Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 108: Yellow Sand

The master and disciple were both lost in their thoughts and didn’t notice the commotion outside. The two were pondering how to alleviate the awkward situation, but Sun Huaijin’s visit had pushed things to the edge of the cliff.

Shi Jingzhi hadn’t felt this anxious even when facing the Invitation to God Formation before. Although they hadn’t spent enough time together to develop deep familial ties, he didn’t want to frighten the old man to death. The usually composed Sect Master Shi froze for a moment, almost burying himself in despair under the covers.

Yin Ci calmly held down the corner of the blanket.

So Shi Jingzhi had no choice but to steady his emotions and tidy his clothes neatly. He then flew to a nearby chair, landing like a precision-guided cannonball. Shi Jingzhi’s pose was struck so quickly that, by the look of it, he seemed to be discussing important matters with his disciple.

Yin Ci: “…”

He had never seen Shi Jingzhi’s hands and feet coordinate so smoothly. Unfortunately, Sect Master Shi was still too naive—he was wearing only a sleeping robe and lying on the bed. In the dark, what proper business could they discuss?

Sun Huaijin respected and feared “Su Zhi” and didn’t rashly enter the room. The old man cleared his throat and repeated politely, “Elder brother?”

“Come in,” Yin Ci said, gathering his plain sleeping robe helplessly.

Sun Huaijin entered the room with a humble expression, only to see the feigned calmness of Sect Master Shi. Two foxes, one old and one young, were frozen in the room. No one spoke for a while. Sun Huaijin’s eyes scanned over Shi Jingzhi. It stopped on Yin Ci and his face slightly contorted.

Sun Huaijin was baffled. The Kushan Sect was scattered during the day, but at midnight, his great grandson appeared. He had already called “Elder Brother” outside the door so he needed to find a reasonable explanation. After all, why did Yin Ci let him in when there were people in the room? Otherwise, he could have explained it away as sleepwalking the next morning.

The three people faced each other in silence.

Finally, Yin Ci sighed. “It’s okay, Huaijin. He knows about my matter.”

“…I now also know about his matter.” Yin Ci paused meaningfully before adding the sentence.

Sun Huaijin’s old face trembled, and without hesitation, he let go of his deaf servant’s support and knelt on the ground. His head touched the floor as he shakily said, “I am old, and the only thing I care about is these blood relations. I did intentionally conceal it from Elder Brother initially; please punish me as you see fit.”

He spoke flawlessly, without any intention of excusing himself.

This old fox.

Yin Ci looked at Sun Huaijin, amused. Even if he revealed his identity to Shi Jingzhi, this “master-disciple relationship” couldn’t be all that bad. The old man was playing the sympathy card, banking on Shi Jingzhi being present.

However, Shi Jingzhi’s identity was delicate, and his family members who could converse with him were all in the palace. Now, stranded outside the palace, he could recognize a skilled relative like Sun Huaijin. Despite Elder Sun’s repeated deliberate offenses, Yin Ci indeed didn’t have the heart to embarrass Sun Huaijin in front of Shi Jingzhi.

“Get up,” Yin Ci calmly said. “It’s good to talk openly. This kid hasn’t caused me any trouble.”

In front of Sun Huaijin, Yin Ci wasn’t the “clumsy elder” familiar to Shi Jingzhi. The aura of a demonic sect leader returned, creating a subtle distance between him and Sun Huaijin. Shi Jingzhi touched his chest—recent inexplicable desires and joys often appeared together, throwing his heart into chaos.

Yin Ci took control of the conversation, and Sun Huaijin seemed to have completely forgotten the suspicious scene when he first entered the room. Now, Sun Huaijin shakily stood up, called his deaf servant to place a soft cushion on the chair, and then sat down.

“It’s good to talk openly, good to talk openly,” the old man repeated softly. “Brother Su… Patriarch, are you with my former grandson to investigate the Immortal Assembly?”

