"Year after year, new white hairs grow; in a hurry on horseback, I greet spring again."
Now, a hundred years have passed in a rush. Heng Deng has long possessed the bones of an immortal. In terms of appearance and talent, he can rival Qiu Chang. The only thing he can't match is his height.
Qiu Chang doesn't know how he raised this young one. Why is Heng Deng half a head taller than him after growing up?
Qiu Chang has already trusted Heng Deng with the position of the master of Ziwei Mountain for more than a decade. Heng Deng has managed the mountain and its affairs in an orderly manner, and the disciples follow the rules under his leadership.
It's completely different from Qiu Chang's previous hands - off management of the sect. The disciples are very much in awe of Heng Deng, and they even privately gave him the nickname "Ghost - Buster".
Heng Deng always has a cold face, exuding an air of righteousness, seemingly having no desires or distractions, living a life of self - restraint.
It is said that this nickname came about when Heng Deng once went down the mountain to exorcise demons. A female ghost took a fancy to him and climbed into his bed in the middle of the night.
Instead of being affected by this young, beautiful, and voluptuous woman, Heng Deng simply threw her out of the room without showing any mercy because she was a woman.
However, this female ghost was quite persistent. She pestered Heng Deng for half a year without success. Every time, she was either thrown out or shut out. It is said that in the end, because the female ghost praised Qiu Chang, Heng Deng directly enlightened her and sent her into reincarnation.
Thus, Heng Deng got the nickname "Ghost - Buster". Qiu Chang was even touched for several days because of this. He thought his foster - son was afraid that he would be haunted by the ghost, so he subdued it for him.
It was clear that he was a very filial son.
Qiu Chang felt rather bored staying alone on Ziwei Mountain. He often went to Heng Deng's room to talk to him.
Today, when he came, he found Heng Deng writing. He quietly crept up beside him, trying to peek at what he was writing. But Heng Deng covered it tightly. Just as Qiu Chang caught a glimpse of one line, Heng Deng noticed him.
Heng Deng quickly hid the rice paper, but there was no trace of panic on his face. "Foster - father, what brings you here?"
"Can't I come if I have nothing to do?" Qiu Chang sat on Heng Deng's table, with a big smile on his face. "Half of my life in cultivation, half for you... Who is this for?"
This young one could even write love poems. Did he have someone he liked?
Heng Deng's eyes flickered with a momentary panic, but it vanished so quickly that Qiu Chang didn't have time to ponder it.
Heng Deng calmly said, "Just scribbling. There's no one."
Qiu Chang didn't believe that this young one would just scribble such things for no reason. Otherwise, he wouldn't have remained unmarried for so long. He sighed and said, "Alas~ You finally have your own secrets and won't tell your foster - father."
"What does foster - father want to know?" Heng Deng's tone was flat, but one could hear a bit of helplessness.
Qiu Chang suddenly leaned closer to Heng Deng and stared into his eyes. "Do you have someone you like?"
Heng Deng looked at Qiu Chang, who was so close, and somehow replied "Yes". Only after he had said it did he realize what he had done, and then he was faced with Qiu Chang's rapid - fire questions:
"Which family's girl? What's her family background? What does she look like?"
Heng Deng: "…"
Seeing that Heng Deng didn't answer, Qiu Chang reached out and poked his chest, urging, "Quickly tell your foster - father~ Which girl is so lucky to catch the eye of our True Lord Heng Deng?"
Heng Deng reached out and grabbed Qiu Chang's restless finger on his chest. "He is handsome. I'm not worthy of him."
Qiu Chang burst out laughing. He didn't think there was anything wrong with what Heng Deng said. He joked, "How can you describe a girl as handsome? Come on~ Is there really someone in this world you're not worthy of?"
"… There is." Heng Deng stared at Qiu Chang lovingly. "He is as precious as gold and jade, one in a hundred."
Hearing Heng Deng's description, Qiu Chang could already imagine how beautiful this girl was. But he had never heard of any girl being so gorgeous.
Most likely, love was blind.
"Does foster - father have someone he likes?" Heng Deng suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Uh..." Qiu Chang didn't know how to answer. How did the topic suddenly turn to him? "I did like someone before..."
Qiu Chang didn't want to deceive Heng Deng, especially after the latter had just confessed his feelings.
"Oh? What was he like?" Heng Deng asked curiously.
Qiu Chang scratched his face shyly and answered awkwardly, "It was an old story from hundreds of years ago. I can hardly remember. But he didn't like me. Haha... Unrequited love."
"Crunch." There was a crisp sound. The writing brush in Heng Deng's hand was broken.
Qiu Chang was startled. He saw that Heng Deng was holding a brush broken in the middle. It was completely snapped.
"Why did you break the brush? Let foster - father see if your hand is bleeding." As he said this, Qiu Chang quickly grabbed Heng Deng's hand, took the broken brush from his hand and put it on the table, then carefully examined his hand.
Heng Deng's hand was a bit bigger than Qiu Chang's. Qiu Chang held his hand and blew on it. "Thank goodness there's no blood. Why did you break the brush while we were talking nicely?"
Heng Deng let Qiu Chang hold his hand. His tone was filled with an indescribable emotion. He said, "I slipped. This brush isn't sturdy."
Qiu Chang looked at the priceless brush made of a thousand - year - old fox's tail and twitched the corner of his mouth. Was it really not sturdy?
"True Lord." A disciple knocked on the door of Heng Deng's study.
Heng Deng called out to the person outside, "What is it?"
"Elder Bai sent me to tell you that there's a charm demon causing trouble in Wuchang Village. You're needed there."
Heng Deng's eyes were calm. "Okay, I see."
After the person left, Qiu Chang joked, "You're going to capture the charm demon?"
"Yes," Heng Deng replied. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Do you want to go with me, foster - father?"
"No, no." Qiu Chang quickly shook his head.
The charm demon was not easy to deal with. As long as one had someone they liked in their heart, they would surely fall victim to the charm demon's venom, a venom several times stronger than ordinary drugs.
Moreover, when he said he had liked someone hundreds of years ago, it was completely a lie to Heng Deng. The person he liked was Heng Deng, not anyone else. If he were to be affected by the charm demon's venom, it would be a disaster!
Although it was absurd for him to fall in love with his foster - son, he would try to nip this thought in the bud as soon as possible. Besides, Heng Deng had someone he liked. His feelings would only cause trouble for Heng Deng.
A flash of disappointment passed through Heng Deng's eyes. "Then wait for me to come back, foster - father. I'll handle it as quickly as I can."
"Be careful of that charm demon. The charm venom is not easy to deal with." Qiu Chang kindly reminded him.
"Okay."
After Heng Deng went out, he punched the pillar outside the door and scolded himself, "How could you be so despicable? How dare you fall in love with your own foster - father..."
His foster - father was the god in his heart. He must never desecrate the god, never desecrate his foster - father!
Suddenly, Hua Feijie popped up and asked Heng Deng, "Why did you punch the pillar?"
Heng Deng quickly withdrew his hand and said seriously, "It was tilted. I just straightened it."
Hua Feijie: "???"
Can you straighten a pillar like this?!