I Was the Sun Before I Became an Immortal

When Si Chen announced he was leaving Wanji Mountain, Heishan and Chifeng were both stunned.

The atmosphere, which had been tinged with irritation over failing to find Fang Yuheng, suddenly fell quiet — only the ceaseless rushing of the waterfall remained.

On Heishan's large, furry face, reluctance was plain to see. He scratched the back of his neck with his bear paw, his voice noticeably softer than usual:

"You're… you're leaving already?"

Chifeng said nothing, only silently raking his claws through the pebbles on the ground.

They had lived on Wanji Mountain for more years than they could count — simple, carefree days — until Si Chen arrived and life became so… vivid and thrilling.

Now that Si Chen was leaving, their hearts felt suddenly hollow.

Si Chen looked at them, taking in every trace of their reluctance.

If the road ahead no longer had Heishan's loud, foul-mouthed banter or Chifeng's steady, dependable presence at his back, it would be much quieter — and much… duller.

"Wanji Mountain is a fine place," he said, looking at the two demons.

"But the world outside is far larger."

"Heishan, Chifeng," Si Chen extended the invitation, "why not come and see it with me?"

The question was blunt, yet it left both Heishan and Chifeng momentarily speechless.

Come and see it… together?

As demon kings born and raised on Wanji Mountain, their entire world was essentially this stretch of rolling peaks.

Leave the Wanji Mountain where they had been born and grown?

Heishan instinctively glanced around.

Here was the mountain ridge he knew best, the tree hollow he had dug out long ago, the lesser demons who steered clear of him because they couldn't beat him, and the bear's den where he had slept for over a hundred years…

The outside world? He had never even thought about it.

Chifeng, on the other hand, felt a flicker of temptation — but his thoughts ran deeper: "We are demons, after all. If we venture into human territory, won't we cause trouble for you?"

He worried that Si Chen might be shunned or even treated with hostility because of them. The friction between the human race and the Demon Race — he understood it well enough.

But Si Chen shook his head.

What rose in his mind was the broad, solid silhouette of Heishan standing in front of him as a shield, and the reliable feeling of Chifeng carrying him through the mountain forests.

Human or demon — what difference did it make?

"You are my friends. That is all."

He looked at Heishan and Chifeng.

"If anyone considers that a problem, then it is their problem — not mine."

Friends…

This word, like a warm current, instantly swept away the last of Chifeng's hesitation, and even made Heishan's perpetually wide bear-eyes soften with feeling.

"Fuck yeah! Well said!"

Heishan suddenly let out a roar, snapping his head up: "We're brothers — who gives a damn what anyone else thinks!"

He slapped a paw down on Chifeng's back, nearly sending the tiger stumbling: "Old cat, stop dithering! Si Chen isn't afraid, so what are you scared of? Don't you want to find out whether the meat they sell in human taverns tastes better than gnawing it raw?"

Chifeng bared his teeth at the smack. He looked into Si Chen's clear, steady eyes, and his last remaining reservation dissolved.

"Fine. Then let's go and see."

The moment the decision was made, the mood lifted at once.

Heishan immediately began fantasizing about the future, practically drooling: "I've heard that human taverns have this thing called… roasted whole lamb? Seasoned with spices, sizzling with fat — it smells incredible!"

At the mention of food, Si Chen's eyes lit up.

He picked up the thread at once, rattling off dishes like a connoisseur: "Not just roasted whole lamb. There's also rock-sugar pork knuckle — braised until it's fall-apart tender, melting the moment it touches your tongue."

"Lotus-leaf beggar's chicken — crack open the clay and peel back the leaves, and the aroma drifts three streets away."

"Crystal shrimp — sweet, clean, and springy."

"Crab roe lion's head meatballs — the broth is so rich it'll make you want to swallow your own tongue…"

He rattled off dish after dish with such vivid, mouth-watering descriptions that both demons were left dumbstruck, and even Chifeng couldn't help swallowing.

