Page 39

"After careful deliberation by the Council of Elders, the ones remaining behind will be your eldest uncle Qin Dingbang and his wife, along with the entire third branch. Do you have any objections?" Old Master Qin asked with a genial smile.

"..." Why would it be those people who had offended them? Qin Rong and Qin Yi exchanged glances, utterly baffled.

"What is it?" Old Master Qin asked calmly as he looked at the two children. The people of the third branch were one thing, but Dingbang was his son! Although he had once used some schemes to drive Zhen Guo away, hadn't Zhen Guo survived just fine? Yet now Dingbang was being made to stay behind. Though it was the Council of Elders' decision, and though he himself had agreed to it, he still found it hard to bear.

"Grandpa, why?" Qin Yi asked bluntly.

"This is the Council of Elders' decision," Old Master Qin said. He sighed inwardly. Wasn't it all because of you two little devils? Though Qin Yi and Qin Rong were still young, they had already encountered such enormous fortune. They had also been the first to come into contact with His Majesty the First Emperor. It might not look like much now, but if a conflict truly arose, His Majesty the First Emperor would certainly speak for the two of them. Leaving Dingbang and the third branch behind was also meant as a way to vent Qin Zhenguo's grievances. Hopefully, Qin Yi and Qin Rong would not harbor resentment toward the Qin family.

"But, Grandpa—" Qin Yi frowned. He was not stupid; he understood the meaning behind these arrangements. Though he had never liked the actions of the third branch or even his eldest uncle, he still could not accept the Qin family Council of Elders' decision. It made his chest feel stifled.

"It's nothing much, only a hurried hundred years. To cultivators, it will pass in the blink of an eye. After a hundred years, they will be allowed to go to the Rainbow Plane. Won't the family be reunited then?" Old Master Qin explained with a smile.

That was easy to say, but to people accustomed to life on Earth, a hundred years was an entire lifetime. In other words, his eldest uncle and the third branch would be punished for a lifetime because of them. Qin Yi found such a method deeply unsettling—no one should be able to casually dictate another person's life. This was not some saintly-mother mentality; Qin Yi simply could not accept being the reason someone else lost an entire lifetime.

"Enough. The Council of Elders has already made its decision, and there is no changing it. But you are the one taking everyone to the Rainbow Continent. It may not work this time, but no one will be able to stop you from doing whatever you wish in the future." Old Master Qin spoke as if casually. "By the way, there won't be any problem transporting everyone over, right?"

For Qin Yi, it was naturally no difficult matter. He merely had to trouble Andre to send everyone over. He agreed at once and did not mention his eldest uncle again. Seeing this, Old Master Qin's tightly furrowed brows eased slightly. He had said and done all he could; what happened next would depend on the two Qin Yi brothers.

He immediately let out a weary sigh and waved Qin Yi and the others away, while he himself remained seated in the room, pondering carefully...

Qin Yi left the main residence with Qin Rong, his face full of helplessness. They looked at each other, both at a loss.

"What should we do now?" Qin Yi asked helplessly.

"Anything," Qin Rong answered.

"Fine!" Qin Yi rolled his eyes, then dragged Qin Rong off to the mall for a shopping spree.

"What are you doing?" Qin Rong raised a brow as he watched Qin Yi shop like a madman.

"Obviously, I'm picking gifts for Qin Shi Huang and Fusu!" Qin Yi said, rolling his eyes.

"..." Qin Rong silently looked up at the sky, saying nothing.

They said they were preparing for ascension and would cross over as soon as possible. Yet by the time every sect had finished packing up, a month had already passed. A huge crowd gathered in the secret space of the Qin family's main residence, staring at one another wide-eyed.

The alternate-dimensional space within the artificial mountain no longer possessed the peace and leisure it had the first time they came. It had become crowded and noisy. What left Qin Yi even more speechless was that Old Master Qin had actually set up an altar in the middle, announcing to everyone that this was where the guide would perform his ritual. It looked solemn and dignified, as though it were the real thing. Qin Yi helplessly rolled his eyes and said nothing more.

The sects each stood within their own marked circles. Qin Yi had no idea how Old Master Qin had communicated with them. Though suspicious looks were cast his way from time to time, not a single person came forward to make trouble or ask questions. They merely stood obediently in their places and watched Qin Yi atop the altar.

Several days earlier, Old Master Qin had already discussed it with Qin Yi and told him to make things look as exaggerated as possible before sending everyone over. Thus, Qin Yi now wore a Daoist robe and held a peachwood sword, waving it about in a mysterious, mumbling manner. Ignoring the suspicious and doubtful gazes below, he spoke to Andre in his heart. The peachwood sword pointed in turn toward each sect's position, and the people there vanished in great swathes. On the Rainbow Continent, Fusu and the others, who had long been informed, sorted the various sects accordingly. Those with backers were sent to the sects' mountain bases in the cultivation world; those without were temporarily set aside, where Great Qin officials came to register them, either dispersing them or sending them to inhabited cities. Naturally, without exception, they received some tribute...

On Earth, once all the sect members had been sent away and only the Qin family's main branch and the others remained, Qin Yi looked at Qin Dingbang and the rest with a complicated expression. Since the third branch and Qin Dingbang could not travel to the Rainbow Continent with everyone this time, those leaving the Qin family's main residence were everyone except these two groups. This naturally included Qin Dad and Qin Mom. Worth mentioning was that Wan Zixuan had actually stayed with the Qin family—more precisely, by Old Master Qin's side—instead of remaining with her own sect. To teach the third branch and Qin Dingbang's family a lesson, no one told them that someone would return to Earth in the future to bring them over. They merely left behind all the pills from the major sects and the Qin family's main residence, then blandly instructed them to carry out their duties properly. But people who believed that one human life lasted only a hundred years did not believe they could hold on for another century. They stood there dejectedly, and the more fragile ones wept and wailed. The two old ancestors of the third branch even cursed loudly, railing that Qin Yi and Qin Rong were too ruthless for children their age, and swore venomously that Qin Zhenguo's entire family would die horrible deaths. Qin Yi was so enraged that he swore that even if he returned to Earth in the future, he would only take his eldest uncle's family away and let the two old ancestors of the third branch die of old age on Earth.

