Nightfall.

The Sanjun Peak was particularly desolate today.

The moonlight was dim, casting a not-so-bright glow on the Sanjun Peak. It was now deep autumn, and the cold wind blew, evoking a sense of loneliness.

Upon reaching the door, Li Hengsheng smelled the scent of alcohol.

“Third Brother, I’m here.”

Li Hengsheng called out from outside the door.

After a while, Zhou Jun came over and pushed the door open, first checking if Li Hengsheng was carrying anything in his hands.

Seeing Li Hengsheng holding a plucked spirit chicken in each hand, Zhou Jun’s mouth almost split into a grin, and he quickly welcomed Li Hengsheng in.

“Are you welcoming me, or are you welcoming the spirit chickens?” Li Hengsheng said, somewhat annoyed.

“Oh, of course, I’m welcoming you. Only you could get these spirit chickens. If I tried, Second Sister would kick me out.” Zhou Jun happily took the chickens from Li Hengsheng’s hands, even going so far as to kiss one of them.

This scene left Li Hengsheng dumbfounded.

“Did you just give away your first kiss to a chicken, Third Brother?”

“Nonsense, how could a handsome, charming, and suave man like me still have his first kiss?” Zhou Jun said, his face showing no embarrassment.

“I believe you.”

Li Hengsheng nodded.

Holding the chickens, Zhou Jun led Li Hengsheng to the place where they had roasted chickens before. He set up the fire and couldn’t wait to put the chickens on it, carefully brushing oil on them as if they were his lovers.

Li Hengsheng sat by the fire, picked up the wine on the ground, and took a swig without pouring it out.

“Oh, you’re drinking so boldly today. Are you in a bad mood?” Zhou Jun asked, his eyes still fixed on the chickens.

“Why do you like eating chicken so much, Third Brother?” Li Hengsheng suddenly asked.

“Hmm? Because it’s delicious.” Zhou Jun answered casually.

After hearing this, Li Hengsheng didn’t say anything and took another sip of wine.

“My younger brother also loved chicken.” Zhou Jun said, his head lowered as he carefully brushed oil on the chickens. Under the firelight, his eyes seemed to deepen.

“In the Zhou family, I wasn’t the legitimate son, and I had a younger brother. I was actually the third child in the family, and he was Fourth Brother.” Zhou Jun suddenly smiled and said, “Just like us, I’m the third, and you’re the fourth.”

Li Hengsheng also smiled slightly.

“When I was young in the Zhou family, I was quite naughty, and the family rules were strict. I was often punished and frequently went hungry.” Zhou Jun recalled, “My mother, due to her low status, didn’t dare to bring me food, fearing that my father would punish her. But at that time, only Fourth Brother would bring me food.”

“Sometimes it was a bun, and if I was lucky, it was a meat bun. Those were things that Fourth Brother couldn’t bear to eat himself and saved for me. But at that time, I always blamed him for bringing me too little food, causing me to go hungry.”

“Fourth Brother always told me, ‘Third Brother, as long as you behave a little, don’t make Dad angry, you’ll have food to eat.’” Zhou Jun laughed at himself, “But at that time, I thought I was just being myself and looked down on him for being such a good boy. I thought he was spineless.”

“Until later, when I got into trouble again and was locked in the woodshed for a day and a night. That time, I caught a cold and was seriously ill.”

“Fourth Brother came to see me. Seeing that I was sick, he was very worried and wanted to go beg Dad to let me out. But I didn’t agree. I didn’t want to bow to my father.” Zhou Jun’s voice gradually calmed, “But at that time, I was already very sick. Fourth Brother left.”

“Until the next morning, Fourth Brother brought me a bowl of chicken soup. The soup was hard to swallow, and I even tasted chicken feathers in it.”

“Then I found out that Fourth Brother had stolen a chicken from home and secretly went to the kitchen to cook chicken soup for me.”

