From dawn to dusk and back again, Xuan Yang spent several days traversing the wild, desolate ridges before finally arriving in a populated region.
Xuan Yang had grown quite tall and possessed a lithe, slender build. When his face was devoid of expression, he truly looked as if he had been carved from the same mold as his father, whose usual demeanor was one of imposing majesty. Furthermore, he made no effort to conceal his Phoenix aura. Human cultivators, who were well-acquainted with the legendary arrogance of the Phoenix tribe, felt a sense of trepidation upon seeing him.
However, the moment Xuan Yang opened his mouth, the illusion was shattered. He looked at the crowd with blinking, expectant eyes, leaving everyone to wonder if the lad before them was truly of the Phoenix tribe or some sort of canine variety.
"Apologies, little fellow Daoist, but we haven't heard of a cultivator named Shen Yan. Do you have any other clues?"
Xuan Yang knew it wouldn't be easy, but the disappointing result still left him feeling dejected, his spirit wilting.
"He might be staying with another cultivator. His name is Zhai Bairong. Do any of you know him?" Xuan Yang asked again.
The group thought hard. Suddenly, one man cried out, "Eh? That name sounds a bit familiar. Let me think... I might have actually seen it somewhere."
Xuan Yang’s dimmed eyes instantly lit up again. He nodded frantically, urging the man to take his time.
Once that man spoke up, others also seemed to recall such a person. In the Upper Realm, the areas inhabited by humans were relatively concentrated. Aside from the residents of the local towns, most lived in seclusion within the territories of their respective sects and rarely ventured out, so they wouldn't have much of an impression.
"I remember now! Zhai Bairong, right? I remember hearing someone mention him—it was my daughter. For a while, she was quite close with the young lady of the Lin family. Back then, they both loved running off to Yicao Hall, saying there was a handsome young cultivator on duty who was very easy on the eyes. I even scolded her at the time for neglecting her duties..." a man suddenly shouted, clapping his hands together.
When Xuan Yang first heard the man say he’d heard it from his daughter, his subconscious reaction was that they had the wrong person. What business would a man like Zhai Bairong have with women? But then the man mentioned the name of a pharmacy and said the person was handsome, and Xuan Yang felt certain it was him.
"Where is Yicao Hall? Take me there quickly," Xuan Yang urged.
"Daoist, don't be in such a rush! Hey, hey, don't pull me... It's not in our town. You have to keep heading west for a few more days," the cultivator gasped, struggling as Xuan Yang grabbed him in his excitement.
"S-Sorry." Realizing he had lost his composure, Xuan Yang sheepishly withdrew his hand. He asked the cultivators to sell him a map and, if possible, circle the location for him.
Seeing his urgent state and his seemingly pure, simple-minded nature, the cultivators instinctively wanted to help him. They immediately agreed and went to a general store to fetch a map.
Xuan Yang searched through his storage space and remembered he had run away in a hurry. He didn't have many immortal crystals on him, and he suddenly felt a pang of distress. He certainly wasn't going back to the Phoenix tribe, and unlike Nie Shiyun and the others, he didn't have a specialized skill to support himself. He had no idea how he would make a living later... If he had known, when he was smashing the estates of those idiot brothers of his, he should have swiped all their precious vases and scrolls to sell for money!
The onlookers found it utterly surreal to see such a refined and elegant Phoenix cultivator holding a coin pouch, pitifully counting his immortal crystals with a look of physical pain on his face. They exchanged glances and waved him off, saying it was just a map and there was no need for payment.
There truly were many good people in the world! Xuan Yang thanked them joyfully.
"However, though I don't know your relationship with this cultivator, I haven't heard any news of him for decades! He only seemed to stay at that pharmacy for a short time. Later, I heard he went to the Middle Realm. My daughter complained about it for quite a while..."
"Telling me this is already a huge help!"
Xuan Yang figured as much; Zhai Bairong would surely look for Nie Shiyun the first chance he got. It was impossible for him to stay in a small pharmacy for decades. But since he had no other leads, he had to go take a look.
The Phoenix clansman who had been quietly following Xuan Yang from a distance was already fuming. Seeing Xuan Yang's disgraceful behavior toward humans made him feel as though his own face was being dragged through the mud. However, he had received word that the Phoenix Emperor wanted him to follow silently, as the Emperor would eventually come in person, so he didn't dare be careless. He could only watch with a stomach full of fire as Xuan Yang happily shook hands with those humans one by one, thanking them before departing.
"That Daoist who just left... he was a Phoenix, wasn't he?"
"Seems so."
"Don't you think his face looks a bit familiar...?"
"Now that you mention it, he does look a bit like someone."
The Phoenix clansman, about to follow, heard the humans gossiping and prayed in his heart that they wouldn't remember anything.
