This is a story about "I thought I was the Immortal Venerable's stand-in for his beloved, but it turns out I'm the beloved himself."
(An aloof, restrained, exceptionally gentle gong x a sharp-tongued, heaven-favored shou)
When Ling Yuan woke up again, he had no memories and no magic powers. He'd become a mountain sparrow under Chao Cang, an utterly insignificant little bird, and a prime candidate for freeloading in the Heavenly Realm. He refused to accept this and quietly set out on the road to turning his life around.
But to his surprise, this unremarkable nobody somehow ended up becoming the savior of all living beings!
[Don't misunderstand the gong. He never loved anyone else, from beginning to end.]
[The shou is neither a stand-in nor a reincarnation.]
[Both the gong and shou have their own principles and bottom lines, and neither will compromise for the other.]
HE HE HE
The important things bear repeating three times.
The main timeline and the flashback timeline run in parallel, but this won't affect your reading.
Theme: A young person has to endure trials and temper their heart before they can grow into a towering tree.
