “For the rest of this life, I’ll be relying on Little Highness.”

Can He thought back to how, in the beginning, Qi Jiangyuan had tried every kind of threat and intimidation. Now the tables had turned… Tsk.

Can He huffed, “Then go ahead and keep lying to me. Lie until you lose your own life and can’t even enter reincarnation. After death, for who knows how many years, you’ll only be able to see me but never touch me, and eventually, you won’t even hear my voice.”

He described it in vivid detail, deliberately trying to scare Qi Jiangyuan.

But Qi Jiangyuan remained calm, even nodded slightly. “That’s fine. Then I can sneak into your bed in the middle of the night and do whatever I want, and you won’t even know.”

Can He: …

He snorted but didn’t stop what he was doing, continuing to treat Qi Jiangyuan’s wounds. “So you knew from the start?”

“I only knew you were the Demon King.”

From the very first meeting, Qi Jiangyuan had seen it.

Though there was no trace of Spiritual Qi on him, the aura of a Demon King couldn’t be hidden. Xie Suoyan hadn’t noticed, but Qi Jiangyuan, who was at the same cultivation level, could sense it.

A tiny little radish, completely unaware of his true form, unaware that he was a Demon King—so amusing and endearing.

Upon closer inspection, he had sensed a faint connection between Can He and himself.

Qi Jiangyuan lowered his eyes and wrapped an arm around Can He’s waist, pulling him closer.

The motion forced Can He to lean into his chest, his hand still pressed to the wound there.

“At the time, I had already completed the Ghost Dao, but forming a Soul Body would still take several decades,” Qi Jiangyuan explained seriously. “With a Fate Pattern like mine, naturally there’s a way to resolve it. In this world, there exists another Fate Pattern that complements mine—one that instinctively harmonizes all people, events, and things around it, guiding them toward their most complete state.”

Can He frowned. The more he heard, the more off it sounded.

“Years ago, while traveling, I sensed a seed in the Longevity Ruins that carried this Fate Pattern. It could resolve the calamity on me, but because of the burden of that Fate Pattern, its growth was stunted. By a twist of fate, I passed Yin Qi to it, which actually helped it grow…”

Even after all these years, he still didn’t know what kind of seed it was. So he came to the Longevity Ruins to try his luck, hoping to find it.

Who would’ve thought Can He would deliver himself right to his door?

Can He was speechless for a moment. “…You’re not just saying all this to make yourself sound good, trying to claim we’re a match made in heaven, are you?”

“We are a match made in heaven,” Qi Jiangyuan said.

Can He glared at him. “So all this was just an excuse to trick me into bed?”

“No. It’s because I love you.”

Qi Jiangyuan lowered his head and kissed him on the lips.

“If I didn’t love you, I could’ve done far worse,” Qi Jiangyuan murmured against his ear, his breath hot against Can He’s skin. “While you were still unaware of your own power, I could’ve forced you, imprisoned you, even swallowed you whole.”

Can He’s body tensed.

“But I couldn’t bear to,” Qi Jiangyuan continued, his fingers gently brushing the back of Can He’s neck. “If I ate you, there’d never again be a ginseng who gets so puffed up with anger at me, who rams his head into my chest, who raises his fists to hit me, and needs to be coaxed in my arms before he calms down.”

“What is wrong with you? Do you just want me to beat you up?” Can He grumbled. “So what now?”

It wasn’t like he could cough up the bones and return them to Qi Jiangyuan.

Qi Jiangyuan gripped his shoulders tightly and asked, “Can He, do you love me?”

Why did the topic suddenly shift to this…

Can He bit his lip. “Why are you asking that?”

But Qi Jiangyuan kept staring at him, eyes stubborn and intense. “Can He, do you love me? You still haven’t answered me… Do you love me?”

Can He understood what he was getting at.

The Little Radish lifted his chin, putting on the airs of a Demon King. “You want Dual Cultivation? Qi Jiangyuan, now you’re the one who needs something from me.”

Qi Jiangyuan couldn’t help but laugh.

He tilted his head and kissed the side of Can He’s neck, murmuring, “So, Little Highness, will you save me?”

Can He flinched slightly, his nose stinging, nearly unable to hold back his tears.

Qi Jiangyuan could have forced him. He could have taken him without hesitation.

He had done it that night, and he could’ve done it again now. He could’ve kept him by force, trapped him at his side… but Qi Jiangyuan never did.

What he offered was never a cage—only a key.

Can He chose to throw the key away, locking them both inside.

Seeing Can He still refusing to answer, Qi Jiangyuan asked again, almost feverishly, “Can He, do you love me?”

Can He wrapped his arms around him. “I love you too.”

A broad palm cupped the boy’s fragile neck. Qi Jiangyuan kissed him, his dominant presence flooding every corner of Can He’s mouth. Before he could even react, Can He was already being kissed fiercely, hungrily, by the man.

Can He was already small and slender, and now, pinned tightly in the man’s arms, he didn’t even have the strength to struggle.

Spiritual Power flowed imperceptibly between the two of them. Can He didn’t forget to guide his own energy, slowly mending Qi Jiangyuan’s wounds.

A surge of vitality spread through the man’s body. His injuries gradually began to heal—flesh regenerating, skin smoothing over. Bit by bit, Can He could hear the steady thump of a heartbeat deep within that broad chest…

When their lips finally parted, Can He was breathing softly.

He looked up. “Qi Jiangyuan, don’t you dare die.”

The boy’s eyes sparkled, as if filled with stars.

“I’m not about to burn to ashes with you. We’re going to ascend. We’re going to be together for a long, long time.”

Translator’s Notes