Fall: Rebirth

In the courtyard of Qisheng Pavilion, Yuangu slowly waved the fan in his hand, leaned back slightly, and sat leisurely beside the stone table under the paulownia tree.

Sometimes he gently picked up the teacup and took a sip carefully, and sometimes he put the teacup down and stroked the rim of the cup with his hand, as if feeling the remaining warmth.

On the phoenix tree, a phoenix with golden feathers spread its wings slightly and perched gracefully. Its feathers shone brightly in the sun, and each feather seemed to be carefully carved, delicate and gorgeous.

The phoenix holds its head high, with a look of nobility and majesty in its eyes. Its long tail feathers sway gently like a gorgeous skirt, as if showing off its beauty and grace.

At this moment, Cang Yan and Ling Xuan appeared in the courtyard together. They walked with steady steps and went straight to where the paulownia tree was.

When Yuan Gu accidentally saw Cang Yan, he was already approaching. Although there were only a few steps between them, Yuan Gu still quickened his pace and walked forward without hesitation.

"Where have you been all day?" Yuangu asked as he walked towards Cangyan.

Cang Yan continued to walk at a leisurely pace, saying two words lightly: "The lower world."

"The lower world?" Yuangu couldn't help but feel puzzled. He looked in the direction where Cang Yan had just walked and repeated the word.

At this moment, Ling Xuan on the side bowed respectfully to Yuan Gu: "Ancient God."

Yuangu turned his head to look at Ling Xuan, nodded slightly, and then quickly walked to sit down opposite Cang Yan.

At this moment, the phoenix that had been perched on the phoenix tree quietly flew up, circled down gracefully, and when it arrived next to Yuangu, it instantly turned into a human form - it turned out that this phoenix was Feng Wan.

Feng Wan performed a standard etiquette towards Cang Yan: "Feng Wan pays respect to the Divine Lord Cang Yan."

Cang Yan slowly lifted the teapot and poured the boiling hot tea into the teacup with graceful and skillful movements. He nodded slightly to respond to Feng Wan.

Yuan Gu held a folding fan in his hand and gently waved it, staring at Cang Yan intently, with a hint of doubt and dissatisfaction on his face. He asked, "Why didn't you call me up from the lower world?"

Cang Yan did not directly answer Yuan Gu's question, but silently picked up the teacup and took a sip, then uttered four words lightly: "What do you want from me?"

Seeing this, Yuangu smiled helplessly and continued: "I originally just wanted to invite you to play chess together, but I didn't expect that I haven't seen you all day since I came here." After saying that, he shook his head gently, revealing a little bit of loss.

Hearing this, Cang Yan put down the teacup in his hand and asked softly, "So you have been waiting here for a whole day?"

Yuangu nodded slightly, then complained, "That's right! It's all because of this guy Feng Wan. He couldn't move when he saw this paulownia tree." After saying that, he did not forget to glare at Feng Wan beside him.

Feng Wan didn't care at all. She just smiled mischievously, shrugged her shoulders, and didn't respond.

At this moment, Yuan Gu suddenly realized that something was wrong. He stopped waving the fan in his hand, his expression became serious, and he stared at Cang Yan and asked, "That's not right. Normally, it only takes a short time to return to the lower world. You actually spent a whole day there. I'm afraid you stayed in the lower world for at least ten days. What on earth did you do?"

Cang Yan still sat with his head bowed, not even blinking. But he waved his sleeves casually, and the tea set originally placed on the stone table disappeared in the blink of an eye, and was replaced by a chessboard!

"Didn't we say we were going to play chess?" Cang Yan said softly, placing the first chess piece steadily in the center of the board.

Seeing this, Yuan Gu patted his folded fan on his palm and muttered with dissatisfaction: "Still pretending to be mysterious..."

However, despite his complaints, Yuangu still quickly picked up a piece from the chess box and placed it accurately on the position corresponding to Cangyan.

Cang Yan said nothing from beginning to end, just concentrating on playing chess.

The courtyard was completely silent, with no other sounds except for the occasional crisp sound of chess pieces falling.

At this moment, Feng Wan had somehow transformed back into a phoenix and quietly flew to the phoenix tree to rest. It flapped its wings slightly, but made no sound.

The game was intense and fierce, with the black and white pieces intertwined and entangled, making it difficult to determine the winner.

After Yuan Gu gave birth to a child, he couldn't help but frowned, staring straight at Cang Yan, and said, "I have decided to go to the Hongmeng Realm of Father God to practice in two days."

Hearing this, Cang Yan, who was casually fiddling with the chess piece in his hand, suddenly raised his eyes, and a barely perceptible look of worry flashed across the depths of his eyes.

At this moment, a breeze blew by, carrying a few sycamore leaves down.

Yuan Gu's originally relaxed expression suddenly became solemn. After a moment of silence, he said, "During the time I'm away, I hope you can take the trouble to take care of my disciple."

After hearing this, Cang Yan frowned slightly, but responded in a calm tone: "Jin Ran is a girl after all. It may be inconvenient for me to take care of her, right?" As he spoke, he casually placed a chess piece in his hand on the chessboard.

