Chapter 224: Shou's First Venomous Tongue Experience

At the edge of the world, on a small island not far from the renowned town of Tianya City in the Honghuang realm;

Several elders waited in the clouds, while Bian Zhuang and the elderly woman incarnated from the Changshou Plaque strolled along the island, engaging in a quiet exchange.

At that moment, Li Changshou remained silent, simply walking beside them with a smile.

Bian Zhuang, however, had so many words stuck in his throat;

After walking dozens of steps along the beach, Bian Zhuang finally spoke. "Ke Le'er daoyu... how have you been lately?"

Li Changshou sighed softly. "Do you think she could be well?"

Bian Zhuang tensed up immediately and asked hurriedly, "Has something happened? Where is she? I'll go right now..."

"Daoyu, I'll take the liberty to address you as Bian Zhuang!"

Li Changshou frowned and said, "Do you realize how much trouble you've caused my young master? If not for the backing of Tianya Ge, you'd already be a corpse at the bottom of the sea!"

The figures in the air furrowed their brows, all listening to the elderly woman's voice transmission from below, merely looking down...

Bian Zhuang was stunned and murmured, "I... I've caused her trouble?"

"Bian Zhuang, you should be a reasonable person."

Li Changshou's paper effigy let out a faint sigh and began to recount a story about an admirer and a stalker.

Of course, it was adapted from principles of a past life, applied to the Honghuang context.

Li Changshou's purpose in intercepting Bian Zhuang here today was simply...

To break his heart.

Infatuation is a personal matter; if it's not reciprocated, it's best to silently wish them well and not force your presence on the one you admire, turning yourself into a stalker...

Li Changshou had seen such things a few times in his previous life, and the outcomes were never good.

In fact, in his previous life, most people, even if they had feelings for someone, would keep it hidden due to concerns about face, dignity, and other factors.

Some, like Bian Zhuang, threw caution to the wind, like moths to a flame.

Love is something no one can fully explain;

But a stalker is easy to spot.

In the Honghuang world, it's all about divine powers and the size of your fist, and it's not uncommon for people to use force to claim a dao companion...

After the story ended, Bian Zhuang stood there in a daze and whispered, "Have I already become a burden to Le Le?"

"Daoyu, did you ever get my young master's permission to call her that?"

"I..."

"Calling her by such a nickname without permission—isn't that a bit excessive?"

These calm words stung deeply, making Bian Zhuang furrow his brows tightly, his lips turning pale.

Yet Li Changshou felt that this level of heartbreak wasn't enough; he had to wake Bian Zhuang up properly.

"You caused a scene at the Long Gong, putting my young master in an awkward position. Whether it's a sudden infatuation or an unrelenting obsession on your part, my young master has no feelings for you—only annoyance. You two have only exchanged one sentence before, and hers was telling you to get lost. Have you ever considered that? While you're smitten with my young master, she has no interest in you whatsoever."

Bian Zhuang clutched his chest and staggered back two steps, his face turning ashen.

Li Changshou sighed inwardly and continued pressing on...

"You're the young master of Tianya Ge, surrounded by people who've always catered to you and gone along with your whims. But Bian Zhuang, with your mature mindset, you should understand a basic principle."

Bian Zhuang smiled bitterly. "Please enlighten me, senior."

"Put yourself in her shoes."

"Put myself in her shoes?"

"That's right," Li Changshou said. "Think about it—if a strange woman were madly infatuated with you, waiting for you every day outside Tianya Ge, how would you feel?"

Bian Zhuang murmured, "I'd probably find it annoying... Does Ke Le'er daoyu feel the same about me?"

"You could say she despises you utterly."

"I..."

"To avoid you, my young master even skipped attending her friend Jiang Sisi's wedding as a royal."

"How could that be..."

Li Changshou felt a twinge of reluctance in his heart, but thinking about how his second master had just gotten married and was already being pestered by this man...

He pressed on. Today, he had to make sure Bian Zhuang fully understood!

As someone skilled at reading hearts, he was equally adept at breaking them.

"Bian Zhuang, do you really think you could sit outside the Long Gong gates and express your undying affection just because of who you are?"

"It's because... because I'm just the young master of Tianya Ge."

Bian Zhuang let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with helplessness.

