Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 104: Affection

After a moment passed, the jade eye reverted to its previous dim appearance. Fortunately, it didn’t continue to absorb qi. Shi Jingzhi held it tightly in his hand, squeezing it until it cracked.

Yin Ci was about to say something when Shi Jingzhi tucked the jade eye into his chest and laughed as if nothing had happened. “We have the key now, thank you all. Let’s rest here for a moment, and tonight we’ll go down the mountain and rendezvous with the rest of the group—the remnants of the Ling Sect and Taiheng are likely investigating the area these past few days.”

With that, he raised his eyebrows and grabbed Yin Ci’s wrist. “This is great news. We found the key to the Shirou. A’Ci, will you accompany me alone? We can wander around on our way and find some fresh wild vegetables to eat.”

On the way, the other three had become accustomed to the master and disciple’s affectionate behavior, so they weren’t surprised by Shi Jingzhi’s words. Moreover, Yan Qing was left here, and Yu Zikuan and Yan Zheng had no doubts about him, so they quickly found a clean place to camp. The afternoon sun was slightly warm, and the place was filled with fresh grass and fragrant apricot blossoms, making it perfect for rest.

Yin Ci remained silent, knowing something was off about the jade eye—Shi Jingzhi’s tone was unusually firm. He must have discovered some secret not meant for outsiders.

Shi Jingzhi led him forward, accurately finding the cave in Yan Budu’s memory. In early spring, there was no heavy snow outside the cave as imagined. A hundred years had ground away all love, hate, passion, and grudges, leaving no trace of human activity in the cave. The area was eerily quiet, except for the shockingly green moss at the cave’s mouth.

“What’s going on with the jade eye?” Yin Ci asked bluntly.

Shi Jingzhi didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out slowly, feeling the pulse of life by caressing Yin Ci’s neck. His palm was rough and full of callouses from years of sword practice, gliding lightly over the skin, making Yin Ci feel as if he were being licked by a wild animal.

The sensation was a bizarre mix of creepy and warm intimacy.

Yin Ci seized the hand, considering the possibility of Shi Jingzhi being affected by magic. “Stop messing around. It’s rare to get the support of the Ling Sect, so it’s best to go back early and not arouse suspicion.”

Shi Jingzhi didn’t respond as usual; his eyes were strange.

Those eyes contained curiosity, doubt, and some emotions Yin Ci didn’t understand. Despite the warning, Shi Jingzhi didn’t withdraw his hand but leaned forward, hugging Yin Ci.

“Shh,” he said out of nowhere. “Let’s be quiet for a moment.”

It seemed that the young man had been seriously affected by something earlier—Yin Ci could feel Shi Jingzhi’s warm breath on his neck as he sniffed him carefully. After the soft warmth, a sharp pain followed.

Shi Jingzhi was biting him.

The bite was neither light nor heavy. He felt a delicate pain on the side of his neck, but no blood was drawn. After biting, Shi Jingzhi thoughtfully withdrew his mouth, rubbing against Yin Ci’s neck meaningfully.

He spoke softly. “A’Ci, I think I know the origin of your immortal body.”

After saying this, Shi Jingzhi leaned against the rock wall, explaining the jade eye’s function and what he had seen, without concealing any details.

After describing what he saw to Yin Ci, Shi Jingzhi calmly changed the subject, analyzing Yan Budu’s motives as if the shocking anomaly on Yin Ci was just an ordinary clue.

Yin Ci couldn’t take it all in.

Shi Jingzhi’s calm description still echoed in his ears. Although Yin Ci hadn’t seen it himself, he had faced the flesh idol and the tree root giant statue and knew how bizarre the things seen by this man could be.

Just from the description, he was nothing but an exceptionally human-like “flesh statue”, with bare branches as bones and blood roots as flesh. Initially, Yin Ci had a glimmer of hope that maybe he was just an ordinary person who had borne some immortal magic, that he could still revert to a human body.

Yin Ci opened his palm. His palm was like that of other mortals, with fine lines across it. If a fortune teller saw it, perhaps they could even predict the ups and downs of his life.

So human-like.

Unfortunately, in the end, he was indeed not human, or perhaps never was. Was he a monster imitating humans or an artifact created by an immortal for amusement? Were his emotions real or fake? Was his obsession natural?

These thoughts made Yin Ci’s head ache, and memories from hundreds of years ago tumbled in his mind, stirring up a viscous pain. Right, he initially approached Shi Jingzhi to find a way to kill himself. The colorful journey had nearly made him forget that.

[Are you the immortal who will send me off on my last journey?] Shi Jingzhi had once asked him.

