Bai Fanlu was stunned. But Ice Ribbon had already been fastened to his forehead.

The demonic energy in his meridians was instantly suppressed, and Bai Fanlu’s body felt much lighter at once. However, this physical relief was quickly overwhelmed by the psychological burden.

Although Bai Fanlu still didn't want to pay attention, the situation was special right now, and he had to respond to that voice.

"Did you see everything?” He asked.

To Bai Fanlu, asking the question wasn’t the most difficult part. What was most arduous was to turn around and face the owner of that voice.

But fortunately, the face and figure of that person was all hidden in the darkness of the tree’s shadow. Bai Fanlu didn’t even have time to look at the man closely when that man stepped back and pulled apart their distance. Then, Bai Fanlu heard an answer, "Yes."

Honest and concise.

Bai Fanlu still didn't understand how Yun Zhan could enter his barrier without his notice. But it would be useless to get to the bottom of this at the moment.

"So what are you going to do? Expose me to the immortal world? I killed the Shubei Sect Leader and his two disciples.” 

"I killed this man.”

Yun Zhan was referring to the disciple on the ground whose throat was slit by a sword.

"..." Was this the meaning of being on the same boat?

What else had Bai Fanlu wanted to say? Yun Zhan piled the disciple on Shen Tongshan's corpse, and then struck a fire technique in his palm.

"Wait!” Bai Fanlu said, then tossed the disciple he had hidden behind the tree. The three corpses were now piled up. He then clapped his hands once and spoke, "Okay, burn them."

"Do you want the spiritual herb?” Yun Zhan asked.

 "No, you can take it.” Bai Fanlu said out loud, but thought, ‘Feel free to take it since you’ve noticed it too. I wish you a speedy and smooth journey to the finale’.

Yun Zhan shook his head, "I don't want it either.”

After that, he simply burned them to ashes.

Seeing that the three were gone and that the immortal fire used left no trace, Bai Fanlu felt relieved and was about to leave. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a bright green among the ashes.

Didi: "Congratulations on reaching the hidden event ‘Jasper silk within ashes’ and obtaining ‘Divine Herb Metamorphosis’.

Didi: ‘'Divine Herb Metamorphosis’ can cure the three strange poisons of the world.

 Pudu, Shixing, and Liulian were the three strange poisons mentioned in ancient books, and they had long since disappeared in this world.

Bai Fanlu didn't know what’s the use of this darned system, because the last reminder was that these items could eventually come in handy. But he didn't want to try any of those poisons!

He was frowning, but he looked up at the person opposite him. In the remaining light given by a faint spark, the other person was looking at himself with deep and thoughtful eyes.

The voice of the system clearly rang in his own mind, but Bai Fanlu couldn't help wondering when he looked back at Yun Zhan, could he hear it too?

What a joke!

Bai Fanlu retracted the barrier, turned around and flew back to the small village that was on fire just now.

He thought that after leaving for so long, the fire would have spread to the mountains, but was relieved when he saw it again. The fire did not spread, other than the few houses that were razed to the ground, only smaller and sporadic fires remained.

The scene was devastating, and only two people survived. They were looking for something in the embers in their burnt down house. It was really distressing to look at.

Bai Fanlu couldn't bear to look any further. When he turned around, he saw Yun Zhan who seemed to be a distance away from him on purpose, and he couldn't tell what he felt like for a while.

Those commoners, who were still alive in the daytime, became souls who perished in a fire after just one night. And the couple had to be separated from their child in life and death...

Bai Fanlu thought of Shen Lanshan's words again. He said that he envied them, for they still had a lot of time to spend together.

But do those times really belong to them or within their control?

After walking around, Bai Fanlu sensed that the person behind followed him, not too close, but he also wouldn't go too far.

Undoubtedly, this was no else except for Yun Zhan, who must have stopped the fire from spreading to avoid a greater disaster. But what did he mean by following Bai Fanlu?

This behaviour reminded Bai Fanlu of that rainy day. Back then, he was also not far away from him like this, keeping a distance and watching him, but in the end that thing still happened between them.

Bai Fanlu didn't say a word and changed to sword flight. Ignoring Yun Zhan, he flew straight back to the wooden house, and lay back down on the haystack.

But he felt like he couldn't let go of something. After a while, he rolled over and opened his eyes.

This repeated countless times. Bai Fanlu flipped over and closed his eyes and opened them again.

After a while, Bai Fanlu finally couldn't bear it. He raised his head and glanced left and right to make sure that there was no one around. Only then he sat up completely and looked around.

No one…

Yun Zhan left again!

