Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 89: Against the Sun

That night, Shi Jingzhi could hardly fall asleep.

Twin Rivers was dry and cold, and the inn was old. As soon as the door was closed, the windows rattled in the cold wind. The smell of dry straw and mud filled Shi Jingzhi’s nose, and the old blanket on his body felt heavy. He straightened his body, feeling as if he was about to be buried in the ground.

Yin Ci was lying quietly with his back to Shi Jingzhi, breathing evenly. The scene was no different from the previous days, but Shi Jingzhi felt as if there was a hot iron pressed against his body, making him uncomfortable no matter how he lay. With the bed given to the sick, the room was too small. Even if Shi Jingzhi slept upright, they couldn’t avoid touching each other. Yin Ci’s long hair seemed like a nuisance, but Shi Jingzhi didn’t dare touch it, wishing he could tie it up quietly.

Shi Zhongyu had left, and Shen Zhu was sleeping in the next room. The four members of the Kushan Sect were crammed into one room, so it made Shi Jingzhi feel guilty if he were to move out alone. He had thought everything was ready and just needed the right opportunity, but now that the opportunity had come, he had created a storm of troubles.

Sect Master Shi tossed and turned like a pancake, with half of his mind on the business at hand and the other half wandering. He wondered what the great Hundred-Year Project of the Imperial Preceptor was, and then he thought about what Yin Ci had experienced before he rescued him as the Little Mute.

Thinking about this, Shi Jingzhi didn’t even want to continue the cooperation. He just wanted Yin Ci to stand behind him safely, returning to the mysterious hermit he had always been, never to touch blood again. When he was three years old, it was fine, but now, when he thought of the madness of Yin Ci in the maple forest, Shi Jingzhi no longer thought of him as a formidable immortal but felt a heartache instead.

Shi Jingzhi’s emotions were more intense than ordinary people. After several hours, he still felt a tingling heat behind his head. He stared at the slight movements of Yin Ci’s body and felt an unnamed depression—

Seeing his embarrassing state, Yin Ci didn’t react at all, and Shi Jingzhi couldn’t help but suppress his emotions. Otherwise, he might turn into a pancake in the middle of the night.

Although he was good at suppressing desires, he wasn’t good at handling admiration.

In the end, Shi Jingzhi couldn’t bear it any longer, got up, and went to the courtyard to admire the moon. The moon was hidden by dark clouds, so he admired the clouds instead, which was fine.

The population of Twin Rivers wasn’t dense, and there were no idle people wandering around at midnight. The courtyard was as quiet as Shi Jingzhi had expected.

As soon as he calmed down, he ran into Shen Zhu in the courtyard.

The sparrow demons attracted attention during the day, so she had to take care of them at night. Shen Zhu was busy feeding those lively sparrows. At night, the sparrows were drowsy and ate sleepily, staggering around as if the millet was soaked in wine before she fed them.

Seeing Shi Jingzhi come out, Shen Zhu nodded to him and said casually, “My Lord.”

Shi Jingzhi greeted her weakly, “Shen Zhu.”

Shen Zhu wasn’t Shi Jingzhi’s die-hard loyalist, and although there was still a difference in status, her attitude toward Shi Jingzhi wasn’t the usual “loyalty”. No one else was around, and her attitude was quite casual. “Regarding Yin Ci, I couldn’t find the truth. Please forgive me… He conceals his past very skillfully. If you can, could you tell me about his origins?”

She seemed to have a magical ability to always bring up sensitive topics.

Shi Jingzhi snorted ambiguously. “That’s his private matter, and I’m not going to say… Anyway, don’t mind. It’s not a matter of your abilities.”

Yin Ci was an old slicker who had lived for hundreds of years, while Shen Zhu was in her twenties. If she could easily find out about Yin Ci’s background, Yin Ci would have been captured by the Immortal Assembly as a rare and strange beast long ago.

Indeed, Shen Zhu didn’t really care about Yin Ci. She casually sprinkled some millet into the mud, saying, “It’s a pity. I delayed a few days specifically, but I missed the chance to meet Senior Chen.”

“I’ve heard some clues about the things you want to know,” Shi Jingzhi said. “The phenomenon you discovered, Senior Chen also noticed, and he called it ‘Heaven’s Displeasure’.”

Shen Zhu let out a cold snort, showing disgust at those two words. She lowered her gaze and said, “My Lord, you are considerate.”