“That was probably the first time Fourth Brother did something wrong in his life. He was only six years old, but he cooked a bowl of chicken soup for me, hoping that I would get better soon. I was really touched.”

Li Hengsheng just listened quietly, not interrupting.

But such a story was really heartwarming to Li Hengsheng, and he saw a smile on Zhou Jun’s face.

“Later, Fourth Brother often stole chickens for us to roast. We always ate until our mouths were greasy.”

“Fourth Brother became more and more daring, from a good boy to a rebellious teenager, under my influence. Until finally, the chicken theft was discovered, and he was severely punished by our father.”

“But we couldn’t steal chickens from home anymore, they were guarded very strictly. I still wanted to eat roast chicken at that time. Fourth Brother saw that I wanted to eat and said he had a way, and told me to wait for him.” Zhou Jun’s eyes dimmed as he said this, “That was the last time I saw Fourth Brother.”

“It wasn’t until two days later when I saw Fourth Brother’s body that I realized, because I wanted to eat roast chicken, Fourth Brother went to steal chickens from the farmers outside the city. He was discovered and chased, ran to the mountain, and eventually fell into a deep valley and died.”

Zhou Jun hugged his knees, burying his head in them.

He was utterly desolate.

Li Hengsheng probably guessed the outcome, because before this, he had never heard Zhou Jun mention his younger brother.

And Zhou Jun rarely went home.

“Fourth Brother.” Zhou Jun lifted his head to look at Li Hengsheng, the corners of his eyes were wet with tears, but he smiled and said, “Do you know? The time we went to steal chickens from Second Sister, I really felt like you were my Fourth Brother.”

“Third Brother, you’ve always been as good to me as a real brother.” Li Hengsheng said seriously, “You always think of me when there’s good food, and you stand up for me when I’m bullied. I’m truly grateful to you, Third Brother.”

“Because in you, I really see the shadow of Fourth Brother.” Zhou Jun finished speaking, suddenly laughed, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and said embarrassingly, “Look at me, such a grown man, and I’m crying. Don’t let anyone know about this, or I won’t let you off.”

“This is our secret.” Li Hengsheng laughed and tossed another pot of wine over.

Zhou Jun caught it and drank several big gulps.

As if he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

“Third Brother, you love chicken so much, how did you find the chicken leg I brought back for you last time? It’s a new product from my Changqing Trading Company.” Li Hengsheng asked at this time.

“Not bad, it’s delicious.” Zhou Jun nodded.

“Really? Then you’re really amazing, Brother. The first time I ate it, it was so spicy that I almost cried. Can you really handle that much spice?”

Li Hengsheng said, somewhat surprised.

“Ah, I was going to say.” Zhou Jun shook his head, “The chicken leg is delicious, but it’s really too spicy. I had to drink several cups of water. Were you trying to prank me?”

“Hahaha, do I look like that kind of person?” Li Hengsheng couldn’t help but laugh.

“Remove the ‘look like’, and you are.” Zhou Jun gave Li Hengsheng a look, “The first time I saw you at the Peak of Ten Thousand Slaughters, I thought you were a pure little lamb. But what’s the truth? You’re full of mischief, haha.”

“Hahaha!”

“Following you, Third Brother, it’s hard not to pick up bad habits.”

“Less talk, more drinking.”

The two clinked their wine pots together.

On the top of the three handsome peaks, there was a harmonious atmosphere.

The two of them drank pot after pot of wine, until their eyes were red. The two spirit chickens were gnawed until not even the bones were left.

Zhou Jun lay on the ground, holding his stomach and belching, “One of the greatest pleasures in life is drinking wine and eating chicken, especially Second Sister’s spirit chicken, it’s really delicious!”

“Drinking wine and eating chicken with Third Brother is one of the greatest pleasures in life.” Li Hengsheng was also somewhat dazed.