"If you didn't have that status, as an ordinary Tianxian in the Honghuang world, what makes you think you could catch my young master's eye? Or even get that invitation? 'I'm infatuated with you, so you must be infatuated with me'—what kind of logic is that? It's not just domineering; it's twisted."

Bian Zhuang stood frozen in place and murmured, "Am I truly worthless... I thought I could see Le Le and win her over with my sincerity..."

"Be confident and drop the 'am I truly' part."

Li Changshou said calmly, "My young master already has someone she loves; there's no room for anyone else. If you truly fell for her at first sight, you should keep those feelings to yourself. Bian Zhuang, the world is vast, and there are plenty of other flowers. You're still young, and your cultivation isn't that advanced yet. Why not focus on making a name for yourself and achieving immortality, instead of obsessing over a woman you can never have? I came here today just to tell you this. Young man, without immortality, why bother with things that hinder your cultivation?"

With these words, Li Changshou spoke from the heart for once.

Then, he glanced at the several figures in the air, who seemed indignant, and said indifferently, "The Honghuang world is vast, extending beyond just the Five Parts Continents. Among the three thousand worlds, there are many people and events you'd never imagine. I've said my piece; I'll take my leave now."

With that, the elderly woman's paper effigy form began to fade, a mist forming on her forehead. Her aged figure was enveloped in the mist and quickly dissolved.

This was an advanced version of the self-dispersal technique;

To distinguish it from the 'burning to ash' method and avoid any associations, Li Changshou had inscribed different talismans on the paper effigy.

Soon, the elderly woman's figure turned into mist and scattered in the wind, as if she had never been there.

Bian Zhuang's legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the beach, his breath weak. The several elders hurried down and gathered around him.

"Young master, please... don't be too heartbroken."

"At least, you're very handsome!"

"That's right; in our youth, none of us were as handsome and valiant as you, with a powerful force backing... you up..."

The elder who spoke was glared at fiercely by the others.

Bian Zhuang managed a bitter laugh and sighed softly as he sat there. "My heart is dead; it won't happen again. It won't."

"Young master, you..."

"Let's go back first, young master."

The elders had no other recourse and helped Bian Zhuang up, summoning clouds to head toward Tianya City.

Though the elderly woman's words were harsh, they were reasonable.

Their Tianya Ge mainly dealt in 'temporary emotional tribulation enlightenment' services, but they weren't some tyrannical force; everyone had to follow basic principles.

On the way, Bian Zhuang sat on the white cloud, murmuring continuously...

"Fallen flowers drift with heartless streams; flowers bloom on branches, waters flow east."

"My heart goes to whom? Hidden in white clouds, the clouds drift with the wind, and my heart leaves no trace."

"Ah..."

"Heaven and earth endure, yet this resentment lingers endlessly."

The elders exchanged glances; though they had dao companions and had once been young, they couldn't fathom why their young master could be so deeply infatuated with one person...

But since the matter had been laid bare, and he'd taken the hit, he should wake up now.

This was actually a good thing for him.

The white cloud slowly approached the protective array outside Tianya City and, following local customs, joined the long line waiting to enter.

"No, I won't go back."

Bian Zhuang suddenly muttered and leaped up from the cloud, gazing at the peaceful, comfortable, yet monotonous Tianya City ahead, then turning to look at the vast, endless sea behind him.

"Everyone, from now on, I, Bian Zhuang, will venture into the Five Parts Continents! I'll make something of myself!"

"Young master, what's come over you?"

Bian Zhuang took a deep breath. "That senior was right; without Tianya Ge, I'm nothing. I want to rise on my own merits; I want to carve out my own world! I will!"

Just then, a graceful figure flew out from Tianya City, riding the clouds toward the sky.

This female immortal exuded a faint aura of authority, with a slender figure, long hair cascading down her waist, dressed in a light cloud skirt, and a light veil over her face.

Bian Zhuang stared at her blankly for a moment. The woman furrowed her brows slightly and glanced back at him.

In that instant, Bian Zhuang heard a "thump thump" sound, like someone gently knocking at his heart.

"My heart... it seems to have come alive again."

Bian Zhuang murmured, his body trembling. He quickly urged his cloud forward and shouted, "Immortal, could you please stop and talk for a moment!"