…Where in the world would there be such an ignorant and bizarre “immortal”?

It was laughable. Eager to die, he found a hidden clue near this person, regaining a bit of human warmth. After a hundred years, his long life had finally returned to normal, only for the shocking truth of a “demonic monster” to be revealed.

The one who discovered his “true self” happened to be Shi Jingzhi. Fate was playing tricks on him, even staining the last bit of attachment he had.

It was like holding a delicate and fragile glass furnace, fearing to shatter it, only to hear it shatter in the end. It lay before him in pieces, leaving behind only cold relief and emptiness. All his efforts were nothing but an absurd joke.

Yin Ci slowly closed his fingers and clenched his fist. The feeling of despair and emptiness surged again, and the long-absent fierceness was stirring. Amid suppression, the familiar numbness spread from his limbs and slowly flowed into his heart.

People had their own ways of getting along with others, and monsters had theirs; surely Shi Jingzhi would understand this. Even if they were looking for the Shirou, they still needed to maintain a superficial rapprochement; it was time for those ambiguities to end.

He climbed to the edge of the cliff with hands dripping with fresh blood, and with an insouciant step, as though by fate, he was made to fall into the abyss again. In the end, one always lost, so it was better not to have any expectations from the start.

“Yan Budu used the jade eye as the key to the Shirou. Just as you said before, the Shirou isn’t simply a thing to prolong life,” Yin Ci said indifferently while stepping back unnoticeably.

“We had better make preparations on both sides and investigate the Immortal Assembly as soon as possible. Time is limited; we should act separately.”

Shi Jingzhi didn’t answer. He leaned against the rock wall while his amber eyes fixed unblinkingly on Yin Ci. “That won’t do. Without A’Ci around, I won’t be able to sleep.”

“Enough.” Yin Ci stopped him as he tried to lighten the mood, but his tone wasn’t very gentle. “Let’s talk business.”

“This is business. A’Ci, just a few days ago, Master taught you to cherish yourself, and now you’ve forgotten again.”

“You’ve seen my true form, so there’s no need for such words anymore—”

“I saw it, and I’m very happy.” Shi Jingzhi interrupted Yin Ci with a smiling face. “A’Ci isn’t an immortal from the storybooks, isn’t that better?”

He stood on the other side of the cave, completely relaxed, showing no caution in front of the monster.

“In this world, knowing your true form and still loving you so much, only a lunatic like me could do that… I understand you best, I love you the most—is there anything more wonderful than this?”

What was this person talking about?

“When we just entered the cave, I made sure of it. Temperature, smell, taste; you are the ‘Yin Ci’ I’ve always known and haven’t been replaced by anything else. That’s enough. A’Ci, come here.”

Yin Ci didn’t move. He looked at the person before him, who was emitting an aura without any reservation, and his mind went blank.

“Then I’ll come over,” Shi Jingzhi hummed. “I’m your master, after all.”

Shi Jingzhi strolled over to Yin Ci. Just like the first time they met, he smiled warmly. “After all this time, I’ve grown tired of our frivolous back and forth. If A’Ci doesn’t want his own ‘human heart’, then give it to me.”

“Although I can’t promise you for long… No matter what you are, I will watch you till the end.”

His voice was gentle and soft.

“Will you come with me? Being master and disciple is not enough; how about becoming a couple¹?”

‘This kid has gone mad,’ Yin Ci thought. But then again, he seemed uniquely insane from the start. Uncharacteristically thrown into confusion, the headaches were piling on top of each other in Yin Ci’s mind. “Do you even know what you’re talking about?”

A trace of grievance flashed across Shi Jingzhi’s face. “Of course. I don’t wish to be so hasty, but if I don’t make my true feelings clear, A’Ci would think of himself as something otherworldly, right? Just because of a mere shell, it’s really not worth it.”

Is this really an issue of a mere shell?

Yin Ci held his temple, feeling somewhat dazed. Just when he thought he was abnormal, this person could show him something even more abnormal. Shi Jingzhi’s problem of not distinguishing between priorities seemed unchangeable.

Yet the palpitations under the lanterns returned at this moment.

If, twenty-four years ago, this person was a nail that pierced his soul and forcibly pinned him to the earthly realm, now, after twenty-four years, the cold, hard nail had transformed into soft threads, weaving a giant web.

Having just fallen into the void, he was suddenly caught in a soft net. This time, he was firmly held in the world. Though the net was sturdy, its sudden appearance left him utterly at a loss.

Yin Ci took a while to catch his breath, and Shi Jingzhi took the opportunity to step forward, stopping in front of him.

