Leng Jing was preparing to head north.
Perhaps because the matters concerning the Myriad Visions Pavilion were so stifling, he had reached a point of such extreme frustration that he felt nothing at all. With an expressionless face, Leng Jing went to the streets to purchase travel supplies. There, he encountered Gu Fengchen, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. Gu Fengchen’s injuries had improved significantly; it was said he had followed Leng Jing’s draconic aura all the way here. Upon seeing Leng Jing, he joyfully pulled him into a tight embrace and took him out for drinks.
"Baby, I’ve found your biological parents!" Gu Fengchen announced jubilantly after draining a large bowl of wine.
"Who are they?" Leng Jing asked, lacking interest.
"The Emperor of the Snow Dragon Kingdom! Baby! You are the long-lost Imperial Prince Baby!" Gu Fengchen happily downed another large bowl.
"Boring." Leng Jing tossed the money for the wine onto the table and walked away, carrying his supplies with a gloomy air.
"Baby, don't go! I’ve already contacted your family—they’re coming to pick you up right away!" Gu Fengchen drank yet another bowl.
"Where is the Snow Dragon Kingdom?" Leng Jing turned back to ask.
"In the Far North..." Gu Fengchen suddenly face-planted onto the table, passed out drunk.
The waiter came to clear the table, remarking, "I told him... 'Three bowls and you can't cross the ridge'... but this guest wouldn't believe me."
"Ugh..." Leng Jing suddenly realized that the silver savings he had packed in his luggage five thousand years ago were nearly exhausted. If he didn't start earning money soon, he wouldn't be able to support his household.
His mood darkening further, Leng Jing returned to the small courtyard on the outskirts of the city with a look of displeasure. As he reached the gate, he heard Leng Qingqing wailing inside: "Jing-er is the baby I raised! I don't want alimony! I want my Jing-er!"
Leng Jing dropped his things on the ground and peered through a crack in the door. In the courtyard, Leng Qingqing was brandishing a broom, chasing out several men dressed in opulent robes.
One of the men argued indignantly, "The Leng Jing you speak of is the Fourth Prince of our Snow Dragon Kingdom! Years ago, when the kingdom suffered the ravages of war, the Imperial Consort had no choice but to cast the Fourth Prince—still a dragon egg—into the Raging Billows River. She painted a Draconic Protection Seal on the egg with dragon blood to ensure the little prince's safety. Now that the Snow Dragon Kingdom is peaceful and stable, hand over the little prince at once so we may complete our mission!"
That idiot fox, Rongrong, was actually there too. He raised a small paw to chime in, "You mean Master Leng Jing, my husband's son? I know him, I know him! He’s been frail since he was a child and couldn't walk. I used to give him massages every day to treat his hemorrhoids!"
Leng Jing’s lip twitched. He decided he would give that foolish fox a proper lesson later.
"What did you say?! Prince Jing has been disabled since childhood?!" The Snow Dragon guards were shocked, exchanging glances. "Could it be a wound from demonic energy sustained while he was adrift?"
"I don't know! Oh, my crystal is glowing—I have to go to my matchmaking session!" The little fox Rongrong happily shouldered his small bag and skipped out the front gate.
The moment he stepped outside, Leng Jing grabbed him by the scruff. "You damn fox."
"What are you—" Before Rongrong could finish, Leng Jing muffled his mouth.
As for exactly how he ravaged that perverted fox, it shall not be described in detail here.
***
Late at night, the visitors stayed over in the small residence.
Leng Jing’s appearance had indeed given them a start. Based on the fox’s nonsense, they had expected Prince Ling Jing to be a sickly youth. To their surprise, upon meeting him, they found the Fourth Prince to be a magnificent young man of grand bearing, possessing the mien of the Snow Dragon Emperor himself. He was truly a worthy successor of the finest Snow Dragon bloodline.
"You say the Snow Dragon Kingdom is in the Far North? Do you know of any rumors regarding a place called the Myriad Visions Pavilion?" Leng Jing asked them.
The Snow Dragon guards cupped their fists. "To be honest, Your Highness, we have not heard of a 'Myriad Visions Pavilion.' However, on the northern border of the Snow Dragon Kingdom, there is a Great Snow Valley stretching for thousands of miles. Within it lies an ancient city from a millennium ago. The inhabitants there still maintain the lifestyle of the ancient past. In that city stands a tall tower where the lights never go out, day or night. The tower is surrounded by an incredibly powerful primordial barrier, so our people have never ventured near it."
"I see. Then tomorrow, our group will accompany you to the Snow Dragon Kingdom to report to the Emperor," Leng Jing mused.
"Your Highness, His Majesty is your biological father. To speak of 'reporting' sounds too distant. We know Your Highness has suffered much while wandering abroad all these years, but there are certain royal etiquettes we must inform you of." Several guards bowed.
