HDFFIL Chapter 3

When Fang Cangwu saw Tongtian shielding against the Heavenly Dao, he knew that the course of events had completely spiraled beyond his control. In particular, after Tongtian revealed that he was the Sect Master of the Jie Sect, the impact of those words was no less than a bomb going off in Fang Cangwu’s heart.

Even so, after hearing everything Tongtian had to say, Fang Cangwu ultimately decided to cooperate with him. After all, Tongtian was a sage ordained by the future Heavenly Dao — and though his end had been a tragic one, he had been reborn. Surely a sage couldn’t fall into the same pit twice.

“I agree to cooperate.” Fang Cangwu looked at the black-robed Daoist before him and gave a small nod — though inwardly, he was thinking that if Tongtian truly did manage to fall into the same pit twice, he would string him up and beat him.

Tongtian had no idea what the young man in front of him was thinking, but he could feel that sharp edge returning to the boy’s bearing. The urge to tease him again rose unbidden — to see the corners of those eyes flush red, to watch him flounder without knowing where to look.

Before he could act on it, however, Fang Cangwu said in a cool voice, “Cooperation is fine, but becoming Dao companions is completely unnecessary.”

In his previous life, Fang Cangwu had been a solitary soul, long accustomed to being alone. The sudden appearance of a Dao companion was more than just an adjustment — a Dao companion bond was far more intimate than any modern marriage, practically a shared fate. That degree of closeness made his scalp tingle; he couldn’t accept it at all.

Tongtian laughed at his words. He reached out and took Fang Cangwu’s hand.

In an instant, countless pale-golden threads surged from both of them, deeply intertwined, shimmering with a faint radiance beneath the sunlight — breathtakingly beautiful.

Fang Cangwu’s body gave a slight tremor. He stared at Tongtian, expression stunned. This is far too intimate. If Tongtian wished, he could perceive everything about Fang Cangwu — and the same was true in reverse.

“The Heavenly Dao’s contract is quite useful indeed.” Tongtian lowered his gaze, then bent his head toward Fang Cangwu. “This way, neither of us need fear betrayal. A mere cooperation agreement doesn’t offer such assurances.”

Warm breath spilled against Fang Cangwu’s ear, turning the pale curve of his earlobe red. Fang Cangwu shoved Tongtian back, and the thousand golden threads vanished.

“Stay away from me!” As the words left his mouth, the dragon-bone spear appeared in his hand, thrust between the two of them.

Tongtian looked at Fang Cangwu’s faintly furious expression and offered a single verdict. “All claws and fangs.”

The words had barely left his lips when he found himself on the receiving end of a glare from this particular little dragon.

Tongtian suppressed a smile and softened his tone. “Little friend, I only wanted you to understand that the Dao companion bond is more stable than a cooperation agreement.”

Fang Cangwu turned his face away at that, and after a long moment finally said, “You are not allowed to sense me whenever you feel like it.”

“Very well.” Tongtian agreed with a smile, then reached out and swept aside the dragon-bone spear Fang Cangwu had positioned between them. “You’re only at the Golden Immortal level, and you dare to point that spear tip at me?”

“I wonder who it was that got knocked unconscious by this very dragon-bone spear.” Fang Cangwu withdrew the spear, tone utterly nonchalant.

Though his cultivation was only at the Golden Immortal level, his Dragon Clan physique was formidable by nature, and with a dragon-bone spear forged from the Ancestor Dragon’s own bones in hand, the combination of the two was what gave him the nerve to raise a hand against an early-stage Daluo Golden Immortal like Tongtian. Without both, he would have slipped away long ago — why would he bother sparring with Tongtian and getting himself caught up in it all?

Tongtian said nothing. The young man before him was only a Golden Immortal, yet if he were truly set on crossing an entire major realm to cut down an enemy, it was not entirely out of the question.

Truly all claws and fangs, Tongtian thought silently.

He flicked his sleeve, and the barrier he had erected around them both receded like a tide.

