Tang Yuehua viewed the man silently just like the murderous spirit beasts around her. After all, the rather wild-looking middle-aged man with flowing pitch-black hair and a set of jet-blue robes with silver linings had caused... quite a terrible damage to the King's Lair.
That's right, this was Tang Chen, her fabled Grandfather but that didn't mean that she was his first 'generation' of grandchildren. Said to have lived for a few centuries at the very least, Tang Chen disappeared only in this generation and left his only living son, her father Tang Peng, as the patriarch of the clan.
But now Yuehua was dazed as she continued to face the man who smiled wryly, "Tang Yuehua, right? My granddaughter. I only have an hour of my life left at most... could you... um, ask whatever you wanted?"
"Ask who killed all the giants in the Giant's Forest," eating a giant pot of pie, Qian Daoliu snickered from the sidelines as Tang Chen claimed proudly, "Why yes, I did. I killed them to train and better myself which led me to this point."
Tang Yuehua was in an even greater daze after hearing the admission of one of the greatest mysteries of the Clear Sky Sect— the downfall of the giants' race in the Giant's Forest.
"Enough," Ja Sun's somber tone rang as the commotion within the sitting region came to a quick halt as his strength also surpassed the two rank 99 Limit Douluos who may even be considered Demi Gods at this point. Three of his eyes fell on the beasts and what little number of humans were present, "Yuehua, if you want to take your Grandfather's time, then do it... Come on, he is wasting valuable time fully knowing his life is about to fizzle out. And you bastards!"
Ja Sun's glare fell on beasts who had taken up human forms solely to surround Tang Chen vindictively, "I just told you he's about to die! Whether at one of your hands or with his body finally deteriorating enough. If you wanna attack then attack! Why the hell are the group of you so—"
"What the Beast God means is that this a happy occasion... and his wedding should compensate for the peace his lifestyle cannot bring about," Bi Ji hurriedly interjected as Ja Sun pouted and sunk in his temporary seat, "As for the human invader, things have already been cleared. There is no need for more bloodshed." One thing Bi Ji was told was that she would be given enough sense of responsibility and when reasonable, even this 'new' Beast God must accept some of her judgment or the role of Secretary would not befit her at all.
Bi Ji's words and soothing presence managed to subdue quite a bit of the beast's aggression while she looked at Yuehua appreciatively. It could be said that because of Yuehua's domain, Bi Ji looked forward to her growth the most... so that she could stop senseless conflicts before they occur. This instance was the best example. The world of beasts wasn't a tight-knit community and Bi Ji was sure that the current aggression would fade in a matter of days. After all, not many beasts are eager to form more concrete and stable bonds as she and Zi Ji had.
With things settling somewhat, Qian Daoliu finally couldn't help but look at Ja Sun and sighed, "How about you entertain your guests for a while? Since he is about to disappear forever... I would like to speak with him alone. If you have some questions—"
"I can directly ask the god who made him his inheritor," Ja Sun smiled as he had that strange crimson blade which was surely a Divine Tool, "Besides, what kind of a disciple cockblocks his master when he wants to spend his boyfriend's last moments together?"
Qian Daoliu scoffed, "Cheeky brat..."
And with that, he communicated with Tang Chen who had a slightly wider grin than during his time with Yuehua, and looked at his granddaughter, "Well, it was great to see you. When you see your father, give him this and tell him that if he can have an obedient child like you, he's doing something good."
Tang Chen gave Yuehua a small golden hammer and ruffled her hair, "Be strong, yeah? I see you've god my devilish charm and talent, make the best of it."
If Yuehua felt remotely emotional seeing her grandfather for her conscious memory for the first time then Ja Sun's compressed voice made Yuehua utterly indignant with her 'leader.'
"Go ahead... tell her you tried these charms on your you-know-who~"
She glared at Ja Sun while Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen took to the sky, leaving Ja Sun responsible for the crowd who quickly entered the hut and left Bi Ji responsible in his stead. After all... he is the man of the hour, it wouldn't do if he keeps loitering about outside.
---
"I honestly thought you would have tried to fly off to the Sea God Island at any moment," Physically sitting on clouds, one of the many tricks of spirit energy, Qian Daoliu couldn't help but take out a vat of wine and two cups.
Tang Chen instead glanced towards the Emerald Lake far down below as Daoliu chuckled, "Scary, right?"
"And I thought that Di Tian was the tough one, I can't even make out the true figure of that monster within the lake," Tang Chen chuckled, "And your disciple is the one who defeated him. Your father must be really counting his fortunes six feet under."
Qian Daoliu shrugged, "He isn't my disciple anymore. Like-minded individuals, I guess."
