Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 83: A Great Undertaking

Yin Ci was dumbfounded by the words “You’re back”, and once again forgot to breathe.

Even though he had suspected it before and was positively sure that person was the Little Mute, he still held onto that thought tightly. He feared that any “coincidental” possibility would shatter his hopes once again.

In front of him, the old house was dimly lit, and outside the door were numerous monsters surrounding them. It all felt like an unreal dream.

After wandering in this mortal world for hundreds of years, Yin Ci finally felt a trace of “fate’s” kindness. The warmth of that kindness was so intense that he instinctively pulled his hand back, feeling a tingling sensation along his spine, bringing out the feeling of pins and needles along the way.

The embrace from Shi Jingzhi tightened even more.

The ban was broken, and the mist in front of him dispersed. Shi Jingzhi had never been so clear-headed.

That strong desire still lingered in his heart, but it had transformed from a ferocious beast into an obedient wolf, no longer able to shake his mind.

However, at this moment, Shi Jingzhi didn’t know how to respond. His usually nimble tongue seemed stiff, turning into a block of wood that didn’t know how to cooperate.

At one moment, he wanted to explain the “final parting” from back then; another moment, he thought about seeking justice on the Imperial Preceptor directly. Feeling the warmth from Yin Ci being so close, his heart softened, and he wanted to tease, “You won’t recognize me as your master now.” But he was suppressed by the question, “How have you been all these years?”

Shi Jingzhi wished he had eight heads to speak all at once and pour out everything he had just seen.

Unfortunately, his throat seemed to be blocked by these trivial words, and he could only let out a short “Mm.”

‘Strange,’ Shi Jingzhi thought.

When he was three years old, he wanted to hug Yin Ci, but his arms couldn’t even reach halfway around him. Now he held the person in his arms, and there was even enough room to lift his hand and stroke the man’s hair.

Yin Ci trembled slightly; his body was stiff, and he didn’t say another word. Compared to before, just looking at the posture of the hug made it seem like the roles had switched.

But that vitality and warmth remained as before, as if nothing had changed.

How could there be such a good thing in the world?

A strange thought popped into Yin Ci’s mind—perhaps Shi Jingzhi was already dead, and he had gone mad without realizing it. The peaceful scene in front of him was nothing but a hallucination in his madness.

He clutched Shi Jingzhi’s clothes tightly, accidentally grabbing onto his flesh under the fabric, but he dared not ease his grip. Yin Ci was afraid that if he let go, the person in front of him would turn into smoke, quicksand, or something he could no longer grasp.

Shi Jingzhi was pinched so hard that he gasped for breath, finally clearing his throat. He didn’t struggle, but instead, he babbled endlessly, as if trying to make up for the twenty-four years of silence.

“In the North, there are no flowers. When we return to the Central Plains, I’ll find some for you. This time, if we encounter that flower monster, with just one flagpole, I can skewer it. You can have as many as you want.”

“I remember why I was afraid of ghosts now. A’Ci, you told me so many ghost stories back then, and they were so spooky that not even a ban could suppress them…”

……

While chattering, Shi Jingzhi’s gaze swept over the dim formation, the scarce remaining flesh, and Yin Ci’s blood-stained outer garments.

The ancient corpse’s smell was slightly heavier and different from that of a freshly dead “corpse”. Chen Qianfan showed surprise on his face but no anger, indicating that the “corpse” wasn’t an innocent victim.

He probably could guess their origin.

Shi Jingzhi’s expression turned dim, but he didn’t question Yin Ci about his self-harm, nor did he inquire about his immortality.

He just recounted those warm moments from twenty-four years ago, telling them one by one in a soft voice. He did this until the person in his arms gradually regained consciousness and was no longer as stiff as a rock.

Having just broken through the ban, Shi Jingzhi was already exhausted. Talking consumed his energy, and as he spoke, he couldn’t help but relax his body, turning the hug into mutual support.

“…Alright, take a rest.”

Yin Ci noticed the other’s fatigue; smoke and sand wouldn’t get tired. He didn’t think he could go mad with such coherence, so he had to turn his confusion into relief.

He let go of Shi Jingzhi and used his sleeve to wipe the blood from the other’s face. When he was almost done, he carefully observed Shi Jingzhi’s face, as if they were meeting for the first time, and he wanted to etch that face firmly into his mind.

“Are you alright?”

Yin Ci looked at him for a while, feeling that it was inappropriate to stare so intently, so he tried to find something to say. He even thought of pretending to be as composed as before, but if it weren’t for Shi Jingzhi’s broken and hoarse tone, he might have succeeded.

Shi Jingzhi glanced at the scattered corpses not far away, and his heart twitched. He didn’t know how the person in front of him dared to ask such a question—wouldn’t the immortal body feel pain too?

Sect Master Shi didn’t care whether Yin Ci had lived for two hundred or twenty years, whether he was Su Zhi or Yin Ci. At that moment, all he felt was that his disciple had caused him great distress, half of it from concern, and half from anger.

So, he leaned back and said truthfully, “Not good.”

Yin Ci’s heart quivered, and he reached out to take Shi Jingzhi’s pulse. Unexpectedly, Shi Jingzhi quickly pulled his hand back, not letting him check.

He mouthed to Yin Ci with his back facing Elder Chen.

[I’ve lived for over twenty years, and the first person to treat me well was A’Ci, and perhaps the last one before my death is also you. If you cut yourself into a blood gourd, how can I be alright?]

“Cut yourself into a blood gourd”?

Yin Ci instantly understood that Shi Jingzhi hadn’t simply regained his desire. Having witnessed his battle with the giant monster, Shi Jingzhi might have guessed what…

Crack, crack.