Shi Jingzhi looked at her for a while, appearing a bit downcast, then he forced himself to perk up and asked, “Miss Shen has been investigating the Immortal Assembly for a long time. Have you found any information related to the ‘Hundred-Year Project’ or the ‘Children of Desire’?”

“I haven’t, but on this trip to the Ling Sect, I have other matters to investigate. Since your disciple already knows…”

“Since I know what?”

A gentle voice interrupted them.

Shi Jingzhi looked at her for a while, feeling somewhat guilty for no reason. He had never realized that being alive could be so thrilling and exciting. He felt a small explosion within himself, and the hairs on his arms stood up. “A’Ci, you’re awake?”

Yin Ci’s gaze flickered, and he firmly ignored the question. Leaning against the door panel, he asked directly, “What’s the ‘Hundred-Year Project,’ and what are the ‘Children of Desire’? We’ve been cooperating now, but you haven’t told me about them.”

Judging from his tone, Yin Ci seemed to have returned to his casual and carefree demeanor. If he didn’t stare at Shen Zhu so cautiously, he would look even more like his old self.

Shi Jingzhi understood his hidden meaning and quickly spoke. “Miss Shen and I share the same interests, so she can be trusted.”

Then he heaved a sigh and gave a brief introduction to his subordinate.

Shen Zhu had deep-seated animosity towards the Immortal Assembly, but when Shi Jingzhi approached her, it had nothing to do with her personal feelings. He saw a strong determination in her—a reliable assistant with a clear purpose was much better than a foolish person obsessed with fame and fortune.

Similar to the Taiheng Sect, the Yueshui Pavilion had backing from the imperial court, and its branch halls were spread throughout Great Yun.

It was divided into three departments: Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, and it didn’t solely focus on collecting information in the martial world. The “Humanity Department” was responsible for investigating martial arts anecdotes and folk stories, as well as observing public sentiment. They were also willing to take on investigative tasks for others. The “Earth Department” collected agricultural and weaving techniques and searched for new crops, livestock, and even mineral deposits. The “Heaven Department” had the fewest members, and they were all dreamers and eccentrics. Regardless of whether unsolved mysteries had any practical significance, they would explore them.

Although the “Heaven Department” occasionally made earth-shattering discoveries, ninety percent of its members usually achieved nothing in their lifetimes. They had to travel to the most dangerous places, enduring hardships that ordinary people wouldn’t bear. In addition to having the highest authority to access information in the Yueshui Pavilion, the “Heaven Department” was the most thankless department, and its entrance requirements were extremely high.

Shen Zhu was one of the members of the “Heaven Department”. Being able to enter the lofty “Heaven Department” as a woman meant she had an extraordinary dedication that might even get her a painful beating from the Sword of Compassion.

Yin Ci mumbled, “Interesting.”

Along the way, he hadn’t seen such a fuel-efficient lamp* around the Kushan Sect.

*Metaphor referring to someone who’s easy to deal with.

Shen Zhu was quick-witted. Seeing that Yin Ci didn’t react like an ordinary person would, she changed her tone, dropping the nonchalant attitude she had when they first met and becoming more sincere. “I’ve been investigating the Immortal Assembly for a long time, and I inevitably followed some suspicious clues. When the Sect Master wants to find the method of immortality, we split into two groups. I provide him with stories around immorality, and he gives me tales of immortals and Buddhas. We each get what we need.”

Yin Ci understood.

Shi Jingzhi didn’t intend to hide anything anymore. He wanted to share all the information with Yin Ci. Investigating the flesh idol just happened to overlap subtly with what Shen Zhu was looking into. Perhaps they could find some useful clues. After all, in the eyes of mortals, the members of the Immortal Assembly were no different from half-immortals, and they were closely related to legends of immortals.

The Immortal Assembly was both an event held every ten years in Yidu and the managing organization of imperial shrines across various regions. On the surface, every ten years, it would invite a group of talented people or supernatural beings to join, offer immortal wine to win their hearts, and hold fake ceremonies and festivals. In recent decades, the Imperial Preceptor line had lost the emperor’s favor, and the Immortal Assembly no longer held grand ceremonies, reflecting their current lowly status*.

*Behave oneself by tucking one’s tail between one’s legs (夹紧尾巴做人) Idiom referring to being timid or submissive, often in the face of authority or adversity, often to avoid attracting attention or causing trouble.