Bai Fanlu was inexplicably irritated. He was the one who was deceived and decided to abandon those feelings to protect his Shizun, and move towards his goal.

Yet, as soon as he saw Yun Zhan, he wavered again and again.

He never noticed this when they were apart but when that guy was before him earlier, Bai Fanlu seemed to vaguely and inexplicably recall that he had existed in his life for a very long time. Scenes flashed in his mind, and they were all of the two people walking, hand in hand.

It was so clear that no matter how he tried to make sense of them, these memories overlapped on top of each other and left an exceptional impression.

Bai Fanlu exhaled deeply, grabbed a handful of hay, and looked at it.

He couldn't sleep, so he casually played around with the hay. He randomly selected two longer pieces, curled his fingers around and picked them up, and weaved them in the shape of a bird.

Bai Fanlu placed the bird in his palm and observed. Finally, a faint smile appeared on his melancholy face.

This material was not suitable. If there were tougher straws around, he could even weave a little rabbit or puppy.

Bai Fanlu gave up trying to sleep. He took the hay pieces and began to weave all kinds of simple small objects. After a while, a small mountain was piled up on the haystack beside him. At this time, it was almost dawn, so he gathered everything and placed them in a corner of the yard.

If Yinyin and the others come out and see them, they will definitely be very happy, he thought.

As it was still early, Bai Fanlu went to the nearest market on sword flight. The carpenter workshop just opened, so Bai Fanlu bought a small cradle at once. Luckily, there were ready-made ones that one did not need to wait to have built.

Then, he went to the textile shop to buy a mattress and sheets for the small cradle, and a few clothes for the children as well. The few big silver coins that Master Shen gave him last time, now came in handy.

After that, the number of people visiting the market and opening their stalls gradually increased. There were vendors selling candied haws, so Bai Fanlu bought a few bunches of them.

On his way back, Bai Fanlu was already wondering where to put the crib, and how excited the children would look when they saw the things he got them.

While wondering about these things in his heart, he didn't notice any movement as he pushed the door open.

The door opened with Bai Fanlu carrying the crib. He called Yinyin's name, and when the people inside looked over, he realised it was too late to turn back.

Yun Zhan was sitting on the ground with a hammer in his hand. He was knocking on a few wooden slats. He stopped when he saw Bai Fanlu coming in.

Bai Fanlu frowned, not because he was irritated by that man, he didn’t even want to glance at him. He only did it because Yun Zhan looked strange.

When they first met yesterday during the daytime, Bai Fanlu was not mentally prepared, so he never looked at Yun Zhan directly. And last night, it was too dim to see clearly.

But now, he and Yun Zhan were facing each other. The morning air was fresh, there was much sunlight, but Yun Zhan looked a little drowsy, as if he was not fully awake.

Especially those eyes, for no reason, gave people a feeling that they were shrouded in clouds and mist, appearing listless. There was an indescribable confusion and void from within, but he was indeed looking at the correct person.

It was just that this look was so unfamiliar.

It was so different from the originally high-spirited youth that it was impossible not to notice.

"Shixiong, you are back.” Yun Zhan said softly, then lowered his head and went back to hammering again.

Bai Fanlu walked towards him in silence, and the children in the back room laughed and ran out at this moment.

Holding a few small straw toys in their hands, they cheered and rushed forward as soon as they saw Bai Fanlu, "Lu Fan Gege! Lu Fan Gege! Did you make these? Xiaoliu Gege said that you made them. They are so beautiful!” 

 How did Yun Zhan know he made these things?

Was he around last night?

Yinyin raised the straw bunny in her hand. The finished product was really rough based on Bai Fanlu’s personal standards, but the little girl treated it like a treasure. Several other children were arguing about whose looked better.

Bai Fanlu gaze swept past Yun Zhan and said to them, "I'll make more for you if you like it. Come here. I went to the market just now and brought you all something.”

He put the crib on the ground, took out the new clothes and candied haws wrapped in paper.

The scene was very lively already, but at this moment, it was as if the small courtyard exploded with clamour.

 Even Aunt Zhang and the other two elders were drawn in.

Seeing that crib, Aunt Zhang was pleasantly surprised, "Oh, done so soon? It looks great, Xiao Liu! You’re so fast!”

Just as she finished praising him, she noticed the scattered wooden slats in front of Xiao Liu. It was then that Aunt Zhang realised that she might have made a mistake. She turned to Bai Fanlu hesitantly, "Lu Fan, did you buy this crib?" 

Bai Fanlu replied, "I just bought it at the market.”