Yuangu sighed helplessly and said, "There's nothing I can do about it! I'm leaving this time with an uncertain return date, and I'm really worried about leaving her alone in Chaoyang Palace. Yeyou is aloof and arrogant, and I dare not entrust Jin Ran to her care, for fear that Jin Ran will be frightened when she sees her. Instead of this, it would be more appropriate to trouble you, a taciturn god." Yuangu said as he casually placed a chess piece.

Cang Yan followed suit and calmly placed a move, while comforting him: "Don't worry, your disciple is getting along well with the other disciples of the God Lord now, and he will not be wronged wherever he goes."

"Is it really so?" After hearing this, Yuangu placed a piece on the ground, stared at Cangyan with a serious face and asked.

Cang Yan nodded slightly to show his affirmation, and then slowly put down another chess piece.

"Feng Wan, do you know about this?" Yuan Gu turned his head and looked at the phoenix tree. His deep and sharp eyes were fixed on Feng Wan who was in the form of a phoenix on the tree, and he asked in a low voice.

Feng Wan seemed to sense the gaze of an ancient being. He gently flapped his wings and then flew down from the paulownia tree.

Accompanied by a brilliant light, Feng Wan quickly transformed into a human form. He walked to the stone table with clear and bright eyes, like the brightest star in the night sky.

Feng Wan looked at Yuan Gu quietly and answered firmly, "God, during your retreat, Feng Wan had been protecting Jin Ran and did not notice that Jin Ran had any contact with other people. The last time the gods drank together in Chaoyang Hall, that was the first time I saw them interacting with each other."

After hearing Feng Wan's words, Cang Yan's originally calm expression suddenly changed slightly, but soon returned to normal.

However, this subtle change did not escape Yuan Gu's eyes. He looked at Cang Yan thoughtfully, then gently shook the fan in his hand and continued to ask: "Cang Yan, Feng Wan stays with Jin Ran day and night, and I didn't know that she has a good relationship with these disciples. How did you know?"

At this time, the atmosphere around him gradually became solemn. Cang Yan frowned slightly, and a trace of imperceptible tension flashed in his eyes, but he still pretended to be calm.

Yuan Gu stopped fanning himself, and suddenly raised his head, looking at Cang Yan seriously. His voice was filled with doubt and confusion, and he asked slowly, "Cang Yan, are you hiding something from me?"

Facing Yuan Gu's sudden question, Cang Yan paused, then said calmly: "What can I hide from you?"

Yuangu obviously did not believe Cangyan's words. He stared at Cangyan's eyes, as if he wanted to see his true thoughts through his eyes.

After a while, Yuan Gu suddenly laughed and said in a teasing tone: "Well, since you said you have nothing to hide from me, then tell me why you came to the lower world!"

Cang Yan looked at Yuangu helplessly, sighed secretly in his heart, and then told Yuangu in detail what had happened recently.

"So that's how it is. You have been together for such a long time!" Yuangu asked in astonishment and disbelief.

Cang Yan nodded silently and didn't say much.

"How could you do this? You didn't even take me with you! If I had been there at the time, the sealing matter could have been left to me to handle. Ling Han would definitely have a deeper impression of me, and maybe Ye You would even look at me differently because of this!" Yuangu stared at Cang Yan with his eyes fixed, his tone full of complaints.

Cang Yan looked at Yuan Gu who was very excited. He frowned slightly at first, then showed a faint smile and asked softly, "Why do you want her to look up to you?"

At this time, Feng Wan, who was standing by, couldn't hold back any longer after hearing Cang Yan's words and burst out laughing.

Yuan Gu was suddenly speechless when Cang Yan asked him this. He muttered to himself: You are so good, Cang Yan, you clearly know my feelings for Ye You, but you still ask me this on purpose.

"However, I am also curious. The God Cang Yan, who has always lived in seclusion, would actually go down to the human world to play, and he would be gone for more than ten days! This is really unbelievable! What kind of reason could cause such a huge change in you, the God who has always been unattainable?" Yuangu looked at Cang Yan seriously and curiously, his eyes full of doubts and confusion, and asked in a joking tone.

When Cang Yan was asked this by Yuan Gu, his eyes flickered a little, and he seemed to be deliberately avoiding the question. He stood up slowly and said in a cold tone: "Are you going to play chess or not? If not, I will leave." After saying that, he pretended to turn around and leave.

"When did I say I don't want to play chess anymore?" Yuan Gu muttered hurriedly when he saw this. He obviously didn't want to miss the opportunity to play chess with Cang Yan, but he was also very curious about Cang Yan's sudden behavior of going down to the world.

However, Cang Yan ignored Yuangu's muttering. He stood up directly without even turning his head and walked straight towards the room, as if he completely ignored Yuangu's existence.

"Hey, wait for me!" Yuan Gu saw Cang Yan walking faster and faster, and shouted loudly. He quickly stood up and hurriedly chased after him, fearing that he would lose Cang Yan.