Water Reflects Peach Blossoms

Feeling the inner elixir emitting warmth in her hand, Jiang Ruan moved her other hand on her knee slightly. She raised her hand and touched Zhe Yan's chest, feeling the steady and powerful heartbeat of the god left over from the ancient times. Only then did she come back to her senses and feel the reality of everything.

"What is your obsession?" she asked.

A small, soft touch reached his body through his clothes, and Zheyan replied, "It's you."

Jiang Ruan: "Where are the Four Seas and Eight Wastelands?"

Zheyan spoke the truth in his heart: "Actually, I don't feel that much."

"In the past, I followed Donghua to conquer the four seas and eight wastelands because I wanted to restore peace to them. But more importantly, as the first phoenix in the world, I wanted to fight for a habitat for the bird tribe. Later, I killed too many people on the battlefield and was forced to seal the Fuxi Qin. Since then, I can only cultivate my body and mind in the Ten-Mile Peach Forest. I can't go to the Wutong Forest, the habitat of the Phoenix tribe, because of the demonic energy in me. Otherwise, the Phoenix tribe in Wutong Forest and the bird tribe under their command will not be able to live in peace."

"The merging of gods and demons is extremely dangerous. One thought can turn you into a god, and another into a demon. My demonic nature has grown greatly due to my bloodlust. I can only cultivate myself and avoid excessive fighting and politics. I must stay away from the vortex of power. Only then can I calm down and reconcile the demonic energy and divine power within me."

“Because of this, I became a real loner.”

Having said this, Zheyan sighed.

"The four seas and eight wastelands mean nothing to me. Only the people who live in them are meaningful to me. Ruan Ruan, you are one of them. I don't care about others, and I don't have that much kindness to care. I just want you to live a peaceful and happy life. For this reason, I am willing to protect the four seas and eight wastelands and keep the peace of this world in my heart."

Otherwise, with Zheyan's cultivation level and status, no matter what the outside world looks like, it will not affect the peace and stability of his Ten Mile Peach Forest.

Hearing Zheyan say this, Jiang Ruan's eyelashes trembled slightly. What emerged in her mind was Zheyan's loneliness for hundreds of thousands of years, watching the sunrise and sunset alone in the peach forest, making wine, and appreciating flowers, day after day and year after year.

She asked, "What do peach blossoms look like at night?"

What she saw was beautiful scenery, but what did Zheyan see?

"Sad and lonely, even my heart is cold." Zhe Yan looked at Jiang Ruan with his handsome face: "If I were to say that the happiest days I have spent alone were the years I spent with you in the human world."

Whether it was accompanying Jiang Ruan to find Cen Sheng, or accompanying her to study medicine in the human world for ten years later, he was happy from the bottom of his heart.

This kind of happiness couldn't be compared to simply having Jiang Ruan. Perhaps the body felt comfortable, even blissful, at the moment of indulging desire, but what happened afterward? The greater the bliss, the greater the pain. Anxiety, paranoia, and coldness ultimately led to a different outcome than the happy one had hoped for.

What Zheyan wants is very simple.

After hundreds of thousands of years of living in a state of purity and abstinence, what he really wants is spiritual comfort.

Zheyan remembered that when he had just started to build the Ten-Mile Peach Forest, he marked out a piece of land adjacent to Qingqiu as his own territory.

Unlike the Fox Emperor and Fox Queen of Qingqiu who shared their territory with their people, nor like Mo Yuan's Kunlun Xu who was inherited from the Father God, and even less like Donghua. Donghua was sitting on the throne of the Emperor of Heaven at that time, and he could not return to Bihai Cangling. After knowing that he would have to retire sooner or later, the only position in the Heavenly Palace that truly belonged to him was that position. Even the Taichen Palace was opened up after he abdicated, because Donghua, like him, was a god and a demon, and had caused a lot of killing in the past, so they both needed to stay away from the center of power.