Yuanshi, who had been waiting nearby, hurried forward. “Has the Dao companion contract been dissolved?”

The words had barely left his mouth when he sensed that the contract between Tongtian and Fang Cangwu was still very much in place — even more tightly bound than before. In an instant, the color drained from Yuanshi’s face.

“Tongtian!” Yuanshi roared at him, barely keeping his fury in check.

Tongtian glanced back at Yuanshi and knew at once that his elder brother’s anger ran deep.

“Elder brother,” Tongtian said mildly, his tone unhurried, “this little friend could not answer my question — so he has no choice but to remain my Dao companion.”

Behind Tongtian, Fang Cangwu gave a grim nod.

At the sight of this, Yuanshi wished he could thrash Tongtian with his own hands. How could someone be so impossibly obtuse?

Tongtian lowered his gaze and drew Fang Cangwu behind him.

Just as the tension reached its peak, the White Crane Attendant came forward, pale-faced. “Masters, the Dragon Clan’s envoy has arrived.”

Yuanshi let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeve, and did not move against Tongtian after all.

“Go and invite them in,” Yuanshi said, his tone notably cool.

“Yes.” The White Crane Attendant responded immediately, inwardly heaving a long breath of relief.

It was only then that Fang Cangwu fully registered the situation — if Tongtian hadn’t smuggled him out of the Dragon Palace, none of this would have happened.

“They’re here to take you back,” Tongtian said quietly.

The words had barely settled when the White Crane Attendant led three young members of the Dragon Clan before Yuanshi and the others. At the head of the group was a dragon youth dressed in green robes, his features bearing a faint resemblance to Fang Cangwu’s — his bloodline was clearly of exceptional purity, marking him as one of the direct lineage.

As a fellow member of the Dragon Clan, Fang Cangwu could sense boundless vitality and wood energy emanating from the green-robed youth. The memories passed down through his bloodline told him that the Azure Dragon before him was named Meng Zhang.

“Greetings to you both, fellow Daoists.” Though Meng Zhang wore a smile, it did not reach his eyes. He was barely short of calling the Three Pure Ones common thieves and tricksters. “We ask that the two of you return our Dragon Clan’s young master.” If they were anything but, why would a young master who had been safely resting deep within the Dragon Palace suddenly end up on Kunlun Mountain?

Furthermore, Meng Zhang had learned on the way there that Tongtian and his young master had already formed the Dao companion bond — which meant that simply managing to smile when he came face to face with the Three Pure Ones had already taken considerable effort.

Yuanshi, for his part, made no mention of Fang Cangwu’s situation. He gave Meng Zhang a cold look and said, “To think that even with the Dragon Clan reduced to its current state, the younger generation has still managed to produce a Daluo Golden Immortal.”

Meng Zhang lowered his head, his expression subdued. After the Dragon-Phoenix Great Calamity, barely one in a hundred of the Dragon Clan had survived; even the elders who lived through it had sustained grave injuries, and the younger generation had not yet come into their strength. Among the entire Dragon Clan, there was indeed only a single Daluo Golden Immortal to speak of.

Fang Cangwu knew all of this, and yet he still saw fit to needle Yuanshi. “That’s better than being a Daluo Golden Immortal who can be knocked unconscious at will.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Yuanshi’s face went dark — so thoroughly black that even his white robes couldn’t conceal the storm of dark energy radiating off him.

Tongtian could only feel helpless. He reached over and tugged at Fang Cangwu, hoping to stop him from saying anything further that might provoke Yuanshi.

“It was I who took the dragon egg out of the Dragon Palace — so let me be the one to see him home.” Tongtian said to Yuanshi, still holding Fang Cangwu’s hand.

At that, Yuanshi’s fury surged anew. He fixed Tongtian with a glare. “You want to go to the Eastern Sea as well!”

“Elder brother,” Tongtian said, looking at Yuanshi, his tone firm and leaving no room for refusal, “we should leave Kunlun Mountain and see the world for ourselves.”

Yuanshi was about to erupt again — but Laozi appeared and stopped him.