To those in the know, it was merely a somewhat longer separation. But to everyone else, it was the difference between life and death. After endless, lingering, tedious rounds of instructions and farewells, Old Master Qin and the others finally signaled that Qin Yi could leave.

The instant the space activated, Qin Yi saw the incomparably complicated look in Qin Dingbang's eyes as he gazed at Qin Zhenguo. But some things... once missed, were missed forever...

Life was not a play; there was no chance for a repeat performance.

Rainbow Continent

Fusu looked at the descendants of his Ying clan with delight in his eyes, which shone with wonder. Then he turned and gave Qin Yi, who appeared last, a gentle smile—

Qin Yi knew that a life he had never experienced before had begun once more...

After settling everyone in, Qin Yi went alone to sit atop the imperial palace. The moon above, like a silver platter, seemed close enough to touch. A clear breeze stirred the willows lining both sides of the palace road, pausing and drifting. Everything felt ethereal.

After some time, a familiar presence suddenly appeared beside him. Qin Yi did not even need to turn around to know that it was Qin Rong.

"Why are you sitting here alone?" Qin Rong looked at Qin Yi, who sat hugging his knees, and spoke calmly.

"It's nothing," Qin Yi answered gloomily. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Do you think Eldest Uncle will regret it?"

Some things did not need to be spoken. Everyone knew them anyway. Otherwise, there would not have been...

"I don't know..." Qin Rong thought for a moment before speaking. "But time cannot turn back. Some things, once you let go for an instant, are lost for a lifetime."

"Do you think Dad and Mom knew what Eldest Uncle was thinking?" Qin Yi turned to look at Qin Rong.

"..." Qin Rong recalled the fleeting, complicated expression he had seen on their father's face at the moment of crossing over. After a long silence, he finally said, "Whether they knew no longer matters."

That was right. Some things had already become fact. Did it still matter whether they knew or not?

"I see!" Qin Yi scratched his head in confusion. "Well... that's good, then!"

Otherwise, what would Mom do?

"That's why I feel fortunate," Qin Rong suddenly said as he looked at Qin Yi's awkward smile.

"Huh?" Qin Yi looked at Qin Rong, utterly confused.

"I remained steadfast in my heart. I kept following you." Qin Rong stared fixedly at Qin Yi, his gaze deep and complicated.

"..." Qin Yi suddenly felt his face grow hot. He lowered his head and said nothing. "Well, we're brothers! Why are you saying such mushy things? Besides, Dad and Mom came over too. Wouldn't it have been boring for you to stay over there by yourself?"

"That isn't what I mean," Qin Rong said calmly. Then he suddenly muttered, "Wang Zhengming, Xin Ping, Li Muqiang, Han Zaiwei, Yang Guangfa, Zhao Weijun, Liang Qi..."

With every name Qin Rong spoke, Qin Yi's eyes widened further—

"These people are all..."

"They all attended your wedding!" Qin Rong looked at Qin Yi's wide-eyed, kitten-like expression and indulgently rubbed the top of his head. "After Nie Haotian and Wang Luoxin, that adulterous pair, kidnapped and accidentally killed you, I killed those two bastards afterward. Unfortunately, during my fight with Nie Haotian, I was stabbed twice as well. In the end, I suppose we perished together..."

"..." Qin Yi stared at Qin Rong in shock, unable to speak for a long while.

"That's why I feel fortunate." Qin Rong looked at Qin Yi's expression and smiled faintly.

Fortunate that after all those twists and turns, fate still let me meet you.

"But... why did you never tell me?" Qin Yi asked with puffed cheeks. He suddenly felt wronged. He had told Qin Rong everything and trusted him so much, yet Qin Rong had concealed something so huge from him.

Qin Rong smiled silently at Qin Yi's aggrieved expression. He stroked Qin Yi's head without speaking. He had not shared Qin Yi's good fortune. After his death, his obsession had run too deep, drawing a demon's prying gaze. Tempted by that demon, he had sold his soul in exchange for one chance at rebirth. Yet their contract stipulated that he could never reveal the matter of their transaction. That was why, after being reborn and gaining the chance to cultivate and temper his Primordial Spirit, he had worked so hard. Had they not crossed over to the Rainbow Continent, and had he not discovered after arriving at His Majesty the First Emperor's palace that the contract's restraints were gradually weakening and the sensation of constantly being watched had vanished, he would not have dared reveal that he had been reborn—

But his purpose in revealing all this was not to make Qin Yi sulk at him. He gently pulled Qin Yi into his embrace—

"That's why I feel fortunate. We can always be together and won't be like Eldest Uncle and Dad..."

It was as though a soft breeze had wrapped itself around him completely. Qin Yi found himself sinking into the wonderfully pleasant scent coming from Qin Rong.

"But..."

"You don't need to respond to me. Just like in our previous life, I'll follow closely behind you. I'll stay with you and protect you. That alone will satisfy me!" Qin Rong lowered his eyes, carefully concealing the calculation within them.

"But, well... wouldn't that be too much?" Qin Yi asked cautiously, unable to hide the happiness and sweetness rising within him as it curved his lips into a smile.

"How could it be..." Qin Rong sighed. Having lived another life, how could I possibly still be content with that?

Qin Rong smiled faintly. There was still time; Qin Yi only needed to accept it slowly.