Chapter 26

"There, over there."

Mushroom pointed into the distance. In that direction, a large group of people was making their way over.

Little Fat Chirper did not know Shi Changyuan, but it recognized the True Dragon Fortune on him.

It slowly turned its head, like a wooden bird whose gears had jammed. "Your partner is that human emperor of the mortal world...?"

Mushroom nodded.

Little Fat Chirper shrieked.

Lin Ling was brought back by Shi Changyuan, and the two agreed to meet again that night.

That evening, Lin Ling used moonbathing as an excuse. Carrying his little flowerpot, he climbed onto the roof and sat side by side with Little Fat Chirper to chat.

Only after listening to Little Fat Chirper did Lin Ling learn that human emperors bore immense fortune, which could be both good and bad for sprites like them.

Because they held high positions, they could greatly influence people and events. Once they committed some grave sin, it would deal a tremendous blow to a little sprite's cultivation.

There was another reason, too: human emperors were generally far more heartless and difficult to provoke. If a sprite wanted to flirt and run, one command from the emperor could have even the mountain they hid in dug completely bare.

"We're doomed." A faint sadness radiated from Little Fat Chirper. "If we forcibly take you away and this emperor gets angry, he could flatten even the Dragon Vein."

Little Fat Chirper made Lin Ling laugh. He comforted it, "It's all right. Shi Changyuan treats me very well, and I don't plan on leaving for now."

"That's true." Little Fat Chirper sighed. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have had a deep forest artificially built for you in the palace."

"What?"

Lin Ling froze at once.

"There, on the other side of the imperial palace. Haven't you been there?" Little Fat Chirper pointed in that direction. "It looks like they recently transplanted lots of tall trees there, and tore down all the visible city walls, stone roads, and buildings."

"When I arrived just now, I accidentally flew in. I thought I'd taken a wrong turn and flown into some immortal's mountain."

"That must have been built for you, right?"

Lin Ling stared blankly into the distance and slowly shook his head.

"...I didn't know about that."

Lin Ling immediately transformed into human form. Standing on the roof, he lifted a roof tile in one motion. Looking at Shi Changyuan, who was seated in the center of the room reviewing memorials, he shifted another tile aside and revealed his whole face.

Shi Changyuan, who had been reviewing memorials, felt the roof leaking wind and rain. He looked up.

"Your Majesty, did you secretly build something on the other side of the palace without telling me?"

Lin Ling said, "I found out."

Shi Changyuan seemed stunned for a moment before replying, "Mm."

"It's still a secret."

"Ling Ling, don't sneak a look."

Chapter 26

Since Shi Changyuan said it was a secret, Lin Ling obediently put the roof tiles back where they belonged. Only after carefully checking that they would not leak rain did he return to his original form and continue chatting with Little Fat Chirper.

"Shi Changyuan said it's still a secret." Lin Ling spoke earnestly. "Let's pretend we don't know."

Little Fat Chirper: ...?!!

It had seen through him now. The Mushroom before it was completely lovesick!

That would not do! Little Fat Chirper decided to gather its companions who had already come down from the mountain and have them hurry to the imperial city. They needed to secretly hold a meeting too.

If Mushroom and that human loved each other and lived sweetly together, then at Mushroom's wedding ceremony with this emperor, they would perform a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix and open these ordinary mortals' eyes.

Their Little Mushroom might have no parents and have been born of heaven and earth, but he still had powerful backers!

But if this human merely thought their Mushroom was pretty and was deceiving a lovesick fool's feelings, then they would show these people what it meant for misfortune to strike and disaster to fall from the sky—

The more Little Fat Chirper thought about it, the more it felt they should prepare early. They might even have time to choose the prettiest birds and rehearse their formation.

By the time Lin Ling saw off his friend, climbed down from the roof, and returned to Shi Changyuan's side, it was already very late.

Shi Changyuan looked at Lin Ling, who was once again damp all over, but asked nothing. He did not explain the thing on the other side of the palace either, merely saying, "Shunde has prepared hot water. Lin Ling, go soak for a while."

"Be careful not to catch a cold."

"Okay." Lin Ling followed Shi Changyuan back to the bedchamber. After taking off his clothes, he headed straight for the imperial bath.

The two had always bathed separately before. It was not until they had soaked in the hot spring together that Lin Ling seemed to have opened the door to a whole new world. After that, he kept insisting on bathing with Shi Changyuan.

In Lin Ling's words, soaking in the same pool helped deepen their feelings. After all, they were already close enough to share a pool.

Perhaps Mushroom had not realized at the time that once feelings deepened to a certain extent, they would undergo a change. When their relationship changed as well, this way of fostering affection became far too stimulating for Mushroom at present.

Lin Ling had only just settled into the water when he heard another splash. Opening his eyes, he saw Shi Changyuan entering the water as well.

They were nearly bare before each other. Watching Shi Changyuan approach step by step, Lin Ling was immediately boiled red by the warm water.

Shi Changyuan looked at Lin Ling. His ears were so red that they seemed ready to drip blood, yet his gaze remained anything but honest. Through the curling steam, he stole glances at Shi Changyuan's body, sometimes furtively and sometimes openly.

"Ling Ling." Shi Changyuan could no longer bear that gaze. He walked over and covered Lin Ling's eyes with his hand.

Even with his eyes covered, Lin Ling still would not behave. His long lashes kept trembling and brushing across Shi Changyuan's palm.

"Ling Ling." Shi Changyuan's voice was hoarse. "I want to kiss you."

The moment Shi Changyuan finished speaking, before Lin Ling could answer, those somewhat dry lips pressed against his, slowly brushing and gently nibbling.

It was completely different from the kiss that morning.