Thus, Yin Ci had little interest and didn’t continue the investigation. As the leader of the Immortal Assembly, the Imperial Preceptor was still a mortal with a limited lifespan, and dying was inevitable and useless to him. Now, with the Goddess of Yuanxian Village in front and the flesh idol of the Imperial Celestial behind, with such huge secrets hidden in the Immortal Assembly, he needed to pick up this matter and investigate it thoroughly.

Shen Zhu wasn’t as simple as she seemed, so it was difficult to keep an eye on her. Yin Ci pondered for a moment and said, “The time and place are not suitable. Since the young lady wants to act with us, let’s find a quiet place, and you can explain everything in detail.”

…After speaking, Yin Ci felt a little uneasy in his heart.

In the past, he wouldn’t have cared if it was Shen Zhu or Shen Mo. Shi Jingzhi had chosen his own people, and Yin Ci couldn’t be bothered. If there were problems, he could just take Shi Jingzhi away. But now, he had developed an intense suspicion and was almost tempted to investigate Shen Zhu’s ancestry for three generations.

Shi Jingzhi couldn’t resist his feelings for the young bird, and his desires were not like those of an ordinary person. Yin Ci thought it was just a temporary infatuation. Shi Jingzhi was only three years old when his addiction was set, so it was impossible for his original desire to have anything to do with romance. Now that there were life and death matters at hand, after this momentary infatuation passed, Shi Jingzhi would come to his senses.

So Yin Ci considered his own problem more complicated. He had always been a clever moth, seeking warmth without getting burned. But now, his wings had accidentally caught fire, and the smoke was making him a little dizzy.

However, he couldn’t just let it go.

Yin Ci had indeed been the leader of a demonic sect, but he still cared about his reputation. So he put on an air of composure and said, “We might have to hurry on our journey next, so it’s best to rest for now.”

“So, was it me who woke you up, A’Ci?” Shi Jingzhi’s eyes wandered on his face, asking with persistence and caution.

Yin Ci: “…” After discussing so many serious matters, this kid hadn’t forgotten about the neglected topic.

Yin Ci glanced at Shen Zhu beside him and said with a smile, “You couldn’t sleep, with all that tossing and turning. Does Shizun want to hear about it?”

Shi Jingzhi stood still, tongue-tied, and his whole face turned red, as if he had been steamed by the night.

“It’s just some trivial matter. Don’t take it to heart, Shizun.” Yin Ci added with a smile.

Since Shi Jingzhi had already made up his mind not to treat him as his son, there was no reason not to tease him. If he tried to cover it up, it would be more troublesome in the future. Shi Jingzhi’s control had just broken, and his emotions were unstable. By openly addressing the issue, the subtle feelings would naturally dissipate.

Having convinced himself of this, Yin Ci turned around leisurely, leaving Sect Master Shi with an innocent back.

Near Yidu.

Shi Zhongyu returned with injuries, almost exhausting the Arrow Horse by the time she arrived at the headquarters of the Taiheng Sect. When she returned, it was still dark.

The room of the sect leader was brightly lit, and Sect Master Qi was still lying sick in bed, his pale face now tinged with a deathly gray. He had a high fever, and his once robust body had shrunk to a mere skeleton.

Jin Lan held a bowl of life and death soup, and his eyes were swollen like peaches. He took on the most troublesome task, insisting on feeding the old man once every two hours, cleaning up his excrement and urine, and turning him over. The room was filled with the fragrance of refreshing incense, but it couldn’t overpower the foul smell of the dying patient.

Shi Zhongyu didn’t rest. She pursed her lips, looking at the empty room of the sect leader. After a moment, she briefly gave some instructions to Jin Lan and activated the disaster warding talisman with a breath.

A surging heat swept over her, and she felt as if she had fallen into a furnace. Half of the life and death soup went down her throat.

When she woke up again, it was already broad daylight, but she didn’t know how many days had passed. Shi Zhongyu raised her body in a daze, only to find herself not in her bedroom but in the main hall of the Taiheng Sect—the hall was spacious, elegantly decorated, and solemn. She had seen it countless times and was very familiar with it.

Now she was half-sitting in the center of the hall, her body covered in sweat, and the high fever had made her thoughts hazy.

Was it a dream? This situation would usually lead to disciplinary measures.

