Regardless of the memory or the rumor, they all differ greatly from his current appearance.
Memories faded, rumors were cast aside, and what truly existed before him was the melting of ice and snow, the rich golden eyes, tinged with the aura of the mortal world—this was the Han Tao of today.
Fu Mingxu met those golden eyes, then suddenly turned his head away, his voice extremely low: "Why are you so good to me?"
Was it because of the chaotic energy within him, or because of the destined person the priest spoke of?
Along the way, the two have been deeply entangled. Even if it wasn't fate, it was the change in destiny brought about by his rebirth.
His ankles were lowered, his chin was grabbed, and Fu Mingxu's head was forcibly turned around.
A deep, heavy aura swept over him again, and Han Tao, with his keen hearing, naturally heard his mutterings. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "Fu Mingxu, why do you think I'm so good to you?"
Fu Mingxu was forced to meet those golden eyes, and his gaze began to wander, trying to avoid what the other person was about to say.
Han Tao seemed to have mustered her courage and looked directly into his eyes: "What if I said that I love you?"
He actually said it!
Time seemed to stand still in that instant. Fu Mingxu felt his head buzzing and couldn't react for a moment.
His eyes were glazed over, and although his cheeks were flushed, he stammered, "I...I don't know..."
Han Tao looked at him and sighed deeply. From the moment the two met at the city lord's mansion under the guise of a marriage to bring good luck, their fates seemed to have changed. He had to deal with those things alone on countless nights, falling asleep with that figure he could only see from afar, when at one moment a subtle hope that could be realized appeared.
But he had to say it sooner or later, even though he knew that when he did, he should be prepared to be rejected.
Moreover, he now knows that the instincts passed down from Fu Mingxu do not allow him to consider a dragon as a partner.
But if he wants to get to the point he desires, everything that happens today is just the beginning.
He wanted Fu Mingxu to know that he was not only a donor of dragon blood.
Fu Mingxu remained silent for a long time. Han Tao finally released him, stood up, and said with undisguised disappointment, "Of course you can refuse me. After all, no one likes a piece of food, right?"
Han Tao's words indeed stirred up a storm in Fu Mingxu's heart and left a deep mark.
He knew he should perhaps make some kind of response, but instinct held him back, leaving him confused and at a loss.
"It's alright." Han Tao stroked his loose black hair, a deeper emotion hidden behind his desolation. "You don't need to respond."
He didn't wait for Fu Mingxu to speak, but walked out the door step by step, his tall figure exuding boundless loneliness.
Fu Mingxu sat blankly on the bed, watching him leave, and finally couldn't help but speak: "Han Tao!"
Han Tao stiffened, refraining from turning around, and asked only, "What do you want to say?"
There was so much to say, but the words that came out of his mouth were inexplicably: "Nothing, I'm going to sleep now."
"good."
The door to the side room opened and closed again, and the room returned to calm.
Fu Mingxu tossed and turned, his mind in turmoil.
Inside the courtyard, Han Tao stood under the peach tree, caught a falling flower, and smiled slowly as he looked at the closed door.
He's not completely oblivious to me. Once he knows how I feel, he'll naturally pay more attention to me in the future, instead of focusing his attention on others.
Peach blossoms flutter down, green bamboo sways gently, and the threads of fate intertwine in another direction.
...
In the distant celestial realm, a beautiful woman suddenly awoke from a dream, and a fairy maiden beside her knelt down to pay her respects.
A celestial attendant rushed over: "Your Highness, the Lord of Heaven has arrived!"
Before the words were even finished, the ethereal-looking Lord of Destiny, looking panicked, bowed and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, the young lord..."
The woman addressed as Your Highness immediately stood up, bowed her head, and asked him, "How is my son?"
The Lord of Fate gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Young Master's love star has moved!"
"Impossible!" The woman paced back and forth twice. "My son is destined to be the master of the house, how could he be a match made in heaven!"
"The Seekers must find the young lord's whereabouts!"
...
As the sun rose and set, Fu Mingxu, who had fallen asleep sometime earlier, slept soundly. If it weren't for Han Tao's actions in his dream waking him up, he probably would have slept a little longer.
He moved his feet, and only felt a slight stinging sensation.
He got off the bed and felt that the stinging pain was not a big problem. But when he thought about the cause of the change in his ankle, he couldn't help but recall the scene at that time.
Han Tao... he really said he loved her.
Fu Mingxu's mind was in complete turmoil. He opened the window and smelled the faint scent of peach blossoms in the air.
I took a deep breath and felt my mind clear up a bit.
Green bamboo swayed, peach blossoms fluttered to the ground, and the tightly closed courtyard gate seemed to know he had woken up, as it was pushed open from the outside.
Fu Mingxu caught a glimpse of a black hem, instinctively took two steps back, and forcefully closed the door.
With a "snap," the window was slammed shut.
When he realized what he had done, all that remained was the tingling sensation in his palms.
"Awake?" Han Tao's voice came from outside, seemingly no different from usual.
Fu Mingxu was startled and cursed himself for being useless before he calmed down and opened the window again.
Han Tao stood outside the window, a hint of joy appearing in his golden eyes when he saw him appear.
Fu Mingxu noticed this obvious change in his gaze, and his hand on the windowsill tightened involuntarily.
"How is the injury to your ankle? Does it still hurt? Can you stand up?"
This series of questions completely dispelled the embarrassment and confusion in Fu Mingxu's heart. His eyelashes trembled, and he said softly, "It doesn't hurt so much anymore. I can walk by myself."
Unable to check the condition of his ankle from the cold outside the window, Han Tao saw that his eyes were clear and his dark circles had disappeared, and he seemed to be in no discomfort, which put his mind at ease.
He nodded slightly and said, "Let's go."