"I know how to conduct myself; there is no need for you to overstep." Leng Jing raised an eyebrow, exuding a natural majesty. The guards were caught between advancing and retreating; realizing this Fourth Prince was not one to be trifled with, they decided it was best to say less and obediently withdrew.
Leng Jing returned to the inner room. Leng Qingqing was so angry he wouldn't speak to him. He lay on the bed, burying his face in the pillow and sobbing, "Waaaaah! Daddy is so pitiful! Once the son has a powerful and wealthy Emperor for a real father, he forgets the snake daddy who raised him! Waaaaah!"
"What are you talking about? Go to sleep." Leng Jing climbed onto the bed with numb indifference, crawling over Leng Qingqing to pull up the covers.
"No sleeping! Let Daddy look at you one last time! Waaaaah! Once Jing-er becomes a prince, Daddy will just jump into the river and kill himself. No one wants Daddy anyway! Waaaaah!" Leng Qingqing cried, cupping Leng Jing’s face with tearful eyes.
"Jing-er, take a good look at Daddy! Daddy is going to jump into the river!" Leng Qingqing transformed into a giant white snake, agonizingly licking Leng Jing’s face and neck.
Leng Jing gritted his teeth and grabbed the giant snake’s head. "Change back, or else I’ll..."
"Do you hate me so much you'd strangle the daddy who loves you? Watch this! Ten Thousand Snakes Knotting Shadow Clone Technique!" The white snake, eyes brimming with tears, was about to unleash his ultimate, disgusting secret move.
"Listen to me! I’m going north to find the Myriad Visions Pavilion. It might be near the Snow Dragon Kingdom. Following them is a way to gather information." Leng Jing quickly pinned the struggling white snake beneath him.
"Really...?" The white snake slowly transformed back into a naked Leng Qingqing, with Leng Jing still pinned on top of him.
"Of course. How could I possibly be the prince of that Snow Dragon Kingdom?" On Leng Jing’s forehead, the silver dragon mark from that day began to emerge.
"But the Fourth Prince they described is exactly like you..." Leng Qingqing shook his head. "Don't try to comfort me..."
Leng Jing slowly lowered his head, his fingers grazing Leng Qingqing’s collarbone. The dragon mark on his forehead shifted from silver to a faint vermilion. He whispered softly into Leng Qingqing’s ear, "Relax, I’m not lying to you... That... tell me exactly what they said."
"They said..." Leng Qingqing felt himself growing hot. Leng Jing’s fingers moved down from his shoulder inch by inch, creating a strange, scratching sensation in his heart—both urgent and a little frightening.
"Jing-er! Your... mm... ugh... what are you doing?" Leng Qingqing finally realized what was happening.
"...Qingqing." Leng Jing, his face flushed red, breathed softly into his ear.
Suddenly...
"Waaaaah! Jing-er, your... your... you... my body..." Leng Qingqing opened his mouth wide but could barely make a sound. The vermilion mark on Leng Jing’s forehead turned a blood-red crimson. With his movements, Leng Qingqing’s body and his own were pressed tightly together.
"Ah... ah... Jing-er..." Leng Qingqing was bewildered by this sudden, foreign sensation, but...
***
The next morning, a dejected Leng Jing lay on the bed, while a sore and aching Leng Qingqing climbed out of bed to fetch water to wash Leng Jing's face.
It seemed the one who had taken the heavier psychological blow was actually the incredibly innocent Leng Jing.
He didn't speak for the entire day, and their departure was delayed as a result. Leng Qingqing stayed by his side silently, even pushing him around in the wheelchair for a few laps, but Leng Jing never lifted his head.
It wasn't until the afternoon that he finally spoke: "I can't show my face to anyone anymore."
"Jing-er... it already happened. If you're really that unhappy, how about I do that to you once, and then we'll be even? Uh..." Leng Qingqing saw the murderous, venomous glint in Leng Jing’s eyes and quickly shut his mouth.
"I didn't expect it to be so sudden. I wasn't prepared at all. It’s all because of that disgusting 'Ten Thousand Snakes Knotting' thing you said... My life is over..." Leng Jing held his head in his hands.
"I wasn't prepared either... I don't think it’s a big deal. It’s not like I lost a limb or anything," Leng Qingqing said, looking at the sky.
"...This is nothing like I imagined. It shouldn't have been like this. It should have happened three or four hundred years from now, when I at least had my own palace and territory, in an exquisite garden or a luxurious bedchamber... Why..." The words of the head-clutching Leng Jing and the sky-gazing Leng Qingqing were completely out of sync.