“Tongtian is right,” Laozi said, placing a hand on Yuanshi’s shoulder, instantly draining the fight out of him. “Let Tongtian go.”

“But—”

Yuanshi still wanted to object, but Laozi cut him off. “Do you truly think you could keep him here?”

“Then I thank my elder brother.” Tongtian offered a languid smile, took Fang Cangwu’s hand, and stepped up onto the clouds, departing.

Meng Zhang did not dare linger a moment longer and quickly led the two other Dragon Clan youths after them.

In an instant, only Yuanshi and Laozi remained on Kunlun Mountain.

Yuanshi rounded on Laozi with a glare. “From now on, if Tongtian stirs up some great catastrophe, it’ll be entirely your fault for spoiling him.”

“As if you don’t spoil him yourself,” Laozi shot back. Yuanshi might shout and bluster, but when had he ever actually laid a hand on Tongtian when it truly mattered?

High above, the wind lifted Fang Cangwu’s long hair and sent the wide sleeves of his robes snapping in the air.

After a moment, he spoke, “Don’t you hate them? Both of them?”

The decline of the Jie Sect was partly tied to Laozi and Yuanshi as well — a case of floodwater washing away the Dragon King’s own temple, kinsmen striking kinsmen.

On the other side of the cloud layer, Tongtian answered with his eyes closed. “Hate?”

“I wanted my disciples to live. They wanted their brothers to live. What is there to hate?”

Fang Cangwu was mildly surprised at that, realizing that the version of events he knew might differ from what Tongtian had actually lived through.

“What I know is a little different,” Fang Cangwu said, glancing at Tongtian with a thoughtful expression.

Tongtian slowly opened his eyes and looked down at Fang Cangwu, who had settled himself on the clouds. “Different how?”

“Brothers at each other’s throats, kin slaughtering kin — and the Western Duo scooping up quite a profit from it all.” As Fang Cangwu spoke, he couldn’t help stifling a small yawn with his hand.

“It does look that way from the outside.” Tongtian smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. When his gaze turned westward, a faint killing intent bled through.

Fang Cangwu absently tore off a piece of cloud from beneath him and began kneading it in his hands. “Either way, it’s nothing but schemes within schemes. You’ve restarted your account and know exactly how the story plays out — surely a great figure like you isn’t afraid of all that?”

Tongtian couldn’t help crouching down at that and ruffling Fang Cangwu’s hair. “You’re right. Between the two of us, can’t we find a way out?”

As he said it, he also helped himself to the little dragon that Fang Cangwu had kneaded out of the cloud in his hands.

Fang Cangwu stared blankly for a moment at his suddenly empty hands, then looked up at Tongtian. “Give it back!”

He reached out to grab for it, but Tongtian deliberately held the little cloud dragon up high.

“How about you give this little dragon to me as a gift, little dragon?”

“Tongtian, have some shame!”

With that, Fang Cangwu made to disperse the cloud dragon with his spiritual energy — but Tongtian caught his hand and the two of them dropped straight down from the clouds.

“What are you doing?!” On instinct, Fang Cangwu clung to Tongtian for dear life and refused to let go.

Tongtian raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t act like a dragon at all.”

By the time the words settled, the two of them had already landed on the ground. The Dragon Clan elders who had come out from the Eastern Sea to receive them looked rather troubled. After a brief moment of deliberation, the Grand Elder was the first to respond. “We pay our respects to the young master and to Guye.”

The other elders quickly followed suit. “We pay our respects to the young master and to Guye.”

Fang Cangwu froze. Then he bellowed, “Guye?! Call him the young master’s consort!”

What he got in return was a stretch of deeply suspicious silence.

Fang Cangwu: There is nothing more terrifying than when the air suddenly goes quiet.

TL/N:

姑爷 (Guye) is a traditional Chinese term used for the husband of a daughter of a prominent family, roughly equivalent to son-in-law in English, but it carries a more formal, respectful, and sometimes slightly playful tone in classical or cultivation settings.