Although the Phoenix Emperor's movements were unpredictable and he lived in seclusion, he still attended important occasions in the Upper Realm. Moreover, he would dress meticulously every time so that cultivators of other races could properly admire the visage he took such pride in.
And yet, that silly boy from the Lower Realm was using that same noble face to do such stupid things...!
The more he thought about it, the more suppressed his anger became, his face twisting with rage. Seeing that he was about to lose track of Xuan Yang, he ultimately pretended he hadn't heard anything and hurried to catch up.
Xuan Yang, completely unaware that he had inadvertently driven his stalker half to death with anger, excitedly rushed toward the next town.
When he arrived, it was dawn, and the entire town was quiet. Xuan Yang walked along the streets and alleys until he finally found the building with the "Yicao Hall" plaque. Since it hadn't opened yet, the wooden doors were tightly shut.
Xuan Yang stood blankly at the entrance for a while, finally feeling the delayed onset of exhaustion. He hadn't rested since leaving the Phoenix tribe, having been on the road the entire time. But his desire to ask questions was too pressing; Xuan Yang was unwilling to find a place to rest first. Instead, he sat down right there at the pharmacy's entrance. Before long, overcome by fatigue, he leaned against a pillar by the door and fell asleep.
The people who used to be by his side were all gone now, their whereabouts unknown. Xuan Yang, who had always lived in the bustling Yunqing Pavilion, felt a sliver of loneliness. Everyone in the cultivation world looked forward to ascending; he too once thought that after ascending, he would become a very powerful person. But looking back now, he felt that his days in the mortal cultivation world were happier.
When he was younger, he always thought about showing off in front of his biological father to prove his abilities. But now, he didn't care at all. It didn't matter whether his clansmen acknowledged or accepted him. Although the blood of the Phoenix tribe flowed through him, he was destined not to walk the same path as them.
"..."
"Hey, fellow Daoist, are you alright? Wake up!"
Feeling someone urgently calling him, Xuan Yang jolted awake from his dream.
Seeing him sleeping at the pharmacy entrance, any normal person would assume he was injured and desperate for medicine. But seeing him wake up in a daze, looking not at all like someone suffering from pain or injury, the shop assistant realized the man had truly just been sleeping.
"You scared me to death... You look so refined and scholarly, how could you just sit on the street and sleep like that!" The shop assistant, who was in charge of opening the doors that day, calmed his heart and welcomed Xuan Yang into the shop.
"I haven't slept for several days while traveling by flying sword. I wanted to wait for you to open and ended up falling asleep, haha," Xuan Yang scratched his head.
This man had never seen the Four Beast Tribes before and naturally couldn't distinguish the Phoenix aura. His attitude toward Xuan Yang was quite ordinary. He asked what medicine was needed, only to hear Xuan Yang reply that he wasn't there for medicine, but to ask about a fellow named Zhai Bairong.
"I only started working here ten years ago. If the person you're talking about left decades ago, I definitely haven't seen him. How about this: wait a bit longer, the manager should be here by noon."
"Why does the manager only come at noon?"
The assistant, who had ducked behind the counter to start cleaning, said helplessly, "Because he's the manager and I'm the worker. I say, fellow Daoist, I still have work to do. Why don't you go sit in a tea house and wait, or find an inn to take a short nap?"
"Thank you, but I'll just wait here! Am I in the way of your work? Should I go back to the door and wait?" At the thought of getting new information soon, Xuan Yang was in no mood to rest.
"Don't, don't, don't. How about I invite you to sit in the back room instead..." The cultivator behind the counter didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If such a large man sat cross-legged right at the shop's main entrance, how were they supposed to do business?
Fortunately, Xuan Yang's speech and manner didn't seem like he was lying, and he looked decent enough. Although he wasn't very good at reading the room, the pharmacy assistant didn't kick him out but allowed him to wait inside.
Finally, at noon, the manager arrived belatedly.
He was stunned to hear that a cultivator had come looking for Zhai Bairong. Although Zhai Bairong had only stayed for a short while and decades had passed since his departure, how could the manager forget such a figure? He immediately patted the assistant's shoulder, glad he hadn't kicked the man out, and hurried to meet Xuan Yang.
Unlike his assistant, the manager was well-traveled. The moment he entered the room, he realized this was a Phoenix cultivator, and his attitude instinctively became much more respectful. Furthermore, as long as Xuan Yang sat there without speaking, he looked every bit the part of a talented and distinguished individual. The manager subconsciously assumed he was Zhai Bairong's Daoist companion.
He couldn't help but feel it was a pity, thinking that Zhai Bairong probably hadn't found his partner in all these decades, only for the partner to come looking for him now. They must have missed each other.
After a brief introduction, Xuan Yang realized the manager had mistaken him for Zhai Bairong's Daoist companion. Just imagining it caused his face to immediately contort into a twisted expression as if he had just swallowed dirt.