"It’s just a contact activity between living beings, isn't it?" Leng Jing said, looking up at Leng Qingqing with somewhat incoherent logic. "I didn't cause any painful consequences, did I? A snake’s body is very flexible, so there wasn't even any bleeding, and thus not too much pain—you aren't going to have the mindset of a resentful woman, are you?"
"What resentful woman?" Leng Qingqing asked blankly.
"Do you hate me?" Leng Jing asked in return.
"Hate you for what?" Leng Qingqing was dazed.
"Hate me for doing *that* to you in a moment of impulse last night," Leng Jing said, frowning.
"I’ll just consider it revenge for how long I spent coiled around your waist. Besides, it didn't hurt that much, it just felt... weird." Leng Qingqing was still dazed.
"You don't think I’ve stolen your innocence, your chastity, your virtue, your self-respect, your dignity? You don't think I’ve treated you like a plaything, a tool for lust, a catamite, a male concubine, or a courtesan? You don't think I’m a rapist who deserves ten thousand deaths, that you should never see me again, or that you should hate me enough to kill me or yourself—or perhaps pretend everything is fine on the surface while weeping bitterly in secret? You don't think I’m a beast in human clothing, or a hypocrite, or..." Leng Jing counted the consequences on his fingers.
"Jing-er, wait a second." Leng Qingqing ran to fetch a stool, some pastries, and honey tea, then sat by the wheelchair to listen to Leng Jing’s report on the consequences.
Meanwhile, the white mink clutched its stomach, nearly dying from suppressed laughter as it watched the two of them. It had long known the Young Master had been pining for the Master for a long time, only constantly repressing it. Yesterday, for some reason, it had finally exploded. It wasn't that strange; no matter how rational or sensible one appeared on the surface, when impulse arrived, no reason could stop it. And who knows when impulse will strike? Perhaps when you are least expecting it and least prepared.
This is what they call fate or destiny.
The scene returned to the Leng father and son. Leng Qingqing let out a burp after finishing the pastries and listening to Leng Jing’s lengthy report. He then told the white mink to go buy some soup dumplings.
Leng Jing interrupted him impatiently, "Are you even listening to me? Now, listen to my plan. I want to compensate you."
"Compensate me with what? Is it good wine?" Leng Qingqing perked up at the word 'compensation.'
"I shall punish myself by sitting in this wheelchair for the rest of my life," Leng Jing declared.
"Liar! That’s clearly just your hobby, Jing-er! I want the best wine!" Leng Qingqing protested.
"My mind is made up. You don't need to try to persuade or comfort me." Leng Jing turned his wheelchair around, turning his back to him.
Having said it all out loud, he felt much better. Leng Jing let out a breath.
Leng Qingqing, meanwhile, went to cook some noodles in a daze, disappointed that he hadn't gotten any fine wine.
Presumably, for the Leng father and son, this was all there was to "doing it."
***
The following day, a gloomy Leng Jing packed his luggage and, along with a high-spirited Leng Qingqing and the white mink, set off on the journey to the Snow Dragon Kingdom.
The Snow Dragon guards had brought a carriage pulled by Pegasus-like celestial horses. Leng Jing sat in the carriage with his arms crossed, swinging his feet, his gaze drifting over Leng Qingqing.
"Jing-er, what are you looking at?" Leng Qingqing offered him half of the bun in his hand.
"Nothing." Leng Jing looked away.
The white mink gave a wicked little smile. The Young Master’s mind must be filled with a great deal of "unhealthy" thoughts right now, and a rigid person like him was probably constantly fighting against them. But the more you try not to think about certain things, the more they flood in—such as the nature of insatiable desire.
One only had to look at the Young Master’s volatile expression to know.
"White Mink," Leng Jing called out. "You’ve become increasingly disrespectful to your master lately."
"I have not!" the white mink chirped.
"Start doing horse stances for three hours. Right now." Leng Jing issued the corporal punishment.
*Waaaaah! How did I offend you?!* The white mink lifted its hind paws with a bitter face.
As the celestial horses took flight, the carriage rose into the sky. Clouds drifted past the glass windows as Leng Jing drew closer to the true Myriad Visions Pavilion. He wondered what awaited him in the distant Snow Dragon Kingdom...
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 雪龙国 | Snow Dragon Kingdom | A kingdom in the Far North where Leng Jing originates. |
| 凌净 | Ling Jing | Leng Jing's royal name as the Fourth Prince. |
| 怒涛江 | Raging Billows River | The river where Leng Jing was cast as an egg. |
| 万道蛇蛇打结分身影 | Ten Thousand Snakes Knotting Shadow Clone Technique | A ridiculous-sounding technique used by Leng Qingqing. |
| 三碗不过岗 | Three bowls and you can't cross the ridge | A reference to *Water Margin*; a warning about strong wine. |
| 天马 | Celestial Horse / Pegasus | Mythical horses used to pull the royal carriage. |
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