“‘That’s right.'” Yin Ci casually sat on the edge of the bed; his eyes fixed on Sun Huaijin with an intense aura constantly emanating from him. “Since you have chosen to visit in the dead of night, have you come to any conclusions?”

The Immortal Assembly wasn’t like the Ling Sect, and it wasn’t something that could be investigated with a simple infiltration.

Three hundred years after the establishment of Great Yun, the Immortal Assembly had become so honest that it couldn’t be more so. Usually, they only managed the shrines. The Immortal Assembly gathered influential people from among the populace every ten years. In the past century, what they had been able to provide was no more than rejuvenating immortal wine and connections. They resembled a leisure club for local talents, and the entire organization is very loose.

Shen Zhu had spent most of her life investigating them but hadn’t yet reached the core. But that was normal; if the Immortal Assembly were to monopolize the sweet benefits of the state religion and its cohesion were to strengthen further, the royal family would probably have eradicated it long ago.

Now, it was easier for idle rich men like Sun Huaijin to get in touch with the Immortal Assembly than it was for those in the martial world.

“When I was making my fortune, I was too old to join the Immortal Assembly. Fortunately, with my gold and silver donations, I made many contacts—those people are very courteous, charitable, and never forced the common folk to donate money. They are also very concerned about the renovation of Qizhou’s shrines and never spread rumors.”

Sun Huaijin leisurely sipped his tea, calming himself. A few more lamps had been lit in the room, their orange light flickering warmly.

“Of course, such trivial matters aren’t worth discussing late at night.”

The old man’s gaze brushed past Shi Jingzhi and quickly withdrew.

“But speaking of the Immortal Assembly, I was reminded of something strange. Even for an old man with some spare money like me, the Immortal Assembly never pressured me to donate, except once. Jingzhi was there too; I might as well start from the beginning.”

Sun Huaijin’s father was addicted to gambling, and after losing everything, he cleanly committed suicide by drowning. His mother took her own life, leaving behind the eleven- or so-year-old Sun Huaijin. Just when it seemed the boy would be enslaved by the creditors, “Su Zhi” stepped in, paying off the debts and adopting him in one stroke.

Regarding the motivation to save the boy, Su Zhi only answered once. “The blood is still in him; it won’t come to this—”

Sun Huaijin was a descendant of the founding hero, “the Marquis of Lie’an”, Sun Wang.

The Sun Clan was initially prosperous, and three hundred years later, there were thousands of relatives and associates. Being part of the clan didn’t mean much, and no one valued that small connection.

…Unless someone made a fortune.

Sun Huaijin valued kinship, and once he became successful, he lifted many others with him. Many brought tokens of “ancestral recognition”, hoping to climb the family tree and share in Sun Huaijin’s prosperity.

Three hundred years had passed, and the belongings of one of the “Twin Heroes” had long been divided. The Sun Clan’s relics were trivial things like a stool used by Sun Wang’s servant, a worn-out brush used by Sun Wang, and even Sun Wang’s cousin’s worn-out shoes.

Sun Huaijin welcomed all. However, he had no interest in those worthless things and stored them in a warehouse.

“Later, no one came to recognize their kin, and I thought it was over, but then the Immortal Assembly came again,” Sun Huaijin said gravely. “They said the founding heroes were divine beings, attendants of the Imperial Celestial. Having these divine objects scattered was demeaning. They were willing to pay to collect and properly handle them.”

“At the time, I thought I might as well sell them. In business, who would want to cross a god?”

Shi Jingzhi: “…Is this the ‘strange incident’?”

Sun Huaijin gave him a warning look and then threw an apologetic glance at Yin Ci as if to say, “Youngsters are ignorant”.

Yin Ci felt a faint stomachache and pinched his brow. “Huaijin, continue.”

“I have a friend who is interested in these relics from the founding period, and I had just picked out some nice ones to give him before the Immortal Assembly came. Later, the Immortal Assembly found out about it and started secretly investigating my friend’s whereabouts.”