Chen Qianfan saw the two of them clinging to each other and couldn’t stand watching it anymore, so he gave each of them a smack on the head. Yin Ci was deep in thought, and he had never experienced such treatment before; the killing intent almost burst out.

“What are you doing? What are you doing? That’s enough; don’t you know the situation? Yet you’re still endlessly chattering.”

Chen Qianfan skillfully ignored the killing intent. After spraying saliva all over Shi Jingzhi, his eyes locked onto Yin Ci.

“This kid can’t die, so you don’t need to see him off. Why are you still standing here? I need materials for the Living Puppet Curse, so get out and do something!”

Shi Jingzhi deviated from his usual behavior. Instead of sticking to his disciple, he joined Elder Chen in sending him away—Shi Jingzhi straightened up and lay back on the wooden platform, solemnly saying, “Senior Chen is right. The situation is critical, and important matters take priority.”

Yin Ci didn’t know what could be considered “important matters”.

Could there be anything more important than regaining something lost for twenty-four years?

If Yan Qing and Shi Zhongyu weren’t outside, he would have sacrificed everything and suppressed the Arcane Arts before coming back to interrogate Shi Jingzhi properly. If it wasn’t for the wrong timing, he wouldn’t let this guy out of his sight.

What if he loses him again?

Compared to the anxious and worried Yin Ci, Shi Jingzhi, who had his object addiction, was surprisingly calm. He seemed to be recalling the past in an ordinary manner, as if meeting someone he hadn’t seen in a long time. Despite the dangerous ban, there were neither intense feelings of love or hatred nor any sinister schemes.

“Go.” Shi Jingzhi urged calmly.

It seemed that their current affairs couldn’t be resolved, and they couldn’t sit down and have a proper conversation. Yin Ci looked left and right, but the child who clung to him and wouldn’t let go was no longer there.

So he could only let out a long sigh, change into a clean outer robe, and stride into the wind and snow.

However, behind Yin Ci, Shi Jingzhi turned his head again. Granny Wei wasn’t in the outer room, and no one closed the main door. He fixed his gaze on Yin Ci’s gradually diminishing figure, walking farther and farther away in the wind and snow.

He extended a hand, spreading his five fingers just enough to block the tall silhouette of the other person.

Then, Shi Jingzhi slowly clenched his fist, and a smile of determination finally appeared on his face. This time, he didn’t care about the observing Elder Chen, nor did he worry about whether this smile seemed “normal” or not.

The desire was here, and he knew how to seize it.

On the journey of life, he would no longer stumble away from death but instead head towards the destination he personally chose—after more than twenty years, he finally found a human heart he could touch.

“Senior Chen, I’m counting on you with the Living Puppet Curse. Please act quickly. I want to deal with the Arcane Arts together with my disciple.”

He wanted Yin Ci—to keep this person by his side. Not as his possession, but as a “person” with blood and tears.

He wanted to live, more than he ever had before.

At the same time, in Yidu.

The spring breeze treated everyone the same, passing over the red gates of the Imperial Preceptor’s residence.

Jiang Youyue put down his brush and looked at the nearby shrine—the miniature landscape on the shrine automatically changed without any wind, and the small flower buds bloomed, gently swaying crimson petals. The sweet fragrance of the flowers carried a faint scent of blood.

Jiang Youyue was momentarily stunned, sighing with a complex expression.

“Master, is the ban left by Grandmaster* now lifted?”

*[Shigong] (师公) Refers to the master of one’s master.

Jiang Youyue’s subordinate still wore a mask for the ritual. Their respectful tone was tinged with concern.

“Yes.”

“Shi Jingzhi’s fate is at stake. Originally, he was single-mindedly seeking to survive. Now that he has seen through his root of desire, who knows if he will seek far and abandon the near or even become our enemy…”

“Destiny is hard to defy.”

“If destiny is hard to defy, why did Grandmaster oppose it in the first place and seal his root of desire?” The masked person seemed to be averse to the word “destiny”.

Jiang Youyue raised an eyebrow. “Do you know the meaning behind the ‘root of desire’?”

The masked person looked at his Master, showing a hint of confusion on his face. This question was simple for him, but when asked seriously by his Master, he didn’t dare to answer casually.

Jiang Youyue continued, “The matter of the ‘root of desire’ wasn’t caused by destiny in the first place, so how could it be opposing destiny?”

The masked person was taken aback. “Please enlighten me, Master.”

“In this world, desires are numerous, and it’s difficult for ordinary people to bear them. So the Saints created a technique to fix them—when experiencing the most beautiful things in the world for the first time, you establish your root of desire. By concentrating on this one point, you’re less likely to be disturbed by various desires and can maintain your mental clarity.”

“Youngsters who have determined their root of desire cannot be interfered with, but it’s different for a three-year-old child. My master sealed his root of desire and blunted his will. He could resist all desires and keep his root of desire, so he wouldn’t waste all his mental energy, making it easy for us to tame him.”

Jiang Youyue gestured in the air, and the flowers on the shrine were shattered into pieces, and petals scattered all over the floor.

“Shi Jingzhi is not like the Queen of Milan, who lived in a daze for the first sixteen years, wasting her time. Nor is he like Yan Budu, who acted recklessly throughout his life, without any sense of order.”

“Now the foundation has been established. Everything is set; only the east wind is missing. How much he knows and whether there is a ‘heart’ in that shell… has nothing to do with the great undertaking of the Saints.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

This marks the end of this arc. I have to say, I thought the backstory with Su Si and Yang Qing was good, but Shi Jingzhi’s childhood with Yin Ci made me cry buckets too!

Ahh…. Will Lord Bai get an emotional backstory as well (probably not).

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