Si Chen himself talked himself into a craving, wishing he could sit down right now in a lively tavern and eat to his heart's content.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Heishan clutched his rumbling stomach, suddenly finding the several pounds of raw beast meat he had just wolfed down utterly tasteless.

"Let's go, let's go! We're leaving now! I can't wait to try all of it!"

Without further delay, Heishan and Chifeng set off to make their preparations. Having lived on Wanji Mountain for years, they didn't overthink it — they figured it was just a long trip — and went to say their farewells to the demons they were close with.

The news spread like the wind.

When the other demons heard that the two great kings, Heishan and Chifeng, were leaving Wanji Mountain, the reaction was mild — after all, demon kings occasionally visited other mountain ranges.

But when word got out that Si Chen was leaving too, the atmosphere changed entirely.

All of Wanji Mountain stirred. Si Chen — the young man who had saved their lives and generously shared his treasures — was leaving!

The demons could no longer sit still.

A wild boar demon, missing half a tusk, who had once been pulled from the blood pool by Si Chen, was the first to come find him. He snorted and huffed as he spoke:

"Young Master Si Chen, if you ever run into anyone who doesn't know their place, just send word! Old Boar here will be the first to charge over and gore them to death! Wanji Mountain may not have much, but we've got no shortage of brothers who can fight!"

"That's right, Young Master Si Chen — don't forget about us!"

"You have to come back and visit Wanji Mountain!"

"If you ever need us, don't hesitate to ask!"

For a time, the crowd of demons surged, voices overlapping, all of them full of reluctance and pledges of loyalty toward Si Chen.

In the end, nearly every demon on Wanji Mountain that had awakened their intellect came rushing over at the news.

The scene was staggering — demonic aura surging skyward, the sheer scale of it immense. A few human Cultivators who happened to be gathering herbs on a nearby mountain range caught a distant glimpse of it and were scared out of their wits, scrambling away in a panic, convinced that the demons who had been dormant for years were mustering for war against humanity.

How could they have known that this grand and sweeping spectacle was nothing more than a send-off for a single young man?

Some of the demons came bearing spirit fruits, others carried medicinal herbs, and still others brought smooth, gleaming stones they had polished themselves — all of them converging toward the waterfall where Si Chen had been in Closed-Door Cultivation.

When Heishan and Chifeng returned from outside, this was the sight that greeted them.

The open ground before the waterfall, and the slopes beyond, were packed densely with demons of every kind.

From the imposing wolf king to the timid little flower spirit.

They stood there in silence, pairs of eyes — fierce and gentle alike — all fixed on Si Chen, each holding some manner of "gift" in their hands or paws.

Si Chen looked out at this crowd of pure-hearted, straightforward demon friends, and the grounded sense of being "Si Chen the Mortal" swelled a little fuller within him.

He stepped forward and thanked each of them in turn, carefully receiving every gift — perhaps not worth much in coin, but brimming with sincerity — one by one into his Storage Ring.

Then, facing the assembled demons, he gave a solemn, cupped-hands bow.

The clamorous crowd of demons gradually fell silent.

"Friends — until we meet again."

No flowery words, just four simple ones, yet every syllable was genuine.

Then, beneath the gaze of countless reluctant eyes, Si Chen and his companions slowly rose into the air.

"No need to see us off!" Heishan called back as they ascended, his voice still thunderously loud.

"When Bear Lord comes back from learning a few cooking tricks in human territory, I guarantee you country bumpkins will finally know what real food tastes like!"

Chifeng, meanwhile, gave his long tail an elegant flick and dipped his head slightly toward the demon kings he was closest with — everything left unsaid, yet understood.

Red Bean on Si Chen's shoulder was still asleep, yet let out a single clear, bright cry — as if offering one last farewell.

One young man. One tiger. One bear. One bird.

Treading through the thin mountain mist, they walked toward a world far broader — and far more unknown.

The mountain wind swept through the treetops and carried them a long, long way.

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