"Ah," Aunt Zhang smiled awkwardly, "You and Xiao Liu…”

She wanted to say why didn’t the two communicate?

If Bai Fanlu decided to buy a crib, why would Xiao Liu still bother to make one?

It could only mean that they did not speak beforehand.

So yesterday, when she felt that there was something off between the two, it was now confirmed. Aunt Zhang didn't know what to say for a while.

Xiao Liu halted the hand holding the hammer to break the awkward silence, "I'm not making a crib, I'm making something else.”

"Oh, that's how it is! I knew you and Lu Fan wouldn’t make this blunder... I was mistaken for a moment!" Aunt Zhang laughed loudly and eased the atmosphere. Then, she lifted the crib to place it in the bedroom.A few kids with a mouthful of candied haws were now staring at one another and no longer talking.

It was the eldest girl, Yinyin, who grabbed Bai Fanlu's clothes and asked him softly, "Lu Fan Gege, are you quarrelling with Xiao Liu Gege?”

Bai Fanlu touched Yinyin's head, "No, it's just that I forgot to tell him.”

"Oh," Yinyin was still not at ease, standing on tiptoe, Bai Fanlu leaned down slightly, allowing the girl to whisper in his ear, "Then, will you explain to Xiao Liu gege now? He has been up since the morning to work on the crib, and I think he...he seems sad.”

Sad?

Yun Zhan?

Bai Fanlu looked at Yun Zhan, the other party had lowered his head and was still hammering at pieces of wood. He appeared serious, and his hand movements were meticulous. In all, he didn't seem to be emotional.

But thinking about Yinyin's choice of the word ‘sad’ again, Bai Fanlu really did feel the ‘sadness’ of Yun Zhan at the moment.

He walked over, and wanted to say, "The crib is already bought, don't bother with this.”

But when standing there, looking at Yun Zhan condescendingly, he suddenly couldn't say anything.

The closer he got to that person, the stranger he felt.

Obviously, he should hate him, but he couldn't help being drawn in. He clearly didn't want to miss him, but he can't help recalling many things of their past together.

It was as if Yun Zhan himself was an ironic existence.

He was even able to ignore the fact that Bai Fanlu was a demon, willing to kill immortal cultivators to shield him, and even shared such telepathy to the extent of deciding to gift that baby a crib.

Bai Fanlu really couldn’t make sense of anything. Now, nothing had a clear distinction. Didn’t Yun Zhan from the novel hate demons and want to draw a line with them? Wasn’t that man a ruthless and cold-blooded character? Where is this Yun Zhan now?

At this time, Bai Fanlu could only remember the Yun Zhan who was Xiao Liu. He once talked about equality between immortals and demons when he first killed the Flower Thief.

Did he say that because he was too engrossed in pretending to be Xiao Liu? Or was that Yun Zhan true sentiments?

Which one was he?

Bai Fanlu was confused, and he realised that since Yun Zhan's identity was revealed, they hadn't talked about those things.

Should he listen to his explanation?

Was it still too sloppy to condemn the man in such a manner? After all, the current plot was indeed too different from the original.

And Yun Zhan's current appearance also made him worry.

In that case, let's talk about it. Bai Fanlu thought, at least it was best to make things clear, otherwise he would always be uncomfortable around that guy.

"Yun... Xiao Liu, let's talk.” 

Thinking that there were children around them, Bai Fanlu changed his address.

Yun Zhan was so stunned that the hammer came down on his hand. Yet, he didn’t react at once and remained in a daze. It was as if he hadn’t felt a thing regardless of whether any of his fingers got broken or swelled up.

His fingers were still pinned under the hammer, and Bai Fanlu frowned, secretly casting a spell to treat the wound for him.

Only then, did Yun Zhan seem to wake up from a big dream, curled his fingers slightly, put down the hammer, and slowly nodded, "Okay, wait until I finish this. 

"...There is already a crib.”

"I can do other things. We are lacking a chicken coop.”

The little chicks brought back by the herder uncle yesterday, as well as the two rabbits, indeed need a sheltered enclosure, Yun Zhan even thought of this.

Bai Fanlu nodded, "Okay.” 

He didn't say anything else, so sat down to work on the carpentry with Yun Zhan.

Seeing that the two finally reconciled to the way they were before, the children happily gathered around, eating candied haws and watching how they built the chicken coop.

Bai Fanlu was also observing Yun Zhan at the same time, and now he got a closer look, so he could see more clearly and notice with certainty that something was really off with Yun Zhan.

When the children finally lost interest and ran off to play games, Bai Fanlu asked him, "They told me you opened up my meridians for me... Did you do anything to harm your body?”