He smiled warmly, hiding the little nervousness in his smile quite well. Shi Jingzhi leaned slightly forward, and a bit of light from the cave entrance flowed through his hair, casting a few strands in golden-brown.

The cave was dim, and the light was somewhat dazzling.

Yin Ci held his breath, composed himself, and finally said, “I might have teased you too much earlier. A close relationship doesn’t mean romantic affection. Don’t speak of ‘union¹‘ so lightly…”

¹Clarity: The word they are using is (连理) which literally means interlocking of branches but figuratively the joining of two people (marriage).

His mind was filled with emotions, leaving no room for anything else. Yin Ci had completely lost his usual ease, while Shi Jingzhi seemed to gain confidence, appearing calm as if they were two different people, only the tips of his ears tinged with a faint red.

“Why does A’Ci keep talking about my matters?” Shi Jingzhi murmured softly, the last trace of tension in his expression disappearing. “If you’re unwilling, just refuse directly.”

Yin Ci turned to stone, just looking at him with his eyes full of complex emotions.

Shi Jingzhi didn’t just wait; he gently lifted a lock of Yin Ci’s hair, as if it were the most fragile thing in the world. Then he took a deep breath and leaned over to kiss Yin Ci’s lips. He moved slowly, giving Yin Ci, with his martial skills, plenty of opportunity to dodge.

Yin Ci didn’t evade.

In an instant, time stopped. The bizarre truths and century-old conspiracies all faded away, turning into a wisp of slightly bitter smoke. Yin Ci felt like a weary wild beast trapped in a gentle snare, and the pain was sweet as honey.

Realizing Yin Ci didn’t resist or retreat, Shi Jingzhi extended both hands, gently caressing Yin Ci’s face, and kissed even deeper. Neither closed their eyes; Shi Jingzhi’s gaze never shifted.

Although they had been ambiguous in their words for days, they had never been this intimate. Yin Ci felt the warmth in his chest as if the once-broken furnace miraculously returned, burning a foreign heat within him. Subconsciously tightening his back, a thin layer of sweat soaked his inner garments.

He had touched countless living things, but this moment felt like the first time he’d been touched by a living being. A simple kiss was more terrifying than the strongest killing intent and more scorching than the most intense flames.

If previous complex emotions were like fallen red leaves, then a spark had turned them into fierce flames.

Yin Ci instinctively grasped the other’s waist, both hands clutching Shi Jingzhi’s clothes, turning the kiss into an almost clumsy embrace. Shi Jingzhi, encouraged, relaxed entirely, his tongue becoming surprisingly skilled. In the dim cave, with bright sunlight outside, the two separated themselves from the world for a moment, stealing a tender moment of intimacy.

“…See, I know the difference between affection and love.”

After a long kiss, the two finally separated. Shi Jingzhi panted slightly, and his smile deepened. His eyes had never been so vibrant, making them impossible to hide.

“What’s your answer?” he asked, narrowing his fox eyes, knowingly.

Yin Ci couldn’t help but give a wry smile. He was probably insane himself, or perhaps he wasn’t desperate enough… or maybe rushing towards the flame was simply the instinct of a moth, as he had long ago etched that longing into his bones and could not let go no matter what. Strangely, Shi Jingzhi’s “knowledge” had transformed from a spear to a shield at this moment, and he didn’t feel the cruelty of fate, but rather felt even more at peace than before.

The burning sensation in his chest not only didn’t dissipate but ignited his entire being. The spring breeze of March seemed chilled, causing his hair to stand on end, as if entering a clear pool.

‘One last time,’ Yin Ci thought. If this was his last rebellion against fate, it didn’t seem bad.

“An answer? Is there any need to ask?”

Yin Ci still held Shi Jingzhi’s waist with his arm, adding a little more force. He deliberately freed one hand, stroking Shi Jingzhi’s lips, feeling that soft warmth again. The latter gently bit his fingertip, and a blush appeared on his face belatedly.

“I won’t be your immortal, nor your monster.” Yin Ci exhaled a long breath. “…And I don’t want to be just your disciple anymore.”

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The author has something to say:

The two male guests have finally………………………………

I’ve discovered that every book I write follows the “brother monster” route.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Ahh… I always love the writing when Nian Zhong finally awakens her characters’ feelings, but I will say this is reminiscent of Stray (in terms of the writing and tone). This chapter was everything.

The title of this arc is “Seeing the Light of Day Again” (重见天日), which metaphorically means to be liberated or freed from a difficult or oppressive situation or imprisonment.

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