“Of course, no one can beat my chicken roasting skills.” Zhou Jun laughed, “If your Changqing Trading Company hires me to roast chicken, I guarantee you’ll make a fortune.”

“Hehe, next time I go back to Changting Town, I’ll talk to Uncle Yan.” Li Hengsheng lay on the ground, completely ungraceful, surrounded by bottles of wine in all directions.

But Li Hengsheng didn’t care at all.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Only the crackling sound from the fire and the howling of the cold wind could be heard, the wind blowing the bonfire bigger and bigger.

Zhou Jun and Li Hengsheng were slightly sobered up by the cold wind.

“Fourth Brother.” Zhou Jun sat up and laughed, “I won’t keep you here on the Three Handsome Peaks tonight. My servants are not here, although it’s late, you should go back to Qingyu Mountain.”

Upon hearing this, Li Hengsheng didn’t move.

His eyes were fixed on the sky, on the not-so-bright moonlight, the stars hidden behind the clouds.

After a long while, Li Hengsheng slowly asked, “Why?”

“Tomorrow the sect leader will be back, tonight, only you and I are on the Three Handsome Peaks, isn’t this the best opportunity for you to kill me?”

Li Hengsheng’s words made Zhou Jun’s expression change.

“Fourth Brother, you’re drunk, what nonsense are you talking about.” Zhou Jun laughed.

“Third Brother.” Li Hengsheng was still looking at the sky, murmuring, “You are Xue Ye of the Longevity Sect, aren’t you?”

“The mission in Pengfei Village was arranged by you.”

“In the Sky-Overturning Ghost City, before I entered, you pulled me back, actually putting the blood butterfly transformed from the blood of the Ghost Lord on me.”

“And in the Ghost City, you went around every day looking for branches, picking up all sorts of things, actually you were just cleaning up the long-sealed teleportation array in the Ghost City, cooperating with Yan Zhentao from the Medical King Valley, and teleporting us to the front of the Imperial City.”

“Third Brother, why?”As he spoke, a tear slid down from the corner of Li Hengsheng’s eye.

Li Hengsheng found it hard to accept.

The third senior brother who had always been kind to him, who had always protected and guided him, was actually plotting to kill him.

“Fourth Brother, you’ve really had too much to drink,” Zhou Jun said calmly. “It’s not safe for you to go back alone. Let me take you back.”

“That chicken leg…”

Li Hengsheng looked at Zhou Jun, who was taken aback.

“It wasn’t spicy at all,” Li Hengsheng slowly said. “I lied to you when I said it was spicy.”

Zhou Jun frowned but didn’t say anything.

“You didn’t eat that chicken leg at all,” Li Hengsheng said, his gaze heavy. “When I came back that day, you used the excuse of looking for something to eat to rummage through our goods, even the tea leaves. At that time, your hands were smeared with the juice of the Soul Devouring Grass, so you poisoned the tea leaves then.”

“When I threw the chicken leg to you, you caught it subconsciously, so the chicken leg was also contaminated with the poison of the Soul Devouring Grass. So, you didn’t eat the chicken leg at the time, you just stuffed it into your pocket, and probably threw it away somewhere later.”

Zhou Jun didn’t say anything this time.

“You were lucky. Although the disciples of the Peak of Ten Thousand Slaughters stole some of the Changqing Trading Company’s fragrant tea, they didn’t drink it. Because if they drank it now, it would be easy to expose themselves. They were planning to drink it secretly after the celebration was over. Otherwise, your plan would have been exposed long ago.”

“Third Senior Brother, am I right?” Li Hengsheng sat up, staring intently at Zhou Jun.

“Heh.”

Zhou Jun suddenly laughed, then leaned against the stone behind him, looking up at the sky, not saying anything for a long time.

“Fourth Brother.”

Zhou Jun finally spoke.

“Honestly, I don’t want to kill you. If you hadn’t exposed me today, I would have let you go back to Qingyu Mountain. After you went back, you would have found me gone the next day, and our past would have ended there.”