The several elders behind him had black lines on their foreheads and felt the gazes from around them, desperately wanting to knock their young master unconscious.

Meanwhile, in the Tian Court, at the Yue Lao Hall;

Yue Lao had returned from the East Sea and handed over the wedding arrangements to Mu Gong before hurrying to the back hall and summoning Ao Yi's clay figure.

Sure enough, red strings were already wrapped around it.

With a swift snip of his scissors, Yue Lao cut them off and stared complexly at the source—the clay figure of Bian Zhuang.

"You hopeless romantic, I almost feel sorry for you, sigh..."

But as soon as Yue Lao finished speaking, Bian Zhuang's clay figure trembled slightly, and the end of the red string on its wrist slipped off on its own.

Yue Lao's eyes lit up. "Has this guy suddenly come to his senses?"

However, to his surprise, the clay figure turned and darted away quickly, crossing through the starry sea to approach another clay figure. A red string reappeared on Bian Zhuang's wrist, growing wildly once more!

What on earth is going on?

Yue Lao tilted his head in confusion.

But upon closer inspection, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Well, at least for now, the other one was a woman; it wasn't another case of misplaced affection.

It was just...

This woman seemed to be from the Tian Court?

And perhaps one of the immortals in Yao Chi, surrounded by a faint golden light, clearly at the Jin Xian realm...

Yue Lao pondered for a moment, feeling a bit helpless, and could only chuckle bitterly. "Let Bian Zhuang handle his own fate."

"I, Yue Lao, shall dub you the Immortal of Many Loves."

"Done!"

Back at Xiao Qiong Peak, in the underground chamber;

Li Changshou opened his eyes and revealed a confident smile.

It had to be said, occasionally being sharp-tongued felt quite refreshing.

"But, was I too cruel to Bian Zhuang?"

Li Changshou pondered for a while. Though he'd vented his frustrations, some of what he said was indeed meant to strike hard.

Infatuation isn't a crime; just keep it to yourself.

'From now on, I probably won't have much to do with Bian Zhuang. That Tianya Ge might be a major force in the three thousand worlds, but in the Five Parts Continents, it's just like a mid-tier immortal sect in Zhongshen State.'

Li Changshou thought quietly, and a few ideas suddenly popped into his mind.

In his original twelve pieces of advice to the Jade Emperor, he had mentioned strategies for the three thousand worlds, but it was just an offhand suggestion to round out his advice.

The reasoning was simple: secretly managing the three thousand worlds would consolidate Tian Court's authority and expand its forces, training soldiers for its use.

They could even take the route of 'three thousand worlds encircling the Five Parts Continents';

Just like the Western Teachings, hiding part of their strength in the three thousand worlds, which Tian Court could emulate.

When chaos arises in the heavens, that hidden strength could stabilize the realm.

'This matter can't come from me directly,' Li Changshou pondered carefully.

With his role in scheming the dragon clan's ascension, he had already secured his position as a righteous god in Tian Court and earned the Jade Emperor's trust.

The Jade Emperor had kept an incarnation hidden among the heavenly generals for tens of thousands of years, showing he didn't fully trust his subordinates and always harbored some suspicion.

Li Changshou naturally wouldn't risk overstepping and challenging his authority.

In fact, he felt he couldn't be too calculating about everything; sometimes, it was wiser to play a bit naive or make deliberate mistakes to appear more manageable.

That way, the Jade Emperor would see him as a controllable subordinate, making it easier to accumulate merits later.

And...

"I must stay on guard against His Majesty the Jade Emperor."

As Li Changshou pondered, he didn't idle away.

Some of his paper effigies had already returned to An Shui City, stored in the effigy repository, ready to be sent back to Du Xian Men once the dragon clan's gifts arrived.

As for Master Wangqing...

Li Changshou had the paper effigy who had been refining pills stop the furnace and leave the alchemy room, then ride the clouds toward Dan Ding Peak.

He would ask Elder Wan Linjun to step in and check if Master Wangqing was truly in seclusion.

How could hiding like this help Master Wangqing stop overthinking?

Besides, his little grandmaster was fair-skinned, beautiful, and had a great personality. Even with some innate shortcomings, she wasn't undesirable.