Seeing that Fu Mingxu was still standing there dumbfounded, he stretched out his hand: "Let's go to the Medicine Sect now. The Medicine Sect has a way to deal with that demon bone chain."
Fu Mingxu looked at the broad hand in front of him, remained still, and said cautiously, "I think I can go out through the door."
Hantao: ...
It felt good to walk on my own. Fu Mingxu tried to block out the slightly strange atmosphere between the two of them and said, "There's no rush to go to the Medicine Sect. Let's take the Demon Flower King first and refine the Demon Source Pill."
So much has happened these past few days, and he's slept for so long; Shen Ange is probably worried right now.
“Zhang Anran is dead. Her name has disappeared from the Three Lives Stone. I sent a message to Dao Heng, and he delivered her ashes yesterday. They have been handed over to the merman. The merman bid farewell to Zhang Hengbo last night and returned to the shores of the East Sea.” Han Tao’s expression remained unchanged, as if he were not the one carrying the demonic seed. “Since I cannot fulfill my promise to the merman, I will discard that Demonic Flower.”
Fu Mingxu stopped and turned to look at him: "Although Zhang Anran's body is dead, her soul remains."
Seeing the puzzled look on Han Tao's face, he asked, "Do you still remember Xuan Zhong?"
That Asura demon transformed from a demon?
Han Tao nodded, quickly understanding: "You mean Zhang Anran has entered the path of Asura?"
"Yes, after I woke up just now, the mirror spirit told me that it found Zhang Anran's soul in the place where the Heavenly Mystery Mirror was concealing the aura of heavenly secrets." The Heavenly Mystery Mirror appeared in Fu Mingxu's hand. He gently brushed his palm on the mirror surface, and a beautiful woman appeared inside. She curtsied to Fu Mingxu, and her body was filled with murderous aura.
"Demons and ghosts are evil paths, while Asura is the path to the Yellow Springs." Han Tao guessed that her words must be related to Xuan Zhong and Le Chao, and only reminded him, "Once you enter the path of Asura, not to mention that cultivation is extremely difficult, once you enter the Yellow Springs, you should forget your past life."
"Their earthly ties have severed. What will the mermaid do when he sees her?"
"Mingxu, have you thought about this?"
Fu Mingxu hadn't really thought that far ahead. He remained silent for a while, then his lips moved slightly: "I just wanted to refine a Demon Source Pill for you."
“I’m not blaming you. Even without the Demon Flower King, there are other Demon Flowers in the Demon Realm.” Han Tao glanced at the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror in his hand and suddenly smiled. “I’m not in a hurry.”
Fu Mingxu looked up at him, and seeing that what he said didn't seem like a lie, he asked with difficulty, "Then what about Zhang Anran?"
"Heaven and earth have their own cause and effect; let's see what she seeks." Han Tao reached out and brushed away the peach petals that had fallen on his shoulder, speaking softly, "Everything depends on one's own heart, but she is already a demon, and should sever all ties of love and renounce worldly ties."
After he finished speaking, there was a long silence. Fu Mingxu looked at him with a deep gaze.
Han Tao's heart skipped a beat. He went over what he had just said and found nothing wrong. He subconsciously asked, "What's wrong?"
Fu Mingxu stroked his chin, his eyes crinkling into a smile: "Lord Han, I think you have a lot of potential as a Buddhist cultivator."
Han Tao was momentarily speechless, so he quickly changed the subject: "Forget it, just open the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror and release her. Let her do whatever she wants."
Fu Mingxu: Just now you seemed to have seen through the illusions of the world, like a Buddhist monk.
Anyway, he didn't have a better way, but Han Tao was right about one thing: aside from the fact that the Demon Flower King was the source of the Asura Ghosts, the Yellow Springs Path would govern them, so he shouldn't worry about it.
The Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror was opened, and when Zhang Anran appeared, a dark and cold aura appeared.
"Thank you." Zhang Anran was full of murderous aura, but his expression was very calm. "If the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror had not recognized me as its master, I would have been annihilated long ago."
"Although I should leave this mortal world behind, I am unwilling. If there is a calamity in the heavens, it is my own choice."
After Zhang Anran finished speaking, she bowed deeply to Fu Mingxu and then disappeared into the courtyard.
Fu Mingxu sighed, "It seems that Lord Han will not be able to become a Buddhist cultivator."
"You haven't even managed to convert a single Asura ghost."
Han Tao joked, "The mortal world is wonderful. Let alone Buddhist cultivation, I wouldn't want to be a Buddha or an immortal."
He spoke of the mortal world, but his gaze was fixed on Fu Mingxu.
Fu Mingxu felt a flush rise to his ears, pretending he hadn't understood, and turned around to put away the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror. "Aren't we going to the Medicine Sect? It'll be dark soon."
Under the blazing sun, Han Tao watched his retreating figure and reminded him after he had taken two steps out of the courtyard gate: "You've gone the wrong way. That's not the way to the Medicine Sect."
To cover up his embarrassment, Fu Mingxu, after being stunned, simply sent a message to Shen Ange, saying that he was going to the Medicine Sect and would go to find her the next day.
When Han Tao arrived, he finally spoke: "I have difficulty moving around, so I'll trouble you to give me a ride."
Han Tao asked, "Carry me or carry me on your back?"
Fu Mingxu smiled and politely asked, "You really don't have a flying magic weapon?"
"Dragons are born with the ability to fly? They don't need any flying magic weapons." Han Tao pointed in the direction of the Medicine Sect, then looked down at his legs and said in a deep voice, "Based on your past pace, it should take you about five days to get there."
Fu Mingxu took a deep breath and gave up struggling: "You can carry me and fly."
"Remember to drop me off at the entrance of the Medicine Sect."
"good."