“But why did you have to say it?” Zhou Jun sighed lightly.

“I just want to know one answer. Why did you do this, Third Senior Brother?” Li Hengsheng couldn’t help but shout angrily. “What did the Longevity Sect give you that made you betray the sect, even the entire human race? Why?”

“What did they give me?” Zhou Jun sighed lightly. “If I really have to say what the Longevity Sect gave me, it should be hope.”

“Hope?”

Li Hengsheng looked at Zhou Jun in surprise, as if waiting for Zhou Jun to explain what hope was.

“I want to bring Little Fourth back to life,” Zhou Jun said slowly. “Bringing Little Fourth back to life is my hope.”

“Are you crazy?” Li Hengsheng exclaimed in shock. “He’s been dead for so many years, how could he possibly come back to life? I’ve never heard of anyone being able to bring the dead back to life in this world.”

“Your ignorance doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”

“There are ways to bring the dead back to life in the vast Cangyuan Realm!” Zhou Jun suddenly became stern. “The Longevity Sect can do it, because you have no idea what’s behind the Longevity Sect, or how powerful the Longevity Sect really is!”

“One day, when the Longevity Sect’s plan succeeds, Little Fourth will definitely come back to life!” Zhou Jun said with conviction.

At this moment, Li Hengsheng thought Zhou Jun was being completely unreasonable.

“And you,” Zhou Jun stared at Li Hengsheng, “you are one of the keys. As long as I kill you and take your soul, I can get one of the keys. The Longevity Sect ordered me to kill you without exposing myself.”

“Then why did you let me go?” Li Hengsheng frowned. “You just told me to go back to Qingyu Mountain. If I leave, won’t your plan fail? When the sect leader returns tomorrow, you’ll have nowhere to hide!”

At this point, a hint of softness seeped into Zhou Jun’s determined gaze.

“You’re too much like Little Fourth.”

Zhou Jun shook his head gently.

“I always can’t help but want to protect you, to keep you safe. I didn’t really try to kill you during the several assassination attempts, but gave you a chance to survive.”

“I told myself, if you died, it would be because you were unlucky. If you could still survive after three assassination attempts, I would give up on killing you. Maybe the Longevity Sect would still send someone to kill you, but at least I wouldn’t do it myself.”

Zhou Jun casually picked up a bottle of wine from the side, shook it a bit, and there was still some wine inside. He tilted his head back and gulped it down. Zhou Jun suddenly laughed at himself and said, “After talking about Little Fourth with you tonight, I suddenly felt that I didn’t want to kill you. I’ll let you go back to Qingyu Mountain.”

“You actually figured out my identity.” Zhou Jun showed a look of admiration. “I really didn’t expect it, Fourth Brother, you’re very smart.”

“But since you’ve figured out my identity…” Zhou Jun looked around and laughed. “Then you must not have come alone, right?”

“Third Brother, did you enjoy my spirit chicken?”A sweet voice echoed, and in the darkness, a nimble figure floated over. It was a little girl, but her eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Her aura was overwhelming, not concealed in the slightest!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Even the flames in the fire pit began to crackle under the pressure of Yang Tiantian’s aura, as if they were about to be extinguished at any moment.

“Second Senior Sister.” Seeing Yang Tiantian, Zhou Jun chuckled, “I didn’t expect you to be the one to see me off today.”

“You’re not qualified to call me Second Senior Sister.” Yang Tiantian’s gaze was cold and arrogant, her fists clenched and crackling, as if she wanted to smash Zhou Jun at any moment.

“Fair enough.” Zhou Jun shrugged.

“What is the Longevity Sect’s ultimate goal?” Yang Tiantian stared at Zhou Jun, interrogating him, “You’d better tell me honestly. If you do, I might give you a quick death. Otherwise, if I hand you over to the Law Enforcement Peak, they won’t be as lenient as I am.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you.” Zhou Jun shifted into a more comfortable position against a rock, then picked up a bottle of wine and took a sip, “The Longevity Sect’s goal is to resurrect their ancestors.”