Shi Zhongyu looked around in confusion and saw familiar faces. The elders of Taiheng were all grave, and the young disciples stood with their heads down. Only Qu Duanyun looked at her, his gaze complex, with a faint trace of regret.

Only then did Shi Zhongyu raise her head. On the seat of the sect leader sat the emaciated Qu Xundao. He held the ugly looking disaster warding talisman in one hand, looking bitter and exhausted.

“Ridiculous.” The hall was silent for a moment before Qu Xundao sighed clearly.

The intense fever failed to cover the coldness behind Shi Zhongyu. She had thought of many possibilities, but none of them included such a serious punishment. Her wounds were still throbbing, and the strong smell of ointment was pungent, not like good medicine—she clearly didn’t receive the treatment she deserved.

“Regarding the catastrophe at the Jianchen Temple, I heard about it. The Kushan Sect is responsible for monopolizing the Shirou clues and causing the deaths of two eminent monks, Venerable Juefei and Venerable Juehui, leading to the sealing of the Jianchen Temple until now… Yesterday, an urgent secret letter arrived from the Mishan Sect, saying that you, in collaboration with the Kushan Sect, destroyed the Arcane Arts of the Mishan Sect. Not only that, you allowed the Kushan Sect to steal the core secrets of the artifact and killed Chen Qianfan and Wei Chun to silence them. Zhongyu, is this true?”

Shi Zhongyu opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. A servant nearby handed her half a cup of cold tea, and she strained her smoky throat to say, “…I don’t know who lifted the restriction on that Arcane Arts, but it suddenly attacked us. I had to fight back. As for Senior Chen and Granny Wei… are they dead? I have no knowledge of it!”

She endured the dizziness and continued firmly, “When Sect Master Shi went to seek medical treatment this time, he had no intention of obtaining the Arcane Arts. He got along very well with Senior Chen and is a person who knows gratitude and righteousness… He even willingly exchanged the map rubbings with me—he wouldn’t harm someone’s life over just a clue.”

“But did you see what happened in the end?” Qu Xundao smiled bitterly.

“This Disciple…” Shi Zhongyu was momentarily speechless. After the fierce battle over the Arcane Arts, she had almost lost consciousness and didn’t retain many memories. When she woke up, she was in Twin Rivers, and she didn’t know the whereabouts of Chen Qianfan and Wei Chun.

“The Mishan Sect also lost an elder who rushed to help, and I believe it wasn’t you who killed him. Recently, only you and the Kushan Sect visited us. Zhongyu, if you say you were deceived by the Kushan Sect, I can still protect you…”

For some reason, while saying this, Qu Xundao’s eyes held a trace of inexplicable sadness.

Shi Zhongyu supported her sore body and said slowly, “Master taught me that I should see things with my own eyes and think for myself. Before entering the Mishan Sect, Shi Jingzhi had a chance to leave me behind. If he had ulterior motives, he wouldn’t have done that.”

The Arcane Arts’ restrictions required a skilled person to unlock, Shi Zhongyu thought hazily. Chen Qianfan happened to be such a person. To pin the activation of the Arcane Arts on the Kushan Sect’s leader, she needed to say, “I discovered Shi Jingzhi’s sinister intentions, so Chen Qianfan activated the Arcane Arts to kill him.”

But she didn’t witness such a thing. She was an eyewitness—the only eyewitness not in the Kushan Sect. If she lied here to protect herself, the Kushan Sect would undoubtedly be blamed.

“I was not deceived by evildoers. The situation is not clear, and there is no evidence of guilt. I won’t fabricate lies.”

Qu Xundao fell silent for a long time. He had no expression, his breath weakened, and he seemed to have aged ten years and yet found some kind of relief.

“I am seriously ill, not due to demons or evil plots, but because my time has come. The sect is going through a turbulent period, yet you led people to forcefully extend my life, consuming a great deal of manpower and resources. You personally protected me from disasters, showing deep affection and loyalty, but in doing so, you went astray and allied with evil, causing the Taiheng Sect to lose its true essence.”

Qu Xundao’s dry eyes stared at Shi Zhongyu. “Zhongyu, do you have anything to say?”

Shi Zhongyu supported her weak body and half-knelt on the ground, keeping her back straight.

“This Disciple has no regrets.”