"As for the Sea God Island... I can't face her," Tang Chen took the cup of alcohol filled for him and drank it, letting the poison further deprive his condition without remorse.
"She never actually cared about that challenge," Qian Daoliu shrugged, "But you knew that."
"Wealth, Women, Power..." Tang Chen smiled, "Those things interested me even when I had begun to go through my inheritance tasks. I fantasized how I would become a god, take that final step and return to her and sweep her off of her feet... like many others before her but... if I have any honor left now, I can't even think of that."
Qian Daoliu fell silent and then smiled, "Sucks for her, I guess."
"Bitch, I knew you were pettier than your father," Tang Chen smirked as Qian Daoliu raised his cup, "I'll drink to that."
"No," Tang Chen shook his head, "What I meant is, I pursued power... had I ever really given her a thought... I wouldn't try to become a god and then move her heart but—"
"I know," Qian Daoliu waved his hand, "We priests know our vices just fine. We're the talents one step away from THEIR expectations," he looked at the sky, "But you know... I have a good feeling about the future and it's not like you won't get to see it."
"Exactly," Tang Chen chuckled, "Who knew priests and inheritors have it THIS good. Fuck, I'm about to enjoy divine wines in an hour, heh, but I think your kid has some problems. I'm talking about the more talented one," he pointed down towards the area of marriage decor as Daoliu tilted his head curiously.
"The gods want him dead," Tang Chen chuckled, "Boy did he stir the hornet's nest. That sword is the final inheritance task and you saw how easily he subdued it for the time being. Now, if I was a god, I would be excited by the challenge but they don't share the sentiment. Again, I've always been the one to think that evil attribute spirit masters are dandy fellows but to think you would raise one... tsk, tsk..."
"Oh, fuck off," Daoliu scoffed, "If it wasn't for my spirit hall, your clan would be dead at the hands of some lunatic even before your birth. Dumbasses like you are the reason why your clan is blessed with sensible flowers like Yuehua. To balance things out."
"Still," Chen muttered, "I wonder how she would react if she saw the most eligible individual to godhood..."
"How about I tell you later eventually?" Daoliu smirked, "I'm sending him to Sea God Island just to stick it to her."
"Khnnk—" Tang Chen snorted a chuckle, "That's mean... I like it. Oh... but what if..." his expression froze and Daoliu's smirk widened with a hint of malice as he laughed, "Then I will tell you with ALL the details!"
"You bastard! Your mother was a whore, did you know that?!"
"Says the whore who fucked for thousands of years just to increase the number of his clansmen!"
"A task the responsible me would do all over again!"
The duo began to bicker as they drank more and more until—
*Cough-Cough*
*Cough-Cough*
*Cough-Cough*
Tang Chen broke into a violent coughing fit as Qian Daoliu's expression turned complicated.
"Well..." Tang Chen wheezed, "This is it, you Old bastard... friend. Take care. Out of the three of us, she was pious, I was the reckless, devilishly handsome genius... but you... you gave both of us a sense of admiration. If you weren't fucked by your own goddess... you would be at the level we all craved."
Tang Chen brought his hand out to pat Daoliu's shoulder but his hand phased through as his body began to turn into motes of crimson light.
"Well... I'll see you up there later, yeah?" Tang Chen grinned, "Oh, and tell her... that it would've never worked out between us. I'm more of a—"
"I know," Qian Daoliu smiled widely, his expression gentle and soft at the moment as Tang Chen began to laugh, "Yeah, you always did. Qian Daoliu, let the world be my witness— You are my best---"
Tang Chen's face began to dissipate but his eyes were vigorous as Qian Daoliu nodded again, "I knew that, too."
Satisfaction gleamed in Tang Chen's eyes as a bundle of red light flew further high and the space of the King's Lair opened up to not stop the dissipated soul origin whose destination is the plane beyond.
Qian Daoliu watched silently until a single tear escaped his lips and he whispered, softly, "I will see you soon, Old Friend."
***
A/N: At first, I wanted to write an epic battle between Ja Sun and Tang Chen but at this point, Ja Sun is far too strong and as said, he did not have any reason to prolong the battle with his marriage not far away and no missions in sight. There was also the fact that I was experiencing a mental block of sorts. But I wanted to write a satisfactory piece about Tang Chen and as you all know how my love for Qian Daoliu is second only to Ja Sun, I decided on this xianxia version of bros before hoes (meant to be taken as a joke.)
I hope it managed to give my readers a satisfying end to the tiny Tang Chen arc. We all knew it was going to be tiny, but eh, a farewell like this suited my taste more in the end.
***
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