"No, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong!"
"Ah, you mean..."
"How could I possibly be Zhai Bairong's Daoist companion!" Xuan Yang slammed the table in shock.
Seeing him so horrified, the manager hurried to apologize. He couldn't afford to offend the Phoenix tribe.
Fortunately, Xuan Yang seemed only too eager to clarify the matter rather than being truly angry. The manager breathed a sigh of relief.
"Forget about him. Since you say he hasn't been back in all these years, I expect he's already found his companion in the Middle or Lower Realms. Dammit, those two probably don't even remember me anymore!" Xuan Yang said resentfully.
"Calm down, calm down," the manager wiped his sweat.
"I wanted to ask you, do you know a cultivator named Shen Yan? He might have come looking for Zhai Bairong once." Xuan Yang "whooshed" up from his chair, gesturing wildly with his hands. "He's about this tall, his face... looks like this. His hair is this long. His voice sounds roughly like this—ahem! Wait a second, let me imitate him for you..."
"Uh, no need, no need," the manager quickly called a halt.
Xuan Yang looked at him in confusion, as if asking why he wasn't allowed to continue.
To Xuan Yang's surprise, the manager nodded and said, "His name is Shen Yan, right? I know of him. Before Zhai Bairong left, he specifically told me that a cultivator he knew lived nearby and might occasionally come to sell harvested herbs. He asked me to look after him when convenient."
Xuan Yang's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Really! He's still nearby? When was the last time you saw him? Is he doing well? Has he lost weight? He was already so thin..."
Xuan Yang hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. His worst-case scenario was that Shen Yan had never looked for Zhai Bairong; a better one was that they had met and left for the Middle Realm together.
After all, living in the Upper Realm was surely not easy for someone of Shen Yan's cultivation level, and he must have a very poor impression of this place...
"The last time I saw him was about half a year ago. He looked... quite energetic," the manager said vaguely.
He was too embarrassed to say that the man never looked particularly energetic; he was always surrounded by a gloomy, somber air. They could tell at a glance that he was a demonic cultivator. Normally, they didn't like dealing with such people. However, he had great trust in Zhai Bairong, who had worked for him, so he was willing to trust the person Zhai Bairong had entrusted to him.
Xuan Yang also knew that Zhai Bairong rarely asked for favors. Knowing that he had settled Shen Yan before leaving, Xuan Yang was so moved he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I take back what I said, you really are a good person...! Go off and be happy with your companion, it doesn't matter if you don't come looking for me..."
"Fellow Daoist...?" The manager heard Xuan Yang whispering something and, unsure of his meaning, spoke up to inquire.
"Ah, thank you for taking care of him." Xuan Yang snapped back to reality and excitedly grabbed the manager's hand, shaking it vigorously to show his gratitude.
"You flatter me. I only buy the herbs he brings at the normal price. I've chatted with him a bit; his main occupation seems to be hunting spirit beasts for money, and selling things to me is just something he does in passing." The manager gave a dry laugh. "By the way, may I ask what your relationship is with this cultivator named Shen Yan...?"
The manager was curious. Xuan Yang was clearly a Phoenix, Zhai Bairong seemed like a very upright cultivator, his companion apparently came from the Lower Realm, and that Shen Yan was a demonic cultivator... No matter how you looked at it, such a group shouldn't be together.
Although Shen Yan had never officially admitted it, since the man wasn't present, Xuan Yang boldly declared, "I'm his Daoist companion!"
"Oh, I see. My apologies... I reckon the next time he comes should be quite soon. If you stay for a while, you'll surely run into him," the manager said politely.
He wondered if there was something wrong with the Feng Shui of his pharmacy. Why did it always seem to attract these male cultivators searching for their same-sex Daoist companions?
Xuan Yang left his contact information, instructing them to contact him immediately if Shen Yan came to the shop. He felt some regret that the manager didn't know where Shen Yan lived; otherwise, he could have gone straight to his door.
But on second thought, after surviving such an attack, the already cautious Shen Yan would likely be even more careful than before, not revealing his personal circumstances to outsiders. The thought made Xuan Yang feel a bit pained again. He only wanted to see him as soon as possible, to hold him firmly, and confirm that he truly still existed before his eyes.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 怡草堂 | Yicao Hall | The name of the pharmacy where Zhai Bairong worked. |
| 仙晶 | Immortal Crystals | Currency used in the Upper Realm. |
| 魔修 | Demonic Cultivator | A cultivator who follows a demonic path. |
| 四兽一族 | Four Beast Tribes | The four legendary beast clans (Phoenix, Dragon, etc.). |
| 凤帝 | Phoenix Emperor | The ruler of the Phoenix tribe and Xuan Yang's father. |
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Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 186 | A Lead on Shen Yan | Novela.app | Novela.app