“Were they so secretive just because they feared the divine objects losing their value? I simply ordered my servants to spread the news that I had given my friend a stool, and the Immortal Assembly backed off.”

It was just a trivial matter—nothing serious enough to be alarming—so Sun Huaijin has long since put it out of his mind. Now that it was brought up, it did feel somewhat oddly uncomfortable.

“What did you give back then?” Yin Ci asked, frowning.

“A well-preserved small idol, a bit crudely made, said to have been made by Lady Sun herself. It should still be at the main altar… As for why the Immortal Assembly cares about these things, I have no clue.”

The old man’s expression became solemn, and his voice was somewhat dry.

“I came late at night for another important matter. Patriarch, something big has happened in the Chigou Sect.”

Sun Huaijin had long left the sect, but his attachment to the Chigou Sect remained. Before, his tone was calm, but upon mentioning the Chigou Sect, Sun Huaijin sat up straight, speaking in a steady yet urgent tone, unlike an old man. In one breath, he detailed everything he knew to Yin Ci.

Shi Jingzhi hadn’t been seated long when he got the news—Sun Huaijin was old and weak, and he couldn’t handle such a long conversation. He had just finished speaking when he was overcome by shortness of breath and was helped out the door by his deaf servant to take his medication and catch his breath.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sect Master Shi moved back to the bedside, still digesting the information. “The Young Patriarch of Chigou just happened to be fortunate enough to be abroad, carrying the Bone Sweeping Sword as a token, planning to return to the sect soon? He also specially invited Taiheng and the Yueshui Pavilion to the ascension ceremony?”

The legitimate Young Patriarch was busy wrestling with a big goose in his arms, not looking like he was planning a grand return.

Yin Ci wasn’t surprised. “Losing just the sect leader, Chigou won’t collapse that easily. If they want to stir up Chigou, they’ll need to make a more aggressive move. The sudden appearance of an unknown Young Patriarch is likely related to the Immortal Assembly… Huaijin’s information is quite good.”

If Taiheng’s interior also contained members of the Immortal Assembly, they would likely take the opportunity to create chaos. As long as they targeted correctly, this was an excellent breakthrough.

In the northwest, the main branch of the Chigou Sect.

His earliest “clear memory” began in the northwest. Now, after all the twists and turns, it seemed he had returned to the starting point. Yin Ci involuntarily lowered his eyes to look at his own hands.

Through the flickering shadows, Yin Ci faintly saw them in a bloodied state—back when he clawed open the yellow sand with his fingers, the sand was mixed with blood, like sandpaper grinding over wounds… When did that happen?

Countless chaotic memories rolled into a ball, tumbling in his brain, making Yin Ci dizzy.

Shi Jingzhi sensed Yin Ci’s confusion, and his lips stealthily approached, kissing his disciple on the corner of his mouth. “If the two of us can’t succeed working together this time, then no one in this world can—and since no one in the world can do it, there will be no regrets if we fail.”

A set of twisted logic, forcibly expressing the righteous and bold attitude of Sect Master Shi. Yin Ci slowly retracted his fingers, turning his head to gently bite the other’s lower lip. “It’s a bit…”

The word “bit” had not yet fallen when a loud bang came from the doorway.

Sun Huaijin, in a hurry after taking his medicine, ignoring his deaf servant’s warning, returned to the room and came upon an ambiguous scene. The old man’s knees weakened, and he instinctively raised a trembling cane but did not know whom to hit.

One was his great-grandchild from the royal family, and the other was his elder brother, whose kindness was as heavy as a mountain. Who could he hit?

Considering Sun Huaijin’s life of ups and downs, through storms and riches, from orphanhood to wealth, from the martial world to the network of officials and businessmen, he had seen many strange and bizarre things in the world. Even in the face of the immortal “Su Zhi”, he could lie without changing his face.

…But he had never seen anything like this!

Sun Huaijin sighed for a moment, and his throat gradually choked. Eventually, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

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The author has something to say:

Yin “Onion” Ci’s uncertain skin(?) is coming!

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