"You made me proud, Han Shun. I will reward you with Phoenix elixir and other things later," Bai Shijue said.

"Thank you, Bai Gege."

Han Shun rested his head on Bai Gege's shoulder, and he closed his eyes, feeling Bai Gege's heat engulf his body. He might not be the perfect disciple for Bai Gege, as he knew that his heart had been corrupted.

Not because he was the incarnation of an evil deity, but because he was just a bad person from the very beginning. Even if God Han Ye didn't exist in his heart, he would still have the same intention, mindset, and cruelty. 

Han Shun wrapped his arms around Bai Shijue's body, hugging him tightly.

"Han Shun?" Bai Shijue asked as he realized that Han Shun hugged him too tightly.

"It's nothing, Bai Gege. I just want to hug you," Han Shun said.

Bai Shijue felt something was wrong with how Han Shun hugged him. It felt like…

[It feels like a man holding me tightly because of a guilty conscience.]

[Pupa: You're overthinking.]

[Anyway, I just hope that Han Shun would be a better man. As time passes, he will get stronger, so he has to be wise.]

**

Bai Shijue gave Han Shun many qi refining pills and the phoenix elixir to boost his cultivation. Han Shun consumed them all and realized there was a big improvement in his stamina.

He could practice his martial arts for months in the Forest of Lost Mist without rest, only stopping when Bai Gege told him to rest a bit and accompany him for a tea. 

Such as now, Han Shun entered the Forest of Lost Mist and tapped the ground with 6 and 9 taps for each foot, and the secret passage was summoned right in front of him.

He entered the secret passage and met with God Han Ye, who played with Guqin inside the jade pavilion floating in the middle of the lake. 

Han Shun frowned as he realized that the tune was similar to what Master Bai used to play. He approached God Han Ye to check on him, "Master Han," Han Shun called as he lowered his head. 

Han Ye hummed slightly and continued playing, seemingly in a trance. 

Han Shun dared not to disturb this man. He waited until the last string was plucked and finally asked, "Master Han, the tune…."

"Is it similar to your Bai Gege's Guqin tune?" Master Han Ye asked. And Han Shun replied with a nod. 

Master Han Ye chuckled and snapped his finger, and the Guqin turned into water that flowed down to the lake.

"Well, it's not an uncommon tune for the immortals. I'm sure your Gege learned the tune somewhere. My wife was the one who taught me how to play Guqin," Han Ye said. "I told him that I want to learn Guqin, I want to learn the music he played, so we could perform a duet."

"And you performed it?"

"… Yes, we played Guqin at the same time, especially during the time when we were dating, haha…."

"That's so romantic! I want to ask Bai Gege to teach me Guqin too! So I can play a duet with him!" Han Shun said. 

Han Ye had a thin smile. He seemed to have a bittersweet memory about it. So he shifted the topic instead;

"So, you're here to practice again? Kid, with your current ability, you can basically flip out this whole lake with ease," Han Ye joked, but it was true though. Han Shun could easily flip this whole lake with ease if he wanted at this stage. 

Han Shun shook his head, "Master Han, I come here because I need a place to start connecting with the three lives inside the marble that I swallowed before, Altair Roderick, Urduk, and Elduin."

"They've been knocking in your dream plenty of times already?" Han Ye asked.

"Yes, Master Han. But I'm afraid Bai Gege might've heard me mumbling something in my sleep since Bai Gege always watches over me in the immortal sect."

"Haha! Who would've expected that you want to hide things from Bai Shijue, even try to avoid him? Aren't you the one who is obsessed with being with Bai Shijue 24/7?"

"I do, and I still want that!" Han Shun defended himself. "But it's not possible knowing my current condition. I want Bai Gege to keep his good opinion of me. I want him to stay clueless."

God Han Ye chuckled and pointed at a long bench made of smooth white jade in the pavilion, "Go sleep there and connect with Altair, Urduk, and Elduin. You'll be safe here. Nobody will be able to know your location."

Han Shun nodded. He laid on the cold, jade bench and closed his eyes. He got drowsy after a while and fell into a deep sleep quickly.

Han Ye chuckled again because he found the situation funny, "You're so much like me, Han Shun. I also tried my best to make Bai Yunyu love me, even if that means I have to hide my real self."

"I wonder if he will still love you after knowing the truth. I mean, he did… back then."

**

Like before, Han Shun was sucked into a small hole and traveled far until he could open his eyes again. He blinked a few times, and the scene in front of him started playing;

He saw a handsome young man with short and fiery red hair. The red-haired man was standing in the middle of a training ground, showing his awesome abs in front of everyone, showing everyone that he was the Alpha of the pack. He was surrounded by many young soldiers around his age or slightly older.

He swaggered around, seemingly taunting them as if he could take them all easily. 

"Now, where is that General Vega Satellarnus? He said that he would take me down in a duel. But he is probably too scared knowing that I'm an SS class Alpha, haha!"