Qu Xundao glanced around; some disciples showed anger or sadness, but none dared to speak up. He sighed and continued, “As the Sect Master, considering your initial intention to protect your master, I will temporarily expel you from Taiheng, but your name will remain. If you want to step foot in this sect again, think it through carefully.”

Shi Zhongyu maintained her half-kneeling posture, resolutely keeping silent.

“As an ordinary person, it’s true that I owe you for being able to live a few more days. In my room, there’s a potted orchid; take it with you—oh, remember to change the pot. The pot belongs to Taiheng.”

As he spoke, Qu Xundao’s voice became increasingly soft, revealing a sense of loss or contemplation.

“Master…”

“Go quickly,” Qu Xundao said calmly. “I’m a dying man, and I can’t let my disciple waste her life without knowing what’s good for her. The storms have been relentless lately, and you’ve been burdened by my illness. Remember to wear more clothes.”

With Jin Lan’s support, Shi Zhongyu was led away from the main hall. As soon as she stepped on the first step of the stairs, the heat on her body suddenly disappeared. Shi Zhongyu stood still, feeling extremely hot just moments ago, but now she was extremely cold. The exhaustion, pain, and worries of the past few days all turned into a ridiculous pile of ashes. For the first time, she couldn’t straighten her back, and her whole body felt like it was drained, filled instead with the icy wind from the northern glaciers.

Once the disaster warding talisman was activated, it wouldn’t be easily destroyed. With the disaster warding effect gone, there was only one possibility left.

Qu Xundao chose to sever his own meridians and die.

Half an hour later, outside the gates of the Taiheng Sect.

“Senior Sister, don’t… don’t be too sad. The Sect Master didn’t completely expel you from Taiheng. Once this chaotic situation settles, you will definitely be able to come back.” Jin Lan sniffled and handed her the potted orchid—the only thing she could take away according to Qu Xundao’s instructions. With the recent loss of the Sect Master, there were countless affairs to handle within Taiheng, and except for Jin Lan, no one came to see her off.

Shi Zhongyu stretched out her hands, carefully inserted them into the flower pot, and took out the orchid along with the soil.

“I…” She was about to speak, but suddenly her heart skipped a beat.

At the bottom of the pot, she felt something hard and cold.

After pondering for a moment, Shi Zhongyu said, “Jin Lan, take the pot back for now. There’s a lot of internal affairs in the sect at the moment; don’t worry about me… I won’t be leaving far for now. We can meet again another day.”

Jin Lan walked away, looking back three times. His swollen eyes were getting worse, and there was no one around. Shi Zhongyu wrapped up the orchid and soil carefully, then quietly wiped off the cold and hard object with her sleeve—

In that instant of recognizing the object, her eyes welled up, and she almost bit her lips till they bled.

It was the Taiheng Yang Reversal* Token.

*See Kinky Thoughts.

The Taiheng Sect Master always carried the Yang Token, and the Yang Reversal Token was managed by the person next in line to the sect leader. The one who held the Yang Reversal Token could use it to command the Taiheng disciples when the sect leader acted immorally, to correct their actions, or…

Simply depose the Sect Master.

Qu Xundao had been in charge of the Taiheng Sect for decades, highly respected and esteemed. Out of respect, the holder of the token had long since returned it, leaving Qu Xundao as the sole custodian. The Taiheng Sect had been too stable for too long, and they had almost forgotten that such a thing existed.

The Sect Master… No, her master was insightful, she thought. Qu Xundao might have already seen through something, but he was extremely weak, surrounded by numerous people, and lacked the opportunity and time.

Seeing that the Jianchen Temple had been sealed for a long time and something strange had happened at the Mishan Sect, the Taiheng Sect had no choice but to change its sect leader at this moment.

A storm was brewing, and the long-lasting peace in the martial world of Great Yun for the past hundred years might not be maintained for much longer.

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The author has something to say:

…I have to say that it seems like a lot of people died in this novel (… I didn’t mean it!

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Kinky Thoughts:

In regard to cultivation and Chinese medicine, the title of this chapter refers to a state of the body where the yang energy (qi) is out of balance, usually characterized by symptoms of chills, cold limbs, or a lack of energy.

In the same tune, it is also referencing the (yang reversal) token Shi Zhongyu received, which is basically a reversal of yang (the sun) qi. In the context of this chapter, the Sect Master of Taiheng wore the yang token, so the name given to the yang reversal token is quite apt.

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