“Who are their ancestors?” Yang Tiantian continued to ask.

“I don’t know.” Zhou Jun helplessly replied, “I’m of a low rank in the Longevity Sect, so I don’t know who this ancestor is. I once overheard a rumor that the ancestor of the Longevity Sect was an immortal.”

“A real immortal, not a land god.”

“A real immortal?”

Both Li Hengsheng and Yang Tiantian were taken aback.

“Where in this world are there immortals?” Yang Tiantian scoffed, “Have you been brainwashed by the people of the Longevity Sect?”

“Perhaps.” Zhou Jun didn’t bother to argue.

“I want to know, what does it mean that I am a key?” Li Hengsheng had always been curious about this. Why was he a key?

“It is said that to resurrect the ancestor, one must find the place where the ancestor is sealed. There, many keys are needed to open the door. You, Li Hengsheng, are one of these keys. Another key is the deputy leader of the sect. As for how these keys are defined, I can’t say.” Zhou Jun looked at Li Hengsheng, “But I have a small guess.”

“Fourth Brother, your comprehension is extraordinary. I have rarely seen anyone with such strong comprehension. I think this might be why you were chosen as a key.” Zhou Jun speculated.

This surprised Li Hengsheng. He was a key because of his extraordinary comprehension?

But his comprehension was indeed good. So far, he had been able to comprehend the martial arts in any painting he encountered.

This was indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people.

“Where is the Longevity Sect now?” Yang Tiantian asked again.

“I really don’t know.” Zhou Jun shook his head, “After the incident at the Sky-Overturning Ghost City, the Longevity Sect has changed locations. I’m not sure where they are. My recent contact with the Longevity Sect was only because of this mission.”

“The mission was to poison the guests at the Dao Mountain Ancient Land festival, causing a dispute. That was the Longevity Sect’s goal this time. I don’t know anything else.” Zhou Jun said calmly.

“There must be someone who gives you the mission.” Yang Tiantian frowned.

“Of course.” Zhou Jun looked at the two of them, then said, “I think you might have a misunderstanding.”

“Xue Ye is not just me.” Zhou Jun said with a smile.

“What!”

Both Yang Tiantian and Li Hengsheng were surprised. Xue Ye was not just one person.

“There are two.” Zhou Jun nodded.

“Who is the other one?” Yang Tiantian quickly asked.

“I can tell you.” Zhou Jun glanced at Li Hengsheng, “But I only plan to tell Fourth Brother.”

“You’re asking for a beating!” Yang Tiantian threw a punch directly at Zhou Jun’s abdomen.

Puff!

A mouthful of blood sprayed out of Zhou Jun’s mouth.

This punch, Yang Tiantian did not hold back at all.

However, Zhou Jun just smiled, “It seems that Second Senior Sister really did hold back when she hit me before.”

“Stop talking nonsense.” Yang Tiantian lifted her chin and glared at Zhou Jun, “If you don’t speak, I’ll really kill you today.”

“I’ve said it, I can only tell Fourth Brother. If you’re not willing, you can wait for the Sect Leader to come back and tell you. But by then, that person may not be around anymore.” Zhou Jun didn’t care at all, even after being punched by Yang Tiantian.

He looked at Li Hengsheng.

“Senior Sister, let me talk to him.” Li Hengsheng said to Yang Tiantian.

“Fine.” Yang Tiantian frowned and stepped back. Li Hengsheng stepped forward, saw the blood at the corner of Zhou Jun’s mouth, took a deep breath, and said, “Go ahead.”

Seeing Li Hengsheng lean in, Zhou Jun also leaned forward and whispered a name into Li Hengsheng’s ear.

As soon as the name was spoken, even Li Hengsheng was shocked.

(End of Chapter)