Chapter 289 The Thirty-Fourth Day of Entering a Xuanhuan Novel

Chapter 289: Day Thirty-Four in a Fantasy Novel

Comment Section:

"Hahahahaha! Dinosaur?! I'm fucking dying laughing!"

"What the fuck, non-human?! (LMAO)"

"Seriously, has simple gay romance stopped satisfying the author? Don't put your fetishes in the book! I'll say it again—this is a male-audience web novel!"

"Can't male-audience novels have non-human romances?"

"Of course they can, but what we need is catgirls! Not dinosaurs!"

"Beauty An's really gotten good at bullshitting with a straight face!"

"Isn't Xie Xuandu the one bullshitting?"

"It must be because Beauty An told Xie Xuandu he's a dinosaur, so it's Beauty An bullshitting with a straight face!"

"Ohhh, got it!"

"Gan Feng: You think I didn't go to elementary school?!.jpg"

"This is basically people talking past each other; Gan Feng's CPU is about to overheat!"

"Beauty An: That's right, I'm a T-rex, rawr~"

"The comment above is pretty cute! Mommy, you~"

"Shocked.jpg"

"What the fuck, dinosaurs are fluffy! Author, come out and let's talk!"

"Non-human is great! Non-human is amazing! Cross-species love is the most badass!"

"?? The comment above is sus!"

"..."

An Yi: ...

----------

Time passed quickly. The comment section by An Yi's ear kept him updated daily on Gan Feng's battles of wits with all sorts of demons, monsters, and evil cultivators.

Soon, the "All-Cultivator Prayer Assembly" drew to a close amidst chaos.

Just as described in the original novel, all sorts of demons and monsters came and went, one after another.

On the day of the assembly, he and Xie Xuandu went to watch too. The emperor's expression wasn't great, and that wisp of blood energy clung to him the whole time.

After the assembly ended, the capital's bustle receded like a tide. Cultivators and extraordinary individuals left the temporarily peaceful imperial city one by one, carrying their gains or disappointments.

Amidst the fading clamor, An Yi stood by the inn's window, watching the thinning crowd outside. He suddenly felt that even this city's splendor could grow tiresome after too long.

He turned around and looked at Xie Xuandu, who was sitting at the table, leisurely wiping an ancient bronze coin. "This matter's settled. Where to next?"

Xie Xuandu paused his wiping. He looked up, his phoenix eyes glimmering in the light from the window.

He set down the coin, walked over to An Yi, and naturally reached out, his fingertips gently playing with a strand of An Yi's ink-black hair. His voice was warm: "Does my husband have a place he'd like to go?"

An Yi: ...

For some reason, this guy had suddenly started calling him "husband."

Over the past few months, he'd heard "husband" at least a thousand times.

He shook his head. His travels in this world were mostly just going with the flow.

Xie Xuandu looked at his calm profile, felt a stir in his heart, and a thought quietly surfaced.

He leaned in slightly, close to An Yi's ear, and lowered his voice even more: "Then... how about we go back to where I used to cultivate?"

He paused, then added: "To see my master. I want to introduce you to him."

He let out a light laugh. "To tell him I'm already yours, husband."

An Yi turned his head, meeting his gaze up close.

Xie Xuandu rarely mentioned his past voluntarily. An Yi nodded. "Alright."

With the decision made, the two didn't waste any more time.

They wandered slowly, and half a year later, appeared amidst a stretch of lush, mist-shrouded mountains rarely visited by humans.

Looking out, layer upon layer of peaks rose, ancient trees towered, and the faint sound of waterfalls and springs could be heard. Occasionally, birds skimmed across the clouds—a scene straight out of a hidden paradise.

"This is the place." Xie Xuandu took a deep breath of the familiar mountain air, pointing to a peak faintly visible in the mist. "My master's temple is up there."

The stone steps leading to the peak were covered in moss, clearly untouched for a long time.

Yet Xie Xuandu walked steadily, each step calm and unhurried.

He didn't use flying spells but chose to walk.

An Yi followed at his side, his steps light, his gaze sweeping over the scenery along the way.

After walking a stretch, Xie Xuandu suddenly stopped and bent down to pick a few herbs from the grass by the steps.

"This is clarity grass." He wrapped the herbs in a clean cloth and handed them to An Yi. "My master used to pick these to brew tea, saying they calm the mind. He always thought my nature was too vicious and forced me to drink it."

As he spoke, the corner of his mouth curved into a faint, complex smile.

An Yi took the cloth, a light herbal fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose.

He looked at Xie Xuandu—at this moment, he truly seemed like an ordinary disciple returning to his sect.

Xie Xuandu suddenly crouched down in front of An Yi. "I'll carry you."

An Yi lifted his foot and kicked his butt. "I'll walk on my own."

The higher they climbed, the denser the mist grew.

Finally, after passing through a thick barrier of fog, a small temple appeared before them.

White walls, dark tiles, upturned eaves, and an ancient pine with gnarled branches in front of the door.

The temple gate was shut tight, with a weathered wooden plaque above it reading "Qingjing Temple" in three plain characters.

Xie Xuandu stood before the gate, pausing for a moment, the smile on his face fading slightly.

He reached out and pushed open the wooden door.

"Creak—"

Inside the door was a small courtyard, several vegetable plots overgrown with weeds, and a water vat in the corner reflecting the sky and drifting clouds.

"After Master passed away, I left. I... never came back to visit." Xie Xuandu explained in a soft voice, his gaze drifting over the familiar plants and trees in the courtyard, as if seeing the shadows of the past through them.

He walked to the main hall, where Heaven and Earth were worshipped, with a memorial tablet below—his late master's.

The two of them tidied the place up a bit.

Xie Xuandu walked to the incense table, took out three sticks of incense, and lit them from the eternal flame with practiced ease.

He bowed three times before his master's tablet, placed the incense in the burner, and as the smoke curled up, murmured, "Master, your disciple came back to see you."

He paused, then turned to look at An Yi beside him, a genuine and tender smile spreading across his face once more, his voice growing solemn: "And I've brought someone with me—the most important person in my life."

An Yi stood at his side and offered a stick of incense to the tablet.

He felt a certain respect for this elder who had once tried to steer Xie Xuandu toward the right path—and succeeded.

Xie Xuandu watched his movements and laughed: "His name is An Yi. He's my dear husband."

An Yi's hand stopped mid-motion: "..."

This man—still so shameless even in front of an elder's memorial tablet?

His eyes crinkled as he let out a sighing laugh: "Daoist Master, please trust me with A-Du. In the days to come, we will support each other, and I will take good care of him."

Xie Xuandu's eyes lit up. A-Du?

It was the first time An Yi had called him so intimately.

He laughed aloud and continued, "And A-Du will look after his husband too."

An Yi turned his head to glance at him. "Be serious."