His Ten Mile Peach Forest is not shared with anyone else. It is his own territory. Rather than cultivating his character, it is more like a prison where he is afraid that his evil nature cannot be suppressed and will bring harm to his real clan.

At that time, there were two supreme gods in charge of Qingqiu. Donghua, as the emperor, was busy with laws and regulations, Mo Yuan had to guard Kunlun Xu, and although Yaoguang was a supreme god, he was not strong enough. Only Qingqiu, with the combined strength of the two supreme gods, might be able to quickly suppress him when he could no longer control the evil spirit in his body.

It is also because Qingqiu’s territory is large enough and widely distributed. If he really goes crazy, it will be enough for him to wreak havoc for a while.

When Zheyan planted the first peach tree on the open plain, the only thing on his mind was to build his own home. He planted the second, third... all the peach trees himself, but the day always came when they were completed. The peach forest grew bigger and bigger, but Zheyan's heart became more and more indifferent. He no longer had the expectation he had when he planted the first peach tree.

After he had lived in the peach forest for more than 100,000 years, time became like a blunt knife, cutting into his heart every moment, not painful but suffocating.

He is well-read and knowledgeable, and he can explain everything in the world, but what's the use?

He was the only deity living in the Ten Mile Peach Forest. While the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, he'd seen enough after more than a hundred thousand years. While it was fine during the day, the nights were incredibly difficult. If Bai Zhen and Bai Qian hadn't visited him from time to time, the unchanging tranquility of tens of thousands of years would have driven him mad.

The mortal world is messy, and as a phoenix, he naturally doesn't like the mortal world. But with Jiang Ruan's company, he begins to look forward to it, looking forward to every sunrise and sunset, and rejoicing in every journey he walks with her.

Her smile and her voice are warmer than the sunshine and more beautiful than the sounds of nature.

Until she moved into the Ten-Mile Peach Forest, the cold and lonely peach forest became warm. He no longer felt it was unbearable and began to cherish every minute he spent with her.

With her by his side, his heart, which was as calm as stagnant water, became full of vitality, as if he had become younger.

He was too lonely, but not just anyone could relieve his loneliness and warm his heart. Only Jiang Ruan, only Jiang Ruan, was the only one in the whole world who could enter his heart.

Zheyan was thankful that he could meet Jiang Ruan in his lifetime and get the happiness he had never had before.

He wanted to hold her in his hands because she was so precious that he had never felt it in his life, and he didn't want to let her go. But if he had to watch her wither, he would rather let her go.

"When Ruan Ruan just compromised, the bitter expression of resignation on her face showed how much my heart ached." Zhe Yan's hand covered Jiang Ruan's hand that was touching his heart. "It felt like my heart was split in two, filled with anger and pain."

Cherish her choices and be angry at the things that hurt her.

The expression on Jiang Ruan's face was so painful that he couldn't breathe after seeing it for just a moment. He just hoped that he would never see it again in his life.

He could use tricks and despicable means, but what would happen after he got what he wanted? If Jiang Ruan had this expression, he would probably regret it beyond measure.

Zheyan never took the mortal Cen Sheng seriously because Cen Sheng was not strong enough. Hundreds of thousands of years of war had instilled in him an innate understanding that being weak was a sin.

But now Cen Sheng's letting go made him realize how powerful Cen Sheng was.

Zheyan thought that he could also willingly protect Jiang Ruan.

Jiang Ruan might not believe it, but he would give her the confidence to make her believe it.

Jiang Ruan's hand on Zheyan's heart moved slightly, and Zheyan's hand fell, but was caught by Jiang Ruan's fingertips.

She said, "I accept this Fuxi Qin."

There can be no great love without small affection in your heart. This is what Mo Yuan had said to her.

She never understood, or maybe she understood but not completely.

But today, Zheyan let her know that love is restraint, and indulgence is desire.

The gods have compassion for all living beings but they also have their own emotions and desires. Perhaps she treats Zhe Yan differently, but who knows what the difference is?

Fortunately, she has a lot of time, long enough for her to sort things out and slowly understand her own heart.